The Virginia Creeper Trail- Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, 133 miles (214 km) southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts and crafts scene centered on the galleries and museums along Main Street.The town is located in the Great Appalachian Valley, between the Middle Fork and the North Fork of the Holston River. Abingdon is part of the Kingsport−Bristol (TN)−Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City−Kingsport−Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area − commonly known as the Tri-Cities region. The region was long the territory of varying cultures of indigenous peoples, including the Chisca and Xualae. From the late 17th-century, it was occupied by the Cherokee Nation, whose territory extended from the present-day area of borders of Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky through the spine of North Carolina and later into Georgia. Whitetop is an unincorporated community in Grayson County, Virginia, United States. It is the southern terminus of the Virginia Creeper Trail. Whitetop is named for nearby Whitetop Mountain, the second-tallest mountain in the State of Virginia, behind Mount Rogers. 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. Daniel Boones first trip into Southwest Virginia, was about 1767 when he camped at Abingdon and named it Wolf Hills. Between 1748 and 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker surveyed the land where the town of Abingdon is situated. It was on the Great Road that Colonel William Byrd III ordered cut through the wilderness on to Kingsport, Tennessee. In 1760, the famed frontiersman Daniel Boone named the area Wolf Hills, after his dogs were attacked by a pack of wolves during a hunting expedition. The site of the attack is on Courthouse Hill. In the twenty-first century, the city sponsored a public art event, in which artists created 27 wolf sculptures, which were installed around the town. Most were later sold at an auction to raise money for Advance Abingdon. Between the years 1765 and 1770 James Douglas, Andrew Colville, George Blackburn, Joseph Black, Samuel Briggs and James Piper settled in and around present-day Abingdon under purchases from Dr. Thomas Walker. During Lord Dunmores War, Joseph Black built Blacks Fort in 1774 to protect local settlers in the region from attacks by the Cherokee of the Lower Towns. It consisted of a log stockade, with a few log cabins inside, where nearby settlers took refuge in event of attack. They retreated to the fort in 1776 when attacked by the war leader Dragging Canoe and his Chickamauga Cherokee forces. Hoping to push out the colonists, the Cherokee had allied with the British in the American Revolutionary War.The settlement was known as Black’s Fort prior to being named Abingdon. Black, Briggs and Walker donated the 120 acres of land upon which the original town was laid out. It was at the intersection of two great Indian trails, which had followed ancient animal migration trails through the mountains. It was a prime location as a trade center and access point to the west and south. In 1776 the community of Blacks Fort was made the county seat of the newly formed Washington county. In 1778, Blacks Fort was incorporated as the town of Abingdon, said to be named for the ancestral home of Martha Washington in Oxfordshire, England. Possible namesakes for the town include Daniel Boones home in Abington, Pennsylvania, or Lord Abingdon, friend of settler William Campbell. Martha Washington College, a school for women, operated in Abingdon from 1860 to 1932 in a former private residence. Since 1935 the building has been occupied and operated as a hotel, the Martha Washington Inn. The Barter Theatre, the state theatre of Virginia, was opened in Abingdon in 1933 during the Great Depression. Abingdon is the final stop along the Virginia Creeper Trail, which allows pedestrian, cyclist and equestrian traffic. This trail is 35 miles long, extending from White Top Mountain through Damascus, Virginia, with the trailhead in Abingdon. The Historical Society of Washington County, Virginia, located in Abingdon, serves as a regional genealogy center, in addition to being a repository for Washington County history.The Virginia Creeper Trail is a 35-mile (56 km) multi-purpose rail trail in southwestern Virginia. The trail runs from Abingdon to Whitetop, Virginia, near the North Carolina state line – through National Forest and crossing numerous restored trestles and crossing the Appalachian Trail. The trail descends from Abingdon to Damascus, traversing rolling farm countryside and numerous parcels of private property – requiring opening and closing private gates along the route. From Damascus, hikers, cyclists and equestrians ascend to Whitetop, following Laurel Creek. Cyclists can use a shuttle service to Whitetop for the 17-mile (27 km) return descent.The trail runs on a rail right-of-way dating to the 1880s — first belonging to the Abingdon Coal and Iron Railroad. After investing sizable capital without actually opening, that company went out of business. In the early 1890s the companys assets were purchased by the Virginia-Carolina and Southern Railway. It too had financial trouble and its assets were purchased by the Virginia-Carolina Railway. The Abingdon Historic District, Abingdon Bank, Mont Calm, Moonlite Theatre, Dr. William H. Pitts House, Whites Mill, and Baker-St. John House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Wilbur Waters, the hermit, is one of the most colorful characters in the great Southwest and many adventures he had with wild animals. Wilburs 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.Barter Theatre, located in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is one of the longest-running professional theatres in the nation. In 1933, when the country was in the middle of the Great Depression, most patrons were not able to pay the full ticket price. Robert Porterfield, founder of the theatre, offered admission by letting the local people pay with food goods, hence the name Barter. The original ticket price for a play was 40 cents, or the equivalent in goods. In 1946, Barter Theatre was designated as the State Theatre of Virginia. Today, Barter is one of the last year-round professional resident repertory theatres remaining in the United States. Porterfield served as director until his death in 1971. Rex Partington was selected as the next artistic director, serving from 1972-1992. Since 1992, Richard Rose has served as the Barter Theatres third artistic director. Many well-known stars of stage, screen and television have performed early in their careers at Barter, including Gregory Peck, Ernest Borgnine, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Hume Cronyn, Gary Collins, Frances Fisher, Kevin Spacey, Larry Linville, John Glover, Jim Varney, and Wayne Knight. Will Bigham, the 2007 winner of On The Lot, acted at Barter Theatre for several years.The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVHT) is part of the U.S. National Trails System. It recognizes the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men, Patriots from what is now East Tennessee who crossed the Great Smoky Mountains and then fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina. The OVHT follows the route from Abingdon, Virginia, fording the Watauga River at Sycamore Shoals through present day Elizabethton, Tennessee, crossing the Doe River twice near both Hampton, Tennessee and Roan Mountain, Tennessee, and ascending over the steep Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, on through South Carolina to the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain now within Kings Mountain National Military Park. The trail network consists of a 330-mile (530 km) corridor, including a 70-mile (110 km) branch from Elkin, North Carolina, that joins the main route at Morganton, North Carolina. John Skaggs son of James Sr, and Rachel Moredock Skaggs.Lieutenant Reece Bowens Rations and Forage list for October 1780, the Kings Mountain campaign as found in the State Library of Virginia in Richmond. VA State Library - Archives and Manuscripts Collection; Record Group 48, APA 225; Militia Lists, 1779-1782; BC = 1081446 Box 679; Folder #16 The Commonwealth of Virginia 1780 to Lieut. Reece Bowen Dr. Oct. To Rations and Forage as Lieutenant of Hors for 17 days, dedicting one Ration of Provisions and Forage for each day Washington This day Serjeant James Hill came before me, and made Oath that the within Pay Roll is just—Certified under my hand, January 20th 1781 Wm Campbell A Pay-Roll of Lieutenant Reece Bowens Company of Militia for Washington County, under the Command of Colonel William Campbell upon the Expedition to Kings Mountain in So Carolina. The Patriots at Kings Mountain, Scotia-Hibernia Press, Blacksburg, SC, [hereinafter cited simply as Moss] as a participant in the battle of Kings Mountain. A man included in Moss as a participant in the battle will be noted hereinafter as Battle participant. Moss on pp. 278-279 lists men known to have been on the campaign to Kings Mountain but who were on foot and did not make it to the battle itself. A man on this list will be noted hereinafter as Campaign participant. Moss on pp. 280-291 lists men who may have been on the campaign and/or in the battle. A man on this list will be noted as a Possible participant. 2 A man by this name is listed as a Possible participant, but this entry would entitle him to listing as a Battle participant. 3 Battle participant. Moss interprets his name as John Skeggs, Sceggs, Skaggs, In 1782, Kings Mountain was a mountain, that had a small flat area on top. This is where Ferguson and his men stopped and camped The mountain men attacked and fought like Indians. The Tories charged and drove them down the slope at the point of a bayonet three times, but the mountain men continued to fight like Indians, hiding behind trees, and rocks. It was hard for the British to fire on the setters hiding in the trees. This meant that they had to lay on their stomach to fire at the setters, and their old blunder busters would not fire that far. They lost 28 men, and 62 were wounded. John Skaggs was one of the men that was wounded. He was wounded in the wrist. John can be traced from Montgomery Co. Va. to Barren Co., Ky. by this pension. Every time he moved he had a change of address. He received land grants, and was listed in Washington Co. tax list with 400 acres, for the year l782. Montgomery Co., Va., Order Books, p. 205: William Fregby Assignee of Samuel Sadler assignee of John Skeggs (Gourd head) 200 acres on the upper side of Little River to include the Walnut Hollow, settled l776. Note---this is in the Order Books. 1785, Washington Co., Va., Petition Dec. 9, l785. To the Honorable, the speaker and gentlemen of the House of Delegates; the petition of sundry in habitants of Clinch River, Nacason Creek, Powells Valley and other, citizens of Washington Co., humbly represent; that your petitioners are situated from the line of Montgomery as it crosses near the course of Clinch settlement of Powells Valley forty more. The greatest proportion of your petitioners have to travel for 25 miles and some eighty or a hundred; moreover are general interrupted; by Clinch Mountain and the North branch of Holstien River; the former affording very difficult passes; the latter much dangers and difficulty in crossing it in spring and after considerable rains; continously to its souther bank, a chain of hills almost as difficult as Clinch Mountain; so that great difficulty arises to your petitioners not only in attending courts, but court marital, and from the extent of ----between our small settlements make it exceeding difficult to arrange companies without subjecting some to travel l5 and 20 miles to private mastery. There are two difficulties in the militia law that principally affect you petitioners. These are evils small indeed compared to the feelings we constantly undergo when obliged to leave our helpless families exposed at so very great distance to obey the laws of our county; and however evident the dange may appear to us will not certainly on our failure of duty lead our excuse. Circumstance alone is sufficient to laim; the human respect of the legislature to remove the grievance. We therefore pray your Honorable House will take our case into consideration and divide the county. We further pray a line may be fixed along Clinch Mountain to the Carolina line; or with the line at present dividing this county into two regiments to the aforesaid Carolina line; thence with the said line to Cumberlan Mountain, or the aforesaid regiment line for the count and sourtheast of the said Clinch Mountain remain Washington County; and we your peitioners as in duty bound will every pray. Joseph Meredith David Skaggs Henry Skaggs Soloman Skaggs John Skaggs l786, Order Book no. l, p. 9, Russell Co.: John Scaggs was exempted from paying poll tax on account of his bodily infirmities. l786; A reference also appears in the minutes of Washington Co. and recommends that John Scaggs be allowed a pension on account of his wound at the battle of Kings Mountain. l787 Personal tax list lower dist. Russell Co., Va.: Charles, Frederick, Henry, Henry Jr., Jacob, Jerry, John, Moses, Solomon and Zachariah. Russell Co., Order Book, p. l6l: A deed of bargain and sale of land from John Skegs & Elizabeth his wife to Moses Skegs were acknowledged in court & ordered to be recorded. l789, Russell Co., order Book l, p. l68: Ordered that John Scaggs be allowed a pension of eight pounds----he ding wounded at the battle of Kings Mountain so as to rencer him in capable of laboring for a sustenance and that the Clerk certify the same to his Excellencey, the Governor. 1789, Russell Co., Va., Deed book l, p. 76: May 22, l789 John Scaggs and Elizabeth, his wife, to Moses Scaggs for 70#m 229 acres on both sides if Maiden Spring fork of Clinch River. Filed Aug. l8, l789. 1789, Russell Co., Va., Deed book l, p. 76: May 22, l789 John Scaggs and Elizabeth, his wife, to Moses Scaggs for 70#m 229 acres on both sides if Maiden Spring fork of Clinch River. Filed Aug. l8, l789. 1789, This indenture made the twenty second day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine between John Scaggs of Russell Co. and Commonwealth of Va. and Elizabeth his wife for and in consideration of the sum of seventy pounds current money to them in hand paid by the said Moses Skaggs the receipt where of they do hereby acknowledge have granted bargained and sold and by these present do grant bargain and sell unto the said Moses Skaggs a certain tract as parcel of land containing two hundred and twenty acres situated on both sides the Maiden Spring fork of Clinch River in the said County of Russell which said land is part of a larger tract of three hundred and twnety acres granted from this Commonwealth to the said John Skeggs by patent bearing date the 24th day of June l705 or l785 and is bounded as followeth to wit---Beginning at two white oaks and black walnut thence to Charles Skaggs line cornered at two white oaks and a black gum etc. From my book, Tangled roots, p. 335: The mountain men gathered at the headwaters of the Holston, Watauga and the Nolechucky River to stop Ferguson and Cornwallis in their march across North and S.C. Carolina.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 23:52:56 +0000
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