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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.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Giles County Clerk of the Circuit Courthas Marriage Records from 1806 , Land Records from 1806 , Probate Records from 1806 and Court Records from 1806 and is located at the County Courthouse on P. O. Box 502,
501 Wenonah Avenue,
Pearisburg, VA 24134; 540/921-1722,
Fax: 540/921-3825 .
The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a constitutional official that is elected by the voters of Giles County. The Clerk is charged with responsibilities that include judicial and non-judicial duties.
The Clerk provides administrative support for Circuit Court by preparing, recording, and maintaining court orders, subpoenas, and pleadings. The Clerk's Office also manages juries, disposal of evidence, collection of criminal fines and costs. Inquiries concerning the Court's procedures and policies and the records should be directed to the Clerk's Office, which serves as a repository for the Court's records.
Non-judicial duties include the authority to probate wills, grant administration of estates, appoint guardians, issue marriage licenses.
The Clerk acts as the Register of Deeds by recording all deeds, deeds of trust, real estate liens, releases and powers of attorney.
The Clerk acts as the county archivist by maintaining records of the Court, real estate, probate and numerous other county records.
Records management is an immense and critical responsibility of the Clerk's Office due to the volume and types of records.
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Giles County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Virginia Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Virginia Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Vital Statistics include the official recordation of marriages, births, and deaths. Bible records, cemetery records, and church records are private sources that may supplement the official records.
A law requiring the systematic statewide recording of births and deaths was passed by the General Assembly on April 11 1853. Every commissioner of revenue registered births and deaths in his district annually and forwarded the information to the clerk of court, who then supplied the information to the state Auditor of Public Accounts. This law continued in effect until 1896. The Auditor turned the lists over to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 1918 and the registers were later transferred to the state archives. The Library of Virginia has copies of surviving birth and death records for the period 1853 to 1896 and marriage records prior to 1936.
Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records is located at The Shops at Willow Lawn, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, Suite 275, Richmond, VA 23220; Ph: (804) 662-6200. The mailing address is VDH, Office of Vital Records, and Health Statistics, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, Virginia, 23218-1000. They have the following records:
Births and Deaths: 1853-1896 and June 1912 to present. Birth cards are no longer available. Only the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Richmond have records between 1896 and June 14, 1912.
Marriage Records: 1853 to the present. If the records are not available from the State office, they should be available from the Clerk of Court in county where the marriage license was issued.
Divorce Records: 1918 to the present. If the records are not available from the State office, they should be available from the Clerk of Court in county where the marriage license was issued.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Birth records are public information 100 years after the date of the event; death, marriage, and divorce records, 50 years after the event. Due to limited resources they are unable to conduct geneology searches. Contact the Library of Virginia for assistance at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/.
For all birth records, please allow 10 business days. All marriage records, death records, divorce records, non-automated birth records and documents requiring amendments, please allow a delivery time of 4 to 6 weeks. Marriage and divorce records are available at the Circuit Court in which the event took place. Recent death records are available at the local health department where the death certificate was filed. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering HERE
The fee to search for a birth, Marriage or Death certificate is $12.00, which includes one certified copy of the certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find." Make checks and money orders should be made payable to "State Health Department ". Please do not send cash. Credit Cards may be uses by using VitalChek services. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to:Vital Records,
VDH, Office of Vital Records, and Health Statistics, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, Virginia, 23218-1000 . You can download an application online for Birth, Death, Marriage or Divorce Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering HERE
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Giles County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Virginia newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Death Records Indexing Project - partially completed cooperative project with the Virginia Genealogical Society; goal is to create a statewide index to the 1853-1896 locality death registers.
Click Here to Search Virginia Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Giles County, Virginia are 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Giles County, Virginia are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Giles County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Virginia Antique Maps & Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Virginia and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Virginia showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Virginia showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Maps. Email us with websites containing Giles County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Virginia Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. A list of Wars fought on American. Read more detailed information on Virginia Military Records and the various wars.
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Giles County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Virginia (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Virginia's tax records are a rich—and largely untapped—resource. During the Colonial period, there were three basic forms of taxation: the quitrent, the parish levy, and the poll tax.
The quitrent was a land tax that had its roots in English manorial society where “the land obligations due the manor, such as plowing and haying the lord's land, were computed to an annual money payment. Upon payment, the obligations were `quit' for the year.” Those living south of the Rappahannock River paid a quitrent to the Crown. An original, incomplete list of land owners for the region in 1704 is in the Public Record Office in London and has been published several times, not always reliably.
Residents of the Northern Neck, between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers, paid quitrents to the agents of Lord Fairfax. Many original rent rolls of the Fairfax proprietary are housed at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Extant original rent rolls and facsimiles for Virginia are available at The Library of Virginia.
The parish levy was an annual tax paid by all tithables for support of their ministers, maintenance of the parishes' glebe lands (the parsonage and lands producing income for the parish), and support of the poor of the parish.
The poll tax, except for a brief period from 1645 to 1648, was the main source of revenue for the colony of Virginia. The annual poll tax was computed by dividing the total expenses of the colony and individual counties by the total number of tithables. The result was levied on each tithable.
Tithables were variously defined during the colonial period. The first definition, in 1624, was “every male head above sixteen years of age.” All agricultural workers were added in 1629. In 1643 all males and black females aged sixteen or over were tithables. Imported male servants of any age were added in 1649.
The definition of “tithable” was rewritten in 1658. Tithables included free males aged sixteen or over, imported blacks of either sex, imported white male servants, and Indian servants of either sex; white women employed in agriculture were added in 1662. Complaints from planters with increasing numbers of indentured servants and slaves led to a revision in 1680 that declared Virginia-born male slaves taxable at age twelve and imported male servants taxable at age fourteen; nonwhite women and free males remained taxable at age sixteen.
The laws of Virginia were revised in 1705. From then until 1782, all males and nonwhite females aged sixteen or over were tithables. Wives of free nonwhite males were added in 1723.
Virginia's tax system changed after the Revolutionary War to include taxing land and personal property in 1782, with further revision in 1787. The bulk of those tax lists prior to 1850 survive and are available on microfilm at The Library of Virginia.
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Giles County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Giles County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Virginia Genealogical Society, 5001 West Broad Street, Suite 115, Richmond, Virginia 23230-3023; Telephone (804) 285-8954 Please note that because of our close proximity to the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Historical Society, the Virginia Genealogical Society does not maintain a research facility or surname material.
Virginia Historical Society, 428 North Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220, Phone: 804.358.4901 Mail: P.O.Box 7311, 23221-0311;Hours: Monday-Saturday 10-5 / Sunday 1-5 (galleries only)
Virginia Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Virginia Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
Unlike New England, colonial Virginia left few early church records. The first Virginians were members of the Church of England, or Anglican church, which became the Episcopal Church in 1786. Early parish registers are incomplete and challenging to use. Parish boundaries changed rapidly and are hard to pinpoint.
Since colonial times, many religious groups have established congregations in Virginia, including Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Quaker or Friends, to name a few. Except for the Quakers, few of these groups kept records containing such genealogical information as birth, marriage, and death dates. A number of church vestry books and registers have been published and are available at The Library of Virginia and the FHL.
The list of published tombstone inscriptions for Virginia, if a comprehensive list existed, would be lengthy. The DAR has compiled an extensive collection of Virginia tombstone inscriptions. The collection, along with other cemetery record publications, can be found at the DAR Library in Washington, D.C., The Library of Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, and the FHL.
Cemetery interment registers and gravestone inscriptions may often be sources of useful information for Virginia researchers. The state government does not have a long, uninterrupted, centralized file of birth and death records that are readily accessible to researchers. Wars, floods, and fires have destroyed the vital record of many of Virginia's counties. Oftentimes, information found in cemetery records and on gravestones cannot be found anywhere else. When looking for a specific cemetery in Virginia, you may wish to start with the following comprehensive resource.
Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Giles County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Virginia obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Virginia newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Virginia.
J. Henry Brown Monuments Inc., Order Book - a searchable database indexing tombstone inscriptions covering the period 1899-1907. Many of the individuals listed were born before Virginia began keeping vital statistics in 1853.
Click Here to Search Virginia Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Giles County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Giles County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Virginia Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
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 ca
