Anchorage is a due or toll levied on the owner or captain of a ship for permission to cast anchor at special anchoring-grounds. In most instances it is payable to the state; but sometimes the right is vested in corporate bodies or in individuals. Anchorage also signifies 'anchor-ground,' the best ground being stiff clay, and, next to it, a firm sand.
Anchorage
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 1: A to Beaufort, p. 258
Source scan(s): p. 0277