Webster County History

Webster County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on January 10, 1860 from parts of Braxton, Nicholas and Randolph counties. Because of its isolation and the lack of main roads connecting it to other settlements, Webster County was one of the last counties in the state to be settled. At the time of its formation in 1860, the county's population was just 1,730.

The county was named in honor of Daniel Webster (1782-1852), famous orator and long-time member of Congress from New England. He was born on January 18, 1782 in Salisbury, New Hampshire. He was educated at Exeter and Phillips Andover Academies and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1801. He studied the law and was admitted to the bar in 1805. He represented New Hampshire in the U.S. House of Representatives (1813-1817) and moved to Boston in 1816. He then represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives (1823-1827), and in the U.S. Senate (1827-1841). He served as President John Tyler's Secretary of State (1841-1843), returned to the U.S. Senate (1845-1850), and then served, once again, as U.S. Secretary of State from 1850 until his death on October 24, 1852. He was also a noted jurist who, early in his career, made the winning arguments in the landmark case McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819) that provided the federal government all implied powers deemed "necessary and proper" to carry out its duties.

The First Settlers

The first native settlers in central West Virginia (Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Roane, Upshur, and Webster counties) were the Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people. Remnants of their civilization have been found throughout northern West Virginia, with many artifacts found in the Northern Panhandle, especially in Marshall County.

A more thorough presentation of the first native settlers in West Virginia can be read on-line here. The following is a brief overview of that history:

• 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 and used it primarily as a hunting ground.

• 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.

• In 1744, Virginia officials purchased the Iroquois title of ownership to West Virginia in the Treaty of Lancaster.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 intoLord Dunmore's War.

• 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.

• 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.

Webster County's European Pioneers and Settlers

Peter and Adam Stroud, German immigrants, were the first European settlers in present-day Webster County. They settled near present day Camden-on-Gauley in 1769. Peter unintentionally built his cabin near a branch of the Shawnee Indians' hunting trail. In 1772 or 1773 (most accounts indicate June 1772) a band of Shawnee Indians came across his cabin while he was away, killed his wife and seven children. The Indians then set the cabin on fire. Adam Stroud saw the smoke from his brother's burning cabin rising across the Gauley River and, with his eldest son, investigated. The trail left by the murderers led in the general direction of Bulltown, home of Captain Bull, a Delaware Indian Chief, and other Indian families, located in present-day Braxton County. Adam Stroud recruited several other settlers to join him in an attack on the Indian settlement, leading to the famous Bulltown Massacre (see Braxton County history). News of Captain Bull's death spread across the western frontier and set off a series of serious incidents between the Indians and the English settlers. As hostilities increased, Adam Stroud moved to Hampshire County. It was another twenty years before anyone else tried to settle in the county.

In 1797, Arthur McClure moved to Upper Glade. He was followed by William E. Dodrill, known as "English Bill." He settled along the Birch River in 1799. Colonel Isaac Gregory was one of the earliest and most prominent settlers in the county. He built a two-story log cabin just above Beaver Run on a hill overlooking the Gauley River in 1800. He later served two terms as the Nicholas County Sheriff and served in the American Army during the War of 1812. Isaac Duifield arrived in the county around 1803 and was followed by several families who arrived around 1810, including the families of Tunice Muckelwain (or McElwain), James Dyer, William, Benjamin, and David Hamrick, and John Miller.

Important Events in Webster County during the 1800s

The county's first post-office was established at Fork Lick in 1852, with John Hall serving as postmaster. It is believed that John Hall and a Mr. Skidmore drilled the first salt sulphur well in the county, known as "Old Spring." It was later owned by Colonel John T. McGraw who drilled the well to a depth of 169 feet. The sulphur springs made Webster Springs a popular summer tourist attraction during the 1890s and early 1900s.

The act creating the county determined that the first meeting of the Webster County court was to be held on March 1, 1860 at Addison McLaughlin's home, in present-day Webster Springs (Addison). By the time the meeting took place, Addison McLaughlin had deeded his home to his son, Duncan McLaughlin. As a result, the first session of the Webster County court took place at Duncan McLaughlin's home in Fort Lick (Webster Springs - Addison). Samuel Given, Thomas Cogar, William Given, and Thomas Reynolds were appointed county commissioners to, among other duties, select a permanent site for the county seat. They selected a site above the Salt Sulphur spring in present-day Webster Springs. In May 1860, Walter Cool was elected Sheriff, Albert J. Baughman was elected county clerk, and Bernard Mollohan was elected county surveyor. Also, twelve Justices of the Peace were elected, with Thomas M. Reynolds elected by them to serve as the presiding judge.

The Webster County Seat

Webster Springs was incorporated in 1892. The act creating the county in 1869 specified that the county seat was to be called Addison, in honor of Addison McLaughlin who had donated the land where the county courthouse was to be built. However, the town was called "Fort Lick" by the inhabitants, in reference to the salt springs located at the fork of the Back Fork River and the Elk River. Early settlers made salt from the "lick" and many others claimed that the salt had medicinal qualities. The Virginia General Assembly tried to enforce its earlier action on March 21, 1873 by declaring that the town's legal name was Addison. When the town was incorporated in 1892, the Virginia General Assembly once again gave the town the legal name of Addison. Legally, the town is still named Addison, but has long been known by its post office name, Webster Springs. The town's first, permanent settler was Polly Arthur who arrived in 1860.

In 1868, Webster Springs had only five residences, a post office, a school, and a tavern (owned by Peter Cogar). The other residents of the town were the families of James Woodzell, Ike Cool, Pat Duffy, George Wolverton, and Martin Lowe. The town's population grew very slowly, primarily because of the lack of good roads to other settlements.

References

Miller, Sampson Newton. 1969. Annals of Webster County, West Virginia Before and Since Reorganization, 1860. Orlando, FL: Golden Rule Press.

Thompson, R. L. 1942. Webster County History - Folklore. Webster Springs, WV: Star Printers.

Webster County Historical Society, Inc. 1994. Heritage of Webster County, West Virginia. Upper Glade, WV: Webster County Historical Society.

Author

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

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