Old Doc Walker A period of 19 Years Meriwether Lewis was not the first famous explorer and journalist in his family. That honor belongs to Dr. Thomas Walker, one of the first white men to see Kentucky and the first to provide a written account of his trip through the Cumberland Gap. Originally from Staffordshire, England, Thomas Walker’s ancestors arrived in America in 1650 and soon took a prominent place in colonial Virginia. Born in 1715 in King and Queen County, Virginia, Thomas’s early life reads like a resume for a successful Tidewater gentleman. Educated at the College of William and Mary, he studied medicine in Williamsburg under his brother-in-law, Dr. George Gilmer. In 1741, Thomas married the widow of a very rich, prominent Virginia gentleman, Nicholas Meriwether (the great uncle of Meriwether Lewis). Thomas and Mildred built a home, Castle Hill, on her 15,000-acre estate in Albemarle County, east of Charlottesville Va., where they raised a whopping 12 children. Managing Mildred’s lands was almost a full-time job, and Walker soon learned the art of land management and surveying. He met others interested in the same thing, most notably his neighbor Peter Jefferson, a successful planter. Thomas Walker served as Peter Jefferson’s personal physician and the two men became trusted friends. (Walker was appointed guardian of Peter’s son, fourteen year-old Thomas Jefferson, after Peter’s death in 1757.) The first recorded English explorations of the mountains were those of Abraham Wood, which began around 1650. Later, Wood sent exploring parties into the mountains. The Batts-Fallam expedition reached the New River Valley in 1671. In 1673, Wood sent Gabriel Arthur and James Needham to the Overhill Cherokee of modern Tennessee. The purpose was to try to make direct contact with the Cherokee for trade, so as to bypass the Ocaneechee middlemen traders. The expedition did reach the Overhill Cherokee area, but Needham was killed on the return. Gabriel Arthur was almost killed, but was rescued by being adopted by a Cherokee chief. For his own safety, Arthur was then sent with one of the chiefs raiding parties. For about a year, he traveled with the Cherokee, throughout the Appalachians. He was probably the first European to visit modern West Virginia and cross the Cumberland Gap. In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker, an investor in the Loyal Land Company, with five companions, made a famous exploration through the Cumberland Gap and into eastern Kentucky. The Loyal Land Company settled people in southwest Virginia, but not Kentucky He began making a name for himself as an explorer and surveyor. As early as 1743, Walker led an expedition to the virgin lands to the west, getting as far as present-day Kingsport, Tennessee. In 1749, Walker joined a number of other prominent Virginia men in establishing the Loyal Land Company, which petitioned the colonial government of Virginia for a huge grant of land west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Loyal Land Company received a patent for 800,000 acres located along the southern border of Virginia (now southeastern Kentucky). The grant contained a provision that required settlement of the land within four years. Thomas Walker took the lead in exploring the company’s new territory, heading off on a four-month expedition to find a route and document what the land was like for potential settlers. On April 13, 1750, Walker wrote the following entry in his diary: “We went four miles to large Creek, which we called Cedar (Indian) Creek, being a branch of Bear Grass (Powell’s), and from thence six miles to Cave Gap (Cumberland Gap), the land being levil [sic]. On the north side of the gap is a large Spring, which falls very fast, and just above the Spring is a small entrance to a large Cave (Cudjo Cavern), which the Spring runs through, and there is a constant Stream of cool air issuing out. The Spring is sufficient to turn Mill. Just at the foot of the Hill is a Laurel Thicket, and the Spring Water runs through it. On the South side is a plain Indian Road… This Gap may be seen at a considerable distance, and there is no other, that I know of, except one about two miles to the North of it, which does not appear to be so low as the other.” This was the famous Cumberland Gap, which would form a key passageway on the Wilderness Road through the Appalachian Mountains, the primary route used by western-traveling settlers for the next fifty years. For the remainder of his life, Walker continued to act as surveyor and land agent and served as an Indian treaty commissioner, member of the House of Burgesses and General Assembly, delegate to the Revolutionary Convention and a member of the Committee of Public Safety. He was the kind of man people trusted. His son said of him, “(He) possesses all that life and good humor which we were all kept alive by in the woods.” Walker died at his home in Albemarle in November 9, 1794. By that time, the Loyal Land Company had sold more than 200,000 acres, and the land that would be known as Kentucky was home to 38,000 settlers, most of whom had traveled there through Walker’s discovery, the Cumberland Gap. Walker is immortalized in the great Appalachian folk song “Cumberland Gap,” which in some versions contains the lyric, “The first white man in the Cumberland Gap was Old Doc Walker, an English Chap.” The fort was a complex of log structures including houses and outbuildings. They were usually arranged in a square or rectangle and connected by stockades or palisades of upright logs. A station was generally a single family’s log home that was at least one and one-half stories high and had gun ports constructed in the walls. It had heavy, thick wooden doors and shutters that could be barred from the inside for protection. Neighbors living in less sturdy cabins would often gather into a station for protection when hostile Indians were in the area. The Shawnee Indians, led by the British, attacked at least once, if not several times, the earliest settlers living within central Kentucky. The worst attacks occurred in the early spring of 1780 and again in 1781. The forts, then located in what is now Green County, had to be abandoned, and the settlers moved to other eastern, better fortified forts. Many reasons caused the people of Europe to emigrate during the eighteenth century. In Ireland and Scotland an unrest was spreading as seen by Thomas Richard Skaggs He was born in Ireland and was a thrifty gentleman. His family and neighbors urged him to flee the country after the Seize of Londonderry.. At last he consented to go, then he hastily left the country and soon was on his way to Virginia.When the Dunkard people left the area they left their village of well constructed houses and rich farm land that was purchased by two men who would make their marks in the area that became Pulaski County, James McCorkle and William Christian. Before very long, many of his friends and neighbors from Ireland were on their way to Virginia to join him. Many of them settled in Western Augusta County Virginia. These Scotch-Irish, like their German neighbors, did not have very much trouble from the Indians for several years. Thomas , a son of Richard Skaggs, studied and went to represent his county in the House of Burgesses. He was a man of sound judgment and voted for Patrick Henrys celebrated resolutions. James Skaggs Sr., another son, was a soldier, and made his home in Augusta County. During the Indian Wars, he was made a Captain but not until he had proved his worth in many a battle. He served in 1754 when Fort Necessity was taken, and he was present when the articles of the treaty were agreed upon. In 1776 he commanded a group of Virginians when Governor Dunnmore was driven from Gwynns Island and step down from his duties because of health issue.ames Skaggs (also Scaggs, Skeggs) was one of the earliest residents on Meadow Creek, appearing first in 1749 when he served as one of the appraisers of John Elswicks estate. He had lands surveyed as early as 1751 and added other tracts on Meadow Creek and Little River by deed (Chalkley, Chronicles, 111, 18, 293, 321; Augusta County surveys). In 1769 James Skaggs and his wife, Rachel, sold part of their lands to Henry Skaggs and James Skaggs, Jr. their sons (Chalkley, Chronicles, 111, 490). Other tracts were disposed of to Thomas Mastin and John Plickinstarvor (Summers, Annals, pp. 668, 671). In 1776 the Committee of Safety for Fincastle County recorded that Captain James Skaggs was unable to serve any longer because of his infirm state of health, and Thomas Ingles was appointed to succeed him. Presumably this is James Skaggs, Sr. (Harwell, Committee of Safety, p. 76). In 1782 and on his way home was taken ill with fever. He died near now Radford, about forty miles from home. The sons of James Sr. helped to develop the Valley of Virginia and their name is an honored one wherever it is found. Long ago, a shrewd trader from New York, John VanMeter, came into the Valley. He made friends with the Delawares and often went with them on their hunting trips. Once he even fought on their side against their enemies, the Catawbas. While on this visit South, he saw for the first time the fertile native grass, which grew five or six feet high, in the Valley. When he returned to New York he told his sons about the rich country, far to the South, and advised them to secure some of it. One of them, Isaac Skaggs, came to Virginia in 1736-7 and with a tomahawk cut certain trees, thus making his original claim. This was called the Tomakawk Right. Isaac and his brother James secured a warrant from Governor Gooch for thousand acres of land. Later on they sold or transferred part of their grant to Joist Hite who was later called the Old Baron. The latter was one of the hardiest pioneers and in 1734 was appointed by the Virginia Council to act as magistrate. This gave him authority to settle disputes, and to uphold the laws of Virginia as well as to punish all offenders. Hite soon built a stone house on Opequon Creek and his sons and daughters grew to be splendid men and women. His sons-in-law, George Bowman, Jacob Chrisman and Paul Froman and their families had come with him from Pennsylvania. Robert McKay, Robert Green, William Duff, Peter Stevens and several other families helped each other select land, build homes and a fort. The Indians had heard of the kindly relations which existed between the Indians and William Penns colonists. He paid the Indians for their lands, and records show that many of the Germans, especially the Quakers, who settled on Apple Pie Ridge also bought lands from the Indians. These settlers were never disturbed by the Indians. The lands which now call the Great Valley of Virginia, the Indians were agreed among themselves that no one tribe was to possess any of it. The lands were so fertile and so much game feasted there, that all should be at peace when in the Valley. First Quakers came found these names recorded: the Neills, Walkers, Bransons, McKays, Hackneys, Beesoms, Luptons, Barretts, Dillons and Fawcetts Another Quaker, Ross, obtained a warrant for surveying lands and his lines were run along the Opequon, north of Winchester, and up to Apple Pie Ridge. Soon many other Quakers from Pennsylvania were moving into the Valley to settle on Rosss surveys. By 1738 these deeply religious people had built homes and were holding monthly meetings to worship God. They had tiny settlements up and down the Valley. They cultivated their farms, took little interest in politics, cared very little for worldly intercourse and made excellent neighbors. Their manners and dress were plain, their furniture only what was necessary, their homes were crude, but their barns were large and their cattle were well protected. They refused to pay taxes during the Revolutionary War or to bear arms. Then their neighbors began to ridicule them, calling them cowards, and were no longer friendly. Officers came and seized their crops or property and sold them to raise funds with which to carry on the War against England. The Legislature enacted a law whereby a Quaker either had to fight or pay a substitute to fight for him. Their personal property was put under the hammer and soon they were reduced to poverty. One incident will give us a picture of those far-off days. James Gotharp lived with his neighbors on Apple Pie Ridge. One day during the Revolutionary War officers came, demanding that he should march away with them to join the militia; he refused. The men forced him to come along and later he was made a guard. He was placed beside a baggage wagon and told to let no man go into the wagon who did not have a written order from the commanding officer. Along came an officer who started to climb into the vehicle. James called to him and demanded to see his order of authority. The officer cursed him and stepped up to climb in. James caught him by his legs and pulled his feet off the step. This caused the officer to fall, striking his face against the wagon, bruising his nose and mouth severely. The dress of the Quakers is still picturesque and many are to be seen in certain sections of the Valley. They wear a broad brimmed hat, a long frock coat, generally black. The women wear full skirts, down to their ankles, black hose, plain black shoes, with round toes. Their bodices, usually black or gray in color, are severely cut, with long plain sleeves, with a high neck, relieved by a white collar. They usually wear a small cap, made of the same material as their dress. The history of Dunkard Bottom, discussing McCorkles Store and the village of New Dublin.Lending an air of uniqueness yet to the Valley towns is that religious sect called Dunkards. One sees the women of that denomination, with their little black bonnets, on almost any street in any town along the Lee Highway. At one time the sect was called Tunkers. They are an offshoot of the Seventh-Day Baptists and had their beginnings in the Valley a little after 1732. When Dr. Thomas Walker passed through the section on his way westward he noted in his journal on March 17th, 1750, The Dunkards are an odd set of people, who make it a matter of religion not to Shave their Beards, ly on Beds, or eat Flesh though at present, in the last, they transgress, being constrained to it, as they say, by the want of a sufficiency of Grain and Roots, they having not long been seated here. I doubt the plenty and deliciousness of the Venison and Turkeys has contributed not a little to this. The unmarried have no private Property, but live on a common Stock. They dont baptize either Young or Old, they keep their Sabbath on Saturday, and hold that all men shall be happy hereafter, but first must pass through punishment according to their Sins. They are very hospitable. The Dunkards built a part of their faith around their disapproval of violence, even for self-defense, and their submission to fraud or wrongdoing rather than resorting to court trials. James SKAGGS, Jr. first appeared in the records in 1769 when he received lands from his father and mother, James and Rachel SKAGGS. He may be the one designated as Little James SKAGGS jr. who reported in 1774 that he had seen Indians between Ninian CLOYDs and Peter POORs (Chalkley, Chronicles, III, 490; Preston Papers, Draper Mss., 3 QQ 54). In 1779 he purchased the 100 acres which had been selected by John BUCHANAN in 1748 from his son, William BUCHANAN (August County Surveys; Montgomery Deed Book A, p.190). Here SKAGGS operated a ferry across New River, and once in legal possession of the lands, SKAGGS petitioned the Montgomery County court toview the possibility of a nearer and better Road which may be had either by SKAGGs place commonly called the old ferry, or by Dunker Bottom, rather than the one presently occupied by William INGLES. Three months later in March 1779 no report had been forthcoming and men were chosen to meet and view the road by ??? This tablet commemorates the first white settlement west of New River, made in 1745 near here by Dunkers. In 1756 they built a fort for protection against Indians. In 1771 Col. William Christian built a home on this site. Meadow Creek is in Radford area of Montgomery Co., VA (Augusta Co., VA in 1756) James Sr. Skaggs (son of Richard Skaggs and Mary Thear) was born 1700 in On board ship on route to America, and died 1782 in Green County, Kentucky. He married Rachel Susannah Moredock on 1720 in Maryland. Notes for James Sr. Skaggs: James Skaggs has been rumored to have been born on open sea on a ship bound from Ireland to the New World. Later searches could not establish any population of persons named Skaggs in Ireland. Ireland was not known as a transfer point for immigrants to the Colonies. March 2, 1773 - James and Rachel Skaggs, Fincastle County sold to John Plickensarver, 82 acres, on New River, Botetourt County, Virginia on Meadow Creek. Witnessed by William Christian, Stephen Trigg, Jonathan Elswick, and William Lesley. William in 1750 married Mary Draper, but he continued to live on the Roanoke until after 1753, when he purchased land at Drapers Meadows from Col. Patton. He was on the waters of New River in 1754 and 1755. A neighbor of Ingles, on the Roanoke River, James Burke sold his property there in 1753 and moved to Burkes Garden and lived there until the Indians saw fit to run him out. From Burkes Garden James Burke migrated to Cumberland Co., NC, and in 1760 he and his wife Lucretia, conveyed the remainder of the original Burke land on the Roanoke to Dr. Thomas Walker. This is the reason for calling the place Burkes Garden as James Burke seems to have been the first to actually make a settlement in the valley. At the Drapers Meadows massacre of July 30, 1755, the wife of William Ingles, Mary Draper Ingles, and her small son Thomas, then four years old, were taken captive by the Indians. Mrs. Ingles made her escape, and the details of which has become the classic Indian story of Southwest Virginia. Her son, Thomas, was held captive until ransomed by his father in 1768. He had spent thirteen years with the Indians, had grown to young manhood, spoke their language fluently, and had adopted Indian ways altogether. It is said that upon return he was very unhappy away from his Indian friends, and had much difficulty in readopting to civilized life. He was finally sent to Albemarle Co. By his father and while there married. William Ingles continued to live on in the area until his death in 1782, leaving at least five children (4), who were: Susannah who married Abraham Trigg; Rhoda who married Byrd Smith; Mary who married John Gills, and Thomas and John Ingles. Thomas Ingles eventually settled in Burkes Garden on the land he had inherited from his father. He was Commissary for the troops on the Point Pleasant expedition and his feelings were very strong for the Indians. On the very night that Mary Draper Ingles returned to her home at Draper’s Meadows(now a part of the Virginia Tech Campus), after escaping from her Shawnee Indian captors, her husband, William, and his brother-in-law, John Draper, were camped on a high ridge some twenty miles away that would some day become the village of Newbern, about a mile from a bold spring on property called Round Glade, at the present Exit , Interstate 81. The men were returning with heavy hearts, after a failed trip into Indian Territory trying to obtain information as to the whereabouts of Mary and other family members who had been captured and carried off into Shawnee country following the massacre that took place on that fateful morning of July 30, 1755. As they crossed New River heading homeward, it is very likely that they talked about the future time when William would build a cabin on the river for his family, and maybe a tavern, and possibly even establish a ferry to transport the great number of people, animals, and vehicles that would surely be traveling the old Indian trail in search of western land and wealth. All of this was only a dream of William’s , but when he reached home it began to come true, because there was his wife, Mary waiting for him. It was a happy reunion, but yet a sad one, because the couple’s children were still held by the Indians. They continued to search for the children, but in the meantime William built the cabin near the river, and in 1762 he received a license to operate the historic Ingles ferry that would operate continuously for almost 200 years. He also constructed Ingles Tavern on the bank of the river, a part of which stands to this day. Areas on each end of the ferry were settled with land on thewest side of the river developing faster, because of the westward movement that was taking place along the Great Road. People were seeking not just land, but freedom of worship, meat to feed their families, and the riches of the land above and below the surface. Many moved on, and many stayed on the west side of the ferry to establish homes, farms, and businesses. And Fort Frederick was established on the west side of the river for protection from raids by still unsettled Indians. One particular group of people that settled in the area was a German Baptist group known as Dunkards, who at the time were considered rather odd because of their different religious habits and rules. Doctor Thomas Walker referred to them in his journal as “an odd sect of people who do not shave their beards, refuse to sleep in beds, practice celebicy, and eat no meat”. This particular religion originated in Germany, and members came to America in the eighteenth century and formed a group in Pennsylvania that became known as the Ephrata Brethren. When several of their members pulled away from this group, they came down the Great Road and settled on fertile soil and well lying land on the west side of New River. They called this settlement Mahanian, (meaning “two camps”) At first they prospered, but being a docile people, they were soon discouraged by Indian attacks. Some went back to Pennsylvania and some disbursed to other areas. After about ten years the splinter group from Ephrata were no more. The location of their settlement became known as Dunkard Bottom, a name that is familiarly referred to in historical and legal documents to this day. Several families from Mahanian settled in different parts of what today is Pulaski county; names such as Weiser, Mack, and others. The brethren back in Pennsylvania were probably not surprised when the family Eckerliin and others returned. In trying to discourage them from leaving in the first place, they had described the people in our area as “riff-raff and the dregs of society”. I’m sure the settlers had a much higher opinion of themselves. One of the early settlements in the valley along the west bank of New River was Mahaniam, meaning two camps, in what is now Pulaski County and now lies beneath the waters of Claytor Lake. The settlement was founded about 1745 by three Germans from a group, which had crossed the Atlantic seeking religious freedom and were called Sabbatarians and later became known as Dunkards. From this latter name came the identification of the settlement as Dunkards Bottom. It is reported that 900 acres of rich river bottomland was chosen and surveyed for the colony, which later had the only mill west of New River. However, many of the Dunkards became unhappy with their lot in the wilderness on the frontier of a new nation. They were said to be odd people who were very clannish and shunned by other settlers. In 1749 the Moravian missionaries noted that in the region of Dunkards Bottom they found a kind of white people who wore deer skins, lived by hunting, associated with the Indians and acted like savages. The family of Harmans were of German origin, Adam Heinrich Hermann emigrating to America in 1726, with a brief stop over the Isle of Man, where Henry Harman of this sketch was born. Seven Harman brothers emigrated from Germany together, Jacob, Valentine, Mathias, George, Daniel, John, and Heinrich Adam. They first stopped off in Pennsylvania, then emigrated to the Shenandoah Valley and some on into North Carolina. At least three of these brothers settled in Southwest Virginia, namely, Heinrich Adam, Valentine and Jacob. They were living in the New River German settlement, the first settlement ever made west of the Alleghenies on the Western Waters, and were living there prior to 1745. In 1749 Moravian Missionaries conducted the first recorded religious services in Southwest Virginia in the home of Jacob Harman, and Dr. Thomas Walker mentions stopping at the home of Harman on his memorable exploration trip in 1750. Of these three brothers, Valentine and Jacob were both killed by Indians on New River. Valentine was killed on Sinking Creek in what is now Giles Co., VA. In a land suit filed in the High Court of Chancery in Augusta Co., on the 23rd of July, 1807, Taylor vs Harman, Mathias Harman, nephew of the slain Valentine, says: Valentine was killed by the Indians on New River and at the same time his (Mathias’) brother, Daniel Harman and Andrew Moser were taken prisoner. Daniel made his escape, but Andrew was held prisoner. On the 30th of June, 1808, Daniel Harman, deposes, in the same land suit, saying: In 1757, Valentine was killed in my presence less than a foot away from me, and I was taken prisoner. Valentine Harman, who was slain left a widow Mary Harman, but no children. Jacob Harman lived on Neck Creek in what is now Pulaski Co., VA, on what is known as Spring Dale Farm. In 1757, he, his wife, and one of his sons were murdered by the Indians. Once the Dunkards got to America they changed their ways to fit the lifestyle of the American Frontier. John BUCHANAN, agent for Colonel PATTONs Woods River Company and assistant surveyor of Augusta County, made his exploratory trip to the region in the fall of 1745. He found inhabitants already in the New River area. These inhabitants were German eccentrics of German Seventh Day Baptists from the Ephrata Society of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and were called Dunkers Dunkards. (Many people incorrectly refer to this sect of the Anabaptists as Dunkards. The word Dunker was actually a anglicized corruption of the German Word Tunker, which means dipper or immerserer referring to the mode of baptism practiced by this group.) Being pacificists, the Dunkards became discontented and fearful, realizing their helplessness if attacked by Indians. So just five years after being established, Mahaniam disappeared as a budding settlement. Some of the settlers returned to Pennsylvania and other parts of Virginia with a few remaining in the immediate area. Adam Harman, who came with the Ingles, Drapers and others form Pattonsburg, in the Virginia Valley, shortly after the planting of the Colony, located, probably in the Spring of 1749, on New River at the place now known as Egglestons Springs, but called by the early settlers Gunpowder Spring, from the resemblance of its odor and taste to that of gun powder. This settlement of Harman, save that of Porter at the mouth of East River, is believed to be the oldest settlement made by white people in what is now the territory of Giles County. Philip Lybrook, from Pennsylvania, but most likely born in Holland, and of whom we shall have occasion to hereafter speak, settled at the mouth of Sinking Creek on the New River, a short distance below Harmans settlement, about 1750. It is not believed that Lybrook, the correct spelling of whose name in his native tongue is Leibroch, came with the Drapers Meadows settlers, but subsequently. His was the third settlement made by the whites in what is now Giles County. It was upon Harman at Gunpowder Spring in April, 1749, that the Indians committed depredations by stealing his fur skins, but they remained peaceable and quiet until the breaking out of the French and Indian war in the year of 1753, which continued on the border for more than ten years. It seems that Harman suspected a man by the name of Castle as being in league with and as prompting the Indians to steal his fur skins. Castle was at the time on a hunting expedition with the Indians, who were now friendly, in what is now called Castleswoods on the Clinch River in the Western portion of the now County of Russell. Harman obtained from a magistrate of Augusta County a warrant for the arrest of Castle, and with a posse, among them a large, stout, athletic man by the name of Clinche, who had been a hunter in that section, he set out to accomplish his purpose, but met with serious resistance from Castle and the Indians with whom he was engaged in hunting, and forced to beat a retreat, in which his man Clinche was thrown from his horse in crossing the river. Being a lame man from an attack of white swelling, the Indians supposing him disabled from the fall, one of them dashed into the river and seized him, but the great, strong man was an over match for his Indian enemy, and succeeded in drowning him, hence the name Clinche River was given, as the story goes. Dr. Thomas Walker in his journal kept of his journey to and through Cumberland Gap and return in 1750, says: Clinche River was named for a hunter whose name was Clinche. It therefore seems altogether probable that, except Salling, Porter, Castle and Clinche were the first white men to cross the Middle-New River and to explore the territory West thereof. It is stated upon the authority of Mr. Virgil A. Lewis in his recent history, as well as by others, that in 1742, Salley, the Howards and St. Clair crossed the New River below the mouth of Greenbrier and passed over on the Coal River, to which they gave that name. In the year of 1748 Dr. Thomas Walker, of Albemarle County, was lead by Colonel James Patton, Colonel John Buchanan, Colonel James Wood and Major Charles Campbell, from the neighborhood of Pattonsburg, on the James River, made an excursion into what is now known as Southwestern Virginia. The precise route this party traveled after leaving the New River, or how far they went Westward, seems to be left in doubt. This trip must not be confused with Dr. Walkers second one across the New River westward through Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky in 1750, in which his companions were Ambrose Powell, William Tomlinson, Colby Chew, Henry Lawless and John Hughes. This party on this trip in 1750 gave names, in some instances their own, to several mountains and streams, and on their return home came by way of the site of the present city of Pocahontas, Virginia, and along the Bluestone and Flat Top mountains near the present town of Hinton, and thence up the Greenbrier. Thomas Walker was a distinguished physician and explorer from Virginia; in the mid-18th century, he was part of an expedition to the region beyond the Allegheny Mountains and the unsettled area of British North America. Walker and fellow Virginian, Indian agent, explorer for Patrick Henry, legislator of three states, surveyor of KY/VA & TN/NC borders, and later Revolutionary war general, Joseph Martin, were some of the first colonialists to travel in this area. Martins son, Revolutionary War officer Col. William Martin, describes the naming of the area and river in a letter to historian Lyman Draper, A treaty with the Cherokees was held at Fort Chiswell on New River, then a frontier. On the return of the chiefs home, Dr. [Thomas] Walker, a gentleman of distinction, and, [General] Joseph Martin, accompanied them. The Indians being guides, they passed through the place now called Cumberland Gap, where they discovered a fine spring. They still had a little rum remaining, and they drank to the health of the Duke of Cumberland. This gave rise to the name of Cumberland Mountain and Cumberland River. Prince William Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland, was a hero of the time. Walker explored Kentucky in 1750, 19 years before the arrival of Daniel Boone. During the expedition, Walker gave names to many topographical features, including the Cumberland Gap. His party built the first non-Indian house (a cabin) in Kentucky. Thomas Walker kept a daily journal of the trip. A station was generally a single family’s log home that was at least one and one-half stories high and had gun ports constructed in the walls. It had heavy, thick wooden doors and shutters that could be barred from the inside for protection. Neighbors living in less sturdy cabins would often gather into a station for protection when hostile Indians were in the area. The Shawnee Indians, led by the British, attacked at least once, if not several times, the earliest settlers living within central Kentucky. The worst attacks occurred in the early spring of 1780 and again in 1781. The forts, then located in what is now Green County, had to be abandoned, and the settlers moved to other eastern, better fortified forts. Many reasons caused the people of Europe to emigrate during the eighteenth century. Harman Station, also called Block House Bottom, was located in Johnson County on the banks of the river. The old fort was built on the site of a hunting lodge that the Harman’s, Skaggs, and other hunters constructed in 1755. The station was originally founded by Robert Halves, Matthias Harman, and James Sr. and son Henry Skaggs and his brothers- all of them known as the Long Hunters. Once the settlement was underway, they were able to hold the Louisa River valley. The old fort was built on the site of a hunting lodge that the Harman’s, Skaggs, and other hunters constructed in 1755. At the lodge, the hunters could stop for the night, or a few nights, before they went on into the wilderness to hunt in the same areas frequented by the Iroquois, Shawnee, Delaware, Toteros, and Wyandotte’s. From Register of Ky. Historical Society, 1921, Vo. 19, pp. 314-317. BUT SOMEHOW??? (19 years later) In 1774 pioneer James Harrod led an expedition of 37 men down the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to the mouth of the Kentucky River. After traveling up the river they guided their boats into a creek called Landing Run. They then traveled overland until they crossed the Salt River in what is present day Mercer County, to a large spring where on June 16, 1774 they established a camp that became the settlement called Harrodstown, the first pioneer settlement in Kentucky????? Fort Boonesborough was a frontier fort in Kentucky, founded by Daniel Boone and his men following their crossing of the Kentucky River on April 1, 1775. The settlement they founded, known as Boonesborough, Kentucky, is Kentuckys second oldest European-American settlement.( Also they followed Skaggs Trace into Kentucky when they established this Fort called Fort Boonesborough. ?????? So thank you very much TV and movies and bad biographers. Early Station, Trail or Place Name Location Barrens Meade and Hardin Cos. Barrens Barren, Warren and Edmonson Big Forks of Elkhorn Franklin Co. Bigg Meadow South of Cumberland River Blue Licks (Upper and Lower) Nicholas Co. Boiling Springs Mercer Co. Boonesborough Madison Co. Boones Station Same as Boonesborough Boones Trace Madison co. Bowmans Station Mercer Co. Brashears Station Bullitt Co. Bryans Station Fayette Co. 5 miles from Lexington Buffaloe Trace From Blue Licks to Big Bone Lick through Nicholas, Harrison, Scott, Franklin, Henry, Owen and Boone Cos . Bullitts Salt Lick Bullitt Co. Carpenters Station Lincoln Co. Clarks Station Boyle Co. Clarks Station Mason Co. Coopers Station Bourbon Co. Coxes Settlement Nelson Co. Crab Orchard Lincoln Co. Craigs Station Garrard Co. Crittendens Cabins Bourbon Co. Crittendens Camp Woodford Co. Crows Station Boyle Co. Drennings Salt Lick (Drennon) Henry Co. English Station Lincoln Co. Falls of the Ohio Louisville, Jefferson Co. Floyds Station Jefferson Co., Mouth of Bear Grass Floyds Station Jefferson Co. 6 miles from Falls Floyds Fork Station Oldham Co., 18 miles from Louisville Fountain Blue (Fontainebleau) Mercer Co. Fort Liberty Mercer Co. Grovers Station Green Co. (Greensburg) Goars Station Franklin Co. Gordons Station Mercer Co. Grant Station Fayette Co. Great Crossings Scott Co. Haggins Station Mercer Co. Same as Triggs Handcock Taylors Grave Madison Co. Hardins Station Hardinsburg, Breckinridge Co. Harman Station Johnson County Harrodsburg Mercer Co. Harrods Landing Kentucky River, Mercer Co. Harrods Station Mercer Co., 6 miles from Harrodsburg Harts (White Oak Springs) Madison Co. Haycraft Station Hardin Co. Hazel Patch Laurel Co. Helms Station Hardin Co. Hickory Bottom Carrol Co. Higgins Blockhouse Harrison Co. . Hindes (Hyndes) Hardin Co. Hinkstones Station (Hingstone) Same as Riddles or Ruddles Holders Station Madison Co. Hoys Station Madison Co. Hustons Station Paris, Bourbon Co. Hynes Station Same as Hends or Hindes Indian Town (Indian Old Fields) Clark Co. Irvines Station Madison Co. Jacob Grotts Settlement Bourbon Co. Kellars Station Jefferson Co. Kentons (Simon) Station Mason Co. Kentons, John, Station Mason Co. Kennedys Station Garrard Co. Kinchloes Station Spencer Co. Knob Lick Station Lincoln Co. Knocks Buckle. - Kuykendall Station Jefferson Co. Leachs Station Bracken Co. Leitchs Station Campbell Co. Lees Station Mason Co. Leestown Franklin Co. Lewis Station Mason Co. Lexington Fayette Co. Liberty, Fort Mercer Co. Licking Station Harrison Co. Lidia Mount. - Limestone Mason Co. Linns Garrison Jefferson Co. Littells Station Grant Co Littells Station Pendleton Co. Little Fort, The Twettys Fort, Madison Co. Locust Thicket Fort Madison Co. Logans Fort (or Station) St. Asaphs, 1 mile from Stanford, Lincoln Co. Loudens Station Probably on Kentucky River in Henry Co. Lynchs Station, same as Squire Boones Shelby Co. McAfees Station Near Harrodsburg, Mercer Co. McAfees Station, James 6 or 7 miles from Harrodsburg McAfees Station, William Mercer Co., on Shawnee Run McClellans Fort or Station Georgetown, Scott Co. McConnells Station Near Lexington McCowans Station Mercer Co. McGarys Station Mercer Co. McGees Station Fayette Co. McGuires Station same as McGees McKinneys Station Lincoln Co. McMillins Fort Bourbon or Harrison Co . Marble Creek Station Madison Co. Martins Station Bourbon Co. Mastertons Station Fayette Co. Maulding Station Logan Co. Montgomery Station Lincoln Co. Mud Garrison Shepherdsville, Bullitt Co. Muddy River Licks Logan Co. Nelson, Fort Louisville, cor. 9th and Ohio River New Market Henry Co. Old Town Harrodsburg Old Town (Indian) Greenup Co. Owens Brackett Station Near Shelbyville Painted Stone Squire Boones Station in Shelby Co. Paint Lick Station Garrard Co. Pettit Station Lincoln Co. Phillips Fort Larue Co. Pittmans Station Green Co. Poplar Level Jefferson Co. Red Banks Daviess Co. Reed Station Near Danville, same as Givens Riddles Station Same as Ruddles Rogers Station Clark Co. Rogers Station Nelson Co. Rock Dunda. - Ruddles Station Harrison Co.Salt River Garrison. Sandusky Station Washington Co. Scotts Station Harrison Co. Shannons Trace Scott Co. Shallow Ford Station Madison Co. Skaggs or Skeggs Station Green Co. Slate Blockhouse Bath Co. Spring Station Jefferson Co. Squire Boones Station Shelby Co. St. Asaphs Lincoln Co. (Stanford) Stamping Ground Scott Co. Stations on Beargrass Jefferson Co. Stevensons Station Garrard Co. Stockfields Madison Co. Stoners Settlement Bourbon Co. Strodes Station Clark Co. Sturgus (Asturgus) Station Jefferson Co. Sullivans Station Jefferson Co. Taylors Creek Station Campbell Co. Tick Creek Shelby Co. Todds Station, Capt. Jessamine Co. Triggs Station (Viney Grove) Mercer Co. Twettys Fort Madison Co. Tylers Station Shelby Co. Vances Station On Green River, 15 miles from M. Vanmeters Fort Hardin Co. Vienna McLean Co. Viney Grove Triggs Station War Road Same as Whitley, Lincoln Co. Wells Station Shelby Co. Wells Station Mason Co. Whaleys Station Mason Co. Wheatley Same as Whitley, Lincoln Co. Whittakers Station Bullitt Co. White Oak Springs (Hart Station) Madison Co. Whitleys Station Lincoln Co., 2 miles from Crab Orchard Wilderness Road from Virginia Williamsons Run Fleming Co. Wilson Station Mercer Co. Woods Station Madison Co. Woodstock 8 miles N.W. from Boonesboro Worthington Station Lincoln Co. Yellow Banks Daviess Co. Station, Fort or Blockhouse Location Adams (Geo.) Station Garrard Co. Arnolds (John) Station On Little Benson Creek, 7 miles above Frankfort Arringtons Station Southern KY (1788) Ballards (Bland) Station - usually called Tylers Shelby Co. Bells Station Madison Co. Blockhouse on Big Sandy River Near or above Louis, Lawrence Co. Boone (George) 2.5 mi. NW of Richmond Burnt Station On or near Simpsons Creek, Nelson Co. Campbells Station On the Dry Ridge 3 mi. N. of Williamstown, 33 miles from the mouth of Licking River, Grant Co. Cartwrights Station (bef. 1792) Clarks Station On Clarks Run, a branch of Dix River (bef. 1779) Collins Station On Rockcastle River Coopers Station On Coopers run 2 mi. from Kisers, Bourbon Co. Craigs (Elijah) Station 5 miles from Versailles (1783) Crews (David) Station Madison Co.(1781) Curtis Station Mason Co. Daviess (James) Station about 5 mi. W. of Whitleys Dover Station Waters of Dix River, Garrard Co. Downings Station E. and near Dix River, not far from Danville Ellis Station Ellisville, Nicholas Co. Englishs Station South bank of Dix River, 3 mi. E. of Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co. Estills New Station Station 5 mi. SE of Richmond Fields Station 1.5 mi. W. of Danville Fishers (Stephen) Station near Danville Florers Station S. bank of Dix River, 3 mi. E. of Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co. Forks of Elkhorn Settlement Near Scott/Franklin Co. line Foxs (Arthur) Station Same as Washington Givens (Samuel) Station - afterwards called John Reeds Station 1 1/4 mi. SW of Danville on branch of Clarks run (bef/ 1780) Goars Station N. side of Elkhorn Creek, Franklin Co. Great Crossing Station - same as Col. Johnsons abt. 2 mi. W. of Georgetown, Scott Co. Harbesons Station Prob. in E. part of Washington Co. on road from Harrodsburg to Bardstown Holders Station on KY river, 2 mi. below Boonesboro Hoods Station Clark Co. (bef. 1792) Irish Station Between Danville and mouth of Dix River Johnsons (Col. Robert) Station At the Great Buffalo Crossings on North Elkhorn, Scott Co. (winter of 1783-84) Kentons (Simon) Station (July 1784) Kennedys Station Between Paint Lick and Dix River, Garrard Co. Leitchs (Maj. David) Station 6 mi. above the mouth of the Licking, on the E. bank - now Campbell Co. (1790) Liberty Fort 3/4 mi. below McAfees Station on Salt River in Mercer Co. The Little Fort or Twettys 5 mi. south of Richmond Lindsays Station near Lecompts Run in Scott Co. Locus Thicket Fort Madison Co. (bef. 1780) Marble Creek Station 7 mi. from Boonesboro Mastersons (James) Station 5 mi. NW of Lexington - home of first Meth. Episc. church erected here in 1790 or before Mays Lick Settlement Mayslick, Mason Co. McConnells Station at the royal spring Fayette/Scott Co.not so fortified as to be regarded as a regular station - (1783 or earlier) McCormicks Station on top of first ridge N or NW of Knob Lick fork of Hanging Fork of Dix River McGuires Station same as McGees but James McGurier was prominent here in 1780 McKinleys (James) Blockhouse on the old buffalo trace S of Washington, Mason Co. (built 1785) McMillins Fort Bourbon or Harrison Co.(1779) Meuxs Station probably Boyle or Mercer Co. (1789) Meeks Station waters of Drennons Lick, 20 miles from the Ohio River at the mouth of 18 Mile Creek Owens (Bracket) Station near Shelbyville (1782) OwingsStation on road from Lexington to Paris Paint Lick Station near Madison Co. line, in Garrard Co. Pond Station 4 mi. SW of Calhoon, McLean Co. (1790) Reeds (John) Station near Danville, same as Givens Rogers Station toward Strodes Station, Clark Co. Scrivners Station Madison Co. Salt River Garrison (bef. 1780) Shallow-Ford Station Madison Co. Smiths Station on road from Danville to mouth of Dix River Stevensons Station on Paint Lick Creek, probably Garrard Co. Summit Station 12 mi. from Lower Blue Licks, Nicholas Co. Tanners (John) Station 6 mi. NW of Richmond Tanners Station Lower Blue Licks (1784) Twettys Fort - the first fort in KY 5 mi. S of Richmond Vances Station 15 mi. from mouth of Green River (bef. Apr. 1780) Vancouvers (Charles) Fort Fork of Big Sandy River (Settled 1789, abandoned 1790) Vanmeters Station Hardin Co. (bef. 1790) Vienna Station falls of Green River, now Calhoon, McLean Co. Warners Station Otter Creek, Madison Co. Warrens (Thos) Station Madison Co. Wells Station west part of Mason Co. Wells (Samuel) Station 3.5 mi. NW of Shelbyville Whaleys Station Mason Co. Williams (David) Station 6 mi. NE of Harrodsburg Woods Station Madison Co.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 23:38:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015