Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1919-01-16
Barbour County History
BY f. ID. Koontz

Barbour County is geographically
located almost in the heart of the
"Little Mountain State" and is bound
ed as follows; north by Harrison,
Taylor and Preston Counties, East by
Preston, Tucker and Randolph, South
by Randolph and Upshur, West by
Upshur and Harrison. Like the
large part of West Va. Barbour
County has a full measure of ro-
nance and history clustering about
its mountain tops, wooded hills, rug
god glens, productive valleys ard no.
BILE streams, from the tiniest brook
let creeping from mountain fast
ness to where its waters roll on to-
ward the Gulf there is legend or a
story lives.
Barbour County was carved by the
hand of history from the sides of the
mammoth counties of Randolph. Har-
rison and Lewis in the year of 1912
and was christened Barbour in hon
or Of James Barbour a former COVER
nor Of the old dominion Of which
Barbour County became part.
The county has an area Of $50 sd.
miles which comprises as great a
variety Of lands as is to be found
within the borders of w. Va. from
rock ribbed and unproductive noun
tain wilds to hills and wales carpeted
with blue grass as beautiful as that
of any kindred state.
The history Of the settlement of
Barbour County dates back to 1704
when a band of adventurous pioneers
pushed their way from the Keystone
State into the borders of W. Va.
journeying by water courses and halt
ing near Philippi where they built
their cabins and establishing homes
This would establish this as being
one of the earliest settlements in w
Va. Some historians place the date
4 of Barbour County's settlement as
1743-yet authentic historians pla g
/ the date as 1904, dozen years be-
fore Alexander Spottswood crossed
the Alieghanies.
Barbour County history teens with
Indian legends dating back to the
| times when the red-men were undis
puted masters of the forests anc
streams of this region each tiny
stream, mountain and vale which
bears name has intertwined there
with, it's little tragedy, the name OF
some early pioneer who braved the
the dangers of the trackless wilds, OF
else the symbols of some past event
These legends will soon disappear with
| the marks of time unless some effort
is made to collect them only few
living now can weave the circum
stances and historical incidents Of tn,
dawn of our history--the story
of our county history family his
tory is becoming so completely los
that many Of the coming generation
will be unable to tell who their great
grand parents were.
But little is known of the early his.
/ tory of the section now embracint
Barbour county, that is the time pre-
vious to the occupation by white mei
/ except that it was part of the great
hunting grounds as many local names
of streams, valleys and mountains in
j "a a
tie or no trace of the mound builders
| IN this county, nor is there anything
to Indicate that the red skins eve
! claimed this region as their perma
nent home, but roamed over it as &
hunting range. The evidence the,
have left behind are the remains Of
old camping places Uttered with the
spauls from finishing arrow point:
and spear-heads, whetrocks, COOKING
| stones, few tomahawks and -othe-
| implements of the war path, the chas,
and wigwam amusement. A larg,
number of tumble-down piles of stoo,
pointed out out as Indian graves al
despoiled and broken open by tn,
hands Of civilized people searching
for valuables and relics. No won
der the Indians were relentless in Dor
der warfare! They were warrins
against a people who violated the yer,
tombs of their dead, and carried a
way even their bones as relics or SOW
venirs.
ARTICLES on Barbour County His
tory to be continued