USA > West Virginia > Randolph County > A history of Randolph County, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time > Part 20
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belong to the mammalia of India, although some specimens are supposed to be indigenous to China. However, the white man is responsible for their existence in America.
Mill Creek.
Mill Creek has the distinction of being the second town in Randolph county. It has a population of 740 according to the census of 1910. The community had prosperous stores, churches, school house and a blacksmith shop at the junction of the Valley Pike and the Mountain road, many years before the extension of the railroad up the valley. However, the completion of the railroad gave the impetus to the growth of the present town of Mill Creek. For many years the com- munity bore the not euphonious name of "Dog Town." For about a decade before the building of Mill Creek the village was called Crickard, in honor of Patrick Crickard, who was its first postmaster. Mill Creek is now the site of several large saw mills and is quite an important industrial center as well as the emporium of a wide agricultural territory.
Spanish War Volunteers.
Following is a list of the volunteers in the Spanish- American war of 1898. They were mostly in Company E First West Virginia Volunteer Infantry: Zan F. Collett, captain : James Hanley Jr., first sergeant : John J. Nallen, sec- ond Sergeant : H. B. O'Brien, third sergeant : C. D. Poling, W. C. Kennedy, T. J. Collett, T. J. Goddin, David F. Foy and J. E. Weese, corporals ; F. A. Rowan, C. L. Weymouth and H. Platz, musicians in the Regimental band; G. W. Buckey, Wagoner: privates: Bruce Phares, James R. Collier, C. L. Lewis, Cyrus J. Warner, John S. Garber, Leslie Harding. William Russell, C. Lloyd, J. Lloyd, K. Bennett, W. Welch, S. Knox, Wm. Steffey, F. W. Orris, T. J. Smith, H. Crawford Scott, Braxton O. Meeks, Stewart Anthony, Wamsley. Ran- dolph had three regular soldiers in the battle of Santiago. They were: Robt. L. Hamilton, first lieutenant ; Walter Phil- lips, hospital steward, and a Mr. Wolf, of the Twenty-second
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Infantry. Colonel Davis Elkins was on General Coppinger's staff.
The City of Elkins.
The site of the present City of Elkins, was a place of more than local distinction before the railroad was among the prob-
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Historical Round Barn, Built About 1832, Elkins, W. Va.
abilities in Tygarts Valley. Leadsville and the Round Barn were the scenes of many stirring events during the Civil War.
The City of Elkins was laid off into lots in 1889. It was named for Hon. S. B. Elkins, who with Honorable H. G. Davis and Honorable Richard Kearns, built magnificent re- sidences on adjacent eminences. On August 18, 1889, trains commenced running into the town. The railroad was ex- tended to Beverly and Belington in 1891, and to Huttonsville a few years later. A branch was also built, known as the C. & I., connecting with the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad at Dur- bin. The Coal & Coke, though entering the city over the Western Maryland tracks, entered the city over its own road bed in 1911. The county seat, which from the organization of the county, had been located at the ancient town of Beverly, was wrested from that place in an election in 1898, and the
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records were moved to Elkins eighteen months later. The clerk's offices were kept in the Western Maryland railroad building until the completion of the present court house about two years later.
The Elkins Electric Railway commenced running its cars on December 1, 1909. It is slowly extending its line down the river in the direction of Belington and is at present carrying passengers to Roaring Creek Junction and Harding.
In the fall of 1910, the magnificient Odd Fellows Home was dedicated in the western suburbs of Elkins. In this pala- tial home, in the midst of parks, driveways, artificial lakes and beautiful landscape, there is cared for the aged Odd Fellow and the orphaned children of deceased brethren. This home is supported by the order in West Virginia.
The same year marked the completion. also, in Elkins, of the Orphans Home, a State institution, supported by general taxation. The population of Elkins according to the census of 1910, was 5,260.
Indian Trail Still Visible.
An Indian trail leading over the mountain from the Val- ley to Fishing Hawk is still visible according to good au- thority. The trail followed the divide between the forks of Files Creek for some distance and then took its course along the north side of the mountain to the gap between the heads of Files Creek and Fishing Hawk. Evidences of the existence of this trail can be traced through the pasture fields and in the woods on the mountain side. The information of its ex- istence was orally transmitted by Wm. Daniels to his grand son, Harrison Daniels, who lives near where the trail starts up the mountain side. Several "licks" of salt springs were near the course of the trail, which, perhaps, partially ac- counted for its location. The county court of Randolph or- dered a survey of a road from Beverly up Files Creek to the top of the Alleghany Mountain in 1799, but the grade of the road now traveled is not as good as was the old Indian trail.
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Salt.
Salt is an indispensable condiment. It is an essential in- gredient of food for most mammals. Obtaining a sufficient supply of salt was one of the most difficult problems that con- fronted the pioneer. Not a few of the roads leading to older communities were opened for the purpose of importing salt. At an early day some salt was made in this country from sa- line springs, frequented by deer and buffalo. The water was evaporated by boiling. However, the greater part of the sup- ply was carried on pack saddles from Bull Town, Braxton County. In an inventory of a personal estate, admitted to rec- ord in 1803, salt was valued at $6.00 per bushel.
Names of Streams.
Tygarts Valley River was named for David Tygart, who settled on its banks near Beverly, in 1753. In the early rec- ords of the county the name is spelled Tygers. After the massacre of the Files family, Tygart abandoned the Valley. However, a family by the name of Taggart was among the first permanent settlers of the county and tradition says they were of the same stock as the David Tygart family. It is therefore probable that the name of the Valley and the river should be Taggart rather than Tygart.
Cheat River is so called from the deceptive appearance of the depth of the river, due to its freedom from foreign sub- stances. Estimating the depth of Cheat River from the stan- dard of other streams the eye is much deceived. The stream was called Wilmoths River for a number of years in the early history of the county for the reason that the Wilmoths were the first settlers on its banks.
Files Creek was named for Robert Files who settled near its mouth in 1753.
Mill Creek was called Currence's Mill Creek in the pion- eer period. It was one of the first streams in the county to furnish power for grinding grain. Wm. Currence erected a grist mill on the site of the present mill of Jesse Rosencranse in 1794. In the course of time the word Currence was drop-
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ped from the name and it now bears the abbreviated name of Mill Creek. .
Gandy Creek was named in honor of Uriah Gandy who was the first settler on the waters of that stream.
Dry Fork is so called for the reason that this stream is wont in many places to seek subterranean passages and leave a dry bed.
The origin of the names of Mud Lick, Gum Lick, Pond Lick, Laurel Fork, Middle Fork. Roaring Creek, Beaver Creek. Elkwater, Leading Creek, Otter Fork, Windy Run, is indicated by the names they bear.
Beccas Creek was named for a man by the name of Becky or Beckay, who settled on that stream in an early day.
Board of Registration.
From 1866 to 1870, the elective franchise in Randolph County was subject to the whims and discretion of a Board of Registration appointed by the Governor. Those charged with disloyalty to the government during the war, then just closed, were tried before the Board. The accused was found loyal or disloyal as the evidence indicated and was either dis- franchised or left on the list of eligibles. William Apperson was the first to be tried and being unable to establish his loy- alty was disfranchised.
The following are samples of findings of the Board :
State vs. Squire Bosworth.
The defendant, a resident of Beverly District, being called appeared. No witnesses appearing this cause is dismissed.
State vs. Christopher N. Schoonover.
Christopher N. Schoonover having been struck off ap- peared and asked to be reinstated. . Ordered that lie stay off.
The Board adjourned to meet no more in 1870 and thus ended an incident that had done much to foster and keep ac- tive the passions and prejudices of the war.
Board of Supervisors.
A Board of Supervisors managed the affairs of this coun- ty from 1866 to 1872. Their jurisdiction was similar to the
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county courts. Following is a list of supervisors and the dates of entering office :
1866-Elijah Kittle, John K. Scott, John M. Haney, John M. Crouch, John A. Hutton, Powhatan A. Lolly, Sampson Snyder. Elijah M. Hart, Charles W. Burk. William Rowan, James H. Lambert.
1867-Benjamin F. Wilmoth, William D. Armstrong, Or- lando Woolwine, Geo. Buckey, Crawford Scott, Oliver Wil- moth, A. E. Harper.
1869 -- Samuel Tyre. Eli Kittle, Riley Pritt, A. J. Swecker, Melvin Currence, John W. Phares, Jacob Vanscoy, Elijah Cooper.
1871-John Cain, Adam Yokum.
During the time the county was managed by a Board of Supervisors the county was divided into townships. The dis- tricts of Mingo, Dry Fork and Beverly were named and bounded very much as they are today. Clay corresponded to New Interest, Clark to Valley Bend, Reynolds to Huttons- ville, Scott to Roaring Creek, Union to Middle Fork, and Greene to Leadsville.
Lorenzo Dow.
Lorenzo Dow, the noted Methodist Missionary, visited Beverly in his annual pilgrimages through the frontier set- tlements of America. In addition to his enthusiasm as a mis- sionary, Dow had another purpose in visiting Beverly. His brother-in-law, Dr. Benjamin Dolbear, was a resident of that place. Mrs. Dow was a sister of Dr. Dolbear. The house in which Dr. Dolbear lived and which sheltered Dow is still standing on the Archibald Chenoweth lot near the eastern end of the Valley River bridge. Dow made his appointments a year ahead and seldom disappointed his congregation. In Beverly he usually preached in the eastern suburbs near the Creed Butcher homestead. He would lay his hat, coat and watch on a log and would preach about two hours. He was a man of unusual magnetic presence and power. It was not unusual for many of his congregation to become affected with
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the "jerks" in which the individual would undergo strange and peculiar contortions. These manifestations were variously interpreted. Some believed that these extraordinary expres- sions of emotion were the wrestling of the spirit of the Evil One with the soul of the convicted sinner. Dow refers to these mental states in his writings and evidently they were as much a mystery to him as to any one else. Today psychologists would readily attribute them to the power of suggestion. These phenomena heralded his reputation and magnified his power and influence. He visited Europe in 1799 and in 1805. His dress and manner was that of the frontierman and he at- tracted great crowds to see and hear him. His Polemical works were published in 1814, and the history of a Cosmopo- lite and a short account of a Long Travel in 1823. He was born in Connecticutt in 1777, and died February 2, 1834.
The Tygarts Valley News.
The Tygarts Valley News made its initial bow to the public September 13, 1889. The first owners and editors were James .\. Bent and Floyd J. Triplett. In January, 1891, Zan. F. Collett and John F. Ferguson succeeded Messrs. Bent and Triplett, the latter having been elected clerk of the county court, temporarily left the newspaper field to assume official duties. At the expiration of his term of office Mr. Triplett, with Mr. Collett, conducted the paper until the breaking out of the Spanish American war in May, 1898, when Mr. Collett, having been elected Captain of Volunteers entered the mili- tary service. Mr. Triplett a few years later sold the paper to a joint stock company which still owns and manages the paper. The paper has since suspended.
The Randolph Enterprise.
The Randolph Enterprise was the first paper published in Randolph County. The first issue appeared in May, 1874. Its first editor and owner was Geo. P. Sargent. The paper was a five column quarto and was printed on a Washington
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hand press. The nearest railroad station was Webster, Taylor County, and blank paper and other supplies were hauled from that point by road wagons. Mr. Sargent, after a few years management of the paper sold it to T. Irvin Wells. V. B. Trimble and B. 1 .. Butcher succeeded Mr. Wells. Mr. Butch- er, having been elected Prosecuting Attorney, sold his inter- est to Mr. Trimble. J. L. and A. S. Bosworth purchased the paper of Mr. Trimble. They sold to John Hutton and he sold it to J. L. Bosworth and E. D. Talbott. Mr. Talbott sold his interest to F. J. Triplett, who about two years later sold his interest to A. S. Bosworth. J. L. and A. S. Bosworth con- ducted the paper about eight years and sold it to a stock com- pany with G. W. Lewis and S. A. Rowan as editors. The pa- per followed the county seat to Elkins and has been under the editorial management of James W. Weir for several years. and was succeeded by J. Slidell Brown, the present editor.
The Randolph Review.
The Randolph Review was the second paper published in Randolph County. It was founded by J. L. and A. S. Bos- worth and after publishing it for about six months purchased the Randolph Enterprise and sold the Review plant to Buckey Canfield, who moved it to Huntersville and started the Times, the first paper published in that county. These events oc- cured in 1882.
Huttonsville.
The town of Huttonsville was named in honor of the Hutton family. Before the war the village was the educa- tional center of the county. Until the coming of the West Virginia Central railroad, it was a county hamlet with post- office, hotel, church, school house and blacksmith shop. It is now an incorporated town with a population of 251 according to the census of 1910.
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Coalton.
This town is situated in the center of the Roaring Creek coal fields. The existence of the village is cotemporaneous with the entrance of the railroad into the town in May, 1894. Until recently it was called Womelsdorf for O. C. Womels- dorf, who founded the town and was the pioneer in the devel- opment of that section. It is now a flourishing village with a population of 650 according to the census of 1910.
Harman.
The town of Harman is situated near the junction of the Dry Fork and Horse Camp Run. For many years a quiet country hamlet, with the advent of the railroad it has grown into a prosperous village with a bank, hotels, graded school and a system of water piped from an adjacent mountain spring. It is surrounded by a rich agricultural community with neat and attractive farm houses. According to the cen- sus of 1910 the town has a population of 159 and is incor- porated.
The Frost of '59.
On the morning of June 5, 1859. occurred a notable frost in Randolph County. The spring had been warm and aus- picious and the farmers were looking forward to a bountiful harvest. However, on the day previous the weather became unseasonably cold. Furs and overcoats were taken from their winter recesses. Some farmers presaged the coming calamity and entered their corn fields with horse and plow and covered the growing crop with the mellow earth, which was removed when the weather moderated. Their pains were rewarded with the usual harvest. All unprotected crops of corn and wheat and every other green and growing thing were frozen. To compensate for the disaster the farmer went to work with renewed energy. Corn was replanted and partially matured. A large acreage of buckwheat was sown. The local supply of seed was exhausted and the Glades of Preston and Garrett
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were drawn upon. Winter found the farmer's graneries with their wonted plethora.
First Foreigner Naturalized.
The first foreigner to be naturalized in Randolph was John Lambertson in 1787. He came from Ireland. William Currence witnessed his good character and the fact that hie had been a resident of the State one year. The second was Wm. Bock in 1806, and the third was William Nearbeck in 1824.
Emancipation Paper.
So far as the records show the bearer of the following paper was the first negro to receive his liberty in Randolph County :
Randolph County, Va.
Dec. 30, 1791.
I do hereby certify that I have set the bearer hereof, Negro Tom, at full liberty from servitude to act and do for himself as a free man, as witness my hand the day and date above written.
JONAS FRIEND.
Town of Beverly.
The General Assembly of the State of Virginia passed an Act December 16, 1790, creating the town of Beverly, as follows :
That twenty acres of land, the property of James West- fall, as the same are already laid off into lots and streets in the County of Randolph adjoining the land whereon the Court House now stands, shall be established a town by the name of Beverly; and that John Wilson. Jacob Westfall, Sylvester Ward, Thomas Philips, Hezekiah Rosecrouts, William Worm- sley, and Valentine Stornaker, Gentlemen, shall be and are hereby constituted Trustees thereof.
The names Rosecrouts, Womsley, and Stonaker, as they
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appear in the Act reproduced above, should be Rosencranse, Wamsley and Stalnaker.
The original name of the town was Edmonton, in honor of Edmond Randolph. The Virginia Assembly changed the name to Beverly in honor of Beverly Randolph. The town, as indicated by the charter, consisted of 20 acres. This tract was divided into 40 half-acre lots and were sold at $16.663/3 each and the purchaser bound himself to build a house 16x16 feet with stone or brick chimney within five years. An an- nual rent of 36 cents for each lot was to be paid to James West- fall or his heirs forever. There is no evidence that this stip- ulation in the deeds was ever enforced.
The town has a population, according to the census of 1910, of 438.
Historic Beverly.
In the years subsequent to the Civil War, isolated and unassuming, nestled among the mountains, many miles from the marts of trade, stood the village of Beverly. But this ham- let possessed a wealth of men that entitled it to a higher rank than larger and more pretentious towns-a class of honest yeomanry so aptly described by Dr. Goldsmith in his poem of the "Deserted Village." To each of whom is applicable Mark Anthony's tribute to Caesar: "His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world this was a man." Intelligent, honest and upright, with good counsel and good example to the young. they sought neither pelf, place nor power, and living simple and unselfish lives, the higher self unfolded. Such men were B. W. Crawford, Adam Crawford, Adam Rowan, Claude Goff, David Goff, George Printz, Lemuel Chenoweth, Archibald Chenoweth, Dr. Geo. W. Yokum, Nelson Fitzwater, Fountain Butcher, Creed Butcher, Henry Suiter, Geo. W. Leonard, John Leonard, John B. Earle, Elias Earle, Alpheus Buckey, John Buckey, Dr. Squire Bosworth, Chas. W. Russell, C. J. P. Cresap, Parkinson Collett, Isaac Baker, Eli Baker, James H. Logan, Solomon Warner, Samuel Gilmore, Jacob Suiter, L. D. Greynolds, Jacob M. Weese, Calvin Collett, Jacob Collett.
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Johnathan Arnold, L. D. Strader, Bernard L. Brown, George Buckey, William Rowan, Judson Blackman, James D. Wilson, Rev. Robert Scott, John B. Morrison, Emmett Buckey, James A. Vaughan.
These men have gone to reap their recompense in that "country from whose bourn no traveler returns," but they merit a permanent place in the annals of their town and county, which they so highly honored. Accepting Walt Whit- man's definition of the greatest city, which we append, the an- cient village of Beverly should live in history for having pro- duced a superior class of men :
The greatest city is that which has the greatest man or woman.
If it be a few ragged huts, it is still the greatest city in the whole world.
The place where the greatest city stands is not the place of stretched wharves, docks, manufactures, deposits of produce,
Nor the place of ceaseless salutes of newcomers, or the anchor-lifters of the departing,
Nor the place of the tallest and costliest buildings, or shops selling goods from the rest of the earth.
Nor the place of the best libraries and schools-nor the place where money is plentiest,
Nor the place of the most numerous population. Where the city of the faithfulest friends stands,
Where the city of the cleanliness of the sexes stands, Where the city of the healthiest fathers stands,
Where the city of best-bodied mothers stands, There the greatest city stands.
Wild Pigeons.
The wild pigeon or the passenger pigeon appeared in very large flocks in Randolph County until a comparatively recent date, perhaps for a decade following the civil war. They visited this section as a rule in September and October. and were evidently attracted to the wooded districts of Ran- dolph by acorns and beech nuts. They came in such flocks as
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to obscure the sun light and present the appearance of the sky being overcast by dark and ominous clouds. Trees and their branches were often broken and crushed by the weight of their numbers. Some flocks were estimated to contain many millions of birds. It is supposed their breeding ground was in Western Canada and the backwoods of the Western United States. The passenger pigeon was about the size of the common turtle dove, but with a long wedged shape tail. The male was of a dark slate color above and a purplish bay beneath, the sides of the neck being enlivened by gleaming violet green and gold. The female was drab colored and dull white beneath, with only a slight trace of the brilliant neck markings. This species of pigeon is now supposed to be extinct and fabulous prices are offered for a male and female specimen.
Prisoners at Fort Deleware.
Lenox Camden, William Salisbury and his son, Salisbury, Pugh Chenoweth, Levi Ward, Allen Isner, Philip Isner, William Clemm, Smith Crouch, Thomas Crouch, John Caplinger, John Leary and Charles Russell, were sent to Fort Deleware near Philadelphia, to be held as hostages for a num- ber of Union sympathizers taken to Richmond by General W. L. Jackson, in his raid of 1863. All died but the last four from drinking the poluted water of Delaware Bay. Frank Phares went to Philadelphia and secured the release of the survivors.
The Settlement of Adolph.
This settlement was established in 1880-1 by imigrants from Switzerland. However, a few Swiss families that moved to Adolph had lived temporarily in other States of the Union. Fred Iseley, a single man, and the following heads of fam- ilies were the permanent settlers of the colony: Jacob Ruth- enbuler, John Rush, Albert Brenwald, Jacob Pheister, Gotlieb Schorer, Joseph Koefle, and Jacob Schmid. A few families not mentioned above came, but not finding conditions to their ยท liking. settled elsewhere.
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The village consists of eleven dwellings, store, postoffice, blacksmith shop, school house and grist mill. Carl Lutz was the John Smith of this colony, having directed and inspired its formation.
Adolph is situated in a picturesque little valley at the junction of Mitchel Lick Run with the Middle Fork of Buck- hannon River. The site of the village was a heavy forest of virgin timber.
Helvetia.
In 1869, a real estate company of New York induced a number of Swiss immigrants to establish a settlement on a branch of the Buckhannon River. In honor of their native village, the colony was called Helvetia. In June, 1879, Carl Lutz, agent for the company that owned a large boundary of land arrived. He was a man of practical qualities of mind and his services were invaluable to the colonists.
Among the first to locate in the settlement were: Henry Asper, Ulrich Miller, Mathew Marty, Joseph Zillman, Jacob Halder, John Andregg, J. Benziger, Jacob Zumbach, Max Lehman, Gotlieb Deitwiller, Christian Zumbach, John Engler, John Teuscher, Alfred Teuscher, John Merkle, John Huber, Fritz Zumbach, Ernest Hassig, George Sutton, John Hofer, John Carlen Jr., John Farhner, John Better, George Andregg, Christian Burky, Jacob Andregg, Edwin Vogel, John Wenger, Jacob Loser, and Fritz Hasselbach. Most of these imigrants were craftsmen and without experience in clearing land and agriculture.
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