Early Tazewell settlers faced Indian clashes and hunting grounds
A historical account details how Cherokee and Shawnee bands hunted elk in pre settlement Tazewell county. It notes 1768 battle near Morris Knob, help from white hunters Carr and Butler, and a 1786 Shawnee massacre of Capt. James Moore near Abbs Valley. The Shawnees terrorized settlers for years, tied to British ally goals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tazewell County
Virginia
G. W. L. Bickley
Morris Knob
Tazewell
Carr
Butler
Canada
James Moore
Abbs Valley
Bloody Massacres Marked Tazewell's Early History
Early Tazewell county history recounts massacres of the Moore Evans and Davidson families from 1776 to 1791. Forts formed by militia protected settlers while captives endured brutal fate, with notable heroism by Lovisa Bowen and Mrs Evans. James Moore Jr. survived after years in Indian towns before returning home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tazewell
Tazewell County
John Henry
Thompson Valley
Evans
Jesse Evans
James Moore
Abb’s Valley
Dero
Elkhorn River
Ohio
Black Wolf
Polly
Martha Evans
James
Moore
Capt
William
Rebecca
Simpson
John
Peggy
Andrew Davidson
Broomfield
Virginia
Forts Built By Settlers
Forts built by settlers formed central stockades with loopholes for weapons to guard communities near Tazewell. Early garrisons included Locust Hill, Crab Apple Orchard Fort, Maiden Spring, and Bluestone Creek stations under Capt. Crockett and others. Spies aided defense, with scouts named such as Edward Burgess and John Bailey among the bravest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tazewell
William Wynn
Locust Hill
Burke’s Garden
Four Way
Thomas Witten
Pisgah
Maiden Spring
Rees Bowen
Lincolnshire Branch
John Preston
Montgomery County
Robert Crockett
Wythe County
Bluestone Creek
Burkes Garden
Joseph Gilbert
Samuel Lusk
Capt
Painted Cliff Pictures in Virginia's Paint Lick Gap
An old Bureau of American Ethnology report notes two cliff paintings in Tazewell County Virginia, one at Liberty and another in Paint Lick Mountain gap. The crude figures include animals people sun and stars, painted with mineral pigments and now faded, with unclear meaning.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Virginia
Tazewell County
Liberty
Paint Lick Mountain
U. S
Bureau of American Ethnology
Coale
Wilburn Waters
Howe
Appalachian Highlands
Bones Of Savages Discovered In Cave In Tazewell County
In Pisgah near Witten Fort a cave yielded skeletal remains identified by anthropologists as Cherokee. Jeff Higginbotham and Sam L. Peery explored the shaft aided by youths, retrieving beads and relics from soft mud and debris for study by scientists and students.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tazewell
Tazewell County
Jeff Higginbotham
Pisgah
Witten Fort
Higginbotham
Sam L. Peery
Indian Relics in Tate County Show Wide Personal Adornment
The Tate County collection reveals four artifact types: warrior and hunter gear, domestic vessels, and personal adornments. Bead patterns from shells and stone are common, with mussel and periwinkle shells used widely. Arrowheads dominate finds, crafted from flint with a V-shaped point and varied bases indicating use.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tateswell County
Also Mentioned on This Page
Abbs Valley Monument
Big Crab Orchard
William Whitley
Mr. Daniels
Benjamin Thomas
Savage
Joseph Ray
Indian Creek
Richard Pemberton
Baptist Valley
John Davidson
Roark
Daniel Harman
Clinch
Sandy River
Lovisa Bowen
Lieut. Bowen
Dick's Creek
Chevrolet
Pocahontas, Virginia
G. R. Evans, Sr
G. R. EvAns, Jr
Paint Cliff
Southwest
Gallon
gaiLet Lerbes
Comeaey
Bailey Lumber Co
Bluefield
W. Va
Bailey Lumber Company
Silentite
North Carolina
Mullens
Matoaka
Gilbert
War
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!