bought the property from Judge A. W. Wallace, whose family had owned it
since 1792. It was in a very bad state of dilapidation, and only the
loving interest and hard work of a few patriotic ladies made possible
the necessary repairs and saved to posterity this historic old building
with its wealth of associations with the people and events which shaped
our nation.
The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities has
recently completed extensive repairs and the visitor will find it one of
the most interesting places in the city to visit. It is attractively
furnished with antique pieces of the Colonial period, many having great
historic value.
One may see a desk owned and used by Thomas Jefferson, a chair which
belonged to James Monroe, a rare copy of an autographed letter from Mary
Washington to her son George Washington, brass andirons, pewter-hooded
candles, Betty lamp, immense iron key for a wine cellar, brass
candle-sticks, iron candle snuffers, pewter ink-well, antique piano,
high boy, needle-point sampler worked by a nine-year-old child, spinning
wheel and reel, stage coach sign dated 1775, large early American desk,
old iron cooking utensils used by slaves cooking by an open fireplace,
and many other interesting things.
[Illustration]
Roanoke
THE GATEWAY TO THE GREAT SOUTHWESTERN EMPIRE
Raw-re-noke is an Indian word for money. The city of Roanoke was
originally a land grant to Thomas Tosh, an old settler who came to "Big
Lick" and settled there after King George II and King George III had
granted him sixteen hundred acres of land along that fertile valley.
"Big Lick" was a favorite spot for the wild game and for the Indians
too, for there they found the salt so necessary to life itself. One of
Tosh's daughters married General Andrew Lewis and became the mother of
Major Andrew Lewis and Thomas Lewis.
Later on, as more settlers came into the valley, quite a village grew up
around "Big Lick" and in 1874 it was incorporated with John Trout as
Mayor. Then in 1881 the village woke up. Saws and hammers were heard
from dawn 'til dusk. The Roanoke Machine Works were being built. Nearby,
stores and houses were springing up, warehouses and boarding-houses.
Surveyors were laying off lots and laying out streets. Contractors and
engineers, artisans and mechanics were coming in every day. The men who
sold supplies for all of these were indeed busy. The Norfolk and Western
Railroad had come to Roanoke!
Old folks can still remember when rabbits ran over the grounds where
stands the Hotel Roanoke. Small boys picked up Indian arrow-heads where
now the beautiful grounds sweep down to the Station itself. They still
tell how Salem Avenue was once a marsh and was later filled in for the
fast growing town. Then came the union of the Norfolk and Western and
the Shenandoah Valley Railroads. From that day to this, Roanoke has been
the "Magic City." It was as if some magic wand had been waved over the
one-time little village. But actually it was due to the industry and
vision of the city planners who had built for the future. Commercial,
manufacturing and industrial activities kept a pace ahead of the fast
growing town. Among the first of these were the American Bridge Works
and the rolling mills, iron works, West End Furnaces and the Virginia
Brewing Company.
Long ago "Big Lick" was known to a few. It was situated in the Blue
Ridge Mountains, surrounded by rolling valleys and watered by springs of
crystal clear waters. Other streams made it an ideal place for the
herds of buffalo and elk which roamed up and down the Valley of the
Great Spirit. Indians came, too, to hunt them and thousands of smaller
fur-bearing animals and birds for their feasts.
When the sturdy settlers from Ireland and Scotland came to seek a new
home in the wilderness, they chose to follow the Great Road which later
was known as the Wilderness Road. This led them along the beautiful
valleys and across the mountains; soon tiny cabins, churches and crude
taverns were being built.
Near where Fincastle stands today, there came a man years ago from
Ireland, Thomas King. He had left behind his second wife, Easter, three
children by his first wife, and several younger ones by Easter. He had
come to make a home for them in Fincastle County and ran a tavern near
where Roanoke stands today.
Then Easter wrote him that his oldest son, William, had arrived in
Philadelphia and was working for a merchant. He was peddling merchandise
and liked the new country.
Thomas was delighted and eager to see his fourteen-year-old son. He
saddled his own horse and led a pony all the miles down the long Valley
trail. He passed such settlements as Staunton, Lexington, Winchester,
Hagerstown, camping out or, stopping at some settler's house over-night.
It took weeks for him to make the long trip.
The merchant in the meantime realized he had a smart salesman in William
and he made a bargain with him a few days before his father arrived. He
asked him not to work for anyone else and set a time limit for his
employment with him.
We can imagine how William felt when his father came, bringing a pony
for him to ride back to Virginia. But he kept his word. He continued to
go out with his peddler's pack on his back and his bright smile and
polite manners helped him to sell his wares long before others sold
theirs. The merchant told him he could go peddling to Virginia and that
he could leave some of his articles in his father's tavern. William did
this, leaving them at other taverns along the Great Road, too. And thus
began the early chain stores.
When the pioneers began going on farther down the Southwestern part of
Virginia, Thomas King went as far as where Abingdon stands today. He
sent William back to Ireland for his step-mother and his brothers and
sisters. William now had a little money and he inherited some from his
grandmother, so he not only brought his family over, but he paid for
several other Scotch-Irish and charged a little extra as interest until
they could repay him.
He liked the people and the lovely country around Abingdon and bought
land and built himself a home there. He went to see the salt marsh a few
miles away where Saltville is now. This land was owned by General
Russell. William urged him to develop the marsh, for at one time Indians
had come there to get salt to preserve their game. But General Russell
did not think much of the plan, and agreed to sell it to William.
The story of how he laughed, along with others, at William King when he
dug and dug and did not find the salt spring is often told. But when
William's men had dug for one hundred and ninety feet the "bottom
dropped out" and the salt water gushed forth. William made thirty
thousand dollars a year out of his salt business and left a fortune to
his many nieces and nephews.
Roanoke is the gateway through which the visitor continues down the
famous Valley Pike, Route Eleven. From every curve in the road one sees
the beauty of nature. One learns bits of early history from the numerous
historic signs along the route--for every footstep of the brave pioneers
was bitterly contested from here on.
These first settlers were "a remarkable race of people for intelligence,
enterprise and hardy adventure." They had come partly from Botetourt,
Augusta and Frederick counties and from Maryland and Pennsylvania. They
wanted liberty and freedom to worship God as a man's conscience
dictated. They were a strong, stern people, simple in their habits of
life, God-fearing in their practices, freedom-loving and good neighbors,
yet unmerciful in their dealing with their enemies. Who were the trail
blazers for these Scotch-Irish and Germans?
Dr. Thomas Walker qualified as a surveyor of Augusta County in 1748. He
later set off with Colonel James Wood, Colonel James Patton, Colonel
John Buchanan, and Major Charles Campbell, some hunters and John Finlay
to explore southwest Virginia.
They were followed as far as New River by Thomas Ingles (or Engles) and
his three sons, a Mrs. Draper and her son George and her daughter Mary,
Adam Harman, Henry Leonard and James Burke. They were pioneers in search
of new homes in the wilderness. Lands were surveyed for all of them on
Wood's River and they made the first settlement west of the Alleghany
Divide.
Draper's Meadow
In 1748 Thomas Ingles and his three sons, Mrs. Draper, her children and
James Burke moved westward to find a new home for themselves beyond the
Blue Ridge Mountains. They chose a lovely spot on a high level plateau
in what is now Montgomery County. They called their new home, "Draper's
Meadow," and soon their new log cabins were built and their first crops
were planted and such a harvest as they reaped that first year! Other
neighbors and relatives from their old homes came to join them and for
some time all went well in the little settlement. James Burke had been
restless and had pushed on down into the southwest and settled in a
valley enclosed for almost ten miles by the huge Clinch Mountain. This
he called "Burke's Garden" and in telling others about it the old
settler said "I have indeed found the Garden of Eden."
The Indians were very friendly and passed and repassed the settlement
without molesting them.
Then came the trouble with the French which has been referred to before.
The Indians swooped down upon Draper's Meadow without warning and killed
or wounded most of the settlers. Those whom they did not murder, they
carried off into captivity. Among the latter were Mrs. William Ingles
(nee Mary Draper) some of her children and another woman. They were
forced to march for days at a time until they finally reached the Indian
towns on the Ohio River. During the trying days, Mrs. Draper did her
best to keep in the good graces of the Indians. She tried to help them,
even after they took her sons from her. When they reached Big Bone Lick
she helped to make salt for the Indians and made shirts for them from
cloth which had been bought from the French traders.
She often thought of her home over seven hundred miles from the Indian
towns and determined to make her escape. She confided her resolves to
the other woman who at first objected to going. At last she convinced
her the time was at hand, if ever, for them to leave. She left her
infant son one night, and with her friend, stole away from the camp.
They lived for days on berries and nuts. They finally killed small game
and after many adventures reached the home of a settler forty long days
later.
Mrs. Draper's friend lost her mind, tried to kill her and then left her.
Mrs. Draper reached the homestead of Adam Harmon on New River. There he
heard her crying in his cornfield and went out to see who it was in such
distress. He and his family cared for her and made her rest before she
was taken back to her family.
The Ingles families moved up higher on New River and built another fort
near the present city of Radford, Virginia. This was at Ingle's Ferry.
Botetourt County was cut from Albemarle in 1770, and William Preston was
made surveyor of the lands. This was a well-paying position. He had
fallen in love with Miss Susannah Smith who lived in Eastern Virginia in
Hanover County. He built a house for her and called it Smithfield in her
honor. Soon the Pattons, Peytons, Prestons, the Thompsons and many
others were coming to build homes near them.
When the Prestons moved to Smithfield they took a young orphan boy with
them, Joseph Cloyd. His father had died when he was very little and his
mother had been killed by the Indians. He grew up with the other pioneer
boys and girls and later settled on Back Creek. This home is near where
Pulaski stands today and thus began another settlement. He was the
father of General Gordon Cloyd and they founded a long line of honorable
citizens in our country.
As one goes on he hears many strange tales of other explorers and
settlers. For instance there is the sad story of Colonel John Chiswell
who found rich lead mines near New River in what is now Wythe County.
For some unknown reason, he had killed a man in a personal encounter and
was put in jail to await trial.
[Illustration:--_Courtesy Virginia State Chamber of Commerce_
SCENIC HIGHWAY IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA]
In the meantime, the Virginia Council decided to develop the mines and a
fort was ordered to be built. Before the trial came off and before the
fort was built, Colonel Chiswell died.
Colonel William Boyd was made supervisor of the building of the fort and
he named it for his friend, Colonel Chiswell. Soon settlers began
building homes around it, for the climate and rich grazing lands made it
an ideal spot for homesteads.
The settlers pushing southwest from Roanoke built a fort and named it
for a Mr. Vass. The Indians attacked them and several were killed. This
was near where Christiansburg is now located. It was near Vass's Fort
that General Washington, Major Andrew Lewis and Captain William Preston
had a narrow escape from an attack by the Indians.
Washington County
In 1754 only six families were living in the early settlement west of
New River. Two of these were in Pulaski, two on Cripple Creek in Wythe
County, one in Smyth County and the Burke family in what is now Tazewell
County. The Indians gave the settlers so much trouble that any further
attempts to settle was given up until after the French and Indian War.
A small fort, called Black's Fort, was built when the settlers moved
into the Valley around where Abingdon stands. Like most of its kind, it
was built of logs, and a few log cabins were built within the stockade.
Here to these cabins within the fort came the settlers whenever the
warning reached them that the Indians were coming.
Near the fort lived Parson Cummings, called the Fighting Parson. He was
an Irishman who had come to the Valley from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He
fought against the Cherokee Indians in 1776 with Colonel Christian. He
first settled in Fincastle, but soon drifted farther south. It was he
who drafted the Fincastle Resolutions on January 20, 1775 and served on
the Committee of Safety for Washington County.
On one occasion, when the settlers were residing within the fort, food
became very scarce. Someone had to go back into the clearing and bring
in supplies. Parson Cummings and a few other men started off with a
wagon to get them. They had not gone far when they reached Piper's Hill.
A party of Indians surprised the little band and one of them was killed.
Everyone made a dash for the bushes. The Parson was very stout and he
was wearing a large powdered wig which was considered in those days
necessary to the cloth. This made him more conspicuous and of course a
target for the Indians.
One Indian ran after him, brandishing his tomahawk. The Parson dodged
under a bush and as he left it, his wig was caught by a low hanging
limb. The Indian took for granted that it was the Parson's head and made
a bound to get it. When he took it in his hands, he was surprised to
find no head there! He was disgusted and angry and threw it upon the
ground exclaiming, "D--d lie," and doggedly gave up the chase. And thus
the Parson escaped. The man who was killed was later buried in Abingdon
and one may read his name, "William Creswell, July 4, 1776" on the crude
stone which marks his grave.
Dragon Canone was the name of the Cherokee Indian who led his warriors
against the white militia. Both white and red men fought with tomahawks
and both hid behind trees. Sometimes this brave militia went forth to
battle without any higher commanding officer than captain. Three such
officers were John Campbell, James Shelby and James Thompson.
Let us look for a moment at what those settlers were denied. They did
not have flour or salt until an order was made:
"Jan. 29, 1777. Ordered that William Campbell, William
Edmundson, John Anderson and George Blackburn be appointed
commissioners to hire wagons to bring up the county salt,
allotted by the Governor and council, and to receive and
distribute the same agreeably to said order of the council."
Later on Colonel Arthur Campbell rode with seven hundred mounted
soldiers against the Cherokees. History gives him the credit of being
the first to experiment in attacking Indians on horseback. He destroyed
fourteen of their towns and burnt fifty thousand bushels of their corn
after giving his men enough for their own horses.
Hungry Mother State Park
The pathetic legend is told of the pioneer woman in Tazewell County who
was carried off by the Indians and was massacred some distance from
home. Her small child was left to die of exposure and starvation in the
mountain wilds and was at last rescued by a hunting party. The child was
pulling at the mother's body, trying to rouse her and was muttering,
"Hungry, mother--hungry, mother" when he was found.
That is the origin of the name of the mountain which is not far from
Marion, and the peak of the mountain is called "Molly's Knob" in memory
of the pioneer mother.
The State has created a beautiful park on Hungry Mother Mountain. Cabins
have been erected to house the visitors, a stream has been dammed up to
provide a lake--and most astonishing of all to the mountain folk who
enjoy their park is the sandy beach. The sand was hauled 375 miles from
Virginia Beach to its present location.
Swimming, sailing and canoeing are popular water sports; saddle horses
are available and hiking is a favorite occupation. Ample picnic grounds
have been provided. Crowds from nearby towns enjoy a day at the Park and
the cabins are in great demand from the vacationists in Virginia and
surrounding States.
White Top
Iron Mountain has lost that name and today is known far and near as
White Top. The visitor looks down five thousand feet below and can see
into Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. The top is
bald, rocky and about three hundred of its sloping acres are covered
with a fine white grass. In summer one sees hundreds of wild flowers,
sturdy evergreens, similar to Norway spruce, called Lashhorns, berries
and many small animals.
[Illustration:--_Courtesy Virginia Conservation Commission_
HUNGRY MOTHER STATE PARK]
Wilbur Waters, the hermit, is one of the most colorful characters in the
great Southwest and many adventures he had with wild animals. Wilbur's
mother was an Indian who died when he was very small. His father, who
lived in North Carolina at the time, apprenticed the boy to a shoemaker
to learn that trade. The little boy, no doubt homesick, could not stand
his new home. He ran away and from that time on made his own living.
When he heard how the wolves were making havoc for the settlers in and
around Abingdon, he came to get the rewards offered for their heads. He
built himself a rude shack on White Top, and if one would read real
adventure tales, let him read _Wilbur Waters_ which relates many
stirring ones.
Every summer during August a festival is held at White Top where
mountain music is played and folk dances are held. John Powell, the
noted Virginia composer, is especially active in the preservation of
folk music and he has been instrumental in attracting people of
influence to the celebration.
The major highways lead to within a comparatively short distance of
White Top and the State Highway Department assures the traveler of good
secondary roads which are passable in any kind of weather.
Another feature of the festival usually is the presentation of at least
one play by the group of Broadway players who summer at Abingdon and
conduct the famous "Barter Theatre."
Visitors who include White Top and the Barter players in their itinerary
will be delighted with the diversified entertainments found there.
Transcriber's Note.
The following typographical errors have been corrected:
p. 2 a brace of deer ran familiarly [had 'familarly']
p. 24 the Reverend Samuel Brown [had 'Reverened']
p. 31 the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany [had 'Alleghaney']
p. 47 been made into a poultice [had 'poultrice']
p. 49 wagon makers? Of course there were none [had 'Af']
p. 60 Luray is the Saltpetre Cave. [had 'Saltpeper']
p. 61 no one anticipated the conspicuous role [had 'conspicious']
p. 80 point: Rockfish and Shenandoah valleys. [Closing . added]
p. 83 Bridge, and some are still in existence [had 'existance']
p. 103 the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom [had 'Statue']
p. 106 Captain Lewis was first in command and he [had 'commond']
p. 108 of the Revolution had his apothecary shop [had 'Reevolution']
p. 112 Colonel of the Spotsylvania County Militia [had 'Spottsylvania']
Inconsistent hyphenation of some words in the original has been
retained.