WV Historical Markers - Let's Find All 700

**EDIT** For pictures of the marker itself, see post #254.

After speaking to a few people about the Dent's Run Covered Bridge, I was able to narrow down the location and made it out on the 16th. While at the marker on Rt. 19 you will actually head north west on Laurel Point-Cassville Road which later turns into Sugar Grove Rd. Don't worry about the names or direction it's the only road by the marker that isn't Rt 19 and it starts at the marker. About 0.6 miles from the marker, you will see a sign on the rigth for the bridge and a small sign for John Fox Road. Turning left onto the road will look like you are pulling in someones driveway as its very close to a house.

GPS: N 39° 37.435 W 080° 02.425










On a side note, if you decide to take Chaplin Road / Co Hwy 19/24 back to the I-79 Star City exit, the pavement is in terrible condition with edge traps and unavoidable (in your own lane) pot holes. Definitely don't take your sport bike through.

Later,
Chrome...

St. Georges Church is located on Smoke Hole Road (CR 2) five miles from junction with US 220. This is an AMAZING road. Turn up hill just before the marker for another great road. This is a repost, see post #133 for more information and pictures of this church.

I was on a group ride, so you can find my bike in the back of the back there.







Later,
Chrome...

That covered bridge is super cool and picturesque.

Pnoman judging from the pictures in your posts this game could be called the Finding hairy places along the side of a narrow road with no shoulder to pull over.:eek1 Luckily a lot of these are in rural lightly traveled areas.

It's too bad they don't have little pull off's at each one of these markers so people can actually pull over to read some history and enjoy the view for a few minutes.

The town of Beverly is located about 8 miles south of Elkins on Rt 219/250/55/92. Population 646. Historic because of it's proximity to Rich Mt Battlefield (see upcoming post).

For a complete history of Beverly (Be sure to also click the "Historic Beverly" link at the top of the page) :

http://www.richmountain.org/beverly.htm





Historical Marker located along Rt 219/250 in downtown area (1 block south of turnoff for Rich Mt Battlefield).





View north along Rt 219/250 through Beverly. (The marker for Rich Mt Battlefield road is barely visible about 100 meters ahead on the left). The rock monument to the right is the City Square.





Better view of the monument.





Plaque on the monument tells about Beverly and Rich Mt.




An information plaque tells more about the City Square.





Directly across the street is the old Blackman-Bosworth Store.




Blackman-Bosworth Store.




The old bank building, located just south of the City Square. I've always admired this building (and, of course, it's contents ) every time I ride by.

OK, I'm going to say it again - I am not a history expert. I want to learn more, and this thread is helping me (and hopefully others) learn more about our past. Now that's out of the way, let's go.

In the early days of the American Civil War, control of main transportation routes was a goal of both sides. Following their hasty retreat from Philippi in June 1861, Confederate troops under the command of Confederate Gen Robert Garnett established a fortified stronghold on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike at the summit of Rich Mt., located about 5 miles west of Beverly. The camp had 1300 men and was under the command of Lt Col John Pegram.

Union Maj. Gen. George McClellan, charged with securing all of the loyal counties in western VA, brought 5000 men to Roaring Creek Flats, about 2 miles west of Camp McClellan.

David Hart, a 22-year-old man, volunteered to lead the Union forces on an attack to the rear of the Confederate stronghold. In the early morning hours of July 11th, Union forces under the command of Brig. Gen. William Rosencrans, made their way through rain, thick forest and steep ridges, where they encountered a small force of about 310 men guarding the summit at the Hart homestead. After a 2-hour battle, Rosencran's forces gained control of the summit. Realizing they were outnumbered, Col. Pegram ordered the withdrawl of Confederate forces that night.

The following morning, July 12th, Rosencran's Union forces entered the abandoned camp. Except for scattered raids, the Confederates were expelled from the region for the remainder of the Civil War.

For a more thorough history of the area, click the following links:

http://www.richmountain.org/


http://www.richmountain.org/battle.htm


http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/wv/wv003.html




CR 37-8 starts in Beverly and goes westbound 5 miles to the summit of Rich Mt. The first 3 miles are paved, the last 2 miles are hard-packed dirt/gravel. I'm not really comfortable on gravel roads, but this one wasn't bad at all. I figure you could even get a Gold-Wing up here if you wanted. Here is the sign marking the entrance to the battlefield.





Historical Marker located at the summit of Rich Mt on CR 37-8. (Side #1)




Same marker (Side #2)




View of marker looking east, heading down the mountain back into Beverly. The Hart House and battlefield are to the right in this photo.






The summit and battlefield. The Historical Marker and Hart House monument are just past the utility pole on the left.





One of the informative signs along the summit.



Information on the Hart House, home of David Hart, who guided the Union troops up the mountain to surprise the Confederates.




Stone monument marking the location of the Hart House.





Close-up of Hart House monument.






Information on Brig Gen Rosencrans, leader of the Union forces' surprise attack.





Information on the stable yard along the summit.



View of the stable yard.


Well, I hope I got every thing correct. If not, you historians out there feel free to PM me and I'll make any necessary corrections. Boy, I feel a whole lot smarter than I did a few hours ago. Hope the feeling lasts a while.

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[from Wikipedia]
Fort Forman (also spelled Furman or Foreman) was a stockade fort erected by Captain William Foreman at the beginning of the French and Indian War situated three miles north of Romney on the South Branch Potomac River near Vance on West Virginia Route 28. Fort Furman was in use from its construction in 1755 until 1764.
Later, from Hampshire County in 1777, William Foreman led a company to the Ohio River for the relief of Fort Henry at Wheeling. Forman’s party fell into an ambuscade by Native Americans at "McMechen Narrows" on the Ohio near Moundsville. Twenty-one of the Virginians were killed at the first fire and several men were badly wounded. This ambuscade is known as "Foreman’s Defeat."

[from HistoricHampshire.org]
In the autumn of 1777, when it became known that the Indian Nations northwest of the Ohio would become the allies of Great Britain, an invasion of their country was planned, this to be commanded by General Edward Hand. A call for troops for this purpose was made on the West Virginia frontiersmen, and Major George Skillern raised two companies in Botetourt county, which, with forty Greenbrier county men under Captain William Renick, repaired to Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kanawha river. At the same time and for the same purpose, Captain William Foreman, of Hampshire County, collected a company of men in the South Branch Valley, and marched to the Ohio, arriving at Fort Henry, now Wheeling, on the 15th of September, fifteen days after the first siege at that place. On Sunday, the 26th ensuing, a great column of smoke was seen down the river and David Shepherd, a County-Lieutenant of Ohio county, believing that the Indians had set fire to the deserted Fort Tomlinson, on the Grave Creek Flats - now Moundsville - dispatched Captain Foreman with forty-five men to that place. No Indians were seen, the fort was intact and the troops spent the night at that place. The next day when returning to Wheeling, the party fell into an ambuscade at "McMechen Narrows," on the Ohio river, now in Marshall county, and twenty-one of the Virginians were killed at the first fire and several badly wounded. The sad event is known in pioneer annals as "Foreman's Defeat", and long was heard the sorrowful story in the homes of the South Branch Valley and among the Hampshire Hills.

btw - had a great fish sandwich at Hillbilly Fish in Springfield, about 3 miles north of here- highly recommend for road food!

I agree. I try not to interfere with traffic. If there's no pulloff and no traffic, I'll try to make a quick photo shoot as long as I can see up and down the road for a ways (and they can see me!!!). If it's a blind spot, I'll pull off down the road. Yeah, it would be nice to have turnoffs at each of these.

Located in the town of Beverly about 6 miles south of Elkins along Rt 219/250.

(Side #1) Rich Mt. - See previous post #285. This marker shows the turnoff and road leading up to the Rich Mt Battlefield.

(Side #2) Crozet - Refers to Claudius Crozet, an educator and engineer who was born in France and immigrated to the US in 1816 at the age of 27. He taught at West Point, and was one of the founders of Virginia Military Institute (VMI). He was the head engineer for the Virginia Board of Public Works, where he designed and planned roads, railroads, bridges and canals throughout the Virginia (and now West Virginia) area.

After reading about Crozet, I was most impressed with his feat of planning and supervising the construction of the railroad tunnel through Afton Mt for the Blue Ridge Railroad in 1839. The tunnel was 4,273 feet long - the longest tunnel in the US at the time. It was done before the invention of dynamite (and Computers & lasers & GPS!) Why is this impressive? Because they started on opposite sides of the mountain and met in the middle - ONLY 6 INCHES OFF CENTER! :eek1

Read more about this interesting man:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius_Crozet


Chenoweth - Refers to Lemuel Chenoweth, a master carpenter and architect who was born, lived, and died in Randolph Co. He was an associate of Crozet. Chenoweth, along with his brother Eli, designed and built over 20 bridges (mostly covered) in the region. His most famous still stands -- the Covered Bridge at Philippi.

Read more about Lemuel Chenoweth:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuel_Chenoweth





Historical Marker (Side #1) located on Rt 219/250 southbound in downtown Beverly.




Historical Marker (Side #2)




View northbound on Rt 219/250 through Beverly. The road to Rich Mt is to the left.





View down the road towards Rich Mt. The location of the old Beverly Covered Bridge (I'll be posting it soon) is straight ahead about 100 meters. Don't look for it in the photo too long, though. It's gone.

Sorry - this is a non-event. The bridge is long gone, so there are no dramatic photos.




Historical Marker located at the corner of Bridge St and Water St, one block west of Rt 219/250 in downtown Beverly.





Lemuel Chenoweth's home, built by the man himself, stands between the sign and the site of the old bridge.




The covered bridge is gone, replaced by a plain old 20th century "appliance".

I guess the town of Beverly is quite proud of Lemuel Chenoweth. His name is on 3 of the 4 Historical Markers in the town. Here's one all to himself.




Historical Marker located along Rt 219/250 on the north half of Beverly.





View of the cemetery.





View southbound on Rt 219/250 heading into Beverly.


In case you missed the link in the earlier post, you can read more about Lemuel Chenoweth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuel_Chenoweth

Located about 12 miles south of Elkins on Rt 219/250 at Dailey.

This is a nice, relaxing ride through this area. Moderate curves, but plenty of nice scenery.



Historical Marker located southbound on Rt 219/250 at Dailey.




View southbound.





Although there were no markings to indicate this is one of the "Homestead homes", it made me wonder since it was next to the sign and could have been built in the '30s. Maybe???




Just about 100 meters north of the sign was this old service station (remember those?). Could have maybe been another "Homestead" project.

Located on Rt 219/250 about 1/2 mile north of Huttonsville.

Bishop Francis Asbury was born in Staffordshire, England of Methodist parents. He became a local preacher at the age of 18, and was ordained at age 22. At the age of 26, he volunteered to come to America, where he traveled extensively. John Wesley named him one of the co-superintendents of the new Methodist Episcopal Church in America, and under his guidance, the church grew from 1,200 members to over 214,000. He traveled through this section of WV (then VA) on his routes.

Trivia - The "Stratosphere Balloon Cave" in Germany Valley was for 150 years referred to as "Asbury Cave" for his visit there in 1781.

For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Asbury






Historical Marker located on southbound lane of Rt 219/250 just north of Huttonsville.






Tygarts Valley Presbyterian Church is located just up the hill from the marker.





Better view of the church and northbound on Rt 219/250.

Located on Rt 250 about 1 mile east of the junction of Rt 219 and Rt 250 in Huttonsville.

This is another non-event. The original church was destroyed by Union soldiers. However, the current Tygart's Valley Presbyterian Church is just north of the Rt 219 Rt 250 junction in Huttonsville (see previous post on Bishop Asbury).

I was rather limited on the photos I could take, as the marker is located along Rt 250 in front of the Huttonsville Correctional Center.




Historical Marker located in front of Huttonsville Correctional Center on Rt 250, about 1 mile east of Rt 250 / Rt 219 junction in Huttonsville.




Looking west on Rt 250 toward Huttonsville.

Thanks again guys for these pictures.

I enjoy them.

Did anyone get a pic of the Mason-Dixon marker near Proctor ?

Just north of New Martinsville?

If I missed it, point me to it.


scfrank

scfrank,

Glad you're enjoying the thread. I haven't seen that marker come through yet. You can check by clicking on the link back in Post #1 for the updated list. It's a couple weeks out of date right now, but I know it hasn't been posted recently.

Well, I'm going to try to get the 25+ markers posted I photo's last weekend. I made a loop through Randolph, Pocahontas, & Webster Counties (plus a few extras along the way coming and going).

Located about 20 miles south of Elkins where Rt 219 and Rt 250 split.

To read more about Col George Porterfield and why he was relieved of command, read this:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=9661229






Historical Marker (Side #1) located on the south end of the Exxon parking lot at the junction of Rt 250 and Rt 219.






Same Marker - Side #2

Huttonsville has a population of 212, and is home to the Huttonsville Correctional Center. Click here to read more: http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-56069.html







View south on Rt 219 out of Huttonsville.





View coming into Huttonsville northbound on Rt 219. Rt 250 turns east just ahead, heading towards VA. Rt 219/250 continues north by turning left, heading towards Elkins.



Informational plaque near the Historical Marker.

Joe Geiger, the head of the WV Dept of History and Archives (they're in charge of the Historical Markers), emailed me and said he would try to arrange a photo with Gov Manchin (he's a rider, too) and everyone who is participating in this project. Could be an interesting opportunity.

We need to come up with a date/time and a backup in case of really bad weather. My suggestion is a Saturday noon photo shoot on the steps of the WV Capitol Building (next to the Historical Marker!) then maybe ride out to lunch somewhere with Gov Manchin. I think most folks can make it to Charleston by noon and back home that evening. Let's tentatively say May 23rd or June 6th or 20th.

To everyone who has contributed (or is planning to contribute soon), please PM me with good dates / "No-Way" dates so we can start planning. (Do the dates above work??) I'm sure the Gov has a pretty busy schedule.

Thanks.

I missed posting this one with my last group, so I'll stick it in here.




Historical Marker (Side #1) entering WV and Preston Co from MD westbound on Rt 50.





View westbound on Rt 50 entering Preston Co / WV from MD.





Historical Marker (Same one, Side #2) heading eastbound on Rt 50 into MD.





View eastbound on Rt 50 entering MD.


Reminder to all who have contributed photos to this thread - please read #297.

Cheat Summit Fort, also known as Fort Milroy:

White Top is a knob and spur of Cheat Mt. in southeastern Randolph Co, WV. Sitting at an elevation of 4,085 feet (1,245 m), it is located just west of the Shavers Fork of Cheat River and Cheat Bridge. While White Top was originally crossed by the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, modern-day US Rt 250 skirts the base of the knob beside Shavers Fork to the north and east.

White Top is perhaps best known as the site of the highest Union camp during the American Civil War. Fort Milroy, also known as Cheat Summit Fort, offered an excellent view of the surrounding area including the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike which crossed about 100 feet (30 m) lower below the fort. In guarding the Turnpike, Fort Milroy helped to guard entrance to the Tygart River valley to the west.

Construction on Fort Milroy (named for Union Brigadier General Robert H. Milray began on 16 July 1861. Due to its high elevation, the Union Army faced a number of winter-related miseries. Snow was first reported for the year on August 13. Horses froze to death in mid-September. These issues, along with some success in driving Confederate forces from the area led to the abandonment of the fort in April 1862.

For more on the Batlle of Cheat Mt:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cheat_Mountain





Historical Marker located on Rt 250 about a mile west of the Randolph CO / Pocahontas Co line.





View westbound coming into Randolph Co on Rt 250.



Reminder to all who have contributed photos to this thread - please read #297.

Located on Rt 250 about 15 miles east of Huttonsville. Great riding to this location!!





Historical Marker (Side #1) located on Rt 250 westbound entering Randolph Co at the Pocahontas Co line.



View westbound on Rt 250 entering Randolph Co.







Same Marker (Side #2) Eastbound on Rt 250 entering Pocahontas Co. This sign sure could use some TLC.





View eastbound on Rt 250 entering Pocahontas Co and the descent off Cheat Mt.


Reminder to all who have contributed photos to this thread - please read #297.