Barbour County History
Barbour County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on March 3, 1843 from parts of Harrison, Lewis, and Randolph counties. Most historians believe that the county was named in honor of the distinguished Virginia jurist Judge Philip Pendleton Barbour (1783-1841).
Philip Barbour was born in Orange County Virginia on May 25, 1783. He studied law, and, at the age of 17, moved to Kentucky to manage some business affairs for his father, Thomas Barbour. The businesses failed, and his father was reportedly so angry that he disowned him. Philip then took up the study of law once again and, at age 19, entered the College of William and Mary. He subsequently returned to Orange County and became a successful lawyer. He was later elected to the Virginia General Assembly (1812-1814), represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives (1814-1825, 1827-1830), and served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1821-1823). He later served as a Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (1830-1836) and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1836-1841) where he remained until his death on February 24, 1841.
Some historians believe that Barbour County was named for Philip's older brother, James Barbour (1775-1842). He was the Governor of Virginia (1812-1814), a member of the U.S. Senate (1815-1825), Secretary of War during John Quincy Adams' Administration (1825-1828), and the U.S. Envoy to Great Britain in 1828.
First Settlers
The first native settlers in present-day North-Central West Virginia (Barbour, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston,
and Taylor counties) were the Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people. Remnants of the Mound Builders' civilization
have been found throughout northern West Virginia, with a high concentration of artifacts located at Moundsville,
West Virginia, in West Virginia's northern panhandle (in Marshall County). The Grave Creek Indian Mound, located
in the center of Moundsville, is one of West Virginia's most famous historic landmarks. More than 2,000 years old,
it stands 69 feet high and 295 feet in diameter.
A more thorough discussion of the first native settlers in West Virginia can be read on-line here.
The following is a brief overview of that history:
o Several thousand Hurons occupied present-day West Virginia during the late 1500s and early 1600s.
o During the 1600s, the Iroquois Confederacy (then consisting of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca
tribes) drove the Hurons from the state and
used it primarily as a hunting ground.
o During the early 1700s, the Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, and other Indian tribes also used present-day West Virginia
as a hunting ground. West Virginia's Potomac
Highlands was inhabited by the Tuscarora. They eventually migrated northward to New York and, in 1712, became the
sixth nation to formally be admitted to the Iroquois Confederacy. The Cherokee Nation claimed southern West Virginia.
o In 1744, Virginia officials purchased the Iroquois title of ownership to West Virginia in the Treaty of Lancaster.
o The Delaware, Mingo, and Shawnee sided with the French during the French and Indian War (1755-1763). The Iroquois
Confederacy officially remained neutral, but many in the Iroquois Confederacy allied with the French.
o When the French and Indian War was over, England's King George III feared that more tension between Native Americans
and settlers was inevitable. In an attempt to avert further bloodshed, he issued the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting
settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Proclamation was, for the most part, ignored.
o During the summer of 1763, Ottawa Chief Pontiac led raids on key British forts in the Great Lakes region. Shawnee
Chief Keigh-tugh-qua, also known as Cornstalk, led similar raids on western Virginia settlements. The uprisings
ended on August 6, 1763 when British forces, under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet, defeated Delaware and
Shawnee forces at Bushy Run in western Pennsylvania.
o In 1768, the Iroquois Confederacy (often called the Six Nations) and the Cherokee signed the Treaty of Hard Labour
and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, relinquishing their claims on the territory between the Ohio River and the Alleghenies
to the British.
o In April 1774, the Yellow Creek Massacre took place near Wheeling. Among the dead were Mingo Chief Logan's brother
and pregnant sister. Violence then escalated into Lord Dunmore's War.
o On October 10, 1774, Colonel Andrew Lewis and approximately 800 men defeated 1,200 Indian warriors led by Shawnee
Chief Cornstalk at the Battle of Point Pleasant, ending Lord Dunmore's War.
o The Mingo and Shawnee allied with the British during the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783). One of the more
notable battles occurred in 1777 when a war party of 350 Wyandot, Shawnee, and Mingo warriors, armed by the British,
attacked Fort Henry, near present-day Wheeling. Nearly half of the Americans manning the fort were killed in the
three-day assault. Following the war, the Mingo and Shawnee, once again allied with the losing side, returned to
their homes in Ohio. As the number of settlers in the region grew, both the Mingo and the Shawnee move further
inland, leaving western Virginia to the white settlers.
Barbour County's European Pioneers and Settlers
Richard Talbot, Cotteral Talbot, Charity Talbot, and their mother, were the first English settlers in present-day
Barbour County. They arrived in 1780. Richard was then 16 years old, Cotteral was 18, and Charity was 20. They
built a cabin about two miles northwest of the current county seat, Philippi, along the waters of what would later
be called Hacker's Creek. They abandoned their cabin several times due to Indian uprisings, and twice had to leave
the county entirely due to the threat of Indian raids.
In 1788, Richard Talbot married Margaret Dowden, then 11 years old. They subsequently had 13 children together.
His older brother, Cotteral Talbot, married Elizabeth Reger later that same year. Most of the two families' children
remained in Barbour County and, for several generations, the Talbot family name was by far the most common in the
county.
Important Events in Barbour County during the 1800s
The first meeting of the Barbour County court was held on April 3, 1843 at William F. Wilson's home. The county's
justices of the peace elected Lair D. Morrall county clerk. The next order of business was to nominate a sheriff
for referral to the governor. By tradition, the sheriff was whoever had served as a Justice of the Peace the longest.
However, it was not clear if Isaac Booth or Joseph McCoy had served the longest as a Justice of the Peace. An election
was held, and Joseph McCoy was recommended to the Governor for appointment.
The Philippi Covered Bridge was constructed in 1852. It was designed by Lemuel Chenoweth, from Beverly. When he
presented his plan for the bridge to the Board of Public Works in Richmond, he reportedly placed a wooden model
of the bridge between two chairs facing each other and stood on it. "Gentlemen," he announced, "this
is all I have to say." He won the contract. The covered bridge was originally twenty-six feet wide and 285
feet long, and, except for the steel bolts securing it, was made entirely of wood. A toll was placed on the eastern
end of the bridge to help pay for its construction and maintenance (a horse and rider was charged 10 cents; carriages
with two horses were charged 35 cents; each head of cattle was charged 1.5 cents, and a score of sheep was charged
5 cents). On February 2, 1989, a fire almost completely destroyed the bridge. It was reconstructed, as close as
possible to the original, and reopened on September 16, 1991. Local legend has it that President Abraham Lincoln
and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, held a secret meeting at the bridge shortly after the Civil
War began in a futile effort to end the conflict.
There were many southern sympathizers in Barbour County during the Civil War. In January 1861, the Confederate
flag was raised above the county courthouse. It remained there until Union troops, under the command of Colonel
B.F. Kelley, occupied Philippi on June 3, 1861.
On March 7, 1861, a meeting was held at the county courthouse to discuss secession from the Union. Only one man,
Spencer Dayton, a native of New England, rose to speak in favor of remaining in the Union. After attempting to
speak, a gun was leveled at his chest and he fled for his life, jumping through a courthouse window. A group of
Unionists later held a secret meeting in Martin Myers' shoe shop. They elected several delegates to the Wheeling
Convention which was to decide whether to reorganize the state's government or to form a new state. The meeting
was later called the "Shoe Shop Convention." Aware that the Unionists had elected delegates to the Wheeling
Convention, southern sympathizers posted armed guards at the end of the covered bridge in an attempt to prevent
them from leaving town. When the time came for the delegates to leave, only Spencer Dayton was willing to make
the attempt. Hoping the sentries would be asleep, he waited until past midnight and, as he approached the bridge,
reportedly whipped his horse to a full gallop, sped across the bridge, and onto the turnpike.
Although previous encounters between Confederate and Union troops had taken place at Gloucester Port, Baltimore,
and Sewell's Point, the Battle of Philippi, on June 3, 1861, is said to have been the first significant land battle
between the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.
Confederate Colonel George A. Porterfield arrived in Philippi in mid-May, 1861 with an army of 775 men (600 infantry
and 175 cavalry). He then marched to Grafton hoping to secure additional enlistments and supplies. Hearing that
a Union force was marching his way from the Wheeling area, he returned to Philippi. On the night of June 2 1861,
two Union columns under the command of General Thomas A. Morris, one with approximately 1,600 troops and the other
with approximately 1,450 troops, converged on Philippi in an attempt to trap Porterfield's troops. The Union forces
placed artillery on the hillside overlooking the covered bridge and opened fire shortly before dawn on June 3rd.
Outnumbered and without artillery, Porterfield was forced to retreat to Huttonsville. Thirty soldiers were killed
during the battle, four from the Union Army and twenty-six from the Confederate Army. Porterfield was immediately
relieved of his command. The disorderly Confederate retreat was ridiculed in Union newspapers as the "Philippi
Races." Porterfield later demanded an inquiry in an attempt to clear his name. The inquiry praised him for
his coolness under fire, but criticized his failure to take precautions against a surprise attack.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, almost all of the county's elected officials supported the South. Many of them
left with Colonel Porterfield, or left by themselves soon after the battle. As a result, Barbour County's government
ceased functioning for about five months. On October 27, 1861, elections were held to "fill vacancies."
Lewis Wilson was elected county clerk, James Trahern was elected sheriff, Nathan H. Taft was elected prosecuting
attorney, and Josiah L. Hawkings and Samuel S. Lackney were elected assessors.
Philippi was largely deserted during the Civil War. The people who lived in the county, many of them southern sympathizers,
avoided the Union-held town, fearing for their safety. Others avoided the town because the Union soldiers occupying
it were known to, upon occasion, help themselves to the local residents' goods and livestock.
The Barbour County Seat
Philippi was named the Barbour County seat by the Act that created the county on March 3, 1843. However, the city
had existed for a long time before that. The land where the city is now located was originally called "Anglin's
Ford," after the land's owner, William Anglin. No record has been found of William Anglin before 1789, but
it is very likely that he lived in the area as early as 1783 or 1784. The land came into the possession of Daniel
Booth around 1800. He had lived in the area since about 1787. After he gained possession of the land, it became
known as "Booth's Ferry." The town's current name, Philippi, was established by the Act forming the county.
By that time, the land was owned by William F. Wilson. The county court was to be built on two acres of land that
would be bought from, or donated by, Mr. Wilson. The intent was to build the courthouse near the ferry, thus giving
"convenient and easy access to the water."
Philippi was named in honor of the same Philip Pendleton Barbour that the county was named after. The town was
originally called Phillippa, a Latinized version of Philip. However, because of misunderstandings and misspellings,
the town came to be known as Philippi. The city was incorporated on February 1, 1871 by an act of the Legislature.
References
Barbour County, West Virginia...Another Look. 1979. Philippi, WV: The Barbour County Historical Society.
City of Philippi. 1998. "City of Philippi, West Virginia: History." Internet site. Accessed on-line at:
http://www.philippi.org/history.htm.
Dayton, Ruth Woods. 1952. "The Beginning - Philippi, 1861." West Virginia History. July.
Maxwell, Hu. 1899. The History of Barbour County, West Virginia: From Its Earliest Exploration and Settlement
to the Present Time.
Parsons, WV: McClain Printing Company.
Author
Dr. Robert Jay Dilger, Director, Institute for Public Affairs and Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University.
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