Chattanooga is in the wrong state, according to Georgia lawmakers. So is Lookout Mountain.
Lawmakers in Georgia now say that a survey that was done in the early 1800s incorrectly marked the state's border with Tennessee. Now Georgia wants the land back.
The border is supposed to be the 35th parallel, but an 1818 survey put it just about a mile south of the correct location. “I think 190 years of uncertainty needs to come to an end. I'm not seeking to move the border, I simply want to have the border accurately surveyed and correctly marked,” said Georgia state Rep. David Shafer.
It's no secret that Georgia has had some water woes, and if the border is moved, it will annex a portion of the Tennessee River. “The Tennessee River clearly flows south of the 35th parallel and through Georgia,” Shafer said.
Lawmakers in Tennessee said they have no intention of allowing parts of Tennessee to become a part of Georgia.
Georgia is serious about the proposal, and all 56 state senators have signed on as sponsors for legislation to move the boundary to the 35th parallel. However, any such change would have to be approved by both states’ Legislatures as well as by Congress, and Tennessee lawmakers say that is not going to happen.
Boundary disputes are much less common in the United States today than in the past, but the residents of this disputed area may have feelings akin to those of our ancestors. What’s more, should this legislation pass, their descendants will experience the same kind of challenges that genealogists face today when searching for their roots amidst moving borders.
