In the first few years after we bought our property in West Virginia, nearly every time we would arrive, (we began referring to it as going to “the mountain”) I would find myself thinking about the area’s history.
What must it have looked like to some of its earliest inhabitants? How high would the mature forests have been? What openings in the tree cover would present a vista similar to the one we enjoy? What creatures would have been roaming the terrain with them? How would they have lived on this land? The Indigenous People who were here were farmers and hunters who lived off the rich resources of this land. This has been determined by scholars working on the many archaeological sites located throughout the state of West Virginia where remains of these Indigenous People and their artifacts are still being unearthed and studied.
Their descendants would come to be known as the Seneca, Iroquois, Shawnee, Cherokee and Tuscarora - to name just a few. The names of places of note, small towns, rivers and counties in the state now bear witness to the groups of native peoples who once inhabited it: for example - Seneca Rocks, Kanawha Falls, Monongahela River and Mingo County.
As we began to settle into our feeling of stewardship for these 52 acres of “Almost Heaven” I would also pause many times to think of the hearty souls who had followed their dreams and made their plans to venture out from relative comforts and “civilization” of their day to stake their claims in this land. I have wondered just how long it would have taken them to convince spouses and loved ones of the soundness of their plan, gather all the provisions they would need, wait for the right weather conditions and then set the date to begin their journey into the unknown. I consider with great admiration their tenacity, grit and determination. I imagine them following wide, rutted roads out of town that would lead to dirt roads into the countryside. Those roads would then dwindle to paths through rough and hilly terrain that ultimately would leave them rolling through undisturbed grasslands or following game trails through forests.
Maybe I’ve seen a few too many Westerns or episodes of Little House on the Prairie or even current day scenes from my favorite, “Outlander”! But still, I wonder, how did they know when they had “ARRIVED”? What made the man jump down from the wagon one day and say, “This is it! Here’s where we’re going to stay?”
And then my thoughts go to the woman (or women) of this settler’s party. All well and good that they have finally answered the pioneer children’s version of “are we there yet?” But now what? Where’s our water source? How long will we still need to live out of the wagon while trees are being felled and trimmed out for a shelter? How long will our provisions last? Where’s the nearest town or fort or neighbor? And still the child pulling on her skirt looks up and asks, “what’s for dinner?”
It’s a good thing my descendants weren’t depending on my pioneering skills to insure their future existence. I’m not sure I would have stood up to the challenge. I am, however, very thankful for my ancestors. It is most certainly thanks to their spirit of adventure, unfailing faith, common sense, and commitment to their dreams that I am here.
