**Collected Excerpts and Articles on the History of [Berkeley
County]{.underline} in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia**

(1/1/2005)

![](media/image1.png)

**Martinsburg - Queen Street in the 1920\'s**

**by**

**Peter Groen**

**January 2005**

**Table of Contents**

[**Berkeley County - Map**](#Map)

[**Berkeley County - General Information**](#General)

[**Berkeley County - Chronology**](#Chronology)

[**Early History of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle**](#history)

[**Cities & Towns in Berkeley County**](#Towns)

[**Historical Sites & Points of Interest in Berkeley County**](#Sites)

[**Berkeley County Churches**](#Churches)

[**Profiles of Sir William Berkeley and Other Notable
Individuals**](#profiles-1)

[**Appendices**](#register)

-   [**National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley
    County**](#register)

-   [**Historical Highway Markers**](#Highway)

[**References**](#References)

[]{#Map .anchor}**Map of Berkeley County**

![](media/image2.png)

**See
<http://www.washingtonheritagetrail.com/whtmapspages/berkeleyco.asp>**

[]{#General .anchor}**Berkeley County -- General Information**

**Berkeley County**

Berkeley County,West Virginia, one of the first settled areas in the
state. Many Quakers and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, along with the
English and Dutch, became residents here in the early 1700s. They were
followed by the Germans who built many present farm complexes. The
county has a wealth of historic and architecturally important buildings
dating from the 1740s into the 20th century. Many of these buildings,
including several districts and villages have been researched and placed
on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Berkeley County was formed from Frederick County, Virginia, in 1772 and
named for Lord Norborne Berkeley. The County seat was established in the
colonial village of Martinsburg, named for Thomas Bryan Martin, Lord
Fairfax\'s nephew, and was incorporated in 1778. The arrival of the B&O
Railroad in the 1840s gave Martinsburg and Berkeley county a big
economic boost.

During the Civil War, Martinsburg and Berkeley county, still a part of
Virginia, experienced conflict and much destruction. Many families had
divided allegiances. In June 1861 Stonewall Jackson destroyed the
railroad cars at the Martinsburg B&O Railroad complex and commandeered
the engines, dragging them through Winchester to Strasburg. The
Roundhouse and machine shops were completely stripped. The first major
conflict in the area occurred on July 2, 1861, when the North\'s General
Robert Patterson crossed the Potomac River at Williamsport and defeated
the South\'s General Joseph E. Johnston and General Thomas J.
\"Stonewall\" Jackson. On October 18 and 19, 1862 the Martinsburg B&O
Railroad complex and Roundhouses were burned. In November, 1863,
Berkeley county became a part of the new state of West Virginia that
supported the North. 

After the war, West Virginia\'s Eastern Panhandle remained a place of
split loyalties. Although the region was taken over by the Union during
the war, it did not finally become a part of West Virginia until 1872.
Confederate sympathies ran deep throughout the war years and well after
statehood was reluctantly achieved.

In 1872 the Pennsylvania Railroad came to the area, and it, along with
the B&O Railroad, gave the area an excellent transportation base. While
the B&O Railroad brought prosperity to Martinsburg and Berkeley County,
the relationship was not always ideal. In July of 1877, railroad workers
in Martinsburg, upset about the poor working conditions and pay cuts,
went on strike. They refused to allow trains to leave the B&O station.
The strike grew to include much of the population of Martinsburg and
lasted until Federal troops broke it up three days later. Nine people
lost their lives in the revolt, which caused a wave of anti-railroad
sentiment. Angry mobs stopped operations along the B&O line in
Cumberland and Baltimore and brought national attention to the plight of
industrial workers.

In earlier times, a major source of the area\'s income came from selling
flour produced by the area\'s water-powered mills to the Alexandria and
Baltimore markets. Electricity soon replaced water power and by the turn
of the 20^th^ century, the area became a large textile milling center. 

Today, Berkeley county is a mix of agrarian landscapes, picturesque
towns, and remnants of bygone industries interspersed with contemporary
development.

*See <http://www.wvheritage.com/martinsburg.html>*

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="2.895138888888889in"
height="2.0493055555555557in"}

**Berkeley County Courthouse**

[]{#Chronology .anchor}**Chronology of Berkeley County**

> **1600\'s -** The Iroquois Confederacy (then consisting of the Mohawk,
> Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca tribes) drove the Hurons from the
> area now known as West Virginia. state. They used it as a hunting
> ground during the spring and summer months.

### 1669 - John Lederer, German physician in the employ of colonial governor William Berkeley, and his companions reach the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and apparently become the first Europeans to see what is now West Virginia. 

### 1712 - Baron Christopher de Graffenreid visits the Eastern Panhandle looking for land for Swiss families. 

### 1716 - Lt.-Gov. Alexander Spotswood and an accompanying party penetrate western Virginia to the peaks of the Alleghenies. His Golden Horseshoe expedition dramatizes the possibilities of westward expansion. 

### 1719 - The first church in West Virginia, the Potomoke Church, is founded by Presbyterians at Shepherdstown in what was then Berkeley county.. 

### 1722 - Virginia government allows families to live without paying rent on land owned by the state for ten years to persuade families to move into the newly-settled territories. 

### 1726 - According to tradition, Morgan Morgan makes the first permanent settlement at Bunker Hill on Mill Creek in Berkeley County. He was born in Wales but had lived for many years in Delaware. 

### 1727 - Germans from Pennsylvania establish a settlement at New Mecklenburg (now Shepherdstown). 

### 1730 - The first recorded grants of land in West Virginia are made to Isaac and John Van Meter. 

### 1731 - The first permanent settlement in what is now West Virginia is believed to have been made in what is now Berkeley county by Morgan Morgan. 

### 1732 - After 1732, Scotch-Irish, Welsh, and German pioneers begin to settle the western portions of Virginia; Harper\'s Ferry is settled in what was then Berkeley county. 

### 1735 - The first unit of the National Guard (later to become the West Virginia National Guard), Company D, 201st Infantry, was organized by Morgan Morgan in Berkeley County.

### 1742 - The first iron furnace west of the Blue Ridge is constructed by Thomas Mayberry at Bloomery on the Shenandoah River. 

> **1744 -** Virginia officials purchased the Iroquois title of
> ownership to West Virginia in the Treaty of Lancaster.

### 1748 - George Washington surveys land in western Virginia for Lord Fairfax. 

> The Harpers Ferry begins carrying passengers across the Shenandoah
> River.

### 1755 - General Braddock marches his army through Jefferson, Berkeley and Morgan counties en route to Pittsburgh where he suffered defeat by the French and Indians. 

> **1756** - Polly Evans led the defense of Fort Evans when it was
> attacked by Native American Indians.

### 1764 - General Horatio Gates, who was second in command to George Washington, settles in what is now Jefferson County (where he lived until 1790). 

### 1772 - The Burgesses of Virginia created Berkeley county. The county was largely created from lands encompassed by Frederick county, VA. At the time of Berkeley county's formation it consisted of the areas that make up the present-day Jefferson and Morgan counties.

### 1775 - The first of more than seven companies of riflemen from Berkeley county were formed to fight against the British in the Revolutionary War. The men of Shepherdstown and Berkeley county met in Morgan\'s Grove Park to begin the famous \"Bee Line March\" to join George Washington's Continental Army in Boston fighting for independence from England.

### 1776 - The residents of western Virginia petition the Continental Congress to establish a separate government for their region. 

### The town of Bath, later known as Berkeley Springs, was established in what was then Berkeley county

### 1777 - Indian warfare resumes, and continues throughout the American Revolution. 

### 1778 - Martinsburg is laid out by Adam Stephen, an American Revolutionary military leader. 

### 1786 - The town of Charles Town was established on the property of Col. Charles Washington in what was then Berkeley county.

### 1787 - Gerrardstown was officially founded and named for the Reverend David Gerrard 

### 1788 - Virginia ratifies the federal Constitution. 

### 1790 - *The Potomak Guardian and Berkeley Advertiser,* western Virginia\'s first newspaper, is published by Nathaniel Willis in Shepherdstown, then a part of Berkeley county. In 1791 the newspaper was moved to Martinsburg. In 1799, Nathaniel Willis moved to Martinsburg and began the *Martinsburg Gazette.* 

> First U. S. census shows population of West Virginia at 55,873.

### 1792 - The first post office in what is now West Virginia is established at Martinsburg. 

### 1797 - The second West Virginia newspaper, the *Impartial Observer,* is established at Shepherdstown. The same press printed the first book printed in West Virginia, *The Christian Panoply,* in the same year. 

### 1801 - \* Jefferson county is created from Berkeley county. 

### 1820 - \* Morgan county is created from Berkeley, Hampshire county. 

> **1825** - According to Catholic Diocesan records, St. John parish
> (later known as St. Joseph), was established in Martinsburg.
>
> 1830\'s and 1840\'s saw a lot of activity associated with building
> railroad lines, bridges, and roads in Berkeley county.
>
> **1836 -** The Virginia General Assembly passed an act establishing
> the town of Hedgesville.
>
> **1842** - The B & O Railroad reached Martinsburg.
>
> **1849** - The B&O Roundhouse and Station Complex was constructed.
> These first buildings were burned by Confederate troops in 1862,
> during the Civil War. They were rebuilt in 1866.
>
> **1854** - Hedgesville was incorporated under the laws of Virginia in
> 1854. It was originally platted in 1830 from land owned by Josiah
> Hedges and Mary Claycomb.
>
> **The Civil War (1861-65)** - In January 1861, the South seceded from
> the Union to form the Confederate States of America. On March 4, 1861,
> Lincoln was innaugurated as President of the United States. In April
> 1861, the attack on Fort Sumter occurred. It was the opening
> engagement of the American Civil War.
>
> **1861** - On June 15, the Virginia Republican newspaper in
> Martinsburg, Berkeley county, ceased publication. When Union troops
> under General Robert Patterson later took over their office and
> briefly published a pro-Union newspaper entitled the American Union.
>
> On June 16, Confederate forces destroyed the Baltimore and Ohio
> Railroad bridge and evacuated the town of Harpers Ferry, Jefferson
> County. That same day, Union troops under General Robert Patterson
> crossed the Potomac River.
>
> On June 19, Confederate troops under General Thomas J. Jackson, with
> support from the cavalry of J. E. B. Stuart, captured Martinsburg,
> destroying Baltimore and Ohio Railroad property and the Potomac River
> bridge at Shepherdstown. He burned and destroyed 42 locomotives and
> 305 cars. A substantial number of locomotives, cars and equipment were
> shipped overland to Strasburg. The people of Martinsburg, a majority
> of who were Unionists, were unhappy at losing an important source of
> their livelihood.
>
> On June 23, retreating Confederate troops destroyed the \"colonnade
> bridge\" on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Martinsburg.
>
> On July 2, Union troops under General Robert Patterson and Confederate
> troops under Colonel Thomas J. Jackson fought a skirmish at Falling
> Waters, Berkeley county, after Patterson\'s forces had crossed the
> Potomac River for the second time in three weeks.
>
> On July 3, following the withdrawal of Confederate troops under Col.
> Jackson, Union troops under Gen. Patterson captured the town of
> Martinsburg. In the overall scheme of things the \"Battle of Falling
> Waters\" was a small skirmish, but apparently it was enough to cause
> Patterson to believe he was outnumbered two or three to one and in no
> position to press on to either Winchester or Leesburg.
>
> On October 12, the Virginia Republican newspaper resumed publication
> in Martinsburg. It had ceased publication in June due to pressure from
> the Union Army.
>
> **1862** - On September 11, Confederate troops under Major General
> \"Stonewall\" Jackson captured Martinsburg, prior to the Battle of
> Antietam.
>
> On October 9, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart assembled 1,800 troops
> at Darkesville in Berkeley county, in preparation for a raid on
> Chambersburg, PA.
>
> **1863 -** On June 20, 1863, West Virginia is admitted to the Union as
> 35th state. The new state begins to function as Arthur I. Boreman of
> Parkersburg is inaugurated at Wheeling as the first governor.
>
> On July 5, portions of the Confederate army reached Falling Waters in
> Berkeley County, during their retreat from the Battle of Gettysburg in
> Pennsylvania. On July 6, Union troops attacked the retreating
> Confederate troops at Falling Waters. On July 9, General Robert E. Lee
> reenforced Confederate troops at Falling Waters who had been under
> attack since July 6. On July 14, the Confederate army under General
> Robert E. Lee crossed the Potomac River at Falling Waters into
> Berkeley county, thereby spoiling a Union attacked planned for the
> following day.
>
> Also, Isabelle "Belle" Boyd, a famous spy for the Confederacy, was
> arrested in Martinsburg by the Union Army and imprisoned.
>
> 1864 - On July 3, Confederate forces under Major General Robert Ransom
> defeated Union forces under Colonel James A. Mulligan at Leetown in
> Jefferson county. The same day, Confederate troops forced Union troops
> to retreat from Martinsburg in Berkeley county.
>
> **1865** - On April 9, General Lee surrendered to General Grant at
> Appomattox Courthouse. On April 14, as President Lincoln was watching
> a performance of \"Our American Cousin\" at Ford\'s Theater in
> Washington, D.C., he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died the
> next morning. In May 1865, the remaining Confederate troops were
> defeated. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured in
> Georgia on May 10, 1865. The Civil War finally ended.
>
> **1866** - The U.S. Congress approved the transfer of Jefferson and
> Berkeley counties from Virginia to West Virginia. This was upheld by
> the U.S. Supreme Court in 1871.
>
> **1870** - The governor approved an act eliminating test oaths for
> former Confederates to become teachers or attorneys. That same date,
> they passed the Flick Amendment, enfranchising former Confederates.
>
> **1877** - In a public referendum, citizens of West Virginia voted to
> make Charleston the permanent capital of the state instead of either
> Clarksburg or Martinsburg.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Nation-wide Railroad Strike Starts in Martinsburg**                 |
|                                                                       |
| On July 11, 1877, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company announced it  |
| was reducing wages by ten percent as of July 16. On July 16, brakemen |
| and firemen at Martinsburg went on strike. The strike began to spread |
| across the United States and eventually led to a nation-wide strike   |
| by railroad workers.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| On July 17, Governor Mathews dispatched the Berkeley Light Infantry   |
| at Martinsburg, under Captain C. J. Faulkner, Jr., to protect the     |
| property of the B&O Railroad and \"scabs\" hired to replace striking  |
| railroad workers. After striking railroad worker William Vandergriff  |
| was shot and killed, Capt. Faulkner withdrew the militia.             |
|                                                                       |
| On July 18, after Governor Mathews arrived in Martinsburg at the site |
| of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad strike, he requested President       |
| Rutherford B. Hayes to dispatch federal troops to Martinsburg. That   |
| same day in Baltimore, 20 strikers were killed by federal troops.     |
|                                                                       |
| On July 19, President Hayes responded to Gov. Matthew\'s request by   |
| sending the 200 troops of the Second United States Artillery into     |
| Martinsburg to suppress the railroad strike. On July 20,              |
| strikebreakers from Baltimore cleared the Martinsburg B&O Railroad    |
| yards, effectively ending the strike in that town. However, the       |
| strike continued and intensified nationally.                          |
|                                                                       |
| The nation-wide railroad strike which began in Martinsburg and        |
| Baltimore finally ended on August 2, 1877.                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

> **1870\'s & 1880\'s** saw installation of gas lighting in local towns.
> The early 1900\'s saw the spreading installation of electric lights
> and telephone utilities.
>
> **1883 -** Telephone service began in Martinsburg.
>
> **1884 -** The Berkeley County Society for Detecting Horse Thieves was
> incorporated in West Virginia with its main office in Martinsburg.
>
> **1889** - Electricity began to be furnished to Martinsburg as part of
> a franchise granted to the United Edison Manufacturing Company of New
> York.
>
> **1891 -** The Standard Manufacturing Company was incorporated in
> Martinsburg, WV. The company\'s purpose was to manufacture *bicycles*
> and other items.
>
> **1909** - Dam No. 4 Hydroelectric Plant was built. It is the only
> known rope turbine electric generator plant in the world.
>
> **1911** - The state of West Virginia ordered the elimination of all
> toll roads. Most roads built in West Virginia during the 1800\'s were
> toll roads.
>
> **1913** - Construction of the \"Apollo Civic Theatre\" was completed.
>
> **World War I (1917-1918) -** 1919 - Of the nearly five million men
> who fought World War I, over 65,000 were West Virginians with the
> combat forces. Over one thousand (1,039) men from Berkeley County
> participated in World War I. Of these, forty-one were killed and
> twenty-one were wounded in battle. Eighty-eight of the soldiers were
> black. A monument to those who fell in battle was erected in 1925.
> **See <http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/wvvetmem.html>**
>
> **1920** - Women in the United States of America received the right to
> vote.
>
> **World War II (1941-1945) -** In World War II , there were over 16
> million men and women in the American armed forces, some 200,000 of
> them were from West Virginia. During World War II, many citizens of
> Morgan county served in the armed forces and thirty-seven (37) of them
> died during the war. **See
> <http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/wvvetmem.html>**
>
> During World War II, the Newton D. Baker Hospital in Martinsburg
> treated thousands of soldiers wounded in the war. In 1945, this
> military hospital employed over 1,350 civilians. In 1946 it became a
> Veterans Administration (VA) hospital.
>
> **1987 -** WVEP public radio went on the air in Martinsburg.
>
> **1992** - Swearingen Aircraft, Inc. announced it would build two
> plants in the Martinsburg area.

***Excerpts from* - The Early History of West Virginia's Eastern
Panhandle**

[]{#history .anchor}by

Robert Jay Dilger

**Early History and the Native American Indians**

The Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people, were the first known
settlers in present-day West Virginia's eastern panhandle region
(Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties). Remnants of the Mound
Builder's civilization have been found throughout West Virginia, with a
high concentration of artifacts in Moundsville, West Virginia (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, including the eastern panhandle region,
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, West Virginia's eastern panhandle region was
inhabited by the Tuscarora. They eventually migrated northward into New
York and, in 1712, became the sixth nation to be formally admitted into
the Iroquois Confederacy. The eastern panhandle region was also used as
a hunting ground by several other Indian tribes, including the Shawnee
(also known as the Shawanese) who resided near present-day Winchester,
Virginia and Moorefield, West Virginia until 1754 when they migrated
into Ohio. The Mingo, who resided in the Tygart Valley and along the
Ohio River in present-day West Virginia's northern panhandle region, 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, also used the area as a hunting ground.

The Mingo were not actually an Indian tribe, but a multicultural 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 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.

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 residing in present-day
West Virginia 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 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 their 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 the eastern panhandle
region. 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 them. In the summer of 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 British forces, 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 settlers 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 on the frontier. 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
Shawnee and surveying parties traveling within present-day West Virginia
which resulted in the deaths of several surveyors and Indians. Captain
Michael Cresap led efforts to put down the Indian uprising, leading to
what some called "Cresap's War."

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **"Cresap's War"**                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| 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 from the area, |
| led by Daniel Greathouse, an associate of Cresap's, 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 owned by Joshua Baker. The tavern was located on the southern  |
| side of the Ohio River across from the mouth of Yellow Creek, which   |
| enters the Ohio River several miles above present-day Wheeling. After |
| getting the Indians drunk, the settlers killed them as well. Four     |
| more Indians approached the tavern inquiring about the whereabouts of |
| the missing Indians; among them were the brother and pregnant sister  |
| of Logan, the now-famous Mingo Indian Chief. 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 and in the   |
| neighborhood of Redstone Creek, where the settlers who committed the  |
| killings originated. Logan later admitted to killing at least         |
| thirteen settlers that summer. He was convinced that Michael Cresap   |
| was responsible for his brother's murder and the killing and          |
| mutilation of his sister, but it was later determined that Cresap was |
| not responsible.                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| 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,     |
| decided to end the Indian uprising by force. He formed two armies. He |
| led the first army, which was comprised of 1,700 men drawn primarily  |
| from the upper Shenandoah Valley, including present-day West          |
| Virginia's eastern panhandle region. 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, who were 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's army took a more southerly route. Aware of their presence,    |
| the Indians -- approximately 1,200 Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo,          |
| Wyandotte and Cayuga warriors -- decided to attack Lewis's army on    |
| October 10, 1774. They hoped to defeat Colonel Lewis's 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. During the battle, both sides suffered significant losses.  |
| Although nearly half of Lewis's commissioned officers were killed     |
| during the battle, including his brother, Colonel Charles Lewis, and  |
| seventy-five of his non-commissioned officers, the Indians were       |
| forced to retreat back to their settlements in Ohio's Scioto Valley,  |
| with Lewis's men in pursuit. Meanwhile, Lord Dunmore arrived and      |
| joined forces with Lewis. Seeing that they were 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. They also agreed to stop harassing boats on the Ohio River. 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.

During the American Revolutionary War (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 soldiers manning the fort were killed in the three-day assault.
The Indians then left the area, celebrating their victory. For the
remainder of the war, smaller raiding parties of Mingo, Shawnee, and
other Indian tribes terrorized settlers throughout present-day northern
and eastern West Virginia. As a result, European settlement throughout
present-day West Virginia, including the eastern panhandle, 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. As the number of settlers in
present-day West Virginia began to grow, both the Mingo and Shawnee
moved further inland, leaving their traditional hunting ground to the
white settlers.

**Highlights of Berkeley County\'s Early History**

Berkeley County was created by an act of the House of Burgesses in
February 1772 from the northern third of Frederick County (Virginia). At
the time of the county's formation it also consisted of the areas that
make up the present-day Jefferson and Morgan counties. Most historians
believe that the county was named for Norborne Berkeley, Baron de
Botetourt (1718-1770), Colonial Governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770.
West Virginia's Blue Book, for example, indicates that Berkeley County
was named in his honor. He served as a colonel in England's North
Gloucestershire militia in 1761, and represented that division of the
county in parliament until he was made a peer in 1764. He claimed the
title of Baron Botetourt as the lineal descendant of Sir Maurice de
Berkeley, who died in 1347. Having incurred heavy gambling debts, he
solicited a government appointment, and in July 1768, was made governor
of Virginia. In 1769, he reluctantly dissolved the Virginia General
Assembly after it adopted resolutions opposing parliament's replacement
of requisitions with parliamentary taxes as a means of generating
revenue and a requirement that the colonists send accused criminals to
England for trial. Despite his differences with the General Assembly,
Norborne Berkeley was well-respected by the colonists, especially after
he sent parliament letters encouraging it to repeal the taxes. When
parliament refused to rescind the taxes, Governor Berkeley requested to
be recalled. In appreciation of his efforts on their behalf, the
colonists erected a monument to his memory which currently stands in
Williamsburg, and two counties were later named in his honor, Berkeley
in present-day West Virginia and Botetourt in Virginia. Other historians
claim that Berkeley County may have been named in honor of *Sir William
Berkeley (1610-1677).* He was born near London, graduated from Oxford
University in 1629, and was appointed Governor of Virginia in 1642.He
served as Governor until 1652 and was later reappointed Governor in
1660. He continued to serve as Virginia's Governor until 1677 when he
was called back to England. He died later that year, on July 9, 1677.

**Berkeley County's European Settlers**

In 1670, John Lederer, a German physician and explorer employed by Sir
William Berkeley, colonial governor of Virginia, became the first
European to set foot in present day Berkeley County. John Howard and his
son also passed through present-day Berkeley County a few years later,
and discovered the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac. The next
known explorer to traverse the county was John Van Meter in 1725. He
came across the Potomac River, at what is now known as Shepherdstown,
then he made his way to the South Branch River. When he returned to his
home in New York, Van Meter advised his sons to purchase land in the
area.

In 1726, Morgan Morgan II moved from Delaware and founded the first
permanent English settlement of record in West Virginia on Mill Creek
near the present-day Bunker Hill in Berkeley County. The state of West
Virginia erected a monument in Bunker Hill commemorating the event, and
placed a marker at Morgan's grave, which is located in the area. Morgan
Morgan and his wife, Catherine Garretson, had eight children. His son
later founded present-day Morgantown, West Virginia.

In 1730, John and Isaac Van Meter, two of John Van Meter's sons, secured
a patent for forty thousand acres at the South Branch River, much of it
located in present-day Berkeley County, from Virginia's Colonial
Governor Gooch. The brothers sold the land the following year to Hans
Yost Heydt, also known as Joist Hite. In 1732, Joist Hite and fifteen
families set out from York, Pennsylvania, passed through present-day
Berkeley County, and settled near present-day Winchester, Virginia. In
1774, John Van Meter moved to a site near Moorefield, then part of
Berkeley County, but now in present-day Hardy County. His brother, Isaac
Van Meter, settled further to the west.

**Important Events in Berkeley County during the 1700s**

In 1716, Governor Alexander Spotswood, the colonial governor of
Virginia, organized what he called the Trans-Mountain Order, or the
"Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" in Williamsburg, then Virginia's
capital, to explore the Shenandoah Valley. Thirty men accompanied him on
the journey. All of them were provided a miniature horseshoe with the
inscription "Sic jurat transcudere montes," meaning "Thus he swears to
cross the mountains." They reached the base of the Appalachian Mountains
on the eighth day of their journey and climbed to the top of a high
peak. When they reached the top they drank to King George's health.
Although the expedition did not lead to the area's immediate settlement,
it became part of local folklore and later inspired the annual Golden
Horseshoe Test of West Virginia's history which has been administered in
West Virginia's schools each year since 1931, and is the longest running
program of its kind in any state. The top-scoring students in each
county receive the prestigious Golden Horseshoe award and are inducted
as "knights" and "ladies" of the Golden Horseshoe Society.

In 1748, George Washington surveyed present-day Berkeley County for Lord
Fairfax. He later returned to Bath (Berkeley Springs) several times over
the next several years with his half-brother, Lawrence, who was ill and
hoped that the warm springs might improve his health. The springs, and
their rumored medicinal benefits, attracted numerous Indians as well as
European settlers to the area.

In April 1754, Colonel Joshua Fry and his second-in-command, Lieutenant
Colonel George Washington, led a force of nearly 400 Virginians, many of
them from the eastern panhandle region, toward Fort Duquesne in an
attempt to drive the French from the area. Washington and about forty of
his men reached Great Meadows, in present-day Farmington, Pennsylvania,
in late May 1754 and surprised an encampment of thirty-four French
soldiers. Ten of the French soldiers were killed, one was wounded,
twenty-one were taken prisoner, and one escaped and headed for the main
French garrison at Fort Duquesne. Anticipating a counter-attack,
Washington ordered the construction of a circular palisaded fort which
he named Fort Necessity. Meanwhile, Colonel Fry was killed in a separate
engagement, leaving Washington in command. Over the next several weeks,
the rest of the Virginia command made its way to Fort Necessity. On July
3, 1754, approximately 600 French soldiers, accompanied by about 100
Indians, attacked the Fort. After exchanging gun fire throughout the
day, Washington, realizing that he was outnumbered and surrounded,
agreed to surrender Fort Necessity. The following day he marched out of
the Fort and led his men back toward Virginia. The French then burned
Fort Necessity and returned to Fort Duquesne. Many historians consider
the Battle of Fort Necessity to be the opening battle of the French and
Indian War (1754-1763).

**Important Events in Berkeley County during the 1800s**

Berkeley County was reduced in size twice during the 1800s. On January
8, 1801, Jefferson County was formed out of the county's eastern
section. Then, on February 9, 1820, Morgan County was formed out of the
county's western section.

Berkeley County was of strategic importance to both the North and the
South during the Civil War (1861-1865). The county, and Martinsburg, the
county seat, lay at the northern edge of the Shenandoah Valley, and
Martinsburg was very important because the main line of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad ran through the town. The rail line was of great
importance to both armies. Also, Martinsburg was close to the Union
arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Control over Martinsburg changed hands many
times during the war, especially prior to the Battle of Gettysburg in
July 1863. After Gettysburg, the city remained mostly under Union
control.

Most of Berkeley County's residents were loyal to the South during the
Civil War. There were seven companies of soldiers recruited from the
county: five for the Confederate Army and two for the Union Army. At
least six hundred men from Berkeley County served in either the
Confederate or Union Armies.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  *Berkeley County was the home of **Isabelle "Belle" Boyd**, a famous
  spy for the Confederacy. She was born in Martinsburg on May 9, 1844,
  and lived there until the outbreak of the war. Her espionage career
  began on July, 4, 1861 when a band of drunken Union soldiers broke into
  her Martinsburg home intent on raising the U. S. flag over the house.
  As the soldiers forced their way into the house (one account has a
  soldier pushing Belle's mother), Belle drew a pistol and killed him. A
  board of inquiry exonerated her actions as justifiable homicide, but
  sentries were posted around the house and officers kept close track of
  her activities. She befriended the officers, and at least one of them,
  Captain Daniel Keily, shared with her military secrets. She conveyed
  those secrets to Confederate officers via her slave, Eliza Hopewell,
  who carried the messages in a hollowed-out watch case. She later moved
  to Front Royal, Virginia to live with an aunt. One evening in mid-May,
  1862, General James Shields and his staff conferred in the parlor of
  the local hotel. Belle hid upstairs and overheard Shields mentioning
  that he had been ordered east, a move that would reduce the Union
  Army's strength at Front Royal. Belle reported the news to Colonel
  Turner Ashby, a Confederate scout. He relayed the information to
  General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, commander of the Confederate Army.
  After Jackson took Front Royal on May 23, he penned a note of gratitude
  to Belle, and named her an honorary Captain. Belle was later arrested
  by the Union Army for espionage, spent a month in the Old Capitol
  Prison in Washington, D.C. and was freed in a prisoner exchange. In
  June 1863, she was arrested again for espionage by the Union Army
  during a visit to Martinsburg. She remained in custody until December
  1, 1863 when, suffering from typhoid, she was allowed to travel to
  England to regain her strength. While there, she began a stage career
  and penned her memoirs. After the war, she returned to the United
  States, toured the western states recounting her exploits as a spy
  during the war, and died in 1900 in Evansville, Wisconsin.*

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**West Virginia Becomes a State**

A statewide referendum was held in October 1861 to determine if a state
Constitutional Convention should be held to form a new state. The
referendum passed and a Constitutional Convention was held on November
26, 1861 in Wheeling. When determining the state's boundaries, the
delegates,realizing the importance of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to
West Virginia's economic prospects, included the eastern panhandle in
the state.

After the war, Virginia demanded that Berkeley and Jefferson counties be
returned because they had not been a part of the original annexation
approved by Congress. Many Jefferson and Berkeley county residents also
expressed their desire to remain a part of Virginia. The controversy
finally ended in 1866 after both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
Representatives ruled in favor of West Virginia's claim to the land.

**The Berkeley County Seat**

Martinsburg, Berkeley's county seat, was chartered by an act of the
Virginia General Assembly in October 1788 on the lands of General Adam
Stephen. He commanded 500 troops mustered from Berkeley County during
Lord Dunmore's War in 1774. He subsequently rose to the rank of General
during the American Revolutionary War before being dismissed for
unsoldierly conduct at the Battle of Germantown. He named the town after
his long-time friend, Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin. Martin was the nephew
of England's Lord Fairfax and had started a settlement a few miles to
the north. He had named his settlement Stephen City, in honor of his old
time friend. General Stephen later became Berkeley County's first
sheriff. Because the town did not legally exist at the time of the
county's formation, the village of about 200 people did not have a legal
name, but the area was known as the "Berkeley Court House." The first
county court session was held in Edward Beeson's home on May 19, 1772.

**References**

Aler, F. Vernon. 1888. Aler's History of Martinsburg and Berkeley
County, West Virginia: From The Origin of the Indians\... Hagerstown,
MD: Printed for the author by the Mail Publishing Company.

Doherty, William T. 1972. Berkeley County, U.S.A.: Bicentennial History
of a Virginia and West Virginia County, 1772-1972. Parsons, WV: McClain
Printing Company, 1972.

Evans, Willis F. 1928. History of Berkeley County, West Virginia.
Wheeling, WV: No publisher.

Foote, William Henry. 1850. "Cornstalk, The Shawnee Chief," Southern
Literary Messenger 16 (September): 533-540. Transcribed by Valerie F.
Crook in 1998. Available on-line at:
<http://www.ls.net/~newriver/va/cornstal.htm> .

[]{#Towns .anchor}**Cities & Towns in Berkeley County, West Virginia**

**Martinsburg**

The original town was laid out by General Adam Stephen as an industrial
center along Tuscarora Creek in 1773 and was incorporated in 1778. He
named the town after his long-time friend, Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin.
Martin was the nephew of England's Lord Fairfax. Martinsburg has long
served as the center for culture and commerce in the Eastern Panhandle
of West Virginia. The first county court session was held in Edward
Beeson's home on May 19, 1772. It served as the county seat for all of
what is now Berkeley and Jefferson Counties until 1801, and for Morgan
County until 1820.

In 1843, the B&O Railroad brought new growth and prosperity. At this
time, large warehouses and hotels were erected, as well as new
industrial complexes. Martinsburg\'s location and railroad brought it
much attention during the Civil War. Great losses were suffered during
the war and Martinsburg was slow to recover from both the physical and
emotional scarring of this national tragedy.\
\
By 1880, Berkeley County had 104 manufacturing establishments employing
227 men, one woman and three children. During the 1890s several textile
factories began operations in Martinsburg. Twenty years later, the
number of manufacturing establishments had increased to 150, employing
682 men, 442 women and 57 children.

Martinsburg flourished because of the county\'s efforts to
industrialize, but more importantly, its growth was a direct result of
electricity furnished in 1889 as part of a franchise granted to the
United Edison Manufacturing Company of New York.

During the first six decades of the twentieth century, the Berkeley
County seat at Martinsburg boasted a thriving textile industry. By 1913,
Martinsburg \"was widely known as a splendid manufacturing center\"
where thousands found \"employment and good wages\" in its factories.

In the late 1940\'s, Martinsburg experienced a series of changes in
businesses which served as the commercial foundation for the town. It is
at present in another rebirth, as more and more high-tech industries and
governmental agencies locate here. The railroad still flourishes;
besides freight, it also provides daily commuter rail service to the
Washington Metropolitan area. Much of the city was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places in 1980. As of 2005, the city of
Martinsburg has a population of over 15,000 people.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Martinsburg and the Textile Industry**                              |
|                                                                       |
| West Virginia History                                                 |
|                                                                       |
| [Excerpts]{.underline} from a Journal Article by Jerra Jenrette       |
|                                                                       |
| Volume 52 (1993), pp. 109-126                                         |
|                                                                       |
| <http://www.wvculture.org/history/journal_wvh/wvh52-8.html>           |
|                                                                       |
| During the first six decades of the twentieth century, the Berkeley   |
| County seat at Martinsburg boasted a thriving textile industry. From  |
| the early 1930s until 1953, changes in the industry intensified       |
| animosity between labor and management in the small Eastern Panhandle |
| city. Most of the conflicts in the 1930s mirrored general trends in   |
| the national labor movement and reflected the economic pressures of   |
| the Great Depression. Labor was successful in organizing union locals |
| in several of the city\'s factories during this period. After warding |
| off union efforts for almost two decades, a 1953 strike at the        |
| Perfection Garment Company factory finally culminated in an           |
| International Ladies\' Garment Workers\' Union (ILGWU) victory.       |
|                                                                       |
| Martinsburg, settled in the early eighteenth century, benefited       |
| greatly from the coming of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1844 and  |
| the Martinsburg & Potomac in 1871. These important transportation     |
| connections enabled Martinsburg to develop its industrial interests.  |
| But, between the Civil War and the first decade of the twentieth      |
| century Martinsburg was the only West Virginia municipality which     |
| failed to triple in population. In 1880, Berkeley County had a        |
| population of 17,310 out of a state population of 618,457. The        |
| population of Martinsburg was 6,355, a number which rose to 7,226 in  |
| 1890 and 7,564 in 1900. In 1900, it ranked fifth in urban population, |
| surpassed by Wheeling, Huntington, Charleston and Parkersburg. By     |
| 1910, Martinsburg\'s population had climbed to 10,698. While West     |
| Virginia\'s total population increased to 1,221,119, the greatest     |
| growth was in the coal-mining counties in the southern part of the    |
| state.                                                                |
|                                                                       |
| By 1880, Berkeley County had 104 manufacturing establishments         |
| employing 227 men, one woman and three children. Twenty years later,  |
| the number of manufacturing establishments had increased to 150,      |
| employing 682 men, 442 women and 57 children. Martinsburg flourished  |
| because of the county\'s efforts to industrialize, but more           |
| importantly, its growth was a direct result of electricity furnished  |
| in 1889 as part of a franchise granted to the United Edison           |
| Manufacturing Company of New York.                                    |
|                                                                       |
| During the 1890s several textile factories began operations in        |
| Martinsburg. In 1890, the Martinsburg Board of Trade, predecessor of  |
| the Chamber of Commerce, approached a Philadelphia entrepreneur B. J. |
| Hickman about the possibility of establishing a knitting mill in the  |
| city. Martinsburg community leaders raised seven thousand dollars to  |
| organize the Middlesex Knitting Company because Hickman lacked the    |
| necessary capital. *The Independent*, a local newspaper, reported     |
| thirty-seven Martinsburg residents had donated land on which to       |
| construct a woolen mill in the same year.                             |
|                                                                       |
| In 1891, W. H. Crawford established The Crawford Woolen Company and   |
| employed fifteen workers who produced approximately seven hundred     |
| yards of cloth a week. Crawford, a native of New Rochelle, New York,  |
| also held interests in the Shenandoah Pants Company and the           |
| Martinsburg Worsted and Cassimere Company, also established in the    |
| 1890s. In less than fifteen years, Crawford\'s textile interests      |
| failed primarily because of antiquated machinery and insufficient     |
| capital. During the same period, a number modern electric-powered     |
| mills transformed Martinsburg into an important textile center. Other |
| textile factories established during the first two decades of the     |
| twentieth century also closed. From the financial ruins of Crawford   |
| Woolen and the Worsted and Cassimere Company, other businessmen       |
| established two new companies, Berkeley Woolen and Dunn Woolen.       |
| During the same period, John Poland, Sr. established the Perfection   |
| Garment Company which manufactured textiles.                          |
|                                                                       |
| The Berkeley Woolen Company, which began operations in 1914, and the  |
| Dunn Woolen Company enjoyed several decades of prosperity. Both       |
| companies thrived during World War II, but were unable to compete     |
| with other local textile factories, increased national and            |
| international competition and the introduction of synthetic fibers to |
| the industry in the postwar period. Berkeley Woolen closed in 1949    |
| and Dunn Woolen in 1953, resulting in the loss of approximately one   |
| thousand jobs and a payroll of over one million dollars annually in   |
| the community. Local businessman John Poland, Jr. faulted organized   |
| labor for the decline of Martinsburg\'s textile industry. Wilbur      |
| Johnston, local historian of other Shenandoah Valley mills, in        |
| *Weaving A Common Thread*, convincingly argues that labor and         |
| management both contributed to the decline. In 1905, John Poland,     |
| Sr., Martinsburg community and church leader, established the         |
| Perfection Garment Company, which manufactured textiles until         |
| December 1991. With three hundred dollars borrowed on his life        |
| insurance policy, Poland opened the business in an old building on    |
| North Queen Street. Production began with one treadle sewing machine  |
| operated by a female employee who made ladies\' skirts. Shortly       |
| thereafter, Poland bought two more machines and hired two more women. |
| During the day, he traveled within a two hundred mile radius of       |
| Martinsburg taking orders and selling skirts. In the evenings, he     |
| returned to the old building to cut out material for the next day\'s  |
| production. In 1906, J. E. Thrasher joined Poland in this business    |
| venture and, in a few years, they added a small store where           |
| Martinsburg residents could purchase the skirts.                      |
|                                                                       |
| By 1913, Martinsburg \"was widely known as a splendid manufacturing   |
| center\" where thousands found \"employment and good wages\" in its   |
| factories. Among these were Interwoven Mills, which employed eleven   |
| hundred workers, many of them skilled, and Berkeley Pants Company,    |
| which employed over one hundred.8 Perfection Garment Company          |
| prospered during its first decade of operation and, by 1915, its      |
| annual shipments totaled \$50,137.76. Poland soon discontinued the    |
| manufacture of skirts which had become unpopular and began making     |
| muslin underwear. Ladies\' dresses were added to the company\'s       |
| limited line in 1919, helping to maintain the company\'s revenues,    |
| and by 1923, had become so successful that Poland ceased the          |
| production of underwear.                                              |
|                                                                       |
| On January 30, 1923, the firm\'s success enabled Poland, Thrasher,    |
| May Poland, Duncan McTavish and H. L. Shaull to sign an agreement     |
| incorporating the Perfection Garment Company. Five years later, the   |
| company\'s stockholders voted to increase the corporation\'s          |
| capitalization from one hundred to two hundred fifty thousand dollars |
| by increasing the number of shares from one thousand to twenty five   |
| hundred. By 1930, Perfection\'s shipments totaled more than \$1.5     |
| million.                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| With the stock market crash in October 1929, the country experienced  |
| financial disaster. Perfection Garment Company, which had moved from  |
| North Queen Street to Winchester Avenue, had suffered losses of       |
| \$25,000 by 1931. Despite the company\'s misfortunes, Poland          |
| maintained operations by reducing the number of work hours per week   |
| and continued to provide limited employment to Martinsburg citizens.  |
| Dorothy Beard began working at Perfection during summer vacations     |
| while enrolled at West Virginia University. Upon graduation in 1943,  |
| Beard was hired as bookkeeper for Perfection, a job previously held   |
| by her mother. She recalled that \"a local man was talking to Poland  |
| about his financial problems indicating that he was not sure how he   |
| and his wife would survive the Depression. Poland told him to send    |
| his wife to the plant and he would give her a job.\" According to     |
| Beard, this was a common occurrence in Depression-struck Martinsburg. |
|                                                                       |
| Perfection\'s production improved in 1932. Located in a three-story   |
| brick building, with elevator service to transport goods between      |
| floors, the company employed 440 women and men. Women comprised the   |
| majority of the work force, while men held the management positions   |
| and worked as cloth cutters. With the production of twelve thousand   |
| dresses a day, sold at one dollar each, the company was gradually     |
| recuperating from financial losses of the previous year.              |
|                                                                       |
| John Poland, Sr. established his reputation on the value of family    |
| and endeavored to instill this in the company and its employees. The  |
| company sponsored picnics and Christmas parties for employees, prided |
| itself on its \"family atmosphere\" and frequently employed several   |
| members of the same family.                                           |
|                                                                       |
| When the United States entered World War II, Perfection responded to  |
| the demands of war, allocating 20 percent of its production to        |
| wartime necessities. During the war, Perfection filled three types of |
| government orders. Under the Lend-Lease Program, the company shipped  |
| three hundred thousand seersucker slips to Europe and produced twenty |
| five thousand cotton shirts for the United States Navy. Company       |
| employees sewed material for parachutes and continued the line of     |
| women\'s house dresses, pajamas and work uniforms. During the war,    |
| Perfection employed four office staff and approximately 440 floor     |
| workers.                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| Throughout its eighty-three year history, most of Perfection\'s       |
| workers were women who stayed with the company for long periods of    |
| time. During the 1960s, employers hired two men to sew, but their     |
| stay with the company was brief.. Most of the men were supervisors,   |
| cutters or management. Shortly before the Martinsburg facility closed |
| in 1991, several women had been hired as cutters.                     |
|                                                                       |
| Perfection\'s legacy is a major part of Martinsburg and Berkeley      |
| County\'s industrial heritage. It is one of paternalism, loyalty,     |
| cooperation, adversity and pride in the manufacturing of quality      |
| goods. However, some employees vividly recalled the violence          |
| connected with the 1953 strike. When compared to more violent         |
| incidents in American labor history, such as the shirtwaist strikes   |
| in New York and coal mine strikes in southern West Virginia, the      |
| Perfection strike was minor. But, relative to the population of       |
| Martinsburg and number of employees in the factory, the strike at     |
| Perfection was a dramatic event in the city\'s textile and labor      |
| history.                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| When Perfection closed in 1991 a chapter in the city\'s textile       |
| history had ended. The company\'s founder, J. R. Poland, Sr. had been |
| a banker, lay leader in the Methodist Church, a Mason and an          |
| industrialist. He had also been a member of the Rotary Club, Chamber  |
| of Commerce and the Republican Party and supported several other      |
| organizations. Poland, who started Perfection with his three hundred  |
| dollar investment had earned the title \"Martinsburg\'s Grand Old     |
| Man.\"                                                                |
|                                                                       |
| *\[The journal article goes into a great deal of additional           |
| information about local strikes and conflicts between management and  |
| the unions over the years.\]*                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Hedgesville**

Hedgesville, as a political entity, is older than the State of West
Virginia. In 1836, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act
establishing the town of Hedgesville. It was platted in 1830 from land
owned by Josiah Hedges and Mary Claycomb. These plots came from the Lord
Fairfax and Westenhaver grants. The town grew from a trading village in
the gap of the North Mountain for settlers moving west. The location of
town was made at the site of a natural limestone spring which had been
an Indian meeting place before the white man came into the region.
George Washington, while a young man and a surveyor came into the area
and worshipped at the site of what is now Mt. Zion Episcopal Church.
John Marshall of the founding US Supreme Court had a sister who likewise
attended the church. The Virginia General Assembly passed an act
incorporating the town of Hedgesville in 1854.

The little village was much crossed by invading armies of both the North
and South in the Civil War. A mile east of the village the Battle of
North Mountain was fought that resulted in the capture of 1,500 Union
soldiers who were marched into the south to prisoner of war camps. From
the 1880\'s through the 1920\'s, it was a summer resort town with a
large Victorian hotel, Mt. Clifton, and a smaller Summit House,
providing summer lodging for guests from Washington, D. C. and
Baltimore, MD. The town is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places by the U. S. Department of the Interior as the Hedgesville
Historic District.

Hedges & Hedgesville - <http://www.ecsd.com/~rhhedgz1/HHG10.html>

**Gerrardstown & Bunker Hill**

Gerrardstown is in the Eastern Panhandle and was first settled in 1742
by 14 Baptist families from New Jersey. Initially laid out in 1784, the
town was officially founded in 1787 and named for the Reverend David
Gerrard, who enlarged the town by platting 100 lots of his own property
to be sold to new settlers.  It was the site of the first Baptist church
west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

A few miles southwest of Martinsburg, the village of Gerrardstown still
retains some of its early 18th-century atmosphere. It still contains
many of the original historic buildings from its founding including the
Hays -- Gerrard stone house that was built in 1743. Bunker Hill has two
original church buildings damaged during the Civil War that still stand
today and many Civil War conflicts took place there. Two miles west of
Bunker Hill is the Morgan Cabin that was built around 1731-1734 and was
once the home of Morgan Morgan, the first white settler of West
Virginia.

**Inwood**

June 17, 1890 - Inwood Park was incorporated in West Virginia. The
purpose was to establish a park to be used for industrial and
agricultural expositions near Inwood Station, with its main office in
Martinsburg.

Today, Inwood is a town located in Berkeley County, West Virginia. As of
2000, the town had a total population of almost 3000 people.

[]{#Sites .anchor}**Historical Sites and Points of Interest in Berkeley
County**

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ***Excerpts from* - A Historical Tour Of Berkeley County, West        |
| Virginia\                                                             |
| **                                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| ***By Florence Hite***                                                |
|                                                                       |
| A touch of history surrounds all of the beautiful rustic countryside  |
| of Berkeley County located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. |
| In 1832 Josiah Hedges laid out the rural town of Hedgesville and if   |
| we traveled to Martinsburg from Morgan County on Route 9 we would     |
| first pass this quaint town that has log buildings built from 1832 to |
| the Civil War. Also located on Route 9 is the Mt. Zion Episcopal      |
| Church, a meetinghouse originally called the Hedges Chapel that was   |
| built in 1818.                                                        |
|                                                                       |
| In Martinsburg as we begin our historical tour there we can only      |
| start out at the General Adam Stephen House now open as a public      |
| museum located at 309 East John Street. Founder Adam Stephen came to  |
| America in 1748 practicing as a doctor in the beginning of the French |
| Indian War and followed through continuous military service as a      |
| colonel. Purchasing land near the Tuscarora Creek, he built his       |
| residence, a mill, distillery and gun factory in the 1770's and       |
| petitioned to have the town named after Thomas Bryan Martin, his      |
| friend and a nephew to Lord Fairfax.                                  |
|                                                                       |
| The town of Martinsburg came to be and every year a Founders Day      |
| celebration takes place at the Stephen House with reenactments,       |
| blacksmithing demonstrations and horse drawn carriages. Close by is   |
| the Triple Brick Museum at 313 East John Street that was built in     |
| 1874 that includes exhibits of early surveying equipment, wood        |
| spinning wheels and railroad items.                                   |
|                                                                       |
| Built in the eighteenth century, the Berkeley County Court House at   |
| 100 West King Street was used as a prison during the Civil War for    |
| Confederate spy Belle Boyd and still has some of the original pressed |
| tin ceilings, lighting fixtures, iron vaults and hardware.            |
|                                                                       |
| The Civil War museum the Belle Boyd House built in 1853 that holds    |
| artifacts from Berkeley and Jefferson County and archives for the     |
| tri-county area from the time of settlement can be found at 126 East  |
| Race Street in Martinsburg. It was Belle's childhood home until 1858  |
| and is the only known house that is still standing that she had lived |
| in.                                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| The Belle Boyd House is also the place to find a garden with one      |
| hundred and forty five varieties of roses, an herb garden with        |
| several hundred varieties and you can sit in the garden gazebo and    |
| view this spectacular foliage. "The site of the house that Belle had  |
| shot and killed a Union soldier can be found at the 500 block of      |
| South Queen Street and is identified by a historic marker" says Don   |
| Wood, the curator. An annual Belle Boyd's Birthday Celebration is     |
| held each year with a full weekend of Civil War activities.           |
|                                                                       |
| The oldest known house in Berkeley County is the Snodgrass Tavern who |
| was visited in the past by George Washington. The houses first log    |
| section was built in 1742 and is now privately owned and is located   |
| near the northeast side of the bridge that crosses Back Creek on      |
| Route 9.                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| One of the oldest brick buildings in downtown Martinsburg is the      |
| Boarman House, the home of the Boarman Arts Center on 208 South Queen |
| Street. Built in 1832 it was the home of Rear Admiral Charles Boarman |
| who served in the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The historic         |
| Boydville Inn at 601 South Queen Street that was built in 1812, now   |
| houses a bed and breakfast inn. This mansion was spared from being    |
| torched during the Civil War by direct order of President Lincoln.    |
|                                                                       |
| Constructed in 1842 is the B & O Roundhouse and Station Complex       |
| located at 229 East Martin Street and during the Civil War all but    |
| the stationhouse was destroyed by Stonewall Jackson's troops and the  |
| roundhouse was rebuilt in 1866. "This is the last great cathedral to  |
| the age of steam." Says Jim Surkamp, historian and producer of        |
| programs on commercially supported cable television. It has been said |
| that this is a very active place for a ghost tour. "The first time it |
| was ever used they thought the Railroad would be important during the |
| war so they fought over it and as a consequence a lot of lives were   |
| lost in the wake of that fighting." Said Susan Crites, author and     |
| "The Ghost Lady". "There are many spirits and people from the workers |
| to the commuters have ghostly encounters."                            |
|                                                                       |
| The Green Hill Cemetery Historic District can be found east of the    |
| South Water Street District and is considered to be a museum of stone |
| carvers art. Thirty known Confederate soldiers, Captain Alburtis and  |
| Porte Crayon Civil War author and artist are buried there. Hack       |
| Wilson, the holder of one of the most unbeatable National League home |
| run hitting records in history set in 1932, is buried at the Rose     |
| Dale Cemetery located at 917 Cemetery Road. In the 1920's, Wilson was |
| on a local Martinsburg team known as the Blues. The cemetery has been |
| there since 1929.                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| Situated around six miles north of the center of Martinsburg at the   |
| intersection of Spring Mills Road and Route 11 the first Civil War    |
| battle took place in the Shenandoah Valley. A monument at the         |
| Edgewood Manor that sits along Route 11 on the edge of Bunker Hill    |
| can be found, a marble pillar with cannon balls on top of it that is  |
| dedicated to General Pettigrew who died there after being carried     |
| into the manor.                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| Gerrardstown and Bunker Hill are also located in Berkeley County with |
| Gerrardstown keeping its eighteenth century charm and having many of  |
| the original historic buildings from its founding in 1784 including   |
| the Hays -- Gerrard stone house that was built in 1743. Bunker Hill   |
| has two original church buildings damaged during the Civil War that   |
| still stand today and many Civil War conflicts took place there.      |
|                                                                       |
| Two miles west of Bunker Hill on Route 26 is the Morgan Cabin that    |
| was built in 1731-34 and was once the home of Morgan Morgan the first |
| white settler of West Virginia. This cabin was rebuilt with part of   |
| the original cabin in 1976 and is open for public viewing.            |
|                                                                       |
| Berkeley County is also part of the George Washington Heritage Trail, |
| the one hundred and twelve mile driving tour that spirals its way     |
| through the Eastern Panhandle. Young George Washington surveyed many  |
| of these areas.                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| <http://www.wamonline.com/summer2002/berkeleycounty.htm>              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Belle Boyd House**\
*(East Race and Spring Streets, Martinsburg)* Home of the famous
Confederate Civil War spy, *Belle Boyd.* The Belle Boyd House is part of
the National Civil War Discovery Trail.
<http://www.bchs.org/civilwar.html>

**Gerrardstown Historic District**

The village of Gerrardstown, initially laid out in 1784, was the site of
the first Baptist Church west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Many of the
original buildings remain, including the Hays-Gerrard house, located on
Route 51 and Old Dominion Road.

**Hays-Gerrard House**

Built in 1743, this small stone house is one of the oldest in the
county. The house features a trap door leading to an \"Indian closet\"
on the second floor, where the family could hide from attackers.

**Hedgesville Historic District**

Laid out in 1832, Hedgesville retains many of its original log homes.
Members of the Hedges family, for which the town is named, are buried in
the Mt. Zion Episcopal Church graveyard. The Presbyterian Church, also
in the historic district, is an example of the Carpenter Gothic style,
and dates to 1893.

**Jones Mill Historic District**\
The 1757 Swearingen House, along with the mill channel and small bridge,
are located in this Historic District. This is reputed to be the site of
the first mill within what is now West Virginia.

**Mill Creek Historic District and Bunker Hill Mill**

The gristmill contains 19th and 20th centuries milling equipment, still
in operating condition. Three of the town\'s original church buildings
stand here today. On Rt. 26, 0.8 miles east of Rt. 11. The picturesque
Bunker Hill Mill, constructed in 1738 and rebuilt in 1890, is the only
mill in the state featuring dual water wheels.

**Morgan Cabin**

Colonel Morgan Morgan, the first white settler in West Virginia, built
this cabin between 1731and 1734. The cabin was restored as a
Bicentennial project in 1976, using many of its original logs.

**Snodgrass Tavern, Hedgesville Historic District**

Portions of this log house date to the 1740s, making the Snodgrass
Tavern one of the oldest buildings in the state. During its operation as
a tavern, many famous people, including George Washington and Henry
Clay, visited here. (Privately owned.) On Rt. 9, 1.4 miles west of
Hedgesville.

**Swan Pond Historic District**\
Lord Fairfax, proprietor of Virginia\'s Northern Neck, held 2000 acres
here for his own use. Several farm houses built throughout the years
remain here. The house, built in 1810 by Doctor E. O. Williams,
overlooks the Swan Ponds. This District has 2,500 acres of land.

**Vanmetre Ford Bridge**

This stately triple-arch limestone bridge, built in 1832, is the oldest
operational bridge in West Virginia, and is of the same design as the
Burnside Bridge, which crosses Antietam Creek near the Battlefield
Memorial. The Vanmetre Ford Bridge was named for John Vanmetre, who
acquired a King\'s Patent in 1734 for 800 acres at this location.

**Dam No. 4 Hydroelectric Plant**\
A picturesque drive to the hydroelectric plant provides a spectacular
view of the falls over the Potomac River Dam. This stone electric plant,
built in 1909, has the only known rope turbine electric generator plant
in the world.

**The John-David-Jacob Rees House**\
This house is significant for its historical association with the Rees
family, an early Quaker family in Berkeley County. It is also
significant for being a collection of American architectural history
representing three different periods and three different types of
construction, consisting of three sections, built at different times
using log (1761), stone (1791), and brick (1885).

**\"Morgan Acres\" - William G. Morgan House**\
This house was built in 1849 by William G. Morgan, who was a great
grandson of Morgan Morgan. Near the present house is the site of Col.
Morgan Morgan\'s first crude building and the site of the log home of
his son, Morgan Morgan II, who was associated with the Morgan Chapel.
Traditionally, Mrs. Morgan designed this long floor plan so she could
see in the parlor mirrors her servants at work in the kitchen.

**\"Golden Meadows\" - David Morgan House**\
One of the oldest cabins in Berkeley County is the present kitchen
section of the house. The house was built circa 1745 by Col. Morgan and
sons for his son, David Morgan. David became famous as an Indian
fighter, and along with Jacob Prickett and others, built Prickett\'s
Fort.

**Fort Evans, Fort Neally, & Fort Hedges**

Early defeats in the French and Indian War led Virginia Governor
Dinwiddie to construct forts in present West Virginia as defensive
positions from attack. These forts became a boundary that approximate
the eastern border of West Virginia.

-   *Fort Evans* was a small stockade fort built 2 miles south of
    Martinsburg in Berkeley County in 1755. In1756 it was attacked by
    Native American Indians. The men were absent but Polly Evans, whose
    husband John Evans had built the fort, led the women in its defense.

-   *Fort Neally* was a small stockade on Opequon River in Berkeley
    County. It was the scene of an Indian attack and massacre on
    September 17, 1756.

-   *Fort Hedges* was a small stockade on the west side of Back Creek,
    near Hedgesville, on the road leading from Martinsburg to Berkeley
    Springs.

**The Apollo Civic Theatre**

During the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries Martinsburg
there were a number of motion picture houses and show places including
the Strand and Central Opera House. The Central Opera House had been a
fire show place, but by 1910 it had deteriorated badly and was in need
of replacement. At about the time that the Central Opera House was being
torn down, Edgar Thorn, the son of Harry Peter Thorn and Mary Elizabeth
(Livers) Thorn, died suddenly and most tragically. Because this brought
such sorrow to Mr. Thorn, his wife, Mary urged him to get involved with
a project that would occupy his time and his mind. The project that he
chose was the replacement of the old Central Opera House.**\
\
**The building of the Apollo theatre started when Mr. Thorn took title
to the property on March 9, 1912. The building was on the corner of East
Martin and Spring Streets. The theatre was finished in 1913. The
building was designed with a small stage and orchestra pit to be used
for live performances. Later, when Mrs. Mary Thorn purchased the land
behind the theatre in 1920, the orchestra pit was enlarged. With its
expanded facilities, the Apollo increased its live theatre productions.
The theatre also increased its social and business uses. During these
early years traveling Vaudeville shows regularly played the Apollo with
the normal array of comics, show girls, and cowboys. The Apollo was the
social and cultural center for the area.

The management of the theatre changed hands many times. Throughout the
years there have been many live performers who have come into town to
introduce their new movies or act in a show. Will Rogers was one of the
notables who came to the Apollo to open his new movie \"State Fair\".
Many cowboys, including Tex Ritter came to town to entertain the
audience before their pictures were shown. Also, classical musicians
have been to the Apollo, including the Great Rubinoff.

Besides changing management many times, the name of the theatre has also
changed. The community theatre organization was started in 1936 under
the name of \"Martinsburg Little Theatre\". Just before World War II,
the Little Theatre was incorporated and the name changed to the \"Town
Cinema\" and then it was changed to the \"Berkeley County Civic
Theatre\" and stayed that way until 1987.

## ***The organization was not very active until a group of the original members reactivated it in 1971. This group purchased the Thorn Building in 1975 and has since been involved in an extensive renovation program. In 1979, the theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1989, the theatre was renamed the \"Apollo Civic Theatre\" and the name has stuck since.***  ***The theatre has not always had great luck with business. The theatre is a non-profit organization. This means the theatre does not make any money from the shows and other activities that go on at the theatre. The theatre has been in trouble a few times and the community has always pulled through to keep their theatre going.***  ***Today, the theatre is still very active. There are five major live performances produced by the theatre every year plus all of the other shows that rent the theatre for their use including motion pictures, country singers, children\'s theatre, the Miss Berkeley County Program, and the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival. See <http://www.apollo-theatre.org/apollo3.html>*** 

# Hoke\'s Run, Falling Waters, West Virginia

On July 2, Maj. Gen. Robert Patterson\'s division of union soldiers
crossed the Potomac River near Williamsport and marched on the main road
to Martinsburg. Near Hoke\'s Run, Abercrombie\'s and Thomas\'s brigades
encountered regiments of T.J. Jackson\'s brigade, driving them back
slowly. Jackson\'s orders were to delay the Federal advance only, which
he did, withdrawing before Patterson\'s larger force. On July 3,
Patterson occupied Martinsburg but made no further aggressive moves
until July 15, when he marched to Bunker Hill. Instead of moving on
Winchester, however, Patterson turned east to Charles Town and then
withdrew to Harpers Ferry. This retrograde movement took pressure off
Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley and allowed Johnston\'s army
to march to support Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard at Manassas.
Patterson\'s inactivity contributed to the Union defeat at First
Manassas.

<http://www.americancivilwar.com/statepic/wv/wv002.html>

[]{#Churches .anchor}**Berkeley County Churches**

*When settlers first began moving into western Virginia around 1730, the
Anglican Church, or Church of England, was the established church of the
colony of Virginia. All residents were required to pay taxes for the
support of the church. However, as settlers began to move into the
Shenandoah Valley and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia they were
promised that they could set up their own churches and worship as they
pleased. This was necessary because most of these settlers were
dissenters, or people who did not agree with the beliefs and practices
of the Church of England. These new settlers were Presbyterians,
Lutherans, German Reformed, Quakers, Mennonites, as well as Anglicans.
There were very few Methodists, Baptists, or Catholics amongst these
early settlers.*

*It is believed that the first church established in West Virginia
around 1719 was Presbyterian and was located in the Shepherdstown area.
The first Quaker congregation in West Virginia was the Hopewell Church
founded in 1734 on the Opequon Creek. The first Lutheran Church in West
Virginia was organized around 1765 in Shepherdstown. The first Anglican
Church in West Virginia was founded in 1740 at Mill Creek, a branch of
the Opequon. The first Baptist Church in West Virginia was formed around
1743 at Mill Creek.*

**Tomahawk Presbyterian Church -** The church was known in its early
history as \"Back Creek Church.\" It is believed that Scotch-Irish
immigrants traveled from Pennsylvania and settled in Back Creek Valley.
The early congregation started around 1745.

A meeting house was constructed and was known as \"Mr. Vance\'s Meeting
House.\" In October 1770, a call was extended to Mr. Hugh Vance to serve
as pastor. The church was strong and well known in the western part of
Berkeley County. However, by 1825, the church was almost at the point of
extinction. Some historians surmise that a decline in church membership
occurred when men left the area to fight for our Country\'s independence
during the Revolutionary War, followed by a period when frontier
settlements were frequently harassed by Indians.

Around 1826, the Rev. James Brown, with six church members, supervised
the erection of the present stone building, which replaced the decaying
log structure. From 1846 until 1859, the Rev. James Jennings was pastor
and the church was known as \"Stone Church, Back Creek.\" Once again, as
war ravaged the nation, the church declined in membership as men joined
either the Union or Confederate forces. For almost thirty years there
was no regular pastor and the church once again became almost extinct.

In 1891, the Rev. S. M. Engle became pastor and with eight longtime
members the church grew to sixty-one and continued to reach one hundred
eleven in 1920. The Rev. Engle left in 1895 and the following pastors
served until 1920: Rev. Edward Leyburn, Rev. John Leps, Rev. John
McBryde, Rev. Richard Lancaster and Rev. B.H. Franklin.

On April 16,1896, the church was renamed the Tomahawk Presbyterian
Church. The church is located in the community then known as Tomahawk
Springs. The name came from the limestone basin of a spring, a natural
curiosity in the shape of a tomahawk, which is located a quarter of a
mile northwest of the community. See
<http://www.angelfire.com/home/tomahawkpc/history.htm>

**St. Joseph -** In 1825 St. John parish (later known as St. Joseph),
Martinsburg, was established with Rev. John B. Gildea as the first
pastor. Property for the church in Martinsburg was bought in 1802. The
church appears to have been completed under Rev. Richard V. Whelan about
1836 when he transferred his residence from Harpers Ferry to
Martinsburg.

**Mill Creek Baptist Church** - The church was first organized by early
settlers around 1743. Reverend John Gerrard was the first pastor of the
Mill Creek Baptist Church. He is known as the first Baptist Minister
west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

**Morgan\'s Chapel -** The first Episcopal Church in West Virginia. It
was founded in 1740 by Colonel Morgan Morgan, an early immigrant from
Wales, who established his home in Berkeley county. The present
structure, built in 1851, is still used as a place of worship.

**Tuscarora Church -** Tuscarora Presbyterian Church was established
around 1745 by Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The Reverend Hugh Vance was
their first pastor and is buried there. During Indian days, worshipers
hung their guns on pegs in the walls while they sang and prayed.

**Mt. Zion Episcopal Church** - This church in Hedgesville was built in
1818 as a meetinghouse and was originally called the Hedges Chapel.
George Washington, while a young man and a surveyor, came into the area
and worshipped at the church. John Marshall, of the founding US Supreme
Court, had a sister who likewise attended the Mt. Zion Episcopal Church.

**Women in West Virginia**

**Interesting Events Related to Women in Berkeley County, West
Virginia**

**1756** - Polly Evans led the defense of Fort Evans when it was
attacked by Native American Indians. See
<http://www.winchesterstar.com/TheWinchesterStar/040128/Area_Vpike.asp>

Prior to the **Civil War**, private academies for girls were established
throughout the state. Students were charged a fee to attend thereby
limiting enrollment to wealthier families. However, the academies were a
source of education for girls, a privilege previously restricted to
boys.

**1863** - Isabelle "Belle" Boyd, a famous spy for the Confederacy, was
arrested in Martinsburg by the Union Army.

**1868** - The West Virginia Legislature passed the first Married
Women\'s Property Act allowing married women to own property under
certain circumstances. However, married women were not permitted to
transfer or sell property without the written approval of their
husbands.

**1868** - Mrs. Francis Pierpont of Fairmont originated the holiday of
Decoration Day, which later became Memorial Day.

**1885** - By a vote of 33 to 30, the West Virginia House of Delegates
defeated a bill which would have made West Virginia University a
coeducational institution for men and women. The state Senate rejected a
similar bill. The faculty voted to admit women to the university in
1889. In 1891, Harriet Lyon became the first female graduate.

**1891** - The West Virginia Legislature passed an act protecting the
earnings of a married women from her husband.

**1901** - The West Virginia Legislature passed an act requiring men to
provide for the support of their wives and children.

**1908** - The first official Mother\'s Day service was held in St.
Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, Taylor County, through the efforts
of Anna Jarvis. In 1914, President Wilson made Mother\'s Day a national
holiday.

**1911** - The West Virginia Legislature passed an act outlawing the
detention of women in houses of prostitution against their will or for
the purpose of paying off a debt.

**1920** - Women in the United States of America received the right to
vote.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Women\'s Suffrage in West Virginia**                                |
|                                                                       |
| Women did not obtain the right to vote in West Virginia or nationally |
| until 1920. The original constitution of Virginia allowed only white  |
| men who owned property to vote. The property qualification was        |
| dropped in the revised 1850 constitution. When West Virginia joined   |
| the Union in 1863, its constitution provided for the same voting      |
| privileges as Virginia\'s. With the adoption of the Fifteenth         |
| Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1870, black men were granted    |
| the right to vote, although local laws often prevented them from      |
| actually voting.                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| The national women\'s suffrage movement is usually traced back to     |
| 1848. Historians date West Virginia\'s suffrage movement to 1895 and  |
| the formation of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association in      |
| Grafton. The West Virginia association combined nine smaller clubs    |
| into a statewide organization. Suffragists pressured the West         |
| Virginia Legislature into taking the issue of women\'s right to vote  |
| to the people. The state\'s male electorate decisively rejected a     |
| proposed amendment to the state constitution in November 1916.        |
|                                                                       |
| After World War I, women nationwide pushed for a suffrage amendment   |
| to the U.S. Constitution. The 19th Amendment was sent to the states   |
| for consideration. In February 1920, the West Virginia Legislature    |
| met in special session. Lawmakers were lobbied heavily by the         |
| state\'s suffragists, led by Marion County native [Lenna Lowe         |
| Yost](http://www.wvculture.org/history/yost.html), a past president   |
| of the state W.C.T.U. The House of Delegates first passed the         |
| amendment. Then, on March 10, by a vote of 15 to 14, the state\'s     |
| Senate made West Virginia the 34th of the 36 states needed to ratify  |
| the amendment. The 19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920 and     |
| women cast their first votes in national elections that November. See |
| <http://www.wvculture.org/history/suffrage.html>                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**1951** - Democrat Elizabeth Kee of Bluefield was elected to complete
the unexpired term of her husband, U.S. Representative John Kee,
becoming the first woman in the state\'s history to serve in Congress.

**1956** - In the November 6 election, voters approved jury service for
women. West Virginia was the last state in the U.S. to allow women to
serve.

<http://www.wvculture.org/history/womhome.html>

**Historical Figures**

[]{#profiles-1 .anchor}*Most historians believe that the county was
named for Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1718-1770), Colonial
Governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770. Norborne Berkeley was well
respected by the colonists. He was referred to as the \"good governor of
Virginia.\" Other historians claim that the county may have been named
in honor of Sir William Berkeley (1610-1677). He was appointed Governor
of Virginia in 1642. He served as Governor until 1652 and was later
reappointed Governor in 1660. He continued to serve as Virginia\'s
Governor until 1677 when he was called back to England. Advocates of
Norborne Berkeley note that the other Governor Berkeley (William) was
known by some as the \"Tyrannical Governor of Virginia\" because he
ordered the hanging of Nathaniel Bacon\'s followers for resisting his
authority.*

**Profile of Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt**

Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1718-1770), was Colonial Governor
of Virginia from 1768 to 1770. Norborne Berkeley was well respected by
the colonists. He was referred to as the \"good governor of Virginia.\"
He served as a colonel in England's North Gloucestershire militia in
1761, and represented that division of the county in parliament until he
was made a peer in 1764. He claimed the title of Baron Botetourt as the
lineal descendant of Sir Maurice de Berkeley, who died in 1347. Having
incurred heavy gambling debts, he solicited a government appointment,
and in July 1768, was made governor of Virginia. In 1769, he reluctantly
dissolved the Virginia General Assembly after it adopted resolutions
opposing parliament's replacement of requisitions with parliamentary
taxes as a means of generating revenue and a requirement that the
colonists send accused criminals to England for trial. Despite his
differences with the General Assembly, Norborne Berkeley was
well-respected by the colonists, especially after he sent parliament
letters encouraging it to repeal the taxes. When parliament refused to
rescind the taxes, Governor Berkeley requested to be recalled. In
appreciation of his efforts on their behalf, the colonists erected a
monument to his memory which currently stands in Williamsburg, and two
counties were later named in his honor, Berkeley in present-day West
Virginia and Botetourt in Virginia.

**Profile Of Sir William Berkeley**

Sir William Berkeley dominated Virginia as few of its governors,
colonial or modern. Fifth among seven children born, William Berkeley
was born in 1605. His father, Sir Maurice, came of the Somerset
Berkeleys. William went to grammar school before enrolling at Oxford,
where he took degrees from St. Edmund Hall and Merton College. Then he
read law for a time at the Middle Temple before spending time touring
the European continent.

Service in the First and Second Bishops\' Wars (1639-1640) won Berkeley
a knighthood even as it disillusioned him about the wisdom of the
king\'s policies that provoked the Scots to rebellion and edged his
fellow Englishmen nearer the brink of civil. About the time of the
execution of Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of Strafford, Berkeley concluded
that his time at court was drawing to an end, so he turned elsewhere for
preferment. He used his relations and friends to engineer his purchase
of the office of governor of Virginia from the incumbent, and in August
1641 King Charles commissioned him to succeed Sir Francis Wyatt.

Berkeley landed at Jamestown in 1642 and set about joining the ranks of
the colony\'s planter elite. He shipped a contingent of servants with
him while his office entitled him to readily available leaseholds of
sizeable proportions, but he began accumulating land of his own.
Foremost among the latter was a tract lying some five miles west of
Jamestown. Known as Green Spring, Berkeley acquired the property in 1643
as the site of his private residence. From its origins, Green Spring
House was more to him than just a country retreat. He used the acreage
to conduct numerous agricultural trials as he searched for substitutes
for tobacco and markets for them. Those experiments yielded swift
returns. Within five years Berkeley was exporting rice, spirits, fruits,
silk, flax, and potash through an extensive network of English, Dutch,
West Indian, and colonial merchants.

He married in 1650, however the identity of his wife cannot be
determined. A letter among the Ferrar Family papers at Cambridge
University, reveals the making of the union. Berkeley immersed himself
in real estate development and the Indian trade, endeavors that led to
an interest in developing Jamestown and discovering land beyond the
western borders of Virginia frontiers. Charles I ordered him to build
Jamestown into a thriving city, which he attempted but with only modest
results. He achieved more success by encouraging Edward Bland to scout
what is now western North Carolina, and he himself explored the
Albemarle Sound region.

Berkeley deepened his devotion to the colony, and he became its chief
promoter. Berkeley inherited a troubled colony in troubled times, and as
he quickly realized, he was largely on his own. His survival depended
upon his ability to navigate between rival factions of Virginians while
carrying out the king\'s commands. Sizing up colonial politics, Berkeley
determined to win leading planters by making common cause with them. For
that purpose, he opposed reviving the Virginia Company and he staunchly
avowed Virginia\'s loyalty to the Stuarts after Charles I perished on
the block. Likewise, he put on a bold show when the Cromwellians came
into power. His willingness to share power enabled the General Assembly
to grow into a miniature Parliament.

His friends at court lost their influence with the king as age or shifts
in politics took them off. Their departure left him few defenders in
Whitehall by the 1670s. Charles II and his younger advisers owed him
nothing, and they thought of him as something of a nuisance, if at all.
Nevertheless they chose not to remove him.

Always a haughty man, Berkeley became more peevish as he aged and the
burdens of government bore heavier upon him. Poor health dulled his
faculties, making him rely upon a diminishing circle of intimates,
especially his second wife, Frances Culpeper Stephens Berkeley, whom he
wed in 1670.

In May 1677, he sailed across the ocean back to England for the last
time. Sick, and weakened by the crossing, Berkeley landed in London six
weeks later. Gone were his allies at court. The old governor had but one
desire, which was to clear his reputation with the king. There was no
opportunity. He died on 9 July 1677 and was buried at Twickenham four
days later.

For thirty-five years he occupied center stage in Anglo-Virginia
politics, and he stamped an indelible impression on the colony.
<http://www.uno.edu/~history/berkeleypapers.htm>

**Morgan Morgan (1688-1766)** - He was born in Glamorganshire, Wales, on
November 1, 1688. He was educated in London during King William III\'s
reign. He came to Delaware in 1707 where he lived for 20 years. He met
and married Catherine Garretson there in 1713. He is thought to have
moved to Virginia in 1726, eventually blazing the first trail into what
is today Berkley county. In 1731, he established the first settlement in
present West Virginia near Bunker Hill. As an Ordained Church of England
clergyman and is credited with building the first church in the county
in 1740. He was also the first Licensed Tavern Keeper. He had eight
children with his wife Catherine Garretson who are notable in their own
right. Col. Morgan died on November 17, 1766, in Berkeley county.

**General Adam Stephen, 1718-1791** - He commanded 500 troops mustered
from Berkeley County during Lord Dunmore's War in 1774. He subsequently
rose to the rank of General during the American Revolutionary War before
being dismissed for unsoldierly conduct at the Battle of Germantown.
Martinsburg, Berkeley's county seat, was chartered by an act of the
Virginia General Assembly in October 1788 on the lands of General Adam
Stephen. He named the town of Martinsburg after his long-time friend,
Colonel Thomas Bryan Martin. General Stephen later became Berkeley
County's first sheriff.

**William Darke, 1755-1801** - Captain Darke, who lived near Duffields
in present-day Jefferson County. At the age of nineteen he joined the
army and served in the French and Indian War. At the beginning of the
Revolutionary war he was made a captain, and was taken prisoner at the
battle of Germantown. Afterward he was colonel commanding the Hampshire
and Berkeley regiments at the capture of Cornwallis. He was a delegate
to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. He later served as a Colonel
commanding a Virginia regiment in the Northwest Territory.

**Bethuel Middleton Kitchen, 1812-1895** - He was born in Ganotown,
Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia), on March 21, 1812. He was
a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1861 and 1862. He served
in the West Virginia State Senate in 1864 and 1865. He presented
credentials as a Member-elect to the 38^th^ Congress but was not
permitted to qualify because the votes cast included those from Berkeley
County, which was not mentioned in the act of Congress admitting West
Virginia, and hence the assent of Congress had not yet been given.
Legally, Berkeley county was still a part of Virginia. He was elected as
a Republican to the 40^th^ Congress (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1869). He
later became the president of the Agricultural and Mechanical
Association of Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties from 1869-1875;
was master of the West Virginia State Grange from 1873-1879; was a
member of the West Virginia State Senate in 1878 and 1879; and President
of the County Court of Berkeley County, WV, from 1880-1895. He died in
Shanghai, Berkeley County, WV, on December 15, 1895 and is interred in
the Presbyterian churchyard.

**Faulkner, Charles James**, 1806-1884 - Born in Martinsburg, Virginia
(now West Virginia), July 6, 1806. He graduated from Georgetown
University, Washington, D.C., in 1822 where he studied law. He was
admitted to the bar in 1829. He was a member of the Virginia house of
delegates from 1829-1834 and from 1848-1849. He served as a member of
the Virginia state senate from 1838 to 1842, when he resigned. He was
elected from Virginia as a Whig to the 32^nd^ and 33^rd^ Congress and
later as a Democrat to the 34^th^ and 35^th^ Congress (1851-1859). He
was appointed United States Minister to France by President Buchanan in
1859. He returned to the United States in August 1861 and was detained
as a prisoner of state on charges of negotiating arms sales for the
Confederacy while in Paris. He was released in December 1861 and
negotiated his own exchange for Alfred Ely, a congressman from New York
who had been taken prisoner by the Confederates at Bull Run. During the
Civil War, he entered the Confederate Army and was assistant adjutant
general on the staff of Gen. Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson. Many years
after the Civil War, he was elected as a Democrat from West Virginia to
the 44^th^ U.S. Congress. In 1877 he resumed the practice of law. He
died on the family estate, "Boydville," near Martinsburg, WV, on
November 1, 1884, and is interned in the family lot on the estate.

**\"Belle\" Boyd\" (1843-1900)** - Berkeley County was the home of
**Isabelle "Belle" Boyd**, a famous spy for the Confederacy. She was
born in Martinsburg on May 9, 1844, and lived there until the outbreak
of the war. Her father, Ben Boyd, was a store merchant and grocer who
joined the Virginia calvary during the Civil War.

Her espionage career began on July, 4, 1861 when a band of drunken Union
soldiers broke into her Martinsburg home intent on raising the U. S.
flag over the house. As the soldiers forced their way into the house
(one account has a soldier pushing Belle's mother), Belle drew a pistol
and killed him. A board of inquiry exonerated her actions as justifiable
homicide, but sentries were posted around the house and officers kept
close track of her activities. She befriended the officers, and at least
one of them, Captain Daniel Keily, shared military secrets with her. She
conveyed those secrets to Confederate officers via her slave, Eliza
Hopewell, who carried the messages in a hollowed-out watch case. She
later moved to Front Royal, Virginia to live with an aunt. One evening
in mid-May, 1862, General James Shields and his staff conferred in the
parlor of the local hotel. Belle hid upstairs and overheard Shields
mentioning that he had been ordered east, a move that would reduce the
Union Army's strength at Front Royal. Belle reported the news to Colonel
Turner Ashby, a Confederate scout. He relayed the information to General
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, commander of the Confederate Army. After
Jackson took Front Royal on May 23, he penned a note of gratitude to
Belle, and named her an honorary Captain.

Belle was later arrested by the Union Army for espionage, spent a month
in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. and was freed in a
prisoner exchange. In June 1863, she was arrested again for espionage by
the Union Army during a visit to Martinsburg. She remained in custody
until December 1, 1863 when, suffering from typhoid, she was allowed to
travel to England to regain her strength. While there, she began a stage
career and penned her memoirs. After the war, she returned to the United
States, toured the western states recounting her exploits as a spy
during the war. She died in 1900 in Wisconsin and is buried there.

**Newton Diehl Baker (1871-1937)** - He was born in Martinsburg, West
Virginia, in 1871. Baker attended the village schools in Martinsburg and
later attended John Hopkins University. He then finished the normal two
year course in the School of Law at Washington and Lee University
graduating in June 1894. He practiced law in Martinsburg for a while,
then went to Washington as secretary to William L. Wilson, Postmaster
General in President Cleveland\'s second administration. In 1897, Baker
returned to legal practice in Martinsburg, but soon moved to Cleveland
to join a law firm there.

He entering legal practice in Cleveland in 1892. In 1902 Baker married
Elizabeth Leopold of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Baker, a reformist
Democratic, was elected mayor of Cleveland from 1912, a position he held
until 1916 when, in early March, he accepted Wilson\'s invitation to
become his Secretary of War. It was Baker who, in 1917, appointed
\'Black Jack\' Pershing as Commander in Chief of the American
Expeditionary Force (AEF). He gave Pershing consistent backing in the
former\'s desire to maintain U.S. independence of frontline command.
Following the armistice Baker travelled to Paris as a member of the U.S.
delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 in Versailles.  Along
with Wilson he helped engineer the creation of the League of Nations.

Baker returned to his legal practice in 1920.  Eight years later he
joined the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague.  A year later,
in 1929, Herbert Hoover appointed Baker to the Law Enforcement
Commission. Often mentioned as a Democratic nominee for the Presidency,
he had strong support as a dark horse candidate in 1932. In retirement
Baker wrote *Why We Went To War* (1936).  He died the following year on
Christmas Day 1937 at the age of 66. The U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Martinsburg bears his name.

**Capt. Hugh Stephenson (1735-1776) -** He organized a volunteer company
in Shepherdstown that has been heralded as the first unit of the United
States Army. It departed from \"Morgan\'s Spring,\" about one-half mile
south of the town limits on July 16, 1775. This famous \"Beeline March\"
to Boston covered 600 miles in twenty-four days.

**[Appendix A]{.underline}**

**National Register of Historic Places**

> []{#register .anchor}Below is a listing of some of the historic
> locations in Berkeley county.

-   Abell-Kilbourn House, listed 11-21-1994\
    *   1018 Winchester Ave., Martinsburg*

-   Apollo Theatre, listed 10-11-1979\
    *   128 E. Martin St., Martinsburg*

-   Ar-Qua Springs, listed 12-12-1976\
       *   CR 37, Arden vicinity*

-   Aspen Hall (Edward Beeson House), listed 12-10-1980\
       *   405 Boyd Ave. (end), Martinsburg*

-   Baldwin-Grantham House \"Locust Grove\", listed 11-21-1994\
    *   CR 18, east of Shanghai*

-   Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and Related Industries Historic District,
    listed 12-10-1980\
       *   Roughly bounded by B&O RR from south side of Burke St.
    underpass to north side of B&O and PA RR, Martinsburg*

-   William Boggs Farm, listed 3-7-2001\
    *   SR 7, Hedgesville vicinity*

-   Boomtown Historic District, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Roughly bounded along Winchester Ave. to Arden Rd., W. King St.
    to Red Hill Rd., and W. Stephen, W. Addition and Raleigh Sts.,
    Martinsburg*

-   Boydville, listed 10-15-1970   \
    *   601 S. Queen St., Martinsburg*

-   Boydville Historic District, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Roughly bounded by W. Stephen, S. Spring and St. Queen Sts.,
    including Boydville grounds, Martinsburg*

-   Thomas Brown House, listed 1-16-1986\
    *   CR 30, Inwood vicinity*

-   Bunker Hill Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Jct. US 11 and Rt. 26, Bunker Hill*

-   James Nathanial Burwell House (Yellow House Farm), listed 5-16-1991
      \
    *   east of US 11, north of WV state line, Ridgeway vicinity*

-   Campbellton, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   CR 1, Gerrardstown vicinity*

-   Continental Clay Brick Plant, listed 12-10-1920   \
    *   Rt. 9, SE of Martinsburg*

-   Cool Spring Farm, listed 11-21-1994\
    *   Runnymeade Rd. (CR 26), south of Gerrardstown*

-   Samuel Cunningham House \"Pleasant View,\" listed 12-12-1976   \
    *   Rt 9, 1.5 mi. NW of WV 1 and 9 intersection, Hedgesville
    vicinity*

-   Darkesville Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   U.S. 11 at Middle Creek, Darkesville (south of Martinsburg)*

-   Charles Downs II House, listed 5-17-1991\
    *   WV Secondary Rt. 1, W of US 11, Marlowe vicinity*

-   Downtown Martinsburg Historic District, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Roughly bounded by W. Race, Water, Stephen and Charles Sts.,
    Martinsburg*

-   John Drinker House, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Sam Mason Rd., Bunker Hill*

-   East Martinsburg Historic District, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Roughly bouned by B&O railroad right-of-way, N. Queen St., Moler
    Ave., and High St., Martinsburg*

-   \"Edgewood,\" John Boyd House, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Rt. 11, 0.3 miles south of Rt. 25 and 11 intersection, Bunker
    Hill*

-   Faraway Farm (Daniel Ropp House), listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Rt. 8, Martinsburg vicinity*

-   Federal Aviation Administration Records Center, (Old Courthouse and
    Post Office), listed 9-10-1974\
    *   300 W. King St., Martinsburg*

-   Teter Myers French House, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Jcts. Rt. 1 and 3, Hedgesville vicinity*

-   Gerrardstown Historic District, listed 8-5-1991   \
    *   Roughly, along WV 51 and Virginia Line Rd., Gerrardstown*

-   Washington Gold House, \"Mountain View,\" listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   S. of Gerrardstown on CR 51 and 2*

-   Green Hill Cemetery Historic District, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   486 E. Burke St., Martinsburg*

-   Harlan Spring Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   On Rt1 at Rt 1 and 8 intersection, Harlan Spring, Hedgesville*

-   Harmony Cemetery, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Rt 1/1, Marlowe vicinity*

-   Hays-Pitzer House, listed 11-21-1994\
    *   Middle Creek Rd. (WV 45), north of Inwood*

-   Hays-Gerrard House, listed 9-16-1975\
    *   Congress St., Gerrardstown*

-   Decatur Hedges House, listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   WV 9, Hedgesville Vicinity*

-   Owen Tudor Hedges House (Fairstone; Cedar Grove), listed 11-21-1994
      \
    *   0.3 miles north of Rt 8 at CR 8/1 intersection, Hedgesville
    vicinity*

-   Samuel Hedges House, listed 12-12-1976\
    *   CR 9/10, Mountain Road, Hedgesville vicinity*

-   Hedges-Leman House \"Fort Hedges,\" listed 5-2-1991   \
    *   CR 4, 0.7 miles north of junction with WV 9, Hedgesville
    vicinity*

-   Hedges-Robinson-Myers House, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Rt. 3, Hedgesville vicinity*

-   Hedgesville Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Roughly bounded by N. and S. Mary St., and E. and W. Main St.
    (on Rt. 9), Hedgesville*

-   Hughes-Cunningham House, listed 7-8-1985   \
    *   On Rt. 1, 2.2 miles north of Rt. 9 (Harlan Springs Rd),
    Hedgesville vicinity*

-   Jones Mill Run Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   WV 5 at intersections with WV 5 and 7, Hardscrabble (Martinsburg
    vicinity)*

-   Kearfoot-Bane House, listed 7-8-1985   \
    *   SR 36/1, Baker Heights*

-   Elizabeth Kunkel House, listed 5-17-1991\
    *   W side of US 11, 2.4 miles north of Martinsburg*

-   Lick Run Plantation (The Old Mill), listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   On WV 5, 1.2 miles east of US 11, Bedington vicinity*

-   Maidstone Manor Farm (William Leigh House), listed 12-10-1984   \
    *   CR 1/4, Hedgesville*

-   Gilbert and Samuel McKown House, \"Marshy Dell,\" listed 1-12-1984
      \
    *   WV 51, Gerrardstown*

-   Mill Creek Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Runs along Mill Creek extending both east and west of Bunker
    Hill (Rt. 26)*

-   Morgan Chapel and Graveyard, listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   North side of Secondary Rt. 26, o.2 miles of junction with U.S.
    11, Bunker Hill*

-   William G. Morgan House, \"Morgan Acres,\" listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   On secondary Rt. 24, south of junction with Secondary Rt. 26,
    Bunker Hill*

-   Morgan-Gold House, listed 7-8-1985\
    *   Bunker Hill*

-   Mount Zion Baptist Church, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Opequon Lane at intersection of CR 9/17 and 9/19, Martinsburg
    vicinity*

-   George W.F. Mulliss House, listed 5-2-1991\
    *   West side of US 11, 1 mile south of Martinsburg*

-   Myers House, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Union Corner at end of CR 37/1, Martinsburg*

-   Opequon Golf Club (Stonebridge Golf Club), listed 4-28-1995\
    *   Golf Club Road, east of Opequon Creek, Martinsburg*

-   Park\'s Gap Bridge, listed 11-4-1994\
    *   Rt. 6 over Back Creek, Martinsburg*

-   Lane Bridge, listed 12-1-94\
    *   CR 7/2, Tomahawk Spring*

-   Power Plant and Dam No. 4, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   On Potomac River north of CR 5 at Scrabble, Shepherdstown
    vicinity*

-   Power Plant and Dam No. 5, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   On Potomac River west of Marlowe*

-   Rauch House, listed 11-4-1994   \
    *   Off WV 9, south of Martinsburg*

-   Red Bud Hollow, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Union Corner, Martinsburg vicinity*

-   John, David and Jacob Rees House (Le Ferre Farm), listed 1-12-1984
      \
    *   Off US 11, Bunker Hill*

-   Ridge Road Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Rt 30, 1.2 mi south of Rts. 15/30 intersection, Nollville
    vicinity*

-   Rush-Miller House, listed 7-8-1985   \
    *   On WV 45, Smoketown vicinity*

-   Henry J. Seibert II House, listed 7-8-1985\
    *   Off WV 45, Martinsburg*

-   Smoketown School, listed 12-1-1994   \
    *   Co. Rt. 45/4, east of Martinsburg, Blairton vicinity*

-   Snodgrass Tavern, listed 4-24-1973   \
    *   West of Hedgesville on WV 3*

-   South Water Street Historic District, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Roughly bounded by E. John, Water and Burke St., and B&O RR,
    Martinsburg*

-   Adam Stephen House, listed 10-15-1970   \
    *   309 E. John St., Martinsburg*

-   Stone House Mansion, listed 11-21-1994\
    *   Off WV 9, southeast of Martinsburg, Spa Run vicinity*

-   Strayer-Couchman House, listed 11-21-1994\
    *   Warm Springs Road, east of Martinsburg, Winebrenners Crossroads
    vicinity*

-   Stuckey House, listed 5-17-1991\
    *   CR 7/8, along Wilson Ridge, Jones Spring vicinity*

-   Swan Pond (Dr. Edward O. Williams), listed 7-29-1977\
    *   CR 5/3, Martinsburg vicinity*

-   Swan Pond Manor Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   0.4 miles east of Rts 45/2 and 5/3 intersection, Martinsburg
    vicinity*

-   Edward Tabb House (Rural Hill), listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   On CR 4 south of junction with WV 9*

-   Thunder Hill Farm (Daniel-Grantham), listed 11-21-1994\
    *   CR 30, north of Inwood*

-   Tomahawk Spring, listed 12-01-1994\
    *   CR 7/2, Tomahawk*

-   Tuscarora Creek Historic District, listed 12-10-1980   \
    *   Roughly bounded by N. Tennessee Ave., south on Old Mill Rd. to
    Rt. 15*

-   Union Bryarly\'s Mill, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Darkesville*

-   Van Metre Ford Stone Bridge, lsited 8-22-1977   \
    *   East of Martinsburg across Opequon Creek on SR 36*

-   Jacob VanDoren House \"Allen Dale,\" listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   1 mile SW of Jct. of CR 45/3 and CR 40*

-   Nathan VanMetre House, listed 11-4-1994\
    *   Dry Run Rd. (CR 13), north of Martinsburg*

-   Watkins Ferry Toll House, listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Rt. 11, Martinsburg*

-   White Bush (Archibald Sheerer House), listed 12-10-1980\
    *   Rts. 11/3, Falling Waters*

-   Mary Park Wilson House, \"Oban Hall,\" listed 7-8-1985   \
    *   SR 51/2, Gerrardstown*

-   William Wilson House (Prospect Hill), listed 1-12-1984   \
    *   WV 51, 0.6 miles west of Gerrardstown*

<http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvberkel/history.html>

\*\*\* Visit the Berkeley County Historical Society -
[www.bchs.org](http://www.bchs.org/)

**Berkeley County**

[]{#Highway .anchor}**Historical Highway Markers**

**Marker ID:** EG-33

**Title:** Morgan Cabin

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.20#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Originally built 1731-34 as second home of Morgan
Morgan-first white settler in West Virginia. Rebuilt with some of
original logs in 1976 as a State and County Bicentennial project. It was
here during the Revolution that James Morgan, the grandson of Col.
Morgan Morgan, was shot and killed by a group of Tories. Since then,
this area has been known as Torytown.

**Location:** On WV 26 2.2 miles west of US 11 on east side of
Runneymead Road

**Marker ID:** EG-34

**Title:** \"Morgan Acres\"

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.19#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Two miles west is the site of the first house in
present West Virginia. It was built by Col. Morgan Morgan who came from
Delaware in 1726. It was destroyed and the one now there was built in
1800 by another Morgan.

**Location:** In Morgan Park, US 11 at Bunker Hill

**Marker ID:** EG-35

**Title:** Morgan\'s Chapel

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.18#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** The first Episcopal Church in West Virginia. It was
fostered, 1740, by Colonel Morgan Morgan, an early immigrant from Wales,
who established his home here. The present structure, built in 1851, is
still used as a place of worship.

**Location:** US 11 and secondary road 26 in Bunker Hill

**Marker ID:** EG-36

**Title:** Morgan Morgan

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.17#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Morgan Morgan, a native of Wales, established his home
at Bunker Hill before 1732, and was leader in the Eastern Panhandle\'s
early development. His sons gave name to Morgantown, and fought in
Indian and Revolutionary wars.

**Location:** In Morgan Park, US 11 at Bunker Hill

**Marker ID:** EG-37

**Title:** Darkesville

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.16#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Named for Gen. William Darke, veteran of the Revolution
and the Indian wars. He saved the remnants of St. Clair\'s army from
massacre in 1791 when badly defeated by the Miami Indians. His son,
Capt. Joseph Darke, lost his life.

**Location:** US 11 at Darkesville

**Marker ID:** EG-38

**Title:** Gerrardstown

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.15#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Established as a town, 1787. Named for John Gerrard,
first pastor of Mill Creek Baptist Church, which was organized by early
settlers about 1743. The congregation reorganized after Indian
hostilities during the French and Indian War.

**Location:** WV 51 at Gerrardstown west of intersection with US 51/5

**Marker ID:** EG-39

**Title:** Gerard House

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.14#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Built by John Hays, 1743. Became home of Reverend David
Gerard, who founded Gerrardstown in 1787. His father was Reverend John
Gerard, the first Baptist Minister west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

**Location:** Secondary road 51/2 about 0.1 mile south of intersection
with US 51 in Gerrardstown

**Marker ID:** EG-40

**Title:** Fort Evans

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.13#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Fort Evans, built here, 1755, was attacked by Indians,
1756. The men were absent but Polly Evans, whose husband, John, had
built the fort, led the women in its defense. The Big Spring here was
noted camping ground of both armies, 1861-1865.

**Location:** US 11, south of Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-41

**Title:** Veterans Administration Center

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.12#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Established as the Newton D. Baker General Hospital, U.
S. Army. Named for Newton D. Baker, native of Martinsburg and Secretary
of War, World War I. Opened for patients in 1944. It became Veterans
Administration Center in 1946.

**Location:** WV 9, 4.5 miles south of Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-42

**Title:** Van Metre Ford Bridge

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.11#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Named for the property owners this stone bridge built
in 1832 across Opequon Creek was major improvement for travellers on
Warm Springs Road connecting Alexandria and Bath, Va., site of famous
mineral waters. The Berkeley County Court established a commission to
study and contract for construction of bridge. Silas Harry erected at
local expense 165 foot bridge at reported cost of \$3,700.

**Location:** Needy Road (CR 36) at southeast end of bridge, two miles
east of Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-43

**Title:** Swan Pond Manor

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.10#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** 1.5 miles north is Swan Pond Manor, a 2,000 acre
retreat set aside in 1745 for use of Thomas Lord Fairfax, once the
proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia who established an estate at
Greenway Court, Frederick County in 1738. So named because wild swans
inhabited site. Conveyed in 1775 to John Lewis and in 1801 to Dr. Edward
O. Williams who built present manor house circa 1810.

**Location:** WV 45 and Secondary Road 45/2, four miles east of
Martinsburg (MISSING)

**Marker ID:** EG-44

**Title:** Tuscarora Church

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.9#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Tuscarora Presbyterian Church, which was built before
1745 by Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. Rev. Hugh Vance, first pastor, is
buried here. During Indian days, worshipers hung their guns on pegs in
the walls while they sang and prayed.

**Location:** Tuscarora Pike at entrance to church, about 0.5 miles west
of I-81 Exit 13

**Marker ID:** EG-45A/B

**Title:** Railroad Strike of 1877 / Roundhouse and Shops

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.8#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** On July 16, 1877, workers of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad went on strike and closed this railroad yard to protest a cut
in wages. Their action sparked the largest nationwide strike the country
had seen. Extensive damage was done to company property at Pittsburgh,
Baltimore and Wheeling, and over 50 workers were killed before the
strike was crushed. Federal troops were used for the first time in a
labor dispute. As the country\'s first general strike, it focused
national attention on labor\'s grievances and made workers aware of the
power of collective action.

The B&O Railroad reached Martinsburg in 1842, and by 1849, a roundhouse
and shops were built. These first buildings were burned by Confederate
troops in 1862. The present west roundhouse and the two shops were built
in 1866. The east roundhouse was built in 1872. These buildings
represent one of the last remaining examples of American industrial
railroad architecture still intact and in use. These structures serve as
important reminders of the status of the railroad in the mid-19th
century and the role it played in the economic development of
Martinsburg, the county, and the state.

**Location:** End of East Martin Street and Roundhouse Drive at Caperton
Station in Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-46

**Title:** Gen. Adam Stephen

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.7#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Here was home of General Adam Stephen, founder of
Martinsburg and county\'s first sheriff. Was famous as fighter in French
and Indian Wars, and as major-general in the American Revolutionary War.

**Location:** 309 East John Street, Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-47A\*

**Title:** Martinsburg

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.1#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Founded, 1778, by Gen. Adam Stephen. Named for Thomas
Martin, nephew of Lord Fairfax. Home of Admirals Charles Boarman and C.
K. Stribling. Locomotives seized here, 1861, in Jackson\'s raid were
drawn by horses to Winchester, Va.

**Location:** Intersection of North Queen Street and Eagle Schoolhouse
Road, Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-48

**Title:** Boydville

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.5#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Built, 1812, by Elisha Boyd, general in the War of
1812, on land bought from Gen. Adam Stephen. Mansion noted for its fine
workmanship. Home of his son-in-law, Charles J. Faulkner, Minister to
France, and his grandson, U.S. Senator Faulkner.

**Location:** 600 block of South Queen Street, Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-49

**Title:** Fort Neally

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.4#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** During the French and Indian War, Fort Neally was
captured and its garrison massacred, Sept. 17, 1756. Many settlers in
the vicinity also were killed. Among captives was Isabella Stockton,
later wife of Col. William McCleery, Morgantown.

**Location:** US 11, two miles north of Martinsburg

**Marker ID:** EG-50

**Title:** West Virginia (Berkeley County)/Maryland

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.3#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** \"The Mountain State\"\--western part of the
Commonwealth of Virginia until June 20, 1863. Settled by the Germans and
Scotch-Irish. It became a line of defense between the English and French
during the French and Indian War, 1754-1763.

Named for Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I, who gave a royal
charter to Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, 1632. First settled at
Saint Mary\'s City in 1634. It is one of the thirteen original colonies.

**Location:** US 11 at West Virginia/Maryland border

**Marker ID:** EG-52

**Title:** Hedgesville

**County:**
[Berkeley](http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=7gkg2i.3.2#h2%23h2)

**Inscription:** Site of stockade fort built during the early Indian
wars. Mt. Zion Episcopal Church was built soon after. A mile west is the
tavern, built, 1740-1750, by Robert Snodgrass on land patented in 1732
by William Snodgrass, pioneer settler.

**Location:** WV 9 in Hedgesville

[]{#References .anchor}**References**

**Berkeley County:**

Aler, F. Vernon. 1888. Aler's History of Martinsburg and Berkeley
County, West Virginia: From The Origin of the Indians\... Hagerstown,
MD: Printed for the author by the Mail Publishing Company.

Doherty, William T. 1972. Berkeley County, U.S.A.: Bicentennial History
of a Virginia and West Virginia County, 1772-1972. Parsons, WV: McClain
Printing Company, 1972.

Evans, Willis F. 1928. History of Berkeley County, West Virginia.
Wheeling, WV: No publisher.

Foote, William Henry. 1850. "Cornstalk, The Shawnee Chief," Southern
Literary Messenger 16 (September): 533-540. Transcribed by V. F. Crook
in 1998. <http://www.ls.net/~newriver/va/cornstal.htm> .

Historical Tour of Berkeley County -
<http://www.wamonline.com/summer2002/berkeleycounty.htm>

Berkeley County Commission - <http://www.berkeleycountycomm.org/>

National Register of Historic Places
<http://www.historicdistricts.com/WV/Berkeley/state.html>

Washington Heritage Trail <http://www.onomaa.com/whtweb/history.asp>

The Political Graveyard -
<http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/BE.html#CEM>

The Boydville Inn - <http://www.boydvilleinn.com/history.html>

History of Berkeley County Sheriff\'s Department -
<http://www.berkeleycountycomm.org/law_enforcement.htm>

West Virginia Veterans Memorial
<http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/wvvetmem.html>

West Virginia Memory Project <http://wvmemory.wvculture.org/index.htm>