USA > Virginia > Tazewell County > Tazewell County > History of Tazewell county and southwest Virginia, 1748-1920 > Part 17
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made its way to Burke's Garden. According to Colonel Thomas L. Preston: "It was late in the fall, and the next morning, after reaching the Garden, a heavy snow had fallen, and they determined to suspend their surveying until the next year. After cooking their breakfast, a man named Burke, who was with the party as an axman or chain-carrier, cleared away the place where their fire had been made, and planted a lot of potato peelings, covering them lightly with brush. The following Spring or Summer, Patton and Buch- anan, accompanied by William Ingles, returned to survey lands, and found a large bed of potatoes where Burke had planted the peelings, and they gave it the name "Burke's Garden." Surveys were made . in the Garden, and patents issued afterwards to William Ingles and to William Thompson, a son-in-law of Patton."
There can be no question of the fact that Colonel Patton and his party were the first men who ever visited Burke's Garden with a view of locating land and preparing it for settlement by white men. But it is asserted and believed by many, who speak from tradition, that James Burke had previously made hunting trips to the Garden and had built and occupied a cabin on the farm now owned by Rufus Thompson. This matter of dispute, however, will be given more ample notice further on in this volume.
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CHAPTER II.
THE WALKER AND GIST EXPEDITIONS.
All the lands surveyed by the Patton expedition in 1748 were located under authority of the grant for 120,000 acres that Colonel Patton received from George II. After returning to their homes in the east, Colonel James Patton, Dr. Thomas Walker, and others, organized and incorporated what was known as the "Loyal Com- pany;" and secured from the English Crown a grant for 800,000 acres of land to be located north of the North Carolina line and west of the Alleghany Mountains. Dr. Walker was made agent for this company, and both he and his company played a conspicuous part in the early settlement and development of that portion of South- west Virginia west of New River. The first land ever surveyed in Tazewell County, so far as existing records show, was under the 800,000 acre grant to the Loyal Company. On October 14th, 1750, a tract containing 650 acres, located at "Crabapple Orchard, Waters of Clinch River," was surveyed for one John Shelton and, on the 16th of the same month and year, another tract of 1,000 acres was surveyed for Shelton on a "Branch of Clinch River." Thomas Lewis was then surveyor of Augusta County, but the surveying of these two tracts was done by Colonel John Buchanan, as deputy for Lewis. The "Crabapple Orchard" tract is the same boundary, which Bickley, in his History of Tazewell County, published in 1852, says was occupied in 1768 by two hunters, Butler and Carr; and that Butler sold it to Thomas Witten in 1771. The 1,000 acre tract was, no doubt, also on Plum Creek; and a part of the lands afterward owned by the sons of Thomas Witten, a goodly portion of which is still possessed by their descendants.
In the spring of 1750, Dr. Walker organized an exploring party at his home in Albemarle County to further explore the Virginia territory west of New River. This was done, apparently, for the purpose of discovering choice lands to be located for the Loyal Company, and to select desirable places for settlements. Dr. Walker kept a record of the route followed by him and the daily performances of the expedition. Walker's journal shows that no effort was made by him, or by any one of his party, to survey lands during the expedition; and that they traveled every day, except when prevented by inclement weather or while resting on the Sab-
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bath, until the journey was completed. The first paragraph of the journal reads thus: "Having on the 12th of December last been employed for a certain consideration to go to the westward in order to discover a proper place for a settlement. I left my home on the 6th day of March. 1749-'50, in company with Ambrose Powell. William Tomlinson. Colby Chew, Henry Lawless & John Hughes. Each man had a horse and we had two to carry the baggage; I lodged this night at Col. Joshua Fry's, in the Albemarle, which county includes the Chief of the head Branches of James River on the east side of the Blue Ridge."
Historians and investigators have been so confused by the peculiar entry in Dr. Walker's journal, "the 6th day of Mareh, 1749-'50," that they have been unable to determine whether it meant Mareh 6th 1749, or March 6th, 1750. However, it has been gener- ally accepted that he started on his expedition the 6th day of March, 1750. This, I believe, is correct. There is one very prominent fact which shows that Dr. Walker and his companions began their journey on the 6th of March, 1750. The "Loyal Company," in whose interest the expedition was made, did not secure its grant for the 800,000 acres until the 12th of July, 1749. The company would hardly have started out an exploring party and promised its agent, Dr. Walker, a valuable consideration, previous to receiving the grant. At that period the British Government was anxious to extend the frontiers of Virginia as far west and north as possible, to block the advances that were being made south from the lakes and east from the Mississippi by the French. To that end large grants of land were given to individuals and companies who would agree to solicit and seeure settlers on the frontiers. In pursuance of this policy. the governor and council of Virginia, on the 12th day of July, 1749, granted to the "Ohio Company" 500,000 aeres of land and to the "Loyal Company" 800,000 aeres. The "Ohio Com- pany" was to locate its surveys south of the Ohio River, and, as previously stated, the Loyal Company was to take up its lands north of the North Carolina line and west of the Alleghany Mountains.
This put two strong, rival companies in the field, both being commercial or finaneial enterprises. Though there was a vast unexplored region available to entry by the rival companies, each manifested eagerness to get first in the field with exploring and surveying parties. The Ohio Company engaged the services of Christopher Gist. a Marylander and a noted surveyor, as their agent.
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He was instructed to hasten with a corps of men to the country bordering on the Ohio, now West Virginia and Kentucky, and search for choice lands along the Ohio River and other tributaries of the Mississippi. His instructions were very ample and urgent; but Gist did not start with his expedition until some time in October, 1750. From this it will be seen that the Walker party started out seven months in advance of the Gist expedition. These facts sub- stantially prove that Walker made his second explorations in South- west Virginia, in 1750; and it is certainly true that the first surveys in this section for the Loyal Company were made during that year.
Persons who are familiar with the geography of Virginia, and especially of the Southwest portion of the State, can, by inspecting Dr. Walker's journal, easily trace the route pursued by his party until they reached Cumberland Gap. From Walker's home, in Albemarle County, they traveled through the present counties of Nelson and Amherst to the James River, and crossed that stream at or near where Lynchburg is now located on the 12th of March. On the morning of the 13th, Dr. Walker says, in his journal: "We went early to William Calloway's and supplied ourselves with Rum, Thread and other necessaries & from thence took the main Wagon Road leading to Wood's or the New River. It is not well cleared or beaten yet, but will be a very good one with proper management." It seems that the Doctor and his companions thought Rum a neces- sary article to be taken on the trip, and he. a physician, mentioned it as the first of the necessaries. They then traveled on through Buford's Valley, just east of the Blue Ridge, crossed that mountain at Buford's Gap, pronouncing "the ascent and descent is so easy that a stranger would not know when he crossed the Ridge." The author crossed the "Ridge" at this point in the fall of 1863, and can affirm that Dr. Walker's statement as to the character of the pass is very accurate. After crossing the Ridge the party entered the Roanoke Valley at or near Bonsacks, and from there went to the "Great Lick on a Branch of the Staunton." The Roanoke River was then called the Staunton, as it was a tributary of the Staunton River. At the Great Lick they bought corn for their horses from Michael Campbell ; and then proceeded up the river to a point above Salem, where Walker says they "Lodged at James Robinson's, the only place where they had corn to spare." Thence they followed the stream "to William Englishe's." This was William Ingles, who had then settled at Draper's Meadows, and whose family and descendants in a few years became tragically associated with the
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history of Southwest Virginia and Tazewell County. Evidently the Upper Roanoke Valley was then attracting many Scoteh-Irish set- tlers from Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley.
Leaving the home of Ingles, the Walker party passed down the Alleghany Mountains, crossed New River at, or near, the point where William Ingles afterwards built a fort, and on the west side of the river came in contact with a small colony of Dunkards, who had recently settled at a place which is still known as "Dunkard's Bottom." Walker and his company remained several days as the guests of this humble Christian people; and then moved on, by way of Reed Creek. towards the Holston Valley. On the night of the 22nd of March they camped at a large spring "about five miles below Davis' Bottom on Holston River." This is, no doubt, the large spring at the northeast end of Marion, Virginia, near the pas- senger station of the Norfolk and Western Railway, and now the property of that company.
The following day. the 23rd of March, they traveled down the Middle Fork of Holston River about four miles and again went into camp; and Dr. Walker wrote in his journal that day: "Mr. Powell and I went to look for Samuel Stalnaker, who I had been informed had moved out to settle. We found his Camp and returned to our own in the Evening. The following day (the 24th ) he entered in his journal: "We went to Stalnaker's, helped him to raise his house and Camped about a quarter of a mile below him. In April, 1748. I met the above mentioned Stalnaker between the Reedy Creek Settlement and Holston River, on his way to the Cherokee Indians. and expected him to pilot me as far as he knew, but his affairs would not permit him to go with me."
It is wonderful how in those primitive days persons traveling through an almost pathless wilderness, could, in some way, learn that a bold pioneer had plunged into the wilds, with axe and rifle, to build a home for himself and family. Stalnaker had already eut and prepared the logs for his rude dwelling when Walker and his party came upon the scene and helped him "to raise his house." That was the first "house-raising" that occurred in the Holston Valley. The exact location of Stalnaker's home has never been ascertained, but could not have been very far from Seven Mile Ford, and was near the place where Charles Sinclair joined Colonel Pat- ton and Dr. Walker in 1748. Of the future history of this man Stalnaker very little is known. Summers, in his valuable history of Southwest Virginia, says:
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"On the 29th of July, 1756, a Council of War assembled at Staunton, by direction of the Governor of Virginia, to determine at what points forts should be built along the frontiers for the protec- tion of the settlers.
"The Council was composed of Colonel John Buchanan, Samuel Stalnaker and others, of which Council Wmn. Preston acted as clerk. There can be no doubt that Captain Samuel Stalnaker represented the Holston settlement and that it was at his request that the stock- ade fort was built at Dunkards' Bottom, on New River, and at Davis' Bottom, at the headwaters of the Middle Fork of Holston River."
It appears that a party of Indians made a hostile visit to the Upper Holston Valley in June, 1755, and made Samuel Stalnaker a prisoner, but he escaped from the savages. In a register of the persons killed by the Indians in this foray the names of Adam Stal- naker and Mrs. Stalnaker appear. They were the wife and son of Samuel Stalnaker.
But to return to Dr. Walker and his exploring party. On the 26th of March, twenty days after starting from Albemarle County, they separated from Samuel Stalnaker, and saw no more settlers until their remarkable circuit journey was almost completed. While going up a creek that is a branch of the Greenbrier River, about noon, July 7th, Dr. Walker notes in his journal, "5 men overtook us and informed us we were only 8 miles from the inhabitants on a Branch of James River called Jackson's River." From Stal- naker's settlement, then the farthest west in Southwest Virginia, they traveled "nigh west" to a large spring on a Branch of the north fork of Holston. Thence they went to Reedy Creek and down that creek to the Holston River. There they found an elm tree of such immense size that curiosity prompted them to measure its girth; and they found it was 25 feet in circumference. They crossed the North Fork of the Holston at a ford about a half mile above where the North and the South Fork come together. From that point they traveled a northwest course, crossed over Clinch Mountain, and got to Clinch River near the present Sneedsville, in Hancock County, Tennessee. This was on the 9th of April, and Dr. Walker states in his journal: "We travelled to a river, which I suppose to be that which the hunters Call Clinche's River, from one Clinch a Hunter, who first found it."
From "Clinches River" they continued their journey toward Cum-
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berland Gap, which seemed to be their objective. On the route pursued they passed over and along a number of streams, some of which had already been given names; but by whom, when and why they were so named Dr. Walker did not state as he did about "Clinche's River." The 11th of April he wrote in his journal, "We came to Turkey Creek, which we kept down 4 miles;" and on the 12th, after crossing over a certain mountain he made a note: "From this mountain we rode 4 miles to Beargrass River." While traveling up this river he found "some small pieces of coal and a great plenty of very good yellow flint, and added: "The water is the most transparent I ever saw. It is about 70 yds. wide." Sum- mers says: "On the 12th day of April they reached Powell's river, ten miles from Cumberland Gap. It is well to note at this point that Ambrose Powell, one of Dr. Walker's companions, cut his name upon a tree on the bank of this river, which name and tree were found in the year 1770 by a party of fifteen or twenty Virginians on their way to Kentucky on a hunting expedition, from which cir- cumstance the Virginia Long Hunters gave it the name of Powell's river, which it still retains." Thus the stream which Dr. Walker called Beargrass River, had its name changed to Powell's, River.
On the 13th of April, five weeks after leaving his home in Albemarle County, Dr. Walker with his company arrived at Cum- berland Gap, and in his journal called it "Cave Gap." Some of the historians who have written about the expedition hold that this was the first exploring party that reached the gap; and that it was on this occasion that Dr. Walker gave the name, "Cumberland," to the gap, the mountain, and the river that now bear the name. Dr. Hale, in his "Trans-Alleghany Pioneers," and L. P. Summers, in his "History of Southwest Virginia," accept this claim as true; and it is possible that quite a number of writers have, successively. followed each other to that conclusion. Theodore Roosevelt in his "Winning of the West says: "One explorer had found and named the Cumberland river and mountains and the great pass called Cumberland Gap." This explorer Mr. Roosevelt says was Dr. Thomas Walker of Virginia. But Roosevelt states in this eonnee- tion that Walker had been to the Cumberland region in 1748, at the time Colonel Thomas L. Preston and others have said, that Colonel James Patton, along with Dr. Walker, John Buchanan and others discovered the Gap and named it for the Duke of Cumberland. Colonel Preston based his claim upon information he received by tradition, that came down to him through two preceding generations
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of the descendants of Charles Campbell and Colonel John Buchanan, who were with Colonel Patton and Dr. Walker in their expedition of 1748. Colonel Preston was a descendant of Campbell and Buch anan, his mother being the granddaughter of Charles Campbell and the great-granddaughter of Colonel Buchanan. Therefore, Colonel Preston's information was as substantially correct as any can be that is derived from tradition. When this is reinforced by the admission that Walker had visited the Cumberland region in 1748 with Colonel Patton, it makes the contention that Colonel Patton discovered and named Cumberland Gap very hard to overthrow.
On the other hand, there is very strong supporting evidence in Walker's Journal of the position taken by the historians afore- mentioned, that Dr. Thomas Walker named it Cumberland Gap. He passed through the gap, which he then ealled "Cave Gap," on the 13th of April, 1750, and entered Kentucky, for the first time, as there is no claim that the Patton expedition went through the gap or over the Cumberland Mountains in 1748. After passing through the gap, Dr. Walker says, in his journal: "On the North West side we came to a Branch that made a great deal of flat land. We kept down it 2 miles, several other branches coming in to make it a large ereek, and we ealled it Flat Creek. We eamped on the Bank, where we found very good Coal."
On the 14th they traveled down the ereek, "5 miles chiefly along the Indian Road." The 15th was Easter Sunday, but that holy day was not observed by the explorers, as they continued their journey for a reason assigned by Dr. Walker in his journal: "Being in bad grounds for our Horses we moved 7 miles along the Indian Road to Clover Creek. Clover and Hop Vines are plenty here." It is known that the common red clover is indigenous to this eountry, but the hop vine is still pronouneed a doubtful native of North America. If these two valuable plants were growing a "plenty" in a Kentucky wilderness, where white men had never dwelt and where no recent aboriginal inhabitants had been even temporarily located. how did the clover and the hops get there?
It rained the 16th and the party remained in eamp, the horses, no doubt, feasting on the clover. On the 17th it still rained, and Dr. Walker relates: "I went down the Creek a hunting and found that it went into a River about a mile below our Camp. This, which is Flat Creek and some others joined, I called Cumberland River."
It looks very much like Dr. Walker had eoneluded to give names to important streams, passes and other landmarks that he found T.H .- 12
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while on his exploring tour; and is conclusive evidence that he was the first to name the river the Cumberland. But it does not definitely settle the disputed question of who gave the name to Cumberland Gap. This, however, is an inconsequential matter, and one can take either side of the controversy without detracting from the fame of either Colonel Patton or Dr. Walker. What they, each, accomplished in the way of exploring the regions west of the Alle- ghanics, and introducing settlers into this marvelously rich territory, will cause their names to be honored as long as the people of South- west Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky retain any interest in the local history of their immediate country.
Having discovered the Cumberland River, Dr. Walker on the 18th of April began to explore the river, moving along and down it, on the south side thereof, a distance of seventeen miles. On the 21st of April they determined to cross to the north side of the river, and built a bark canoe to get their baggage over. On the 22nd, which was the Sabbath, one of the horses was unable to walk; and Dr. Walker proposed that he and two others should continue the exploration, and the balance of the company remain in camp until they returned. Ambrose Powell and Colbey Chew were selected for Walker's companions. The entire party crossed the river to the north side; and Walker, Powell and Chew started down the Cumberland. They traveled about 35 miles and then returned to the camp. After breaking camp on the 31st of April, Walker and his companions continued to explore the country west and north of the Cumberland Mountains. Though Dr. Walker was a skilled sur- veyor, for some reason, he failed to make any note in his journal of the courses they followed; and, consequently, it is almost impossible for any one, though familiar with the section of country traveled, to follow the meanderings of the party. He continued to give names to the new streams he discovered, naming one for each of his three associate explorers, Powell, Tomlinson and Lawless.
Sometime in May, not definitely stated in his journal, Dr. Walker and his party changed their course to the east, and crossed the Cumberland Mountain into the present territory of Virginia, leaving what is now Kentucky. At what point tney entered this State is not certainly known, being merely conjectural; and it is impossible to even approximately fix the devious course followed by the expedition previous to its arrival on the west bank of New River, just below the mouth of the Greenbrier. The most reason- able conclusion is, that on the journey from the Cumberland region,
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they passed through the present counties of Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan and Tazewell, Virginia, and Mercer and Summers coun- ties, West Virginia, all these counties then being a part of Augusta County.
Major Jed Hotchkiss, who was a distinguished civil engineer and mineralogist, and well known throughout Virginia before and after the Civil War, brought to public attention the journal of Dr. Walker. And Major Hotchkiss, after a careful study of the matter, confidently asserted that Dr. Walker was at the present site of Pocahontas, Tazewell County, Virginia, in 1750, and that he was the first man to discover and make mention of the great coal deposits about Pocahontas and in the Flat Top region. If Walker did visit the Flat Top coal region, it is absolutely certain that he and his company passed through Wise, Dickenson and Buch- anan counties to get there; and then through Mercer and Summers counties, West Virginia, to get to New River. On the 28th of June Dr. Walker made the following entry in his journal :
"It continued raining till noon, and we set off as soon as it ceased and went down the Branch we lay on to the New River just below the mouth of Green Bryer. Powell, Tomlinson and myself stripped, and went into the New River to try if we could wade over at any place. After some time having found a place we returned to the others and took such things as would take damage by water on our Shoulders and waded over Leading our Horses. The bottom is very uneven, the Rocks very slippery and the Current very strong most of the way. We Camped in Low Ground opposite to the mouth of Green Bryer."
Leaving the New River, Dr. Walker and his companions traveled up the Greenbrier and its tributaries, and crossed the Alleghany Mountains to the headwaters of James River. They visited the Hot Springs, and then passed on down into Rockbridge County. From there they went to Augusta Court House (Staunton), arriving at that place on the 11th of July. The following day, Dr. Walker separated from his company, and started, unaccompanied, to his home in Albemarle County, where he arrived at noon on the 13th of July, 1750. Thus was completed one of the most eventful explor- ing expeditions ever made to Southwest Virginia. Dr. Walker had occupied four months and one week from the beginning to the completion of the journey; and his journal discloses very little of the real purposes of the expedition. From various entries in his
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journal, it appears he was hunting for valuable minerals more eagerly than for suitable places for settlements. He made a very difficult and dangerous trip through the rugged region west and north of the Clinch Valley, where there was but little game and a great scarcity of herbage for his horses, when by coming up the Clinch Valley he could have found an abundance of both. On the 21st of June Walker entered in his journal: "Deer are very scarce On the Coal Land. I have seen but 4 since the 30th of April." He was evidently very much interested in the "Coal Land." But he must have had no conception of the unmeasured wealth, in the shape of "blaek diamonds," that was hidden beneath the surface of the territory lying between the Cumberland Mountain and New River, and then open for entry by the Loyal Company under its 800,000 acre grant. If he or the company had realized its value, they would have lost but little time in loeating the entire grant in that seemingly poor and valueless region.
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