U.S. Data Repository -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (pages 51-65) Chapter III Trails and Transportation Westward the course of empire takes its way. ——Bishop Berkeley. Our modern roads began with the efforts of the Indians to find their way through the un- broken forests. Sometimes they blazed trails, marking the trees in a pecuHar manner; some- times directions were designated by pictures drawn on rocks; and frequently both methods were used to guide them. When two trails crossed each other certain trees were marked, or other well-known means were used to direct their travel. These signs may be compared with finger guides at the forks of our roads to-day. There were a number of these Indian trails in Marion County, although many of them were branches of the larger or main trails across the country. Many of them led to the Ohio River, and were used chiefly by the wandering tribes of the Shawnees and Mingoes. From the Ohio, they led to the settlements on the Muskingum, and from there to the larger settle- ments on the Scioto and the Ohio, and on to Kentucky. The Great War Path, or Eastern Trail, over which the Indians traveled on ma- rauding expeditions, came from the south branch of the Potomac, passing along Indian Creek and White Day Creek, The old Ca- tawba War Path, a well-known highway in the early days, passed up the Tygart's Valley to the Carolinas. In the Tygart's Valley a num- ber of trails converged. As in Italy all roads led to Rome, so in the mountains of this sec- tion all thoroughfares led to Tygart's Valley. In many places traces of old trails may be found that have never been widened into wagon roads, possibly the most clearly defined of all such being the one along Buffalo Creek. One of these old trails runs directly over a steep, high point, but it is still used as a thoroughfare. In order to widen the paths the settlers some- times cut down trees, but more often they went around them. For many years wagon roads and wagons were unknown, and merchandise was transported on foot. Trips were made to Winchester, Virginia, and Cumberland and Hagerstown, Maryland, for salt, and the journey was long and difficult, the round trip covering over 300 miles. One half bushel was ordinarily a load for one man when he was making the trip on foot. In the year 1769 the first horse was brought across the mountains into Marion County. The first packsaddles used were made of two dog- wood forks fastened together with rawhide thongs, but later they were made of two hickory boards held together with pieces of iron or hickory straps. Sheep skins, sheared close and tanned with the wool on, kept the saddles from rubbing the horses. The means by which the pioneers made their journeys, compared to our method of traveling, were very primitive. At times two men would start on a trip with only one horse. After riding a specified time one would hitch the horse to a tree by the wayside and continue his journey on foot. The other, who had walked the distance, would find the horse at the hitching place, whereupon he would mount and soon overtake the man walking ahead. This method of traveling, known as "ride and tie," was continued until the destination was reached, and it proved a very efficient means of resting the horse as well as the riders. By this improved means of transportation, salt was carried in large quantities, being placed in home- made linen sacks about two yards long, which were thrown across the packsaddles. The men who made a business of selling salt had many adventures and hardships. They generally went to Winchester, Virginia, by way of Clarksburg, Belington, and what is now Elkins. They made Laurel Mountain, near Elkins, a regular camping place, both going to and coming from Winchester. Sometimes these men would go in parties, but at other times one person would be obliged to go alone. Before wagons were introduced, a man frequently took two horses with him, one to ride and the other to carry his salt, one horse being driven in front of the other with a "jerk line," which was a rope used as the reins of a horse are used at the present time. As soon as the horse made its appearance, the settlers began to make sleds in which to gather their crops. Each runner of the sled was a solid piece of wood, usually sawed from a large log. Among the earlier means of con- veyance was a cart having two large wooden wheels, a wooden axle and a pair of wooden shafts, a large wooden box being used for the bed. The wheels were sawed from the butt of a gum tree, a hole bored through the center serving as the hub. The carts were usually put together with wooden pins, but later iron bolts were used. The harness used to attach the horse to this vehicle was very crude, the back band being made of linen, the collar of corn husks, and the traces and bridle of rope. The bits, which were of iron, were the only pieces of metal used. Wagons soon followed the advent of the two-wheeled cart. John O. Maulsby, who lived within a half mile of the present town of Farmington, brought the first wagon into this county, and the settlers came from 20 miles around to see what it looked like. The first wagon passed through Winfield District from Morgantown about 1840, carrying a load of wool. The driver, a man named William Beverly, stopped for the night at the home of Peter Moran, whose children were very much interested in the new mode of conveyance. El- bert Moran, then a lad, slipped out of the house with his small brother, under cover of the night, to examine the strange vehicle, and ob- serving that the tar which was dripping from the axles was going to waste, the children filled the pockets of their jackets with the sticky sub- stance, a proceeding which caused them some little trouble later on. Sometimes several neighbors in a community would band together, each furnishing a horse, and take a large hickory bed wagon to Balti- more, the best known market. The bed of this wagon, which was capable of holding a heavy load, was made of long hickory poles plaited together in the shape of a clothes basket. Four and even six horses were needed to pull the hickory bed wagon over the rough roads. At first the settlers had difficulty in managing these vehicles, and it was sometimes said that a man who could drive three pack horses through a cow path could not turn a wagon in a 10-acre field. Covered road wagons were sometimes called "schooners" in those days. While there were probably as good means of transportation between Clarksburg and Morgan- town as were to be found in most frontier settle- ments as early as 1804, a road was authorized between these two points in 1812, and soon after Middletown, a half way station, became a regular stopping place. In 1840 the turnpike, which followed the course of the earlier road with the exception of a few changes near Mill Falls, was completed. This road was built by Irishmen, who lived in little huts along the road- side, and only a small strip near Monongah was macadamized. In 1849, a new impetus was given transportation with the projecting of three turnpikes——one to Weston, one to Fishing Creek, and another to Beverly. Parts of the old Beverly pike may still be traced along the West Fork, passing through the Fairmont farms, and on down Coal Run. As soon as the Morgantown and Clarksburg turnpike was completed a stagecoach line was established. The old stagecoach, which was drawn by four horses, was a clumsy vehicle, built very strong, the luggage of passengers being carried on top. There were often acci- dents along the roads, and on one occasion at least, when the coach was overturned just be- low Rivesville, the luggage went into the river. The fare for passengers from Fairmont to Mor- gantown was $1. It took two days to make the trip, the coach going down on one side of the river and returning on the other. Previous to this time, a two-horse stage, established in 1834, drew the mail between Clarksburg and Uniontown three times a week. In the year 1800 the Monongahela was de- clared a public highway, but almost a decade before this an attempt had been made to pro- vide for the improvement of both the Monon- gahela and the West Fork Rivers. In 1793 an act passed by the Virginia Legislature pro- vided that these waterways be made navigable for canoes and flat boats, then the only means of water transportation. Early in the nine- teenth century dams were constructed on the Monongahela, those in Marion County being located between Booth's Creek and Little Falls, between Great Falls and Middletown, and at Middletown, the latter being known as Pols- ley's. In 1806 another act was passed, sup- plementing that of 1793, and in 1817 the Mo- nongahela Navigation Company, a private cor- poration, secured authority from the Virginia Legislature to further improve the transporta- tion facilities in the two rivers above mentioned by digging a canal that would cause the waters of the Buckhannon to flow into the West Fork, one object of the company being to secure a sufficient stage of water for rafting. In 1847 a company was chartered by the Virginia Legislature to slack the Monongahela, but it failed to secure enough subscriptions to go on with the work, although the company was very active about the time the building of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was giving its impetus to the improvement of transportation. On February 11, 1850, the first steamboat came up the Monongahela River to the little town of Fairmont. This boat was the "Globe," owned by a man named Yeager. Its appear- ance created a great sensation among the people, for the majority of them had never seen a steamboat, much less had one come up to their very doors. When it became known throughout the country that a steamboat was to come up the Monongahela River at daybreak on February 11, the people for miles around gathered along the banks of the river as early as the afternoon before. When the whistle of the "Globe" was heard down the river, the courthouse bell was rung for two hours. The people had brought lunches, so they took the day off as a holiday; speeches were made, and the new wonder examined. Many of the citi- zens had a free ride up the river. That day was long to be remembered. The next boat that came up the river was the "Ariaen," and after that others came not infrequently. The following interesting accounts are taken from the True Virginian of March 13 and April 10, 1852: Our town was cheered with the welcome whistle of the "Thomas B. Ray" on Saturday last. The river, though unusually high for boats to run above the slack water, seemed to offer little resistance to her powerful engines. The trip was made in less time, we are in- formed, than any boat that has preceded her; her prin- cipal lading was salt and whiskey. * * * * * * * * * The favorite steamer "Thomas B. Ray," with Captain Hughes in command, arrived Wednesday, the seventh instant, about 10 o'clock, with tobacco from Logan and Carris and other articles of traffic. The "Thomas B. Ray" is a finely finished boat, and the officers are spoken of as gentlemen and accommodating men. The following story shows how much interest the arrival of these boats aroused in Fairmont. On one occasion a little girl, playing in a vacant house near the river, innocently blew a whistle which made a rather loud noise. Court was in session on that day, and the judge, hear- ing the whistle, thought a steamboat was coming up the river, so he dismissed court and he, the prisoners, the jury and the witnesses, went down to the river bank to await the arrival of the boat. After waiting for an hour or so and seeing no boat appear they went back to the courthouse and continued the proceedings. On Monday, April 5, 1852, there occurred a memorable flood. About midnight all the people of the surrounding country were aroused by the clash of thunder and the terrible down- pour of rain. The Monongahela River, which usually did not reach the top of its banks, rose at the rate of five feet an hour during part of the time, and when the storm ceased had reached a height of 43 feet above its usual level. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company had finished grading the bed for the railway, but although the bed was somewhat injured, no great damage was done, as the rails had not yet been laid. When the flood was at its height, forty houses are known to have floated down the river. Mr. S. S. Fleming, of Shinnston, who was superintendent of the pike built partly by appropriation and partly by subscription that had just been opened be- tween Fairmont and Clarksburg, has given the following account of the flood: "Five bridges between Fairmont and Clarks- burg were taken away. This left the country in a terrible condition. Where White Rock bridge stood there was no way of passing, even with a single horse. I put a number of men at work and we put up a bridge in about one week. Another company put up the bridge just below, which had lodged in some trees at the mouth of the run. The Enterprise bridge was made new. The one at Shinnston floated its base, but the sills and floor were saved. The bridge at Limestone was passable by ford. The next winter, through the efforts of Gov- ernor Johnson, the Legislature appropriated $40,000 to put up the bridge at Maulsby's Ford at Worthington, and the balance, if any, to macadamize the worst places in the road. "By noon that day the river was a fright. Everything conceivable was adrift——small houses, stables, hog pens, hen houses, bridges from creeks and runs, and logs and timbers out of number. The river bridge at Clarksburg landed on the island at the mouth of Lambert's Run in very good shape. "In the afternoon the people commenced going in crowds to see the Griffith mill take its leave. They had not long to stay, for it soon pitched from its foundation, went nearly out of sight under the water, and then adjusted itself and floated down the river very majestic- ally. "The water crept up the street nearly to the stone house, and on the saw mill on the run lo the second row of shingles on the roof. The 'point' at the M. P. Church was covered over. Mr. Seth Shinn's house was on an island with the water all around it at some little depth and he had no boat, so he could not get out and enjoy the fun. "The water crept up on Elijah Martin, who lived up the run at the coal bank. It raised so quietly and he slept so soundly until about the break of day, that when he awoke and got out of bed, he went knee deep into the water. He went to the back door and looked out and it was about 60 yards to dry land. "To reach Fairmont from Clarksburg, team- sters had to go by way of Booth's Creek. No farming was done until well on into the month of May. "The spring election was held about this time, and the men were unable to get to the voting places. However, there was a provision in the law that on such occasions the commis- sioners could protract the election and keep the polls open three days." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -