(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
© Property of Min7th Productions 2012
Early Growth
Main Index
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
Early
owners
of
land
in
or
near
Alderson's
present
site
were:
William
Morris,
Andrew
Lewis,
John
Seers,
James
Stroud,
Moses
Hall,
Barnabas
Cooper,
Abraham
Hawkins,
Robert
Stevenson,
and
James
Burnsides.
Elder
John
Alderson,
who
settled
on
400
acres
of
land
on
the
south
side
of
the
river,
came
in
1777.
He
evidently
acquired
his
land
from
Moses
Hall,
and
he
had
a
valid
title
by
right
of
settlement
as
of
January
1,
1778.
William Morris, Sr. owned 525 acres on the north side of the river in the early 1770s and lived there. He moved to Kanawha in 1774.
Before
1778
all
of
Greenbrier
and
Monroe
counties
were
a
part
of
Botetourt
and
Montgomery
counties
and
prior
to
1770,
they
were
in
Augusta
County.
In
1777,
because
of
the
title
difficulties
owners
of
land
were
having,
seventy-four
greenbrier
land
owners
petitioned
the
Assembly
of
the
Commonwealth
of
Virginia
to
establish
Greenbrier
County.
Virginia
granted
the
request
and
Greenbrier
County
came
into
existence
on
March
1,
1778. All the present town of Alderson was in Greenbrier County.
In
the
1790s
a
political
feud
developed
between
John
Stuart,
"the
father
of
Greenbrier
County",
his
political
associates
in
the
Lewisburg
section,
and
John
Hutchinson
of
what
is
now
Monroe.
Hutchison
was
a
shrewd
politician,
a
member
of
the
Virginia
Assembly
until
Stuart's
cohorts
defeated
him
but
John
Hutchison
lobbied
through
the
legislature
an
Act
creating
Monroe
County
as
May
1,
1799.
Thus
the
future
town
of
Alderson
was
split
in
twain. North of the river was Greenbrier and south was Monroe.
In
1871
Summers
County
was
formed,
with
its
county
line
just
west
of
Alderson
Thus,
the
community
is
whacked
up
and
is
part
of
three
counties,
leading to all kinds of inconveniences.
The
land
on
the
north
side
of
the
river
was
originally
owned
by
several
persons.
At
least
two
must
have
settled
on
the
land
before
1773.
Their
names,
John
Seers
and
James
Burnsides,
appeared
in
a
day
book
of
Matthew's
Trading
Post,
found
recently.
this
first
known
store
in
Greenbrier
Valley
was
located
at
the
mouth
of
Howard's
Creek
on
the
Greenbrier
below
Caldwell.
Both
these
men
traded
there
in
1772
and
1773.
James
Burnsides was one of the petitioners for the formation of Greenbrier County in 1777.
In
1804
Oliver
Towles,
Junior,
of
Spotsylvania
County,
Virginia,
purchased
1227
acres
of
land
in
five
tracts.
This
land
included
all
of
what
is
now
the
Greenbrier
area
of
the
Alderson
community.
Towles
then
built
a
fine
stone
house
on
the
exact
site
of
the
large
brick
house
now
occupied
by
W.
B.
Rogers,
Jr.,
family.
In
1811
Towles
moved
to
New
Orleans,
and
sold
the
stone
house
and
1000
acres
of
land
to
Joseph
Alderson,
who
lived
there
until
his
death
in
1845.
(From
the
time
this
first
fine
residence
in
the
community
was
built,
it
changed
hands
seven
times
before
1916,,
when
J.
S.
Thurmond tore it down to build the present brick house.)
The
Reverend
Lewis
A.
Alderson
inherited
from
Joseph
Alderson
a
part
of
the
land
which
is
now
west
of
North
Monroe
Street.
He
had
it
laid
off
in
lots in 1856-58, and this was the first residential property sold in what is now the corporate limits. These lots were near the old Baptist Spring.
In
1871
George
Alderson
owned
what
is
now
South
Alderson.
Surveyor
Elliot
Vawter
surveyed
and
platted
the
land
for
sale.
The
first
buyers
were
George W. Nickell, M. L. Hughes, the first blacksmith, and Abraham E. T. Scruggs, a merchant.
When
the
railroad
arrived
in
1873,
Alderson
began
to
boom.
Lewis
Watts
was
probably
the
first
merchant
and
Scruggs,
the
second.
George
W.
Nickell,
and
L.
T.
Dickey
operated
a
store
call
Nickell
and
Dickey.
Jesse
Jones
of
Wolf
Creek
bought
Dickey's
share
and
the
store
became
Nickell
and
Jones.
Jones'
son,
Andrew,
operated
the
business.
Dr.
Thomas
Clay
was
the
first
doctor,
and
shortly
thereafter,
Dr.
Benjamin
Irons
began
practicing
medicine
also.
Morgan
Conner
and
B.
F.
Jones
ran
the
first
drug
store,
and
B.
A.
Knapp
was
the
first
jeweler.
(This
does
not
mean
that
there
were
no
millers,
merchants,
blacksmiths,
doctors,
etc.
before
1873
when
the
railroad
was
finished.
There
were.
They
were
living
in
Palestine.
This list of the "first business men" list those businesses were in what is now South Alderson.)
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
