USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > History of Augusta County, Virginia > Part 34
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BUFFALO BRANCH, heading at the North Mountain Summit, 2,109 feet, and the highest point of the railroad between the James and Ohio rivers. Buffalo Branch receives Dry Run from the northwest.
GROG SPRING .- About two miles west of Buffalo Gap, in the heart of the mountains, on the south side of the Parkersburg road, a bright little stream issues from the hillside. This is called "Grog Spring," and has been walled up and improved by the Sporting Club of Staunton. The water falls into a handsome marble vase or basin. On a slab let into the wall, supporting the vase, are inscribed some words inviting travellers to quench their thirst.
JENNING'S BRANCH, from the northwest, after receiving Whiskey creek and running a ten-mile course, enters Middle river.
BELL'S CREEK also enters Middle river, coming up from the south.
MOFFETT'S BRANCH is another tributary, also Elk run ; also Falling Spring run, near Spring Hill. About 9 miles northeast from the mouth of Lewis creek, Middle river is joined by North river, and then joins the South river at Port Republic.
NORTH RIVER .- In the northwest corner of the county, on the Shenan- doah Mountains, are the sources of North river ; the two principal streams join, and then receive Freemason's run, and pursuing its course, receives Briery branch from Rockingham county ; then it receives Mossy creek, and thence lower it receives Dry river, then Long Glade, and thence south- east till it joins Middle river, having four miles before its junction received Naked creek.
Besides these waters, there are in the county the Little Calfpasture and Big Calfpasture rivers, Walker's creek, Moffett's creek, and South river of the James. All these head or have their sources opposite the sources of the North river in the Shenandoah mountains, and they flow southwest into Rockbridge.
MINERALOGY.
The mineral resources of the county have, as yet, been very imperfectly investigated, but such explorations as have been made show the earth to be pregnant with ores. In many places iron has been found in inexhausti- ble quantities, and has been mined and smelted at numerous places in the county :-
276
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
I. Notably at Elizabeth, now known as Ferrol or Grace furnace, about 16 miles west of Staunton ; built about 1863.
2. At Mossy creek charcoal cold-blast furnace, 14 miles northwest of Staunton; built in 1760, burnt in 1841.
3. Mount Torry hot-blast charcoal furnace, 15 miles east of Greenville ; built in 1800, rebuilt in 1853.
4. Kennedy charcoal furnace ; built 1842.
5. Estaline cold-blast charcoal furnace, 21 miles west of Staunton, on the head waters of the Little Calfpasture river, built 1838-brown hema- tite ore.
6. Cotopaxi hot-blast charcoal furnace, 16 miles southwest of Staunton on South river, built 1836.
7. Vesuvius cold-blast charcoal furnace, 20 miles southwest of Staun- ton, on South river, built 1828-" black rock " hematite ore.
8. McDowell furnace, on South river, 12 miles above Waynesborough. This furnace is supposed to have been erected between 1755 and 1780, by Samuel Moore, from whom McDowell, of Nelson, is thought to have ac- quired it. At the same place there was a forge, a saw and grist mill and carding machine, " making it," says Major McCue, " a place of consider- able importance."
MARBLE of great beauty and value has been discovered, and the quar- ries are worked to profit at Craigsville-a demand existing for it at Cin- cinnati and Cleveland. In various other portions of the county it has been discovered-notably at Steephill, near Greenville, and on Betsy Bell. The specimens from the county are of a compact texture and beautiful ap- pearance, and susceptible of a good polish.
LIMESTONE abounds in almost every part of the county, and in differ- ent localities there are
SANDSTONE ridges. One of these commences on Montgomery Hall, extends through Steephill, Selma and on to the Middle river, a distance of six or eight miles. The sandstone in this tract is composed of particles of quartz, united by a cement not calcareous or marly, but argillaceous or argillo-ferruginous and silicious. The grains of quartz are sometimes scarcely distinguishable to the naked eye, and sometimes they are equal in size to an egg. The texture of this sandstone is for the most part loose and porous, but hardens on exposure to the air, and of it durable walls are constructed. The four walls, a hundred feet long and about twelve high, of the Montgomery Hall barn were built nearly fifty years ago of this sandstone, and they are now in as good condition as when erected.
SLATE has been discovered in several localities, and has been worked on the Red Bud estate of Capt. Opie, within two miles of Staunton. This slate is of a bluish color and silky lustre, and splits into plates, and must, at a future day, become of marketable value.
277
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
Traces of lead and copper are also found in some of the mountain ranges.
KAOLIN AND FIRE-CLAY-the former of pure white-have been found on the South river, at Porcelain, near Sherando Station, on the Shenan- doah railroad. Some years since extensive pottery works were erected, which were unfortunately destroyed by fire before insured. This catas- trophe, and the panic of 1873, put an end to operations.
GLASS-SAND of the finest description has also been found on the South river, in this neighborhood, and all the raw material exists of excellent quality and in vast quantities for the manufacture of porcelain, glass, fire- brick, terra-cotta, etc.
FLINT, imbedded in limestone, has been found in several localities.
COAL, anthracite, has been discovered in the North Mountain, at Dora. OCHRES, OR PIGMENTS, exist in different parts of the county, and
MANGANESE is exported in large quantities. The Crimora mines of Augusta have recently received from England orders for considerable quantities of manganese.
Traces of both zinc and lead have been discovered in the Blue Ridge.
MEDICINAL WATERS.
The Augusta or Stribling Springs are situated on the eastern slope of the North Mountain, about thirteen miles from Staunton. The medicinal effects of the waters are acknowledged, and there are several kinds of wa- ter here-alum and chalybeate being among them. The water from the principal spring is strongly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and is said to equal the celebrated springs of Harrowgate, England. This re- sort is well improved, picturesquely situated, and is a noted sanitarium or mountain watering-place. Near Deerfield, in the Valley of the Calfpasture, there are numerous sulphur springs,-one formerly called the Lebanon White Sulphur,-and in various other localities there are chalybeate springs and other mineral waters,-notably on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, about eighteen miles southeast of Staunton, is the Black Rock Spring, which is said to equal the waters of the Rawley Springs. The Black Rock Spring waters contain iron, soda, lime, magnesia, with carbonic acid gas, and has been found efficacious in dyspepsia, scrofula and other diseases.
THE SEAWRIGHT LITHIA SPRING, near the Augusta church, which much resembles the Buffalo Lithia, has been used by many afflicted per- sons with good effect.
THE VARIETY SPRINGS, sixteen miles west of Staunton, so called from the different medicinal springs on the tract, are well improved, and annu- ally attract many visitors in search of health and recreation.
CRAWFORD SPRINGS, twenty-three miles west of Staunton, are likewise improved, and are popular.
278
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
NATURAL CURIOSITIES.
Under this head we might class many of those uncommon views which abound in our county. Some of these prospects, such as that from Elliott's Knob, are sublime and awe-inspiring, and rivet the attention of every beholder. The scenery of the county, except in the plains, such as that about Verona, is grand, diversified and beautiful.
WEYER'S CAVE, in a hill a short distance west of the Blue Ridge, is about sixteen miles north of Staunton, and is so called from the hunter who discovered it in 1804, Bernard Weyer. It has been said that no lan- guage can describe the vastness and sublimity of some or the exquisite beauty and grandeur of other of its innumerable apartments, with their snowy white concretions of a thousand various forms. It is ranked among the great natural wonders of the world. The stalactites and stalagmites are large and of slow growth.
FOUNTAIN CAVE is near Weyer's, and possesses many attractions, abounding in stalactites of a conical form, and basins of water of unknown extent.
THE BLOWING CAVES, in Castle Hill, so named prior to 1746, near Mt. Solon. These subterranean caverns give a passage to the waters of Free- mason's Run and part of North river through the hill to the head of Mossy creek. There is a great quantity of spar scattered over the hill and en- crusted on its edges of limestone. Where the waters of North river and Freemason's Run unite, and undermine Castle Hill, is called the Funnel.
Under this head may be mentioned an immense spring at the head of Mossy creek and the Blue Hole, near Mt. Solon, which has been sounded one hundred and eighty feet without finding the bottom. There are many of the so-called sink holes north of the creek, and extending as far as North river.
CYCLOPEAN TOWERS, near the Augusta Springs, are from sixty to sev- enty feet high, composed of limestone in strata, and much resemble the palisades on the Hudson river.
NATIVE ANIMALS.
Augusta belongs to the Nearctic region of North America, in which there are 2,291 different species of vertebrata. We must confine ourselves to those of our county. The condition of Augusta and the Valley, and indeed of the whole country previous to its settlement by Europeans, was highly favorable to the increase of animals. The forests gave them shel- ter, and they fed upon the productions of a fertile soil, and unmolested but by a few unarmed, or badly armed barbarians, they increased and multiplied with astonishing rapidity. The principal quadrupeds were the buffalo, elk, deer, bear, panther, wild cat, wolf, fox, beaver, otter, raccoon, o'possum, martin, hare, red and grey squirrels, porcupine, skunk, weasel, and mouse. The amphibious animals were the beaver, otter, musk rat and
279
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
mink. We should like to describe some of the more interesting of these, but our limits do not admit of it. It may be remarked, however, that in disposition they are more mild and temperate, and in size, strength and vital energy superior to the same kinds of animals in Europe. This is illustrated by the following table, which gives the average weight of several kinds of animals in America and Europe :
IN EUROPE.
Bear .
153 pounds.
IN AMERICA. 456 pounds.
Wolf .
69
92
Deer
288
308
Red fox
13
20
Porcupine
2
I6
Beaver
18
63
Hare .
7
8
Rabbit .
3
7
Weasel .
2 to 3 Oz.
12 to 15 OZ.
Otter
8
29
FISH-The waters of Augusta present a numerous list of fish, but they are rapidly diminishing. The most common are bass, pike, or pickerel, catfish, mud-suckers, speckled trout, perch, roach, mullet and eels.
BIRDS-The number of birds in our groves and fields, or who visit the county, is surprisingly great-over a hundred kinds. Many of them are of bright plumage, and one of them, the nightingale, the sweetest songster of the American forest. The most common are eagles, hawks, and other birds of prey, pigeons, ducks, geese, snow-birds, blackbirds and crows, larks, pigeons, robins, woodpeckers, jays. The most diminutive is the humming-bird, whose swiftness, vivacity and plumage make it the admira- tion of all beholders.
INSECTS-The varieties of these is considerable, especially in warm weather, when the earth and atmosphere teem with these specimens of animated nature. They are, however, for the most part. neither venomous nor otherwise injurious.
SERPENTS AND REPTILES-The number of these is small. The most poisonous are the rattlesnake, copperhead, red belly and garter snakes. Their number is rapidly diminishing. The black snake, water-snake, striped snake, green snake, and several others, are inoffensive; lizards, tortoises, turtles.
It has long been the warm wish of many to establish in Staunton a tech- nical and paleontological museum and library. The matter was brought before the public in 1877 by the writer, as will be seen in the following correspondence, and was most favorably received. Maj. Jed. Hotchkiss, Mr. Wm. M. Bowron, F. C. S., and other literary and scientific persons
250
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
promised their hearty cooperation. So far, nothing has been accom- plished, owing to the depression following the financial panic of 1873-4, but it is believed that the suggestions made on the subject will ere many years be carried out :
CORRESPONDENCE.
STAUNTON, September 7, 1877.
CAPT. WM. L. BALTHIS, Mayor, &c., of Staunton :
SIR : I take the liberty, owing to your official position, to address you this letter, and to ask thus publicly the cooperation of the people of the town and county in securing the end in view.
You will doubtless agree with me that it is much to be regretted that we have not had, and have not now in our town, a repository, or museum, where things having a relation to literature, art, science, or natural history, may be preserved. Were a suitable building secured, the industry of the antiquarian, the arborist, the genealogist and mineralogist would soon fill the shelves from the vast storehouse of Augusta's wealth. Such a mu- seum, where one might not only gratify an antiquarian taste, but see dis- played the products of the soil, fruits, grain, timber, ores, &c., would be one of the most attractive resorts in our community. It would be of the highest practical importance, also, as such a collection of soils, minerals, timber, &c., would enable strangers seeking investments in our county to see in a few hours what it would otherwise require years to obtain a knowl- edge of. In such a museum, the student might examine specimens in every branch of science relating to organic and inorganic nature, and the value of such an institution, in connection with our schools, public and private, cannot be overestimated. The science of geology has within the memory of the present generation made immense progress. Aided not only by the higher branches of physics, but by recent discoveries in min- eralogy and chemistry, in botany, zoology and comparative anatomy, it has extracted from the bowels of the earth records of former conditions of our planet, and deciphered documents which were a sealed book to our ancestors. It has indeed extended its researches into regions more vast and remote than come within the scope of any physical science except astronomy ; yet in our county we have no collection of the evidences of the formation of the earth, of native or extraneous fossils, such as min- erals, earths, salts, combustibles, metals, or bodies of vegetable or animal origin, such as plants, shells, bones, &c., many of which are petrified and have been buried in the earth accidentally. Virginia, especially Au- gusta, abounds in these specimens. Our forests alone contain several hundred different kinds of wood, and generally they are valuable for the manufacture of furniture, for house, ship-building, etc. Who among us has seen them, or any considerable number of them brought together, or could name or classify them, if they were ? Our soil is rich in minerals, coals, iron, salt, gold, copper, gypsum, yet there is no collection of them to be seen or studied.
When a boy, I remember to have seen in the county many relics of the red men, such as stone arrow-heads, hatchets, and instruments in the shape of an adze, which the barbarians, no doubt, used to fell timber and scoop out their canoes. What an interest a cabinet of these curiosities would now possess! I trust it is not too late to secure many of these memorials, but, to be successful, no time should be lost. I see, with surprise, no me-
281
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
mentoes of the late civil war but a few rusty blades, and now and again a dilapidated scabbard or broken gun-barrel. Let us collect these memen- toes, also, of that period in our history :
" When civil discord first grew high, And men fell out, they knew not why."
My interest in the subject is doubtless the greater from the fact that I have visited many celebrated museums in Europe, particularly in Italy, which contain innumerable specimens of the three ages into which anti- quarians divide the primeval or pagan ages, namely : First, the stone ; secondly, the bronze; and thirdly, the iron; each betokening a different degree of advancement and civilization. And collections also of all suc- ceeding ages, with the natural productions, &c., of every country.
With the hope that such a want may be supplied in our prosperous and growing city, I address you this brief and hurried note, and ask your valuable cooperation. I am, Mr. Mayor,
Very truly yours,
J. L. PEYTON.
COL. JOHN LEWIS PEYTON :
DEAR SIR: I have just read with much interest your letter of the 7th inst., in regard to the importance of establishing in Staunton a suitable place for the reception and preservation of specimens secured by the anti- quarian, geologist, &c., &c. I think it a matter of peculiar interest to the citizens of this section of country, where the industrious geologist alone could soon supply a cabinet that would not only add to the knowledge, but to the wealth of our community.
I feel, sure, sir, that your experience will enable you to give proper di- rection to the project, and that you will find many lovers of science who will be glad of an opportunity to give material aid in furtherance of the proposed object.
With the assurances of a hearty cooperation on my part,
Staunton, Sept. 8, 1877.
I am yours, truly, WM. L. BALTHIS.
36 ±
APPENDICES.
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX A.
THE DESCENDANTS OF THE FOUNDER.
The following genealogy of the Lewis family, with the prefixed note of explanation, was prepared some years since, with much care, by Howe Peyton Cochran, Esq., of Charlottesville. It is one of the most complete enumerations of the descendants of an ancestor which we have in Virginia or the South.
EXPLANATION.
JOHN LEWIS, the first European settler of Augusta County, Va., is marked A. His children AB, AC, and his grandchildren ABA, ACA, &c., so that two letters show that the person before whose name they appear is a child of said Jolin Lewis, three letters a grandchild, four letters a great- grandchild. If the table were perfectly accurate, and Samuel Lewis had been marked AA instead of AB, as was done inadvertently, the letters would show a person's descent. For example AEBIA will be the first child of the ninth child of the second child of the fourth child of John Lewis propositus, e. g., A John Lewis, E William Lewis, B John Lewis, I Margaret Lynn Lewis, A John Lewis Cochran.
To find the relationship between two persons, for example AEBI and AEFC, the first two letters being the same, they had the same grandparents and are first cousins. Again : AEBI and ADDB will make them second cou- sins, &c. H. P. C.
The Lewis family were originally French Huguenots, and left France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685. Three brothers, namely William, Samuel and John, fled to England. [See Smiles' History of the Huguenots.] Shortly thereafter William removed to the north of Ireland, where he married a Miss McClelland. Samuel fixed his residence in Wales, while John continued in England. Descendants of each of these three brothers are supposed to have settled in Virginia by the late Mrs. Agatha Lewis Towles, who mentioned the fact that Samuel Lewis emi- grated from Wales to Portugal, and was never again heard of.
286
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
William Lewis, who settled in Ireland, at his death left issue one son- namely :
Andrew, who m Miss Calhoun and left issue-namely :
I. John, b 1678.
2. Samuel, b 1680.
A. JOHN LEWIS (propositus), m Margaret Lynn, d of the Laird of Loch Lynn, and left, at his death in Virginia, the following issue-namely :
AB. I. Samuel, b in Ireland 1716.
AC. 2. Thomas, b " 1718.
AD. 3. Andrew, b " 1720.
AE 4. William, b " 1724.
AF. 5. Margaret, b" 1726.
AG. 6. Anne, b
1728.
AH. 7. Charles, b in Virginia 1736.
AB. Samuel Lewis served with distinction as a captain in the war be- tween the English and French colonists. His brothers. Andrew, William and Charles, were members of his company, and all four were at Braddock's defeat, and three of them wounded. Samuel was afterwards conspicuous in the defence of Greenbrier county and the border settlements from the Indians. He died unm.
AC. Thomas Lewis was short-sighted, and therefore did not figure so conspicuously as his brothers as an Indian warrior. He was a man of much learning and ability, a member of the House of Burgesses, and a member of the Virginia Convention of 1776. His library was one of the most extensive and well selected in the colony. Thomas Lewis m Jane, d of William Strother, of Staf- ford county, Va., January 26, 1749, and left the following issue : Thomas, b 1749.
ACA.
ACB. Margaret Ann, b 1751.
ACC. Agatha, b 1753.
ACD. Jane, b 1755.
ACE. Andrew, b 1757.
ACF. Thomas, b 1760.
ACG. Mary, b 1762.
ACH. Elizabeth, b 1765.
ACI. Anne, b 1767.
ACJ. Frances, b 1769.
ACK. Charles, b 1772.
ACL. Sophia, b 1775.
ACM. William Benjamin, b 1778.
AD. General Andrew Lewis, "the Hero of the Point," m Elizabeth Givens, of Augusta County, in 1749, and left issue-viz .:
ADA. John.
ADB. Thomas.
ADC. Samuel.
ADD. Andrew.
ADE. Anne,
ADF. William.
287
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
AE. Col. William Lewis, of the Sweet Springs, called the "Civilizer of the Border," m Anne Montgomery April 8th, 1754. Her father, when a child, was sent to Scotland from Ireland, to avoid persecution. There he married Miss Thomson, a relative of the famous poet, James Thomson, of Roxburgshire, the author of " The Seasons." Col. Wm. Lewis died at the Brick House, near the Sweet Springs, 1811. His wife died at the same place 1808. They had the following issue :
AEA. Margaret, b 1756.
AEB. John, b 1758.
AEC.
Thomas, b 1761.
AED.
Alexander, b 1763.
AEE. William I., b 1766. M. C. for Campbell district.
AEF. Agatha, b 1774.
AEG. Elizabeth Montgomery, b 1777.
AEH. Charles W., 1780.
AF. Margaret Lewis, d unm.
AG. Anne, d unm.
AH. Col. Charles Lewis, who was killed October 10, 1774, at the bat- tle of Point Pleasant, m Sarah Murray, a half-sister of Col. Came- ron, of Bath county, Va., and left the following issue :
AHA. Elizabeth, b 1762, died unm.
AHB. Margaret, b 1765
AHC. John, b 1766.
AHD. Mary, b 1768.
AHE. Thomas, b 1771.
AHF. Andrew, b 1772.
AHG. Charles, 1774.
ACA. John Lewis was a captain in Gen. Andrew Lewis' command in 1774, and was at the battle of the Point, where he was danger- ously wounded. He was subsequently an officer in the war of the Revolution, and died 1788, leaving the following issue :
ADAA. Thomas.
ADAB. John.
ADAC. Charles.
ADAD. Elizabeth, who married Col. John Francisco, of Kentucky.
Nothing further is known of John Lewis [ADA] and his descendants, than that they are scattered through West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama.
ACB. Margaret Ann Lewis m McClenahan, of Staunton, Va., by whom she left one child. Her husband dying, she afterwards m Col. William Bowyer, of Staunton, by whom at her death, in 1834, she left five children. Her issue were :
ACBA. John McClenahan.
ACBB. William C. Bowyer.
ACBC. Strother Bowyer.
ACBD. Luke Bowyer.
ACBE. Peter G. Bowyer. ACBF. Malinda Bowyer.
288
HISTORY OF AUGUSTA COUNTY.
ACC. Agatha Lewis m first Capt. Frogg, who was killed at the Point, Oct. 10, 1774, by whom she left one daughter ; second, she m Col. John Stuart, of Greenbrier co., by whom she left four children at her death in 1836, aged 83, namely :
ACCA. Eliz. Frogg, b 1773.
ACCB. Charles A. Stuart, b 1775.
ACCC. Lewis Stuart, b 1777.
ACCD. Margaret Stuart, b 1779.
ACCE. Jane Stuart, b 17-, who m Maj. Robert Crockett, of Wythe co. and left the following issue, namely: I. Maria, who m Judge James E. Brown, by whom she left issue, namely : I. Wm. Brown, who died unm ; II. Jane Brown, who died unm ; III. Fanny Pey- ton Brown, who m Col. Joseph F. Kent and left issue at her death in 1861: I. Betty, who m George M. Harrison, a lawyer of Staunton, Va., and they have two children : 1. Fanny, and 2. Kent ; 2. John Kent, unm; 3. Jane Kent m Howe Peyton Cochran ; 4. Emma Kent, m Jno. O. Yates ; 5. Alexander Kent, unm. After her death, Col. K. m Virginia, d of Hon. John Howe Peyton, [AEBGI] has issue : I. Joseph ; 2. Susan Peyton ; 3 Mary. IV. Alexander Brown, fourth son of Judge Brown, was a most prom- ising young man, who after graduating with distinction at the University of Virginia, commenced the law practice in Wythe, but died soon after ; 2. Agatha Crockett, m James McGavoc and left issue; 3. Charles Crockett, who in Mary Bowyer, of Bote- tourt, and left issue ; 4. Stuart Crockett, m Margaret Taylor, of Smythe co., and left issue, names unknown; 5. Frank Crockett, m - -; 6. Gustavus Crockett, m Eliza Erskine, and left issue; 7. Augustine Crockett, died unm.
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