On 7 January 1786, Nicholas Syme, the owner of land in King William County, upon which a ferry was established across the Pamunkey River to Hanover County sold the land to Walker Tomlin, whose wife, Sarah Tomlin, owned the adjoining tract of land upon which was the present landing place of the ferry and through which the road to the landing then and for a number of years had passed. In return, Tomlin and wife conveyed the land the ferry ran upon to Syme, reserving "a passage, ferry free, in all time coming, to them, the said Walker Tomlin and Sarah, his wife, their heirs or assigns, and their and each of their families, who shall be holders and proprietors of the said two several tracts of land." This right of free ferriage was exercised first by Walker Tomlin, and afterwards by John Walker Tomlin, his son and heir, and assented to by Nicholas Syme, from 1786 until the year 1810. " In 1810, free passage was refused by Syme, upon the ground that Tomlin had forfeited the right to cross free himself, in consequence of having transferred his residence from the said lands in King William County to his farm, Clifton, in Hanover County. Tomlin prevailed.

The road law for Louisa County (Acts 1891-92, c. 417, p. 686), requiring all able-bodied men between 16 and 60 years old to work the roads 2 days in each year, and conferring authority on the overseer of roads to impose a fine upon persons refusing so to work, and to collect it by levy as in case of taxes, and providing for the imprisonment of one so refusing, is void.