Fort Ashby, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Fort Ashby is an census-designated place
(CDP) in Mineral County
, West Virginia
along Patterson Creek
. It is part of the 'Cumberland
, MD
-WV
Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 1,380 at the 2010 census. The community was originally chartered as Frankfort and then known as Alaska before it took the name of its well-known historic landmark.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 9.2 km² (3.6 mi²). 9.2 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.03%) is water.
of 2000, there were 1,354 people, 574 households, and 390 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 160.4/km² (415.8/mi²). There were 609 housing units at an average density of 72.1/km² (187.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.82% White, 0.30% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.30% from other races
, and 0.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.44% of the population.
There were 574 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples
living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,375, and the median income for a family was $40,847. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $21,667 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $15,114. About 4.9% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
were known to have made many incursions into the Patterson Creek
Valley in which nestles the quiet village of Fort Ashby. Shawnee
warriors claimed sections of the lower valley as choice camping grounds on which they stopped and rested in going to and from their great hunts.
There are at least two distinctly well defined Native American trails leading into the community. One, from the North Branch Potomac River, across the mountain into Short Gap
, also used later by George Washington
when crossing the mountains, and the other coming in from Dan's Run over Valley Ridge.
There are many Native American graves around Fort Ashby in different places where small skirmishes are supposed to have taken place. Native Americans first interred in what is now the Fort Ashby Community Cemetery, or somewhere near. There is scarcely a spot in the community outside the immediate village where some visible trace of the Native American has not been found, and in several places within the limits of the community, darts and arrowheads can be picked up in small quantities.
Native American activities in Fort Ashby seem to have been centered against the early white settlers. Tribal differences of various natures seem to have been few and easily settled so that the combined efforts of all was directed toward keeping out the 'pale face' who was ruining the hunting ground.
All during the period of agitation between the French and Indian
and American Revolutionary
Wars the families of Frankfort, as it was then referred, seem to have been jeopardized by the French and Native Americans from the Ohio River
Valley.
of the Monongahela
and Allegheny
rivers was built by men from Hampshire County
, West Virginia
. Part of these men came from the Frankfort District along Patterson Creek, likely Frankfort, as it was more thickly settled than any other section at that time. Captain William Trent was in command of the company. He did not finish the fort, however, as the French captured it before completion and named it Fort Duquesne
.
Colonel Joshua Fry
took command of part of Trent's men and came back with them east of Uniontown
, Pennsylvania
, where they started to build Fort Necessity. After Frye died during the construction, George Washington finished the fort.
About the year 1755 or 1756, the old Native American Chief Killbuck
with his warriors from Muskingum River
Valley, Ohio
, came across the Allegheny Mountains
and attacked the settlers in Patterson Creek Valley. It was on this expedition that Killbuck became prominent by his bloody murder of Mr. Williams and Wendell Miller. The carrying away of John Casey
also occurred at the same time.
In 1755, Colonel George Washington gave orders to build a stockade
and fort (Fort Ashby
) on the eastern side of Patterson Creek. This was built at the present site of Fort Ashby village and is still in use as a dwelling, being owned and occupied by Mr. Thomas F. Pyles.
On Christmas Day 1755, Captain Charles Lewis of Fredericksburg
took command of the fort and a garrison of twenty-one men. He had orders from Colonel Washington to remain quiet as long as he could and to hold the fort as long as possible, but if necessary rather than surrender it to burn it and try to get to Fort Sellars
, located on the east side of the mouth of Patterson Creek, or to Fort Cumberland
.
In 1756, Washington ordered Colonel Adam Stephen
at Fort Cumberland to keep forts Ashby and Sellars completely supplied with food and ammunition. The only really important battle at Fort Ashby occurred in 1756 when Lieutenant Robert Rutherford and his company of rangers was defeated there by a band of French and Native Americans. After the French had gone from the vicinity the Native Americans remained watching for the inmates of the fort. It was during this siege that Colonel John Ashby
while out of the fort on what is now Cemetery Hill was attacked by the Native Americans and made a most remarkable escape to the fort. It is from this incident that the name of "Ashby's Fort" was applied. Colonel Ashby was later put in command of the fort and seems to have remained there until the Revolutionary War or after.
On April 22, 1756, Washington wrote to Ashby that if he was attacked by Native Americans to wait for the cover of darkness then blow up the fort and retreat to Fort Cumberland, taking what ammunition they could.
In the same year he wrote to Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie
of Virginia as follows: "The people are all leaving the section around Frankfort in fear of the Indians and fear that in a short time it will be as desolate as all Hampshire County
." Since there is a lapse of about two years for which no records of any kind have been found it is presumed that practically all settlers were driven out of what is now Mineral County
except those who were protected by forts Ashby and Sellars.
In a later letter to Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie, Washington said: "The men I hired to bring intelligence from the South Branch returned last night with letters from Captain Ashby and other parties there. The Indians have gone. It is believed their numbers were, about one hundred and fifty, that about seventy men are killed or missing and that several houses and plantations were destroyed. I shall proceed by quick marches to Fort Cumberland to strengthen the garrison there. Besides this I think it is absolutely necessary to have two or three companies of rangers to guard the Potomac
waters. Captain Wagner informs me that it was with difficulty that he passed the Blue Ridge
as crowds of people were fleeing as if a lost moment would mean death. He endeavored to stop them, but in vain, as they believed that all homes were in flames." Captain Wagner was a citizen of Frankfort.
It is really a question as to whether or not the first settlers of Frankfort community may have laid claim to the land of that immediate vicinity even before the Native Americans became much interested in it. It is known that white settlers came into the Patterson Creek Valley around Frankfort between the years 1732 and 1736. The names of Casey, Pancake, Foreman, and Van Meter were familiar before the prominence of George Washington. Following the grant of land, from the British Crown to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
known as the Northern Neck
of Virginia, some settlers may have come to Frankfort as renters. Before Washington's survey, however, the immediate land around the village had been taken by people on the grounds of the Tomahawk Claim.
In his journals of "My Journeys Across the Mountain," Washington said that he stayed all night on March 28, 1748, with Abram Johnson on Patterson Creek, and on the following day, marched fifteen miles (24 km) to one Solomon Hedges, and when he came to supper, on the table was neither cloth, nor knife, nor fork. Abram Johnson lived a short distance south of Frankfort village.
Up until the time of the American Revolutionary War
there does not seem to have been very many new families moving into the lower part of the Valley. The Johnsons and Van Meters seem to have been the leading citizens and largest land owners. Just about the beginning of the War, however, new names became prominent in the community; among them are Tay-lor, Lynn, Williams, and Powell.
We find that history records very little about Frankfort with regard to the American Revolutionary War. That entire section of country bordering on the Potomac and Monongahela rivers was known as the back door of the Revolution. Frankfort was right in the heart of this section. The reason why we see so little mentioned from this section of Virginia in the story of the Revolution is that the men were kept busy watching the Indians.
In 1777, Captain William Foreman
gathered together from Hampshire County a company of men to keep down the Native Americans who had been agitated by the British. He marched with them to Wheeling and there met the Native Americans at the McMechen Narrows where he was defeated. A monument now marks the spot where Foreman's defeat occurred on WV 28 between Springfield
and Romney
. Men from Frankfort who were in Foreman's Company were Samuel Johnson, John Willison, and William Lynn.
Captain Michael Cresap
who lived in Oldtown
, Maryland
across from Green Spring
, came over into Hampshire County during the early part of the Revolution and organized a company of riflemen. They marched to Boston and featured in several small skirmishes there. Cressap returned with them as far as New York where he died and was buried. The men in this company from Frankfort include the names of Johnson, Ashby, Wagoner, Williams, Powell, Pew, Harris, and Miller. Cresaptown
, Maryland is named for him.
Immediately after the close of the war, Frankfort seems to have developed rapidly. Many new settlers came, including the names of Keller, Richards, Brockhart, and Daniels. It was about this time that the brick house now occupied by Mrs. Blanche Welker and also the old stone hotel were built. Both buildings were used as hotels, replacing the old roadhouse which was located near where Charles Pyles now lives, and the tavern at Short Gap, to some extent.
on December 5, 1787, a copy of which follows:
1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, that one hundred and thirty-nine acres of land, in the county of Hampshire
, the property of John Kellar, and laid off by him into in and out lots, with convenient streets, shall be, and the same is hereby established, a town by the name of Frankfort, and that John Mitchell, Andrew Cooper, Ralph Humphries, John Williams, Sen. James Clark, Richard Stafford, Hezekiah Whiteman, and Jacob Brookhart, gentlemen, be trustees thereof, who, or the major part of them, shall have power, from time to time, to settle and determine all disputes concerning the bounds of said lots, and to establish such rules and regulations for the regular building of houses thereon, as to them shall seem best. In case of the death, resignation, removal out of the county, or other legal disability of one or more of the said trustees, it shall be lawful for the remaining trustees, to supply such vacancy, and the person so chosen shall have the same power as if he had been particularly named in this act.
2. And be it further enacted, that so many of the lots in the said town as are not sold by the said John Kellar are hereby vested in the said trustees, and they, or a majority of them, shall within six months after the passing of this act, sell the lots at public auction
, having previously advertised the time and place of such sale at the court house of said county, on three successive court days, and convey the same to the purchaser in fee, subject to the conditions of building a house on each, sixteen feet square, with a brick or stone chimney, to be finished fit for habitation within three years from the date of sale, and pay the money arising from such sale to the said John Kellar, or his legal representatives. So soon as the purchaser of said lots shall have built thereon according to their respective deeds of conveyance, they shall then be entitled to, and have and enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities, which the freeholder and inhabitants of other towns in this state, not incorporated, hold and enjoy. If the purchaser of any lot sold by the said trustees shall fail to build thereon within the time limited, it shall be lawful for the said trustees, or a majority of them, to enter into such lot, sell the same again, and apply the money for the benefit of the inhabitants of the said town.
under a deed of trust. They were bought by Joseph Inskeep who still had hopes that the city of Frankfort would mature. Inskeep was so strong in his belief that he donated four lots in the center of the village to be used for the good of the public when the city did develop. This tract is known today, as the Public Square and on it stands the post office, A. R. Ratcliff & Son's mercantile and milling establishment, P. B. Long's store building, Aby's blacksmith shop, Chaney's ice cream parlor and Carl Adam's barber shop.
From the time of the establishment of the town of Frankfort for many years this was the trading center of the entire country side. Before the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Frankfort was on the direct route from Winchester
to Wheeling
over which hundreds of tons of merchandise passed monthly. It was the long wagon trains passing over this route that furnished business for two hotels in Frankfort. Many times has the Public Square been crowded over night with canvas covered wagons loaded with valuable merchandise.
Samuel Brady was probably the first merchant of any importance in Frankfort. He operated a large chain of stores, one of which was located here years before the American Civil War
. It is said that almost any article asked for could be bought there. People are known to have traded with him regularly from Keyser
and above and also from what is now Ridgeley
when the North Branch Potomac River could not be forded to Cumberland
.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in Mineral County
Mineral County, West Virginia
Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 28,212. Its county seat is Keyser.-Ancient history:...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
along Patterson Creek
Patterson Creek
Patterson Creek is a tributary of the North Branch Potomac River in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, in the United States. It enters the North Branch east of Cumberland, Maryland, with its headwaters located in Grant County, West Virginia...
. It is part of the 'Cumberland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, MD
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
-WV
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 1,380 at the 2010 census. The community was originally chartered as Frankfort and then known as Alaska before it took the name of its well-known historic landmark.
Geography
Fort Ashby is located at 39°29′52"N 78°46′4"W (39.497767, -78.767851).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 9.2 km² (3.6 mi²). 9.2 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.03%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,354 people, 574 households, and 390 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 160.4/km² (415.8/mi²). There were 609 housing units at an average density of 72.1/km² (187.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.82% White, 0.30% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.30% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.44% of the population.
There were 574 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,375, and the median income for a family was $40,847. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $21,667 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $15,114. About 4.9% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
Earliest inhabitants
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
were known to have made many incursions into the Patterson Creek
Patterson Creek
Patterson Creek is a tributary of the North Branch Potomac River in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, in the United States. It enters the North Branch east of Cumberland, Maryland, with its headwaters located in Grant County, West Virginia...
Valley in which nestles the quiet village of Fort Ashby. Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
warriors claimed sections of the lower valley as choice camping grounds on which they stopped and rested in going to and from their great hunts.
There are at least two distinctly well defined Native American trails leading into the community. One, from the North Branch Potomac River, across the mountain into Short Gap
Short Gap, West Virginia
Short Gap is an unincorporated community in Mineral County, West Virginia located at the intersection of West Virginia Route 956 and West Virginia Route 28. The community is home to Frankfort High School, as well as Frankfort Middle School, which serve the northern part of Mineral County including...
, also used later by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
when crossing the mountains, and the other coming in from Dan's Run over Valley Ridge.
There are many Native American graves around Fort Ashby in different places where small skirmishes are supposed to have taken place. Native Americans first interred in what is now the Fort Ashby Community Cemetery, or somewhere near. There is scarcely a spot in the community outside the immediate village where some visible trace of the Native American has not been found, and in several places within the limits of the community, darts and arrowheads can be picked up in small quantities.
Native American activities in Fort Ashby seem to have been centered against the early white settlers. Tribal differences of various natures seem to have been few and easily settled so that the combined efforts of all was directed toward keeping out the 'pale face' who was ruining the hunting ground.
All during the period of agitation between the French and Indian
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and American Revolutionary
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
Wars the families of Frankfort, as it was then referred, seem to have been jeopardized by the French and Native Americans from the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
Valley.
18th century
The first fort at the confluenceConfluence (geography)
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
of the Monongahela
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
and Allegheny
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
rivers was built by men from Hampshire County
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. Part of these men came from the Frankfort District along Patterson Creek, likely Frankfort, as it was more thickly settled than any other section at that time. Captain William Trent was in command of the company. He did not finish the fort, however, as the French captured it before completion and named it Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
.
Colonel Joshua Fry
Joshua Fry
Colonel Joshua Fry was a surveyor, adventurer, mapmaker, soldier, and member of the House of Burgesses, the legislature of the colony of Virginia...
took command of part of Trent's men and came back with them east of Uniontown
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, where they started to build Fort Necessity. After Frye died during the construction, George Washington finished the fort.
About the year 1755 or 1756, the old Native American Chief Killbuck
Bemino
Bemino — known as John Killbuck, Sr to white settlers — was a renowned medicine man and war leader of Shawnee and Delaware warriors during the French and Indian War . He was a son of Netawatwees, at one time principal chief of the Delaware, and his own son was Gelelemend , a Delaware chief during...
with his warriors from Muskingum River
Muskingum River
The Muskingum River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 111 miles long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio...
Valley, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, came across the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
and attacked the settlers in Patterson Creek Valley. It was on this expedition that Killbuck became prominent by his bloody murder of Mr. Williams and Wendell Miller. The carrying away of John Casey
John Casey
John Casey may refer to:* John Casey , British academic and a writer for The Daily Telegraph* John Casey , fictional character portrayed by Adam Baldwin on the television show Chuck...
also occurred at the same time.
In 1755, Colonel George Washington gave orders to build a stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
and fort (Fort Ashby
Fort Ashby
Fort Ashby is a historic stockade fort located in Fort Ashby, West Virginia. A military installation constructed during the French and Indian War, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
) on the eastern side of Patterson Creek. This was built at the present site of Fort Ashby village and is still in use as a dwelling, being owned and occupied by Mr. Thomas F. Pyles.
On Christmas Day 1755, Captain Charles Lewis of Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
took command of the fort and a garrison of twenty-one men. He had orders from Colonel Washington to remain quiet as long as he could and to hold the fort as long as possible, but if necessary rather than surrender it to burn it and try to get to Fort Sellars
Fort Sellers
Fort Sellers was a small stockade on the east side of Pattersons Creek at the conflunce with the Potomac River, in Franklin District, in present day Mineral County, West Virginia. Thisfort was erected by Colonel Washington....
, located on the east side of the mouth of Patterson Creek, or to Fort Cumberland
Fort Cumberland (Maryland)
thumb|380px|Fort Cumberland, 1755 Fort Cumberland was an 18th century frontier fort at the current site of Cumberland, Maryland, USA...
.
In 1756, Washington ordered Colonel Adam Stephen
Adam Stephen
Adam Stephen was a Scottish-born doctor and military officer. He came to North America, where he served in the Virginia colonial militia under George Washington during the French and Indian War. He served under Washington again in the American Revolutionary War, rising to lead a division of the...
at Fort Cumberland to keep forts Ashby and Sellars completely supplied with food and ammunition. The only really important battle at Fort Ashby occurred in 1756 when Lieutenant Robert Rutherford and his company of rangers was defeated there by a band of French and Native Americans. After the French had gone from the vicinity the Native Americans remained watching for the inmates of the fort. It was during this siege that Colonel John Ashby
John Ashby (militiaman)
John Ashby was a Colonel in the Virginia Militia.During the French and Indian war there was a siege at present day Fort Ashby, West Virginia. In 1756 Colonel John Ashby was out of the fort at that location and was attacked by Indians and made a remarkable escape to the fort. The fort was named for...
while out of the fort on what is now Cemetery Hill was attacked by the Native Americans and made a most remarkable escape to the fort. It is from this incident that the name of "Ashby's Fort" was applied. Colonel Ashby was later put in command of the fort and seems to have remained there until the Revolutionary War or after.
On April 22, 1756, Washington wrote to Ashby that if he was attacked by Native Americans to wait for the cover of darkness then blow up the fort and retreat to Fort Cumberland, taking what ammunition they could.
In the same year he wrote to Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie
Robert Dinwiddie
Robert Dinwiddie was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 to January 1758, as deputy for John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun...
of Virginia as follows: "The people are all leaving the section around Frankfort in fear of the Indians and fear that in a short time it will be as desolate as all Hampshire County
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
." Since there is a lapse of about two years for which no records of any kind have been found it is presumed that practically all settlers were driven out of what is now Mineral County
Mineral County, West Virginia
Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 28,212. Its county seat is Keyser.-Ancient history:...
except those who were protected by forts Ashby and Sellars.
In a later letter to Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie, Washington said: "The men I hired to bring intelligence from the South Branch returned last night with letters from Captain Ashby and other parties there. The Indians have gone. It is believed their numbers were, about one hundred and fifty, that about seventy men are killed or missing and that several houses and plantations were destroyed. I shall proceed by quick marches to Fort Cumberland to strengthen the garrison there. Besides this I think it is absolutely necessary to have two or three companies of rangers to guard the Potomac
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
waters. Captain Wagner informs me that it was with difficulty that he passed the Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
as crowds of people were fleeing as if a lost moment would mean death. He endeavored to stop them, but in vain, as they believed that all homes were in flames." Captain Wagner was a citizen of Frankfort.
It is really a question as to whether or not the first settlers of Frankfort community may have laid claim to the land of that immediate vicinity even before the Native Americans became much interested in it. It is known that white settlers came into the Patterson Creek Valley around Frankfort between the years 1732 and 1736. The names of Casey, Pancake, Foreman, and Van Meter were familiar before the prominence of George Washington. Following the grant of land, from the British Crown to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron was the son of Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and of Catherine, daughter of Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway....
known as the Northern Neck
Northern Neck
The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This peninsula is bounded by the Potomac River on the north and the Rappahannock River on the south. It encompasses the following Virginia counties: Lancaster,...
of Virginia, some settlers may have come to Frankfort as renters. Before Washington's survey, however, the immediate land around the village had been taken by people on the grounds of the Tomahawk Claim.
In his journals of "My Journeys Across the Mountain," Washington said that he stayed all night on March 28, 1748, with Abram Johnson on Patterson Creek, and on the following day, marched fifteen miles (24 km) to one Solomon Hedges, and when he came to supper, on the table was neither cloth, nor knife, nor fork. Abram Johnson lived a short distance south of Frankfort village.
Up until the time of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
there does not seem to have been very many new families moving into the lower part of the Valley. The Johnsons and Van Meters seem to have been the leading citizens and largest land owners. Just about the beginning of the War, however, new names became prominent in the community; among them are Tay-lor, Lynn, Williams, and Powell.
We find that history records very little about Frankfort with regard to the American Revolutionary War. That entire section of country bordering on the Potomac and Monongahela rivers was known as the back door of the Revolution. Frankfort was right in the heart of this section. The reason why we see so little mentioned from this section of Virginia in the story of the Revolution is that the men were kept busy watching the Indians.
In 1777, Captain William Foreman
William Foreman
Captain William Foreman was a colonial American officer from Hampshire County, Virginia, who was killed during an Indian ambush at the McMechen Narrows on the Ohio River south of Wheeling, Virginia in 1777.-Fort Forman:...
gathered together from Hampshire County a company of men to keep down the Native Americans who had been agitated by the British. He marched with them to Wheeling and there met the Native Americans at the McMechen Narrows where he was defeated. A monument now marks the spot where Foreman's defeat occurred on WV 28 between Springfield
Springfield, West Virginia
Springfield is an unincorporated census-designated place in northwestern Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, Springfield had a population of 477. Springfield is located north of Romney along West Virginia Route 28 at its junction with Green Spring Road and...
and Romney
Romney, West Virginia
Romney is a city in and the county seat of Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,940 at the 2000 census, while the area covered by the city's ZIP code had a population of 5,873. It is a city with a very historic background dating back to the 18th century...
. Men from Frankfort who were in Foreman's Company were Samuel Johnson, John Willison, and William Lynn.
Captain Michael Cresap
Michael Cresap
Michael Cresap was a frontiersman born in Maryland. He was the son of the pioneer Thomas Cresap. He spent part of his adult years in the Ohio Country as a trader and land developer. He led several raids against Indians whom he believed were hostile to white settlement. Logan of the Mingo Indians...
who lived in Oldtown
Oldtown, Maryland
Oldtown is an unincorporated community in Allegany County, Maryland along the North Branch Potomac River founded in 18th century colonial times. The settlement was initially called "Shawanese Old Town" because it was the site of a Shawnee Amerindian village abandoned about a decade earlier...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
across from Green Spring
Green Spring, West Virginia
Green Spring is an unincorporated census-designated place and railroad town in Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 218. Green Spring is located north of Springfield on Green Spring Road near the confluence of the North and South Branches of the Potomac...
, came over into Hampshire County during the early part of the Revolution and organized a company of riflemen. They marched to Boston and featured in several small skirmishes there. Cressap returned with them as far as New York where he died and was buried. The men in this company from Frankfort include the names of Johnson, Ashby, Wagoner, Williams, Powell, Pew, Harris, and Miller. Cresaptown
Cresaptown, Maryland
Cresaptown is a community located in Allegany County, Maryland, United States of America. It is an unincorporated community which, for United States Census Bureau purposes, is united with Bel Air to form the census-designated place of Cresaptown-Bel Air. Cresaptown's post office was established...
, Maryland is named for him.
Immediately after the close of the war, Frankfort seems to have developed rapidly. Many new settlers came, including the names of Keller, Richards, Brockhart, and Daniels. It was about this time that the brick house now occupied by Mrs. Blanche Welker and also the old stone hotel were built. Both buildings were used as hotels, replacing the old roadhouse which was located near where Charles Pyles now lives, and the tavern at Short Gap, to some extent.
Establishment of Frankfort
Through the influence of several men of the village, particularly Dennis Daniels, one hundred and thirty-nine acres of land belonging to John Kellar was surveyed into town lots with streets and alleys running between. A charter was passed through the Virginia General AssemblyVirginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
on December 5, 1787, a copy of which follows:
1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, that one hundred and thirty-nine acres of land, in the county of Hampshire
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
, the property of John Kellar, and laid off by him into in and out lots, with convenient streets, shall be, and the same is hereby established, a town by the name of Frankfort, and that John Mitchell, Andrew Cooper, Ralph Humphries, John Williams, Sen. James Clark, Richard Stafford, Hezekiah Whiteman, and Jacob Brookhart, gentlemen, be trustees thereof, who, or the major part of them, shall have power, from time to time, to settle and determine all disputes concerning the bounds of said lots, and to establish such rules and regulations for the regular building of houses thereon, as to them shall seem best. In case of the death, resignation, removal out of the county, or other legal disability of one or more of the said trustees, it shall be lawful for the remaining trustees, to supply such vacancy, and the person so chosen shall have the same power as if he had been particularly named in this act.
2. And be it further enacted, that so many of the lots in the said town as are not sold by the said John Kellar are hereby vested in the said trustees, and they, or a majority of them, shall within six months after the passing of this act, sell the lots at public auction
Public auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
, having previously advertised the time and place of such sale at the court house of said county, on three successive court days, and convey the same to the purchaser in fee, subject to the conditions of building a house on each, sixteen feet square, with a brick or stone chimney, to be finished fit for habitation within three years from the date of sale, and pay the money arising from such sale to the said John Kellar, or his legal representatives. So soon as the purchaser of said lots shall have built thereon according to their respective deeds of conveyance, they shall then be entitled to, and have and enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities, which the freeholder and inhabitants of other towns in this state, not incorporated, hold and enjoy. If the purchaser of any lot sold by the said trustees shall fail to build thereon within the time limited, it shall be lawful for the said trustees, or a majority of them, to enter into such lot, sell the same again, and apply the money for the benefit of the inhabitants of the said town.
Early commerce
Some of the lots were sold and built upon according to the provisions of the charter. Many were not sold in the time provided but later were sold at public auctionPublic auction
A public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government, or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a government agency with similar authority....
under a deed of trust. They were bought by Joseph Inskeep who still had hopes that the city of Frankfort would mature. Inskeep was so strong in his belief that he donated four lots in the center of the village to be used for the good of the public when the city did develop. This tract is known today, as the Public Square and on it stands the post office, A. R. Ratcliff & Son's mercantile and milling establishment, P. B. Long's store building, Aby's blacksmith shop, Chaney's ice cream parlor and Carl Adam's barber shop.
From the time of the establishment of the town of Frankfort for many years this was the trading center of the entire country side. Before the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
Frankfort was on the direct route from Winchester
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
to Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
over which hundreds of tons of merchandise passed monthly. It was the long wagon trains passing over this route that furnished business for two hotels in Frankfort. Many times has the Public Square been crowded over night with canvas covered wagons loaded with valuable merchandise.
Samuel Brady was probably the first merchant of any importance in Frankfort. He operated a large chain of stores, one of which was located here years before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It is said that almost any article asked for could be bought there. People are known to have traded with him regularly from Keyser
Keyser, West Virginia
Keyser is a city in and the county seat of Mineral County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...
and above and also from what is now Ridgeley
Ridgeley, West Virginia
Ridgeley is a town in Mineral County, West Virginia, United States, and part of the Cumberland Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 762 at the 2000 census but has fallen to 575 with the 2010 census....
when the North Branch Potomac River could not be forded to Cumberland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
.