Cuckoo

Louisa County, VA
Marker No. W-223

Marker Text: Cuckoo, long a landmark for travelers, was built for Henry Pendleton about 1819. Nearby once stood the Cuckoo Tavern, from which in 1781 Jack Jouett made his famous ride. The Pendletons, a prominent family of physicians whose descendants still own the house, constructed two doctor's offices at Cuckoo that still stand; one was built in the 18th century and one in the 19th. The house retains many Federal-style details as well as an early-20th-century Colonial Revival portico. Cuckoo was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1994.

Location: On Route 33 near intersection with Route 522 in Cuckoo. Marker is grouped with marker W-213 (Jack Jouett's Ride). Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 1996.

  Today, I am starting as series of blog posts about eight historical markers related to a often overlooked historical event during the American Revolution. A few years ago I decided to drive U.S. Route 33 while traveling back home from Williamsburg, VA. I came across two markers in the little village of Cuckoo, VA. What I discovered was the story of Jack Jouett. Next to this marker about “Cuckoo” was a marker titled, “Jack Jouett's Ride.” I had never heard of Jack Jouett and about his night time ride 40 miles to Charlottesville, VA to warn the Virginia state legislative that the British were coming.

  Until I came across this, I don't ever remember hearing this story about Jack Jouett which begin here in Cuckoo. In school, we have all heard of the story of Paul Revere and his ride to warn the colonists about the approaching British at the beginning of the American Revolution. Unless you grew up in this part of Virginia where the story is told within the local schools, most of us have probably never heard of Jack Jouett and his ride in the closing months of the American Revolutionary War in 1781.

Photo taken looking north on Route 522 and west on Route 33.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  In Cuckoo, VA there are two state historical markers, today's called “Cuckoo” deals chiefly about the village and the Pendleton family who were a family of physicians and the marker titled, “Jack Jouett's Ride,” which I will post tomorrow. The village of Cuckoo is directly east of Charlottesville and eight miles southeast of Lousia, VA on U.S. Route 33.

  Before the Pendleton's built the home pictured here in Cuckoo, there was a tavern nearby called “Cuckoo Tavern” where it is reported Jack Jouett's adventure began. Legend has it that the name Cuckoo came from a cuckoo clock that was in the tavern and the first such clock in this part of Virginia. While other sources state, it was not unusual for taverns to be named for animals, particularly birds. This might be the case, since Jack Jouett's father once owned Cuckoo Tavern and later owned another tavern in Charlottesville, VA called Swan Tavern. I will get into the details about Jack's ride tomorrow, but we will first deal with the marker called Cuckoo.

Edgar Allan Poe

Marker No. Q-29
Charlottesville
Albemarle County, VA

Marker Text:  Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) – writer, poet, and critic – was born in Boston, Mass. Orphaned at a young age, Poe was raised by John and Frances Allan of Richmond. He attended schools in England and Richmond before enrolling at the University of Virginia on 14 Feb. 1826 for one term, living in No. 13 West Range. He took classes in the Ancient and Modern Languages. While at the university, Poe accumulated debts that John Allan refused to pay. Poe left the university and briefly returned to Richmond, before moving to Boston in Mar. 1827. Some of his best-known writings include the Raven, Annabel Lee, and the Tell-Tale Heart. He also edited the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond from 1835 to 1837. Poe died in Baltimore, Md.

Location: On McCormick Road, next to Poe Alley on the campus of the University of Virginia. Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 2003.

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” - Edgar Allan Poe

  When I stop to look and photograph an historical markers, I am always surprised by the things I learn I never knew. While in Charlottesville for a doctor's appointment I drove through the University of Virginia campus and found this marker about Edgar Allan Poe. I had not realized he had lived in Virginia and went to school here for a short time.

Poe’s room is in the building to the right of the marker.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  The marker is located in front of the place where Poe resided. Poe's room was Number Thirteen, West Range, and is now used as a memorial to him. I did not realize this at the time or I would have taken a photo of the room as well, but links to photos of the room are below.

  Poe entered as a student on St. Valentine's Day, February 14, 1826 while the second session at the University was already under way. The university had only began to accept students for classes in 1825 though the university was formally founded in 1819. Thomas Jefferson, the university's founder and whose home Monticello overlooked the university was still alive when Poe arrived. Poe mentions in one of his letters to John Allan from the university that the Rotunda was yet unfinished, and that books had just been removed to the library. According to some accounts I had read, Poe did get to meet Jefferson and on one occasion had lunch with Jefferson and other students.

Searight's Tollhouse

Fayette County, PA

Marker Text: Erected by Pennsylvania, in 1835, to collect tolls on the National Road.
Administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Location: On the site Searight's Tollhouse on U.S. Route 40 (National Pike) between Lacy Road & Dearth/Canistra Roads, 5 miles Northwest of Uniontown, PA between Uniontown and Brownsville, PA.

Toll House
Fayette County, PA

Marker Text: One of the six original toll houses on the Cumberland or National Road. It was built by the State after the road was turned over to it by the U.S. in 1835. The road was completed through this section in 1817-18.

Location: On the U.S. Route 40 (National Road), near Dearth/Canistra Roads, five miles northwest of Uniontown, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1947.

  Today's post is covers two related markers referring to the same old toll house on the old National Pike or Road. The two markers are only about 150 yards from each other. I wonder why the standard state historical marker is not located at the site of the toll house rather than further south.

State marker is east of the toll house which can be seen in the distance on the left.  Photo taken looking west on U.S. Route 40.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  I have taken photos of three existing toll houses on the old National Road. Each toll house is similar in design, but each made from different materials, one in Maryland (which I posted earlier) is wood frame structure. Another in Petersburg, PA (Addison) is made with hand cut limestone. Today's toll house is build of brick. Older photos of Searight's Tollhouse can be found at this link.

  Searight's Tollhouse received its name from its location near the village of Searights, named for its most prominent citizen, William Searight. Searight was one of the wealthiest men in the region of Fayette County, PA during the first half of the nineteenth century. Searight used his political connections to land the position of Commissioner of the Cumberland Road (National Road) for the state of Pennsylvania in 1842.

Birthplace of Lt. Presley Neville O'Bannon, USMC

Marker No. FF-6
Fauquier County, VA

Marker Text: Just north stood the home of William and Ann (Neville) O'Bannon, where their son, Lt. Presley Neville O'Bannon, was born about 1776. O'Bannon, a Marine, was the first American to command U.S. forces on foreign soil and the first to raise the American flag over a fortress in the Old World. His success at the Battle of Derne, Tripoli (present day Libya), on 27 Apr. 1805, ended a four-year war against the Tripoli pirates, and inspired the phrase "to the shores of Tripoli" in the Marine Corps Hymn. He settled in Kentucky about 1807, served in its legislature, and died in 1850.

Location: On County Route F-185 (Grove Lane), One mile west of Marshall, northwest of Interstate 66, Exit 27 on the north side of the road. Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 1996.

  Today is the 237^th Anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps. The United States Marine Corps abounds with tradition and history. An important aspect of this history and tradition revolves around Presley Neville O'Bannon. Over two hundred years ago, O'Bannon, a Virginian born in Fauquier County in 1776, became the first American to raise the United States' flag over foreign soil on April 27, 1805 during the Barbary Wars.

Photo taken looking west on Co. Route F-185, just north of exit 27 from Interstate 66.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  Presley Neville O'Bannon was named for his cousin, who had been an American officer in the Revolutionary War, served as the aide-de-camp to General Marquis de Lafayette and married to the daughter of General Daniel Morgan.

  In Tripoli (now Libya) and the Barbary Coast "pirates" had raided shipping in the Mediterranean Seas for years, exacting tribute in return for not attacking ships of a given nation, or seizing ships and sailors and selling them into slavery. Before American Independence, American ships had enjoyed the protection of the British Navy, but after independence, America was forced to pay tribute to avoid pirates, it was determined that it was less costly to pay the tribute then to respond with military action.

William Holmes McGuffey

Bourbon County, KY
Marker Number 178

Marker Text: Born September 23, 1800 - Died May 4, 1873. Famous for his eclectic readers which introduced thousands of children to the treasures of literature. At this site he taught from 1823 to 1826 before joining the faculty of Miami University.

Location: On High Street, Paris, KY across from the Duncan Tavern. Erected by the Kentucky Department of Highways.

  McGuffey Readers played an important role in American history. Most prominent post-Civil War and turn-of-the-Century American figures credited their initial success in learning to the Readers, which provided a guide to what was occurring in the public school movement and in American culture during the 19th century.

This marker is a little different that it rests next to the wall of a building on High Street, Paris, KY across from Duncan Tavern.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  The McGuffey Readers reflect William H. McGuffey's personal philosophies, as well as his rough and tumble early years as a frontier schoolteacher. McGuffey's Readers were more than mere textbooks, they helped frame the country's morals and tastes, and shaped the American character. They approached learning by using the natural curiosity of children; emphasized work and an independent spirit; encouraged an allegiance to country, and an understanding of the importance of religious values. The Readers were filled with stories of strength, character, goodness and truth. The books presented a variety of contrasting viewpoints on many issues and topics, and drew moral conclusions about lying, stealing, cheating, poverty, teasing, alcohol, overeating, skipping school and foul language. The books taught children to seek an education and continue to learn throughout their lives.

  The original author of the Readers, which would continue to carry his name during later revisions even after his death, William Holmes McGuffey, was born September 23, 1800, near Claysville, Pennsylvania. His parents then moved to Youngstown, Ohio with in 1802. McGuffey's family had emigrated to America from Scotland in 1774, and brought with them strong Presbyterian-Calvinist opinions and a belief in education. Educating the young mind and preaching the gospel were McGuffey's passions. He had a remarkable ability to memorize, and could commit to memory entire books of the Bible.

Jackson's Mill

Lewis County, WV

Marker Text: Site of boyhood home of Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The first mill was built about 1808 by his grandfather, Col. Edward Jackson, who became a leader in border affairs. It is now the site of the W. Va. 4-H Camp for Boys and Girls.

Location: North of Weston, WV near the entrance to Jackson's Mill off County Route 10 (Jackson Mill Road) across the road from the old homestead historic site.

Photo taken looking west toward entrance to Jackson Mill Conference Center entrance and Jackson Family Cemetery.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  Colonel Edward Jackson, a Revolutionary War figure, originally settled the mill on the West Fork River in 1800. Three generations of Jacksons operated mills at this site which boasted saw and grist mills, a carpenter shop, blacksmith forge, quarters for twelve slaves, numerous barns/outbuildings, and a general store on 1500 acres of prime forest and pasture land.

  Jackson’s Mill is located near Weston, WV in Lewis County and was the boyhood home of future Confederate Gen. Thomas J. ‘‘Stonewall’’ Jackson. The site was first settled by Thomas J. Jackson’s grandfather, Edward, around 1800. He constructed a house, gristmill, and sawmill on the property.

McCoy Cemetery

Pike County, KY
Marker Number: 2067

Marker Text: Among the graves in the McCoy Cemetery are those of Randolph McCoy's three sons - Tolbert, Pharmer, and Randolph Jr. - all killed by the Hatfields. Also buried here are Alifair and Calvin McCoy, who were killed by the Hatfields when cabin was burned. Cemetery is part of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud Historic District. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Location: In McCarr, Kentucky on KY Route 319 east of the intersection with Route 1056, next to the McCarr Post Office, at the same location as the Hog Trial and Election Fight historical marker on the same lot. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2001.

  While traveling through Pike County I found this marker about the McCoy Cemetery while taking photos for the Hog Trial and Election Fight marker. I attempted to look for the cemetery but only later realized the cemetery was located on top of the hill behind the McCarr post office. I looked on Google Earth to locate the cemetery and noticed the road leading to the cemetery would not have been easy to find, at least for someone unfamiliar with the area. While doing research on the cemetery I discovered I probably could not have entered the cemetery or taken photos since the cemetery is now located on private property and there is no public access.

  I attempt to seek photos of graves related to markers, but I also respect private property and will not violate someone's property just to get a photo. Occasionally, there is someone I can ask to gain permission, but often not and some have big No Trespassing Signs prominently displayed. While living in southern WV I discovered hundreds of small family cemeteries existed throughout the hills of Appalachia and often are called by family names, but there can also be multiple cemeteries sharing the same family name.

Pawpaw Tree Incident

Pike County, KY
Marker Number: 2047

Marker Text: This episode is result of August 1882 election-day fight. Tolbert, a son of Randolph McCoy, exchanged heated words with Ellison Hatfield, which started a fight. Tolbert, Pharmer and Randolph McCoy Jr. stabbed Ellison to death. Later the three brothers were captured by Hatfield clan, tied to pawpaw trees, and shot in retaliation. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Location: Near Buskirk, KY State Highway 1056 about 3/4 of a mile from the West Virginia/Kentucky border from Matewan, WV. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2000.

Photo taken looking south on KY Route 1056, road north goes to Matewan, WV only about a mile away. Click any photo to enlarge.

  I have spent the last three evenings watching the History Channel series on the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. I have taken many photos related to these two families and will be sharing them in the next couple of weeks. The History Channel program helped to make the stories and lives of these two families more genuine. Regardless of how terrible the events of the feud were to these two families, we are talking about families and their often flawed relationships.

  According to most historical accounts, the significant turning point in the feud occurred during the Election Fight in August 1882. Three of Randolph McCoy’s sons ended up in a violent dispute with two brothers of Devil Anse. During the chaos of the fight one of the McCoy brothers stabbed Ellison Hatfield multiple times and then shot him in the back. Authorities in Kentucky soon apprehended the McCoy’s, but the Hatfield’s interceded, spiriting the men to Hatfield territory in West Virginia.

Hatfield-McCoy Feud

Mingo County, WV

Marker Text: The death in 1882 of Ellison Hatfield, brother of "Devil Anse", from wounds he received in an election-day fight in Pike County, Kentucky, with three sons of Randolph McCoy, and their subsequent killing by the Hatfields, triggered America's most famous family feud. The feud continued six years across the Tug River and brought death to an untold number of Hatfields, McCoys, and their kinsmen.

Location: WV Route 49 (Railroad Avenue), at junction with Laurel Street in Matewan, WV. Erected by the West Virginia Department of Archives and History in 1970.

  Dutch Hatfield stated that he knew only one thing for sure about the feud: If someone says he knows the true story of the battle, he doesn't. No one knows the truth, he says. Nor will it ever be known. The truth was buried with the people who fought and died in this rugged mountain terrain during the years of the feud. From interview with Dutch Hatfield, Newtown, WV, the grandson of Ellison Hatfield.

  Historical markers related to the Hatfield-McCoy Feud are located in both West Virginia and Kentucky. This marker located in Matewan, WV indicates the feud began with the death of Ellison Hatfield in 1882 following the election-day fight across the Tug River into Kentucky and the subsequent Paw Paw Tree incident in Kentucky. There are markers in Kentucky on both the Election-day fight and Paw Paw Tree incident.

  Yesterday's marker from Kentucky about the Killing of Asa Harmon McCoy indicated the start of the feud with this incident. I don't claim any expertise on the history of the feud. Based on what I have read and the stories I heard while living in this area a few years ago. A person's viewpoint on the feud greatly depends on many things, such as, which side of the river one lives, whose family one identifies, and how much a person's view was influenced by media reports of the time. I am not sure anyone could give an exact point where the feud began.

  Link to a List of Books and Articles on the Feud provided by West Virginia Division of Cultural and History.  Hatfield-McCoy Feud in an article from the Beckley Post-Herald on August 7, 1957.

Site of Killing of Asa Harmon McCoy

Pike County, KY
Marker Number: 2068

Marker Text: Asa Harmon McCoy, a Union soldier, was shot in 1865 by the Logan Wildcats. The Wildcats were led by Confederate "Devil Anse" Hatfield. Jim Vance was the suspected leader in the murder, although there was never a conviction. This was the first incident between the two families. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.

Location: Entrance to Blackberry School, just off KY 1056, near Ransom, KY. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2001.

The bridge on the right of the marker connects, KY Road 1056 and the Blackberry School and Fire Department on this side of the creek.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  I have collected several photos of historical markers related to the Hatfield-McCoy families and the world's famous feud which struck the imaginations of the nation outside of Appalachia. The Hatfield-McCoy feud began in the mountainous Tug River valley. The Tug River separates West Virginia from Kentucky and separated most of the Hatfield and McCoy clans. William Anderson Hatfield was the recognized leader of the Hatfield's and went by the nickname of “Devil Anse”. The leader of the McCoy's was Randolph McCoy, or known as Ole Ran'l.

  Many legends and misconceptions about the Hatfield-McCoy Feud has been told over the years. Most of the misunderstandings about the conflicts between these two families were promoted by the newspapers starting in 1887 when reports on the feud were printed. The newspapers portrayed the Hatfield’s as violent backwoods hillbillies who roamed the mountains stirring up violence. The newspapers sensational coverage fueled a series of stories and legends shaping Americas imagination for these two families. What began as a local story had now become a national legend.

Gauley Bridge

Fayette County, WV

Marker Text: Here New and Gauley rivers unite to form Great Kanawha River. Piers still stand of old bridge destroyed by the Confederate troops in 1861. Here Thomas Dunn English, author of the ballad, "Ben Bolt", wrote "Gauley River".

Location: On U.S. Route 60 in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia.

  Gauley Bridge is a small incorporated municipality in Fayette County located at the confluence of the Gauley and New Rivers, where the two streams join to form the Kanawha River. Gauley Bridge due to its geographic location serves as the eastern gateway to the Kanawha Valley.

  The town achieved notoriety during the Great Depression of the 1930s when hundreds of unemployed workers, many of them Southern blacks, swarmed into Gauley Bridge to take construction jobs. They served as labors on the construction of the nearby Hawks Nest dam and tunnel. The tunnel was driven three miles through Gauley Mountain, and tunnel workers almost immediately began to sicken and die. The cause was silicosis, a disease well known in Europe but not in the United States at that time. The death toll has been estimated at more than 750, making the Hawks Nest disaster among the worst industrial accidents in U.S. history.

  The name Gauley Bridge derived from the presence of a wooden covered bridge used to carry traffic across the Gauley River over the James River & Kanawha Turnpike which came through here beginning in the early 1820s. Gauley Bridge being the eastern gateway to the Kanawha Valley was of strategic importance during the Civil War.

Richard Henderson

Crawford County, PA

Marker Text: Born a slave in Maryland in 1801, he escaped as a boy and about 1824 came to Meadville. A barber, he was long active in the Underground Railroad. His Arch Street house, since torn down, is estimated to have harbored some 500 runaway slaves prior to the Civil War.

Location: At the corner of Liberty and Arch Streets, next to Bethel AME Church, Meadville, PA.  Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1980.

  When the Richard Henderson marker above was approved in 1980, it represented only the third time a African American Pennsylvanian had been honored by a state historical marker.

Bethel A.M.E. Church is on the left of the marker and faces Liberty Street, Arch Street is on the right. Click any photo to enlarge.

  According to Meadville tradition, Richard Henderson was the first permanent black resident of Meadville. Richard had escaped from slavery at the age of 15 with his two brothers and a sister. The brothers survived, but the sister died after catching pneumonia during the journey. One of the Henderson brothers continued north to Canada. The other two, Richard and Robert, established a barbershop in town.

  Richard Henderson's residence was located near this marker according to a 1875 Meadville map his home would have been across the street from the church about three houses east of the church on Arch Street. His home operated as a station along the Underground Railroad and is estimated to have aided some 500 runaway slaves.

Arch Street is on the right and according to 1875 map, Henderson’s home would have been located approximately where the yellow house is across from the church in the photo.

  While his brother Robert eventually left to establish his own barbershop in nearby Brookville, Richard remained in Meadville. There, he was a leader in the local Underground Railroad network from the 1830s to the 1860s. Abolitionist John Brown lived north of Meadville until 1835 and did came to Meadville often. He helped to establish other stations for the Underground Railroad in the surrounding area. Though I did not find any specific evidence of a connection and it is very likely that John Brown and Richard Henderson knew each other in regard to Underground Railroad operations and may have learned from each other.

  Richard Henderson was a prominent member of the African American community, where he helped to form Meadville's Bethel A.M.E. Church in 1849 (where this marker is located) and served as an early trustee. Richard Henderson married twice. His second wife, Mary, was born in Erie, PA in 1821. Together they raised two sons, Edward and Lincoln. Edward Henderson recalled that he saw his parents provided shelter and a hiding place in their home for as many as twenty fugitives at a time. Richard Henderson died in 1880 at the age of 79 and is buried in Meadville.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives license.

Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools

Crawford County, PA

Marker Text: An event here in September 1880 led to the end of segregation by race in the state's public schools. At the South Ward schools, Elias Allen tried unsuccessfully to enroll his two children. He appealed to the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas, and Judge Pearson Church declared unconstitutional the 1854 state law mandating separate schools for Negro children. This law was amended, effective July 4, 1881, to prohibit such segregation.

Location: On South Main Street in front of The Second District School, Meadville, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2000.

  My last post about school integration during the 1950's in what was called “Massive Resistance” over segregation within Virginia schools was only one event in many years of struggle to integrate public schools. The first struggles to integrate public schools began less than 20 years after the end of the Civil War, like this marker located in Meadville, PA indicates.

Photo taken looking south on S. Main Street in Meadville, PA. Click any photo to enlarge.

  On May 8, 1854, Governor William Bigler signed Pennsylvania's common school law creating “separate schools for the tuition of negro and mulatto children.” Twenty-six years later in September 1880, Elias Allen, an African American living in Meadville, Crawford County, challenged the legislation by trying unsuccessfully to enroll his two children in the South Ward school in Meadville. The following year he adamantly refused to send his son to an all-Black school to which the county’s school board had assigned him.

Underground Railroad Activity in Chambersburg

Franklin County, PA

Marker Text: Throughout the pre-Civil War period, there were a number of Underground Railroad "stations" in this area, temporary places of refuge for former slaves escaping through the mountainous terrain to freedom in the North. One local Underground Railroad agent was a free black barber, Henry Watson, who assisted fugitive slaves as they passed through Chambersburg, helping to keep them safe and undetected by the slave-catchers and bounty hunters searching for them.

Location: Main St. & U.S. Route 30 (Lincoln Highway), on the Northeast quadrant of the "diamond," in downtown Chambersburg. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2002.

  Today's marker is one of many historical markers related to the Underground Railroad, as it was to be called. Many communities in Pennsylvania were located just north of the Mason-Dixon line and were natural locations for involvement in the Underground Railroad movement.

  There would probably be hundreds of historical markers about the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, if we knew of their existence, therefore no historical markers will ever commemorate their actions. Maintaining records by the people involved about the activities of the Underground Railroad would have been potentially dangerous for the persons helping African-American slaves escape and the escapees themselves, so few records exist. Through later local stories told by residents following the Civil War and the limited number of records that were maintained, we today know about possible routes fugitive slaves would have followed on their journey. What appears clear, however, is that people with widely different backgrounds from across Pennsylvania contributed to the success of the Underground Railroad. They did so at considerable risk, but most remained surprisingly defiant despite the dangers.

Craik-Patton House

Kanawha County
Charleston, West Virginia

Marker Text: Built 1834 as "Elm Grove" by James Craik, grandson of Geo. Washington's personal physician. Sold to George Smith Patton, 1858, and retained by family until end of Civil War. Born here was father of noted World War II general Geo. S. Patton. Moved to Lee St. from original Virginia St. location in 1906. Acquired by City of Charleston in 1968 and leased to Colonial Dames. Moved to park 1973.

Location: On U.S. Route 60 (Kanawha Blvd E) east of Charleston and west of Daniel Boone Park, Charleston, WV.

Photo taken looking east on U.S. Route 60, the entrance to the Daniel Boone Park is just beyond the marker on the right.  Interstate 64 is above the retaining wall on the left.

  Today's marker is about an historic house once located within the main section of Charleston before being moved to this location in 1973. Originally located on Virginia Street, the Craik-Patton House was moved to Lee Street in the early twentieth century. The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of West Virginia, as part of the nation's Bicentennial celebration, acquired the house and moved it to Daniel Boone Park.

Ephraim McDowell House

Marker Number 2284
Boyle County, KY

Marker Text: Home of Ephraim McDowell, the “father of modern surgery.” Here on December 25, 1809, McDowell performed the first successful abdominal operation when he took a 22-pound ovarian cyst from Jane Todd Crawford of Green Co. With no anesthesia, she sang hymns during the operation. Crawford recovered in 25 days and lived until 1842.    Over.
(Reverse) Built in 3 stages. Brick ell, or single-story wing, built 1790s. McDowell purchased house in 1802 and added front clapboard section c. 1804. Rear brick office and formal gardens added in 1820. House sold when McDowell died in 1830. In 1930s, Ky. Med. Assoc. bought house; restored by WPA. House dedicated on May 20, 1939. Now a house museum. Over.

Location: 125 S. Second St., Danville, KY across Constitution Square. Erected by the Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky Department of Highways in 2009.

"If you think you are prepared to die, I will take the lump from you..." Dr. McDowell said this to Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford prior to the first successful abdominal operation.

  After Dr. Ephraim McDowell completed his medical training in Scotland and with Dr. Alexander Humphreys in Staunton, VA, he returned to Danville, Kentucky to began the practice of medicine. Fourteen years later he was called to see Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford, the wife of Thomas Crawford.

  Earlier in 1809, Mrs. Crawford developed an enlargement of her abdomen which progressively got larger. Her local doctors assumed that she was pregnant, even though she was 45 years old. By December her abdomen was huge, and two physicians who examined her sought McDowell's advise and assistance about what they believed would be the delivery of baby. He came on horseback to her home on December 13, 1809. Jane Crawford lived on the land known as Motley's Glen on the waters of Caney Fork, nine miles southeast of Greensburg, KY and about sixty miles from Danville.

Erie Extension Canal

Mercer County, PA

Marker Text: Route of travel and trade, Pittsburgh to Great Lakes, 1840-1871. Important to the western Pennsylvania iron industry before the rise of the railroads. The only remaining canal lock still stands in Sharpsville.

Location: West of the intersection with PA Route 18 & 518 on Route 518, east of Sharpsville. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1946.

Second Marker Text: Route of travel and trade, Pittsburgh to Great Lakes, 1840-1871. Important to the western Pennsylvania iron industry before the rise of the railroads. Lock #10, a guard lock, represents the only remaining canal lock.

Location: In front of the park where this canal is located. East High Street Extension along the route going to the Shenango Dam. Project sponsored by: PA Department of Community Affairs State P-500 Bond Program.

  For today's posting there are two markers making reference to the same remaining canal lock on the Erie Extension Canal. One marker is near Hermitage, PA at the turn going west to Sharpsville where the lock is located. There is a similar, but smaller marker in front of the park leading to the only remaining lock. The complete masonry remains of Erie Extension Lock number 10 are preserved in a public park with picnic grounds and fishing facilities.

Old Stone Church at Greenspring

Frederick County, VA

Marker No. A-67

Marker Text:  One-half mile west at Greenspring stands the Old Stone Church, the second church building on the site, which was built in 1838 for a Lutheran congregation. The first church had been built as a subscription school and as a house of worship. Old Stone Church and its large cemetery both had been long abandoned when, in 1927, Cora Bell Crim led local residents in restoring them and forming the Old Stone Church Memorial Association. The earliest extant Lutheran church in Frederick County, Old Stone Church is a rare example of the simple stone churches once common in the northern Shenandoah Valley.

The church is located down the road which is across the road from the marker to the right of this photo.  Photo taken looking east on Route 671 (Green Spring Rd.)

Location:  Near Green Spring, Virginia northwest of Winchester at the intersection of County Route 671 (Green Spring Road) and County Route 676 (Warm Spring Road), on the north side of the road across from road to church.  Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 1998.

  Located in the rolling farmland of northern Frederick County, the Old Stone Church has changed little since its beginning. To get the church you leave the main road and travel on a winding lane through farmland to the church through open fields of pasture in all directions.

First Toll Gate House

Allegany County, MD

Marker Text:  First Toll Gate House on the Old National (Cumberland) Road. Erected about 1833 after this portion of the road was turned over to the state of Maryland by the United States Government. There was one other toll gate in Maryland on this road.

Location: National Highway (U.S. Route 40) about six miles west of Cumberland, MD on the left when traveling west in the village of LaVale.  Erected by the State Roads Commission.

Photo, to left, is the marker as it appears looking east on Route 40 toward Cumberland, MD. Click any photo to enlarge.

  The only remaining toll house in Maryland along the Historic National Road Scenic Byway is located in LaVale. The restored Toll House has an original sign listing the prices charged for heads of cattle, hogs, and the like, commonly driven to market along the Pike.

  Allegany County, Maryland has recently installed a park with covered pavilions and restrooms at the site and parking is available. The old toll gates can be viewed, as well as a remnant section of the National Road. The LaVale Toll House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Oakhurst" Golf Club

Greenbrier County, WV

Marker Text: Site of the first organized golf club in United States. It was formed, 1884, on the "Oakhurst" estate by owner, Russell W. Montague, a New Englander, and Scotchmen: George Grant, Alexander M. and Roderick McLeod and Lionel Torrin.

Location: On U.S. Route 60 east of downtown White Sulphur Springs at the intersection with junction with WV Route 92. Erected by the West Virginia Historic Commission in 1965.  Marker is group another marker title, “Dry Creek Battle.”

  The Oakhurst Golf Club course is located approximately two miles northeast of White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County off the Big Draft Road on Montague Drive. I found this marker particularly interesting, because the golf course is located in the same area where I spent some of my summers as a child, visiting relatives that lived along Big Draft Road. My father was born north of this location at the end of Big Draft Road.

  Oakhurst Links, near White Sulphur Springs, was the first organized golf club and course in America. The Oakhurst Links property began as the farm of Russell W. Montague, a native of Dedharn, Massachusetts who moved to Greenbrier County, West Virginia in 1876. Montague was joined in founding the club in 1884 by George Grant, a retired British army officer; Alexander and Roderick MacLeod from Scotland; and Lionel Torrin, who was the owner of a tea plantation in India, avid golfer, and regular summer visitor. Frazer Corron, a local carpenter, made golf clubs for the club members.