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Giles County History and Information

Giles County was named for William Branch Giles, United States senator from Virginia, in 1806. It was formed from Tazewell, Monroe and Montgomery Counties. Part of Wythe County was added in 1808, parts of Tazewell County were added in 1826 and 1836, part of Monroe County was added in 1829, parts of Mercer (West Virginia) County were added in 1840-1841, and part of Craig County was added in 1858. Its area is 363 square miles, and the county seat is Pearisburg. According to the 2000 census, its population is 16,657.See Extended History for More information.

The Official County Website is located at http://www.gilescounty.org/ . Cities, Towns and Communities include Glen Lyn, Narrows, Pearisburg, Pembroke and Rich Creek

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Extended History

Giles County, located in Southwest Virginia, with its highest peak at 4,348 feet above sea level, consists of a population of 17,000 residents spread over 363 square miles of beauty and adventure. By analysis of the rocks at Bald Knob and discovery of many marine fossils, geologists have determined that the land rose from under sea at the end of the Mississippian period. This movement deposited many horizontal layers of limestone. The mountain-building processes broke layers, shoved them up, mixed up the blocks and layers, and stood them on edge. As a result, the mountains of Giles have layers tilted at all angles with mixed layers.Geologists also believe that Giles has lost over a vertical mile of material from the surface since it formed.

Numerous Indian village sites, burial grounds, and artifacts indicate a Native American presence in the Giles County area for more than 10,000 years. The European pioneers who came much later to Giles County found majestic mountains and beautiful, rushing streams. They also discovered the great towering forests and palisades of rock along the New River with an abundance of deer, elk, buffalo, and other animals roaming the area. Food was plentiful.

The first evidence of white settlers was found at Glen Lyn with an inscription identifying Mary Porter who was killed by Indians on November 24, 1742. Several years later, in 1745, Adam Harmon, a fur trapper, made the first permanent settlement in the county at Eggleston. Sometime later, lumbermen, drawn by the large variety of trees and number of streams and natural springs in this area, were the first major group to settle Giles County.

Before formation of Giles County in 1806, the territory was included in Orange County, which was organized in 1734 and consisted of much of the vast territory east of the Blue Ridge. Giles County was formed from parts of Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell Counties. In 1830 part of Monroe County was added, and again in 1841 Giles gained a small strip from Mercer County. In 1851 and 1858 territories were lost due to the formation of Craig County, and in 1861 Giles lost a considerable amount of land due to the formation of Bland.

Giles is named for William Branch Giles who was born in Amelia County, Virginia in 1762. Giles became a lawyer and from there was elected to the House of Representatives where he served from 1790 to 1815. He also served on the Virginia Legislature from 1816 to 1822. In 1827, he was elected Governor. In all, he served his nation and state around a total of forty years.

The government of Giles County was organized and set into motion in May of 1806. In the same month the court met to designate a place for a permanent seat of government. George Pearis offered the court 53 acres of land where they could build the public building and establish a town. He also offered the lumber and stone for their buildings. The court accepted his proposal, and the first courthouse was completed in 1810. By 1834, the county needed a new courthouse because the old one had severely deteriorated. The new courthouse was completed two years later for a cost of $5000.00 and remains in regular use.

With its limestone base Giles County has many caves and caverns. These caves contain beautiful and rough formations. The cave system is not an extensive one since the mountain formations interrupted their continuity. Most of the passages through these caves come from an interaction between the limestone and groundwater. The most popular cave in Giles is the New River Cave or Tawney’s Cave. The numerous caves in the county bring many caving groups yearly.

Forestland and the ancient New River still offer an abundance of wildlife, making Giles County a paradise for hunters and fisherman. Giles contains 92.4 square miles of Jefferson National Forest and many accesses to the Appalachian Trail.

Mountain Lake is also located in Giles County where the movie “Dirty Dancing” was filmed. It offers many indoor and outdoor activities for guests such as games like table tennis and billiards, water activities like paddle boating, canoeing, and fishing, and dry activities like mountain biking and hiking.

Close by is Castle Rock Recreation Area, which houses a public recreation facility, including swimming, golfing, tennis, picnicking, basketball, and hiking.

The beautiful Cascades are also located in Giles and are very popular among hikers where they can experience an enjoyable two-mile hike, which leads to a 66-foot waterfall at the end. Giles County combines natural beauty with changing seasons to offer the vacationer, visitor, and tourist a welcomed respite.

The New River
Prior to the rise of the Appalachian Mountains, the New River cut its bed at a time when the land sloped to the northwest.Amazingly so, as the Appalachians gradually rose around the river, the New River wore away the bedrock at the same rate the mountains formed, leaving behind towering cliffs and prominences that hover hundreds of feet about the water level.

At Narrows, the river cuts a gap fifteen hundred feet deep that separates the East River Mountain from Peters Mountain. Similar cutting action takes the river through three mountains in Giles and a number of smaller ridges.

At its beginning in North Carolina, the New River has a south fork and a north fork. Just before entering Virginia, those forks join to form the main body that flows into the Gauley River in West Virginia. From this point the two rivers merge to become the Kanwha River at the Gauley Bridge. The body of water then joins the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The mountains of West Virginia restrict the river waters as they become steeper as well as closer together. The New River also cuts a thousand foot gorge at its end and becomes a fierce stream just before flowing into the Kanwha River.

Giles contains 37 miles of the New River where it is somewhat large contrasted with the two upper ends in North Carolina that do not usually carry enough water to float a canoe. Here in Giles, the river’s depth ranges from a very few inches to a maximum of one hundred feet at its base of the Eggleston cliffs.

The New River has changed its course throughout its long lifetime. At one time it probably followed Spruce Run to Newport in eastern Giles County. In Pembroke it flowed around the so-called “knob” and through the town. At Rich Creek it left its present bed and flowed into Peterstown. Different stories exist telling about the origin of the ancient New River’s name. One story claims that the name comes from a translation from Indian dialect meaning “new waters.”

Another tells of Captain Byrd who had been employed to open a road from the James River to Abingdon in 1764. Byrd used a map written by Thomas Jefferson in 1755; this map did not show the river, so Byrd noted it as the “New River.”

The third and final story tells of a man named Colonel Abraham Wood who historians consider to be the first white man to travel in the New River Valley area. Wood came across the river flowing in the opposite direction of the New River prior to finding it and assuming it was new, christened it as “Wood’s River.” Some old maps even have it labeled as such.

Indians used the New River as they traveled west years before the pioneers arrived. In the 1600s explorers navigating the New River thought they were close to the Pacific Ocean because of its westerly flow. They named themselves the “men of the western waters.” In 1671 the Batts-Fallam expedition by way of the New River came through to the Lurich area and ended there because the Indian guides refused to take them any farther. They carved their initials in a tree and claimed the territory for King Charles II of England. This was the first proclamation of English territory west of the Alleghenies making the New River the first gateway into the west in the New River Valley. Nobody should miss fishing in the New River.

The New is considered to be a rival of the James and the Rappahannock as one of the best fishing rivers in Virginia. Many populations of about every major freshwater game fish in the state thrive in the New River. These game fish include smallmouth bass, spotted bass, largemouth bass, rock bass, striped bass, white bass, hybrid striped bass, muskellunge, walleye, black crappie, channel catfish, flathead catfish, yellow perch, redbreast sunfish, and bluegill. Nightcrawlers and hellgrammites are common bait used for fishing. Popular artificial lures are top-water crank-baits, spinner baits, minnows, or crawfish.

Fast water and big rocks are features of the New River, making it a perfect home for big smallmouth bass and flathead catfish. Anybody can pull their canoe up on an island and fish with jigs or spinner baits to hook some fine trophies. The New River also has several lazy, slow stretches where fisherman can view the spectacular scenery and still have luck fishing for rock bass near grass beds. The slow waters near dams along the river house big flathead and channel catfish as well as walleye and smallmouth bass when fished with live bate. All sections of the river have populations of flathead and channel catfish. Good areas to fish for catfish include Narrows, Pearisburg, and Eggleston in Giles County along with other surrounding areas.

Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail, which runs from Georgia to Maine, cuts through Giles County and offers the visitor an opportunity to hike portions of the trail and see the natural beauty of Giles. Giles contains 50 miles of the trail and it passes through the county seat of Pearisburg. Starting in the spring, many hikers pass through Pearisburg on their journey for a little rest and for a re-supply on necessities. The footpath covers more ground in Virginia that it does in any other state, following the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia all the way south to the Tennessee and North Carolina borders.

The entirety of the trail is 2,174 miles long and runs along the ridges and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains from the summit of Mount Katahdin in north central Maine to the summit of Spring Mountain in northern Georgia. It passes through fourteen states – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. Along with these fourteen states it passes through eight national forests, six national parks, and many state and local parks. It reaches its highest elevation of 6,634 feet on Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains.

The idea for the trail came from Benton MacKaye, an off-and-on federal employee, educated as a forester and self-trained as a planner. He proposed the trail as the connecting thread of “a project in regional planning.” He also envisioned a trail along the ridge crests of the Appalachian Mountains from New England to the Deep South, connecting farms, work camps, and study camps that would help ease tension from industrial stress. Volunteers developed the trail and completed it in 1937 with the exception of minor alterations.

In 1968, the National Trails System Act designated the Appalachian Trail as a national scenic trail. Federal or state ownership of land or rights-of-way also protects the trail. No fee is charged nor is special permission needed to hike anywhere on the trail itself, although in some high-use areas, registration is required for overnight stay and fees may be charged for use of shelters and other constructed facilities.

The entire footpath is marked with white blazes, two-inch by six-inch rectangles, painted on trees and rocks. A series of three-sided lean-tos or shelters are spaced about a day’s journey apart, even closer in numerous areas, and are available by a rule of first-come, first-served. Hikers can access water through many springs and streams along the trail. The trail also passes through or near many towns where long-distance hikers can stop, as they do in Pearisburg.

More than four million people use some part of the Appalachian Trail yearly. Most hike only short distances lasting from an afternoon to a weekend. Thousands of hikers hike the entire trail in sections over a period of years. There are, however, the hardy individuals, numbering around 2,500, who attempt to backpack the entire trail in one continuous journey each year.

Mountain Lake Hotel and Resort
Mountain Lake is one of two natural lakes in the state surrounded by private land and a hotel and has been called “The Silver Gem of the Alleghenies.” Adjoining this land is 8,253 acres of wilderness area. The Virginia Geological Survey says the head of the lake is shallow and gradually increases to a depth of 100 feet. The lake is estimated to be about 6,000 years old and geologists believe it must have been formed along an active fault line by rockslides and damming during several earthquakes. Cold underground springs that rarely allow the temperature to rise about 70 degrees on the surface and 46 degrees on the surface feed the lake. Due to narrow channels and openings in the lake bottom, the level has a history of changing dramatically depending on the water flow through these channels.

The resort’s elevation ranges from 2200 to 4100 feet and the area has steep slopes and high sandstone escarpments. Also located at Mountain Lake are unique spruce bogs, native trout streams, and undisturbed forests. Christopher Gist, a surveyor and frontiersman, is credited with the first sighting of Mountain Lake on May 11, 1751.

During the Revolutionary War, the lake became a hiding place for outlaws. With its springs of pure water, buffalo, and deer, it was a perfect hideout. Following the war a man named Samuel McGraw became the owner, and the earliest land grants were given to James Swann and George Chambers in 1789 and 1796. In the early 1800s, Henley Chapman purchased the lake and surrounding tracts of land. After looking at the resort nearby at Eggleston and others similar to it in other parts of the region, he saw the potential of Mountain Lake to be the same if not even better. With this idea, public lodging began.

In the mid-1800s Mountain Lake became a public stagecoach line and the Virginia Legislature incorporated the Mountain Lake Company. The company constructed buildings at the lake and operated saw and other mills and entertained guests – Mountain Lake Resort was born. The first account of the hotel is around 1857 when Mr. Edward Beyer, a German Artist wrote, “There is a fine carriage road (now Rt. 613) from the New River Sulfur Springs to the top of Salt Pond Mountain near which there is a large hotel. There are boats on the lake for amusement. A Mr. John Lybrook is managing and operating the hotel.”

The first hotel was actually built from wood. It accommodated mostly stagecoach travelers so it was considered a stagecoach stop rather than a hotel. Hundreds of people began coming to the resort prior to the Civil War. Mountain Lake was not used as a military hospital or encampment during the Civil War. In 1864, General George Crook and his Union soldiers spent one night at the lake while making their difficult trip over the mountain. Hungry and tired, the soldiers found the hotel, but the building was deserted and without food.

During the war, General Herman Haupt of Philadelphia had heard about Mountain Lake. As president of several railways, he became very wealthy, but it is not clear how he became owner of the land and hotel. After the war, visitors began to poor in. So many came to stay for such long periods of time that Haupt decided to build the second hotel, which was completed in 1875 or 1876. He made an addition to the east end in 1887 and also built additional cottages, dormitories, stables, and mills. Cottages were given names like Cecilia Cottage, Thompson Cottage, and the list goes on. His wife changed the resort’s first name of “Salt Pond Hotel” to “Mountain Lake Hotel.”

The resort prospered and the Haupts ran Mountain Lake from 1870 to 1890 during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. In 1890, the Haupts ceased to operate the resort. Frank Woodsman of Charleston, West Virginia purchased the property the following year. Shortly afterwards, the Porterfield family became the owner of Mountain Lake. This family owned the lake for more than thirty years in the early 1900s and made great improvements to the resort’s food and warmth.

In the early 1930’s, William Lewis Moody, a previous guest, became the manager of Mountain Lake and began to build the present hotel out of native stone at an elevation of 4000 feet, and upon its completion in 1936, tore down the old one. The wood from the old hotel was used to build new cottages. Roads were also improved while he was making improvements to the resort, which in turn helped the resort’s business. After Mr. Moody’s death, the hotel was passed on to his daughter, Mary Moody Northen. When she died in 1986, the Mary Moody Northen Endowment took over the hotel.

Mountain Lake has many activities for its guests to enjoy, inside and out. In their Activities Barn there are games and entertainment like table tennis, billiards, foosball, table shuffleboard, and video games. There is even a walk-in wine cellar where people can buy souvenirs or vintage wine. In addition, there are playing cards, board games, puzzles, movie and book libraries, and nice TV lounges to escape the rain. Guests can also enjoy their hot tub and sauna. Water activities include paddle boating, canoeing, kayaking, pontoon boat rides, and fishing. There is also a swimming pool where families can soak up the sun. Some dryer activities include miles of biking and hiking trails, which provide amazing views of the surrounding mountains.

Mountain Lake also offers archery lessons, hayrides, horse and carriage rides, tennis, and many lawn games including badminton, horseshoes, croquet, oversized chess and checkers, and more. Mountain Lake is famous for its bird watching, which attracts many visitors each year.

Most dining takes place in the dining room, which provides breakfast, lunch and dinner with a lovely view of the nearby mountains. For dinner they provide a four-course meal with appetizers, soup or salad, the main course, non-alcoholic beverages, and dessert. There are alternatives to the dining room for those guests who prefer to dine elsewhere. On Friday nights there is a cookout on the Activities Barn Patio. These cookouts include a variety of grilled meats and vegetables. The Poolside Snack Bar is another alternative to indoor dining. They provide burgers, sandwiches, and other sorts of meals. There is also a lounge were people can relax before or after dinner while enjoying a cocktail or two.

The beautiful atmosphere and many activities at Mountain Lake make it was wonderful place to visit during the summer for an enjoyable and relaxing vacation.

Eggleston
Located on the New River, Adam Harmon first settled Eggleston in 1745 making it the first permanent settlement in Giles County. Harmon first named it Gunpowder Springs because of the odor from a sulfur spring located here. Adam Harmon’s settlement became a convenient rest stop for countless people moving westward. Many emigrants, attracted to the area, made their home here in Eggleston. Artifacts, however, have been found along the springs, streams, and river that prove Indians did live in Eggleston long before the white men came. Adam Harmon also found Mary Ingles here as she made her famous escape from the Indians.

A resort was first established in Eggleston in the early 1830s. The spa was called Hygeian Springs. The massive cliffs throughout the resort were given classical names like “Caesar’s Arch,” “Pompey’s Pillar,” and “Vulcan’s Forge.”

Sometime in the 1850s Dr. Chester Bullard, a physician and a founder of Christian Churches, preached a sermon from the top of Vulcan’s Forge, and from then on it was known as “Bullard’s Rock.” Later Dr. Chapman took over the resort and named it the New River White Sulfur Springs. He built a new hotel and a dance pavilion as well.

During the Civil war, unlike many resorts, the resort came through but without any customers. In 1867, Captain William Eggleston replaced Dr. Chapman on the east side of the river, changing the name to Eggleston Springs. A confederate journalist named Edward Pollard thought the springs was “the most delicious and comfortable of resorts in the mountain regions of Virginia.” He also called it the “Rhine of Americas,” and said “that one could sup on broiled pheasants, drink the most famous of whiskey toddies, and go to sleep on the bank of the New River.”

In 1881 the New River Extension of Norfolk and the Western Railway began construction on the opposite side of the river from the resort. Four or five landowners owned the western side of the river; the major owners were David Straley, George Walker, and John Stafford. The railroad construction brought numerous workers and a few homebuilders to this part of Giles County. In spite of gigantic rock formations, which caused a great setback in construction, the railroad was completed in 1883.

In this same year the first post office was established with its first postmaster, David Straley. In 1886 Eggleston Springs was officially named Eggleston. Business flourished around this time, especially mercantile establishments. At one time there were six mercantile centers in Eggleston, each doing exceptional business.

The Eggleston depot became an important means for distributing to all the southern parts of Giles, from Newport to White Gate. Stock pens and loading platforms were kept busy. A canning factory, barrel factory, mill, livery stable, garage, shoe shop, millinery shop, ice cream parlor, jeweler, and bank all existed during this prosperous time. In 1902, the hotel at the resort in Eggleston was replaced with a new one.

Shortly after in 1909, Virginian Railway laid tracks on the eastern side of the river. The hotel moved farther up hill to steer clear of the railroad. Unfortunately, the loud trains and smoke discouraged guests from coming to the resort. In the 1930s the resort’s business came to a halt and it was later torn down. The last standing building of the resort known as the dance hall was burned later in the 1940s. Floods in 1911 and again in 1940 played a big role in destruction of the Eggleston stores.

Eggleston has changed from a frontier settlement into a lovely resort area, then to a busy town and back to a peaceful village. With the hotel gone, schools gone, and most businesses gone, Eggleston now has a store, garage, post office, three churches, a population of approximately 300, and a rich history. People still go to Eggleston for fishing and camping in and on the New River where they can enjoy the beauty of the outdoors along with the convenience of a small town’s peacefulness.

Glen Lyn
Glen Lyn, located at the West Virginia state line on Route 460 along the New River and at the mouth of the East River, was one of the first settlements of Giles County. John Toney uncovered the site of the Mary Porter home and her grave, which simply states “Mary Porter Killed By Indians November 28, 1742.”

Earlier in 1755, Mary Draper Ingles made her trek back home from captivity through here where her Dutch companion attacked her. She escaped and found a canoe, and used it to cross the river to her rescue by Adam Harmon. John Toney built the first brick house in Giles County in 1780 on the site of a decayed cabin he found upon his arrival. Toney owned the land around his settlement for a long period of time and named the area Montreal. Toney lived in the house until he sold it to Mr. Raleigh Parris. Lilly Davis last occupied the house before the Highway Department bought it from her. The Highway Department then demolished the house for the expansion of Route 460.

Over the years a post office was established giving Montreal a new name of Mouth of East River, Virginia. Railroad workers of Norfolk and Western Railroad later gave it the name Hell’s Gate. The name changed once again to its current name, Glen Lyn, meaning lovely glen, with the railroad’s completion in 1883. The town experienced a little growth with the construction and completion of the railroad.

In the late 1860s, John T. Shumate put up a store at the mouth of the East River and continued selling goods for more than twenty years. Parkinson Shumate had a ferry in Glen Lyn, too. In 1887, Mr. W.T. Ould built a store. However, the town did not experience any substantial growth until the construction of the Appalachian Electric Power plant in 1919, which was built near the West Virginia Border. This development increased the population of Glen Lyn from 50 to 400 people.

Glen Lyn is also the home of the famous fiddler, Henry Reed. Now there is an annual Henry Reed Memorial Fiddler’s Convention located here.

Narrows
Geologists say Giles County was a high plateau with a slow-moving river passing through headed north. This river wore down barriers that laid in its way. One of the areas was named The Narrows of the New River because of the narrow slice the river made through there. Eventually this area simply became known as Narrows. Among the early settlers in this area was Matthew French who built his home several miles up Wolf Creek in about 1775. Soon after in 1776, Thomas Ingles settled in this area, and again in 1778, Moredock McKensey settled at the mouth of Wolf Creek. The next year two soldiers from the Revolutionary War, Joseph Hare and Edmund Hale, were granted land on what is now the south portion of today’s town.

Charles Hale built the first dwelling house in Narrows; it was a two-story log building with the kitchen built a short distance from the house. In the Civil War, Narrows was of strategic importance. From Tannery Hill the Confederates were able to keep a lookout in three directions. On this hill the old breast-works, which were built to guard the approach from the North, can be seen. Southern soldiers were quartered here to guard against Union soldiers passing through to cut the railroad line between Dublin and Bristol and also to prevent the capture of salt works at Saltville.

General McCausland’s Confederate soldiers numbering about 1000 or more were encamped in the fields near the high-school campus in the winter of 1863. The signs of these camps are visible to this day. In the 1870s Franklin N. Priddy from Lynchburg built a tobacco factory in Narrows. After it was built the name almost changed to North View, but the name was already in use somewhere in Virginia. Also during this time, the lumbering industry began to flourish. Logs were floated down Wolf Creek and caught at a boom; this became known as the Merceau Lumber Company.

During this time period, however, few buildings of any size existed in Narrows. In 1891, the residents of Narrows predicted an industrial boom in their near future. This idea prompted them to change the name of Narrows to Intermont. They thought this name would spur business because it sounded more distinguished. Later when the prediction did not come true, the name was changed back to Narrows.

Development was slow with only a few houses being added here and there. As the 19th century came to a close, railroad tracks gave this area access to the outside, including a way to the coalfields in West Virginia. The Snowflake Tannery also started around this time bringing in many citizens who played important roles in the growth of Narrows. The tannery was the chief industry for 35 years and employed about 100 men at its close in 1930.

Old timers in Narrows talk about the winter of 1917-18 when ice became so thick on the New River that cattle could be driven across it safely. The flood of 1916 that washed away the New River Bridge is also a well-known event of the past. The old ferry was used in place of the bridge until a new one was finished two years later.

These days, Narrows is a bird sanctuary and a haven for flocks of wild geese and ducks every year. Upstream is the Narrows Town Park, which offers picnic facilities, playgrounds, and free swimming. The swimming area at the park and the concession stand are operated during the summer season. However, the park area is open to the public throughout the year. The park receives heavy use, particularly during the summer, with attendance averaging about 600 per day and almost doubling on the weekends. State Route 61 also offers a scenic view of Wolf Creek.

Newport
Newport is a small village located between Gap Mountain, Salt Pond Mountain, and Spruce Run Mountain. It is the center community for Spruce Run, Mountain Lake, Clover Hollow, and Sinking Creek.

Archaeologists have discovered that Indians did live in Newport previous to Jamestown settlement. The first explorers in this area found buffalo; countless herds roamed over the mountains and valleys of Newport until the permanent settlers arrived. The first white man to come through Newport was probably Christopher Gist, a surveyor for Ohio Land Company who surveyed the lake on Salt Pond Mountain in 1751, what is now known as Mountain Lake.

Between 1791 and 1800, a few settlers, some of which came from a German settlement located on the New River near Price’s Fork, built homes and a mill or two and named it Chapman’s Mill. Many of these first settler’s descendents still reside in Newport. Most early settlers were farmers in search of fertile land, mill sites, and other activities that came along with a permanent settlement. This area consists of fine springs, mountain streams, and fertile land, which made it very appealing to farmers and millers. Farmers let their cattle range in the mountains and would drive them to the pond on Salt Pond Mountain to salt them.

Later in 1832, the construction of the Fincastle-Cumberland Turnpike, going from Fincastle, through Newport, Eggleston, and Bland, then onto Cumberland and is now Route 42 or Blue Grass Trail, helped trade in Newport flourish. From the year 1832 to 1850, many more people began to move here. The name Chapman’s Mill changed to Newport as more people came to the area, and it is commonly thought the people of that time named it for Captain Newport who sailed the Atlantic Ocean three times for England to Jamestown bringing emigrants to settle in the Americas. Some of the old records, however, state that Newport was the crossroads village, thus making it a “Newport” to the old west.

During this time houses were changing from log houses to frame houses. In 1858 the railroad from Petersburg, which connected to railroads leading to New York, came through as far as Dublin and regularly operated stagecoach routes along the Wilderness Trail. These routes made Newport an important junction point.

Before the Civil War there were no public schools in Newport, only private schools or tutors that lived with families, and only well-to-do families could afford these. Also before the Civil War, people had much knowledge of herbs, and they used home remedies when they were sick. The people of this time used mountain teaberries, sassafras tea, jimson weed, onion poultice, and fat meat to draw boils to a head. Midwives delivered most of the babies.

Records show that Newport became a resort town with many people spending the night at the hotels and then continuing with their travels the next day. Some stayed to visit because of the beauty in Newport.

The Civil War put all of this to a sudden halt. When it was time for war, 123 soldiers from Newport left to join the Confederates. There was a Civil War skirmish in Newport with Union troops on top of Newport Hill and Confederate troops on top of Parsonage Hill. As the solders passed through Newport they looted the area.

After the war, men came home and rebuilt their community. They restocked their farms, ran mills, merchants opened stores. Cabinetmakers started making furniture, hotels reopened, and coaches started coming through just as they did before the war. Newport was later incorporated in 1872, and a smelting furnace was put into operation. Remains of the old furnace still stand and the old furnace road can still be found on the north side of Gap Mountain.

In 1895, Falls Manufacturing Company came to Newport and made farm equipment, guns, wagons, buggies, furniture, and different kinds of kitchen utensils. This company operated until 1905 when the owner John Walker sold out. With four distilleries and three saloons, Newport could be compared with old western towns seen in the movies. On Saturday men went to town to drink, which led to fighting.

One man described Newport as “Hell’s Half-Acre.” Even so, on Sunday morning the church bells would ring. Years later the distilleries and saloons were voted out. Due to its important routes of travel and new incorporations, Newport grew to be quite a busy town. It was actually the largest and busiest town in Giles County.

Newport Covered Bidge on Clover Hollow Rd.

In 1880 its population was recorded as 1,537. This was brought to a sudden halt on April 1, 1902 when the center of the town burned to the ground. Five store buildings, two hotels, a longhouse, tannery, jail, two dwellings, and a Masonic Hall all went up in smoke. Only a store and hotel were rebuilt; these buildings still stand in the middle of Newport along with its old bank, which is now used for apartments. After the fire, any remaining businesses soon left due to the automobile along with good roads for traveling. At this point most businesses went elsewhere.

Later during the depression years the W.P.A. built concrete walks and the Newport High School. Today the people of Newport are proud of their nice homes, churches, nearby modern schools, and other improvements. Most of all they take pride in the high character of its people. Newport, with its old homestead, beautiful scenery, seven pre-Civil War homes, and two of the three covered bridges in the county, has historic designation and is a delightful place to visit.

Pearisburg
Pearisburg is the county seat of Giles and has existed as a town since 1808. It was named for Captain George Pearis of France whose family fled France in 1710 and settled in South Carolina. Pearis had purchased a 204-acre tract from Captain William Ingles for 70 pounds of sterling. He decided to donate a 53-acre tract of land to the county court to use for the construction of the county seat and its first buildings. He built the first temporary courthouse beside his home on the riverbank and supplied the lumber and stones needed to build the county’s official courthouse and other buildings in Pearisburg. He later opened a small retail store and a ferry after being severely wounded in the Revolutionary War. Pearis died in 1810 before he could see much growth in his town.

The first courthouse was also completed in this year and David and Andrew Johnston became the first merchants in Pearisburg when they opened the first tannery. Records from 1818 show there were 30 buildings in the town, mostly stone. A sketch of western Virginia by Edward Bull, published in London in 1837 read, “Pearisburg had 175 white and 34 colored inhabitants, four stores, two taverns, two schools, two tan yards, two saddlers, two hatters, two cabinet makers, one chair maker and painter, one boot and shoe factory, one wheelwright, one stone mason, one doctor, and two lawyers. A stage from Wytheville via Newborn passed daily en route to Greenbrier, while mail came once a week from Franklin and another from Tazewell.”

By 1834 the condition of the original courthouse was deteriorated to a point that the walls were coming out and the second floor was sinking; repair was impossible. Construction on the new courthouse began and was completed in September of 1836 at a cost of $5000.00 and remains in regular use today making it the oldest functioning courthouse in Southwest Virginia.

Andrew Johnston House in Pearisburg

The Andrew Johnston House was built in 1829 and is the oldest brick house in Giles County. Now it serves as a museum and research center for the county. This house became an important spot during the Civil War. On May 26, 1861, Dr. William Wirt McComas organized the Pearisburg Reserves.

The next thirty days were filled with military drills while the women of Pearisburg made the men’s uniforms. After the thirty days were over, the troops marched into the war.

A year later in May of 1862, the war came to Pearisburg. Union forces were moving through Mercer County toward Princeton. On May 6, the Union forces made it through Princeton and Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes and his men occupied Pearisburg. Rutherford along with Major William McKinley and Lieutenant James A. Garfield used the Andrew Johnston house for their temporary headquarters for three days. The Presbyterian Church across the road was forced into use for commissary and barracks for the Union troops and the Courthouse became a hospital. Officers had meals at the Woodrum Hotel down the road.

The Confederates ended the Union’s stay on May 10th at four in the morning when they drove them off of their territory. At the end of the Battle of Pearisburg, the Union left behind a soldier to burn the church. A confederate soldier shot him, and even though the church was set on fire, the ladies in Pearisburg saved it with a bucket brigade. This little squabble was too small to be considered an official battle. The courthouse dome windows were shattered and other buildings were peppered with shot. The Union lost two men, six were wounded, and the Confederates lost two men, four were wounded. Years later, Hayes, McKinley, and Garfield all became president of the United States.

Of the 800 men that fought from Giles County, 40 listed their homes from Pearisburg. Miss Cunningham saved county records from destruction by carrying the important documents in her saddlebags from the courthouse to her brother’s home in Green Valley for safekeeping. After the war the men returned to their home “almost stripped of everything to eat.”

On May 31, 1897 while court was in session, Pearisburg experienced a moderately severe earthquake. The judge adjourned court and hurried out of the room with everybody following close behind him. A number of chimneys were toppled and some brick walls and masonry were cracked.

Over looking Pearisburg is Angel’s Rest on top of Pearis Mountain at an elevation of 4000 feet while Pearisburg lies at an elevation of 1900 feet, allowing spectacular view of the New River and surrounding countryside.

Pearisburg is the home of the historical Andrew Johnston House and museum.

Pembroke
As far back as researchers can determine the first white settler to make a permanent home close to what is now Pembroke was Philip Lybrook who came with his family from Pennsylvania some time between 1748 and 1755. His family originated in Holland and the name there was Leibroch. The Lybrook family settled at a point along the New River at about the place where Sinking Creek flows into the New River.

In 1765 John Snidow, his wife, Elizabeth, and eight children consisting of five sons, Philip, Christian, John, Theopilus, and Jacob, and three daughters, Barbara and two small girls (killed by Indians in 1774) started from Pennsylvania to settler near their friend Philip Lybrook. Earlier that year John had visited Philip and liked the area. He decided to get a grant of land in what is now Pembroke.

On their way to Pembroke they met up with some friendly Indians who fed them a good supper. John like the meat so much that he asked them what it was. They told him it was rattlesnake. He died soon after, whether from overeating, shock, or whatever, no one knows. Elizabeth and her children continued on their way and made it to Pembroke. Much of the original land granted to this family is still in Snidow possession and they are direct descendants of Philip and Elizabeth.

Other early settlers in this area include the Chapmans, the Johnstons, and the Burkes. In 1845 John Lybrook, descendant of Philip Lybrook, named the town. He was the postmaster at this time and he had been reading a book, possibly Shakespeare’s Sonnets, which was dedicated to the Earl of Pembroke. He ran across the name Pembroke and thought it sounded pretty. He hung a board with the name PEMBROKE written on it on the post office building. In 1948 the town of Pembroke was incorporated and the first mayor was Captain T.P. Smith. In 1968 the new town hall was completed.

Pembroke sits on the New River with the backdrop of Castle Rock. Castle Rock has an 18-hole golf course, swimming pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, outside shelter, fifteen tables, two charcoal grills, and special rates for students and seniors. Also located in Pembroke are the Cascades and White Rocks.

The Cascades National Scenic Trail follows Big Sandy Creek upstream to a breathtaking view of Little Stony Creek cascading over a 69-foot high rock wall creating a pool below. The Cascades is a favorite hike for tourist and is approximately two miles of moderate terrain.

White Rocks Recreation Area, located in the Jefferson National Forest has 49 sites with tables and flush toilets and is set among hardwoods near a trout fishing creek and nature trail.

Rich Creek
Daniel Shumate and Milly Callison with their three sons settled Rich Creek and built their first log home in 1780. Later in 1787 Daniel received a land grant for 387 acres and built his second log home near a large spring knoll overlooking the river.

The people of Rich Creek came to know this home as “Riverside, home of the Hardin Shumates” until 1981 when it was sold to Emory and Louise Eaton. However, white settlers came across Rich Creek back in 1671 when the Batt and Fallam expedition came to a halt when Indian guides refused to go any further. They burned their initials in a tree and claimed the territory for King Charles II of England.

The early settlers in Rich Creek were Scotch, Irish, Germans, and Englishmen. They brought a horse or two, a cow, a long rifle, and a dog. Their main tool was the axe, which they used to cut down trees and the like. Christian Peters established one of the earliest mills of the area on the banks of Rich Creek.

Rich Creek steadily grew into a lovely little town. In 1882, the North and West came to Lurich, which could be reached by ferry or horse, and provided an outlet to Mercer County, West Virginia. About twenty years later the Virginian Railroad came through. Then the 1920s brought Farmer’s And Merchant’s Bank and electric lights. In 1930, a modern four-room school with a library was built which taught seven grades.

The population began to grow in the 1940s with the coming of Celco, and in 1946 the town was incorporated. Growth continued and in 1954 a Municipal Hall was built. At this time the main street was Virginia Avenue. Rich Creek lost the Virginian Railroad when Route 460 was four-laned.

The 1970s brought Elmac Incorporated, the Commonwealth Bolt, and a Health Center. A Foodland, Tastee Freeze, Delicatessen, Beauty Shops, and Restaurants came to town. Today the people are proud of Woodland Park and Cemetery. Rich Creek provides a gateway to many delightful towns in West Virginia.

Staffordsville
Staffordsville was founded in the late 1700s by Ralph Stafford of Ireland and is located on the banks of Walker’s Creek in what used to be Montgomery County.

Staffordsville has undergone great changes from that of its early days when Ralph Stafford came to America with his wife Jane (Kane) Stafford in time to serve in the Revolutionary War where he was wounded at Yorktown, which caused his death. Staffordsville is one of the few towns in Virginia with the name of the original settler. Here, Ralph Stafford built the first gristmill and sawmill.

The village struggled up the hills and over the creek bottoms until it was completely laid out. A map was placed in the County Clerk’s Office which showed seventeen lots, including a blacksmith shop, general store, grist mill, saw mill, tannery, post office, newspaper, cotton mill, and two churches – one Methodist and the other which came later the Disciples of Christ or Christian. There was also a doctor’s office, which also served as a dentist’s office when necessary. One doctor residence was located in Staffordsville from the Civil War period until 1914 and it was also the birthplace of the father of Virginia College president.

Today, thanks to development, little is left of Staffordsville; it remains a beautiful rural farming community.

White Gate
The White Gate community is a wide green valley of farmland and old homes in the extreme southwestern corner of Giles County. The Stinsons first settled the area in the 1780s. They established their homestead in the “Flat Hollow” section of the community near the forks of Kimberling and Walker’s Creek. The Stinsons were of German descent so they were adept with smelting ores. They mined manganese ore from Brushy Mountain (Lewey’s Mountain) forging this material into plowshares, kettles, and various farm and household equipment.

The second family, the Carrs, settled the area west of the present White Gate Cemetery. In 1792 the Banes, who came from Tom’s Creek, were the third family to build their home in White Gate just east of the present Vest Funeral Home. The first people to live in White Gate named it “Rye Meadows” because of the open fields of wild rye growing in creek bottoms. Later they changed the name to “Banesville” which continued for the voting precinct until the 1950s.

The first post office was established in John Bane’s home with a white gate near the house. He submitted “Broadway” to the Postal Department who rejected it because there was already a Broadway in Rockingham County. He submitted other names, and as a last resort used the name “White Gate” which the Postal Department accepted. This post office continued from 1842 to 1963.

The community became well known as an educational center for the county and the area with the establishment of White Gate Presbyterian Academy. Students came from far away to live in the community and attend the academy. The academy was a two-story building made of brick for the first floor and white weatherboard for the second. In 1918 White Gate High School opened and continued as a four-year high school until 1938.

There have been two gristmills in the community located on Walker’s Creek. Dams were made of wood. John Bane built the first one in the early 1800s, and Samuel Bane built the second one in 1856 about three miles down stream from the first. Floods eventually destroyed both of these mills.

In 1926 Henry Bane, the son of Samuel Bane, constructed a concrete dam and operated the mill until his death in 1938. On August 26, 1920, a huge storm came to White Gate on the property of W.B. Wright. Destruction began near the crest of a spot known as the “Doubles” where Flat Top and Brushy Mountain intersect. The downpour ripped out great trees, moved thousands of tons of earth and huge boulders tearing out a gorge thirty to fifty feet deep and a quarter of a mile wide.

Today White Gate remains a rural community in which beautiful scenery along Walker Creek can be viewed in a leisurely drive along Route 42.

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