Individuals
Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740) portrait, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722. In 1716, Spotswood led an expedition of 50 men through the Shenandoah Valley to the crest of the Allegheny Mountains in present-day Pendleton County. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
William Clendenin (1753-1828) portrait. One of the founders of Charleston and first officials of Kanawha County in 1789, Clendenin carried the petition to create Mason County to the Virginia General Assembly. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
William Darke (1755-1801) portrait. Captain Darke, who lived near Duffields in present-day Jefferson County, fought in the Revolutionary War, served in the state convention which approved the U.S. Constitution in 1788, and commanded a Virginia regiment in the Northwest Territory. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Andrew Donnally, Sr. (1755-1839) portrait. Owner of Donnally's Fort in Greenbrier County, which was attacked by Native Americans during the Revolutionary War in 1778. He later moved to the Kanawha Valley, where Andrew Donnally, Jr. became one of the leading salt manufacturers. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Horatio Gates (1727-1806) portrraved for Murray's History of the American War. The resident of present-day Jefferson County became a hero by defeating British General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga, but was later dismissed for his actions at Camden. He was reinstated by the end of the war. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Hugh Mercer (1720-1777) portrait. Physician and soldier, killed during the Revolutionary War. For his service in the French and Indian War, Mercer was given a land grant covering a large portion of present-day western Mason County. Mercer County is named for him. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Francis Asbury (1745-1816) portrait. Asbury, the first Methodist bishop in America, made at least 34 trips into present-day West Virginia. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Ann Bailey ( - 1825) portrait. In 1791, Bailey allegedly rode to Lewisburg to obtain ammunition for settlers at Fort Lee in present-day Charleston. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Dr. Jesse Bennett (1769-1842) portrait. One of the first physicians in present-day Mason County, Bennett performed the first-known Caesarean operation in North America while living in present-day Virginia in 1794. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Archibald Woods (1764-1846) portrait. Woods settled in Wheeling after the Revolutionary War and was a delegate to the state convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788. He served for 20 years as president of the Northwestern Bank of Virginia. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Forts
Fort Ashby cabin photo. The only French and Indian War fort still standing in present-day West Virginia (Keyser, Mineral County). In 1755, John Bacon constructed the fort and cabin to protect local settlers. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Fort Donnally cabin photo. In 1778, Wyandot and Mingo Indians attacked this fort, several miles west of Lewisburg. Philip Hammond and a slave, Dick Pointer, held off the attackers until Matthew Arbuckle and Samuel Lewis arrived from Camp Union. In return, Pointer was granted his freedom and later received a pension. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Fort Henry drawing (from De Hass' Early Settlement and Indian Wars). In 1777, Wyandot and Mingo Indians attacked this fort (originally built as Fort Fincastle by William Crawford in 1774) at present-day Wheeling. In 1782, Wyandot and Delaware Indians attacked the fort again. During the four-day siege, Elizabeth Zane supposedly made a daring run through gunfire to obtain gunpowder. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Houses
General Adam Stephen House photo. Home of Revolutionary War general and Martinsburg founder Adam Stephen was built between 1772 and 1789. The house still stands at 309 East John Street, Martinsburg (Berkeley County). [WV State Archives Portrait File]
General Darke House photo. Pre-Revolutionary War servants quarters on the estate of William Darke near Duffields (Jefferson County). Darke served in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War and was a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Levi Shinn House photo. Log cabin constructed by the founder of Shinnston (Harrison County) about 1778. Its central chimney serves two fireplaces. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Mordington photo. Charles Washington, the brother of George Washington and founder of Charles Town, built this mansion in 1780 in Charles Town and named it "Happy Retreat." [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Smith's Tavern photo. Tavern was built at Middleway (Jefferson County) about 1740. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Strider Cabin photo (Charles Town). [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Churches
Norborne Parish photo. Christ Church at Bunker Hill (Berkeley County) was built on the site of the first Episcopal church in present-day West Virginia in 1740. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Old Stone Church photo. Built in 1796, this Lewisburg (Greenbrier County) church is the oldest continually used Presbyterian church west of the Allegheny Mountains. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Rehoboth Church photo. Built in 1786 near Union (Monroe County), this is the oldest Methodist church west of the Allegheny Mountains. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
St. George's Chapel ruins photo. This structure was built near Charles Town (Jefferson County) in the late 1760s and served as the area's Episcopal church until the Zion Episcopal Church was constructed in 1817. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
Tuscarora Presbyterian Church photo. This church was built in Martinsburg (Berkeley County) in 1802. [WV State Archives Portrait File]
![Battle of Point Pleasant. Miniature of painting by Capt. Joseph A. Faris of Wheeling, 1902. [WV State Archives Portrait File]](ptpleas.gif){kind=link}
![Strider Cabin photo (Charles Town). [WV State Archives Portrait File]](strider.gif){kind=link}
