Bill Text: WV HCR3 | 2016 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: North River Mills Historic Trace
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-03-12 - House Message received [HCR3 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2016-HCR3-Comm_Sub.html
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 3
By DELEGATEs ROWAN AND COWLES
Originating in the Committee on Roads and Transportation
Requesting the Division of Highways to name the section of County Route 45/20, known as Coldstream Road, beginning at a point, latitude 39.336997, longitude -78.494499 and ending a point, latitude 39.349509, longitude -78.511901, along the North River, Hiett Run and Maple Run, in Hampshire County, the "North River Mills Historic Trace."
Whereas, The North River Mills Historic Trace memorializes the rich history of one of Hampshire County's oldest communities which is associated with several noteworthy individuals, including George Washington, Dr. James raik, Ensign Rees Pritchard and Gustavus Crotson; and
Whereas, George Washington surveyed land for Thomas Parker beside the proposed Trace and later traveled along part of the Trace while commanding the forts of the Virginia frontier during the French and Indian War; and
Whereas, Dr. James Craik, George Washington's friend and personal physician and surgeon of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War, was granted the spring tract on both sides of the Great Wagon Road part of which was along the Trace; and
Whereas, Ensign Rees Pritchard, descendant of Welsh ancestors who came to America to make a home for themselves and their extended family at one time owned most of the land along the Trace; and
Whereas, Gustavus Croston was a soldier in the First Virginia Regiment in the American Revolution who served at Valley Forge and after his first enlistment expired signed up at Alexandria, Virginia "for and during the war", and by so doing, committed to serve until the war was won; he is buried very near the Trace which runs through land he owned; and
Whereas, These are but four of the many colonial era men and women who came to this area, settled on land, some of which was surveyed by George Washington, suffered the deprecations of the French and Indian War while Colonel Washington's Virginia Regiment tried desperately to protect the settlers, rebuilt their lives after the war and, in some cases, served in the war that won our independence; and
Whereas, Dr. James Craik was born at Orbigland County Kirkcudbright, Scotland, in 1730 and died at "Vaucluse," Fairfax County, Virginia, on February 6, 1814; he graduated in medicine from the University of Edinburgh and then emigrated to the West Indies about 1750 and subsequently moved to Virginia; and
Whereas, Dr. James Craik entered the Virginia Regiment (formed to fight during the French and Indian War) as surgeon on March 7, 1754, and was made Ensign May 23, 1754. He held the rank of Lieutenant by July 1754, which rank he held until the regiment disbanded in 1762. Dr. Craik was at the Battle of Fort Necessity and accompanied the Braddock campaign; after the war he accompanied George Washington on his trip west in 1770 that brought him back to Hampshire County; and
Whereas, In 1760 Dr. Craik married Marianne Ewell, the daughter of Colonel Charles Ewell and his wife, Sarah Conway; George Washington's mother was Sarah Conway's half sister; and
Whereas, Dr. Craik served with General Washington in the Revolutionary War; he was given the position of Chief Physician and Surgeon of the Continental Army. After the Revolution, he settled near Mount Vernon and continued his personal and professional relationship with General Washington; he was one of the attending physicians during Washington's last illness; and
Whereas, Because of his relationship with George Washington and his experience on the frontier during the French and Indian War, Dr. Craik, like Washington, was well aware of the value of western lands. Beginning in 1760, Dr. Craik acquired several parcels of land around North River Mills in Hampshire County, including two plots along the Great Wagon Road from Winchester to Romney not far from the crossing of the North River. One of the parcels lying along Parker's Run (now Hiett Run) was noted for a good spring that to this day is named for him as first grantee although the name was locally misspelled as "Craig" Spring. A third tract was across the river not far from the Great Wagon Road, which had been the major western artery in the central colonies during Virginia's battle to stop French encroachments onto British claimed territory and would later serve to take many settlers west as the frontier made its relentless move westward; and
Whereas, Dr. Craik exemplifies the colonial settler who arrived in America with an important skill and great determination to make a life for himself in this new land. He served in the two wars that determined the fate of North America and established the United States of America. His extensive personal and professional relationships and his broad travels placed him in a position to make a lasting contribution to the building of our great country and it is appropriate that he be remembered along the road that traverses some of the property he once owned; and
Whereas, Ensign Rees Pritchard was a descendant of a Welsh family, several of whom had come to Hampshire County from Chester County, Pennsylvania. Reese was born in 1744 the son of Samuel Pritchard who lived on North River. George Washington spent a night with Samuel Pritchard on North River during his journey to inspect western lands in the fall of 1770. The Pritchards were apparently individuals of some means as they became large landowners in Hampshire County; and
Whereas, The family apparently stayed in Hampshire County during the French and Indian War, as Samuel filed a claim on February 20, 1759 for damages done during the war; and
Whereas, Rees Pritchard entered the Continental Army in February 1776 and on March 12, 1776, was commissioned as Ensign in Captain Abel Westfall's Company of the 8th Virginia Regiment commanded by COL. Peter Mulenburg. He marched from Romney in Hampshire County to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was engaged in the Battle of Sullivans Island, June 21-29, 1776; and
Whereas, Upon his return to Hampshire County, Rees Pritchard married and had one son. He continued to amass land around the North River at two different locations, and between 1786 and 1790 he was authorized by the Virginia Assembly to operate a ferry across the North River; some of this land had originally been surveyed by George Washington and granted by Lord Fairfax to Thomas Parker; and
Whereas, It is not known exactly what the financial depressions and panics experienced every few years during the formative years of our nation had upon Rees Pritchard's situation, but by 1800 he had sold most of his land. It also seems that his wife died sometime in the early 1800s. In any case, Mr. Pritchard, like many Revolutionary War veterans, filed for a pension on the twenty-first day of July, 1819, and received a certificate of Pension Number 12545. The application states "that in consequence of old age and the rheumatism he is unable to pursue any profession or occupation in order to produce a support." He died in relative obscurity on September 25, 1830, in Morgan County; and
Whereas, Rees Pritchard was one of the many early settlers who came to America in community groups and continued to move westward with family members. He served in the Continental Army helping to win America's independence. After his service he became a large landowner, and he engaged in the ferry business allowing his land to be used as a transportation artery helping move people and goods around the growing frontier. Like so many individuals who had given so much to their country, he suffered from the financial problems of the growing, new country, and eventually he had to sell most all of his land to pay debts. The establishment of the North River Mills Historic Trace through property once owned by Rees Pritchard will help future generations remember what our forebears went through to build the county we now know; and
Whereas, Gustavus Travis Croston enlisted at Newport, Maryland, to fight for America's independence. On March 1, 1777, he was recruited into the First Virginia State Regiment. That July the Regiment was transferred to the Continental line and sent north as part of the Philadelphia campaign under General Washington. Mr. Croston spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge in Captain Thomas Hamilton's Company of Colonel George Gibson's Regiment of Mulenburg's Brigade; and
Whereas, Gustavus Travis Croston's company was marched south as part of the campaign against General Cornwallis. He served in the Battle of Hobkirk Hill near Camden, South Carolina, on April 25, 1781, and at the siege of Ninety-Six from May 22, 1781, to June 19, 1781. He was taken prisoner at ninety-six and remained interred until the defeat of General Cornwallis at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Because he was a prisoner of war for the conflict's last months, it appears that he never received pay for that period nor did he receive a proper discharge; and
Whereas, By 1787 Gustavus Travis Croston appears in Hampshire County, being listed on that year's census tax lists. On October 17, 1796, he received a grant from the Commonwealth for fifty acres of land adjoining Rees Pritchard (another Revolutionary War veteran) near North River Mills. He acquired other land, but there were title difficulties involving one of the area's most prominent landowners; and
Whereas, By 1818 Gustavus Travis Croston applied for and was granted a pension due to his failing health and inability to work and his financial need; and
Whereas, Gustavus Travis Croston died June 3, 1839. His grave is in the quiet woods on his land near the place where Maple Run empties into the North River just west of North River Mills; and
Whereas, Gustavus Travis Croston should be remembered as a symbol of those individuals without wealth or property who stepped forward to fight for America's independence and who later built a life for themselves and their families in the newly formed United States of America. It is appropriate that he be memorialized at the location where he settled and built that new life; and
Whereas, The community that developed where the Great Wagon Road crosses the North River did not come to be known as North River Mills until the nineteenth century where mills were constructed at this convenient location. By this time the Northwestern Turnpike had been constructed as part of Virginia's plan to establish a major highway from the tidewater to the Ohio River. The route chosen for this new road did not come through North River Mills, and so the area began to decline in importance; and
Whereas, The history of the area has been kept alive by local residents who appreciate the part this little village on the major road west from northern Virginia played in the development of Hampshire County and the entire area. It survived the deprecations of the French and Indian War that opened the way for British/American expansion westward, and it continued through Pontiac's War and our Revolutionary War. Eighty years later it suffered the ravages of the Civil War when families were split and life savings lost; and
Whereas, It is fitting and proper that North River Mills Historic Trace should be recognized to help memorialize this important part of West Virginia's rich history so that later generations may remember the foundations upon which our freedom and lifestyle are built; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name the section of County Route 45/20, known as Coldstream Road, beginning at a point, latitude 39.336997, longitude -78.494499 and ending a point, latitude 39.349509, longitude -78.511901, along the North River, Hiett Run and Maple Run, in Hampshire County, the "North River Mills Historic Trace"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Commissioner of the Division of Highways is hereby requested to erect signs at both ends of the designated highway containing bold and prominent letters proclaiming that portion of the road be named the "North River Mills Historic Trace"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates, forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Secretary of Transportation, the Commissioner of Highways, and Charles C. Hall of Historic Hampshire County, West Virginia.
