USA > Virginia > Rockingham County > Rockingham County > A history of Rockingham County, Virginia > Part 2
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The northeastern half of the great valley of Virginia, com- prising now the ten counties of Augusta, Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Warren, Frederick, Clark, Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan (the last three being in West Virginia), may properly be termed the Shenandoah Valley, since it is drained into the Potomac by the Shenandoah River through its sev- eral branches. Prior to the year 1738 the entire Shenandoah Valley, with much more territory west and southwest, was a part of Orange County. In 1738 it was cut off from Orange, and divided into two counties, Frederick and Augusta. In 1777 a large part of Augusta was cut off and erected into
A HISTORY OF
the county of Rockingham. These successive steps are shown in detail by the following copies of the respective Acts of Assembly authorizing them:
An act (passed November 1738), for erecting two new Counties and Parishes; and granting certain encouragements to the Inhabitants thereof.
I. Whereas, great numbers of people have settled themselves of late, upon the rivers of Sherrando, Cohongoruton, and Opeckon, and the branches thereof, on the north-west side of the Blue Ridge of mountains, whereby the strength of this colony, and it's security upon the frontiers, and his majesty's revenue of quit-rents, are like to be much increased and augmented; For giving encouragement to such as shall think fit to settle there,
II. Be it enacted, by the Lieutenant Governor, Council, Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted, by the authority of the same, That all that territory and tract of land, at present deemed to be part of the County of Orange, lying on the north west side of the top of the said mountains, extend- ing from thence northerly, westerly, and southerly, beyond the said mountains, to the utmost limits of Virginia, be separated from the rest of the said county, and erected into two distinct counties and parishes; to be divided by a line to be run from the head spring of Hedg- man river 1 to the head spring of the river Potowmack: And that all that part of the said territory, lying to the northeast of the said line, beyond the top of the said Blue Ridge, shall be one distinct county, and parish; to be called by the name of the county of Frederick, and parish of Frederick : And that the rest of the said territory, lying on the other side of the said line, beyond the top of the said Blue Ridge, shall be one other distinct county, and parish; to be called by the name of the county of Augusta, and parish of Augusta. 2
An Act (passed October 1777) for forming several new counties, and reforming the boundaries of two others.
Whereas it is represented to this present session of assembly, by the inhabitants of Augusta and Botetourt counties, that they labour under many inconveniences by reason of the great extent of the said counties and parishes: Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That from and after the first day of March next the said county and parish of Augusta shall be divided by a line beginning at the north side of the North Moun- tain, opposite to the upper end of Sweedland Hill, and running a direct course so as to strike the mouth of Seneca creek, on the north fork of the
1. Hedgman River must be what is now called Conway River, forming part of the line between the counties of Madison and Greene.
2. Hening's Statutes, Vol. 5, pp. 78, 79.
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DISTRICT MAP OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA
From Actual Surveys Made for D. J. LAKE & CO. 1885
Scale about 4 miles to an inch.
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FADLEGS 'ACAVEANS
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
south branch of Potowmack river, and the same course to be continued to the Alleghany mountain, thence along the said mountain to the line of Hampshire county; and all that part of the said county and parish of Augusta which lies to the northward of the said line shall be added to and made part of the said county and parish of Hampshire. And that the residue of the county and parish of Augusta be divided by a line to begin at the South Mountain (Blue Ridge), and running thence by Benjamin Yardley's plantation so as to strike the north river below James Byrd's house, thence up the said river to the mouth of Naked creek, thence leaving the river a direct course so as to cross the said river at the mouth of Cunningham's branch, in the upper end of Silas Hart's land, to the foot of the North Mountain, thence fifty-five degrees west to the Alle- ghany Mountain, and with the same to the line of Hampshire; and all that part which lies north eastward of the said line shall be one distinct parish (county and parish), called and known by the name of Rocking- ham. 3
Other parts of the same Act establish the counties of Green Brier and Rockbridge; fix the fourth Monday of every month as court day for Rockingham, the first session to be held at the house of Daniel Smith; establish the town of Lex- ington; change the name of Dunmore County to Shanando, etc.
As at first constituted in 1777, Rockingham County em- braced the greater part of what is now Pendleton County, W. Va., and about a third part of what is now Page County, Va. Pendleton County was established in 1787: this trans- ferred the northwest boundary of Rockingham some 25 miles southeastward-that is, from the Alleghany Mountain to its present position on the Shenandoah Mountain. Page County was established in 1831: this cut out from the east corner of Rockingham the big notch already mentioned.
The present boundaries of Rockingham may be indicated as follows: Beginning at the south corner, at a point on top of the Blue Ridge above Black Rock Springs, draw a line, straight throughout the greater part of its course, N. about 55 degrees W., some 32 miles to the top of Shenandoah Moun- tain; this gives the southwest boundary, separating from Augusta County; turn north about 30 degrees east, and fol-
3. Hening's Statutes, volume 9, pp. 420-424.
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A HISTORY OF
low the top ridge of the Shenandoah Mountain some 30 miles, to a point opposite Peru, in Hardy County, W. Va .; this gives the northwest boundary, separating from Pendleton and Hardy; turn south about 50 degrees east, and measure a straight course some 26 miles to the top of Massanutten Mountain, above New Market; this gives the northeast bound- ary, separating from Hardy and Shenandoah. This is part of the original line between Frederick and Augusta, and is fre- quently called the Fairfax Line, since it marks the southwest limit of the famous Northern Neck, as claimed by Thomas Lord Fairfax. Turn now southwest and follow the crest of the Massanutten Mountain some 9 miles, then turn south- east and go about 12 miles to the top of the Blue Ridge, be- tween Elkton and Shenandoah City; this gives the boundary about the notch, separating from Page County; finally, turn southwestward and follow the crest of the Blue Ridge about 20 miles to the beginning, above Black Rock; this gives the southeast boundary, separating from Greene and Albemarle.
The boundary line of Rockingham around the notch is given more specifically in the Act of 1831, creating Page County, as follows:
Beginning at a point in the line of the counties of Rockingham and Orange, on the top of the Blue Ridge, opposite to the head waters of Naked creek, in the county of Rockingham; thence, a straight line to the head waters of said creek; thence, with the meanderings of said creek, to its junction with the South river; thence, down the bed of said river, to the upper end of Michael Shuler's island; thence, a straight line to the mouth of Shuler's run; thence, with the main branch of said run, to its source; thence, a straight line, to the top of the Massanutten mountain; thence, with the top of said mountain, .
The boundary line between Rockingham and Augusta was described in an address delivered October 15, 1896, by Judge John Paul, as follows:
Beginning at the South Mountain (Blue Ridge), thence by a direct. line past Benjamin Yardley's plantation (now Mohler's) so as to strike North River below James Byrd's house (James Beard is the way it is now spelled). The point is at Diehl's ford, about one mile and a half above the junction of Middle and North rivers. Thence up North River to the.
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ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
mouth of Naked Creek; thence by a direct line so as to cross North River at the mouth of Cunningham's branch (now Thorn Run). This point is at Mr. Sanger's house. Thence, same course, to the foot of North Moun- tain.
It will be observed from the foregoing statements that two streams by the name of Naked Creek appear in the geog- raphy of Rockingham. One of these heads in Augusta County, and forms a small part of the boundary line between the two counties, near Mt. Crawford; the other heads in Page County, and forms several miles of the boundary be- tween that county and Rockingham, in the vicinity of Shen- andoah City. Wholly within the county are two streams with the name of Dry River. Both head around the bases of Tomahawk Mountain, near the Pendleton line. One flows northeast and becomes part of the North Fork of the Shen- andoah River at Fulk's Run; the other flows southeast and unites with North River at Bridgewater.
The most conspicuous, and perhaps the most wonderful, feature in the physical geography of Rockingham is the south- west promontory of the Massanutten, known as Peaked Mountain, or the Peak. Rising gradually to a great height, it juts out into the wide valley, then sinks down into the plain as completely and almost as abruptly as the rock of Gibraltar into the sea. From the east side it presents an ap- pearance that strongly reminds one of Gibraltar.
The view from the Peak is one of the finest in the world. Behind one is the great hollow in the Peak itself, know as the Kettle; and beyond it are the triple ridges of the range, flanked on the west by the towering bulk of Laird's Knob. To the east is the billowy outline of the Blue Ridge; far to the west are the first ranges of the Alleghanies; halfway between the Peak and Harrisonburg is the long, wooded range of hills known as Chestnut Ridge; and farther back, thrown around the Peak in a great semicircle, are the seven huge, wooded cones that rise out of the plain to a height varying from 300 to 500 feet: Green Hill, beyond Linville; Round Hill, near Singer's Glen; Mole Hill, at Dale Enterprise; Round Hill, at
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A HISTORY OF
Bridgewater; Wise's Hill, above Mt. Crawford; Shaver's Hill, near Friedens; and Long's Hill, toward Port Republic.
Beyond Green Hill, the North Fork of the Shenandoah River comes out of the Alleghanies, through Brock's Gap; is joined by Linville Creek at Broadway; flows on past Tim- berville; and, after receiving the waters of Long Glade Run, Smith's Creek, and other Rockingham streams, continues its meandering course down the Valley, west of the Massanutten range.
Beyond Round Hill at Bridgewater, North River comes out of the Alleghanies, through Briery Branch Gap and other gaps; is joined on its way by Dry River, Cook's Creek, Naked Creek, and many other streams; combines with Middle River near Mt. Meridian, on the line between Rockingham and Augusta; then receives the waters of South River at Port Re- public. Here it surrenders its name, the big stream from Port Republic on being called the South Fork of the Shenan- doah River. This, having swept down between the Blue Ridge and the Massanutten Peak, and having been aug- mented by Cub Run, Madison Run, Elk Run, and other Rock- ingham streams, continues down the Valley, east of the Mas- sanutten Mountain, uniting with the North Fork of the Shen- andoah River fifty miles below, at the northeast end of the Massanutten range.
Rockingham County is divided into five magisterial dis- tricts, namely, Ashby, Central, Linville, Plains, and Stone- wall. The first is named for the great cavalry leader who fell, in 1862, just outside of Harrisonburg; the second is named from its position; the third bears the name of the creek that drains its fertile vales; the fourth has adopted the distinguishing term that has long been applied to the broad, level bottoms that skirt the North Fork of the Shenandoah between Timberville and New Market; and the fifth, with much appropriateness, is named for the hero of First Man- assas, of Second Manassas, and of Port Republic. It was in Stonewall District, of Rockingham County, that Stonewall Jackson began and ended his brilliant Valley Campaign.
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ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
Of these five districts, Plains is the largest. Its western half is the famous Brock's Gap country. In 1858, Jed Hotch- kiss, a few years later renowned as Stonewall Jackson's chief topographical engineer, wrote of this country as follows:
"The region of Brock's Gap, inside, is large enough for a county by itself. I was not prepared to find as large a stream of water there as we did find, nor so much romantic scenery. All 'Germany' is inside, and it is some ways from the Gap."
The sturdy German race prevails all over Rockingham, particularly so, it seems, in the Brock's Gap country; hence the expression just quoted. In years past the region was frequently styled "Little Germany"; and one of the streams that drain it is called German River.
There has been a good deal of interesting speculation as to how Brock's Gap got its name. One tradition is to the effect that "General Brock," while on his way to relieve Fort Seybert, camped in the Gap, and thus gave it his name. If there was a General Brock in the Gap at the time referred to, it evidently was not the "Hero of Upper Canada." Fort Seybert was destroyed in 1758, and the general just desig- nated was not born till 1769. It is most likely that the name was received from some resident of the Gap. In 1748, as the Augusta County records show, Daniel Holman and Peter Gartner became guardians for Julia, George, and Elsie Brock, orphans of Rudolph Brock, deceased. This shows that there were Brocks in this part of the Valley at a very early date. In 1752, as shown by the same records, Christian Funkhousa and Henry Brock sold to Jacob Bare 400 acres of land "on ye south fork of the North River of Shanando above the gap in ye mountain." The property was warranted specially against John P. Brock and his heirs. The witnesses were Peter Scholl, Samuel Newman, and John Bare. This seems to show conclusively that the Brock name was familiar in the Gap as early as 1752, or earlier.
With this brief outline of the geography of Rockingham County, let us proceed to the following chapters, in which, under the various heads, will be found many other facts that might properly be included here.
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CHAPTER II. GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF ROCKINGHAM COUNTY. BY JUSTUS H. CLINE, M. A., Assistant Geologist, Virginia State Geological Survey.
On the basis of both geological and physiographic features the state of Virginia is divided into three great provinces: the Coastal Plain on the east, the Piedmont Plateau in the central part, and the Appalachian Mountain province on the west. Rockingham County lies entirely within the latter province.
The Appalachian Mountain province is further divided into three sub-provinces, each of which shows more or less marked differences in the topographic types represented, the Old Appalachians, or Blue Ridge, on the east; the Great Val- ley, in the centre; and the New Appalachians, or Alleghany Ridges, on the west. Each of the three subdivisions is well represented within the borders of the county.
The topography of the county, in keeping with that of the Appalachian Mountain province in general, is varied and picturesque; and with the exception of the main part of the Blue Ridge may be defined as the parallel ridge and valley type; the ridges being generally parallel with each other and extending in a northeast and southwest direction, in keeping with the strike of the underlying rock-structure.
The Blue Ridge, which forms the eastern boundary of the county, is distinct topographically from the rest of the area in that it presents an uneven and knobby crest, and shows an absence of the parallel ridge type in its main part, which is so well developed both in the valley and the ridges to the west. The foothills, or lower ridges, which flank the Blue Ridge on its western slope, being made up of rocks sim- ilar both in origin and structure to those of the west, partake
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
more nearly of their topographic characters and really belong to the New Appalachian type. The highest point in the Blue Ridge in Rockingham County is High Knob, which attains an elevation of over 3600 feet above sea level.
The Shenandoah Valley province, which makes up the greater part of Rockingham County, when viewed from an elevation appears as a broad, undulating plain, traversed by a series of low ridges which barely appear above it. In these ridges the cherty beds of limestone, which are more resistant than the surrounding rocks, have given rise to a series of round, conical hills which dot the landscape at intervals of a few miles, and have an elevation of from two hundred to three hundred feet above the plain. Good examples of these are Round Hill near Bridgewater and Mole Hill near Dayton. The Shenandoah plain slopes gently toward the southwest as a rule and attains an elevation of about 1500 feet at Har- risonburg. The most conspicuous feature of the Valley province within the county is the Massanutten Mountain, which divides the northern part into two unequal divisions. This peculiar mountain, while only within a few miles of the Blue Ridge and parallel with it, shows no geological kinship with it, for it is in reality an outlier of the New Appalachian ridges about eighteen miles to the west. The mountain ends abruptly in a fine peak which is locally known as Peaked Mountain, 2900 feet above the sea. Laird's Knob, a few miles northward, attains an elevation of more than 3400 feet. The topography of the Massanutten Mountain is identical with that of the Alleghany ridges.
The Alleghany ridges and valleys embrace the western third of the county. These ridges show a more or less even crestline, and are arranged with a decided parallelism. The most elevated part of the county is within this province. High Knob in the Shenandoah Mountain has an elevation slightly more than 4200 feet. Practically all types of ridges found in an eroded region of folded sedimentary rocks occur here: the monoclinal, anticlinal, and synclinal. These ridges are frequently cut by gaps through which streams are now
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A HISTORY OF
flowing or have flowed in a former period. The valleys be- tween the ridges are narrow.
The drainage of Rockingham county belongs entirely to the Shenandoah system. The two master streams are the North Fork, which flows west of the Massanutten Mountain, and the main part of the Shenandoah, which flows through the Page valley east of the same mountain. These streams and their tributaries have cut the Shenandoah plain into a deep intaglio, and they now flow in channels from 100 to 300 feet below it. The streams of the county have for the most part adjusted themselves to the underlying structural conditions, and consequently they tend to flow in a northeasterly direction. The chief exception to this is the North River, which flows eastward near the southern border of the county. This stream, instead of flowing parallel with the strike of the rock formations, takes a course at right angles to the strike and maintains it till its influx with the main Shenandoah near the foot of the Blue Ridge. This is explained by the fact that its course antedates the folding of the rock strata which has oc- curred in the Appalachian province. The county is exceed- ingly well watered, and springs of large size are frequent.
The rocks of the county fall under the two great lithologic types, igneous and sedimentary. Both types occur in all three of the sub-provinces. It is understood that igneous rocks are those which have solidified from a molten condition, while the sedimentaries are those which are composed of material derived from the waste of land and redeposited in the form of mud, sand, gravel, chemical precipitants, etc., chiefly in lakes and seas.
The only dominantly igneous area in the county is the main part of the Blue Ridge. The formations of the rest of the county are sedimentary, with very minor exceptions. Cer- tainly less than one per cent. of the rocks of the county which outcrop at the surface are of igneous origin, and all these with the few noted exceptions are entirely in the Blue Ridge.
The igneous rocks of the Blue Ridge in Rockingham County are of the basaltic type, which represent material
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LEGEND
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Geological Map of Rockingham County
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. ROCKINGHAM COUNTY
thrown out on the surface by the extrusive action of ancient volcanoes. The material in its original form was dark or al- most black in color, but subsequent alterations and metamor- phic changes have usually converted it into rock varying in color from a dark bluish-green to a light green, dependent on the secondary mineralogical constituents. Where these min- erals are secondary amphibole and chlorite the rock is bluish green in color; and where epidote is the dominant altera- tion product the color is light green. There are all grada- tions between these different colors depending on the propor- tions of these minerals. Originally the essential minerals which made up the basalt was plagioclase feldspar, magne- tite, and pyroxene, but subsequent alterations have almost en- tirely broken down the original mineral components giving rise chiefly to the three above mentioned, so that at present the rock may properly be termed an epidosite where the dominant mineral is epidote, an amphibolite where the dominant mineral is amphibole, and a chlorite-schist where the dominant mineral is chlorite. For all practical purposes the two latter types may rightly be thrown together and termed amphibolite-chlorite schists. The general name for this ba- saltic formation wherever it occurs in the Blue Ridge and the Piedmont plateau is Catoctin Schist, so called because it usually presents a slaty or schistose structure, induced by the folding of the earth's crust and the development of the sec- ondary minerals contingent upon such conditions. The rock frequently shows material picked up by the liquid lava streams as they flowed over the ancient land surface covered with the material of older flows; and gas bubbles, or amugdules, are common in the upper surfaces. These cavities have since been filled by percolating waters carrying mineral matter in solution, the resulting minerals being usually epidote, calcite, and quartz. It is within the Catoctin Schist that the copper deposits of the Blue Ridge occur. The rock has been as- signed to the Algonkian Period and is therefore one of the oldest formations occurring in the state, and certainly the oldest in the county.
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Late investigations have revealed that igneous rocks also occur in the county within the Valley province, in limited quantity, in the form of dikes. These rocks outcrop in the vicinity of Cross Keys and at intervals entirely across the county; the most westerly outcrop reported being in the vicinity of Brock's Gap. A character- istic exposure of these rocks is found near Harrisonburg, where the road leading from Harrisonburg to Keezle- town crosses the Chesapeake - Wes- tern Railway tracks. The rock is of dark color and medium to fine grained. It weathers to rounded boul- ders, which are broken only with great difficulty. It is a typical diabase and is composed of the minerals magnetite, augite, olivine, and plagioclase feld- spar as essential ingredients. The rock is comparatively fresh, and is prob- ably the youngest of the rock forma- tions in the county, having been forced while in a molten condition into the fissures of the limestone and shale formations of the mountains. While the exact age of the rock cannot be de- termined, on lithological grounds it may be assigned to the Triassic.1 The rock, owing to its high lime and iron content, makes road material of the first quality, since it has the necessary ingredients to bind and is far superior to limestone in lasting qualities.
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