USA > Virginia > Washington County > Washington County > History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 > Part 23
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Black's Fort, the locality of the meeting of the first court of Washington county, was erected in the year 1726 on the lands of Captain Joseph Black, on the west bank or near the west ban !- of what was then known as Eighteen Miles Creek, alias Castle's Creek, by the settlers living in the vicinity, and about five hun- dred other settlers who had fled from their homes west of Abing- don upon the outbreak of the Indian War in 1776. It was one of those rude structures which the pioneers were accustomed to make for defence against the Indians, consisting of a few log cabins surrounded by a stockade. The locality of this fort was about twenty-five yards south of the Norfolk and Western rail- road, in the Knob road, and near the brick cottage, the property of Charles F. Palmer.
In the fall of the year 1829, Captain Frank S. Findlay, while excavating for a place for a turbine wheel near this place, discov- ered a portion of an old wall constructed of rock and logs some five or six feet below the surface, and in the wall was found an arrow made from the heart of a white oak, with a sharp iron spike af- fixed. This wall was a part of the old fort, and it is not improb- able that this arrow was sped there by an Indian. In the year 1795 a mill dam was erected about fifty yards south of this old wall .*
The first court of Washington county was in session two days, January 28th-29th. The first day of the term was occupied in qualifying the members of the court, the election of a clerk, the qualifications of militia officers, as above given, and the granting of letters of administration in several cases. Upon the second day of the term the first matter of importance that received the atten- tion of the court was the appointment of William Campbell, Wil-
*Black's Mill Dam.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
liam Edmiston, John Anderson and George Blackburn as com- missioners to hire wagons to bring up the county salt allowed by the Governor and Council, and to receive and distribute the same agreeably to said order of Council.
Some people, in speaking of this order of the County Court, have expressed surprise that such an order should have been en- tered by the court of a county in which was located great beds of salt, and, further, that the Governor and Council thus allotted salt to this county.
At the time this order was entered salt was a rare article and exceedingly valuable, and was not known to exist in this country. So difficult was it to supply the demands for salt that in the year 1776 the General Assembly of Virginia enacted the following law :
"Resolved that the Governor, with the advice of the Privy Coun- cil, be empowered to purchase, on account of the public and at a generous price, all the salt that may be imported into this coun- try in the course of the next six months, and that he be authorized to issue his warrant on the treasurer to pay for the same: that such salt when purchased be immediately stored in some convenient and secure parts of the country, and distributed by order of the Governor, with the advice of the Council, amongst the inhabi- tants of the different counties, in such proportion as their exi- gencies and the quantity procured may admit, regard being prin- cipally had to such counties as are farthest removed from salt water; and that the receivers of the salt do pay into the hands of such persons as may be appointed for that purpose, at the time of the delivery, so much per bushel, as the Governor, with the advice of the Council, may judge reasonable ; the money when received to be paid with all convenient dispatch into the treasury, for reim- bursing the publick."
It was pursuant to the order of the Governor and Council, acting upon the authority of this act, that the commissioners were appointed. On the second day the court proceeded to appoint a number of officers to take a list of tithables and of the quantity of taxable lands in the county.
The following commissioners were appointed by the court to do this work in the localities mentioned, to-wit:
Joseph Martin, on north side Clinch mountain, high as Glade Hollow. John Kinkead, Glade Hollow to head of Clinch. John
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
Campbell, head of Holston to Stalnaker's direct across. William Edmiston, Stalnaker's to Black's Fort, direct across. James Mont- gomery, Black's Fort to Major Bledsoe's. John Anderson, from Major Bledsoe's as low as there are settlers. At the same time the court appointed the following constables: Rawley Duncan, from Castle's Woods to lowest settlement. James Wharton, Castle's Woods to Glade Hollow. James Laughlin, Glade Hollow, to upper settlement Elk Garden. William Lean, head of Holston to Seven- Mile Ford. Robert Brown, Seven-Mile Ford to Eleven-Mile Creek. Christopher Acklin, Eleven-Mile Creek to Ford of Beaver Creek. John Fain, Eleven-Mile Creek to Sinking Creek. James Steel, Ford Beaver Creek to Amos Eaton's. At the same time the fol- lowing surveyors of roads were appointed : Alexander Wylie, from county line to Charles Hayes. John Hays, from Charles Hays' to Mill Creek. Jacob Anderson, from Mill Creek to Seven-Mile Ford. Aaron Lewis, Seven-Mile Ford to Big Spring. Andrew Kincan- non from Big Spring to James Kincannon's. James Bryan, from James Kincannon's to Joseph Black's. Andrew Colvill, from Joseph Black's to Ford Beaver Creek. Benjamin Gray, Ford Bea- ver Creek to Steel's Creek. David Steel, from Steel's Creek to the meeting house. Amos Eaton, from meeting house to Fort Patrick Henry. Thomas Berry, Watauga Road, James Bryan's to James Montgomery's. William Young, Captain Montgomery's to Isaac Riddle's. John Cox, Isaac Riddle's to Ford of Holston.
The names as above given and the localities assigned to each are important in this, that they definitely indicate the established roads in the county at the beginning of our local government, and define, with reasonable certainty, the extent of the settlements at that time. Many readers will be surprised to know that the Vir- ginia authorities appointed officials and exercised jurisdiction over the country (now Tennessee), as low down as Fort Patrick Henry, thirty miles below Bristol. The explanation is that our people supposed the Holston river to be the dividing line between the two States, Virginia and North Carolina. At this time and for several years thereafter, Virginia exercised jurisdiction, collected taxes and gave protection to the settlers as low down as Carter's Valley in Tennessee.
On the second day of the court, Isaac Shelby, Robert Craig, John Dunkin and John Adair, were recommended to the Governor as
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proper persons to be added to the Commission of the Peace for the county, and they were commissioned accordingly. On the same day the court recommended to Edmund Randolph, Attorney for the Commonwealth, Ephraim Dunlop, as a proper person to act as Deputy Attorney for the Commonwealth in this county, and he was commissioned accordingly, and became the first practising attorney for the Commonwealth in this county.
On the same day the court ordered that the house adjoining that which the court is held in, be a prison, and that the sheriff be empowered to employ some person to put it in the best repair he can."
The statement has been made by a very worthy citizen of Wash- ington county of former days,* "that the first court of this county assembled in a grove on the hillside south of Greenway's store, but in view of the above order of the court, this statement is inaccu- rate, as the court was held within the stockade of Black's Fort, and the house designated as a prison was within the same stockade.
At the time in question, the courts of the country undertook to regulate the private affairs of the citizens to a much greater extent than at the present time, which can be accounted for by the fact that our people had just shaken off the heavy hand of monarchy and established, for the first time, constitutional government.
As an example of the extent to which the private concerns of the people were then regulated by government, the court of this county, on the second day of its term, fixed the price of liquors as follows : Rum, 16s. per gallon ; Rye whiskey, 8s .; corn whiskey, 4s .; a bowl of rum toddy, with loaf sugar, 2s., with brown sugar 1s.
And at the March term, 1779, it fixed the price of a warm din- ner at 15s .; cold dinner, 9s .; for a good breakfast, 12s .; oats or corn at 4s. per gallon ; good lodging with clean sheets, 2s. Stab- blidge, with hay or fodder, 2s., and good pasturage the same.
After the transaction of considerable business, on the afternoon of the 29th day of January, 1777, the first court of the county adjourned, to court in course, which was the last Tuesday in Feb- ruary, being the 25th day of that month, on which day the court assembled at Black's Fort, with several members present. The first business of importance transacted was the qualification of Luke Bowyer to practice as an attorney in this court, and, thereupon,
*Charles B. Coale.
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
the court proceeded to the examination of Edward Bond, on suspi- cion of his having murdered Thomas Jones. The court heard the evidence and acquitted the prisoner. On the following day the court proceeded to the examination of the same Edward Bond. upon suspicion of his having stolen a small bay mare of the value of fifteen pounds, and upon a hearing of the evidence against him, he was held for trial at the General Court, at the capitol in the city of Williamsburg."
The student of our early history must be impressed with this fact, that our forefathers would give to the prisoner charged with murder the benefit of every reasonable doubt: while, on the other hand, they would give the prisoner charged with horse-stealing. the maximum punishment prescribed by law, if there existed against him a strong suspicion.
On the 26th day of February, 1777, the court proceeded to recom- mend to the Governor of Virginia the militia officers for Wash- ington county, which officers were duly commissioned and were as follows :
Captains :
William Edmiston,
John Campbell, Royal Oak;
Joseph Martin,
John Shelby, Sr .;
James Montgomery,
Robert Buchanan, Sr.,
Aaron Lewis,
John Duncan,
Gilbert Christian,
James Shelby,
James Dysart,
Thomas Mastin,
John Campbell,
John Kinkead,
John Anderson,
William Bowen,
George Adams,
Robert Craig,
Andrew Colvill,
James Robertson, Watauga.
Lieutenants of Militia :
David Beattie,
James Maxwell,
Samuel Hays,
John Snoddy,
David Ward,
John Coulter,
Thomas Price,
Roger Topp,
George Freeland,
John Anderson,
James Fulkerson,
George Maxwell,
John Berry,
William Blackburn,
Charles Campbell,
Andrew Kincannon,
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Lieutenants of Militia-Con.
John Frazier,
Charles Allison,
Alexander Wylie,
Joseph Black.
Ensigns of Militia :
Thomas Whitten,
Rees Bowen,
Solomon Litton,
Henry Dickenson,
Abraham McClelland,
William Rosebrough,
John Loony,
Josiah Ramsey,
James Elliott,
William Young,
John Davis,
William Casey,
John Wilson,
John Lowry,
James Shaw,
William Neal,
James Crabtree,
Arthur Bowen, .
Robert Davis,
Alexander Barnett.
Colonel Arthur Campbell, immediately upon his qualification as county lieutenant of Washington county, proceeded to organize the militia of the county, and place the same upon such footing as they would be able to repel any attack that might be made upon the set- tlers on the frontiers, the most exposed part of which was in Car- ter's Valley and the Watauga settlement in the vicinity of Eliza- bethton, Tennessee.
On the 31st day of March, 1777, he requested James Robertson, a captain in the militia of this county, residing at Watauga to fur- nish him with a list of the settlers at Watauga, that he might know their strength and give such orders as were necessary for their pro- tection. Captain Robertson furnished the list, whereupon Colonel Campbell, in view of the danger in which the settlements stood, directed Robertson to assemble the settlers in one or two places, and he recommended Rice's and Patterson's Mills as the most pro- per ones. "Let your company be at Rice's," said he, "and Captain Gilbert Christian may come to Patterson's Mill."
There was to have been a complete suspension of hostilities between the Cherokee Indians and the white settlers, from the return of Colonel Christian, in the fall of 1776, until the month of May, 1777, the time set for the negotiation of a treaty at Long Island. Notwithstanding the fact that the Indians had agreed to a suspension of hostilities, and that there were four hundred soldiers stationed at Long Island, under the command of Colonel
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
Evan Shelby and Major Anthony Bledsoe, numerous hostilities were committed by the Indians. Several murders were committed on the frontiers, and on the 10th of April. 1177. James Calvatt was shot and scalped. The Indians who killed Calvatt were pursued by Captain James Robertson and nine men, who killed one Indian and retook ten horses. but. upon his return from the pursuit of the Indians, he and his men were attacked by a party of Creeks and Cherokees, who wounded two of his men and forced him to retreat. At the same time two men were killed on Clinch river, and it developed that the Indians had numerous parties out murdering and plundering whenever possible. The Indians put the blame of this trouble upon Dragging Canoe, the Indian chief, who, upon receiving a wound at the battle of Long Island Flats, on July 20, 1126. had retired to the Chickamauga country and refused to talk of peace.
In the spring of the year 1717. pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. an election was held for members of the General Assembly from Washington county, at which election Arthur Campbell and William Ediniston were opposed by Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke.
The qualification of electors voting at said election was as fol- lows: "Every free white man, who. at the time of the election. shall have been for one year preceding. in possession of twenty- five acres of land with a house and plantation thereon, or one hun- dred acres of land without a house and plantation thereon. and having right for an estate for life, at least, in the said land. in his own right or in the right of his wife, was entitled to a vote."
This election was hotly contested and resulted in favor of Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke, two gentlemen who after- wards became distinguished in the history of Tennessee. William Cocke being one of the two United States Senators elected to repre- sent the State of Tennessee, at the date of its formation, in the Senate of the United States.
Colonel Arthur Campbell and Captain William Edmiston, on the 20th day of May, 1777, filed a petition with the House of Dele- gates of Virginia, setting forth that the petitioners, with Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke, were candidates at the last election of delegates for the county of Washington; that on the close of the poll it appeared that the greatest number of votes taken were in
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favor of Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke, owing, as they con- ceive, to many votes being given in by persons who reside in North Carolina and by others not entitled to vote; that they apprehend the said Bledsoe is incapable of sitting as a member of the legislature, he having a military command which excluded him by the consti- tution; that the said Cocke is not possessed of such landed prop- erty in the county as is required by law, not to mention some instances of bribery and corruption practised contrary to the spirit of the present government; that these matters give dissatisfaction to what they believe to be a majority of the legal electors in the said county ; and submitting themselves to such determination as shall be thought reasonable and just. Thus our county was hon- ored by a contested election in the dawn of its history, which must have excited a good deal of feeling among the pioneers of the Hols- ton and the Clinch.
During the same session of the General Assembly, Mr. Banister, chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, reported to the legislature that the committee had agreed upon a report and had come to several resolutions thereupon, which they had directed him to report to the House. Having read the report in his place, he afterwards delivered it in at the clerk's table, where the same was read and was as followeth-viz. :
"As to the first charge contained in the said petition against the sitting members, as not having a greater number of legal votes than the petitioners, it appears to your committee, from a certificate of the sheriff of the county of Washington, that upon the close of the poll, the number of the voters stood as follows-to-wit:
For Mr. Anthony Bledsoe 294
For Mr. William Cocke 294
For Mr. Arthur Campbell 211
For Mr. William Edmiston 144
It also appears to your committee by a line run by Colonel John Donaldson between this State and North Carolina, as far as the Holston river, that should it be continued in the same latitude to where it would intersect the north fork of Holston river, a consider- able number of those who voted for the sitting members would be left in North Carolina, and if allowed the right of suffrage in the said county of Washington, would give them the greatest num- ber of legal votes.
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It farther appears to your committee, from the information of Thomas Walker, Esq., that from the most accurate observations he has been able to make, the Great Island on the Holston river lies in this State, and that, should a direct line run from where the said Donaldson's terminated to the said island, the greater number of voters living in the bend of Holston river would be taken into the county of Washington, and that such line would in many places intersect the river.
It appears to your committee from the information of Colonel William Christian that he brought a writ of ejectment in the County Court of Fincastle for a tract of land lving near the Hol- ston river, between the Great Island and the termination of Don- aldson's line ; that the person who was in possession of the land and defended the suit, pleaded to the jurisdiction of the court, which was overruled and he obtained a judgment.
It farther appears to your committee, from the testimony of James Thompson, that he acted as sheriff in the county formerly Fincastle in the years 1774 and 1775, during which time he col- lected levies and taxes from those people who reside on the north side of the Holston river as low down as within about six miles of the great island, which was esteemed the reputed bounds of Vir- ginia. As to the second article of charge contained in the petition touching Mr. Bledsoe's holding a military command. it appears to your committee that Mr. Bledsoe holds no other commission than that of a major in the militia.
As to the article of charge against Mr. Cocke, as not being a land- holder and resident in the said county of Washington, it appears to your committee, from the testimony of James Thompson and John Montgomery, that Mr. Cocke was possessed, under a survey, of more than one hundred acres of land for one year preceding the election, hath resided in the county formerly Fincastle, with a family, several years, until some time in February last, when Mr. Cocke moved part of his family out of the country for fear of an Indian war, but continues there himself the greater part of his time.
That the said John Montgomery was present when the poll was closed and heard the sheriff proclaim the sitting members duly elected.
As to the last article of charge respecting the bribery and cor-
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ruption, it appears to your committee to be groundless. Whereupon your committee came to the following resolutions :
Resolved, as the opinion of this committee, That the said Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke were duly elected to serve as delegates in this present General Assembly for the county of Wash- ington.
The said resolutions being severally read a second time, were, upon the question severally put thereupon, agreed to by the House."*
While the people of Washington county, Virginia, may feel some pride in knowing that our people explored East Tennessee and furnished the rule of action by which her early settlers were gov- erned, on the other hand East Tennesseeans will find pride in the fact that they furnished Washington county, Virginia, her first representatives in the Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
This election was held at Black's Fort, the county seat of Wash- ington county, and every elector in the county was required to attend and cast his vote in person, under a penalty, and we may well imagine what a busy appearance the neighborhood of Black's Fort presented that day, 946 men from Powell's Valley, Clinch Valley, Holston, Carter's Valley and Watauga, Tennessee.
On the 29th day of April, 1777, the ancestor of a great many people whose names have been honorably associated with the his- tory of Washington county appeared in court. He was not a stranger to this section, nor was he a stranger to the members of that court. He had long been a deputy surveyor, under William Preston, surveyor of Fincastle county, and had previously thereto surveyed for the citizens of Holston large and numerous tracts of land. His name was Robert Preston, and on that day he pre- sented to the court a commission from the masters of William and Mary College, appointing him surveyor of Washington county. The position of county surveyor was at that time, the most lucra- tive position to be found in any of the counties and was much sought after. William Preston, of Smithfield, as well as Robert Preston, had long been actively engaged by Colonel James Patton and the Loyal Land Company, in surveying and locating their grants of one hundred and twenty thousand and eight hundred thousand acres of land in Southwest Virginia. For this reason they had incurred the displeasure of many of the people of South-
*Journal House of Delegates, 1777.
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western Virginia, and particularly that of Colonel Arthur Camp- bell and his family, men who were ambitious and who felt it their right to rule. Whether this was the reason for the action of the court, or whether the reason is correctly stated in the order of the court cannot be stated. The court entered the following order :
"Robert Preston. Gent., produced a commission from the Mas- ters of William and Mary College appointing him a surveyor of Washington, and it is the opinion of the court that the same should not be received, as it is issued by virtue of a prerogative from the Crown of England."
If the order of this court correctly stated the motive of the court, there can be no question that the court detested the Crown of England and everything emanating therefrom.
Robert Preston appealed from this order of the County Court of Washington county, to the General Court at Williamsburg, which appeal was pending for some time, during which time, Robert Preston produced a surveyor's commission from the Masters of William and Mary College, dated January 23, 1:27, to the County Court, of this county, and desired to be qualified by the said court, but his application was refused by the court, as there was an appeal pending in the General Court for a refusal of the same character.
While the appeal of Robert Preston was pending in the General Court, numerously signed petitions were presented to the General Assembly of Virginia, praying that body to confer the power of selecting county surveyors upon the County Courts of the several counties, but Robert Preston seemed to have the ear of government. and all petitions were rejected.
I cannot say what disposition was made of the appeal of Robert Preston, but from an inspection of the records of the County Court of this county, the following information is gathered: "Robert Preston, Gent., produced a commission from Thos. Jefferson, Gov. of the Commonwealth of Virginia, being dated the 22nd day of December, 1719, appointing him Surveyor of the County of Wash- ington, and gave bond with James Dysart and Aaron Lewis, his securities, in the sum of 20,000 pounds for the faithful discharge of his office and took the oath of office."
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