xt7ns17sr182 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7ns17sr182/data/mets.xml West Virginia Writers' Program (W. Va.) 1940 Compiled and written by workers of the Writers' Program 14 l.; 28 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries. Call Number F247.G5 W7 1940 books English Charleston, West Virginia Writers' Project This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. West Virginia Works Progress Administration Publications Gilmer County (W. Va.) - History Gilmer: The Birth of a County text Gilmer: The Birth of a County 1940 1940 2019 true xt7ns17sr182 section xt7ns17sr182 IﬂubWﬂﬁﬂﬂjiﬂﬂiﬂﬂMﬁ/Qﬁﬂﬁlﬂﬂﬁw/Iﬂ
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’ WRITERS PROJECT *

i
: GILMER: THE BIRTH OF A COUNTY
‘ Nug'iber 7 H Folk Studies
I” ’
1 * Compiled and written
i by .
i Workers of the Writers' Program
‘ Work Projects Administration
in
‘ ‘Wost Virginia
: ‘ Sponsored by
State Department of Education
; W. W. Trent, State Superintendent of Free Schools
; Co-Sponsored by
‘ Gilmer County Board of Education
Federal Works Agency
' John H. Carmody, Administrator
Work Projects Administration
Howard 0. Hunter, Acting Commissioner
Florence Kerr,'Assistant Commissioner
‘ J. N. Alderson, State Administrator
59 as as a? as
West Virginia Writers' Project
312 Smallridge Building
Charleston
; Bruce Crawford, State Supervisor Paul H. Becker, Asst. State Supervisor
‘ . J. Archie Langford, Research Editor
Research Assistants
% German C. Self Janet Fisher Bernard R. Conrad
Virginia H. Riddle Maysel M. Luzader
OCTOBER, 1940

GILMER: THE BIRTH OF A COUNTY
The story of the formation of Gilmer and the effect of that for~
nation on the existence of the town named after Johann, Baron de Kalb,
companion—in~arms of Lafayette, Pulaski and Von Steuben, began in 1772
when William Lowther and Jesse and Ellis Huﬁhcs bccumc the first white
men to venture into the valley of the Little Kanawha River. Peter
thune, in Irish Continental Soldier, who visited the region on an ex—
ploring trip with his father—in—law Adam O'Brien at the close of the
Hevolutionarylﬂar, returned in 1810 to become the first settler in —
DeKalb District. He erected his home at the mouth of Leading Creek.
With cessation of Indian depredations following the Greenville

‘ Treaty and ”Mad Anthony” Wayne's victory at the battle of Fallen Time
bers, the entire Virginia territory east of the Ohio was opened for
peaceful settlement. Adam O'Brien had built his cabin near the pres~
ent site of Sutton, Braxton County, in 1795. in 1816, William Stal~
maker, a Virginian whose ancestors had relinquished an hereditary
barony in northern Germany to follow the adventure trail first to New
York and later to Montgomery and Randolph Counties, Virginia, and who
had received land grants of 30,000 acres in Lewis County (Gilmer was
formed out of Lewis) for his services as lieutenant in the War of
1812, chose the site of an abandoned Indian village on Little Kanawha
River, near the mouth of Mill Seat Run, for his home. In the grove
of ancient trees that had sheltered the wigwams of the red hunters of

another day, Stalnukor established a temporary cabin ahvltcr for him~
salf, his wifc Elizabeth and their cight—yoar—old son, Salathiol.
i Althounh no scientific invostination has barn rid; of tho thr o

stone mounds at the Mill Scat Run grove, it is assumcd that tho cm=n
was used as a cantor for prolonged hunting trips. The trccs, oven to~
day, arc doopl? marked with carvings and pictures, supposodlv of Indian
origin. Stone tanning instrnmonts, arrow and socarhcads, many onlv
half—finished, have boon found in the vicinity. Rccnusc tho arrowh ads
iro of two distinct types and matcrials, it is bolicvod thwt a battle
was fought on thc site, or porhons the village was fragmented bv tuc
diffcrcnt tribes. Many rolics were discovurod by Stalnukor when ha ﬁnd
his twenty slaves were clcaring tho land for cultivation.

By 1820, the tobacco plantation——Stalnakor hgd choccn to follov
the usual Virginia onc~crop method of cultiv»tion~—bcgan to repay ttu
offort expended in developing it, and the planter folt justified in
building a better homo. On the bank of tho Little Kannnha, Whorc it
still stands (1940), ho built a two~story red brick mansion. Ton y &TS
latsr, the slaves, under Stalnaker's direction, erected a sccord build~
ing of homo—made brick for Stalnakor's son. In later yours flood wettrs
Wcakcned tho foundation of tho sccond structuro and it was torn down,
but before it was demolished, the homo of Salathicl Goff Stalnakcr scrvod
as the meeting place for the first sossion of tho Gilmcr County Court.

As western Lewis and northoastorn Kanawha Counties grow, the sot—
tlcment about tho Stalnoker mansion increased to twonty fimilies. Vhon
a post office was decided upon in l835, William Stalnikcr solcctad the
name DoKalb. As a boy ho hoard stories of tho gallantry and bravery of
the Baron do Kalb from his father, who had served under tho Faron in the

H2_

Revolution, 1nd tho tales impressed the youth so thoroughly that do Kalb
had become his lifelong hcro. Ehcn his position as tho richest lindowncr
in the region that became Gilmor gave hiu_his opportunity, ho soizod tho
chines to honor the Bavarian soldier.

Tho Stalnskcr homo Sorvod also as buying and selling hoadquurtcrs
for tho firnors of tho soction. All hﬂrduiro and supplies wore haulcd
from Philadelphia to DoKulb, and from thcro distributod to tho cirly sct~
tlors. Travclcrs in the reoion made tho Stalnakcr homo thcir hotel. On
the old Indian trail from Parkorsburg to thc cistarn sgttlcncnts on tho
Monongahela, DcKﬂlb formed a natural stopping place for SLttlQTS moving
nostiard. For.m my years, DcKslb was uorc a post officc and usysido inn
than A torn, its rcsidcnts brink larocly“trsnsiont.

In lGLS, tho pccplo of the prascnt oountios of Gilncr and Cﬁlhcun
who wort weary'of making tho long journeys nccossury to attend ccurt it
itston or ChirlostOn asked for a nan county to ho fornod.r Foremost'
among those mun worn Solsthicl Go Stslnsksr, Sanucl L. hays, Bcnjanin
Riddle, and CurronCc B. Conrmd‘

As rcproscntativcs to the General Asscnbly of Virginia, Samuel L»
Hays and Saluthicl G. Stalnskor presented their arguments and tho po~
tition signed by the citizens of tho dissltisficd section, and in rc~
sponsc to thoir rcqucst, tho General Assembly formed a new county and
nsmod it in honor of Thomas Walker Gilmcr, a son of tho Old Dominion
who had boon killed accidentally at the height of his carccr in lBAA.
Gilmor, born at Gilmorton, Albumsrlc County, Virginia, April 6, 180?,
had represented Albcnsrlo County in the Goncrul Asscnbly frcn,1829 to
l840 with the exception of two sessions, and had served as speaker of
that body during tho sessions of 1838 and 1839. Eloctod Gchrnor of

N3“

Virginia, February 14, 1840, he had resigned a few months later to take
a seat in Congress. February 14, l844, he had been appointed Secretary »
of the Navy by President Taylor. Fourteen days after his appointment,
a bursting gun on the war steamer 232222392: lying at anchor at Mount
Vernon, ended his brilliant career.
‘ On February 3, l94ﬁ, the General Assembly of Virginia granted the
petition for a new county and passed an act ”establishing the County of
Gilmer of parts of the counties of Lewis and Kananha,” and defined the
boundaries of the new unit as follows: ”Beginning at the corner of
Braxton County line, situated at Left~hand fork of Three—lick fork
on Oil Creek; thence a straight line to the fork of the road on Leading
Creek, between Robert Benson's and Aaron Schoolcraft's; thence a straight '
line to the southeast corner of Ritchie County; thence with the Ritchie,
Wood, and Jackson County lines, to a point Where the latter crosses the
West Fork of the Little Kanawha River; thence such lines as will embrace
all the waters of the said West Fork of the Little Kanawha River to the
Braxton and Kanawha County lines; thence with the lines of Braxton County
to the beginning, the enclosed area to form one distinct and new county,
and to be called and known by the name of Gilmer County.”
The fourth section of the act provided for the location of the seat
of justice, in the following language:
”The permanent place for the holding of courts in the county of
Gilmer, now required by law to be holden for the several counties of this
Commonwealth, shall be at such place as shall be fixed upon by a majority
of the votes of the people residing within the boundaries of the said new
county of Gilmer, ascertained in the following manner, to—uit: It shall ;
be the duty of the sheriff, other officers and commissioners conducting
_4_

elections in said county for a delegate to the general assembly,at the
tire of taking thﬁ pcll for the next annuxl election of such delegates:
viz: On the fourth Thursday in April next, to open a separate poll for
the purpose of ashtrtrininc the 3LD§c of the people of said county, the
lard of William H, Bﬂil it or next 1}; point where the Heston and
Charleston reed crosses the Littln H“nithx hirer, or the town of DcKalb.
The raid poll shafl Contain toe columna, one headed with the name of the
former, and the other with thu nimc of tho luttcr place, and the one re—
ceiving the greater nuymor of votes shall he the sect of justice of the
county.”

w- It was the enforcement of this clause that spoiled DeKdlb's chances
of becoming the county seat and caused the dispersal of the town's in—
habitants, and, for all practical purposes, the evnntual disappearance
of the town itself.

Section five provided for the holding of the first county court:
"The justices of the peace commissioned and qualified for the said coun~
ty of Gilmcr, shall meet at the house now the residence of Salathiol G.
Stalnakcr, in the town of Defslh, on the fourth Monday in March next,
and a majority of them taiug yrpcsut, shill nroceed to the appointment
of a clerk of the county court of the said county, a commissioner of the
rchnuo, and surveyor of lends for the Sijd county of Gilmcr.”

In compliance with the shove section, the first county court held
in Gilmcr County convened at the residtncc of Shlltﬂltl Hr Stalnaker,
on March 24, 1845. The following justices, all hailing commissions from

. the governor of the commonwealth, contests ttc aowrt: Bemjﬂtin Riddle,
Michael Stump, Beniah Haze, Farnalus Doom, %cnutl L. tﬂvs, glanander
'Huffman, Ralnthiel Stalnnker, Currrncc Bu Conrad, Uillitm Bennett, Philip
lg“

Cox, Jr., Robert Benson, Joseph Knotts, John F. N. Holt, James N. Norman
and William Arnold. Each of those presented their commissions, took the
various oaths prescribed by law, and the court was opened in due form.
The court's first act was the appointment of Francis Vannoy to the posi—
tion of crier of the court.

The next business of the day was the election of a clerk, and Benja~
min Riddle, Philip Cox, Jr., Currencc B. Conrad, Anthony Conrad, Issac
Arnold, Henry Stump and George H. Beall were nominated. Four ballots
were taken, with none of the candidltes receiving the required majority.

A motion made to defer the election until the next term prevailed, and
James M. Comp, Jr., was then unanimously chosen clerk pro tom. Ho st
once took the several oaths, and entered upon the discharge of his of~
fice. ,

The first bar of Gilmer County was formed when Lewis Maxwell, Jnmcs
Bennett, Preston M. Adams, Jonathan M. Bennett, Enoch T. Withers and
John E. Hays, all having a license to practice in the Courts of the com~
monwualth, were, on their motion, granted permission to practice luv in
the courts of the new county.

The court then proceeded to elect an attorney to prosecute in behalf
of the State. Enoch T. Withers, John E. Hays and Jonathan M. Bennett were
nominated; the count showed Bennett the victor with a plurality of eight
vote :5 n

The election of a county Surveyor being next in order, Themes Marshall,
Michael Stump and Milton Norris were announced as candidates. The vote
gave hichael Stump half of the sixteen votes, harshall, seven, uni Norris,
one. Before the result was announced, however, the vote for Norris was with~
ﬁrswn and givon to Stump, who then had a majority and became thereby the

_.(.,_

first duly olcctcd survoyor of Gilmcr. Incidentally, Stump was Lhu air- _
voyor who, five yeirs earlier, had surveyed and sot tho boundarion of Dcxilh.
Benjamin Riddle, Banish Macs and Barnabus Cook wort thcn rccomnund—
ac to tho ﬁOVurnor as fit ncrsons to cxocutc the office of shoriif of thi
county for the onsuing your, and Salathiol G. Stalnaksr was unanimously
ChOSLn to servo is commissioner of thc rcvcnuc for thc samc timn. William
Stalnskcr and Francis Vsnnoy‘Wuro rccommcndod to the cxtcutivu is ”fit ‘
and propcr persons to cxocutc tho office of coroner within tho county.“
chry Stump, John G. Springston, CHTFLHCL B. Conrmd, S. L. Buys, Josgnb
Knotts, Achindor Huffman and Townscnd H.3coll Euro appointed school
commissioners. .
Since the appointment of a sheriff was dolaycd by the time occici
for a meSSongcr to ride to Richmond and return, it was ordcrod: That
Gcorgs Lynch, at William H. Bcall's precinct; Joseph Stump, Sr., at Jumcs
Norman's precinct; Nathan Stout, at Hozckiah Stout's precinct; Francis
Vannoy, at Dchﬂlb; Hiram Riddle at Jcrtland; and Jcs'wh Tnctts at‘cht
Fork be appointed to superintond tho election as rsquir i by law. Coma
missioncrs of clcction were the appointed, as follOWS: Philip Cox, Jr.,
Ezekiel T. Townsend, John W. Stout and Jesse Stump to supcrintcnd ”tho
taking of the polls" at Stout's precinct; Samuel L. Hays, William Ball,
Thomas C. Connolly, Thomas H. Rrannon and Thomas Goff at Enll‘s precinct;
George H. Boll, Saluthiel G. Stslnxksr, William Bennett, Alexander I.
Pickcns and Stephcn T. Bcnson at DoKalb; Alexander Huffman, Boniah taco,
Joseph Mazo and E. h. Havorty at Jcrkland; Hichacl Stump, Scmour Norm n,
Bcnjamin Arnold, Henry Stump and William 80533 at Steer Crock; P. Faro,
Jilliam Arnold, Ch rlcs D. Arnold, Abram Helmick and Gonrgw Lﬁnch, Jr.,
at Just Fork. Tho cricr of tho court'was ordcrcd to notify thy: Suvcr;lw
1y of their ippointmcnts.
l7~

The court then proceeded to divide the county into districts, the
record says, ”for the better accommodation of the collection of debts
and tixes,” and thereupon it Was ordered that the'Uest Fork of the Little
Kanawha and its waters form one constable district, to be known as dis—
trict Number One, and that Kanawhn River end its waters form another to
be designated as district Number T“o

Samuel Bell was tn; Lnuwsly clcsted constehle in the first district. I

, He appeared in court and give bond with approved security, as required by
law. In the second district, Samuel Whiting, George Fling, Joseph Hsze,i
Jonathan I. Bennett, George Lynch, Samuel M. Brannon, James 0. Spring*
stone, Robert Bennett, Stephenson T. Benson, Thomas M. annnon, and Philip
D. Cox were elected constables.

Joseph Knotts asked permission to celebrmte the rites of matrimony
within the county, and, it appearing to the court to be inconVCnient to
get a minister legally authorized toperfonn that duty, license was
granted to the said Joseph Knotts, who, with Peregrine Hays and William
Arnold as his bondsmen, entered into a bond in the penalty of $1,500,
"conditioned as the law directs.”

Then Benjamin Hardmnn, for the same reason, was granted a license to
perform the same duty, and with Benjamin Riddle and Beniah Maze as his se—
curities, gave bond in the penalty of $1,500. The court then adjourned
until the next morning at nine o'clock.

On March 25, 18A5, "the court proceeded to lay off the county into
suitable districts for the overseers of the poor, and thereupon the court is

’ of opinion and doth order that the Vest Fork and its waters, Steer Creek,
Little Kanawha below the mouth of Steer Creek, LOWer Leading Creek,
and Yellow Creek, do form the first district for the oversccrs of the poor;
-8-

and that the Little Kundwha Rchr and its tributaries, within this court?
dbevc the mouth of Steer Crock, compose and fornithe second district, and
the court doth appoint the second Saturday in April next is the div of
election of overseers of the poor in both of said districts. The election
in the first district to be holdcn at the house of Benjamin Riddle on the
said day aforesaid, and that Francis Vunnoy be ind is hcroby appointed to
superintcnd the taking of the prlls at said Riddlc's in the second dis~
trict.”

It was also ”ordered that Jonﬁthnn h. pthﬁtt be ﬂppﬂintﬂd a ccmnis~
sioncr for the purpose of purchising the necessary blank beuk:,for the use
of the clerk of this court, and for the surVeicr of the county.”

Furthermore, ”on motion of Salmthiel G. Stilniker, leave is civ;n him
to keep a house of private entertainment in the town of DeYclt, until the
first day of hay term next, and it appeirinﬁ to the court thtt thtrg is no
sheriff, and also that the said Sulathiel G. Stilniker is cormisciorer of
the reVonue, upon his paying OVer to said clerk the amount assessed by lrr,
the court being of the opinion that the said Stolnaker is a nun of honesty,
probity, and good demeanor.”

Most of the muchinery of government had now been set up and the 1dmin~
istrators of the lit appointed. Even provisions for the detention of the
law's violators had been arranged for by the court orderinc that the hens

cf Selathiol St lnuker be used as prison house until one should be built.
Michael Stump, the newly uppcinted county surveyor, had, as his first ofw
ficiﬁl task, with the assistance of Philip Cox, Jr,, and Stephen L. Wurson,

. the job of making the rules end laying out the bounds of the prison of the
county" Ten acres of land, adjoining the house of Stelnaker, Were to be
used for this purpose, by order of the court.

i9_

The prison comnissioners wasted no time in making their report, which
stated that they had laid off the following as the prison bounds: ”Begin—
ning at a beech standing on the north bank of the Little Kanawha River,
above the house of A. l. Pickens, and the beginning corner of the land of
Nilliam.Stalnaker; and from thence a straight line to the forks of hill
Seat Run, and with said run to the mouth thereof; thence up said river with
the high water mark to the point opposite the beginning containing ten acres;
which report is received, and the bounds marked and laid out as aforesaid
adopted as the prison limits of the county."

With a site for the county jail arranged for at DeKalb, there would
seem to be little question as to just where the county government would be
located, and perhaps, at that time, such was the case.

The first criminal warrant ever issued in Gilmer County was issued by
Joseph Knotts, Justice of the Peace, for the arrest of John C. Collins, who
was charged by the Commonwealth of Virginia with the theft of a brown mare
and a sorrel colt. This warrant was issued May 27, 1845, and at the June ,
term of court, upon preliminary examination, the prisoner, John C. Collins
was placed in jail pending the hearing of the evidence the next day. John
C. Collins pleaded ”not guilty" and upon trial was so pronounced by the
court.

The report of the prison commissioners was accepted, and after attend~
ing to some other business of minor importance, the court proceeded to the
examination of the poll books in the selection of a site for the erection
of the public buildings. A motion to scrutinize the polls, striking there~
from all the votes that should appear to be illegal, was defeated, and ex~

amination proceeded.

Prior to the establishment of the county seat at Glenville, that place
had been known as "The Ford“ for the reason that the old State road from

_10_

TTeston to Chcrloston there crossed the Littlc Kanawhs hivcr. AﬁlhnCl 1°
haYs laid out the town on the land of Jillian E. Hall and Colonel C. “.
Conrad named it Glonvillo because of its location in a ﬁlon or valley.
There were only a few settlers living near ”Tho Ford“ at that Linc.
The three man who Hora most instrmhcntal in the effort to have the conrt
removed to ”The Ford” were ?illiom H. Poll, C. B. Conrad ani Sowucl L.
Nays. Those non all owned property near this rlico and in aﬂlition the
change wouli place tho county scat on a State road. The first purron
knoiol to huvx/ Sﬂttlﬁﬁl at ”3110 Foxmﬂ' warskVilliﬁux Hrwm3ll,aiko ll) lﬁlﬂ? arwatm
ed a grist will at that place. There is no other record COnCTTElNF hinc

The examination of the poll books shOWoi that o nnjcrity of £6 vct-s

,
favored ”The Ford” as the site of the county scat in proforenco to,3ﬂﬂﬁhn
and the Grier was oricrod to make proclamation of the result from th;
courthouse door. having ascertained tho will of the voters and proclaim~i
the same, the members of the court waro now dividci as to whether they
should adjourn the prssont term to ”Thu Ford”, or continue at Dchalb un~-
til the public buildings should bc orocted at tho logoal}'r choson capital.
It was finally'cgrood to hold tho romaining sessions of tho current town
at Dehalh.

As the date of the opening session of the Juno tcim nonrod, tho arju—
mont QVor the matter of moving tho court to Glsnvillc again reached f var“
pitch. The justiCos woro again dividcﬂ on the matter of udjourninn the
Juno torn of court to the now location. Among those who favored continu~
in? at DcKalh was tho clcrk, James Como, who rcfuscd to hrinr tho recorio
to Glonvilloa

As a result, the citizens of the county Wore troatcl to tho socctholc
of their govcrnmcnt divided and holding~~or at lcast trying to holi~~

”ll...

sessions in both of the towns laying claim to the county seat. The members
of the court favoring the removal to Glenville convened at that place on
the morning of June l2, 1845, for the purpose of holding court, but without
the court records they could do nothing. Those opposed to the removal met
the same morning at DeKnlb and, being in possession of the records, went on
with the court.

Checkmatcd by the refusal of the county clerk to surrender the court
records, the administration at Glenvillc conceived a bit of strategy to ac—
COmplish its aim. On the opening day of the term, the Glenville group had
agents stationed at DcKalb. Late in the afternoon, the agents learned that
with the group already at Glenville and certain persons in the DcKalb court
who were favorable to Glenville, their forces had a majority of the regular
court and could consequently carry the question to a vote with assurance of
victory; provided that those at Glenvillo arrived before time for adjourn—
ment.

When the messengers had delivered this news, the Glenvillc members of
the court immediately secured saddle horSes and, taking a circuitous route
to avoid detection, hurried down—river to a point opposite DcKalb, where
they recrossed the river and entered the court room.just as the floor was
opened to a motion of adjournment. The Glenville supporters moved to ed~
journ to Glenville. The vote was taken and, led by the triumphant Glen—
ville clique, the entire body adjourned, to meet the next morning at nine

, o'clock at the house of Thomas Marshall in Glenville.

With the court finally estublished at Glenville; Benjamin Riddle pre—
sented a commission from the governor appointing him first sheriff of the
county. Michael Stump was commissioned surveyor of lends and William
Stelnakcr, coroner. Stalnakor~and Thomas M..Brannon were appointed deputy
sheriffs. 7”

H12_

A cunnittcc including Samucl L. Mays, Robert A. Bonson, Philip Cvx,
Jr., and Michael Stump was appointcd to select a sitc fvr the necessary
public buildings of the county. This cmmnittcc reported to the court th‘
33;; dlf thct they'had filed a deed from William H. Fall and his Wife,
Christizn, conveying to the county thc title tc thc beautiful cmincncc up~
on which thc present court house stands.

JCscnh Knotts, Currencc B. Conrad and William Ball were appointed hr
the court to lot contracts for the construction of u jail, courthouSc uni
clcrk’s officc and to superintcnd the croction and complcticn cf those
structurcs. Tho jail, it WAS decided, should be of wood, nftcr the nnt~
tcrn ofthc Ritchie Ccunty prison and was not to cxccsd by morc than ﬁSO.
tho ccst cf thit building. ‘Thrcc thcusind dollars Wis thc incunt t: be
spant on a brick courthouse, to be complctcd by Nov. 1,1848, and to bc
paii for in five annual installments.

The work of organizing the county gcvornncnt was new complutcd and
thc plans for housing it were Woll under way-cr so it nus thought. A lc~
gal tangle cVur the land for thc site of the courthouf , dcspite the fact
that the dccd had already been transfcrrcd, caused the county court to Lc~
Cvpt an cffcr made by Salathiel Stulnukor, who proffered tho usc of his
home, free of charge, as court house and jail, and on Fcbruary 23, 1345,

the county sent was again FOUCVQd to DcKulh.

Only two months Cldpsed howcvor, before thc promiscd sitm at Glcnvillo
Wis givun to tho court, and tho citizcns of DcKulb again Hitched tho ncm~
bars of the governmcnt loavc, to mcct April 28, 1846, it thc homo of Tillimi
Bill in Glcnvillc, Where they continued to must until the courthouse Wis
c,nplctcd, about 1850.

When it became obvious that Glcnvillo, rcﬂardlcss of arruncnts and his-
;nﬁ;rsttnlings, was assured of becoming thc c.ntur of tho county, the dcclino

...]_ 3...

of WoKolh was rapid. Sinfly und in poiro thw rvcidcnts of tho torn novtt
Away, abandoning tho land that surveyor ﬂichnol'stunp had diviiod into
building lots.

Tho swift deterioration that cholops uncsrodwfor and dcscrtod huild~
inﬂs soon lcvolod tho homcs of DoKulb to tho ground and tho unlcrbrush hi”
what tho woothcr did not destroy. Only tho old brick house of William
Stalnakor romainc today. The battered old pluco is now only tho dwcllinw

’ housc of i bottom lund form, instoad of tho show plncc~~thut it minht hqu
bocomc~~of tho county scat of Gilmor.

As is almost inovitublo in such cases, tho old houso has acquirod a
ghost. The spirit of Daniol thunc, who, says local tradition, was tri d,
convictcd and scntoncod hcro for tho murder of Jonathan Nicholas, in 1943,
and who diod in prison, roams the paths of DoKalb and lingers in tho halls
of tho disintegruting mansion, whore it will doubtloss stay until this
first and last homo at DcKalb is destroyed by Time and tho clcmcnts.

Like tho old trees with their strange Indian carvings and the old c mc~
torics whcro the first settlers and tho Stnlnakor slaves aro buried, tho
house and its logonds havo become a marker to an era that is nono. Fatc
decided against the town of DcKalb when Gilmcr County was born.

-]_4r4

7 ‘* # IIII/WIMWMHMMMWEWH -‘ - .

‘ TEST VEGINIA ".'-.~RITE}::3‘ PROJECT ACTIVITY
Eiorks Completed
jest Virginia Guide (1940) my remory Boo}: (191,0)
Historic Ronmey (1938) Oceena and the Cook Family (1940)
Iiaripshire County Census (1938) Plant Life of Rraxton County (1940)
Your Vacation in 1". Va. (1939) The Pulltoxm Countrj.r (191.0)
Smoke Hole and Its People (1940) Of Stars and Ears (191,0)
l‘iountain State Tintypes (191,0) Pineville, "lymning Crossroads (1940)
Gilmer: Birth of a Count:r (1940)
County Histories in Preparation .
Barbour mineral Putnam
Bra: :ton Mingo Raleigh
Gilmer Monroe Summers
hason Nicholas Tucker
Mercer Pocahontas Wyoming
? Other Works in Preparation
The Negro in E’Iest Virginia The Sto of Rain-tulle
. s 1'37
Charleston—uh City Builds Women of W est Virginia
' I'Jest Virginia Factboo}: West Virginia: Profile in Pictures
:1. .