Rain, Cold and Wet, Again

13^th (Nov.) Breakfast at house one mile east of the 7mile ford, ⁽¹⁾ rained all morning, stayed all night at young Atkins, Good fair 23 mile - cost- 4.62, grain straw .25, whiskey grog 62.

Cullop Stone House

Courtesy: David Edwards

The 23 miles would put Clark in the vicinity of present-day Atkins, Smyth Co. VA less than 5 miles from the Wythe Co. line. Frederick Cullop built the Old Stone Tavern a.k.a. Rock House before 1815 (36°51’51” N -81°26’12” W). The distance and location are reasonable for the house that the Clark party stayed in on 13 November 1809. ⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ Cullop appeared in the Wythe County tax records in 1797 and acquired the tavern property in 1806 and 1808. ⁽⁴⁾

Kent House, razed, date uncertain

On the 14^th the Clarks passed through Wytheville and stayed all night at Capt. (James) Kent. ⁽⁵⁾ Chloe, Scott and presumably Rachel, their daughter, were sent to the Kent’s Tavern near the main road to spend the night. They traveled 29 miles – cost- unknown.

Shot Tower State Park, Wythe Co. VA

During the day of 15 November, they passed near Ft. Chiswell. The fort was built 1758 -1760 by Col. William Byrd III as an out-post during the French and Indian War and named for John Chiswell the owner of the nearby lead mine. The (lead) Shot Tower Historic Site is 8 miles south of I-81 on I-77. ⁽⁶⁾⁽⁷⁾ Unfortunately, the old fort and related building were lost during the construction of I-77 and I-81. ⁽⁸⁾ Today, there is a pyramid monument erected near the fort site. ⁽⁹⁾