USA > Virginia > Historical collections of Virginia : containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities ; together with geographical and statistical descriptions ; to which is appended, an historical and descriptive sketch of the District of Columbia. > Part 66
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In looking around us towards the lights which were dispersed in different parts of the hall, the various small spars or pillars that were pointing up-others that had been detached from the ceiling and lay scattered about the floor -- and numerous large blocks of crystallized limestone, produce novel and almost indescribable forbres. R did not require an imagination unusualy fervid, to hkea this dum picture of the floor to the miniature ruins of some great city, with a few of its spires and steeples pointing up from the ruins ; or to some mighty terople, with its shattered and broken columns und fallen walls, with just sufficient of its materials to show the style of its former magni- licence.
Masone Hall .-- In this room, about three and a half feet above the level of the floor, is a complete wainscot or chairboard, with apparent mouldings and carved work in complete relief, and extending in one entire and unbroken circle around the room. In the centre of the floor stand three large spare, resembling candlesticks of a mamroth size "These candlesticks arise from the floor of the room, with various enlargements and di- minutions resembling carved work, until they reach the exact level of the chairward,
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426
PATRICK COUNTY.
when the sper which resetaldes the cradle, and seems to be set into a socket, Mund of about two feet. As if to hand the rapt mote exact, and the resemblance mont pelpalis string, the mall ticks son to beaf g ducky or bronze color, and the candle of what arising from it of a char white. 'The crystallization on the walls of this room is in resembling a bed-post, stood in beautiful relief from the wall, and large folds and waves syracu to hide the rest of the bel.
tion and a serisiagent were at their height. Our Podnes had bech wrought :ir siniest painful intebody. Here we stood, hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the earth, and a full half-mile from the first entrance, tread- ine need a spot and breathing an atmosphere which had not been disturbed since the creation of the world. A place in which the human voice had never before benland, and on whose le autice the human aye had never rested. There was, in truth on an- fad sublimity it. the state of our todager, superinduced not only by what we sw, But in part, perhaps, by a contingent danger to which we were exposed. The falling of the arch, or the rolling of a single rock into some of the narrow passages which we had to retrace, would have shut us up in eternal darkness in the mysterious region of wonders.
Powell's Fort Valley, on the line of this and Shenandoah county, derives its name, says tradition, from an Englishman named Powell, who in early times discovered a silver mino in the West Fort mountain, and commenced coining money, and when at- tempts were made to arrest him, sonoht shatter in the fastnessee of the mountain. Kercheval says :
The grandon- and sublimity of this extraordinary work of nature, consist in its tre- mendous height and singular formation. On entering the mouth of the fort, we are struck with the wwod height of the mountains on each side, probably not less than a thousand feet. Through a very narrow passage, a bold and beautiful stream of water rushes, called Passage creck, which a short distance below works several fine merchan! mills. Atter ting-ting bro or tira milles, the valley gradaet's widens, and for upwards of twenty miles furnishes arable gend, and affords settlement for righty or ninety tami- les, several of whom own very valable tarna. The twvr mountains stai parallel about :24 or 25 miles, and are called the Best and West Fort mountains, and then are merged into one, anciently called Mesinetto, now Masinutton mountain. The Masinutton mountain continues its course about 35 or 36 miles southerly, and abruptly terminates nearly opposite Reisetown, in the county of Rockingham. This range of mountains divides the two great branches of the Shenandoah Hiver, called the South and North forks. This mountain, upon the whole, presents to the eye something of the shape of the letter Y, or perhaps more the shape of the houns and longne of a wagon.
A few miles above Luray, [says Kercheval,] on the west side of the river, there are three large Indian graves, ranged nearly side by side. thirty or forty feet in earth. twelve or fourteen feet wide, and five of six feet high : around them, in a circular form, are a number of single graves. The whole covers an area of little less than a quarter of an acre. They present to the eye a very ancient appearance, and are covered over with pine and other forest growth. The excavation of the ground around them is plainly to be seen. The three first-mentioned graves are in oblong form, probably con- tain many hundreds of human bodies, and were doubtless the work of ages.
PATRICK.
PATRICK was taken from Henry in 1791. It is 25 miles long. with @ mean width of 20; it is watered by the Dan and its branches. The face of the country is broken, and it has the Alle. ghany on its western boundary, and the Bull and other mountains
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PATRICK COUNTY.
running across it from E. to w. There is a great diversity of aod : the bottom land on the water-courses is generally of a good goul. ity, and a large portion of the upland, though rocky, is strong. On the south side of Bull mountain the staple is tohavea, but the land there is cultivated by slaves. Some portions of the county are very thinly settled ; but latterly there has been some emaila- tion imo it, the land being very cheap. Jeg ore aboutda. top. in 1840, whites 6,087, slaves 1,842, free colored 103; total, 8,0: . :
Taylorsville, or Patrick C. IL., on Mayo Rives, 220 iniles saati- casterly from Richmond, contains 40 or 50 dwellings.
The natural scenery in the mountainous section of this county is wild and romantic. A late publication thus describes the sage of the Dan down the Alleghany, and " the Bursted Book :
The secrety prevented by the passage of Dan River down the mountain, and nate the flat country, is awful and sublime in the highest degree. The river rises in a plain. traverses it for & or 10 miles, till it reaches the declivity of the mountain, debes down it by a rapid succession of perpendicular falls, and winds its solitary way, unapproached by any footstop save that of the mountain hunter, and hemmed in on every side by im- mense mountains, descending almost perpendicularly to the water's edge for the dis- tance of several miles, before its banks afford room for settlements. The Pinnacles of Dan are found in this interval. To approach them you must ascend the mountain at some convenient gap-upon reaching the top of the mountain, the country becomes comparatively level. The visitor goes alsing the top under the guidance of sie monn- tainver, who shows the localty of the pinnacks; he meets with no comment except fallen logs, and a most luxuriant growth of weeds, till suddenly to reached de declarity of the mountain. An immense basin presents itself to his view, surrounded by lofty mountains, almost perpendicular, of which the ridge on which ke stands forms a boundary. The depth of the basin is beyond his view, and appears to him to be incal- caloble. From the midst of the basin two pirmadas, in the shape of a sugar loaf, tive to a level with the surrounding mountains, and of course with the beholder. They ap - pear to be masses of rock rudely piled on each other. with hardly sud enough in the crevices to nourish a few bushes. There is no visible outlet to the basin. the narrow chasm through which the river makes its escape being out of view. If the visitor wishes to ascend the main pinnacle, (one being much larger than the other,) he de- scends from his station the face of the mountain, which is very steep, to a distance which he imagines sufficient to carry him down the highest mountain, --- when he reaches a narrow ridge or pass-way not more than thirty feet wide, connecting, at the distance of thirty or forty yards, the pinnacle to the main mountain,-and to his aston- ishment the river appears at an incalculable distance below him. The ascent of the pinnacle then commences, and an arduous and somewhat perilous one it is. A narrow pathway winds up among the rocks, and in many places the adventurous climber has to pull himself up a perpendicular ascent of five or six feet by the bushes. When he reaches the top, however, he is aimply repaid for his labor in ascending. The prospect, though necessarily a limited one is picturesque and sublime in a high degree. The view of the basin is then complete. The mountains surrounding it nearly of a unions. height ; no outlet visible, and the beholder perched upon the summit of an immense natural pyramid in the centre. The river is seen occasionally as it winds around the base of the pinnacle. It attempts to pass on the west side, where the narrow ridge by which the visitor approaches arrests its course ; it then winds entirely round the pinnacle close to its base, until it comes to the opposite or southern side of the narrow ridge. passing between the two pinnacles : it then passes round the western and southern side of the smaller pinnacle, and makes its escape as it best can from its apparently hopeless imprisonment. The summit of the pinnacle is about twenty or thirty feet square,-and strange to relate, small bushes of the aspen grow upon it --- which is found nowhere else growing wild in this section of country. The echo produced is somewhat remark. able. If a gun be fired off on the top of the pinnacle, you bear nothing for several seconds, when suddenly, in the direction of the narrow pass through which the river flows, a rushing sound is board, which, although not a correct echo, seems to be the sound of the report escaping through the pass.
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PENDLETON COUNTY.
The other natural curiosity to which reference has been made, is " the Bursted Rock," which is not very far from the pinnacles, and forms a part of the frowning and sublime scenery which overhangs the Dan, in its passage through the mountain. You approach it as you do the pinnacle along the level top of the mountain, till suddenly your course is arrested by a perpendicular descent of many hundred feet. 'The face of the precipice is a smooth rock. Far below every thing appears in ruins-rocks piled on rocks, the timber swept from the earth ; and every appearance indicates that a considerable portion of the mountain has been, by some great convulsion of nature, riven and torn from the rest, and precipitated into the valley, or rather chasm below.
PENDLETON.
PENDLETON Was formed in 1788, from Augusta, Hardy, and Rock. ingham, and named from Edmund Pendleton, president of the Vir- ginia convention of 1775. It is 45 miles long. with a mean width of 22 miles. The country is extremely mountainous, and is watered by some of the head branches of the Potomac and the James : the level of arable land from whence flow these streams, it is estimated must exceed 2,vvy feet above the ocean. Over one hundred thou- . sand pounds of maple sugar are annually produced. Pop. in 1840, whites 6.445, slaves 462, free colored 33; total, 6,940.
Franklin, the county-seat, is 171 miles Nw. of Richmond, near the centre of the county, on the south branch of the Potomac ; and contains about 40 dwellings.
Twelve miles northeast of Franklin, on the south fork of the south branch of the Potomac, stood Seybert's fort, in the early set- tlement of the country.
In this fort, in the year 1758, (says Withers,) the inhabitants of what was then called the " Upper Tract," all sought shelter from the tempest of savage ferocity ; and at the time the Indians appeared before it, there were contained within its walls between thirty and forty persons of both sexes and of different ages. Among them was Mr. Dyer (the father of Col. Dyer, now of Pendleton) and his family. On the morning of the fatal day, Col. Dyer and his sister left the fort for the accomplishment of some object, and although no Indians had been seen there for some time, yet did they not proceod far, before they came in view of a party of forty or fifty Shawnees, going directly towards the fort. Alarmed for their own safety, as well as for the safety of their friends, the brother and sister endeavored by a hasty flight to reach the gate and gain admittance into the gar- rison ; but before they could effect this, they were overtaken and made captives.
The Indians rushed immediately to the fort and commenced a furious assault on it. Capt. Soybert prevailed (not without much opposition) on the besieged to forbear firing antil he should endeavor to negotiate with, and buy off the enemy. With this view, and under the protection of a flag, he went out, and soon succeeded in making the wished.for arrangement. When he returned, the gates were thrown open, and the ene. my admitted.
No sooner had the money and other articles stipulated to be given, been handed over to the Indians, than a most bloody tragedy was begun to be acted. Arranging the in- mates of the fort in two rows, with a space of about ten feet between them. two Indians were selected, who, taking each his stanon at the head of a row, with their tomahawks most cruelly murdered almost every white person in the fort ; some few, whom caprice or some other cause induced them to spare, were carried into captivity. Such articles as could be well carried away were taken off by the Indians ; the remainder was con- Bumed, with the fort, by are.
From Mr. Samuei Kercheval, the author of the " History of the
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PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY.
Valley." we have obtained the following additional facts relating to the attack on this fort :
The Indians were commanded by the blood-thirsty chief Killbuck. Seybert's son, u. lad of about fifteen, exhibited great firmness and bravery. He had shot two of the as- guilants, when their chief called out in English, that if they surrendered, their lives should be spared. At that instant young Seybert was in the act of aiming his rifle at Kilibuck, when his father seized it from him, observing, " We cannot defead the fort ; we must surrender to save our lives !" confiding in the faithless promises of Kilbuck. The first salutation he received after surrendering, was a stroke in the mouth from the monster Killbuck with the pipe end of his tomahawk, dislocating the old man's teeth ; immediately after which he was massacred with the other victims. Young Seybert was taken off with the other prisoners. He told Killbuck that he had raised his gun to kill bom, But his father had wrested it from him. The savage laughed and replied, " You littl- rascal, if you had killed me you would have saved the fort ; for had I fallen, my warriors would have immediately fled, and given up the siege in despair."
ยท PITTSYLVANIA.
PIETSYLVANIA was formed in 1767, from Halifax. It is 35 miles long and 26 broad. It is watered by the Staunton on the N., the Dan on its s., and Banister River in the centre. Much of the soil is excellent, and produces annually over six millions of pounds of tobacco, besides heavy crops of grain. Pop. in 1940, whites 14,283, slaves 11.558, free colored 557; total, 26,398.
Competition. the seat of justice for the county, is situated on a branch of Banister River, 162 miles southwesterly from Rich- mond. The surrounding country is healthy and fertile, and the town itself contains a population of about 300. Danville is a large village on the Dan River, 5 miles from the North Carolina line, and 15 south of Competition. It was established by law in 1793, on the land of "John Barnett, adjoining Winn's Falls." By the provisions of the act, Thomas Tunstale, Matthew Clay, William Harrison, John Wilson, Thomas Fearne, George Adams. Thomas Worsham, Robert Payne, James Dix, John Southerland, John Call, and Thomas Smith, were appointed trustees to lay off the town into lots of half an acre each, with convenient streets. Danville contains 7 mercantile stores, 2 tobacco inspections and warehouses, 4 tobacco factories, 2 banks, I male, 1 public, and 1 private female academy, 1 oil, 2 flour, and 2 saw-mills, 2 iron foundries. I newspaper printing-office, 18 mechanic shops, 1 Pres- byterian, 1 Baptist, I Episcopal, and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 1500. The canal of the Roanoke Company, around the falls of the Dan River, is about one mile long, which affords eligible sites for manufactories to almost any extent, with abundance of water-power at all seasons. The river is navigable for batteaux carrying from 7,000 to 10,000 pounds, as far up as Madison, in North Carolina, 40 iniles distant. With some slight improvements, the river is supposed to be susceptible of steamboat navigation to the town.
430
POWHATAN COUNTY.
POCAHONTAS.
POCAHONTAS was formed in 1821, from Bath, Pendleton, and Ran. dolph, and named from the indian princess : its mean length is 40 and mean width 18 miles. Cheat, Gauley, and Greenbrier Rivers rise in the county, which is one of the most elevated in Virginia. The surface is very broken and mountainous ; the southern part is tolerably productive, but towards the northeast the land is more barren. Pop. in 1840, whites 2,684, slaves 219, free colored 19; total, 2,922.
Huntersville, the county-seat, is 190 miles Nw. of Richmond, be- tween Greenbrier and Alleghany mountains, on Knapp's creek. 6 miles from its junction with Greenbrier River, and at an elevation of over 1800 feet above the Atlantic. It contains an incorporated academy, 2 or 3 religious societies, and about 30 dwellings. " Eighteen miles from Huntersville, on Elk Ridge, a very high mountain, is a circular hole of about 70 feet diameter, which is considered a curiosity, its waters being perfectly biack and of a bituminous taste : it is called ' the black hole.' It is said if wooden poles are thrust in, they will sink to rise no more."
POWHATAN.'
POWHATAN was formed in 1777, from Cumberland. Its greatest length is 25, and its greatest width 15 miles. The soil is various ; much, however, is fertile. The James and Appomattox-bounding two sides of the county at full length-with their numerous branches afford much fertile low ground. Clover and plaster have been much used in agriculture within a few years. There are some coal-mines in the county, but the distance to market has pre- vented their being worked advantageously. Pop. in 1840, whites 2.432, slaves 5,129, free colored 363; total, 7,924. Scottville, or Powhatan C. H., lies in the central part of the county, 32 miles w. of Richmond, and contains about 20 dwellings. It was named from Gen. Chas. Scott, a distinguished officer of the revolution, and afterwards governor of Kentucky. A traveller who was here in 1781, says that it then consisted of "only two mean huts, one for the purpose of holding the sessions. the other by way of public house." Smithsville and Jefferson contain each a few dwellings.
In the lower end of this county, about 2 miles from Manakia Town Ferry, on James River, and 17 miles above Richmond, in a healthy and pleasant locality, is Heward's Spring. The waters are something of the character of those of the White Sulphur of Greenbrier, although not so thoroughly impregnated. From its favorable location, it is hoped that this spring will erc long be opened as a watering-place ; in which case, it will doubtless secure public favor. It has long been favorably known, and visited with great benefit by invalids of the surrounding country.
This county, near Manakin Town Ferry, was settled by Hugue,
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PRESTON COUNTY.
hots, (after the revocation of the edict of Nantz in 1685.). many of' whose descendants still remain in that section of Powhatan, and the adjacent parts of Chesterfield ; as the Subletis, the Mi- chauxs, the Bernards, the Martins, the Flourneys, &c. Near Kes- wick, the seat of Major John Clarke, runs Bernard's creek, which takes its name from the Huguenot family of Bernard, who settled near its banks. The Manakin tribe of Indians inhabited this county, and near, or on the land given to the Huguenots, they had a town. Mr. Edward Scott's residence is said to be near the site of' that town, and it is his ferry across the James River that goes by the name of the Manakin Town Ferry. Beverly, in his History of' Va., published in 1722, thus speaks of these early settlers :
The French refugees, sent in thither by the charitable exhibition of his late majesty King William, are naturalized by a particular law for that purpose. In the year 1699, there went over about 300 of these, and the year following about 200 more, and so on, until there arrived in all between 700 and 800 men, women, and children, who had fied from France on account of their religion. Those who went over the first year were advised to seat on a very rich piece of land about 20 miles above the falls of James River, on the south side of the river ; which land was formerly the seat of a great and waruke nation of indians called Monacans, none of which are now left in those parts ; but the land still retains their name, and is still called the Monacan Town. The refu- gees that arrived the second year went also to the Monacan Town, but afterwards, upon some disagreement, several dispersed themselves up and down the country ; and those that have arrived since have followed their example, except some few that likewisc set- tled at Monacan Town.
The Assembly was very bountiful to those that remained at this town, bestowing on them, large donations, money, and provisions for their support. They likewise freed them from every public tax for several years to come, and addressed the governor to grant thein a brief, to entitle them to the charity of all well-disposed persons throughout the country ; which, together with the king's benevolence, supported them very comfortably till they could sufficiently supply themselves with necessaries, which they now do indit- ferently well, and have stocks of cattle and hogs.
In the year 1702, they began an essay of wine, which they made of the wild grapes gathered in the woods ; the effect of which was strong-bodied claret, of good flavor. I heard a gentleman who tasted it give it great commendation. Now if such may be made of the wild vine in the woods, without pruning, weeding, or removing it out of the shade, what may be produced from a vineyard skilfully cultivated ? But I don't hear that they have done any thing since, being still very poor, needy, and negligent.
Gen. Wy. H. AstLEY, of St. Louis, was born in Powhatan county. About the year 1810, being then a poor boy, he emigrated to Missouri, (then Upper Louisiana,) and settled near the lead mines. In 1822, he projected the scheme of the " mountain expedition," by uniting the Indian trade in the Rocky Mountains with the hunting and the trapping business. He enlisted about 300 hardy men in the business, and after various successes and reverses, he and his associates realized handsome fortunes, lie also rose to considerable political distinction, and was the first lientenant.governor of Missouri after its admission into the Union, and a M. C. in 1831-3. He died in 1838, greatly respected for his great enterprise, talents, and worth of character
Dr. BRANCH T. ARCHER, president of the convention which formed the constitution of Texas, and late secretary of war in that republic, was born in Powhatan.
PRESTON,
PRESTON was formed in 1818. from Monongalia. and named from James P. Preston, a meritorious officer in the late war with Great Britain, and governor of Virginia from 1816 to 1819. lis mean
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PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY.
length is 30 miles, and mean breadth 17 miles. Cheat River passes through the county. The general face of the country is mountain-' ous. interspersed, on the eastern and western sides, with large natural meadows called " glades," which afford support for large herds of cattle in summer, and in winter also, when it is mown and cured for food. The glades are destitute of timber, but are covered in summer with grass and weeds, with frequent projecting points of timber, low bushes, &c. The bottom grounds are small but productive, and many of the hill-sides are favorable to grain. Slate and limestone are common ; the county is abundantly sup- plied with bituminous coal, and iron ore is often found. Popula- tion in 1840, whites 6,743, slaves 91, free colored 30; total, 6,866.
Kingwood, the county-seat, is 284 miles Nw. of' Richmond, on a beautiful and healthy eminence, 2 miles west of Cheat River, 20 from Morgantown, 43 from Clarksburg, and 60 from Beverly. It contains several stores, and about 30 dwellings. The German settlement is 18 miles southeasterly from Kingwood.
PRINCE EDWARD.
PRINCE EDWARD was formed in 1:53, from Amelia. It is 35 miles long, mean breadth 12 miles. The Appomattox runs on its northern boundary, and with its branches, waters the county. The soil is much like that in this section of the state, naturally good ; but injured by continual culture, without any regard to sys- tem. Marl, coal, and copper ore, are found in the county. Pop. in 1840, whites 4,923, slaves 8,576, free colored 570; total, 14,069.
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