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(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Alderson's Lion
Most   have   heard   it,   or   of   it,   so   once   again.   No   chronicle   of Alderson   is   complete   without   an   account   of   the   tale   of   the   lion. The   humorous   story   of   Mrs. Bebout's   lion   has   been   told   in   numerous   sketches,   newspaper   stories   and   "Ripley's   Believe   It   Or   Not". Alderson   has   been   given   publicity   as   the   only town   in America   with   an   ordinance   forbidding   lions   from   running   at   large   in   the   city   streets. Alderson   may   well   have   had   such   an   ordinance   but   the   old Council Minute book which would prove it, is lost. As for the lion, there is no doubt whatever. He was a very real lion. It   happened   this   way.   About   1890   when   people   carried   household   water   from   the   river,   Mrs.   Susan   Bebout,   wife   of   the   town   blacksmith,   went   to   the river   for   water.   A   man   came   to   the   river   with   a   small   basket   containing   three   lion   cubs.   French's   Great   Railway   Show   was   in   Alderson   and   the   little lions   had   been   born   the   night   before.   Mrs.   Bebout   ask   for   the   cubs,   and   the   showman   said   lions   could   not   be   raised   in   captivity   but   gave   them   to   her, instead of drowning them as he intended. Two   of   the   lions   promptly   died   but   Mrs.   Bebout   saved   the   third.   It   is   said   she   asked   Dr   Walter   Beard   what   to   do   to   save   her   strange   pet.   Dr.   Beard denied knowledge of any lion medical lore. The cub lived and grew and grew and grew. Mrs.   Bebout   called   her   lion   French,   and   it   ran   about   the   neighborhood   like   any   dog   or   cat   except   he   was   so   big. Then   he   got   to   running   all   over   town. The   Bebouts   built   a   high   fence   on   their   lot   to   contain   his   meanderings   but   he   jumped   the   fence.   Numerous   tales   have   been   told   of   traveling salesmen, drunks, children, horses and visitors having had the living daylights scared out of them by the sudden appearance of a big lion. It was time for the Town Council to act and the famous ordinance supposedly was passed forbidding lions from running at large in the streets. French   was   sold   the   Nation   Zoological   Park,   Washington,   in   late   1891.   Some   say   he   lived   there   long   years   and   other   accounts   say   the   park   sold   him to Barnum and Bailey's Circus. This   writer   will   not   vouch   for   the   truth   of   some   of   the   sketch   but   French   certainly   lived   in   Alderson,   grew   up   here,   and   was   sold   in   Washington.   My mother, a truthful woman, distinctly remembers him.
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
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The History of Alderson, West Virginia From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On  Alderson, West Virginia Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell