Chadwell's Station

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This article is one of a series on the forts of southwest Virginia during the period of Indian Hostilities, (1774-1794). The accompanying map shows the location of the forts in the Powell, Clinch, and Lower Holston watersheds. An index to these forts is found at List of Forts of Southwest Virginia. The location of many of these forts is known only approximately, and different sources sometimes suggest different locations. Much of the information in these articles is based on Emory Hamilton's article "Frontier Forts".

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Contents

Location

Chadwell's Station (point 24 in the accompanying map) was located on the Wilderness Road in Powell's valley, and according to Hamilton near "Chadwell’s Station Church". No such feature is currently listed in GNIS, the USGS place name catalog, so its exact location is uncertain. Howvever, a search of the internet shows a Chadwell Baptist Church in Ewing, Lee County, VA. Nearby is a slight gap in the Cumberland Mountains, that GNIS identifies as "Chadwell's Gap". It seems likely that Chadwell's Station is in this area, probably in or very near to the community of Ewing. Also, while "CHADWELl's Station does not appear as such in GNIS, a CHATTEL's Station does appear on USGS maps, and is in this same general location. It seems likely that "Chattel's Station" is a corruption of "Chadwell's Station".

Construction

We have no direct contemporary information about the construction of Chadwell's Station. One descendant describes it as a Blockhouse, but what this was based on is not known, and in fact the description of it as a Blockhouse may be simply speculative, rather than information passed down through the family. Nonetheless, given its location on the Wilderness Road, and extrapolating from Hamilton's statement that it was used as a stop over for travelers on the Wilderness Road, suggests that it was probably more than a strongly fortified home, and perhaps stockaded.

History

Chadwell's Station was erected about 1790 toward the end of the period of ndian Hostilities. According to Hamilton, 1968 it was built by Captain David Chadwell, a native of Henry County, VA. Chadwell purchased the land from Mordecai Hoard, who had come to Powell Valley with Captain Joseph Martin in 1775. During the Indian attacks initiated in 1776, Hoard retreated to Henry County, never to return. It was his heirs who sold the property to Chadwell about 1790. [NB: This transaction needs to be documented.]

While Chadwell's Station was constructed during the period of Indian Hostilities, there seems to be no evidence that it was ever attacked. That may suggest that it was in fact a stockaded structure, or otherwise not vulnerable to attacks by small numbers of Indians that continued to harass the settlers as later as 1794.

Family Connection

David Chadwell is said to have been born in 1732 in England, and to have married Elizabeth Turner before 1768 at Pittsylvania Co., Va. He came to Lee County and Powell's Valley about 1790 from Henry County. The fact that he came to Powell's Valley from Henry County suggests that he was connected in some way to Joseph Martin who also came to the area from Henry County, and was instrumental in the settlement of the Valley, leading a number of settlers to the area, and establishing Martin's Old Station as well as martin's New Station.

References and Links

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Cox and Related Families: England, Virginia, Tennessee By Mary Joan Tucker Cox Published 1997 Tennessee 296 pages

Source:Hamilton, Emory, 1968