Early History of Ohio County

Ohio County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in October 1776 from parts of the District of West Augusta (Virginia). It was named in honor of the Ohio River that forms the county's western boundary. The river's name was derived from the Indian word Ohionhiio, meaning great or beautiful river.

The First Settlers

The first native settlers in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle (Brooke, Hancock, Ohio and Marshall counties) were the Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people. Remnants of the Mound Builder's civilization have been found throughout northern West Virginia, with many artifacts found in the Northern Panhandle, especially in Marshall County. The Grave Creek Indian Mound, located in 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. During the 1600s, the Iroquois Confederacy (then consisting of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida and Seneca tribes) drove the Hurons from the state. 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, the Northern Panhandle was also used as a hunting ground by the Mingo, who lived in the Tygart Valley and along the Ohio River, and 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.

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. Seneca war parties, and war parties from 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 indicated to the various Indian tribes that they intended to settle the frontier. The French, on the other hand, were more interested in trading with the Indians than settling in the area. This influenced the Delaware, Mingo, and Shawnee (headquartered in Chillicothe, Ohio) 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. Although the French and Indian War was officially over, many Indians continued to view the British as a threat to their sovereignty and continued to fight. In 1763, Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, led raids on key British forts in the Great Lakes region. Shawnee chief Keigh-tugh-qua, also known as Cornstalk, led similar attacks on western Virginia settlements, starting with attacks in present-day Greenbrier County and extending northward to Bath, now known as Berkeley Springs, and into the northern Shenandoah Valley. By the end of July, Indians had destroyed or captured all British forts west of the Alleghenies except Fort Detroit, Fort Pitt, and Fort Niagara. The uprisings were ended on August 6, 1763 when the British, under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet, defeated Delaware and Shawnee forces at Bushy Run in western Pennsylvania.

Although hostilities had ended, England's King George III feared that more tension between Native Americans and settles was inevitable. In an attempt to avert further bloodshed, he issued the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. The next five years were relatively peaceful in the Northern Panhandle. However, many land speculators 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.

During the spring of 1774, there were several incidents between the Indians and surveying parties traveling within present-day West Virginia. The most serious encounter took place in April 1774. Although there are conflicting accounts over what occurred, most accounts indicate that several Indians stole some property from white settlers near present-day Wheeling. In retaliation, several settlers followed their trail and came upon two Indians on the north side of the Ohio River. Believing them to be the thieves, the settlers killed them. The next day, April 30, 1774, the settlers found four Indians at a local tavern located across from the mouth of Yellow Creek which enters the Ohio River several miles above present-day Wheeling. The settlers killed them as well. Four more Indians, including the brother and pregnant sister of Logan, the now-famous Mingo Indian chief, approached the tavern inquiring about the whereabouts of the missing Indians. The settlers killed them as well, and, reportedly, mutilated Logan's sister's body. After learning of his brother and sister's deaths, Logan led a series of attacks on settlements along the upper Monongahela River. Logan later admitted to killing at least thirteen settlers that summer.

Following what the Indians referred to as the Yellow Creek Massacre, violence between settlers and the various Indian tribes spread across western Virginia. Virginia Governor John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, formed two armies to end the hostilities. He led one of them, which was comprised of 1,700 men drawn primarily from the upper Shenandoah Valley. Colonel Andrew Lewis led the second army. It was comprised of 800 men, drawn primarily from the lower Shenandoah Valley. The two armies marched into western Virginia to meet the Indians, which was led by Shawnee chieftain Keigh-tugh-qua, also known as Cornstalk. Lord Dunmore's army took a more northerly route through present-day West Virginia and Colonel Lewis' army took a more southerly route. Aware of their presence, the Indians, comprised of approximately 1,200 Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo, Wyandotte and Cayuga warriors, attacked Lewis' army on October 10, 1774. They hoped to defeat Colonel Lewis' army before it united with Lord Dunmore's army. The attack took place at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, at present-day Point Pleasant, in Mason County. During the battle, both sides suffered significant losses. The Indians were finally forced to retreat back to their settlements in Ohio's Scioto Valley, with Lewis' men in pursuit. Meanwhile, Lord Dunmore's army arrived and, 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.

During the American Revolution (1776-1783), the Mingo and Shawnee 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 men manning the fort were killed during the three-day assault. For the remainder of the war, smaller raiding parties of Mingo, Shawnee, and other Indian tribes terrorized settlers throughout northern West Virginia. As a result, European settlement throughout the region 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, leaving their traditional hunting ground to the white settlers.

Ohio County's European Pioneers and Settlers

Robert Cavelier de La Salle sailed down the Ohio River in 1669. He was probably the first European to set foot in present-day Ohio County. In 1749, Louis Celeron de Bienville also sailed down the Ohio River. He buried lead plates along the route with an inscription claiming the land for France. One of the plates was found in Ohio County.

During the fall of 1769, Ebenezer Zane explored the Wheeling area and established his "tomahawk rights." He returned the following spring with his wife, Elizabeth, and his younger brothers, Jonathan and Silas, and established the first permanent settlement in the Wheeling area. The Zane brothers were soon joined in the area by Samuel McColloch, John Wetzel, and David Shepherd's families, as well as several others. At that time, Wheeling was known as Zanesburg, in honor of the Zane brothers. In 1774, the settlers constructed Fort Fincastle (named for Virginia's royal Governor Lord Dunmore, whose second title was Viscount Fincastle) for protection against Indians. The fort was constructed about 70 yards from Ebenezer Zane's home. In 1776, the fort was renamed Fort Henry, honoring Patrick Henry, Virginia's first colonial Governor.

Fort Henry was the site of several Indian sieges, the most famous occurring on September 11-13, 1782. Approximately 260 Indians and 40 British soldiers attacked the fort, which was defended by about 40 men. Colonel Ebenezer Zane and several others remained in his cabin, providing a cross-fire against the Indians' repeated attempts to overrun the fort. Although there are conflicting reports, most accounts suggest that the fort was running low on ammunition. During a lull in the battle, Colonel Ebenezer Zane's younger sister, sixteen-year old Elizabeth Zane, raced from the fort to her brother's cabin to retrieve a load of gunpowder. Colonel Zane poured several pounds of powder into a tablecloth and tied it to her waist. After a short rest to catch her breath, she raced back to the fort. The Indians, alerted to her presence, fired upon her, but missed. Reinforcements arrived the following day, and the Indians retreated from the area. Betty Zane's heroism became part of local folklore and was the subject of numerous poems and, in 1903, the subject of famous author and distant relative Zane Grey's novel, Betty Zane.

Important Events in Ohio County during the 1800s

In 1814, the Linsly Institute (now Linsly School), located in Wheeling, was chartered, and was endowed by Noah Linsly, Esquire. The Linsly School is the oldest preparatory school west of the Alleghenies.

In 1818, Ohio County was transformed into one the nation's most important trading centers and rest stops for pioneers heading west following the extension of the National Road to Wheeling.

On April 17, 1861, the Virginia legislature approved an ordinance of succession from the Union. It authorized a special election, to be held on May 23, 1861, to decide whether to remain in the Union. Union loyalists gathered in Wheeling from May 13-15, 1861 to organize opposition to succession. The meeting has since become known as the First Wheeling Convention. Following Virginia's voters' approval of secession, Union loyalists held another meeting in Wheeling to form a new government loyal to the Union. The Second Wheeling Convention met from June 11-25, 1861. It formed the Restored or Loyal Virginia Government, and named Wheeling its capital. The Second Wheeling Convention met again from August 6-21, 1861 and adopted a dismemberment ordinance calling for an election in 39 counties to form a new state, tentatively called Kanawha. On October 24, 1861, by a vote of 18,408 to 781, the voters in these 39 counties, plus Hampshire and Hardy counties, approved the formation of a new state. A third convention then met in Wheeling from November 26, 1861 to February 18, 1862 to write a constitution for the new state (it met again from February 12-20, 1863 to add a slavery emancipation clause required by Congress as a condition for admission into the Union). The Third Wheeling Convention named the state West Virginia, and added eleven more counties to the state, including several controlled by the Confederacy.

The Ohio County Seat

The first Ohio County court meeting was held on January 16, 1777 at Black's cabin near West Liberty. West Liberty, established on Reuben Foreman and Providence Mounce's land on November 29, 1787, served as Ohio County's seat from 1777 to 1797. At the first court session, Zachariah Sprigg, Thomas Waller, and Daniel McClain were sworn in as justices of the peace, John McColloch was named county sheriff, and James McMechen was named county clerk.

Wheeling became the county seat in 1797. At that time, Wheeling had about 500 residents. The town was platted in 1793 by Colonel Ebenezer Zane and was then known as Zanesburg. The town was officially established on December 25, 1795 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. It was incorporated on January 16, 1806, and renamed Wheeling. The origin of the city's name is subject to much conjecture. According to John Brittle, who was held captive by Delaware Indians from 1791 to 1796, the town's name originated from the Indian word "Weeling" which means "place of the skull." He claimed that when the first white settlers entered Wheeling Creek they were killed by Delaware Indians. The Indians supposedly beheaded one of the men, placed his head on the end of a pole, and pointed the face toward the river to scare off any other whites that might make their way into the Delaware's territory. Others claim that the city may have been named after a Catholic missionary named "Wheelan."

Wheeling was the site of several firsts, both for the state and for the nation. The first bank in present-day West Virginia, The Northwestern Bank of Virginia, opened in Wheeling in 1817. The first telegraph line to West Virginia reached Wheeling in 1847. The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, completed in 1849 and then the longest in the world, was the first bridge to span the Ohio River. Wheeling was West Virginia's first state capitol until 1870, and regained that honor in 1875 and 1880. The first telephone in West Virginia was installed in Wheeling in 1880 and, in 1890, Wheeling's Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company originated outdoor advertising when they began painting Mail Pouch Tobacco signs on bridges and barns across the nation.

References

Boyd, Peter. 1927. History of Northern West Virginia Panhandle embracing Ohio, Marshall, Brooke, and Hancock Counties. Indianapolis, IN: Historical Publishing Company.

Cobb, William H., Andrew Price and Hu Maxwell. 1921. History of the Mingo Indians. Parsons, WV: reprinted for the Mullins Antique Market and Rare Books, Elkins, WV by McClain Printing Company, 1974.

Cranmer, Gibson, Lamb. 1902. History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia. Chicago, IL: Biographical Publishing Company. Available on-line at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvwags/how-contents.htm.

Cruger, Lydia S. 1849. "Statement of Mrs. Lydia S. Cruger." Claims Mollie Scott was the Heroine of the 1782 Attack on Fort Pitt." Available on-line at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~indian/crugbra.htm.

Hintzen, William. 1996. "Betty Zane, Lydia Boggs, and Molly Scott: The Gunpowder Exploits at Fort Henry." West Virginia History Volume 55, pp. 95-109 Available on-line at: http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh55-4.html.

Author

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

November 26, 2002.

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