USA > West Virginia > Summers County > History of Summers County from the earliest settlement to the present time > Part 14
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James Boyd was appointed by the board as assessor for the county, and gave bond on the 28th day of March, 1871, and was the first assessor of the county. He resided on Greenbrier River, near the "Little Ben Tunnel," where his son, Benjamin Boyd, now re- sides, he being the owner of the old Boyd homestead, and is a respectable and intelligent citizen of the county.
The board then proceeded to appoint the various overseers of roads for the entire county, designating the respective hands to work on each road. The public roads were then maintained by public labor of as many days as might be fixed by the Board of Supervisors, each person between the ages of twenty-one and forty- five years being required, for the first year in the life of the
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
county, to work six days himself, or provide a legal substitute. Andrew Gwinn was appointed a justice of the peace for Greenbrier District. This is the gentleman known as "Long Andy," who still resides at Lowell with his son, James Gwinn, being one of the best-known farmers and citizens in this section of the state. He is now about eighty years of age, but is hale and hearty. Soon after his appointment he resigned his office as justice, and we notice at this session of the court he was directed to turn over his papers to Joseph Grimmett, a justice of the county.
Reverend Rufus Pack, on the 28th day of January, 1871, was authorized by the board to procure the necessary material and have built a plank building sixteen feet wide; height, one-story, the width of the church, the same to be divided by plank partition in the middle, to be used for jury rooms for the use of the jurors, and to have same in readiness by the 29th day of April; also to make three tables, one three feet square, and two 3 x 8 feet, of poplar.
The second meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held on the 15th day of April, 1871. I notice the order book of the pro- ceedings of the board was signed by Samuel Allen, president ; by M. Gwinn, clerk. At this April meeting the members of the board present were Samuel, Allen, president ; Joseph Cox, James Houch- ins, William Haynes and E. J. Gwinn; James Houchins having been appointed for Pipestem District. E. J. Gwinn resigned at this meeting as a member, and Harrison Gwinn, his son, was elected by the board in his stead to fill the vacancy until the next election by the people. Littlebury Noble, who still lives in this county and is well known as Berry Noble, was at this term of the board exempted from working on the roads. The following order was entered :
"Be it ordained by the board that Rufus Pack be, and he is hereby granted a license to keep a house of private entertainment at his present place of residence."
Mr. Pack was a minister of the Missionary Baptist Church, and resided about two miles up New River from the mouth of Green- brier River, on what is known as the Plumley farm, he owning that place at that time. Josephus Pack was authorized to purchase books, stationery, etc., necessary for the offices of the clerks of the circuit and county courts and recorder, and to rent a house to be used as clerk's and recorder's offices, at the sum of $25.00 per year. The board seems to have been an economical set of officials, and I doubt if one of them knew what the word "graft" meant as to its modern political signification.
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
The question of the location of the court house began to be agitated at this time, and the board entered the following order, which is the first mention of this matter of record :
"Be it ordained that the 4th day of May be and is hereby set apart for the selection by the board of a site for the court house."
The first election held in the new county for any purpose seems to have been held only in Pipestem District, on the 27th day of April, 1871. We are unable to ascertain from the records, which are very meager, for what purpose this township election was held. The only record is as follows :
"In the township of Pipestem 255 votes were cast for ratification and ten votes for rejection."
This may have been an election for the adoption of a new road law, the ratification of the Act of the Legislature forming Summers County, the amendment of the Constitution, or for any other pur- pose, so far as the records disclose.
Hon. William Haynes resigned as a member of the board for Greenbrier District, and Archie Allen was elected to fill the va- cancy. James Boyd, assessor, resigned his office as such at this term of the board (May 3, 1871). Allen HI. Meador, afterwards clerk of the circuit court for six years and president of the county court for six years, and an uncle of the present county clerk of this county, Jos. M. Meador, was appointed in the stead of Mr. Boyd.
Jacob C. Allen was the first constable of Forest Hill District, and was the first in the county, being appointed on the third day of May, 1871. And on this day James Keatley was granted license to keep a hotel and sell "ardent" liquors at the mouth of Indian Creek. This was the first liquor license ever granted in the county. Mr. Keatley, several years afterwards, again applied to the county court for license to retail spirituous liquors at the same place, being represented in making the application by the late Col. James W. Davis, an attorney of Greenbrier County, which application was refused, at which action of the court he was very much disgusted, took a bill of exceptions for an appeal to the circuit court, but, of course, was defeated, as the action of the county court was final in such matters. John Richmond was granted a license to keep a house of private entertainment at the mouth of Lick Creek, and John Richmond & Company to sell "ardent" spirits at the same place ; D. J. Cogbill to sell the "ardent" between Capt. Menifee's and the "Big Ben Tunnel," and Thos. F. Park to keep a hotel and sell the "ardent" on "Big Ben Tunnel" Mountain.
At this date the board ordained that the former order, in re the
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
location of the court house be rescinded, and the location of the court house be postponed until the location of the depot of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad is determined.
The next meeting of this board was held at the mouth of Green- brier River on the third Monday in May in the one-story log store- house still standing. Rev. Rufus Pack was allowed $63.00 for labor, etc., for erecting jury rooms. Samuel Huffman, one of the most substantial citizens of the county, and who still resides on Wolf Creek, an aged and respected Christian gentleman, and Samuel K. Boude, the father of our present genial clerk of the circuit court, and Major Richard Woodrum, were each appointed road surveyors. We take it that the law at that time authorized the Board of Super- visors to "appoint" the jurors for the county, and each juror, both petit and grand, was elected by the Board of Supervisors and summoned by the sheriff. The board at this meeting made an order that it should meet once in each month.
The first record of any ferry established by the new county was made by the Board of Supervisors on the 9th day of June, 1871, by an order granted to Nathan Meadows for a ferry across Greenbrier River. This ferry was located at Foss, across Greenbrier River at its mouth, now owned by A. E. and Charles Lewis Miller, and the rates of ferriage were fixed as follows :
Foot passengers $ .05
Horse and rider. .10
Two horses and wagon. .25
And for every additional horse .05
No provision being made for transportation of any other property. At the June Term, Andrew L. Lilly, was appointed overseer of the poor for Jumping Branch Township, and was the first overseer of the poor of the county. The keeping of the paupers in those days for the county was sold out to the lowest bidder at the court house. The county was not the owner of any pauper farm or regular place for maintenance of the poor, and at that time and most of the time to the present, the keeping of the paupers was sold out to the lowest bidder annually.
The Board seemed to be pestered with the question of the court house site, and on the 19th day of June, 1871, entered the following order :
"Be it ordained by the board that the order postponing the time for the location of the site of the court house until the location of the depot of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad is hereby rescinded,
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
and the following order is made: 'Be it ordained by the Board of Supervisors of the county of Summers that the board determine, by vote of same, whether the site of the court house and other pub- lic buildings shall be on the north bank of Greenbrier River on the land of Messrs. Hinton, immediately on the line between Hinton and Bolinges (intended for Ballangee), or whether the same shall be located on the north bank of Greenbrier River immediately above the residence and orchard of Evi Ballangee.'"
The vote was then taken and resulted as follows: Supervisors Joseph Cox and Harrison Gwinn voting to locate said site on the lands of the Messrs. Hinton, immediately on the line between Hin- ton and Ballangee, and Supervisors Samuel Allen, Archie Allen and James Houchins voting to locate said site on the north bank of Greenbrier River, immediately above the residence and orchard of Evi Ballangee. And the board this day selected 11/2 acres of land lying on the north bank of Greenbrier, above the residence of said Ballangee, upon which to locate the court house and other public buildings of the county. Said 11/2 acres of land was described by metes and bounds.
On the 17th day of July, the following order was entered, in re court house site :
"Be it ordained by the Board of Supervisors that the word 'Greenbrier' be erased from the order designating the site of the location for the court house and other public buildings."
Evidently the location of these buildings was waxing warm in those days. The place of voting at New Richmond in Green Sul- phur Township was established on the 17th day of July, 1871, by the Board of Supervisors. Robert A. Vincent, heretofore men- tioned, was, on July 17th, appointed overseer of the poor for Green Sulphur Township, and was the first to ever hold that office in that district. It would seem that Mr. Vincent was bound to have an office, and the court, in order to dispose of the matter, not being able to make him a "squire," made him an overseer of the poor, and that, for the time being, satisfied his official ambition.
The first disbursement of public money of the county was by an order entered on the 17th day of July, 1871, and was the authority for the payment of $63.00 allowed to Rufus Pack; the second was to M. A. Manning for five dollars for services rendered in securing books, stationery, etc. The third Monday in August, 1871, an allowance was made of $336.53 to Thomas F. Park & Company. for books, paper, etc.
The keeping of the paupers for the first year of the history of
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
the county was let to R. C. Lilly, the lowest bidder, for $600.00. The ferry at Talcott was established for Griffith Meadows on the third Monday in August, 1871, and the rates of ferriage were fixed as follows :
Two horses and wagon $ .25
One way for every additional horse .05
Horse and rider .10
Foot passengers .05
This ferry is still in existence, never having been discontinued. This ferry was established at what was known then as Rollinsburg, now Talcott, Rollinsburg being the name of the post office at that place up to the time of the building of the Chesapeake & Ohio Rail- road through this county in 1872.
An allowance of $20.00 rent was made at this term to the trus- tees of the Greenbrier Baptist Church for its use as a court house for one year. The first assessment of land and property of the county was made by Allen H. Meador, who was appointed, as stated before, to succeed James Boyd, resigned, for which services Mr. Meador was allowed at this term of the court the sum of $225.00. Marion Gwinn was allowed the sum of $200.00 for clerking for the Board of Supervisors, and the following is the first order for taxation made in the county :
"Be it ordained by the board that a levy of eighty-five cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation be and is hereby made upon the land and property of the county of Summers, to defray the expenses of same."
Rufus H. Shumate was granted a license to retail "ardent" spirits at Mercer Salt Works, which was near the mouth of Lick Creek in the upper end of Pipestem Township, and about twenty- five miles from the court house.
On the third day of September, 1871, the board entered an order directing Joseph Keaton, surveyor of the county, to make a complete map of the county, which map was made by Mr. Keaton, and is the only map ever made or authorized by the county au- thorities.
The first election held in the county seems to have been on the 26th day of October, 1871, and was for the election of senators and delegates to the Legislature. Summers, at that time was in the delegate district, composed of Monroe, Greenbrier and Sum- mers, from which three members of the Legislature were elected. At this election also a member of the constitutional convention
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
was elected from the senatorial district. The Board of Supervisors met at the mouth of Greenbrier to canvass the vote. The following county and other officers were elected :
John Sims, for supervisor of Greenbrier Township; James Hutchinson, for supervisor of Forest Hill Township; James Houch- ins, for supervisor of Pipestem Township; Levi Neely, for super- visor of Jumping Branch Township; A. A. Miller, for supervisor of Green Sulphur Township.
The following township officers were elected: For Greenbrier Township, Henry Milburn and C. R. Hines, justices of the peace ; James Boyd and George W. Chattin, inspectors of election; con- stables, S. W. Willey and C. A. Miller; school commissioners, William H. Barger and A. C. Kesler; overseer of the poor, C. K. Rollyson ; township clerk, Henry F. Kesler.
For Forest Hill the following township officers were elected : Township clerk, A. E. Cotton; justice of the peace, Samuel K. Boude; inspectors of election, L. D. Garten and S. Simms; con- stable, J. C. Allen ; school commissioners, J. K. Sanders and Richard Woodrum; overseer of the poor, Goodall Garten.
For Pipestem Township the following officers were elected: Township clerk, Joseph Keaton ; justice of the peace, James Farley ; inspectors of election, Ellison and William Hughes; constable, Reuben Hopkins; overseer of the poor, William Crump; overseer of roads, Evan B. Neely.
For Jumping Branch the following township officers were elected : Township clerk, John H. Lilly ; justice of the peace, John F. Deeds; inspectors of election, John A. Lilly and W. P. Lilly; constable, Mathias Crook; school commissioners, Robert P. Lilly and William C. Dobbins; overseer of the poor, Preston Pack.
For Green Sulphur Township the following officers were elected : For supervisor, A. A. Miller; township clerk, G. W. Goddard; jus- tice of the peace, M. Gwinn; inspectors of election, John Hix and S. F. Taylor ; constable, William R. Taylor ; school commissioners, M. Hutchinson, T. A. George and C. W. Withrow ; overseer of the poor, R. A. Vincent ; surveyor of roads, J. H. Martin, M. Dunbar and James Cales.
These names are nearly all familiar, many of them still being residents of the county, but some have gone to their great ac- counting and some have gone to foreign parts. They were nearly all personally known to the writer. Those mentioned from Green Sulphur Township, I notice, are all dead, except Hon. M. Gwinn, C. W. Withrow and Thomas A. George.
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
The supervisors or commissioners of election in those days seem to have been elected as well as road surveyors by the vote of the people. At this meeting of the board, which was for the pur- pose of canvassing the vote, a license was granted to William Gwinn to sell "ardent" spirits at the mouth of Meadow Creek.
The records do not give the vote for county or district officers. It sets forth simply the names of those who received a majority and were elected. We find for other offices, however, the vote set out in full, and we find the results as follows :
"The Board of Supervisors of the county of Summers, having carefully and impartially examined the returns of the election held on the 26th day of October, do hereby certify that in said county for the office of representative for the Senatorial district in the State Constitutional Convention, Samuel Price received 509 votes and William McCreery received 205 votes; and for the office of representative for the delegate district in the state constitutional convention, Henry M. Mathews received 520 votes, James M. Burn- side received 474 votes, and William Haynes received 613 votes."
Samuel Price was ex-Lieutenant Governor of the State of Vir- ginia; William McCreery was the father of our townsman, Mr. James T. McCreery, and resided in Raleigh County. Henry M. Mathews was afterwards Attorney-General and Governor of the State. William Haynes was elected to the Constitutional Conven- tion, and was also elected to the State Senate later.
At the first meeting of the Board of Supervisors held after the election, which was January 2, 1872, James A. Hutchinson, of Forest Hill Township, was elected president; M. Gwinn was again ap- pointed clerk, and the newly elected members, A. A. Miller, Levi Neely and John Simms, took their seats and composed the board until that office was abolished under the new Constitution, which took effect January 1, 1873. Mr. James A. Hutchinson, elected president of the board, was a resident of Forest Hill Township, and died in the year 18 -. He was a Republican in politics, having been a Whig before the War. His children and descendants reside in the county. A more detailed family history will be given later in this work.
At this time a controversy arose, the effects of which are still felt by a large part of the citizens of the county, in regard to the destruction of the county road by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, between Hinton and New Richmond. The railroad com- pany was constructing its track and destroying the road which fol-
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
lowed the river between those points, it being impossible to build a railroad without obstructing or destroying the county road, by reason of the hills coming down to the margin of the river. An agreement was entered into between the board and the vice-presi- dent of the road, W. T. Wickam, by the terms of which the board agreed that the railroad company should proceed with its work until the grading was completed, at which time the company should replace the county road in as good repair as it was before the obstructions. The railroad company went on and completed its road, and, when it came to replacing the county road, as railway companies and some corporations frequently do, disregarded their contracts, agreements and moral obligations. The county court, from the orders entered, showed that they were unable to get the county road replaced. The railway company was likely to go into the hands of a receiver in bankruptcy in order to pay for its con- struction. The county court appointed M. Gwinn as commissioner to make a settlement, which was done by the acceptance of $3,000.00; the court and Mr. Gwinn going on the hypothesis that something was better than nothing.
This is an instance of the infidelity of foreign corporations to promises of which they can squirm out. Having taken the county road bed, it was a matter of very considerable cost to replace the county road, and it may be years before the people in that part of the county will have a practical county road, upon which they can travel from Green Sulphur to the court house. The road was of no consequence, but the loss of the road bed and right of way was wherein the people suffered.
The Board of Supervisors seems to have been an economical and provident body, and required full time to be given by those engaged in the public service, as will be observed from an order made at the January Term. 1872, in which it "appointed the as- sessor, surveyor, sheriff and recorder a committee to correct the land books of the county," and required them to meet at the clerk's office on the third Monday in March, at nine o'clock a. m., 1872, for that purpose, and that they adjourn on the following Wed- nesday at four o'clock p. m.
We note that on the third Monday in February, 1872, James Houchins voted against approving the record of the last prior meeting. It seems that they had obstreperous members in those days, as well as at the present time.
John K. Withrow, of Green Sulphur District, was appointed
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
at that term of the court as constable. James A. Houchins, the president, was appointed to visit the paupers, and he was also directed to visit Reuben Johnson and try to procure for him a bounty from "Uncle Sam" for some kind of public services rendered some time in the past. Our old friend, I. G. Carden, was appointed an auctioneer at that time, and holds the appointment to this day. License to retail "ardent" spirits was granted to Dr. J. G. Manser at the mouth of Greenbrier.
There seems to have been wolves and varmints in the county in those days, which were not desirable in the development of the country, and we find the following order recorded at the February Term, 1872:
"Be it ordained by the board that an allowance of $35.00 be and is hereby allowed for the killing of grown wolves, and half price for all under six months of age. Said wolves to be killed within the bounds of the county."
I do not find but one record of an allowance having been made under this order, which was to James R. Wheeler, and is as follows :
"James R. Wheeler was allowed for one grown wolf killed, $35.00; three half-grown wolves, $52.50."
It seems that the board must have had some unruly litigants and advocates from the order entered at this sitting, from which the following order grew, in order to improve the manners of those in attendance:
"No person shall be allowed to interrupt another while address- ing the board in regard to any matter in which the speaker may be concerned, and, further, that any insult offered any member while engaged in the business of the board, will be proceeded against according to law."
The question of the purchase of a poor farm began to agitate the county authorities from the beginning, and on the 20th day of May, 1872, James Houchins and James Roles, who then resided near the mouth of Bluestone River, where Jonathan Lee Barker now resides, were appointed a committee to inquire into the expe- diency of purchasing a poor farm.
It seems that the circuit court at that time also had to stir up these authorities in regard to seating the court room, as we do at this time, and an order was entered requiring the same to be pro- vided.
I find the delinquent taxes for the year ending the first Wed-
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
nesday in August, 1872, were as follows, and were allowed to Evan Hinton, then sheriff :
Green Sulphur Township $248.41
Greenbrier Township 135.93
Pipestem Township 49.08
Jumping Branch Township 22.13
Forest Hill Township
95.30
For the year 1905 I find the delinquent tax allowed to H. Ewart, sheriff, as follows :
Greenbrier
$238.18
Green Sulphur 161.19
Forest Hill 19.97
Pipestem 35.19
Jumping Branch
187.85
Talcott
173.41
The amount of the tax tickets coming into the hands of the sheriff in 1904 being $50,000 approximately, and not including rail- way taxes, which is a remarkable showing, considering the increase in taxable property and funds coming into the sheriff's hands, and a better showing for no sheriff in any county can be had, we will warrant, in the United States, than the showing for the sheriff of this county, Mr. H. Ewart. M. Gwinn was appointed the first com- missioner to settle with the sheriff, which was on May 20, 1872.
R. C. Lilly was allowed at this date $900.00 for pauper allow- ance, which was for maintaining the paupers from June 20, 1872, to June 20, 1873.
Ellison's voting precinct in Jumping Branch District was es- tablished at Francis Ellison's house on the 20th day of May, 1872, and also the voting precinct at the clerk's office was established.
The amount of the county levy coming into the hands of Evan Hinton, sheriff during the first year's existence of the county as a municipality was $6,454.20, of which he owed on settlement $3,378.69, after all allowances.
I find the amount of funds coming into the hands of the sheriff for the year 1904, the last sheriff's settlement preceding this date, was $
The next general election held in the county was on the adop- tion of the ratification or rejection of the new and present Consti- tution, now in force in this State, subject to the more recent amend-
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