Mingo County History

Mingo County is the youngest county in the state, formed by an act of the state legislature in 1895 from parts of Logan County. Its founding was related to a legal protest by a moonshiner who claimed that the Logan County Court that had found him guilty did not have jurisdiction over his case because his still was actually located in Lincoln County. A land survey was taken and discovered that the defendant was correct. The charges were then refilled in Lincoln County court. Although the moonshiner was ultimately found guilty of his crime, the state legislature was made aware of the situation and determined that Logan County was too large for the expeditious administration of justice and decided to create a new county, called Mingo. The county was named in honor of the Mingo Indian tribe that had been the earliest known settlers of the region.

The First Settlers

The first native settlers in southern West Virginia were the Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people. Remnants of the Mound Builder's civilization have been found throughout West Virginia, with a high concentration of artifacts located at Moundsville, West Virginia, 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.

According to missionary reports, several thousand Hurons occupied present-day West Virginia during the late 1500s and early 1600s. They were driven out of the state during the 1600s by members of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy (consisting of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida and Seneca tribes, and joined later by the Tuscaroras tribe). The Iroquois Confederacy was headquartered in New York and was not interested in occupying present-day West Virginia. Instead, they used it as a hunting ground during the spring and summer months.

During the early 1700s, southern West Virginia, including present-day Mingo County, was used as a hunting ground by the Mingo, who lived in both the Tygart Valley and along the Ohio River in West Virginia's northern panhandle region, the Delaware, who lived in present-day eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, but had several autonomous settlements as far south as present-day Braxton County, and by other members of the Iroquois Confederacy, especially the Seneca, one of the largest and most powerful members of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The Mingo were not actually an Indian tribe, but a multi-cultural group of Indians that established several communities within present-day West Virginia. They lacked a central government and, like all other Indians within the region at that time, were subject to the control of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Mingo originally lived closer to the Atlantic Coast, but European settlement pushed them into western Virginia and eastern Ohio.

The Seneca, headquartered in western New York, was the closest member of the Iroquois Confederacy to West Virginia, and took great interest in the state. In 1744, the Seneca boasted to Virginia officials that they had conquered the several nations living on the back of the great mountains of Virginia. Among the conquered nations were the last of the Canawese or Conoy people who became incorporated into some of the Iroquois communities in New York. The Conoy continue to be remembered today through the naming of two of West Virginia's largest rivers after them, the Little Kanawha and the Great Kanawha.

The Seneca, and other members of the Iroquois Confederacy, claimed all of present-day West Virginia as their own, using it primarily as a hunting ground. Also, war parties from the Seneca and other members of the Iroquois Confederacy often traveled through the state to protect its claim to southern West Virginia from the Cherokee. The Cherokee were headquartered in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee and rivaled the Iroquois nation in both size and influence. The Cherokee claimed present-day southern West Virginia as their own, setting the stage for conflict with the Iroquois Confederacy.

In 1744, Virginia officials purchased the Iroquois title of ownership to West Virginia in the Treaty of Lancaster. The treaty reduced the Iroquois Confederacy's presence in the state.

During the mid-1700s, the English had made it clear to the various Indian tribes that they intended to settle the frontier. The French, on the other hand, were more interested in trade. This influenced the Mingo to side with the French during the French and Indian War (1755-1763). Although the Iroquois Confederacy officially remained neutral, many in the Iroquois Confederacy also allied with the French. Unfortunately for them, the French lost the war and ceded the all of its North American possessions to the British. Following the war, the Mingo retreated to their homes along the banks of the Ohio River and were rarely seen in southern West Virginia.

Although the war was officially over, many Indians, especially the Shawnee who resided in Ohio, continued to see the British as a threat to their sovereignty and continued to fight them. In the summer of 1763, Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, led raids on key British forts. Shawnee chief Keigh-tugh-qua, or Cornstalk, led similar attacks on western Virginia settlements in present-day Greenbrier County. By the end of July, Indians had captured all British forts west of the Alleghenies except Detroit, Fort Pitt, and Fort Niagara. Then, on August 6, 1763, British forces under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet retaliated and destroyed Delaware and Shawnee forces at Bushy Run in western Pennsylvania, ending the hostilities.

Fearing more tension between Native Americans and settlers, England's King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. However, many land speculators, including George Washington, violated the proclamation by claiming vast acreage in western Virginia. 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. With the frontier now open, settlers, once again, began to enter into present-day West Virginia.

In 1772, a series of incidents between settlers and Indians in West Virginia ended what had been nearly eight years of peace. During the spring of that year, several Indians were murdered on the South Branch of the Potomac River by Nicholas Harpold and his companions. About the same time, Bald Eagle, an Indian chief of some notoriety, was murdered while on a hunting trip on the Monongahela River. In the meantime, Captain Bull, a Delaware Indian Chief and five other Indian families were living in Braxton County in an area known as Bulltown, near the falls of the Little Kanawha River, about fourteen miles from present day Sutton. Captain Bull was regarded by most of the settlers in the region as friendly. But some settlers suspected him of providing information to and harboring unfriendly Indians. While away from home in June 1772, the family of a German immigrant named Peter Stroud was murdered, presumably by Indians. The trail left by the murderers led in the general direction of Bulltown. Peter's brother, Adam Stroud, had a cabin nearby and seeing smoke rising into the sky, raced to his brother's cabin. He gathered up what was left of the bodies and buried them. He then headed for Hacker's Creek where he met with several other settlers who agreed to join him in an attack on Bulltown. They killed all of the Indians in the village, including Captain Bull, and threw their bodies into a nearby river. News of Captain Bull's murder quickly spread across the western frontier.

Following what the Indians referred to as the Bulltown massacre, Shawnee Chief Cornstalk, who had led numerous raids against West Virginia settlers in the past, began to organize the Indians in a concerted effort to drive the whites from their territory.

In 1773, land speculator Michael Cresap led a group of volunteers from Fort Fincastle (later renamed Fort Henry) at present-day Wheeling, murdering several Shawnee at Captain Creek. Among other atrocities, on April 30, 1774, colonists murdered the family of Mingo chieftain Tah-gah-jute, who had been baptized under the English name of Logan. Although Logan had previously lived peacefully with whites, he killed at least thirteen settlers that summer in revenge.

Virginia Governor John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, worried about the escalating violence in western Virginia, decided to end the conflict by force. He formed two armies, one marching from the North, consisting of 1,700 men led by himself and the other marching from the South, comprised of 800 troops led by Colonel (later General) Andrew Lewis. Shawnee chieftain Keigh-tugh-qua, or Cornstalk, along with approximately 1,200 Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo, Wyandotte and Cayuga warriors, attacked the southern regiment before they had a chance to unite with Lord Dunmore's forces. On October 10, 1774, the Indians attacked Lewis' forces at present-day Point Pleasant, in Mason County. During the battle, both sides suffered significant losses.

Although nearly half of Lewis' commissioned officers were killed during the battle, including his brother, Colonel Charles Lewis, and seventy-five of his non-commissioned officers, the Indians were finally forced to retreat back to their settlements in Ohio's Scioto Valley, with Lewis' men in pursuit. In the meanwhile, Lord Dunmore arrived and joined forces with Lewis. Seeing that they were now outnumbered, Cornstalk sued for peace.

Although western Virginia's settlers continued to experience isolated Indian attacks for several years, Cornstalk's defeat at Point Pleasant was the beginning of the end of the Indian presence in western Virginia. The Indians agreed to give up all of their white prisoners, restore all captured horses and other property, and not to hunt south of the Ohio River. Also, they were to allow boats on the Ohio River and promised not to harass them. This opened up present-day West Virginia and Kentucky for settlement. Cornstalk was later killed at Fort Randolph near Point Pleasant in 1777 in retaliation for the death of a militiaman who was killed by an Indian.

The Battle of Point Pleasant made Talgayeeta, known by the settlers as Logan, the most famous Mingo in West Virginia history. Logan's father was a member of the Cayuga tribe and originally lived in central Pennsylvania. His father had taken the name Logan after a Pennsylvania official named John Logan. In 1763, Logan moved west to the Ohio River where he established a small settlement consisting primarily of members of his extended family. Logan and the other members of his settlement were considered friendly and cooperative by most settlers in the region, until his settlement was attacked by English settlers on April 30, 1774. The attack occurred on the West Virginia side of the river, in present-day Hancock County. Ten members of Logan's settlement, including two women, were killed and scalped by the settlers. Among the victims were members of Logan's immediate family, including his wife and all but one of his children. Several versions of the massacre circulated on the frontier. Lord Dunmore blamed a settler named Daniel Greathouse while Logan blamed Michael Cresap, a Maryland soldier and land speculator who was building cabins along the Ohio River as a means of securing land. Although the evidence suggests that Cresap was in the vicinity at the time of the massacre, many historians believe that he was not involved in the murders. In any case, following the massacre, Logan allied himself with the British and went on the warpath, leading four deadly raids on the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontiers and helping to instigate what would later be called Lord Dunmore's War of 1774.

Logan gained national fame for his eloquent speech that was delivered during the peace negotiations following the Indians' defeat at the Battle of Point Pleasant. Logan was not at the decisive Battle of Point Pleasant, but returned to the main Indian camp during the peace negotiations. His speech was not delivered in council, but was given to Colonel John Gibson who wrote it down and delivered it on Logan's behalf during the negotiations. The speech was later published in many newspapers across the nation:

I appeal to any white man to say if he ever entered Logan's cabin hungry and I gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked and I gave him not clothing. During the course of the long and bloody war Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites that my countrymen pointed as they passed and said, "Logan is the friend of white men." I had even thought to have lived with you but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any human creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my county I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one.

After Lord Dunmore's War concluded, Logan moved from place to place and, in 1789, joined an Indian raiding party that attacked settlements in southwestern Virginia. He was later killed by one of his own relatives in 1780, near present-day Detroit. He said before his death that he had two souls, one good and the other bad, as he put it "...when the good soul had the ascendant, he [referring to himself] was kind and humane, and when the bad soul ruled, he was perfectly savage, and delighted in nothing but blood and carnage."

During the American Revolution (1776-1783), the Mingo and Shawnee, headquartered at Chillicothe, Ohio, allied themselves with the British. In 1777, a party of 350 Wyandots, Shawnees, and Mingos, 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. The Indians then left the Fort celebrating their victory. For the remainder of the war, smaller raiding parties of Mingo, Shawnee, and other Indian tribes terrorized settlers throughout West Virginia. As a result, European settlement in the state came to a virtual standstill until the war's conclusion. Following the war, the Mingo and Shawnee, once again allied with the losing side, returned to their homes. However, as the number of settlers in the region began to grow, and with their numbers depleted by the war, both the Mingo and the Shawnee moved further inland.

European Pioneers and Settlers

Various tribes, especially the Mingo, Shawnee, Cherokee, and Delaware used present-day Mingo County as a hunting and fishing grounds, and as a place for temporary villages during the 1700s. By the mid-1700's, Europeans began to look at the county as a potential source of economic gain. For example, John Breckenridge hired one of his soldiers, James Workman, to survey the county duirng the 1780s in an attempt to claim the land and sell it to others for settlement.

During the spring of 1794, James Workman, his son Joseph and his brother Nimrod built a cabin on an island of the Guyandotte River and planted a few acres of corn. They continued to farm the island over the next two years. Then, in the fall of 1796, James Workman moved his wife and children from their old home in Wythe (now Tazewell County) Virginia and settled near the island. They continued to live there until around 1800. During the late 1790s William Dingess purchased 300 acres of land from John Breckenridge that covers the present towns of Logan and Aracoma. He built a house there and moved into it in 1799. He is generally credited with starting the first permanent settlement in Logan county.

The early pioneers that followed William Dingess were primarily farmers, carpenters, and laborers. The country at that time was very rough and mountainous, with only about one-third of it being adapted for cultivation. Separated from the outside world, Logan County's initial setters learned to depend on their personal energies for the necessities and comforts of life. Substantial log houses were erected and land cleared around them. There, they planted patches of corn, potatoes, cotton, flax, and other necessities.

The early settlers owned at least one trusty rifle and had plenty of ammunition since gun powder could be made locally from sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. Lead for the bullets was plentiful and found in almost every neighborhood. Thus, armed and equipped, the settlers hunted black bear, deer, and buffalo for meat, and used their skins for shoes and a portion of their clothing. Water power was abundant. By the early 1800s small mills were grounding corn and wheat into meal and flour. Honey, maple syrup, and maple sugar was used to sweeten their food and dring and the bark of the sassafras root substituted for coffee. There were many saltlicks for obtaining salt for preserving meats, and for use as a seasoner in cooking.

Once the area began to grow and gain inhabitants, Anthony Lawson established a store and trading post. In its day, his trading post was the county's focal point to the outside world. Local residents would bring their goods, such as ginseng, to the store to sell or barter for luxuries, such as cotton cloth, sugar, and manufactured goods. Lawson's store was a magnet for people looking for a place to live and, after a few years "take it to Lawson's" became "take it to Lawsonville."

Important Events During the 1800s

The famous Hatfield-McCoy family feud covered a wide area in southwestern West Virginia, including present-day Mingo County, and parts of eastern Kentucky.

The feud got its start during the Civil War. The Hatfields and most of the McCoys supported the South during the Civil War. However, Asa McCoy served in the Union Army. Soon after his release from the army, he was killed. The McCoys suspected that the Hatfields killed him, but had no proof. In 1881, the two families contested the ownership of a prized razorback hog that had been allowed to run wild in the woods. A Kentucky jury awarded the hog to the Hatfields. Soon afterwards, one of the trial's witnesses, a Hatfield, was found shot to death. The Hatfields accused two sons of Randolph McCoy, the clan's leader, of the crime. A jury later acquitted the two men, but the hard feelings between the two clans soon boiled over into violence.

On August 7, 1882 in Ransom, Kentucky, an election day, Tolbert McCoy, another of Randolph's sons, confronted Ellison Hatfield. The men argued and Tolbert pulled out a knife and stabbed Ellison. Tolbert's brothers, Randal and Pharmer, then joined the fight which ended when one of the McCoy brothers (probably Pharmer) shot Ellison Hatfield in the back. The McCoy brothers were taken into custody. Ellison was carried across the border, where he lingered on death's door for two days before dying. In the meantime, Ellison's three older brothers, Valentine, Anderson "Devil Anse", and Elias Hatfield, and several other Hatfield relations captured the three McCoy brothers and brought them back to West Virginia. When Ellison died, the three McCoy brothers were taken across the river to Kentucky, tied to some bushes and shot to death. Kentucky legal authorities issued warrants for the arrest of "Devil Anse" Hatfield and several others for murder, but the warrants were never served. The feud was seemingly over, except for some minor fights, until the summer of 1887 when Kentucky's new governor requested that West Virginia extradite "Devil Anse" Hatfield and several others to Kentucky to be tried for the murder of the McCoy brothers.

When West Virginia refused, Frank Phillips, a Pike County, Kentucky deputy, began slipping over the border and forcibly taking various members of the Hatfield clan into custody. The feud escalated on January 1, 1888, when members of the Hatfield family set fire to Randolph McCoy's home with Randolph and his family still inside. As they attempted to escape Randolph's wife was knocked unconscious and two of his children (Calvin and Alifair) were killed. Two weeks later, Phillips men crossed over into West Virginia and killed Jim Vance, "Devil Anse" Hatfield's uncle. Then, on January 19, 1888, a posse was formed in Logan County, comprised of members of the Hatfield clan and friends, to arrest Frank Phillips for murder. The posse had a shoot-out with Phillips's men. One of the Hatfields, William Dempsey, was killed during the shootout. West Virginia's governor protested the taking of West Virginia citizens and the state offered a reward for the capture of Frank Phillips and others involved in the murder of William Dempsey.

In August 1889, nine members of the Hatfield clan were tried for murder in Pikeville Kentucky. Cap Hatfield, Johnse Hatfield, Robert Hatfield, Elliott Hatfield, French Ellis, Charles Gillespie and Thomas Chambers were sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Alifair McCoy. Ellison Mounts, the only Hatfield to plead guilty, was sentenced to be hanged for his part in the attack on Randolph McCoy's home. His sentence was carried out on February 18, 1890 in Pikeville Kentucky before thousands of spectators. His death signalled the end of the most famous family feud in American history.

Important Events During the 1900s

Mother Jones, one of the American labor movement's most colorful and famous national leaders, was heavily involved in the Mingo County miner's strike of 1920. She encouraged the minors to strike in an effort to force the county's coal operators to allow its workers to unionize. The strike, which lasted eighteen months, was marred by violence and death. When the strike finally ended, the workers lost and their goal to unionize the coal mines was not achieved.

County Seat

Williamson, the county seat, was incorporated in 1892. Most historians believe that Williamson was named in honor of Wallace J. Williamson. He owned the land where Williamson now stands, had earned a fortune in real estate investments in the area, and founded the city's first bank and its first hotel. Others claim that the city was named for Wallace's father, Benjamin F. Williamson. He owned most of the land in the region before dividing it among his sons.

Williamson grew rapidly once the railroad connected into the town. Its population, just 688 in 1900, jumped to 6,819 in 1920 and 9,410 in 1930.

References

Smith, Nancy Sue. 1960. An Early History of Mingo County, West Virginia. Williamson: Williamson Printing

Company, 1960.

Smith, Nancy Sue. 1966. History of Logan and Mingo Counties, Beginning in 1617. Williamson: n.p., 1966.

Authors

Dr. Robert Jay Dilger, Director, Institute for Public Affairs and Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University.

Melissa Brodsky, undergraduate theater arts major, West Virginia University.

February 14, 2001.

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