Few people who now live on or near old Calloway Hill, know anything of
the history and the tragedies of that little elevation. Calloway was one
of the very earliest settled communities in Upshur county. Before the
Civil War, it was a place of considerable note. A post office was
located there when only two or three post offices were found in the
whole county. A store or two and a saloon did a thriving business. In
those days there was no law against making whiskey, and anybody had the
right to get drunk, if they wanted to. The first settlers of Calloway
believed it was every man’s natural right to get drunk and engage in
fist fights just for recreation and amusement.
Calloway was the voting place for a considerable area in the western
part of the county. An election was a great social occasion, celebrated
by horse races, swapping horses, and drinking home-made whiskey. An old
man, who was then a little boy, tells of going to an election at
Calloway with his father, who was to help hold the election. He said a
keg of whiskey was arranged at a convenient place, with a little tin cup
for the accommodation of the voters. Undoubtedly, the whiskey was
supplied by the candidates. This boy said he remembered that his father
and the other men holding the election, had to close up the polls now
and then and get out to help settle a drunken row. The early citizens of
Calloway could be identified by their manner of dress. The men wore
high-top boots, with spurs, broad brim white hats, and a red bandana
handkerchief around their necks. While some of these men were rough and
rowdy, they possessed high ideals of honor, and believed in treating
everybody fairly.
Tom Cranfill lived at Calloway and served as justice of the peace and a
kind of lawyer. He had three sons, Luther, Albert, and Tom. The boys all
left the county when they became grown and became leaders in the affairs
of other parts of the state. Dr. J. B. Cranfill, an influential leader
in the Baptist church, is a cousin to Tom Cranfill, and lived at
Calloway for awhile when he was a boy.
Dave Barton lived at Calloway and served as justice of the peace and
county commissioner. Mr. Barton lived near a large spring, which became
a popular resort, and was known as Barton’s Springs. Jim Barton, a
druggist at Big Sandy, is a grandson of Dave Barton. Jack and Hans
Finnie lived in the Calloway neighborhood and were noted horse traders.
Dr. McClennon lived on top of Calloway Hill and practiced medicine as
long as he lived. There are no traces of the old Calloway Hill left
there at the present time, for the place is dotted with nice, modern
homes, whose inhabitants are happy, law-abiding citizens. Johnson’s
Chapel church is located near by, and the community is a prosperous one.