3rd. Dec sat out at 3 0clock with Scot (Scott) & 2 horses Stayed all night at Mr. Conkeys (McConkey) 21 mi, arrived there late at night. Samuel McConkey received a tavern license in 1793. (1) 4th Dec Sat out at Day light and Breakfast at Mr. Shield in Lexington (2) (Court Day) proceeded on to Col McDowells stayed all night. The Virginia Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail, Inc. installed a 12″ Brass NOAA Disk across the street from the Shield Tavern, commemorating the visit of William and Scott’s on December 1809. (GPS 37.782938° 79.445198°) (3) NOAA Disk – Image courtesy of Betty Kluesner William Clark’s comment (Court Day) reveals a major event for Lexington, VA on Monday, 4 December 1809. (4) In addition to being a day for judicial proceedings, Court Day brought people from all over Rockbridge County to the county seat to transact business and have fun. The day included trading horses and other livestock, selling produce, purchasing needed supplies for their farm or home and a general holiday for social interaction. It was a festive day in Lexington, overflowing with humanity. Col. McDowell’s home was 1.1 miles south of present-day Fairfield, VA on US 11 (37.867766° 79.310182°). Willian and Scott had arrived at a well-known Red House in the mid Shenandoah Valley on the Great Valley Road. Capt. John McDowell built a log house in the 100,000-acre Borden Grant, (5) he had received 1000 acres as payment for surveying the grant. (6) The McDowell family were leaders in the region and later in Kentucky. Col Samuel McDowell served in the Revolutionary War. (7) After the war he moved to Mercer County Kentucky where he was a surveyor and judge in Kentucky County. As a leading proponent for Kentucky independence from Virginia he was the presiding officer of the First Constitutional Convention. (8) Dr. Ephraim McDowell, grandson of John McDowell and son of Samuel McDowell, was born in Rockbridge County, VA. (9) At age 20, Ephraim entered medical school in Staunton VA and later Edenborough, Scotland. After completing his medical training, he returned to Danville, KY and opened a practice on the frontier. On Christmas Day 1809, Dr. McDowell performed the first abdominal surgery to remove a tumor. (10) Today, Dr. McDowell is honored with a statue in the Kentucky Capitol Rotunda and in the Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol. (11) McDowell’s Family Cemetery and historical markers are the only physical sign of the Red House and the historic site on the Great Valley Road. There is a pull-off to read the markers but the cemetery is on private property. Please respect the property. 5th Dec Set out early, Dined at Greenville, stayed all night at Mr. Blacks, made a long ride rained all day. William and Scott ate in Greenville, a community of 162 in 1809, originating in the Bordon Grant. This early stage-coach stop on the Great Valley Road accommodated travelers going in three directions. Today, Greenville is known as the home of Kate Smith, born 1907, and best known for singing Irving Berlin’s God Bless America. Ms. Smith followed William Clark’s dedicated service to the United States and was the leading War Bond Salesperson during World War II. She was awarded the Freedom Medal for her service. (12) As William and Scott traveled to Staunton, they passed near the birthplace of expedition member John Colter, the “First Mountain Man”, born in Stuart Draft, VA. A Virginia historical marker is at intersection of US 340 & VA 608 (38°2.11’N -79°2.108′ W). (13) Credit: Lewis and Clark Trust The location of Mr. Black’s ordinary in Staunton or Augusta County is uncertain, but the cost for the night was $1.75 . However, on 25 December 1809, James Black was granted a license to keep and ordinary in his house. Was the license a renewal or was Black hosting guests even before having a license granted? (14) Edgar Woods, History of Albemarle Co. VA states that George Rogers Clark stayed in James Black’s Tavern in 1777, is this the same James Black Tavern where Willian Clark and Scott stayed in 1809? (15)
Sources
(1) http://genealogytrails.com/vir/rockbridge/county_tavernlicenseholders_1778_1864.html (The Rockbridge Co. VA by Oren Morton, published 1920. Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Park.)
(2) Bodie, Charles A.,
Remarkable Rockbridge: The Story of Rockbridge County, Virginia , Rockbridge Historical Society, 2011, page 81. (3) William Clark Historical Marker (hmdb.org) (4) https://www.virginia.gov/agencies/library-of-virginia/ ; https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.35112104867322&view=1up&seq=262 page 256 (5) https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/borden-benjamin-1675-1743/ (6) http://genealogytrails.com/vir/rockbridge/hist_bordenlandgrants.html (Paragraph 4) (7) https://archive.org/details/franheitmanreg00bernrich/page/369/mode/2up (8) https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-11-02-013 0 (9) https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/109 . (10) http://mcdowellhouse.com/history/ephraim-mcdowell/ (11) https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/ephraim-mcdowell-statue (12) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Smith (13) https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMK21C_John_Colter
(14) Augusta County Order Book 30, 1807-1809, page 357.
(15) https://archive.org/stream/albemarlecountyi00wood/albemarlecountyi00wood_djvu.txt page 50 & 51.