MySource:Cos1776/History of the Cabin-Fort

The cabin-fort was built in 1722 by William Hall in the Catawba Valley, Virginia. George von Kromer received the cabin-fort from Joel Grisso of the Catawba Valley in 1937. Kromer had it moved to the back yard of his home in the Walnut Hill section of Roanoke City in November, 1937. Every care was given to rebuilding the cabin as it was built originally. Kromer said, "This cabin, re-erected to preserve a Pioneer Virginia Home is dedicated in reverence to early American history, especially to the courageous, dauntless pioneers to whom the mother State, the Commonwealth of Virginia, owes its greatness. It is my earnest wish that whosoever will have possession in after years shall preserve the cabin intact and add to its history in appropriate manner."

Kromer did extensive research on the cabin, the builder, owners, etc. He acknowledged help from Joel Grisso of Catawba; Harvey Hall, the oldest living direct descendant of William Hall at the time; Milton John and wife of Shawsville, Virginia; Turner McDowell then Clerk of Botetourt County; Joshua Farrow for loaning him Washington's Diary and James Mitchell, a descendant of Daniel Mitchell, Hall's father-in-law, who permitted him to use information shown in the Hall family Bible; Joseph Driscoll, who helped copy Jamestown and Williamsburg records, and many others.

George von Kromer prepared a detailed booklet on the history of the cabin-fort and the William Hall family. The following information is from this booklet with the permission of Mrs. Alma Kromer Bailey:

The story began in 1707. After a tempestuous journey of 60 days. ... "on the 13th of May 1707 three ships, the Sarah Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery, were moored at Jamestown. The strangers settled upon this .... kinde of peninsula fastened to the mainland by a very slender neck and thrusting out into the middest of the channel."

On the good ship Godspeed was Thomas Hall and wife and one son, William, aged five. After living near the shore of the mainland some twelve years Thomas Hall too his family westward, by degrees traveling and camping, until they were awed by "perceiving one paradise after another", and finally located a few miles beyond "ye mountain that luks like ye nose" (McAfee's Knob) in the summer of 1721 in the Catawba Valley.

Several other families were with the Halls by this time. Daniel Mitchell came with his family, including a daughter named Jean.

Thomas Hall died in January 1722 and in the spring of that year William married Jean Mitchell, her father performing the rites.

It must be remembered that at that time this was the most westernly frontier in Virginia.

William Hall and others decided to stay in the Catawba Valley since there were unfriendly Indians in the area and some families branching out north and south had been killed by Cherokees. However, with the help of the friendly Catawbas some families had succeeded in settling near present-day New Castle. Progress was made in dealing with friendly Indians but it was not untill 1740 that a settlement was established in these parts.

To withstand the onslaught of hostile Indians William Hall started to build himself a substantial fort-cabin with port holes necessary for defense in those times. He erected his home on Bear Run, 16 miles east of present Blacksburg, according to records it was:

".... builded of right and proper Oak Logs by mineself and goot friends in 1722 by permission of the Crown and right Virginia authority .... ."

With the cabin and 70 acres of land a deed was later recorded at Fincastle by Andrew Hall who "heired" the cabin. Seventy acres were naturally but a small part of the original grant.

It is interesting to note that it often took years to receive a land grant from the Governor or the King, even though those applying had possession of the land. William Hall used his father's grant, obtained before leaving Jamestown, ".... to settle upon goodly land and report...." to the governor.

Through the hardships of frontier life, William Hall lived in the cabin with his wife and children until his death in 1773. His oldest son, Andrew, inherited the cabin and occupied it until 1803. At Andrew's death the property was willed to his son William who occupied the place until his death in 1848. The Will of William Hall II, probated in 1849, gave the cabin to his son, Lewis. Lewis Hall sold the property to William Burton early in 1868 and went west.

William Burton died December 9, 1902. The property was inherited by his daughter Luvinia who was born in the cabin in 1868. Luvinia married Milton John and lived in Shawsville, Virginia. Their son, Dr. J.E. John, was a well-known dentist in Roanoke, Virginia for many years.

Mrs. John sold the property to Jacob Grisso. Jacob died in 1922 and the property came into the possession of his son Joel. George von Kromer got the cabin-fort from Joel in 1937.

There are many incidents of historic and other interest connected with the cabin-fort.

In September, 1752 George Washington and his friend George William Fairfax, began a western trip of exploration and serveying - a trip Washington never forgot. They stopped somewhere near the eastern end of Catawba Valley. From Washington's Diary:

".... We got Supper and was lighted into a Room and I not being so good as Woodsman as ye rest of my Company striped myself very orderly and went into ye bed as they called when to my Surprise I found it to be nothing else but only one threadbear blanket with double its Weight of Vermin such as Lice, Fleas & c I was glad to get up (as soon as ye light was carried from us) I put on my Clothes and lay as my Companions, I made a Promise not to Sleep so from that time forward chusing rather to sleep in ye open air before a fire....".

The next day, traveling due west in the valley, he had better luck. They arrived about noon and....

".... staid with friend Hall. We cleaned ourselves (to get rid of ye Game we catched ye night before) and took review of ye land and thence returned to Lodgings where we had a good dinner prepared for us Wine and Rum Punch in Plenty and a good Feather Bed with clean Sheets which was a very agreeable Regale...".

When Washington was commissioned by Governor Dinwiddie in 1756 to establish a line of forts against the Indians and Renegade French, it must be remembered that Fort William in the Catawba Valley was one of the five forts built.

At that time a frontier store, operated by John Hickey, was located at the foot of Fort Lewis Mountain. Hickey had goods hauled in from Eastern Virginia and his place being centrally located, served as a rendezvous for frontier men. In all probability the Hall family got needed supplies here.

In 1757, while attending a meeting at Fort William, Washington again visited his friend William Hall. According to an entry in James Mitchell's Bible in the spring of 1757, just before Washington visited Hall, the Daniel Mitchell II cabin was fired upon and many buildings burned by Indians. With Washington's help the Indians were caught. The settlers made plans to execute them but Washington would not permit it.

In 1756 Colonel Byrd, who was making an expedition against the Cherokees and established some secondary forts, visited in the Hall home. It is little doubt that William Hall met Col. Byrd and took him to his home. A Bible entry of 1757 said: "Ye same colonel boyd came with father as was here last year from over ye mountain." The entry was made by Andrew Hall.

Col. William Preston also visited in the Hall home as he returned home from building a fort in Scott County.

Catawba Valley was famous in those days for its game; buffaloes and deer were plentiful. The creeks were full of fish, small wild life in abundance and the fertile ground and gentle slopes made farming profitable. It is understandable why the roving Indians tried to gain possession of the Valley. The foolhardiness of trying to settle farther west than the Hall-Mitchell places was amply shown as late a 1755 in the Draper's Meadow massacre but a few miles away.

In later years after the Indians ceased to be a source of danger this section became tranquil, life became serene, however, it remained a life of hard work. Many of the brave, hard working Hall family members remained in Virginia or perhaps the Roanoke Valley. Some moved away. A number of William Hall's descendants fought in the Revolutionary War and for the South in the Civil War.

On October 16, 1938 a marker was erected at the grave of William Hall. The marker consisted of an iron cross, bearing a bronze plate with the inscription, "In Memory of Pioneer William Hall, died in 1773".

According to a newpaper [sic] account of the occasion Miss Alma Kromer unveiled the marker and Mrs. G.V. Kromer placed a wreath on the grave. About 100 people attended the ceremony. Mr. George V. Kromer and Mr. Harvey Hall, descendant of William Hall, were instrumental in having the marker erected.

The newspaper article in 1938 said the old Hall Cemetery was half a mile beyond Custer's Mill on the "back road" between New Castle Road and Blacksburg Road.

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Analysis and Corrections by Cynthia Hall Driscoll

This analysis, entitled "HALL'S - Catawba Valley, VA - Bogus Story" was originally posted to a message board in 2001 that was later taken over by ancestry.com [1]. Since many of these old posts are disappearing, the text is copied here for preservation. --cos1776 18:38, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

CynthiaDriscoll
Posted: 16 Jan 2001 7:00 AM
Classification: Query
Edited: 14 Feb 2002 9:01 AM
Surnames: HALL, LEDGERWOOD, MITCHELL, OTHERS

Anyone using a story regarding the HALL family entitled, "History of the Cabin-Fort", by George von Kromer...there are a lot of errors. This story was also included in the book, "Places Near the Mountains", by Helen Prillaman. This story is regarding the HALL family of Catawba Valley, Roanoke Co., VA

Some of the errors are:

"The story began in 1707. After a tempestuous journey of 60 days...'on the 13th of May 1707, three ships...' "

CORRECTION: These 3 ships, that Mr. Kromer is speaking of, are the Sarah Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery. Mr. Kromer states that one Thomas Hall, wife and child (William) were on the Godspeed. This is false. There were no Hall's on any of those 3 ships...and besides that...those 3 ships landed in 1607 - not 1707...So to begin with...that puts the story off 100 years.

Daniel MITCHELL - Kromer gives him the title of Reverend and states that he performed the marriage ceremony for his daughter Jean to Wm. HALL. Kromer also states that this marriage took place in the spring of 1722.

CORRECTION: No records for any Daniel MITCHELL have been found to date. There are several records for a David MITCHELL and family. Transcription error? Yes, could be, but David seems to be too prevalent in records for it to be misconstrued with the name Daniel. Also note, that neither David MITCHELL, Sr. or Jr. were Reverends. The David MITCHELL family proved their "oath of importation" in Orange Co. on 2-28-1739. They were traveling with the LEDGERWOOD & MORPHET families from Ireland. ALSO note the date of 1739...a marriage date of 1722...the MITCHELL'S were here 17/18 years too late.

In 1722 this area was still in Spotsylvania Co., VA. No record of marriage can be found for a Wm. HALL and a Jean/Jane MITCHELL - nor is there a marriage record in Orange Co.

Kromer states that the HALL home was 16 miles east of present Blacksburg (Montgomery Co., VA).

CORRECTION: This part is basically true...However, Kromer would lead you to believe that this home was built in the early 1720's. How could it have been...when William HALL (s/o Thos. & Mary HALL), was in his 20's and was residing in the Lexington, VA area. William Hall never resided in the Catawba Valley, he resided his entire life in and around the Lexington and Natural Bridge areas (Whistle Creek & Cedar Creek precincts respectively, buying his first land in 1750). Kromer also would lead you to believe that this Wm. HALL who died in 1772/3 is buried in the HALL Cemetery in Catawba.

Why would someone who lived his entire life in the present Rockbridge Co. area be buried in the Catawba Valley - the places are about 60 miles apart. Also this Wm. HALL was instrumental in beginning the Hall's Meeting House (church).

Kromer states...With the cabin and 70 acres...deed later recorded at Fincastle by Andrew Hall...

CORRECTION: There is NO deed filed in the Botetourt Co. Courthouse for this land and cabin by Andrew or any other HALL family member. All HALL land transactions that were recorded are for land lying in what is now Rockbridge Co. The land the Rockbridge Co., Hall's held and the land the Botetourt Co./Roanoke Co. Hall's held (at a much later date) are approximately 60 miles apart.

It appears that the HALL land that Kromer is speaking of was not HALL land, but LEDGERWOOD land - as was patented to William LEDGERWOOD (200 acres).

This land was handed down to the LEDGERWOOD family and then in later years portions were bought by and willed to William HALL who died in 1849 and his wife Nancy LEDGERWOOD.

Kromer stated that William HALL was the son of Andrew HALL. However, upon reading the will of Andrew HALL (of Rockbridge - the only Andrew appearing in court records for Botetourt, Montgomery, Roanoke and Rockbridge Counties), no children are listed by the name of William. It appears that if this "Cabin-Fort" belonged to anyone - it belonged to the LEDGERWOOD family first.

Kromer states that "There are many incidents of historic and other interest connected with the cabin-fort. In Sept 1752, George Washington...'We got Supper and was lighted into...' ".

CORRECTION: Well, yes this statement was made by Washington and is written in his diary. However, this statement deals with Washington and his crew being near present day Winchester, VA. Also this statement was written in Washington's diary on Tues., March 15th 1748 - not Sept. 1752. This info comes from Washington's Diaries, Vol 1, p. 3-12

Kromer also states from Washington's diary..."The next day, traveling due west...arrived about noon and...staid with friend HALL. We cleaned..."

CORRECTION: The rest of that statement from 'We cleaned'...is found in Washington's Diary. "staid with friend Hall", is not in this or any other paragraph in the diary beginning March 11th 1747/8 through April 13th 1748. These men in the beginning of their exploration and survey trip were in Prince Wm. Co., VA and concluded at Mr. Vernon on the Potomac. And at this date were still somewhere around Winchester, VA. George Washington never stayed with this William HALL who d. in 1773. If he stayed with any HALL family, it was most probable that he stayed with the Richard HALL family. Christopher GIST mentions, in his diary, of staying with Richard HALL and also a reference in Chalkley's Chronicles notes that Col. Wm. PRESTON store in his diary that he stayed with Richard HALL.

There is a map contained in Chalkley's Chronicles regarding Washington's route on his tour of inspection of the frontier forts - Oct. 1756. This map shows where Washington began and ended. His trek came nowhere close to the part of the Catawba Valley where the Wm. HALL family was supposedly residing. The closest Washington came was when he crossed Craig's Creek at New Castle.

Also in Chalkley's Chronicles there is a map regarding the "Roanoke Community" 1740-1760. It's similar to a "plot map" - showing names where people resided. There is no listing for a HALL where they should have been according to Kromer. The only HALL family on this map is that, again, of Richard HALL residing between Stroubles Creek to the north and Crab Creek to the south. Also there are no MITCHELL'S or LEDGERWOOD'S shown on this map. Those families were still in the Augusta Co. area at that time. The LEDGERWOOD's didn't show up in the Catawba Valley until around 1770.

Account of Christopher Gist can be found in Annals of Southwest Virginia 1769-1800, by Lewis Preston Summers. Reference to Col. PRESTON can be found in Chalkley's Chronicles on p. 226.

Kromer speaks of the Draper's Meadow Massacre and that is was "but just a few miles away..."

CORRECTION: Quite a few miles away. We figured about 25 miles away. However, Richard HALL was within less than 10 miles from the Drapers Meadow area.

PERSONAL NOTES: Getting back to Washington's Diaries. It appears that Mr. Kromer took what he wanted to take from Washington's diary and added it to "play up" the HALL family story. It also appears that Mr. Kromer has very obviously confused the HALL family of what became present day Rockbridge Co. and the HALL family of the Catawba Valley.

Although there is no proof of the following, it is probable. Richard HALL, who resided on Stroubles Creek (in present day Montgomery Co.) and Wm. HALL who resided on Whistle Creek & Cedar Creek (in present day Rockbridge Co.) may have been brothers. Both of these HALL families settled within 60-70 miles of each other and both in the year 1750 bought land. There is also a reference in Chalkleys Chronicles of a Richard HALL delivering a Wm. HALL a deed.

The date of Sept 1752, used by Kromer - According to Washington's Diaries - Between March 5 to Dec 31, 1752, diaries missing or not kept. Numbers are not assigned to these periods as it is extremely doubtful that diaries were kept. Appears that Kromer picked a "convenient" date...and below is another example... Kromer makes a statement regarding the year 1757, about their being an entry made in James MITCHELL'S Bible regarding Washington visiting Ft. William and staying with the HALL'S. Once again cannot verify this as Diaries were missing or not kept between 1755 and 1759. However, I very seriously doubt this statement by Kromer is correct since the above regarding the entries in Washington's Diary are now proved to be regarding somther other than the HALL family.

More info to share with other interested parties who will do the same.
Thanx - Cindy HALL Driscoll - i2luvlucy[at]aol.com

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