USA > Virginia > King and Queen County > King and Queen County > King and Queen County, Virginia (history printed in 1908) > Part 2
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It must be borne in mind that at this early date the population on the upper waters was quite sparse, and the Courthouse of the new county was located where it now stands.
CHAPTER III
RESOURCES, CLIMATE, ETC.
The following statistics of the agricultural and horti- cultural advantages of the county are compiled from memoranda prepared by the author in 1888, by request of Committee of the Agricultural Society of Virginia. They were designated to accompany an exhibit of county resources at the Virginia State Fair at the City of Rich- mond, in October of that year.
RELATIVE POSITION AND POPULATION
The county is part of the neck of land between the York and Rappahannock rivers, fifty miles from Chesa- peake Bay, thirty-five north of east from the city of Richmond, and one hundred and fifty south from Balti- more, with both of which it communicates by steamers and railroad. It is fifty miles long by ten in width, with a population, in 1880, of 10,502, mostly homogeneous, being descendants of the original settlers.
MORALS AND CHURCHES
Taking it as a whole, its people are among the most refined, cultured and moral in the State. Very little whisky is sold. No liquor has been sold at the county seat for fifteen or twenty years, and but one case of dis- order has been known to occur there within that time, and that between two belligerent colored citizens. In morals, our people will compare with those of any land.
Churches are numerous. It is not too much to say that this is a religious people. The Sabbath is held sacred, and Sabbath schools are largely patronized. There are Baptist, Methodist, Disciples, Christadel- phian, and Episcopal churches. Indeed, most of the people are communicants in some church.
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KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 27
SCHOOLS
The system of public schools, supported by the State, is in full play here, and they are growing in utility. For the session of 1887 and 1888, there were forty-four schools, some graded, and 2000 scholars. The county is noted for its educational advantages, and for the gen- eral attention paid to the subject. Private schools and academies of excellent character and for both sexes abound. For higher education, facilities are at hand equal to any demand. Teachers and systems of teach- ing are of high grade. One or two high schools are in prospect.
HEALTH
This, to the immigrant, is a matter of prime con- sideration. The robust person, blooming cheek and in- cident cheerfulness, and in many cases advanced age of our people, refute the idea that this country is unfav- orable to health. Indeed, our immigrants themselves contradict it. All tide-water sections have malaria, but it is by no means confined to tide-water. Timely precautions and watchfulness will almost uniformly pre- vent any trouble. It is also very much in our favor that typhoid fever, so common and fatal in higher climates, very seldom occurs here. Statistics show that the aver- age of life in eastern Virginia is higher than anywhere else in the country.
CLIMATE
While subject to changes incident to countries near the sea, though by no means limited to them, our climate is exempt from the extremes of heat and cold occurring elsewhere. The needful supply of ice for summer sel- dom fails, but the thermometer rarely touches zero in winter, or rises above 95 Fahrenheit in summer. Floods and cyclones, which distress and overwhelm other sec- tions, are almost unknown here. Occasional snows oc- cur in winter, giving sport to the young with sleds and sleighs.
28 KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA FIVE YEARS' AVERAGE OF KING AND QUEEN CLIMATE
Rainfall, in. Temperature.
January
3.192
38 to 44
February
2.049
41 to 47
March
3.95
48 to 54
April
3.68
56 to 62
May
2.83
63 to 70
June
3.75
71 to 78
July
4.49
77 to 82
August
9.15
76 to 81
September
4.76
69 to 74
October
4.63
62 to 66
November
2.61
47 to 53
December
2.87
43 to 48
SURFACE AND SOIL
Lying along the Mattapony and the Dragon, and stretching out to the distance of from several hundred yards to three-fourths of a mile, are extensive tracts of level land, mostly light and easily cultivated. Away from these waters the surface is undulating, sometimes hilly, with large fields and forests of level lands inter- vening. The character and constituents of the soil vary locally, and it is not uncommon to see one part of a farm heavy and stiff, and another light; grayish clay lands preponderate on the ridge. A clay subsoil generally prevails.
MINERALS
Gray and blue marls abound. These have been used upon the lands with marked results. The deposit fre- quently crops out from the surface, and is dug from the pit and applied at small cost. These marls are rich in carbonate of lime, and analyze 40 to 90 per cent. pure lime. The beds occur often, and are seemingly inex- haustible. Animal bones, shells, and Indian relics, in all stages of decomposition, are disinterred. Large beds of fine white sand are also common.
STAPLE CROPS
Corn, wheat, oats, rye, tobacco, potatoes (Irish and sweet ), peas, beans, and occasionally buckwheat, are the staples. Peanuts and other truck are growing in favor;
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 29
sorghum and broom-corn are grown successfully. To- bacco raised here will compare well in quality with that grown elsewhere.
LANDS-PRICES AND CAPACITIES
Owners are beginning to realize the folly of attempt- ing to cultivate so large an area as was in vogue here. Hence much land is on the market, at from $4 to $8, unimproved; and $8 to $20, improved; sometimes with a good dwelling and outhouses included. While con- siderable portions of these have been under cultivation, others lie in original forests.
The highlands, as well as alluvial and other bottom lands, respond easily and well to the hand of improve- ment; which is the great desideratum. There are many cases where lands which, under the wasting process of years of unskilled and neglected cultivation had grown thin, have been made to " rejoice and blossom as the rose." It may seem to some incredible, but is neverthe- less true, that some of our lands which have been culti- vated one hundred years or more with almost no return and no rest, are yet under the plow, and yield from ten to twenty bushels of corn to the acre. One large farm, which has been worked one hundred and fifty years, with only one moderate application of lime, and the respective fields grazed alternate years, still brings some fifteen bushels good corn. This shows well for the subsoil and the general constituents of the soil, and we challenge comparison with other sections. It is hardly a question what such lands would do in the hand of the skilled and active agriculturist. A large body of land skirting the Dragon and its tributaries, would well-nigh fill the gran- aries of Egypt, and only awaits the capital and energy needed to drain it ! A company is already opening the stream below.
VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
An intelligent resident was asked, " Do you know of any good vegetable which cannot be successfully grown here?" The answer, after a moment's reflection, was,
30 KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
" No!" The answer would be very much the same as to fruits, excepting those of the Torrid Zone only. Of course, certain varieties of each are better suited to our soil and climate, and in the selection regard must be had to this. We have apples-summer, fall and winter varieties-peaches, pears, cherries, apricots, quinces, damsons, plums; blackberries, growing wild in inex- haustible quantities, and very salable; strawberries, rasp- berries, melons, and last, not least, grapes. Soil and cli- mate here seem specially favorable to the grape, though but little attention has hitherto been given to it. Yet it is growing in favor.
WATER
The abundant supply of pure, wholesome water, gurgling forth from almost every hillside, and readily accessible by wells to those who prefer it, is some- thing marvelous. Strangers wonder at it, and admire. Scarcely a farm that has not enough and to spare for man and beast. In some cases artesian wells have been bored, at a cost of from $40 to $60, and to depths of 150 to 400 feet, with the result that a magnificent stream pours clear, sparkling waters into house and kit- chen. The hamlet of Walkerton, alone, has eight of these in constant use.
TRANSPORTATION
Mattapony River, flowing into the York at West Point, is navigable for nearly the entire length of the county. A new steamer and sail vessels are constantly plying to and fro, giving ready access to Richmond, Norfolk, Baltimore, New York, and to foreign ports. From many parts of the county the Rappahannock is also easy of access, giving ready passage to Baltimore, etc. The Richmond and Chesapeake Railroad is pro- jected, passing through the county to a point near the mouth of the Potomac, and thence to points North.
TIMBER
Assorted specimens of some of the best growths were
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 31
exhibited. Cypress is plentiful, affording the best shin- gles and weather-boarding in the world; chestnut yields the most durable fence-timber; black walnut is much in demand; oak, for railroad ties; pine, for fuel and gen- eral building purposes ; poplar can be cut largely for the manufacture of paper; hickory, beech, ash, cedar, holly, dogwood, etc., abound. Immense quantities of these are annually exported, and in some cases purchasers have paid for their lands from this source alone.
FACTORIES-FACILITIES FOR
A number of steam mills are engaged in cutting shingles, laths, and other lumber, and there is room for more. Grist and flour mills give us meal and flour. Only one iron foundry exists in the county, but there are a number of shops for the work of the blacksmith. Fac- tories for pickles and fruits are being established.
POULTRY AND EGGS
The demand for these increases annually, and is often above the supply, though this is enormous. One mer- chant sold $1, 500 worth of eggs in a season. Poultry can be made very profitable. Brahmas, Plymouth Rock, and other improved breeds are now being introduced, and will pay even better.
STOCK
Our horses are mostly natives of the small breeds common to tide-water, though the demand is increasing for the higher grades. Of cattle, the Jersey cow is highly approved. One citizen reports three and a half pounds of butter daily from two cows, on pasturage alone. Much, it is thought, is to be made in the raising of colts, and with improved grades we see no reason to doubt its success. Of hogs, large numbers are slaughtered annually, and our bacon is equal in juiciness and sweetness to the best.
GRASSES
Our native growth, in many instances, gives good
32
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
grazing. Extensive tracts of marsh feed herds of cows and hogs, and on York River one gentleman gives no other feed to his cattle, even in winter, his herd subsist- ing and doing well on this alone. Clover, orchard grass, timothy, red-top and millet, succeed with neces- sary attention. During the present season large crops have been saved. One farmer, not far below us, housed one hundred and fifty tons, worth $12 to $15 per ton. This can be made a source of large revenue.
FISHERIES
Shad, herring, trout, pike, chub, sturgeon, and other varieties of fish are taken yearly, and give food and money to the people. From the York, on our eastern border, and from the Rappahannock, on the north, comes the succulent oyster, among the best, to our tables; while vast quantities are being shipped to market, and profitably.
TRADE
Our merchants buy in Baltimore and Richmond, and from the number of stores the trade must be heavy in the aggregate. Transportation being easier and cheaper, a very large proportion of our produce goes to the first- named city. When the new railroad comes much of this will be diverted to Richmond, or northward to Philadelphia and New York. From the port of West Point we have communication direct or indirect with all parts of the world.
LABOR
Labor is cheap as can be found elsewhere in the coun- try. Native colored hands, by many considered the best in the world, can be had for eight dollars per month and board. To those who prefer it, white labor is obtainable.
SHEEP AND WOOL
This is a profitable industry. The yield for fleece may be set down at three to fourteen pounds. The
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 33
Cotswold, Shropshire, and other improved breeds, are coming in, and the yield increases. Lambs are always in demand in early spring and fall, and pay well. One gentleman reports a lamb dropped in March and weigh- ing 100 pounds in July.
BEES AND HONEY
Bee-keeping can be made to pay. There were to be seen in our exhibit specimens from the hive of an enter- prising lady of the county, surpassed by none, equaled by very few, in any section of the country.
GAME
From its comparatively isolated location, the county is well supplied with game. The deer, fox, rabbit, the wild turkey, goose and duck, quail, snipe, etc., are plenti- ful; while last, not least, the sora, that most delicious of all birds, gives life to our marshes and food to our palates in the fall. Try a specimen, fresh from the marsh and the spit, and be convinced.
ROADS
Our roads are good, except when affected by the rains and freezes of winter and spring.
FINANCES
The county's finances are in a healthy condition, the revenue meeting the annual expenses without trouble, and making a handsome return for State expenses. The `tax rate is only eighty cents on the hundred dollars to both county and State. The county owes nothing.
MAIL FACILITIES
Mails pass and re-pass regularly and daily to and from Richmond, the morning papers from that city reaching parts of the county by or before 10 A. M.
34 KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA POPULATION
Census Year
Total
White
Free Colored
Slave
1790
9377
4159
75
5143
1800
9879
4335
164
5380
1810
10988
4718
267
6003
1820
11798
5460
297
6041
1830
11644
4714
416
6514
1840
10862
4426
499
5937
1850
10319
4094
461
5764
1860
10328
3801
388
6139
1870
9709
4221
5488
1880
10502
4424
6078
. .
1890
9669
4235
5430
....
1900
9265
4006
5259
....
CHAPTER IV
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK : HIS NATIVITY AND HIS EXPLOITS
1136052
The author distinctly remembers that in the days of his boyhood, there stood a dilapidated but still tenantable house on a red-clay hill about midway be- tween Stevensville and Cumnor, five miles above the Courthouse. It was on land which was occupied for years by Hon. H. R. Pollard, now City Attorney of Richmond; but is at present occupied (1903) by Dr. Thomas Latane. The place was known in 1830 all around by the name of "Clark's."
This place is associated with two names which reflect as much credit on the county in things material, as Shackelford and Semple did in things spiritual. His- torians and biographers agree in proclaiming that George Rogers Clark was a native of Albemarle County. This author ventures a decided opinion that this is a mistake. Colonel John Pollard came to King and Queen in 1818, from Goochland, the very year of General Clark's death. Being an observing and thoughtful man, and knowing something of the careers of George Rogers Clark and his brother William, who was only second to him, both being generals in the mili- tary service-he (Colonel Pollard) looked closely into the question of their family lineage, birth, etc. From his statement, oft repeated, it was agreed by the people of the county that George Rogers was born at the place indicated above, and was consequently a native of King and Queen. Some of them knew the Clarks well. While he was yet an infant his father removed to Albe- marle, and it is easy to understand how historians have made the pardonable mistake. The tradition at the time of the death of George Rogers, near Louisville, Ky., in 1818, as given by those acquainted with the
35
36
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Clark family in King and Queen, was unanimous. This would seem decisive. The old house where he first saw the light of day disappeared many years since, and the site is now under cultivation.
We give below something of a family tree, compiled from the " Conquest of the Northwest " :
Before 1725 there settled in King and Queen an English immigrant named John C. Clark. He was unmarried. By and by, learning that a shipload of marriageable girls was to land at Yorktown-then a port of some importance-he went down to take a survey. It was easy then to go by boat from the Matta- pony down the York River. The ship had just arrived. Mr. Clark was attracted by a red-haired maiden and married her.
We propose here to give a sketch of the Clark family, drawn in part from the " Conquest of the Northwest," and in part from William Kyle Anderson's sketches.
I. John Clark, Englishman, married red-headed Scotch girl, located in King and Queen after 1700 A. D. 2. Jonathan, his son, married Elizabeth Wilson, died 1734. In his will Jonathan Clark uses this lan- guage, in which it will be noted there is a recognition of the great God over all, and as well, of His Son, our Savior-the Lord Jesus Christ :
" Through the mercy and merits of Christ, our Savior."
3. John, oldest son of Jonathan, born 1724, married in 1749, Ann Rogers, daughter of Giles Rogers * and sister of Mrs. Donald Robertson.
4. George Rogers Clark, their second child, was born Nov. 19, 1752. The names of the brothers and sisters are, in order of ages, as follows: Jonathan, George Rogers, John, Richard, Edmund, Lucy, Eliza- beth, William, and Frances.
Giles Rogers, Sr., was the grandfather, on the ma- ternal side, of Ann (Rogers) Clark. Among the chil-
* Giles Rogers was an Englishman who settled on the Mattapony River in King and Queen in 1686.
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 37
dren of John, Sr., George Rogers and William were men of national reputation, and deservedly so. George Rogers, second son of John, Sr., emigrated to Kentucky when yet a mere youth. Kentucky in that day was a howling wilderness, inhabited largely by Indians hostile to the whites, and by murderous beasts of the forest. Immigrants were few and scattered. Roving bands of wild Indians often came across the Ohio, and these did not hesitate to murder any unlucky immigrants who happened to obstruct their way, nor even to attack their settlements or hinder their hunting. George Rogers Clark soon saw the condition, and finding the settlers at Harrodsburg-then a mere hamlet-practically de- fenseless, through the almost total lack of powder and ball, he determined to return to Virginia to procure arms and ammunition for the settlement. This was just after the Revolutionary War had set in. The pathway was long and tedious, but he found his family and visited the Governor and Council at Williamsburg, then the capital of the State, where, fortunately, he found that great and far-seeing man, Patrick Henry, at the head of affairs as Governor. After a delay, to him doubtless very tedious, he procured an order from the Governor requiring the military commandant at Wheeling to deliver to Clark ammunition-notably powder-to be transported down the river, for the pur- pose indicated, and to detail a certain number of sol- diers to go with him as guard.
With a sagacity and vigor worthy of a man twice as old Clark took the powder down the river to a point some forty miles from Harrodsburg, and delivered it safely into the hands of the whites. The Indians laid an ambuscade on the road from the landing to Har- rodsburg, and a number of his men were slain, but the object of the expedition was accomplished.
This put the colony in shape to meet the Indians on their raids, and a number of their lurking parties were broken up and scattered. And yet the raids grew more frequent and aggressive. It developed that a power, greater than the Indians, was behind them. It will be remembered that the war of the Revolution was being
38 KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA
waged in the East at this period. The British had pushed out their forces to several points on the Lakes, and had built forts, notably one near Detroit, in Mich- igan. From Detroit they extended their lines to and down the Mississippi, erecting three forts on that river -the southernmost at the town of Kaskaskia-and a fort had also been erected at the town of Vincennes on the Wabash.
The object had in view by the Governor-general of Canada was manifestly to cut us off from acquisition of territory north of the Ohio River and west of the Mis- sissippi. Canadian authorities incited the Indians, and in some cases sent British soldiers along to direct their raids upon the defenseless settlers in Kentucky.
With the keen eye of a strategist Clark saw that the most effective means to stop these raids was to raise a force, and, if possible, take and hold these forts. With this view he returned to Virginia and laid the case before Governor Henry and his council, from whom he soon received a commission as captain in the Virginia army, with authority to raise a regiment and proceed to the accomplishment of his object.
Let us pause a moment to fix in our minds the dates of the events here recounted. December 7, 1776, was the date of the order for the powder; in October, 1777, Clark returned to Virginia; January 2, 1778, he re- ceived orders and instructions from the Governor at Williamsburg. June 24, 1778, Clark leaves Louisville in boats-an eclipse of the sun occurring just as he em- barked-to go down the Ohio, aiming for Kaskaskia. He has a force of only 175 men! July 4, 1778, at mid- night, he captures the fort at Kaskaskia, taking the com- mandant, Rocheblave, with all the garrison. Next morning he starts a subordinate with a small troop of men, and in due time all three of the forts on the Mis- sissippi were in the hands of the Virginians.
Clark next moves eastward across Illinois to the Wa- bash, some 160 miles, and captures the fort at Vin- cennes. Then he returns to Kaskaskia, leaving a small force at Vincennes. But the British were not to be foiled so easily. The Vice-governor-general, whose
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA 39
name was Hamilton, marched down from Detroit and recaptured Vincennes. Clark foresaw that unless Ham- ilton was checkmated he himself would be attacked in the spring at Kaskaskia. He determined to anticipate Governor Hamilton, and so in the freezing month of February, 1779, he leads a force back to Vincennes, in some places through waters up to their shoulders, out- wits Governor Hamilton, and recaptures the fort with all its garrison. This was an amazing achievement- perhaps the equal of anything of its character accom- plished during the Revolution. It added five great States, and a part of a sixth, to our Union-Ohio, Indi- ana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota.
George Rogers Clark displayed a military instinct which was most remarkable, and that, too, without any previous training whatever. In our judgment, he ranks second only to Washington himself in the results he achieved.
William Clark was also a general, U. S. A. He was younger by some eighteen years than his brother, George Rogers. He was the Clark of " Lewis and Clark's Ex- pedition " westward along the Missouri and by way of Columbia River to the Pacific. He was afterwards made Governor of the Louisiana Territory, with head- quarters at St. Louis, and was highly honored by Presi- dent Jefferson .*
The father and mother of these two men, as also the grandfather and grandmother, were King and Queen people.
* We are fortunate in having the following from the pen of our dis- tinguished countryman, Col. A. R. F. Fleet: " I have pictures of George Rogers Clark and his brother William, which I shall probably present to King and Queen County as soon as I have time to prepare a paper on the two men. William, as you know, was the first Governor of Missouri, and stands in high repute in that State. Donald Robertson, whose life can be found in the Virginia Historical Library, taught James Madison and George Rogers Clark at his classical school in King and Queen. Thomas Walker, the ancestor of the distinguished Dr. Thomas Walker of Albemarle, and also of the Riveses and of Gov. Thomas Walker Gilmer, was also from King and Queen."
40 KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA NOTES FROM ENGLISH'S "CONQUEST OF THE NORTHWEST." Captain Edmund Clark. Born September 25th, 1762, died 1817.
General Jonathan Clark.
Born August 1, 1750, died November 25, 181I.
Family .- Vol. I., pp. 29-31, 404. Pension, 785, etc. Surveyor, p. 59. Dunmore War, 64. Visits Kentucky, 65. Returned to Virginia and to Kentucky. Virginia Legislator. Sent by Patrick Henry with powder. Per- sonal appearance, 165. Plans for conquest of N. W. Corn Island.
General George Rogers Clark.
Born November 19th, 1752, son of John Clark and Ann Rogers, born February 13th, 1718. Grandson of Jonathan Clark and his wife, née Bird.
Tributes to Gen. G. R. Clark.
In center of Indianapolis a bronze monument, a sol- dier of Revolution, dedicated 1895, 113th anniversary of Sackville. Vincennes 160 miles from Kaskaskia.
" For this great empire indebted to Clark alone."- Voorhees, U. S. S.
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