Lewisburg WV

1834 Law Library Building

Everyone thinks that the area we now know of as West Virginia just suddenly broke off from Virginia. Further, most folks believe that the whole separation movement originated in the period 1861-63 over issues surrounding Virginia leaving the Union and joining forces with other southern states in the Confederacy. Unfortunately, as with most ideas that seem to have a lot of currency in modern American thought, it is not quite as simple as all that. People who lived in the area we now know of as West Virginia had been unhappy with the way they were served by the then-government of Virginia for a long time. At least as far back as the late 1820's, possibly earlier.

In 1830, Virginia had a great Constitutional Convention. This Convention had been called by the legislature specifically to address the grievances of the "western counties." It represented a last gathering of those few Revolutionary-war era Virginians still able to get around, such as James Madison, John Marshall, and former President James Monroe. Monroe was the presiding officer.

As a result of the efforts of the "western counties," the 1830 Covention loosened the requirements for sufferage. The leadership seeing the possible change in political power that might occur, agreed to provide more services for the people west of the Alleghenies. They actually had started on this task a earlier when they sent a former engineer in the army of Napoleon Bonapart, Claudius Crozet, into the western counties to begin laying out a rudimentary system of turnpikes, and also to recommend improvements for the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers in order to improve navigation. Among other efforts, Crozet pioneered a road through western Kanawha County which he called "The Point Pleasant, Kanawha and James River Turnpike. This road still exists today and is known as State Route 622, or by the local folks as West Washington Street, up to the Cross Lanes traffic light, and Cross Lanes Drive from that point until it meets with State Rt. 25 at Rock Branch.

The government also consented to build two structures in the Western States to meet the needs of that area. The first was a hospital for the "lunatics" or "insane" or whatever politically incorrect term you wish to use. This building was built in Weston WV and was used as a hospital for the mentally unstable until about 10-15 years ago. It still stands and the folks in that area have been attempting to make it over into a "tourist attraction" (hey, it beats promoting table gaming)!

The second was this structure. The people of the "western counties" claimed they were denied "equal protection" under the law because Richmond was a long way to go to have your appeal tried. And so, it was agreed that a library for the use of the Virginia Court of Appeals and those arguing cases before it, would be built in Lewisburg VA.

The building was erected in 1834 and served in its stated capacity until the outbreak of the Civil War. At that time, justice in the "western counties" became a very uncertain thing indeed. And, to make matters worse, several times Union Troops were sent into the Greenbrier Valley for the specific purpose of capturing the law books housed in this structure and moving them to Wheeling where the newly formed government of West Virginia could use them ("The Battle of White Sulphur Springs" is also often called "The Battle over the Law Books").

As a public building, it was occupied several times by troops from both sides who were in Lewisburg "on business." There is one place where their tell-tale graffiti has been preserved.

After the war, the Masonic Lodge of Lewisburg took over the building and used it for their meetings. The County purchased it in 1939, and converted it into a public library. When we lived in Greenbrier County, this is what it was, and all three of us (for K. was along by then), would come here to check out books when we were in town.

Just this spring, however, Greenbrier County finished a new Public Library Building just across the road and up a few hundred yards from this structure. Consequently, the structure is currently vacant. I do not know at this point what the future has in store for this building. However, I expect the folks of Lewisburg, conscious of the importance of history to the continued well-being of their town, will find an appropriate use.

Right beside the Law Library structure is a second structure that has been fixed up to look as if it was built at the same time for the same use. However, this is not the case. Instead it is a brick slave house from another property in Lewisburg that was moved to this spot and put to the use of the library.

Great Train Stations in North America: 5

Smithton (Smithburg) WV

This is a very normal, ordinary wooden station building, plain in design. It probably resembles many other railroad station buildings that still exist, or used to exist. About the only thing out of the ordinary about it, is that despite the fact that the railroad called it "Smithton" it is actually located in the town of Smithburg WV. But that, in and of itself, is not really all that extraordinary. In plenty of other places, the railroad would give a station a name that was different from what the locals called their settlement.

Sometimes there were understandable reasons for a difference between a station name, and the name of the community it served. For example, several places railroads changed the station name in order to avoid confusion with other stops in the area with similar sounding names. The Norfolk and Western had two stations, Shepherdstown WV, and Sharpsburg MD, separated only by the single track bridge spanning the Potomac River. Accordingly they re-named the Sharpsburg MD depot, Antietam. This change not only avoided confusion on the operation of the railroad, but also assisted Civil War veterans who desired to return to the scene of battles they were in. But other times, there was spite and vengance involved in changing a station's, and even the town's name. The best example of this situation I know of, was when Collis P. Huntington decided that the citizens of Coalsmouth WV were not sufficiently cooperative with the crew building his new Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. So, he simply had the name of the town changed by his chief lawyer, a man by the name of Parsons. The lawyer decided to name it after his home town, St. Albans VT. And thus was born "St. Albans WV."

At any rate, Smithton, Smithburg, whatever you want to call it, is no longer an active station. Further, the tracks that used to serve the station are no longer in existence. The tracks, which dated back to the historic Northwestern Virginia Railroad, a subsidiary of the Baltimore and Ohio, known for many years as the "National Limited Line" of the Baltimore and Ohio, were pulled in 1985 and the line was "railbanked." Through this section of the country, the line became the North Bend Railtrail.

Smithton depot, located roughly at the half-way point, has been repainted and restored on the inside to resemble a typical country station of the late 1800's in West Virginia. It is a very ordinary station. But even so, it still has a story to tell. You just have to listen and know where to look.

Lewisburg WV

Another Old Church --

The John Wesley Church: 1820

I am not sure when the first congregation formed in the "Big Levels" area("Big Levels" was the first of several names given to the town now known as Lewisburg WV), but they built their first building in 1820. It is the back 2/3rds of the present structure. It was added onto in 1835. It has had a very interesting history since then.

In 1844 the Methodist Episcopal Church (the name it took after it was formed in 1784), split over the question of whether or not Bishops of the Church could own slaves. Those who said they could not became the Methodist Episcopal Church, North (for about 4 years when the 1848 General Conference dropped the ", North" part of their new name and became again the Methodist Episcopal Church [or M.E. for short]). Those who said Bishops could own slaves became the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. At that time, both parts of the splitting church allowed clergy members and lay members to own slaves.

The folks in this region, several being very good slaveholding Southerners, went with the Southern branch. Nevertheless, they still allowed Slaves to attend the same service that they did (the M.E.'s did not and insisted on setting up "separate but equal" churches for Afro-Americans), albeit, in a loft or galley. Often, the entrance to the galley was separate from the entrance the rest of the folks used (as was the case here).

During the Civil War, there was one major military action in the town of Lewisburg itself, the so-called "Battle of Lewisburg." I will cover this action in a later posting. For now, I will simply note that a stray confederate cannon ball hit the church and imbedded itself in the East Wall. It stayed there for many years, up until about 10 years ago. Then it was removed, and a sign placed on the side of the building to show everyone where the ball had been.

In 1850 the congregation constructed a small brick house to use as a parsonage about 2 blocks north of the church. Since then, the various owners have added several frame additions so that it is impossible to see the original building from the street. Nevertheless, the guidebooks assures us it still resides within the structure pictured.

The John Wesley structure is still used by a United Methodist congregation today. After the Methodist Church moved over onto Washington Street, US 60, the main road through town, an African American congregation of Methodists started meeting in the building. Thus, John Wesley United Methodist Church remains an active church of the West Virginia Annual Conference.

Lowell WV

The Graham House -- Built 1770

Lowell is just a "wide spot" in the road, State Rts. 3 and 12, as it wends its way up the Lower Greenbrier River Valley. You have either just left Alderson and are on your way to Talcott (see John Henry Legend post) and Hinton, or Visa Versa. It would probably escape notice, except for this one building, known of today as "The Graham House."

Colonel Graham (the rank indicates his rank in the militia) built this house in 1770. At the time, there were few British Army outposts in this area. Graham and a few friends moved south from Fort Union (modern-day Lewisburg [see posting] ) and built this 2 story structure to be not only a house, but also a kind of fortress for himself and his neighbors. In 1777, what feelings of security the house had created were completely dissolved as warriors from the Shawnee tribe attacked the house and killed a friend of the family who had fled to the house for shelter, and Col. Graham's 10 year old son. In addition, Col. Graham had a 7 year old daughter captured. He managed to rescued/ransomed her from her captors in 1785, near present-day Maysville KY. It is reported that they escaped home in part because Col. Graham stopped and re-shoed his horse so that the shoes were on backwards. His think was that any party following him would be confused by this and would go 180 degrees opposite to the actual direction he took. Whether because of this ruse, or other reasons, Col. Graham and his daughter returned home.

This house, one of the oldest West of the Alleghenies, is owned and maintained by the Graham House Preservation Society Inc. It is open only on occassion depending upon how much financial resources and volunteer help the Preservation Group can secure. In years past it has been opened on weekends for limited hours, but I do not know if that is the case this summer. 9It was not open the day we stopped by this summer but then, that was on a Friday.)

In addition to the house, the Preservation Society also moved an nearby one-room school building to the grounds. On days when the house is open, the school house is open as well.

The John Henry Legend

Revisited

This blog started off as something else, and sort of got hi-jacked along the way. Let me explain.

Since my earliest visit to the Greenbrier Valley area, in Christmas-time 1964, I had heard about The Legend of John Henry and the Big Bend Tunnel. And, for many years, as a proud citizen of the state of West Virginia, I had talked about how important it was that we remember there was a real story behind the Legend, and the song.

And, of late, the State Government has taken up this task, what with a brochure, money for a new park, and even a forthcoming exhibit sponsored by the West Virginia Humanities Council.

But, then things began to change. A year or so ago, at a WV Humanities Council lecture on John Henry, I heard a comment by one of the local "experts" on the subject of John Henry. This individual said that there was some new ground-breaking work being done by a professor at William and Mary that would change many ideas we all had about John Henry.

Last fall, at William and Mary's Homecoming, I got to hear that "professor," Scott Reynolds Nelson, describe his search for the real John Henry. After hearing his presentation, I knew I had to read his book "Steel Drivin' Man -- John Henry -- The Untold Story of an American Legend", but the W&M Bookstore was sold out. So, this spring for my birthday, I got it as a present from "older daughter." I read it eagerly.

And so, on a hot, August 1st, on my way back from the farm, I decided to stop by Talcott WV, "The Home of the John Henry Legend" and record a few pictures so as to make a glib blog about how reality hasn't caught up with scholarship.

For the blog, I planned on showing the statue (see above), a gift from the local Ruritan Club, the front cover of the brochure (see above), the Park sign (see right), and of course a picture or two of the actual Tunnel.

I arrived in Talcott, parked my car and walked beside the tracks towards the tunnel. I knew from my most recent trip on The Cardinal, that someone, CSX, the State, both(?) had put up fencing extending all the way from near where I had parked, down to the tunnel site. All the way down, I was not sure I would be able to get over to see the tunnel since the fencing was placed between the "old" right-of-way, now abandoned, and the "new" right-of-way, a very busy East-West line used by CSX on a regular basis.

I knew from an earlier visit, that the original tunnel, "the John Henry Tunnel" was actually called "The Great Bend Tunnel," while the new bore, built, I believe, in the 1930's is the "Big Bend Tunnel." I realized the path I was on was leading toward the new bore and not the old. Thankfully once I got down near the tunnel site, I saw that there was an open gate. I entered and took a shot of the twin bores. But as I took my shot, I noticed, ever so slightly, there appeared to be a small cloud settling down in front of the Great Bend Tunnel.

"Probably dust," I said to myself and then walked closer. But the closer I got, the more I realized it wasn't dust. Rather, it was a mist, coming out of the bore of the Great Bend Tunnel. Intrigued, I moved forward. Unlike Scott Nelson, I was not about to enter the tunnel, I just wanted to peer in and see what was happening.

And then I heard the water drops, hitting the leaves just outside the tunnel entrance.

"Drip, Drip, Drip, Drip."

And again I paused. And then moved forward again until I was standing right at the rocks "blocking" the entrance to the tunnel.

Looking in I could see the entire tunnel floor had a good 1-2 inches of water as far back as I could see, which because of the mist coming out was not very far. And I could feel the incredibly cool air, natural air conditioning perfect for a hot August Day, splashing against my face and body.

Rationally, I knew there was a reasonable, scientific answer for what was happening, and even began to formulate my speculations about the phenomena. Something about hot air/ cold air, tunnels with water, wet springs, and the like. I have hiked the tunnels of the North Bend Rail Trail. I have seen this many times. I know there is a rational answer for what was happening.

That was the science.

But there is more to life than science.

And so, gradually the feeling came over me that I was seeing and hearing the tunnel workers from the past. No, I was not feeling the presence of John Henry, for Scott Nelson has made a pretty convining case for John Henry being at the Lewis Tunnel about 20-30 miles east of here in Virginia. But still, I was in the presence of the tunnel workers from the past, coming out to greet me as a mist.

And the sound I was hearing? It was the sound of hammers tapping out the message,

"I, "Work," "For," "You."

A sound that reminded me that a lot of what we call "Modern Civilization" has been built on the lives of workers whom we now forget. Workers who sweated and swore; workers who got sick, and even, as we know in John Henry's case[ and many other cases], died. Workers who never received the pay due them for what they did for all the rest of us.

And that was when I realized the message of this blog had been taken over by The Tunnel itself. And instead of being a "smart" commentary on what happens when reality changes and people don't. This blog is now a reminder, as indeed the John Henry song is a reminder:

Don't forget our debt to those

who made us what we are.