History of Washington Bottom The French were the first white people to see the Ohio River. About the year 1669 La Salle discovered the river and descended it to the site of Louisville. By this discovery, France claimed "the said River Ohio and all those which empty themselves into it and all lands on both sides even to the source of said rivers." On the "Beautiful Ohio" and its tributaries are twelve thousand miles of waterways on which passed the canoes of the Indians, the white trader, the hunter, and the settler. The only large river flowing from East to West, it was a great highway to Western settlement, and for the early settlers the only means of transportation to the markets of the South and West. FARM SETTLEMENTS The land on Washington Bottom owned by General George Washington was divided into two sections. The upper section being purchased from the ^Vashington heirs by George Lewis. This property was finally divided into a number of lovely farms. The first farm at the upper end was bought by Robert Edelen, who lived there for many years. The early settlers built their homes on the rise back of the first or lower bottom, and as there were no springs on this land the river was the only water supply for household use and farm animals for some time. In the early days there was a road along the Bottom which followed the river bank. Later this road was discontinued and another was kept open from the upper end of the Bottom at Edeicn's to the Francis Lewis home near Lock nineteen. This road passed by the dwellings and is still open through the George Neal and Jonas Lewis farms. The original Robert Edelen house, about 123 years old, still stands, although in a dilapidated condition. Many descendants of Robert Edelen are still living in Wood county. This property is now owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. The Edelen Cemetery, located near the old home, is the oldest one on Washington Bottom. The second farm was owned by Mr. and Mrs. John H. Harwood, who with their family lived there for many years. The old home, which is about 123 years old, is located close to the bank where they have a wonderful view of the beautiful Ohio River. It is still of interest to many of the relatives who like to come back and look over the old place. The house is now occupied by Milton Kyle, who owns this property. In 1811, Col. Francis Keene bought two hundred acres of land and sold it to Lewis Neale, son of George and Sarah Lewis Neale. He built a brick residence, a mansion in its day, with brick burned on the farm. In 1865 this farm was bought by D. B. McMechen and occupied by his son, J. T. McMechen (member of the State Legislature), who, with his family, meant much to this community. Mrs. Ruby McMechen Munchmeyer, the last member of this family, resides on Washington Bottom at present. In 1921 this beautiful old home, situated on the Ohio River where one has a wonderful view of Blennerhassett Island, became the property of B. D. and 0. J. Stout. In remodeling the old house, the beautiful woodwork, which stands out as such a wonderful piece of workmanship, was preserved. The stone doorstep, moved from the Blennerhassett Mansion by Lewis Neale when he built the house and placed at the front, has been changed to the east side to preserve it. The old stone-walled well, used so much in those days, is still in use and has an endless supply of water. The George Neale house was located just in front of what is known as the Captain E. B. Cooper place, now owned by C. R. Rector. In June, 1932, Mr. Rector found a well preserved door latch from the old Neale home. He also has a quaint old candle-stick from this home. On the Rector farm stands the last slave cabin on Washington Bottom. It was the home of Ab Wilson, a slave owned by George Neale. Ab said that he grubbed out the first bush in the primeval forest on this farm to clear a space for the George Neale house. The first field cleared was between the house and river. This was set in fruit trees. The last apple tree was removed about forty years ago. 1892. The old barn standing on the place has the original double threshing floor, and is fastened together with wooden pins. The well-known home of Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Rector, located just below the Cooper-Rector place was bought by Mrs. Rector's father, Hon. John Stout (State Senator). Mrs. Rector and her brother. Captain B. D. Stout, are the last members of the family living on Washington Bottom. Mr. Rector has in his possession the minutes of the first Quarterly Conference of the Washington Church, which held its one-hundredth anniversary in 1931. He expects to present this paper to the church after he has had it framed in the wood from the "old black walnut fence rails" which have weathered the storms on his farm for more than a hundred years. The land owned by Jonas, William, and Frances Lewis has been cut up into a number of farms which are now owned by: Mrs. W. E. Tracewell, Mrs. H. H. Knight, Olvin McDougle, Mrs. Bernice Moss, and Will, Fred, and Philip Moellendick. William Lewis was the first of the settlers to arrive at Washington Bottom. He moved into an old log cabin in the clearing made by the Crawfords, more than thirty years before. The cabin was probably built by a squatter, as Colonel Crawford wrote to Washington that the Indians had burned the first one built there. Later we find the home of William Lewis, the house is now gone but the old chimney still stands. Oliver Perry Lewis was born in this house, August 29, 1850. His father, Francis Keene Lewis, born January 23, 1807, the grandfather of Miss Edna Lewis, was the first white child born on Washington Bottom. He died May 12, 1862, and is buried in the well-kept Lewis Cemetery near the old home which is now owned by Philip Moellendick. Miss Edna Lewis is the last one of the name owning a farm in this locality. In the old barn which stands on the Oliver McDougle farm, on a big timber over the wide door, are the letters "F. K. L." (Francis Keene Lewis), deep and neatly cut with a carpenter's chisel. In possession of Olvin McDougle are two old reap hooks; carved on the handle of one are the letters "F. K. L.," and on the other is "O. P. L." (Oliver Perry Lewis), no doubt the favorite reaping hooks of the owners. Standing on the Philip Moellendick farm and in use at this time as a corn crib, is one of the first school houses built on Washington Bottom; the old door casing showing it had been cut or hewn out. This building was never used as a free school. The Mound Builders once occupied this section of the Ohio Valley. A mound, on the Philip Moellendick place near the middle of Washington Bottom, which had a number of oak trees growling on it, was destroyed to make a fill at Lock 19, on the Ohio River. Several human skeletons and some copper and stone ornaments were found in it. C. R. Rector, has, among his many Indian relics found on Washington Bottom, an amulet, or neck ornament, found in this mound. One can hardly imagine Indians roaming over this territory. Lock 19 is located on the old Francis Lewis place. It was completed October 16, 1916. It is just below Blennerhassett Island, in one of the most beautiful spots on the Ohio River. It has an average of one thousand, four hundred and sixty (1460) lockages a year and gives employment to twelve men. D. M. Lawson, the present Lock Master, has filled this position for more than fourteen years. Francis Keene Lewis inherited from the K.eene estate the lands that are the farms of Mrs. James Watson, George Watson, Miss Edna Lewis, and S. B. Tallman. Mr. Lewis was the largest land owner on Washington Bottom. George Stout built the house where Mrs. James Watson now lives. It was on this farm, near the George Watson home, that the old grist mill stood, owned and run by Mr. Stout. On the Oliver Perry Lewis farm, his wife, Mrs. Mary Lewis, aged eighty-six, and daughter, Edna Lewis, now reside. Much valuable land from this farm has caved into the river in recent years. A very large and successful dairy is operated on the farm formerly owned by A. A. McDougle, now owned and operated by S. B. Tallman. Another place of antiquity is the home now owned and occupied by Frank McDougle and family, Mrs. Alice Rector, and Mrs. Margaret Keever, heirs of Francis Marshall Keene. The home, one part of which is logs, with its quaint six-pane narrow doors, and unusual weather-boarding, stands as one among the oldest homes in Washington Community. It was on this farm that "Uncle Tom" and "Aunt Caroline" Beaver (colored) lived, Mr. Keene having given them three acres of land on the hill, on which they built their log cabin home. Just below the McDougle farm, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Walker built a very nice brick home. They lived in this home for many years and were well-known for their hospitality. The house was destroyed by fire, thirty-eight years ago. Mrs. Rose Hickle's home now stands on the same site. The W. A. Boso home was also owned and occupied by Mr. Walker. Walker's Landing on the Ohio River was a noted shipping place for all the surrounding country and a receiving point as well. The Walker relatives like to come back and go over the old home place. The old barn was destroyed by fire in 1932. The William Munchmeyer property, where he and his family now reside, was once a part of the A. A. McDougle tract. The large mound on this farm is believed to have been built by the Mound Builders. The original William Coffer estate now embraces thirteen farms, owned and occupied by the present owners: Mrs, Mary McKibben, Charles Burd, James Butcher, Mrs. R. C. Massey, Alex Boso, J. M. Boso, Benjamin Sams, Edward Dugan, C. W. Butcher, Nickolas Morey, Pearl Miracle, Mrs. George Butcher, and James McKibben. The old Coffer residence, known far and wide for the hospitality of its owners, Mr. and Mrs. George Coffer, familiarly called, "Aunt Jane" and "Uncle George," located on the Mrs. Mary McKibben farm, is in good repair and is now occupied by the present owner and her daughter, Mrs. Ben Butcher, and her family. Farther toward the river on the same farm are two Indian Mounds that are keeping their secrets for future generations to explore. On the farm now owned by C. W. Butcher and on the site of the present residence, there used to be an old log cabin where old "Aunt Laster" (colored), held sway. She was a relic of pre-war days and famous for her cooking and hospitality, especially the former. Near this place, under a gigantic elm tree, a famous spring has quenched the thirst of man and beast with an inexhaustible supply of clear, cold water since time began. In 1850, two brothers, Henry and Louis Munchmeyer, and a cousin, William Munchmeyer, bought 685 acres of land from Lewis Nea.le and Elizabeth Neale, a descendant of George Lewis. These farms are situated on the lower end of Washington Bottom, on the opposite side of the Ohio River from Newbury Bottom. From the Munchmeyer, Bigelow, and Meldahl homes there is a very beautiful view of the Ohio River and Newbury Island. This tract of 685 acres now has ten owners and that many dwelling houses. The present owners are: Misses Margaret and Lily Meldahl, Mrs. Eleanor Munchmeyer Bigelow, Powell Kruger, S. E. Spencer, B. Smith, Mrs. Clara Burd Smith, John Moore, Jeremiah Spencer, and Isaac Staats. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which runs through Washington Bottom from north to south, built in 1883, enhances the value of these farms, for a railroad station was located on a farm of this tract. The station was named "Meldahl" for the family by that name. Two houses on this land are owned and occupied by descendants of the original owners, one having the same name, Walter Louis Munchmeyer. The Meldahl farm was the home of Captain Tony Meldahl, a popular Ohio River pilot. Among the other nice farms on Washington Bottom, and that had deep wells, walled with rocks, using a windlass with the "Old Oaken Bucket," were the farms made from the Munchmeyer purchase. THE CHURCH About the year 1800, when the settlers felt secure from Indian raids and for several years after, great numbers of people from east of the mountains came seeking homes in Wood county. At this time one of the greatest revivals in the history of the Methodist Church swept over the country, reaching the most remote settlements. "The Groves were God's first Temples," and now again meetings were in the groves, the emigrants camped in their wagons, travelers halted there and thus camp meetings were inaugurated. The people in Wood county grouped themselves for religious worship, and as soon as the first settlers at Washington Bottom were well established in their new homes, they took an active part in this church work. The circuit organized covered a large territory, extending down the Ohio to Ravenswood, up the river to Pleasants county, and up the Little Kanawha River to Burning Springs. The first meetings were held in the log cabins of the members or, a little later, in the widely separated log school houses. In time, the congregations grew in number and there was great need for church houses. The minutes of the fourth Quarterly Conference meeting in 1830, also for the meeting in 1831, are preserved. In 1 830, the meeting was at Richard Lee's. Leroy Swomstadt was presiding elder and David Creel of Washington Bottom was secretary. "On motion of Bro. Powder, a committee of three (to-wit) Frederic Armine, John Low, and Abel Syoc, were appointed to form an estimate of the amount necessary to build a good meeting house in Muses Bottom," also "On motion of Bro. J. H. Powder, a committee of three (to-wit) Lewis Neale, William Neale, and George Neale, Jr., were appointed to ascertain the amount necessary to build a good and sufficient meeting house on Washington Bottom, and that they report to the next Quarterly Conference whether three-fourths of the amount necessary be raised and secured before commencing the work as required by the discipline." The fourth Quarterly Conference was held at Washington Bottom, July 11, 1831, with Robert O. Spencer as presiding elder. A report in regard to building a church at Washington Bottom was made and accepted, two-thirds of the money being subscribed, they were authorized to commence the building. Lewis Neale gave the church lot, the bricks were burned on his farm, and the house built. Daniel Bartlett (great-grandfather of Mrs. Gladys Bartlett Moellendick), a pioneer settler below the Little Kanawha, built the wood part of the church, and the old pews still staunch and solid after a hundred years are a fitting monument to his thorough workmanship. Reece Wolfe was the first preacher in the new house. The following list of thirty-one preachers who followed after Rev. Wolfe may not be complete and their initials or first names are not remembered. Rev. Briscoe was on the circuit just before and during the War between the states. He lived in the parsonage, a log building, at Mineral Wells. After Briscoe came Fox, Williamson, Downtain, Hays Williams, Crooks, Cook, Burns, Shear, Lambert, Simpson, Bud Smith, Bush, Bowles, Tyree, Surgeon, Moss, Dowell, Slaughter, Johnson, Atkinson, Lambert, Roush, Coberly, King, Tolbert, Withrow, Harrison, McClung, Goff, and at this time the church is in a flourishing condition with Rev. J. D. Franklin, preacher. All down through the years the church has been the home of the Sunday school, with many sincere superintendents: Benjamin Edelen, Reezin Barnes, J. W. Stout, W. P. Maddox, William Farrar, B. Amiss, Milton Kyle, A. T. McMurray, John Bartlett, George Ashby, George Coffer, E-lzie Colvin, Mrs, C. R. Rector, Mrs. D. M. Lawson, and Mrs. J. M. Boso. The Sunday school is now the heart of the community and is far- reaching in its influence. On February 25, 1854, Lewis Neale and Elizabeth, his wife, deeded the church lot, in size 60 by 80 feet, to George Neale, Jr., Thomas Maddox, and John Kincheloe, trustees for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The consideration was their love and attachment and membership in said church and further consideration of one dollar, cash in hand paid. On July 20, 1855, Lewis Neale sold his two-hundred-acre farm on Washington Bottom for ten thousand dollars to Alexander Hadden of Wheeling, Virginia, and early in April 1856, moved by steamboat to the Missouri River Valley in the state of Missouri. In the years between 1840 and 1850, Enoch Rector, an early Baptist preacher, had frequent appointments to preach at Washington Bottom at the home of "Esq. Edelen" (Robert Edelen), and at the residence of John H. Harwood. The church was used for summer school in 1866 and 1867 and many of our people still have happy memories of it. SCHOOLS The first "Select" school was located on the Meldahl Farm, near the southern boundary of Washington Bottom, in an old frame building which was bought of the Neale family. The first teacher was Miss Nellie Lathrop who "boarded 'round," receiving a salary of $25 per month. She was succeeded by Miss Vesta Guthrie, from Newbury Bottom, who taught a number of years and who in turn, was followed by Mr. Williams; all capable teachers. Another "pay school" was located on what is now the George Burd property, and still another on the P. G. Moellendick farm. There were two free schools existing as far back as 1867, one on the lower end of the bottom and one on the upper end. The first school house built on the upper end of Washington Bottom still stands on the Cooper-Rector place but is not in use as a school building. A larger one was built in 1 888. It is in good repair and a school is taught in it every year. On the lower part of the Bottom there stands the third school house, a short distance from the location of the second which replaced the first one at the foot of the hill where there was an Indian Trail. A number of students go to Parkersburg High School each year from the two schools on Washington Bottom, twenty having gone in 1931. Four teachers who previously taught in the houses before mentioned make their homes on Washington Bottom now. Among the students who have continued their education farther than high school are: Dr. B. Stout, Cincinnati Medical School,Cincinnati, Ohio; Capt. B. D. Stout, Duff's College, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Ada Cooper, Morris-Harvey College, Barboursville, W. Va.; Clarence Boso and John Rector, Marshall College, Huntington, W. Va.; Ben Rector, Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio; Ruby McMechen, Richmond Female Seminary, Richmond, Va.; Judge Walter McDougle, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.; Dr. Oscar Johnson, Louisville Medical School, Louisville, Ky.; William H. Munchmeyer, Tri-State Normal College, Angola, Ind.; Otto Munchmeyer, Cincinnati College of Chemistry, Cincinnati, Ohio; Edelen Dye, Ralph Godwin, Elmer Harless, David Munchmeyer, Louise Moellendick, Carl Moellendick, and Helen Tallman all attended Parkersburg Business College, Parkersburg,W. Va.; Adele Bigelow, Eleanor Bigelow, William Bigelow, Earl Cooper, Carroll McMechen, Louis Munchmeyer, and Robert Munchmeyer, West Virgina University, Morgantown, W. Va. POST OFFICE The first regular mail service for this territory was started on the Ohio River. Mail was carried overland every two weeks, from Pittsburgh to Wheeling and from there carried by mail boat to Cincinnati. Running about sixty miles a day, it took six days to make the trip to Cincinnati and twelve days to return. These boats were built twenty-four feet long, with bulletproof cabins as a protection from the rifles of the Indians. They were manned by a steersman and four oarsmen. General Rufus Putnam, of Marietta, arranged with Postmaster General Pickering for the first regular service, and service was started on the Ohio River. Stops were made at Marietta, Gallipolis, and Limestone (Marysville, Ky.). It was ninety years after this beginning before there was a postoffice on Washington Bottom. The first postoffice was known as Scott, West Virginia. Mr. Emil Meldahl was the first postmaster at this place. Two years later, Washington Postoffice was established with Miss Florence Cooper as the first postmistress. The Washington Postoffice, cha.nged by the Government from Washington Bottom, is now located on a part of the George Neale section that is now owned by D. H. Harless, who is postmaster at this time, 1932. CEMETERIES There are seven family cemeteries on Washington Bottom, namely: The Edelen, The Neale, Jonas Lewis, Francis Lewis, Walker, Munchmeyer, and Mendahl. WOMEN'S CLUB Washington Women's Club was organized at the home of Mrs. W. J. Moellendick on December 2, 1914, the first rural club in Wood county. The following officers were elected: Mrs. C. R. Rector, President; Mrs. W, L. Munchmeyer, Vice-President; Miss Florence Chen- oweth. Secretary; Mrs. Alice Rector, Treasurer. Other members were: Mrs. W. J. Moellendick, Mrs. P. G. Moellendick, Mrs. J. 0. Chenoweth, Mrs. H. C. Vaughn, Mrs. A. C. Cook, Mrs. W. E. Tracewell, Mrs. G. R. Bigelow, Mrs. W. P. Woofter, Mrs. J. W. Bartlett, and Mrs. Gladys (Bartlett) Moellendick. Mrs. C. R. Rector served as president for eleven successive years. Since then there have been four presidents, Mrs. W. L. Munchmeyer, Mrs. Rosa Hickle, Mrs. W. A. Boso, and Mrs. Teresa Harless.