MINERAL COUNTY HISTORY
Mineral
County was created by an act of the General Assembly on February 1,
1866, from parts of Hampshire County. The county was named in honor
of the abundant minerals located in the county.
John
Lederer, a German physician and explorer employed by Sir William
Berkeley, colonial governor of Virginia, was the first Englishman to
set foot in present day Mineral County. Heexplored the area in 1669.
One of the earliest settlers in the county was a farmer named Brown.
He entertained George Washington in his cabin when Washington passed
through the county in 1748 on behalf of the Ohio Company, a land
investment company. In 1755, Colonel George Washington gave the order
to build a stockade and fort on the east side of Patterson's Creek,
at the present site of Frankfort. The Fort (later called Ashby's
Fort, in honor of Colonel John Ashby who commanded the militia there
for many years) served as part of the colonists' line of defense
during the French and Indian Wars (1754-1763).
Part
of the land where the county seat, Keyser, is located was originally
purchased from Lord Fairfax by Christopher Beelor in 1752. He became
the town's first, permanent English settler, but a band of Indians
forced him to abandon the area in 1773. He died in 1774 and his
widow, Mary, inherited the land and soon afterward returned with her
new husband, George Kyger. When her second husband died in 1807, she
fold the farm to James Mosley of Baltimore for 2,000 pounds. The
other part of the land on which Keyser is currently located was
originally owned by Abram Inskeep. He granted it Patrick McCarthy in
1802. McCarthy was one of the earliest settlers in the area, arriving
in 1780. After he bought the land, the area became known as Paddy's
Town. The McCarthy family soon became the most prominent in the
region, owning and operating the general store, several mills and an
iron foundry. In 1852, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad extended into
the region and the town's name was changed to New Creek. During the
Civil War, Keyser served as a key supply point and reportedly changed
hands 14 times between 1861 and 1864. The town's name was changed to
Keyser to honor William Keyser, vice-president of the railroad, when
it was incorporated in 1874.
Nancy
Hanks, Abraham Lincoln's mother, was born on the Doll farm on Mike's
Run, near Keyser.
This
information was compiled by: Dr. Robert Jay Dilger, Director,
Institute for Public Affairs at West Virginia University. Special
thanks to Dr. Dilger for granting permission to use his information.