Virginia's Southwest Corner: 1700 - 1983

By Theodosia W. Barrett

Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia, Publication 17 - 1984
Historical Society of Southwest Virginia

In the 1700's, the southwest corner of Virginia beginning at the head streams of the Holston and Clinch Rivers was a hunter's paradise. The great virgin forest was a vast storehouse of essential resources for man's survival. The formation of this central Appalachian region is picturesque and different from any other place. The Clinch Mountain range divides the watersheds of the Holston and Clinch Rivers. Both valleys with rolling foothills and steep slopes are limestone areas, ideal for farming and grazing.

To continue reading: Click Here.

A Southwest Virginia based group known as the Long Hunters receives more than passing mention in this article. More on them tomorrow.

Note: A number of Melungeon core families lived for some time around Fort Blackmore in Southwest Virginia before migrating to nearby Hawkins (now Hancock) County, Tennessee, and the earliest known written occurrence of the word Melungeon appears in the 1813 minutes of the Stony Creek Baptist Church, also in Southwest Virginia.