Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-09-14
LOCAL HISTORY.
Selby Rakes Up the Old Records
About Harpsr's Ferry,
AND GIVES INTERESTING HISTORY.
Early Sett,eme7ts---The Fate ofWar---Hl--
Per's Fery-Beautes Of the Sher-
andOah Valley.
MENTION OF EDITORS AND STATESMEN

| HARFERs 5 FERRY, September lZ.-W hen
Twas overia Chsrlestown last week looked
. little into local history. Next October a
year Char!estown will be one hundred years
old. 1t is one year the junior h Clsrks-
burg, and ss much the senior OF Aoo'efeld.
the countyaeat OF Hardy.
find that nearly ~ he towns IN ths
valley of Virginia were established in the
months of October and November. Thus
! Romney, which was aid OF by Lord Fair.
fax, was established in November l762 ;Shep.
Asrdstown Originally called Mecklenburg)
the same month and year.
Siaunton, in the county Of AUGUSTA was
laid OF by William Beverly aid established
by ac: Of the General assembly November,
l76l. The first settlers were principally
Irish.
Mooreseld was established in October
l777; Martin sburg,. l7TJ-i Frankfort, in
Hampshire county, October 1857. Charles
town was established in October 1886 The
town is built spon land given By Charles
Washington, brother o. Gen. Washington.
Eighty acres were surveyed snG divided in.
10 Jots and streets. The trustees were Col.
Charles Washington, his brother, John
Augustine Warrington, Williar, Drake,
Robert Rutherford James Crane, Cato
Moore. Msgnus Tate, Benjamin Rankin,
thornton Washington William Little,
\ rxa,ier White and Richard Rpnsen.
Gong ilom the uonihward, as the crow
iics. ycu pass through the coun,iC1 OF
Louion. FaUduier and Culpepper, in VIZ
giria Directly south OF Culpepper you
strike Orange county; due cas-, Spo,;syva-
mia, On, hundred ard iitty one years ago,
Orapge was taken fror, SpottSylvanis, and
included all The vast region of country west
OF the bloc Ridge Mountains, until lT3s.
when The Colonial legislature carved out Of
it Frederick and Augusta Npottsylvania
was laid o3in l720.
The smGE rectauguisrshsped remnant
now known Nc Spousylyenis, is all that IS
LETT Of what WAS once frontier county, out
OF which the 1srolinss, Cs orgis, Tennessee,
Kentucky and Ohio have received emf
grants.
Early Settlements.
The descendants OF the English cavaliers.
many OF them rom Maryland settled, gen.
orally, along the rivers, the descendants Of
Irish ancestors Hoinr further inland.
The German and Scotch elements were
thickIy inirspersed The irs5 population OF
Winchester was mixture {" Germans, Irish
aid Scotch with few Eug!:sh Stephen,
burg, in Frederick county, established in
.1jS, was settled almost exclusively by
Germans so was Strasou9g or Stoyers
town Likewise was Woodstock.
Shcpherdstown. got IL bone and sinew
from German mechanics principally its
nrsr settlers. liece WAS JuII, tic nist
steamboat ever constructed. The inventor
WAS James ha,asey Jhr population OF
Charlestown is about two Thousand The
oldest newspaper in the State is printed
there, and edited Sy Mr.. VILLAIN Gailaher.
clever, genis mon who gage me some in
teresting "reminiscences Of OssnHattsmle
Brown. Mr. Gailahrrs paper is the Free
Press. A third newspaper published at
Charestown is The Spirit Of ..eiiersOn hay-
ing many subscribers throughout the
county.
! wanted 20 ind the date OF incorpora-
tion of liarper's Ferry AID Hon Daniel
b Lucas turned to Heniag's Statutes Al
Large bu; the Yolumo was missing Mr.
Lucas, who is q nan 0! letters and fond Of
books told ms that he los, valuable library
during the wa- It struck me that his
library was the best ! had seen, except
Consrcs man Wilson =, Trrhrpr Both are
men Ct t.ste, leaning to love Of books fond
o. m.iory aud he classics
The Fat. 81 war- Harper Perry.
larger Ferry, at the time OF the Brown
rad, had &pwaTds Of three thousand
people. TO day generous census will give
. fourteen hundred Il ~ wreck 0. i,s
iurmer self, so far a. the hanijwork e man
hss gone 10 decay its natural grandeur
ard the arrival rd scenery around about Il
will r. main forever. Il is historic apo,,
this little town. Here was ;he t. 5 Ar
mory located in lf9i, during thu admins
ration Of Washington The water power
was the best in the world. Three hundred
mechanics were employed in the srmory.
six or seven thousand muskets were made
annuaiig besid,s two or three thousand
niles, an immense number Of swords, pis.
tols and other SIDE arms.
Personal.
Here worked L. Willis Wilson remem.
bred as an earnest, industrious young nan
hy his neighbors and colleagues. Sad Nr.
Edward Tierney one Of JchersOns best
ci,i2ens, 81 have Known Willis WIkon sucs
he was boy, all his life may say. and J
always thought him TO be worthy OF ege.y
gcod that could come 10 him-a straight
forward, fearless young man KIND o: heart.
well II -aning and Gudaunted as worker
Few OF this generation thai saw Ifarpers
Ferry in its ssplendid thrift and ndus:ry have
survived 10 witness the sad hsTo2 made ~
the fate OF war. Dr. John y. Starry,
roldenhearted man. now Of Charlestown,
prac,iced and lived here AZ the breaSlng out
Of the war He wss ! think the hrst per.
son who saw John !isogn The morning OF
the raid. Starry is full OF history and
sbouId write. WIKI lis accom- pEshments and
krowledre re he could make. such history Of
Jefferson county as would make the State
largely bis debtor.
An excellent pam phlei, with much Of in
tr-est about the Town, the armo:y snd Tie
Brown rad, has been written br Joseph
barry.
JEFTEEsOS ROTE.
! TOOK my wife up TO Jefferson 6 Rock.
As q child she had played around ABOUT II,
this being her birthplace. Tue view 10 sgcs
as 10 hold you forever. Iooknt down oon
he valley beneath could not but eXcIa:m.
How beautiful are thy camps JACOB.
AID Thy tents, 0 Israel,
CHARLES SE,st-