Greenbrier County, West Virginia - 160th Anniversary Booklet - Part 3 *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. *********************************************************************** Historical Booklet - Greenbrier County 160th Anniversary - 1778-1938 Published 1938 Transcribed by Lori Samples FORMATION OF OLD GREENBRIER COUNTY Greenbrier, Rockbridge, and Rockingham counties are triplets. The act providing for the formation of these three Virginia counties was passed by the General Assembly in October, 1777. However, it was not to become a law until March 1, 1778. Greenbrier was carved from Botetourt and Montgomery Counties, and embraced a territory of what is now in whole or part, of the following counties: in Virginia, Allegheny, Bath; in West Virginia, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Jackson, Kanawha, Mason, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Putnam, Roane, Summers, Webster, Wirt and Wood. Another section of the act provided for the time and place of holding county court, and fixed for Greenbrier the third Tuesday of month as the time and the house of Col. John Stuart as the place. It is not known when the first county court was held, the earliest record in the County Clerk's office being for November term 1780, at which time the following justices were present: Samuel Brown, John Anderson, William Hutcheson, John Henderson, and William Poage. The first entry in the records for this term says that John Archer "came into Court and with the consent of the said Court resigned his office as clerk, whereupon John Stuart was unanimously elected to act in that office, and thereupon he took the oaths as prescribed by law." At this time, Andrew Donnally was High Sherriff and Judge Rodgers and John Williams were his deputies. COL. JOHN STUART, SOLDIER AND STATESMAN, FOUNDER OF GREENBRIER "Col. John Stuart was a wiry, dark-eyed Scotch Virginian of more than ordinary cultivation and, for those days, a man of very fine education. He was as brave a soldier as ever shot an Indian and as fearless a hunter as ever chased an elk." He was born in 1749, the son of David Stuart who resided near Staunton, Augusta Co., Virginia. His mother was Margaret Lynn, the grand-daughter of the Laird of Lock Lynn, Scotland. She was the namesake of the aunt, Mrs. Margaret Lynn Lewis, wife of Col. John Lewis. On November 18, 1776 he married Mrs. Agatha Lewis Frog, who was killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant. His wife's father was Thomas Lewis, son of John Lewis. The first home of Col. John Stuart was at Frankford. His second residence, about 1770, was a log cabin in what is now Fort Spring District. In 1789 this was replaced by a pretentious mansion of native limestone, which is yet standing and occupied by his descendants. This is known as "Stuart Manor". The first clerk's office, a small one-story stone structure, was built in the yard of Stuart's home. It served it's useful purpose for years. He was the leading spirit in the formation of Greenbrier County, and to his intelligence and determination was due the accomplishment of his plan. Col. John Stuart, in fact, was the "Father of Greenbrier County." His death occurred on August 18, 1823. He was buried in the family burying ground in sight of the home, "Stuart Manor." THE COUNTY SEAT Lewisburg, the third oldest town in the state, was created by an Act of the Virginia Assembly in October, 1782. The trustees were: "Samuel Lewis, James Reid, Samuel Brown, Andrew Donnally, John Stuart, Archer Mathews, William Ward, and Thomas Edgar." The place was "laid out into lots of half an acre each, with convenient streets. *** It to be unlawful to build a house less than 18 x 20 feet, and, in addition, it must have a brick or stone chimney." Lewisburg was originally called "The Savannah," then "Fort Savannah," and finally "Lewisburg," in honor of Gen. Andrew Lewis. THE NEXT CHAPTER....THE FIRST CHURCH IN GREENBRIER COUNTY