"Darkness comes early in narrow valleys, in the valleys of black soil. The hills lie close and early shadows cover all the space between. Night draws down, in fact, a term not often heard, but a reality where dark hills lie. The darkness was deeper in years past, especially so in times of turmoil when shades were drawn and doors closed in fear of violence. Fear came less frequently as years went by, unless you count the fear of hunger or ignorance or unrealized dreams or early death."

...Shirley Young Campbell

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About Scott County

"History of Scott County"

The territory now occupied by Scott County was hunted over and fought for by many tribes of Indians. According to evidence found by the early settlers, an Indian village once stood on the south bank of the Clinch River near the mouth of Stony Creek.

Next to the rich virgin soil, wild game was perhaps the greatest inducement to the pioneer hunters to enter a wilderness often made dangerous by the presence of hostile Indians. Some of these men came as Long Hunters and fur traders, explored the country, and marked traces to be followed by adventurous home seekers and their families. These early explorations and settlements would hardly have been possible without the food that the wild game provided.

Forts were built for protection against Indians. The Blockhouse, built sometime before 1782 and situated about 4 miles southeast of Big Moccasin Gap at the meeting point of the pioneer roads from Virginia and North Carolina, was one of the most widely known places on the Wilderness Road. It was possibly the only blockhouse in the county, the other forts being log cabins and stockades.

Fort Blackmore, a famous early fort, was situated on an ancient elevated flood plain on the north side of the Clinch River opposite the mouth of Rock Branch. For many years, this fort was on the extreme frontier of Virginia and was used by hunters, explorers, adventurers, and home seekers for rest and refreshment. Daniel Boone was in command of Fort Blackmore and other forts on the Clinch River in 1774 while the militiamen were engaged in the Point Pleasant campaign of Dunmore's war.

Many other forts were built in the early days. In Rye Cove, Crisman's fort was built in 1776 and Carter's Fort in 1784. Porter's Fort was built on Fall Creek in 1775. Fort Houston was built probably soon after 1774 on Big Moccasin Creek near the present Russell County line and was a place of safety for the earliest settlers in that valley. Dorton's Fort, built 1 mile southwest of Nickelsville about 1790, was not so exposed to Indian attacks as the forts built earlier.

Big Moccasin Gap, a breach in the hard rocks of Clinch River, is perhaps the most important natural feature in the county, for in it centered much of the early history and development. Through the gap, Daniel Boone and his companions carved the Wilderness Road to Kentucky in 1775 and through it thousands of pioneer settlers passed on their way to Kentucky and the Middle West. Most of the goods used by the people who lived north of the Clinch River were hauled through the gap before the coming of the railroad. The first railroad in the county was built through big Moccasin Gap, and most of the main highways now lead toward it.

Thomas McCulloch, the first settler, located in 1769 on Big Moccasin Creek near Fort Houston. From 1769 to 1782, many people came to live in what is now Scott County, and settlements increased until they reached nearly all sections. In 1790, strongly-built houses began to take the place of forts; and one of these, the Old Kilgore Fort House, about 2 miles west of Nickelsville, is still standing. It is probably the oldest house in the county. Convenience to water was one of the main considerations in the selection of home sites, and most of the early homes were located on low land.

The early settlers were mainly Scotch-Irish, though some were of English descent. They came from eastern Virginia, from Augusta County, Virginia, from the Yadkin Valley in North Carolina, and a few from Ireland. Some of the thousands who traveled the old Wilderness road on their way westward grew weary of traveling, turned aside, and settled in the Scott County territory. A string of log cabins soon lined the Wilderness Road from the Blockhouse to Cain Gap in Powell Mountain.

Scott County was formed by an act of the general assembly on November 24, 1814, from parts of Washington, Lee, and Russell Counties and was named for General Winfield Scott. In 1856, part of Scott County was taken to form part of Wise County. The first court was held in a dwelling at Big Moccasin Gap in 1815, and the first public free schools were opened in 1870. The county seat is Gate City, at elevation 1304 feet, with a population of 2159 in the year 2000.

The population still consists largely of descendants of the early settlers. Most of the people live on smooth land near streams and on the smoother ridge tops in the valley uplands. Very few live in the steep and rugged mountain country. Much of the land is unsuitable for intensive use. There is relatively little farming or mining in the county, and most employment is in the services, government and trade sectors.

Here is a link to everything you want to know about the demographics of Scott County today, courtesy of the 2000 Census.

Genealocical Resources

Post a Query or Search a Mailing List

Two resources at Rootsweb that will greatly facilitate your genealogical research are the Message Board and the Mailing List.

The Message Board is a good place for posting a note that a large number of people might see and respond to over a long period of time. The Mailing List, however, is an e-mail list for genealogical research in the area. It is for more in-depth discussions and longer posts than you might see on the Message Board, and it is a method of assuring that a dedicated group of list members will be sure to receive your note as an e-mail message. It then provides a platform for the exchange of ideas, information and comments, all by e-mail. The Mailing List is spam and virus-free, because all posts are filtered through Rootsweb servers.

If you use web based mail, both the Message Board and the Mailing List can be accessed on the WWW through your web browser, but the Mailing List needs only your e-mail program. The Mailing List operates in two forms, the Mail mode, and the Digest mode.

Links to the USGenWeb County Pages

It is often helpful to search for answers on USGenWeb sites.

About the USGenWeb Project

In March and April, 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database Project. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index.

At the same time, volunteers were found who were willing to coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the web page. Required elements of a county page included offering queries and lookups.

This project became known as KyGenWeb.

Within just a few months, most of the Kentucky counties had a volunteer coordinator, and it was decided to expand the project to include Virginia and the other states... and USGenWeb was born, and a short time later WorldGenWeb.


Here are some links in case you would like to see more:

Jeff Murphy Memorial    Radio Free USGenWeb   

Family Web Sites

• McPherson Genealogy - by Carole Barger

• Wolfe Traces - by Sherry Wolfe Parker

• Keith and Brenda Nichols' Page

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