and 3 female schools, 2 mercantile iapothecary shop. There is one ex-
stores, several mechanic shops, &c. tensive manufacturing flour mill, 3
But the business principally transact- 1 wagon makers, which have acquired
ed in this place is of a commercial
nature. General Morgan of Re-
volutionary memory, resided for a
considerable part of his life in the
some celebrity, 3 tan yards, 2 sad-
dlers, 3 boot and shoe factories, 3
smith shops, 2 tailors, 1 chair maker,
1 cabinet maker, 2 house joiners, 1
immediate vicinity of this village, ibrick maker, and 1 wheat fan manu-
It was the scene of many of those ifactory. Population 350 persons, of
personal and party combats for which
he was so remarkable. This cir-
whom 1 is an attorney, and 3 are
regular physicians. There is a small
cumstance is said to have given risejand beautiful stream passing through
to the name of Battletown — by which 'the E. end of this village, on the
it is now generally known. Its pro- main street, called Happy creek,
per name is Berryville. Population i which is visited by fish when the
about 300 persons; of whom 2 are "
attorneys, and 5 regular physicians.
Brucetqwn, P. O. 157 ms. from
R. and 79 from W., situated 7 ms.
W. of Winchester. It contains about
25 houses, 1 Methodist house of pub-
lic, 2 mercantile stores, 1 tavern, 2
•manufacturing flour mills, 1 tailor, 1
wagon maker, 1 smith shop, and I
boot and shoe factory. Population
75.
Front Royal, P. V. 139 ms.
from R. and 75 W. of W. It is sit-
uated in the extreme southeastern;
angle of the county, 20 ms. S. E. of
Winchester, on the S. side of the
Shenandoah river, a mile from its
Shenandoah is high; and a beauti-
ful range of mountain scenery pre-
sents itself in view of the town. In
the vicinity are three manufacturing
flour mills, turned by the noble She-
nandoah river. About 3^ of a mile
from the W. end of this place, but in
Shenandoah county, is situated Al-
leris Cave, said by some to surpass
Weyer's cave for the extent and su-
blimity of its caverns. (See Allen's
cave, Shenandoah Co.) This cave is
much frequented by parties in the
;summer season. The surrounding
country, viewing it from this village,
is grand and picturesque. There are
many handsome residences and de-
WESTERN VIRGINIA— FREDERICK,
339
lightful seats situated on eminences
in the neighborhood. Among them
is the agreeable mansion of the hos-
pitable and venerable James Mar-
shall, (a brother of the Chief Jus-
tice,) whose residence is situated on
Happy creek, after which it is very
properly named, as those who have
been its guests will be willing to tes-
tify.
Gainsboro', P. O. 159 ms. from
R. and 80 W. of W., situated on the
road leading to Cumberland, 9 ms.
N. W. of Winchester, 1 mile W. of
Hog creek, and \ E. of Back creek.
It contains 30 dwelling houses, 2 mechanics are wagon makers, black-
Manassas' Gap, P. O. 134 ms.
W, of W.C.
Middletown, P. V. 158 ms. from
R. and 84 N. W. of W., situated on
Cedar creek, near the southwestern
border of the county, 13 ms. S. W. of
Winchester. It is a thriving and
healthy village, containing about 55
dwelling houses, 1 Methodist and 1
Episcopalian house of worship, 4
mercantile stores, 2 common schools,
2 hotels, 1 tanyard, 1 saddler, 1 ex-
tensive wheat machine manufactory,
which sells annually 10 or 12 ma-
chines at 8400 each. The other
houses of public worship, ( I Metho
dist and 1 Quaker,) 1 common school,
and 1 house of public entertainment.
There are 2 tan yards, 2 saddlers, 1
boot and shoe maker, 3 smith shops,
1 cabinet maker, 1 house carpenter,
1 tailor, and I cooper. Population
100 persons, of whom 1 is a physi-
cian. In the vicinity is located a
woollen manufactory, and 2 manu-
facturing flour mills.
Howellsville, P. V. 147 ms.
from R. and 94 N. W. by W. of
W., situated immediately on the
banks of the Shenandoah, where
Howells' run empties into that river,
about 7 ms. distant both from Front
Royall and Berry's Ferry. This
little village is rapidly improving. It
contains 6 or 8 dwelling houses, 1
house of public worship, free for all
denominations, 1 miscellaneous store,
smiths, boot and shoe makers, 2 sil-
versmiths and watch makers, 3 tai-
lors, 1 cabinet maker, and 1 chair
and bedstead maker. There is a
flourishing academy situated two and
a half miles distant from this village,
which is under the superintendence
of the Rev. John Lodor. There are
two manufacturing flour mills in the
vicinity. Population about 300 per-
sons, 1 of whom is a physician.
Millwood, P. V. 139 ms. from
R. and 66 N. W. by W. of W., situ-
ated 1 1 ms. S. E. by E. of Winches-
ter. It contains 21 dwelling houses,
3 mercantile stores, 1 Episcopalian
house of public worship, a neat build-
ing lately erected, 1 extensive tan-
nery, 1 boot and shoe factory, 2 tai-
lors, 1 wagon maker, I blacksmith
shop and 2 manufacturing flour mills,
each grinding from 15 to 20,000
2 manufacturing flour mills, 1 wagon bushels of wheat annually. The
maker, I boot and shoe factory, 1 country around is rich and thickly
smith shop, 1 fancy weaver, I house [settled, — the land of superior quality,
carpenter, &c. The bottom lands in 'producing well all the ordinary sta-
this neighborhood are exceedingly j pies. Population 1 12 persons; of
rich, and produce in abundance In- whom 1 is a physician,
dian corn, wheat, rye, oats, &c . Thej Newtown or Stephensburg, P.
mountain lands are productive and V. 158 ms. from R. and 79
well timbered. The Shenandoah is
navigable 150 ms. above this place,
and boats descend the river from this
point at all seasons with 50 barrels of
flour, and when the waters are high
with 150. Population 30
by W. of W. This village is situa-
ted 8 ms. S. of Winchester. It con-
tains 88 dwelling houses, an excellent
market house, and 2 houses of pub-
lic worship, 1 belonging the Metho-
dist denomination, and the other held
340
WESTERN VIRGINIA— FREDERICK
jointly by the Lutherans and German, parous condition, having about 100
Reformed churches, 3 schools, 1 well (members. Population 150 persons:
organized sunday school, 2 mercan-
tile stores, 3 tan yards, and 3 saddlers.
The principal occupations of the vil-
of whom 3 are regular physicians.
White Hall, P. V. 158 ms. from
R. and 79 N. W. of W. This vil-
lage are wagon and wheat machine jlage is situated near the northern line
making. — Great numbers of wagons! of the county, on Apple Pie Ridge
are made, — no less than 9 different
establishments being engaged in this
business, which make and send wa-
gons to almost every part of the
State, which for neatness, strength,
and durability, are said not to be sur-
This ridge is an elevated and exten-
sive ridge of fertile land, which pass-
es under different names, through
the counties of Berkeley and Frede-
rick, in a direction nearly north and
south.
It contains 15 dwelling
passed in the United States. Popu- ! houses, 1 Methodist house of wor-
lation 700 persons; of whom 4 are 'ship, 1 school house, 1 sunday school
regular physicians. and tract society, 2 miscellaneous
Ninevah, P. O.. 145 ms. from R. stores, 2 wagon makers, 1 saddler, 1
and 81 N. W. by W. of W. This
place is situated in the northern part
of the county, and contains 5 dwel-
ling houses, I wagon maker, 1 boot
and shoe maker, 1 blacksmith shop,
and 1 wheat machine manufactory.
Population 30. This post office has
recently been transferred to a country
store, 2 miles distant, at which is lo-
cated a tailor, boot and shoe maker,
and a blacksmith shop. The country
around is of limestone formation, and
is very fertile and thickly settled with
industrious and wealthy farmers.
Pembroke Springs, P. O. 168
ms. from R. and 89 W. of W., situa-
ted 18 ms. W. of Winchester.
Snicker's Ferry, P. O. 156 ms.
from R. and 55 from W.
White Post, P. O. 144 ms. from
R. and 71 N. W. of W. This is a
flourishing little village, situated 12
ms. S. E. of Winchester, in a beau-
tiful and highly picturesque country,
remarkable for the fertility of its soil
and neatness of agriculture. It con-
tains 30 dwelling houses, 1 house of
public worship, free for all denomi-
nations, and which is occupied also
as an academy, 2 mercantile stores, 1
tavern, 1 saddler, 2 tailors, a smith,
and various other mechanics. A
temperance society was organized * Agreeable' to late observations of Capt
here, about 2 years since, called the Graham. _u. S. Topographical Engineer
White Pern, and know in a pros J^^f:,?â„¢ 06 ' P J - C ^1 of the Winches-
tailor, 1 blacksmith, 1 cooper, and 1
boot and shoe fa< - In the vici-
nity, on Green Spring Run, a num-
ber of excellent and extensive flour-
manufacturing, grist and saw mills
are located. The Run is a beautiful
and never failing stream, which takes
its rise within 1 mile of the village,
issuing out of the western side of
Apple Pie Kidge, it runs in a north-
western direction, and falls into Bath
creek The situation of this place
is peasant and healthy. The sur-
rounding country is limestone land of
good quality, and in a high state of
cultivation. The roads irorn Win-
chester to Gerardstown pass through
this village, distant 8 miles S. of the
former, and 6 N. of the latter. The
road from Charlestown, Jefferson,
also passes through to the Bloomery
gap, or Sherrard's Store, distant 15
ms. from the former. Population
70. No physician or attorney reside
in this place.
WINCHESTER, P. T. and Coun-
ty Seat. — Of the large and wealthy
county of Frederick, and one of the
most considerable towns in western
Virginia, is situated in N. lat. 39° 11',
W long, 77° 28';* distance from
WESTERN VIRGINIA— FREDERICK.
341
Washington, 71 ms. ; Richmond, 150 :
Harper's Ferry, 30. This place is
situated in the fertile valley of Vir-
ginia, in the midst of a rich and abun-
dant country, and a thriving and in-
dustrious people. It is one of the
oldest towns in western Virginia.
Beino- somewhat celebrated in the his-
tory of our Indian warfare and revo-
lutionary struggle, a brief review of
its early history will, it is believed,
be interesting, as it is closely connect-
ed with the early actions of that emi-
nent individual, who afterwards be-
came endeared, to his countrymen by
the glorious deeds which gained him
the noble title of Father of his coun-
try. Tradition informs us that the
ground on the edge of the present site
of Winchester was occupied by a large
and powerful tribe of Indians, called
the Shawnees or Shawanees, and
some springs at that point, are called
the Shawnee Springs at this day. The
earliest accounts of the settlement of
Winchester, state that there were 2
houses on its present location as early
as 1738, situated near the town run;
but its establishment as a town com-
menced in Feb. 1752, in the 25th
year of the reign of George the II.
when the General Assembly passed an
"act for the establishment of the town
of Winchester."* In 1758 it was en-
larged in consideration of an addition-
al quantity of land being laid oft' in
lots by Col. James Wood, now called
*When the town of Winchester was first
laid off by Lord Fairfax, he made the town
lots of half an acre each, and by his con-
veyances annexed an out-lot of rive acres
adjoining the town, to each town or inn-lot;
and by the condition of each grant, made
the in and the out-lots inseparable, it being
the design of this benevolent proprietor,
that each house holder in town, owner of a
lot, should always have appurtenant a con-
venient parcel of land for small cultivation
or pasturage.
The intent of these grants has been, how-
ever, long since evaded, by conveying one
lot in fee, and the other by lease for 1000
years, renewable forever at a nominal
rent.
in the plot of the town, Wood's addi-
tion. Trustees were then appointed
consisting of Lord Fairfax, Col. Mar-
tin and others : Vide Henning's Sta-
tutes at Large: vol. 7. p. 135. Addi-
tions to the town, were also made by
Lord Fairfax.f Col. Wood is there-
fore entitled to the honor of being the
founder. Winchester is mentioned by
General Washington, as being one of
the points in his route, in his celebrat-
ed mission, by order of Governor
Dinwiddie, to the French authorities
on the Ohio. He came from Alex-
andria to Winchester where he pro-
cured baggage horses, &c. This was
in November 1753.1
In the French and Indian warfare
that succeeded, Washington fixed his
head quarters at Winchester, which
was then a frontier settlement. The
North mountain a few miles west of
Winchester being the boundary.—
From the fear occasioned by the at-
tacks of the French and Indians, this
place was almost the only settlement
west of the Blue Ridge, which range
of mountains, was as late as 1756, the
north western frontier. At that pe-
riod public stores to a large amount
were deposited at Winchester, for the
frontier settlement. After the distin-
guished action at Great Meadows, Ju-
ly 4, 1754, Washington returned with
his regiment to Winchester to recruit,
soon after which, he was joined by
a few companies from Maryland and
North Carolina, after which rein-
forcement they were ordered by the
Liuetenant Governor, to march imme-
diately over the Alleghany, to drive
the French from Fort du Qluesne, or
build one in its vicinity. After the
.tLord Fairfax was the proprietor of the
Northern Neck of Virginia, he lived and
died at Greenway Court, about 12 ms.from
Winchester, and was buried at the old
Episcopal church of that place: (See ex-
tent of his domain under Culpeper.
t See his Journal of the expedition, very
properly preserved in Marshall's life of
Washington— new edition: vol. I, p. 461.
342
WESTERN VIRGINIA— FREDERICK.
disastrous defeat of Braddock, Wash-
ington with the remains of the brave
Virginia troops retreated to Winches-
ter. Upon the invasion of the fron-
tiers by the French and Indians,
Washington then on his way to Wil-
liamsburg, the Seat of Government,
was overtaken by an express, below
Fredericksburg, with the intelligence
that the French and Indians had bro-
ken in upon the frontier settlements,
and were murdering and capturing
women and children, burning houses,
destroying crops, &c. and that the
troops, stationed among them were
insufficient for their protection. He
immediately hastened back, to Win-
chester, Avhere the utmost confusion
and alarm prevailed. His attempts to
raise the militia were unsuccessful.
He sent urgent orders to the country
Lieutenants, east of the Blue Ridge,
to hasten their militia to Winchester;
but before these orders could be exe-
cuted, the enemy which had done so
much injury and caused so much
alarm, had re-crossed the Alleghany
mountain. Col. Washington after re-
peated ineffectual efforts to arouse the
government to act on the offensive, and
adopt a more efficient system of war-
fare, by sending a force sufficient to
destroy Fort du Gluesne, at length
prevailed, and Gen. Forbes was or-
dered to undertake the campaign for
its reduction. On the 24th of May,
1758, orders were issued to Wash-
ington's regiment to rendezvous at
Winchester, and be in readiness to
march in 1 5 days. June 24, the Vir-
ginia troops in pursuance to the or-
ders they had received, moved in de-
tachments from Winchester to Fort
Cumberland, where they assembled
early in July. Upon the reduction of
Fort du Quesne, (when its name was
changed to Pitt, in honor of the then
British Minister,) Col. Washington
after furnishing 200 men from his
regiment to garrison the Fort, march-
ed the rest back to Winchester, whence
he soon proceeded to Williamsburg to
take his seat in the house of Dele-
gates, of which he had been elected a
member by the County of Frederick,
while at Fort Cumberland. During
these contests a Fort was built at Win-
chester, the remains of which are still
visible at the north end of the princi-
ple street. In Henning's Statutes,
vol. 7. page 33, we find the 16th
clause of a law passed March, 1756,
which refers to this Fort, and the ap-
propriation for its erection in these
words, " and whereas it is now judged
necessary, that a Fort should be im-
mediately erected in the town of Win-
chester, county of Frederick, for the
protection of the adjacent inhabitants
against the barbarities daily commit-
ted by the French and their Indian
allies: be it therefore enacted that the
Governor or Commander-in-chief of
the colony for the time being, is here-
by empowered and desired to order a
Fort to be built with all possible de-
spatch, in the aforesaid town of Win-
chester; and that his honor give such
orders and instructions for the imme-
diate effecting, and garrisoning the
same as he shall think necessary for
the purpose aforesaid. 1 ' The act al-
so appropriates the sum of £1000 for
c arrying the above provision into ef-
fect. This Fort was called Fort
Loudoun, in honor of the British
General, Lord Loudoun, who had
been appointed to the command of the
British troops in America. It is stat-
ed in the History of the Valley upon
authority, entitled lo the highest re-
spect, the gentleman furnishing the
information referred to, having been
informed by Washington's officers,
that Washington marked out the site
of this Fort and superintended its
erection, that he bought a lot in Win-
chester, had a blacksmith shop erected
on it, and brought from Mount Ver-
non his own blacksmith to make the
necessary iron work for the Fort.
The very spot is pointed out, where
Washington's own residence was situ-
ated. It is stated that his chamber
WESTERN VIRGINIA— FREDERICK.
3 43
was above the gateway of the Fort in
a situation commanding a view of the
principal street of the town. This
Fort covered an area of half an acre,
and there is still much of its enbank-
ments and mounds remaining. There
is also a well, from which water now
rises to the surface, sunk through the
solid rock 103 ft. The labor of
throwing up this Fort, and sinking
this well, was said to have been per-
formed by Washington's regiment.
The Fort contained a strong Garri-
son ; and it is stated by one of the old-
est inhabitants of Winchester, to have I
mounted six 18 pounders, six 12 pound- {
ers, six 6 pounders, 4 swivels and 2
howittzers, and to this day grape shot
and cannon balls are found there.
These cannons were removed from
Winchester, early in the war of the
revolution. This Fort was said to
have been once reconnoitered by a
French officer, but never was attacked
by the enemy. Winchester was used
for its security as a depot for Hessian
and British prisoners, taken during
the revolution. The number increas-
ed so much, that barracks were erect'
ed 4 ms. N. of the town, for their ac-j
commodation: at one time in the year
1781, the number of prisoners was
1600.
Having given this sketch of the'
early history of Winchester, which in
a work like this is justifiable, as it is:
interesting to all Virginians, and all
other citizens of the United States, to 1
recall the associations and localities of
those " times that tried men's souls,"
and more especially of this place from
its intimate connection with the first
actions and trials of the Father of our
country: we will now proceed to
give some account of the statistics of
Winchester.
The principal part of the town, is
built on low ground, from which the
streets ascend. It is very compactly!
built, and the streets are laid out reg-j
ularly, crossing each other at right;
angles. The principal street is well!
paved, and the sidewalks in all the
streets are more or less improved.
The houses are generally built of
brick or stone. The number of
houses is about 500, and the supposed
population near 4000. The census
of 1830, made the population 3620 of
the following description of persons:
Free white males, - - - 1429
Do. females - - 1275
Slave males, 290
Slave females, - - 365
Free colored males, - 100
Do. females, - - 161
Total, - - 3620
The active population of Winches-
ter, may be arrayed under the 3 gen-
eral^divisions of professional, mercan-
tile and mechanical classes > —
1st. Professional. — There are 6
clergymen, 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1
Presbyterian, 1 Episcopalian, 2 Evan-
gelical Lutheran, 1 Methodist Protes-
tant. The legal profession is quite
numerous, and the Winchester Bar
has always held one of the highest
stations in Virginia. It has given a
presiding Judge to the Supreme Court
of Appeals : and several Judges to the
bench of the General Court. There
has been a flourishing Law School
which only ceased with the elevation
of the Lecturer to the Court of Appeals.
The present number of resident law-
yers of the Winchester Bar is 22: be-
sides these, a number of lawyers at-
tend the terms of the courts in Win-
chester.
Physicians. — The number of the
medical profession is 7. The pro-
mising Medical School established
here some years since by the Medical
Society of the Valley, has been discon-
tinued, — two of its professors have
been called to distinguished stations
in other institutions, — one professor
of Theory and Practice of Medicine,
in Transylvania University, Ken-
tucky, and the other, to the Chair of
Medicine in the University of Va,
The mercantile class of the com-
344
WESTERN VIRGINIA— FREDERICK.
munity in Winchester, consists for the
most part of business men, who are
careful and prudent in all their deal-
ings. Many of them have in conse-
quence become wealthy. There are
41 stores in Winchester of the follow-
ing description : — 32 dry goods and
grocery stores, 1 apothecary and
druggist, 1 auction and commission
store, 3 iron stores, 2 stove and cast-
ing manufactories, 1 confectionary
and fruit store, 1 book and stationary,
and 1 lottery office.
The mechanics are as follows, to
wit: — 2 brewers, 4 bakers, 1 book-
binder, 12 victuallers, 1 brass founder,
13 carpenters, 3 chair makers, 1 clock
and mathematical instrument maker, 3
extensive coach manufactories, giving
employ ment to a great number ofharnds,
1 gunsmith, 4 house painters and gla-
ziers, 6 masons and bricklayers, 1 or-
namental painter, 1 pottery, 1 rope
and reed maker, 9 boot and shoe fac-
tories, 5 silver smiths, watch repairers
and jewellers, 4 tanners and curriers,
3 barbers, 1 buhr stone maker, 17
blacksmiths, 4 bookmakers, 2 carpet
weavers, 4 cabinet makers, 2 copper
smiths, 2 coopers, 2 confectionaries, 1
dyer, 2 hatters, 2 lock and white
smith's, 8 milliners, 6 plasterers, 2
ploughmakers, 5 saddle and harness
makers, 2 skindressers and glovers, 1
silver plater, 1 saddle tree maker, 3
tobacconists, 2 turners, 1 tallow chan-
dler, 5 tinplate workers, 9 tailors, (4
merchant tailors,) 1 upholsterer, 10
waggon makers, 3 weavers, 1 wheel-
wright. This list embraces 46 differ-
ent trades, and upwards of 170 master
workmen. It is presumed that there
are several hundred journeymen and
apprentices employed by these per-
sons. There are 6 merchant mills in
the immediate vicinity of Winchester,
1 cabinet ware factory, part of the ma-
chinery turned by water, 1 carpet fac-
tory which makes carpeting of a su-
perior quality, much admired for the
beauty of its texture, and the brillian-
cy and permanency of its colors.
There is 1 cotton factory, but at pre-
sent its operations are suspended. The
abundant water power and its admi-
rable location, justifies the prediction
that Winchester will one day become
a great manufacturing town. There
is 1 academy for youth founded by an
act of the Legislature, as far back as
1788, now 46 years since. It has
been in operation the greater part of
that period, and has had as many as
80 pupils in one year. It is estimat-
ed, that at least 1 000 young men from
different and distant parts of the state,
have been educated in part or entirely
at this institution. This academy has
maintained, perhaps as high a repu-
tation as any other similar institution
in the state. Theie are, besides the
academy, an institute for young la-
dies, and 1 1 other schools. There
are few places in the state, which pre-
sent greater inducements to parents,
desiring to have their children well
educated than Winchester. It is re-
markable for its health, the purity of
the water; and what is more impor-
tant for the correct, moral and reli-
gious tone of feeling, which prevails
iamonsr most of its inhabitants. It is
also a remarkable fact which should
| be stated, that although there is no
night watch, a robbery is almost un-