Historical collections of Virginia containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to its history and antiquities, together with geographical and statistical descriptions : to which is appended, an historical and descriptive sketch of the District of Columbia : illustrated by over 100 engravings, giving views of the principal towns, seats of eminent men, public buildings, relics of antiquity, historic localities, natural scenery, etc., etc. |
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HARDY. |
 | Historical collections of Virginia |  |
HARDY.
Hardy was formed in 1786, from Hampshire, and named from
Samuel Hardy, a member of Congress from 1783 to 1785. He was
a young man of promising talents, who died suddenly. Its mean
length is 42, breadth 17 miles. The surface of the county is
traversed, in a NE. direction, by the South Branch and other tributaries
of the Potomac; with lateral chains of mountains intervening,
and extending in the same direction with the rivers. The
surface is much broken, and, for the most part, very rocky and
sterile; but tracts of excellent land lie on the streams, and in the
mountain-valleys. There are some valuable banks of iron ore in
the county. Pop., whites 6,100, slaves 1,131, free colored 391;
total, 7,622.
Trout Run, or Wardensville, is a small village on Trout Run, in
the eastern section of the county, 26 miles from the county-seat.
It was laid off in 1827. In the place and vicinity are several
miles NW. of Richmond, and 50 miles southwesterly from Winchester.
This village is situated on the South Branch of the Potomac,
at the junction of the south fork, in a valley of surpassing
fertility, and contains a population of about 400. It was established
by law, in 1777, on land belonging to Conrad Moore, from
whom it derived its name. The act appointed, as trustees to lay
out the town, Garret Vanmeter, Abel Randall, Moses Hutton, Jacob
Read, Jonathan Heath, Daniel M'Neil, and Geo. Rennock. Petersburg
is a small village on the South Branch of the Potomac.
On the Wappatomaka have been found numerous Indian relics, among which was a
highly finished pipe, representing a snake coiled around the bowl. There was also discovered
the under jaw-bone of a human being (says Kercheval) of great size, which
contained eight jaw-teeth in each side, of enormous size; and, what is more remarkable,
the teeth stood transversely in the jaw-bone. It would pass over any man's face with
entire ease.
The Fairfax Stone, the southern point of the western boundary between Maryland
and Virginia, is on the westerly angle of this county. It was planted Oct. 17, 1746.
There are several natural curiosities in this county worthy of
note. They are the Regurgitary Spring, the Lost River, and the
Devil's Garden.
The Regurgitary Spring is on the summit of a high mountain, a few miles from
Petersburg. It flows and ebbs every two hours. When rising, it emits a noise similar
to the gurgling of liquor from the bung-hole of a barrel, which continues two hours, and
sends out sand and pebbles. It then ebbs two hours, at the end of which time the water
entirely disappears.
The Devil's Garden. A strip of ground between two lofty ranges of mountains, rises
gradually for about three miles, when it abruptly terminates at its southern extremity by
an isolated and perpendicular pile of granitic rocks, of about 500 feet in height. At this
place there is a figure in solid rock, resembling, in its upper part, the bust of a man. It
is on a piece of ground thickly strewn with rocks, which, from the dark frowning appearance
of the image, standing as the presiding deity of this savage spot, has given rise to
the name it bears. Near his "satanic majesty," a door opens into a cavern, containing
about a dozen rooms. The Lost River is so called from having, in the aggregate, a subterranean
passage of three miles under several mountains.
This section of the country suffered severely in the Indian wars,
previous to the revolution. Some incidents of bravery deserve a
record:
Near Petersburg, a party of Indians attacked, just before daybreak, the dwelling of
Samuel Bingham. Himself, wife, and parents, slept below, and a hired man in the loft
above. A shot was first fired into the cabin, wounding his wife. Bingham sprang to his
feet, bade the others to get under the bed, and requested the hired man to come down to
his assistance, who, however, did not move. As the Indians rushed in at the door, he
laid about him, with his rifle, with so much desperation that he finally cleared the room.
Daylight appearing, he discovered that he had killed five, and the remaining two were
seen retreating. He having broken his rifle in the mêlée, seized one which had been
left by the Indians, and wounded one of the fugitives. Tradition relates that the
other fled to the Indian camp, and reported that they had a fight with a devil, who had
killed six of his companions, and that if they went, he would kill them all.
There was a memorable battle fought with the Indians, called the battle of Trough
Hill. The whites were surrounded, and greatly outnumbered, but they fought with
Spartan-like bravery; and cutting their way through the savages, retreated to Fort
Pleasant with the loss of many killed and wounded. In retreating, they were obliged
to swim a river. Some, too badly wounded for this, loaded their rifles and deliberately
awaited the approach of the savages from behind some cover, and dealt certain death
to the first who approached, and then calmly yielded to the tomahawk.
When Cornwallis entered Virginia, a party of tories, at the head of whom was a
Scotchman named Claypole, and his two sons, raised the British standard, and gained a
large party on Lost River, and on the south fork of the Wappatomaka. It was their
intention to join Cornwallis. It was, however, crushed in the bud by a force from Winchester,
under General Daniel Morgan; and several of the young men, ashamed of their
conduct, volunteered and marched to aid in the capture of the British at Yorktown.
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