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West Virginia: Mineral County History
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Mineral County History
Early History of Mineral County, West Virginia
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. He explored 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.
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