U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statementon the following page: ----------------------------------------------------------- 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- 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 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 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 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 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 quality 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 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. In those days wealth was estimated principally in terms of land. The value of land was determined prin- cipally by the improvements which had been made upon it. The amount of land which a farmer was able to have cleared depended mainly upon the number of sons, nearly grown, which he had in his family. All the families of that day were large, but if there was an undue proportion of daughters too much emphasis was likely to be placed upon raising corn instead of upon clearing more land. The farmers did not understand the simplest laws gov- erning soil fertility, and they continued to till a field as long as it would produce a crop. The growing of wheat which was made practicable by the construction of the Edward Jackson mill and the later improvements on the mill of Henry McWhorter, soon attained considerable proportions. Biscuits and salt-rising bread soon relieved the settler from the mo- notony of a steady diet of corn pone and johnny-cake. The growing of wheat, as practiced on the upper West Fork in the earliest period was an exceedingly primitive industry, hardly advanced at all from the methods in use five thousand years before. The grain was cut with a sickle and threshed with a flail. The equipment of the early mills was also exceedingly primitive. Instead of bolting cloths, deerskins, pierced full of holes with a red- hot needle, were in use. The citizens of Hacker's creek had a share in the war of 1812. John McWhorter had been commissioned a captain of the Harrison County regiment of Virginia militia a year or so before the war. When the war broke out he raised a company of volunteers which was mus- tered on the wide bottom of Hacker's creek just below the mouth of Life's run. The company was marched to Parkersburg, where they took boat for Point Pleasant. There they were mustered into the federal service and sent to the Maumee river to join the forces of General Harrison. They remained at Fort Meigs until their terms expired, 13 April 1813, when they returned home on foot. Captain McWhorter continued in the service until the close of the war and was promoted to the rank of colonel. The war had little effect upon the upper West Fork. Aside from the number of young men withdrawn from farm work, it was hardly noticed. De- velopment continued quietly. About the year 1815 the beginnings of towns in the southern portion of Harrison County could be discerned. A few settlers had continued to live near West's fort after the Indian attacks ceased. McWhorter's mill later proved to be a good nucleus for a village. Daniel Har- pole, who owned the land now occupied by the town at that time, is said to have started a tannery about 1815; but he soon became discouraged and sold out to Jacob Bonnett, a farmer. Three or four miles west of McWhorter's mill and about the same distance from Colonel Edward Jackson's mill, a small settlement grew up about William Newlon's store under the name of Westfield. It seems to have been the outgrowth of the movement to form Lewis County, and the promoters doubtless expected to secure the designation of the village as the county seat. It was expected that industries, such as mills, tanyards, etc., would follow. There was a population of five or six fam- ilies in 1816, the year the county was formed. An act creating the town on land belonging to the heirs of William Newland (Newlon )was passed shortly after the act for the formation of the county. John Bailey, Elijah Newland, Jacob Minter, Minter Bailey and Wil- liam Powers were designated in the act as the trustees of the town, and it was provided that vacancies in the board should be filled by the other trustees. According to the act, "whenever any purchaser of a lot build a dwelling house thereon equal to twelve feet square with a brick or stone chimney, such purchaser shall enjoy the same privileges which the freeholders of other towns not incorporated hold and enjoy." A year or two later West- field had attained to considerable importance for that time. Besides several new dwellings a school house had been erected in which at least one term of school was taught by Weeden Hoffman. The schoolmaster turned storekeeper in the town within a year or so. Buckhannon was also established as a town by the legislature in 1816. Aspirations of the people to obtain the seat of justice of the new county were partly respon- sible, but there was a small settlement there which would perhaps justify the creation of a town. A ferry had been established across the Buckhannon river near the mouth of Jawbone run some years before, and a small settlement had grown up around it. Weston was then an improved farm. The first church building erected within the pres- ent limits of Lewis County was the Harmony Methodist Episcopal church in 1800. The building was the out- growth of the society formed in 1786 at the home of John Hacker It stood on a slight rise above the mouth of Jesse's run. For its day it was a pretentious struct- ure, being constructed of hewn logs with a gallery. From this church there went out later a number of prominent ministers of the gospel like the Rev. John Mitchell and the Rev. David Smith who sowed the seeds of other or- ganizations in outlying parts of the county and made class leaders out of mob leaders. The second church to be built on the creek was at the forks of Hacker's creek, near the present site of Berlin, under the leadership of the Rev. John Mitchell. Both became Methodist Prot- estant churches when that church was split off from the Methodist Episcopal church in 1829. It is said that Harmony church was the first Methodist Protestant church in existence west of the Alleghanies. One of the most important churches ever established in the county from the standpoint of its influence over the future development of the religious life of the peo- ple of northwestern Virginia was the Broad Run Baptist church which began its existence in 1805. Elder John Carney, an itinerant Baptist preacher from the Buck- hannon valley, came to Duck creek, now in Harrison county, about four miles north of Broad run, in 1804, and began a series of meetings among the New Jersey settlers who had lately emigrated there. As his monthly visits continued considerable interest was awakened in religion. Settlers who had been good Baptists in New Jersey again felt the impulses of faith. A meeting was called for the purpose of considering the wisdom of forming a Baptist church. On February 5, 1805, the people of the community met in a private home in the presence of an advisory council. The meeting is said to have been 'one of great solemnity and glorified by the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit." An opportunity was offered for those who wished to become members of the Baptist church, and while the congregation sang, eight persons presented themselves for membership. The charter members of the church were Walter Smith and wife, Job West and wife, Samuel Romine and wife, and Solomon Wires and wife. They were declared to be the Good Hope Baptist church. Elder Carney continued his monthly visits to the church for some years. The Baileys and Minters and others, Baptists from Fauquier County, Virginia, who had come to Whiteoak Flat run in the latter part of the eighteenth century, also formed a congregation under the guidance of the Rev. John Carney, in 1806. The pioneer members of this church were Jacob Minter and wife, Alexander West, Edmund West, James Bailey and wife, and Elizabeth, wife of Captain James Bailey. Because of the fact that most of the members had belonged to the Broad Run Baptist church in Fauquier County, they chose the same name for the new congregation. Meanwhile some of the New Jersey settlers moved from Duck creek to land in the West Fork valley about the mouth of Whiteoak Flat run. The church at Duck creek became divided geographically but not in a relig- ious sense. Meetings of the Good Hope church were held in private homes both on Duck creek and on the West Fork farther south. The membership of the two Baptist congregations increased rapidly In 1808 the congregations had outgrown the accommodations to be found in the cabins of the pioneers, and a movement was begun to erect a church building. John Brown donated a few acres of land for a church and a cemetery about two hundred yards from the location of the old Mongue fort. A building of hewn logs, twenty-four by thirty feet, was constructed in the same year, and here the united churches worshipped for many years, until the log structure became inadequate for the purpose. A frame church, "low and squatty," took its place, followed by another frame church and finally by an imposing brick edifice. The second pastor of the church was Elder John Goss, of Georgia, an evangelist in the employ of the Southern Board of Missions. He is described as being tall, of angular build and of quick, nervous movement. His sermons were interspersed with humorous anecdotes and quaint illustrations. Elder John J. Waldo succeeded him after some years. Benjamin Holden, one of three brothers who did much to extend the Baptist faith in Northwestern Virginia, came next, and he was followed by Elder Carr Bailey, one of the pioneers of the Free- man's creek country and the leader of the church there. Anthony Garrett, one of the earliest converts of the church, whose ministerial labors are said to have been more abundant than those of any of his co-laborers, fol- lowed Elder Bailey in the ministry. The influence of Broad Run church in the religious development of northwestern Virginia was tremendous. From Broad run as a center Baptist preachers went forth over the whole northwest, from the mountains to the Ohio river, riding on horseback through trackless forests, preaching to small groups collected in the homes of the settlers, baptizing converts, forming new churches and carrying the seeds of a higher civilization with them all the while. The Broad Run Baptist association, which was formed as a result of their labors, embraced at its in- ception about half the territory now included in the state of West Virginia. The great number of Baptist churches scattered over the northern part of the state attests the success of their endeavors. -----------------------------------------------------------