USA > West Virginia > Lewis County > A history of Lewis County, West Virginia > Part 11
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Mention has already been made of the settlements of Edward Hughes and Edmund Radcliff near the mouth of McCann's run, and of the settlement made by Patrick McCann about 1785. He was followed a little later by Daniel McCann, and these last named settlers continued to live in the community for several years. Following the close of the Indian wars Richard Hall, progenitor of one branch of the numerous Hall family in Lewis Coun- ty, built his home on McCann's run. His brother-in- law Smith Gibson settled on the farm now owned by George Neely.
The first permanent settlement on Freeman's creek is supposed to have been that of John Runyon at the mouth of the stream. Adam and John Bush took up homesteads before 1790 not far above the settlement of Runyon where they successfully repulsed an Indian raid. On the future site of Freemansburg George Bush took up his residence in 1790. He industriously cleared the forest around his cabin, took up adjacent lands, pur- chased the rights of other homesteaders who had be- come discouraged, and eventually became the owner of one of the most extensive estates in the county. The next resident of the vicinity is supposed to have been Jacob Schoolcraft who settled on the Alexander West patent at the mouth of Horse run. John Smith and Robert Hitt came to Horse run soon afterwards, and they were followed in their turn by William McKinley,
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who settled on a branch of the stream not far from the site of Freemansburg.
Soon after the last of the Indian raids, George Woofter and Jonathan Woofter moved to the valley. The former settled on Rush run, and the latter on the Solomon White farm on the left fork of Freeman's creek. Their descendants have done much in the later development of the western part of the district. Carr Bailey moved from the Bailey settlement which later be- came Westfield to a tract which he purchased on Rush run. Shortly afterwards the land near the forks of Freeman's creek was settled by John and William White. Hezekiah Tharp located about a mile below their set- tlement very early in the nineteenth century. In later years he built a mill on his farm at which all the grind- ing for the settlers on the creek was done for many years. The mill was afterwards sold, and Tharp sought a home in the west. The Norrises are thought to have come to Freeman's creek about the year 1800. Richard Norris settled on the south bank of the creek about one- half mile above the lower bridge across the stream, and John Norris became the first settler on Millstone run.
One of the first settlers on Gee Lick run was Charles Fisher, whose cabin stood near the forks of the stream where Minor Lough now lives. John Waggoner located about one mile further up the creek on what is now the Lot Hall farm, also at an early date. One of his neigh- bors was a man named Nair. Much of the land on Gee Lick soon passed into the hands of Paulser Butcher, whose children and grandchildren occupied most of the attractive farms on the lower course of the stream.
The first religious services on Freeman's creek were held at the home of George Woofter on Rush run by Rev. John Davis, an intinerant preacher of the Baptist church. The date must have been at the very beginning of the century. After the establishment of the Broad run Baptist church, its pastors occasionally came to upper Freeman's creek to hold services. Interest grew,
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and the community became a regular preaching place. A church was organized in 1820-the first offspring in Lewis County of the Broad Run Baptist church-by the Rev. John J. Waldo. Among the first members were Carr Bailey and wife, George Woofter and wife, Mrs. Jennie Woofter, John White and wife, James Cox and wife, Isaac Woofter and Mrs. Rachel White. The church, under a succession of pastors of more than or- dinary ability, has expanded to meet the needs of the community. The Bible school which has always been a strongly emphasized feature of the work of the church, has developed until now it is regarded as the best or- ganized country Sunday school in the state.
The first school of which there is any tradition was taught in an abandoned log cabin on the Bush estate near Freemansburg about the year 1818.
The lands of Polk creek were not occupied so early as those on Freeman's creek on account of the well traveled Indian trail which followed the course of the stream. The name was given to it on account of the fact that an early explorer found a pokestalk growing in the forks of a sycamore tree near the mouth of the creek. The spelling was changed to its present form in the early 'thirties. After the close of the Indian wars the land on the lower course of the stream gradually came into possession of the Fleshers, whose descendants con- tinued to occupy it for many years. Leonard Burkham- mer settled on a claim about two miles from the mouth of the stream about the year 1800. Adam Hoover, who came at a somewhat later date, became the first settler on Dry Fork. On the present site of Camden, John Nicholes built his cabin early in the last century. It be- came an important stopping place for travelers to and from the Leading creek country in after years. The greater portion of the lands on the creek were undevel- oped for many years on account of the holdings of great landowners who allowed it to lie idle. John Connelly built a small water-power mill about one mile above the
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mouth of the stream which was in existence by about 1816, but its owner discontinued it not long after the completion of the more modern mill at Weston.
Below the mouth of Polk creek on the West Fork river, Paulser Butcher, later an important citizen of the community, established himself about the time of the treaty of Greenville. Little is known of his parentage or family connections. He was evidently an orphan, and after the customs of the time he had been bound out to Henry Flesher, the pioneer of Weston, until he reach- ed his majority. He early showed a marked degree of business ability. Before his indenture had expired he took out a homestead for himself in the valley below Weston, and upon reaching his majority he built his house on the opposite side of the river and a little be- low the mouth of Maxwell's run. He improved the land to some extent by clearing it and planting an orchard of peach and apple trees, but he soon found an easier means of increasing his wealth. He brought a thirty-gallon copper still across the mountains from the vicinity of Richmond by packhorse and set it up on his farm. Here, according to tradition, he made the first peach brandy produced west of the Alleghanies. He also made whis- key from corn and rye which were grown on his farm or bought from his neighbors. He also made liquor for the farmers for miles around on the shares, taking a reasonable toll. The demand for the product of the still was very great. The owner grew wealthy and added most of the lands in the vicinity to his farm. He was able to give a large farm to each of his sons and a re- spectable dowry with each of his daughters.
Just below the mouth of Freeman's creek was an- other landholder with estates equal to those of a feudal baron. Edward Jackson, who had attained the rank of colonel in the Virginia army, and whose deeds as an Indian fighter are only less than those of his distinguish- ed brother Colonel George Jackson, acquired title to the lands at the mouth of Freeman's creek, and settled there
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after the close of the Indian wars. In 1808 he built a combined grist and sawmill just below the mouth of Freeman's creek, which has become famous from its associations with the boyhood days of Stonewall Jack- son. The mill was long regarded as being one of the best in the county. The supply of raw material to keep it in operation came from the numerous farms round about and from the estate which included it. The slaves of the proprietor raised corn and wheat in the broad bottoms in the summer season and cut poplar logs in the winter.
Colonel Edward Jackson was one of the most prom- inent surveyors in the history of Lewis County, and his profession often took him far from his estate. Almost from the first the management of the mill was in the hands of Cummings Jackson, and within a short time he acquired possession of it. The new owner added to the family possessions until his estate included fifteen hundred acres. Though he was accused of being an un- usually great violator of the laws in his time, he was extremely popular with the people round about, and was the idol of the laboring classes, because he gave employ- ment to many persons at all times of the year, either on his farm or in getting out timber for his mill. Poplar logs were cut on the banks of Freeman's creek and floated to the mill. After the establishment of Weston, the mill was kept running day and night throughout the late fall and winter seasons. Most of the lumber used before the Civil war in building the frame houses of Weston, was sawed at the Jackson mill.
Kincheloe creek, named for its first explorer, was not very thickly settled before 1860. Most of the pion- eers took up lands on the north side of the creek in Har- rison county, where the bottoms were wider. Some of the Hugheses, relatives of the Indian fighters, moved from McCann's run and settled very early on Turkeypen run on the Lewis County side. The family has contin-
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ued until the past few years to occupy the ancestral es- tate.
The western part of Freeman's Creek district which is drained by streams flowing into the Little Kanawha was settled much later than the lands on the West Fork and its tributaries. It was by no means neglected, how- ever. The rich pasturage found in the sheltered coves of Fink creek was used for grazing purposes by the set- tlers on Hacker's creek following the close of the Indian wars. Fink creek and Leading creek were both famous for the products of the chase. Trappers secured some of their best furs in that region. The mouth of Fink creek was the favorite site for hunters' camps even before the close of the Indian wars. For many years the valleys of both streams continued to be clothed in the primeval for- est.
The first settler on the lower course of the creek was John Hurst, who had formerly resided on the Tygart's Valley river. He came late in the spring of 1815, com- pleted his cabin on the tenth of April and moved into it. Later in the season he cleared a corn patch from which he secured sufficient breadstuffs for his family. It was the most strenuous sort of labor. During the day he would grub out saplings, pile brush and cut down trees; at night he would chop logs by the light of the burning brush heaps. Sometimes it is said that he would continue his work of chopping all night. His Sundays were spent in killing rattlesnakes and copperheads which infested the country. In later years he continued to increase the circle of his clearings, meanwhile fighting . the panthers, wildcats and wolves which threatened the destruction of his live stock.
On the upper course of Fink creek, Isaac Woofter, son of George Woofter, settled near the mouth of Isaac's fork on the present site of Churchville at about the same time as the settlement of Hurst farther down the creek. The contiguity of his farm to the Freeman's
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creek settlements made his task an easy one in compari- son with that of Hurst.
Leading creek remained practically a wilderness un- til the middle of the nineteenth century. Lewis Stall- man, who was one of the earliest residents along the course of the stream, made his first settlement near the present site of Troy in Gilmer County. John Money- penny settled near the head of the creek not far from John Nicholes very early in the century and he was fol- lowed at a later date by Amos and William Woofter, sons of the pioneers of Freeman's creek. It was not un- til after the completion of the Staunton and Parkers- burg turnpike that the valley became attractive to set- t.ers.
CHAPTER XIII.
PROGRESS IN THE OLDER SETTLEMENTS
It must not be taken for granted that the other set- tlements on Hacker's creek were marking time during the twenty years after the peace of Greenville. While oases of settlements were being created in the primeval forests on Skin creek, the Hacker's creek settlements felt the surge of energy and the revivifying effects of the in- fusion of new blood. On the creek the older settlers had begun their clearings and had laid the foundations for the structure of a later society. The settlers who came after 1795 had the advantage of their toil. They lived in comparative comfort, even in backwoods opulence. There was no struggle with the savages, no uncertainty respecting the maintenance of law and order, no necessi- ty for the head of the family to come to the land he had selected and cultivate a crop before he could bring his family. If the supply of venison was somewhat less, there was assured plenty of grain in the settlement to furnish his family with breadstuffs, and the pioneers were only too glad to dispose of the surplus in return for money which the new comers brought with them from the east. There was a mill in the settlements on which the corn could be ground without having to de- pend upon the slow process of grinding in hand mills or the unsatisfactory method of grating the corn on a tin grater. There was reasonable assurance that a school would be established in the neighborhood at some time during the winter, so that there was no fear that their children would grow up without the rudiments of an education. Some of the young men in fact were at- tracted to Hacker's creek because of the profitable em-
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ployment in teaching school. Those who were religiously inclined need have no fear that their spiritual wants would remain unsatisfied or that their children would grow up in ignorance of religion, for a church had been established in the neighborhood. It was by virtue of these facts that men of property and influence in the eastern part of the state left their homes and came to the valley of Hacker's creek. The character of the later immigrants was of the highest in all respects, and their descendants have taken a part in the political, social and economic life of the western part of Virginia second only to that of the descendants of the pioneers.
The names of some of the immigrants to Hacker's creek in the last years of the eighteenth century are John Marple, John Kee, Elijah Waggoner, George Cunning- ham, Joseph Straley, Thomas C. Hinzman, Joseph Pumphrey, Jacob Henline and Alexander Morrison. John Life, whose parents were natives of Germany, set- tled on a branch of the creek which now bears the name of Life's run. Jonathan Hacker returned from his wan- derings on Skin creek and the upper West Fork and set- tled near his father's home.
Just how fast the rush of settlements was may be inferred from a study of the statistics given for Harrison County in the decennial census reports. In 1790, the population was 2080; in 1800, 4848; in 1810, 9958; and in 1820, after the formation of Lewis County had cut off two-thirds of the territory of the county, the population was 10,932, and that of Lewis County 4,247. If the same ratio of increase applied to Hacker's creek as to the older settlements in Harrison County, then the increase of population in the valley of the creek must have been much faster than that of the outlying sections of the county where land was far lower in price-
The land on the eastern side of the West Fork river was also well settled within the two decades following the cessation of Indian hostlities. The Broad run settle- ment received an important addition to its numbers from
1
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a great immigration of New Jersey citizens which oc- curred about 1806. The Newlons, Minters and Baileys came from Fauquier or Culpepper County, Virginia, and settled on the wide bottoms of the West Fork where the town of Westfield afterwards grew up, sank into obscur- ity and finally altogether ceased to exist.
The increase in the population brought further im- provements in the conditions of living, which is apparent from an examination of the records of the time. Pun- cheon floors, rough-hewn doors and split log benches ceased to exist in the better houses with the addition of a sawmill to the grist mill of Henry McWhorter on the later site of Jane Lew. The owner of a thousand acres could now sit at a level table and eat his food in greater comfort and security. If he were wealthy enough and had sufficient patience to wait a long time, he could even have the front of his house weatherboarded, and thus deceive the stranger into thinking he lived in a frame mansion. The sawmill of Henry McWhorter, like his grist mill was a crude affair. It consisted principally of a vertical sash saw attached to run by water power. There was no limit to the raw material available for the mill. A poplar log could be sawed in half the time re- quired for a white oak log, and poplar lumber was there. fore the only product of the sawmill for years to come.
Another improvement introduced after the peace of Greenville was the wagon. The first wheeled vehicle to cross the mountain roads and reach Clarksburg ar- rived in 1798. It is related that when it was sighted on the opposite side of Elk creek, the news spread like wildfire, and the excitement was intense. Rich and poor alike left their employments and hastened to view the hitherto unknown spectacle in the quiet valley of the West Fork. Even the judge of the circuit court ad- journed the session for the day and went to the scene. The bank of Elk creek was dug down at the ford in order to make the passage of the wagon possible. His Honor Judge Jackson took hold of one of the wheels of the
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wagon and assisted its passage to the high bottoms on the other side. It was a great day for Clarksburg-as great a day as that which marked the coming of the first rail- road train-for if one wagon could successfully accom- plish the passage of the mountains and the rivers from the east, others could do the same, and there would soon be wide roads and more comforts in the settlements and perhaps-later on-a stage coach! The pioneer who dared to bring the first wagon into the county was held in such honor that most of the population of the county seat accompanied him to the tract of land he had pur- chased and assisted him to build his home. Other wag- ons were brought west in a steady stream. By 1804 the demand for repairs for the large number of wagons in the vicinity and on the state road, and for new wagons to be built for use in the county, became so great that a wagon-shop was established in Clarksburg.
The first wagon reached the Buckhannon valley in 1800. It was brought by Jacob Lorentz and others, emi- grants from the South Branch. There were no roads over the mountains, and on several occasions it was necessary to take the wagon apart and carry it and its load over a particularly difficult part of the way on the backs of horses. Eventually it reached its intended des- tination on Saul's run.
Just when the first wagon reached Lewis County is not known. There is a tradition in the McWhorter fam- ily that when Henry McWhorter came to the Hacker's creek valley in 1790, he moved his goods by wagon, but this is believed to be a mistake. If he brought the first wagon to the county it must have been at a later date. For a long time wagons were very scarce west of the mountains, and one wagon was often used by several families.
Though stores had been established in Clarksburg before the opening of the century, the first store which really had much influence on the later development of Lewis County was that established by Jacob Lorentz
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just over the present boundary line in Upshur County, shortly after his arrival in the Trans-Alleghany region. For many years it continued to be the only store for miles around. It was not at first a pretentious estab- lishment. The stock of goods was necessarily limited by the difficulties of transportation. A department store could not now exist in Weston if the stock of goods had to be brought on pack horses from Winchester. Calico was fifty cents a yard, nails were twenty-five cents a pound and other goods in proportion. Little cash was taken in by the proprietor. Most of the sales were made in exchange for the products of the pioneers' farms or the neighboring forests. Hogs, cattle, skins and the roots of medicinal plants were the principal media of exchange. It is said that at a later date the proprietor took a drove of 937 hogs over the mountains. A wagon load of corn to be fed to the hogs, accompanied the party.
The same year that marked the advent of the wagon at Clarksburg also witnessed the coming of another great convenience. The postoffice address of the pioneer res- idents of the upper West Fork was no longer "Winches- ter, Va.," but "Clarksburg, Va."
The number of long trips to the east was still fur ther reduced by the establishment of a manufacturing in- dustry in the valley of the West Fork. Early tradition states that Henry Flesher operated a still on Town run, which is called "Stillhouse run" in the early records. Possibly Paulser Butcher acquired his skill in making liquor from having assisted around Flesher's still. Other pioneers besides Flesher and Butcher engaged in the pro- duction of ardent spirits, which were then regarded as a necessity by most of the settlers.
The manufacture of salt also began very early in ter- ritory included for a time in Lewis County. Calder Haymond, in 1781 received a certificate for 400 acres of land on Salt Lick creek by right of residence there and raising corn before 1778. The land was regarded as of small value until about 1807 when Benjamin Conrad's
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cow discovered a saline spring and made a path to it. By following the path the owner of the land came upon the spring which produced an excellent quality of brine. Operations were begun there the following year. The spring, which is located not far from Bulltown, produced many hundreds of bushels of salt, operations being con- ducted on an especially large scale during the war of 1812. Salt works were also established on the West Fork above Clarksburg by John G. Jackson and others. Several wells were drilled, and a fairly good qualilty of brine was procured. Eventually, however, these wells failed to yield salt in paying quantities and the opera- tions were abandoned.
Clarksburg naturally became the metropolis of the county. A newspaper was established there in 1815. At a very early date it had a boat-yard where flatboats were built to be floated down the river to Pittsburgh loaded with the products of the pioneer farms. Whisky, grain, furs, skins, lumber and country produce were the principal articles shipped down the river. Many flat- boats were built at various places and sent down the river on the autumn rise with cargoes consisting of the varied produce of the country.
When the number of wagons became large enough to compel the opening of wagon roads to the east, arti- cles, such as hides, linen, butter, honey, beeswax, ginseng and snake root were shipped over the mountains where they brought higher prices than at Pittsburgh.
As in earlier periods of the history of the upper West Fork valley, the principal export of the farmers was live stock. They could be raised easily on the succulent pas- turage of upper Freeman's creek, Fink creek and other sections, and they possessed a great advantage over all other kinds of agricultural produce in that they could be driven to market.
The first improvement in the kind of stock kept by the farmers of the county followed the emigration of an isolated group of New England colonists who settled on
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French creek, now in Upshur County in 1810. The cat- tle they drove before them were so far superior to the scrub stock which had been brought from eastern Vir- ginia that the farmers in the surrounding region began cross-breeding their cattle with them. The result was a decided improvement in the quality of cattle kept. The upper valley of the West Fork soon became famous as a cattle raising section.
Methods of handling live stock changed little from the earlier day. They were still allowed to run out in the winter, being fed fodder and some hay. In the sum- mer they roamed the woods, feeding mainly from the wild pea-vine. The extent of the range was increased greatly when the menace of the Indians was removed. Farmers were accustomed to brand their cattle and turn them out on the range, salting them at stated intervals, and always at the same place. Upper Freeman's creek and Fink creek were the choicest districts for pasturage; and many a Hacker's creek farmer became wealthy from the herds of fat cattle which he sold off the range every fall.
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