Thursday, June 22, 1949
The old settlers’ refuge of the Greenbank community back in Indian times was Warwick’s Fort at the Forks of Deer Creek.
The stockade was acres in extent. Here the people gathered when Indians raided, and brought in their stock, as well.
One time, an Indian on top of the round hill, near the residence of Gratz B. Slaven, shot an arrow into Fort Warwick. This is a measured distance of 512 steps – about one fourth of a mile.
The family name of Sla-ven brings to mind the late Colonel Jacob Gillispie Slaven. He was the friend of the late Senator Henry Clay, of Kentucky. The latter, for years, maintained a deer hunting camp on the Slaven plantation in the Narrows of the West Fork of the Greenbrier Valley, near the present site of the big Pocahontas Tannery. Governor Joe Johnson and General Stonewall Jackson were also personal friends of the family.
This, of course, brings to mind the celebrated old turnpike tavern, Travelers Repose. Among the noted vis- itors here was none other than Congressman Abraham Lincoln, later to be president of the United States.
Off and on for more than a century, Greenbank has been an educational centre. Here was one of three preparatory schools of the University of Virginia established in Pocahontas County in 1841. The other two Academies were at Huntersville and Hillsboro. Put out of business by war, it was over forty years before things got to going right again along school lines by the establishment of the Greenbank high school.
I do not know how or when the community was named Greenbank. Some say it was from the terrace on which Liberty church and the high school stand. This sunny bank is always the first to show the green of grass in the spring; others say it was from the living green of white pine trees which still clothe hillsides round about. There is tradition, too, that the name was transplanted here from Greenbank in old England by the ancient English family of Nottingham. They settled here prior to the Revo- lution and here they remain in number and influence to this day…
THE BIG STORM
The long dry spell was broken last Friday, Saturday and Sunday with heavy downpours. Terrible loss of life and great property damage occurred on the south branch of the Potomac, centering at Petersburg and Moorefield, and on the North River of the Shenandoah, centering at Bridgewater in Rockingham County.
In Pocahontas County, the edge of the great rainstorm brought high water to the head streams of Knapps Creek and the Greenbrier River. This caused ordinary high water at Marlinton for the usual June freshet.
4-H Club
The Cass Handy Andy 4-H club had for its June meeting a tour. We left Cass about 8:30 a.m. June 1, in a truck, driven by our leader, Glenn Tracy.
We went by way of Greenbank, leaving the hard road near Arbovale, following the Buffalo Road which leads up to where the Alleghany Mountain church once stood. There, on the farm owned by John Johnson, of Boyer, we visited the Alleghany Mt. Battlefield. The trenches and breast works are still quite visible.
After taking some pictures, we traveled on by way of the Hanger place where we saw thousands of pine seedlings which someday will make a beautiful forest.
Our next stop was near Route 250 where a plane fell a couple of years ago. Following the regular custom, everyone helped himself to the remaining souvenirs.
From there, we journeyed by way of Bartow and Durbin to Gaudineer Tower on Cheat Mountain where a picnic lunch was served. In the afternoon, the many trails around the tower were explored and more pictures taken,
Late in the afternoon, we arrived in Cass. Now, we live in memories of a pleasant day.
Galvin Wilfong, owner of the truck, was our guest.
BIRTHS
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Francis E. Smith, a daughter, named Mildred Sherrard.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Edgar, of Hillsboro, a daughter.
Death
Mrs. Margaret Ann Adkison, 86, widow of the late William M. Adkison, died at her home near Marlinton, June 18, 1949. Her body was laid to rest in the family plot in Mt. View Cemetery, the service being held from the Methodist church. The deceased was a daughter of the late James L. and Eliza Rogers. It is of interest to note that Mrs. Adkison was the only mother in Pocahontas county to have three sons in the Argonne Forest offensive, World War I.
