UPPER PAINT CREEK
written by Okey R. Stover

Amanda Douglass provided us with a copy of UPPER PAINT CREEK by OKEY R. STOVER via her brother and her Aunt Rose Lee Edmonds Kraushaar.

This history of Upper Paint Creek, Raleigh, WV, may be found in its entirety in the DOCUMENT Section of FORNEY/ CLARK GENEALOGY PAGES and also at:

Gracie Stover's website: UPPER PAINT CREEK by OKEY STOVER: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ggracie/okey.html “This document was compiled and written by Okey R. Stover. Some of the stories were from memory but most of the writings were from data he collected over the years. It was completed in 1985 when he was 90 years of age.” Unknown Gracie Stover: “Okey's grandniece Rebecca Lilly Segura did the typing of his book.”

and at:

Thomas W. Dillion II's website : DILLION FAMILY GENEALOGY-HISTORY: http://noillid2.150m.com/history/upc00001.html The following text of UPPER PAINT CREEK by OKEY R. STOVER that appears on the FORNEY/ CLARK GENEALOGY PAGES was taken in its entirety from Thomas W. Dillion II’s website.

The photo ASA SPANGLER'S MILL AT CIRTSVILLE was contributed by Rebecca Lilly Segura to:

RALEIGH CO., WV WEBSITE, PART OF WVGEN WEB (This site is maintained by Gracie Stover, Jeannie Watts, Lesley Shockley, and Valerie Forren Cook):
http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvraleig/index.htm






UPPER PAINT CREEK
written by Okey R. Stover

Table of Contents


  • Introduction
  • Conditions Prior to the Revolutionary War
  • First Land Owners to Hold Title to Land on Paint Creek
  • First Settlers on Upper Paint Creek
  • Communities on Upper Paint Creek
  • Coal Mines
  • Needmore
  • Schools
  • Churches
  • Town of Maynor
  • Families of Upper Paint Creek
  • Post Offices
  • Joe Raines


  • Conclusion




  • Introduction

    Having been blessed with many years of life and most of it lived in the region of Upper Paint Creek Valley and having always been interested in the early history of this locality, I think I should try to record the things I have learned in order that they will not be lost to future generations.

    In my boyhood days some of the older men in the community liked to fox hunt and several of them kept fox hounds. They would all meet with their hounds on some high point and enjoy the music of their dogs chasing the fox.

    On these fox chasing trips there were always several boys who went along not for the chase but for the stories that were told by the older men of the party of the early days of the settlers of this section. The Williamses, the Maynors, the Feazels, and the Tyrees were great story tellers and we younger boys heard many interesting stories when the fox chase was out of hearing and we learned many facts and legends pertaining to the early settlers of this section.

    Some of the things I heard in this manner I will try to record here.

    Okey R. Stover

    Conditions Prior to the Revolutionary War

    Prior to the Revolutionary War, there were no white settlers on Paint Creek. The region was under the control of the Indians. Although there were no Indian tribes that were permanently located in the region, there were several tribes that liked to hunt along the stream. However, the Shawnee tribe which was located in the Scioto Valley of Ohio seemed to claim the region and resented having any other tribe intrude on their hunting grounds. When a hunting party of Shawnee met a hunting party of another tribe on what they considered their territory, there would be a fight and usually a few scalps were lifted.

    The Shawnees had several camping sites along the stream but the largest and most developed camp was near the head of the stream at what is now known as Sweeneysburg. There they had cleared a large area of underbrush and usually there was a party of Shawnee encamped there. They seemed to have an unlimited supply of red paint, where they obtained this paint nobody knows but they used it generously in decorating their campgrounds, painting the boughs of the trees and the rocks along the stream and around the camp. It was from this paint that the that the stream got its name Paint Creek.

    First Land Owners to Hold Title to Land on Paint Creek

    Early in my life I learned that people that owned land had a title to their land in the form of a deed and that they received this deed from the party they purchased the land from. I wondered who made the first deed and how it was all started. I learned it came about in this manner. There were some men in Virginia who through some influence they had with the Governor of Virginia could obtain from the Governor a grant for a large boundary of land in the section of Virginia west of the Allegheny Mountains. These men were called land speculators.

    The first speculator to get a grant on the upper section of Paint Creek was a Mr. Reed. He came into this section sometime near the beginning of the nineteenth century and discovered the Indian Campground at what is now Sweeneysburg and found the trees and rocks all decorated with red paint. I suppose it was Mr. Reed that gave the stream the name of Paint Creek.

    He started his survey at the Indian campground and surveyed off a large territory, including all the tributaries of Paint Creek. Most of the older settlers of this section knew just where the Reed line ran and many of the early deeds recorded in the Raleigh County Clerk's office call for lines running with the Reed line.

    The system used by the speculators for the disposal of his land was like this: He would go back to his home in Virginia, advertise his land west of the mountains, and try to induce settlers to come and establish homes on his land grant. A settler would come in and select a site for his cabin, build and move in. When the speculator came around, he would survey off as much land as the settler wanted to buy and he would make the settler a deed for it. Until the speculator or agent came around to sell him the land he was considered a squatter but he had squatter's rights and no other settler would settle on land that an earlier settler intended to buy. There were quite a few settlers who built cabins and started to establish a home that became discouraged, left their cabins, and went back to Virginia before the speculator came around to sell them the land. It was not unusual to find a deserted cabin in the region of Upper Paint Creek.

    After the battle of Point Pleasant where Colonel Andrew Lewis with his Virginia Militia defeated the Indians under Chief Cornstalk, he obtained a treaty with the Indians in which they agreed to permit the whites to come in and establish homes and the whites agreed to permit the Indians to hunt the territory. To the sorrow of many settlers, neither side kept the agreement of this treaty mainly because there were a lot of white men whose theory of the Indians was that the only good Indian was a dead Indian and they insisted on making a good Indian of every one they met. So the Indians continued to raid and steal the livestock of the settlers, to burn their cabins, and to kidnap and kill. It was quite a while before it was safe for a white man to try to settle in this region of the country.

    First Settlers on Upper Paint Creek

    Due to the activities of the Shawnee Indians, there were no settlers on the Upper Paint Creek until about 1820. By that time there were well established settlements in the Kanawha Valley and the Greenbrier and Monroe areas. The Indians were pretty well shut off from this section.

    One of the first to explore this region was David "Lonesome Dave " Williams. It seemed that he came on an exploring trip about the year of 1810 or 1811. No doubt he came by way of Lewisburg and followed Reed's trail from there to the Indian camp near the head waters of Paint Creek. He apparently spent quite a while looking over the country and liked what he saw. He went back to his home in Giles County, Virginia, with a strong determination to return and establish a home in this region. When he reached civilization again, he found that our country was again in war with England. He either enlisted or was drafted into the Army.

    Here is an interesting story as told by one of his grandsons: While Lonesome Dave was in camp during his term in the Army, he and a number of his fellow soldiers were engaged in one of the favorite pastimes of Army boys, i.e. they were telling each other what their plans were if they lived to get out of this blankety blank Army. Most soldiers have engaged in these sessions. Lonesome Dave told the boys that when he got his discharge from the Army, he intended to go over west of the mountains to a place he had discovered, build a home, and spend the remainder of his life there. He described the place--the Indian campground and the painted trees and rocks.

    Another young soldier said, "Yes, Williams, I know that territory. It all belongs to my father. You go over there, select a spot, build a cabin, and I will see that you get a deed for as much land as you want." That young fellow was the son of the land speculator, Reed.

    Lonesome Dave did not get back over here for quite a while after he was discharged from the Army probably because of the Indian raids. But finally the Indians were convinced that they could not stop the whites from taking over their land and it became safe for settlers to come and establish homes. About 1820 they began to settle up the Upper Paint Creek valley.

    When Lonesome Dave came with his wife to establish their home, the site they selected for their cabin was what we now know as the Wriston farm on Maple Fork. I don't know just how long they lived at this location but in the meantime, Mr. Reed sold the Maple Fork section to another speculator, Mr. R.S. Maddy, and Dave still had no title to his place. Mr. Reed's son wanted to make good his promise to Dave so he went to see him. They told him that they had sold that section but there was a nice vacant cabin down on Paint Creek. If he would move down there, they would give him a deed to the property. Dave agreed and the move was made. This cabin was located on the lower end of what later became the Amos Williams farm, now owned by Woodrow Aliff.

    Here is another interesting story: How come the vacant cabin was all ready for Lonesome Dave ? It seems that there was a settlement near the mouth of Mossy, the place now known as Dothan. One of the settlers at Dothan was a young man by the name of John Goode. Mr. Goode must have been like Daniel Boone--a man that liked a lot of elbow room. He decided to get out away from the other settlers and establish a home where he would not be crowded. He came up the creek looking for a site for his home and selected the spot just below where the village of Cirtsville once stood. He made a small clearing and used the logs to build his cabin. He and his wife moved in and thought they had it made. There were a couple of earlier residents that resented having Mr. Goode move into their territory and they proceeded to make their displeasure known. These occupants were a couple of panthers. They would come to the edge of the clearing every evening at dusk and scream and howl. I have never heard the cry of a panther but I have talked to a few old settlers who have and they tell me it is a cry that will make your blood run cold. Well, Mr. Goode could find no way to get rid of the panthers. When he would go out with his gun, they would slink back in the laurel and pine thicket that covered the hillside and remain quiet until he went back into the house. Then they would start their serenade again. After a few weeks of this, Mr. Goode and his wife could take it no more. They pulled up stakes and went back down to Dothan where they lived for many years.

    Lonesome Dave and his wife moved into Mr. Goode's cabin and spent the remainder of their lives there. As Lonesome Dave was the first settler of Cirtsville, I will give as much as I know of his family history. He was the son of Jeremiah Williams who lived in Giles County, Virginia. He was a member of a family of 11 children. His wife was Mary McGriff. They were parents of six sons: Patrick, John, Henry, Jim, and Allen.

    Communities on Upper Paint Creek

    The region of Upper Paint Creek is divided into several different villages, namely: Cirtsville, Maynor, Sweeneysburg, Maple Fork, North Sand Branch, and South Sand Branch. I will give the history of each of these sections.

    Cirtsville

    After Lonesome Dave moved into the vacant cabin, it was not long until others began to move in and establish homes, the Maynors, Feazels, Tyrees, Steagalls, Kidds and Spanglers. It seemed that Cirtsville was destined to become the central point of Upper Paint Creek and it did become quite a village. It was the shopping center and the center for entertainment for many years.

    The Williamses, Maynors, Feazels, Tyrees were good entertainers and always had fun. On Saturday evenings people for miles around came to Cirtsville and there was fun for all. Clyde Shumate who lived where the Dry Hill Road intersects Harper Road said that on Monday morning his father would assign enough work to keep him and his brother, Ray, busy all the week and tell them that if they finished by noon Saturday, they could have the horses to ride to Cirtsville. He said they would work until dark each day in order to finish by noon Saturday. Each Saturday afternoon, Cirtsville took on the atmosphere of a country fair.

    Industries began to move into Cirtsville. The Spangler Mill was the largest industry; however, it was not the first. The first industry in Cirtsville was a whiskey distillery owned and operated by a man by the name of Nathan Purdy. This was a legal enterprise as Mr. Purdy had a license to operate it. He located his plant on Dixon Branch on the lower end of the John Evans bottom near where Mrs. Chloe Williams now lives. The land then belonged to Richard Maynor. Mr. Purdy specialized in apple brandy. Most farmers had orchards of apples and peaches, so Mr. Purdy did a rushing business. I don't know just how long Mr. Purdy was in business. He started in the early 1870's. There was a change in Federal Law sometime in the 1890's which made it impossible for him to get his license renewed so that business probably lasted about 20 years. After Mr. Purdy's distillery closed down, there was never any legal whiskey sold in Raleigh County but there was usually moonshine available so the people were not deprived of their stimulants.

    Spangler's Mill

    Asa Spangler's Mill at Cirtsville

    Asa Spangler brought his steam-powered saw mill to Cirtsville and, in partnership with J.E. Kidd, put in a lumber mill and a grist mill, all powered by the same engine obtained from Worley. This was a large operation and required a lot of machinery. With the lumber mill they had a planer and a machine for making tongue-and-grooved flooring and ceiling, so they could make everything necessary in the building of houses.

    The grist mill was equipped to grind corn, wheat, and buckwheat. All this machinery was bought from a company in Pittsburgh. It was shipped by railroad to Fayette Station and hauled by wagons to Cirtsville. This was quite an undertaking but it was done and Spangler's Mill at Cirtsville was one of the best mills in the state. After a few years, J.E. Kidd sold his interest in the mill to Lawson Carper and for several years, it operated under the name of Spangler and Carper but finally Spangler bought Carper's share and became the owner of it. It was known as Spangler's Mill.

    At Asa Spangler's death the property fell to his son, John B. Spangler, and at John Spangler's death it became the property of two of his sons, Duff and Ross. However, the mill was never in operation after the death of John Spangler.

    John Spangler married Rachel Davis, a daughter of James S. Davis. They were the parents of nine children , seven boys and two girls. For several years they lived in the house near the mill. This house is now owned and occupied by Mrs. Iris Godbey. Later Spangler bought from Bunty Sam Davis the farm on Dixon Branch and it was there that most of his children grew up.

    Spangler's day for grinding corn was Friday. On grind days, farmers brought their corn to the mill and there were horses and wagons all over the place. The people would have a great time of fellowship together. After all the news of the country had been told and discussed, they would tell jokes and you could hear them laugh half a mile away.

    Farmers from the Fayetteville, Flat Top, and Trap Hill areas and other places some distances away would bring their wheat and buckwheat to be ground. This was usually done by appointment. They would communicate with Mr. Spangler by mail and make arrangements to bring their grain on a certain day. They would leave their homes early in the morning and drive all day, arriving at the mill late in the afternoon. Mr. Spangler would send them to his home where he had a room for them. While they were getting a good rest, he would grind their grain and have it ready for them to start home the next morning. Mrs. Spangler and her daughters would prepare breakfast for these men. Spangler took toll out of their grain, no money exchanged hands. The mill was torn down in 1945 and Duff Spangler put up a garage on the spot that was formerly the mill. This was a large cinderblock building but in 1952, this building was torn down to make way for the West Virginia Turnpike. Today the site of the mill is covered by the turnpike bridge.

    Shortly after the mill was put into operation, the Angles came in. They were blacksmiths and put up a blacksmith shop on the west side of Paint Creek. The Angle family consisted of Aaron Angle, his wife Sally, and two sons, Albert and Clayton. Clayton did not take to blacksmithing but Albert worked with his father in the shop and became a good blacksmith. People came from all the surrounding country to get their tools repaired and sharpened, their horses shod, and their buggies and wagons repaired. The shop continued to operate until the automobile came and took the place of the horse. There was no more use for a blacksmith shop so they went out of business.

    Before the mill came to Cirtsville, all the buildings were constructed of logs but when lumber became available, people started building framed houses. Large two-story houses became the style. The kind of house a family lived in determined his status as a citizen. If his house was two storied, he was class A but if his home was only one floor, he was class B or lower.

    About the time the Angles put up their blacksmith shop, Amos Williams, a son of Henry Williams, bought the Lonesome Dave farm and put in a grocery store. He had a good country store and it was the meeting place for the men of the village for many years.

    A few years later John Sweeney and a Mr. Webb put in a store on the west side of the creek. Paint Creek ran through the middle of the village so we had East Cirtsville and West Cirtsville. On the west side, we had Spangler's Mill, Sweeney's store, and Dr. J.W. Hunter's home and office. On the East side, we had Amos William's store, Angle's blacksmith shop, a one room schoolhouse, the Cirtsville post office, and the Methodist church.

    There was quite a rivalry between the two merchants of East Cirtsville and West Cirtsville. Each one tried to bring in new industries to build up his side of the village. Mr. Sweeney brought in a barber and put up a barber shop on his side of the creek. The barber was Joe Bragg, who later became Police Chief of Mount Hope. Sweeney and Bragg got a nice piece of lumber and erected it in front of the shop. It was a very attractive barber pole and added much to the appearance of West Cirtsville.

    After Nate Purdy closed down his distillery, the young men had trouble finding a beverage with sufficient strength to put them in the proper spirit for having fun. Amos Williams finally found that he could order by the keg a brew called Cherry Bounce. It was supposed to be a soft drink but it had a kick equal to a white mule, and a few drinks of it would make a rabbit fight a wildcat. On Saturday after Sweeney and Bragg erected their barber pole, the boys came in and had a fresh keg of Cherry Bounce. He set up drinks for all of them and when it began to take effect, he suggested that it would be a good joke to slip over after dark and steal the barber pole. The suggestion and another round of Cherry Bounce was all that was needed. After darkness came, some of the boys went over and carried the barber pole over the foot log to the east side of the creek. After a lot of horse play and fun with it, they took it down in the bottom. Most of them had pistols and they shot it to pieces. When Mr. Sweeney discovered his barber pole was gone, he did some good detective work and got warrants for the boys. They were summoned to come to Justice E.G. Wriston's court for trial. They got together and decided that the best thing to do was for one of them to confess to stealing the barber pole and they would all chip in and pay the fine. So when they assembled for trial as soon as the court was called to order, Alex Stover stood up and said, "Squire, I am the man that stole the barber pole." Squire Wriston fined him $10 and cost. They all paid it and the case was closed. That is just one incident of many that happened at Cirtsville in the Gay Nineties.

    About the year 1886 when it seemed that Cirtsville was to be the hub around which the Upper Paint Creek region revolved, an application was made to have a post office established at Cirtsville. After the post office officials had investigated the situation, the request was granted and the Cirtsville post office was established on June 14, 1886. Amos P. Williams was the first postmaster. Several years later his wife was appointed postmaster and it was run under the name of M.L. Williams for many years. The Cirtsville post office served the people of Upper Paint Creek for many years. It was discontinued May 6, 1932. Elizabeth Maynor was the last postmaster.

    Cirtsville Was Named for One of The Early Settlers, Curtis Vass.

    Another development that had a great effect on Cirtsville was the building of the railroad through the region. The railroad was completed about the year 1906. This railroad started at Deepwater on the Kanawha River and ran east to the Atlantic Coast at Norfolk, VA. It was first called the Deepwater Railroad but was later the Virginian Railroad. It is now a part of the Norfolk and Western Railroad system. Just above the village the railroad cut through a ridge and the course of the creek was changed. There was no earth-moving machinery then such as we have now. All this work was done with shovels, picks, dump carts, and mules. For two years there were camps of workers in and around Cirtsville. When the railroad was finally finished, they wanted to build a station in Cirtsville but there was no land near the tracks suitable. They located the station one mile above Cirtsville at the village of Maynor but they called the station Cirtsville. So we had the Cirtsville railroad station at Maynor instead of at Cirtsville. That was quite confusing for strangers who came in on the train.

    Coal Mines


    Before the completion of the Deepwater Railroad, the nearest coal mines were on Loop Creek at Oswald, Price Hill, Kilsyth, Sugar Creek, and other mines on Loop Creek. After completion of the railroad, people with sufficient capital began to buy the mineral and open mines on Paint Creek. The closest mine to Cirtsville was Herberton. It was owned and operated by two brothers by the name of Herbert. They were from New York and were said to be millionaires.

    They acquired the coal and opened their mine just above town with a large building for a store and office and went into the coal mining business in a big way. Most of the people of Cirtsville and surrounding communities quit farming and went to mining coal at Herberton. The Herberts lasted two or three years. They grew tired of the mining business and sold out their mine, town, and the entire works.

    The buyer of the Herberton mine was a company that was headed by Tom Laing. They called their company the Willis Branch Coal Company. I don't know why they chose that name. Willis Branch is a stream on the opposite side of the mountain from the Willis Branch coal mine and when people speak of Willis Branch, we don't know whether they are referring to the mine or to the creek on the other side of the mountain. However, the new company went higher on the mountain and located a seam of coal that was much larger than the seam the Herberts had mined. Tom Laing was general manager of the company and they did well for several years. The Willis Branch mine was in operation from about 1913 to 1921. That was during World War I and there was a great demand for coal so they prospered through that period but in 1921, there was a strike that lasted three or four years. These were years of strife and hatred. More shots were fired during the Willis Branch strike than were fired in the Mexican War and the war with Spain combined. Most of the shooting was just for the noise. The only casualty the miners suffered during the strike was Henry Lafferty. He was shot and killed by the Baldwin Felts guards near the company office.

    Another business enterprise in Cirtsville was the Patterson General Store. About the time the Herberton mine opened up, a Mr. Patterson from Nicholas County obtained a lot across the road opposite Angle's blacksmith shop. He built a large two-storied frame building. The ground floor was used for a general store and the top story was his living apartment. His store was much nicer than either the Amos Williams or John Maynor stores but the people would not turn down their old merchants. Mr. Patterson soon gave up, closed out his business, and went back to Nicholas County. I believe that Mr. Patterson was an uncle of Governor Okey Patterson.

    When the Willis Branch strike came up, the UMWA leased the Patterson building and ran a store for striking miners. A.C. Romine was manager of the union store during the strike.

    At another time, I believe it was before Romine had the store in the Patterson building, there was an Italian contractor who had a contract for changing the grade of the Virginian Railroad between Cirtsville and Harper that bought the Patterson building, built a bakery adjoining it and put in a grocery store. He supplied bread and other groceries to the Italian workers and had a thriving business as long as the grade work lasted. Also, one summer Jim Hunter and his sister Lottie rented the building. Jim ran a barber shop and Lottie a candy and tobacco store. On weekends she would get a supply of ice cream and it was a very popular place during that summer. The last person to own that building and have a business in it was Bob Stevens, a blind man. The building was torn down in 1925 to make room for the hard-surfaced road that was built at that time.

    Needmore
    From the time of the closing of Nathan Purdy's whiskey distillery until the opening of the A.B.C. liquor stores, there was not any place in Raleigh County that whiskey could be bought legally; however, moonshine was always available.

    About the beginning of the twentieth century, there were laws passed that permitted each county to decide whether they would have saloons or not. It seemed that the commissioners of the county court could make this decision. There was much pressure put upon the courts by both the "wets" and the "drys" on this issue. The "wets" won in Fayette County without much trouble but in Raleigh County, the fight was long and bitter. I remember only one member of the Raleigh County Court during this period. That was a farmer from Slab Fork District, Hick Garretson. The other two members were divided on the question and that left it up to Mr. Garretson to make the decision on whether Raleigh was to be a wet or dry county. Mr. Garretson after quite a lot of study on the question decided that it was not to be in the best interest of the people of Raleigh County to have saloons. The people that wanted whiskey sold openly in the county tried in every way they knew to get him to change his mind. I have been told that he was offered a large sum of money to vote for the saloons but Mr. Garretson had made up his mind and there was no changing him. So Raleigh County never had open saloons and Mr. Garretson stands in history as one who stood firm for what he believed to be right. I believe there are many like myself who do not remember the names of the other court members but remember Mr. Garretson and honor him for his firm stand for his convictions.

    As Raleigh County was dry and Fayette County was wet, some entertaining men of both counties thought it would be a good business to put in a saloon in Fayette but as near the line between the two counties as possible. They formed a company, obtained proper license, erected a building, and went into the business of selling whiskey. Somebody gave this place the name of Needmore.

    In their eagerness to get their saloon as near the county line as possible, they failed to note that the law stated they must be a certain number of feet away from the county line and they built too close to the line. After a short while the law closed them up. That company gave up and quit. It looked like Needmore was doomed to failure, but not so. A little later the Hatfields came, put up a better building the correct distance from the county line and Needmore was in business again.

    The two Hatfield boys that ran the Needmore saloon were Willis and Tennis, although other members of the family came to visit them often and to see how they were getting along with the business. Devil Anse himself made at least one visit and stayed around for sometime.

    Both Willis and Tennis married Cirtsville girls. Willis married Lakie Maynor daughter of Squire Joe Maynor, and Tennis married Lottie Hunter, daughter of Dr. J.W. Hunter.

    I don't know how long the Needmore saloon was in business but after the McKell Coal Company built the railroad from Mount Hope to Pax, the town of Pax became the commercial center of Upper Paint Creek and the Hatfields closed the Needmore saloon. In fact the building was destroyed by fire and they opened a saloon at Pax. Needmore did not last long but it was wild and woolly while it lasted.

    Schools
    The first school in the Cirtsville area was located just across the road from where the last Cirtsville school stood. It was a small log building built on land given by Madison Williams. Mr. Williams was the leader of the move to establish a school in the community. When the building was completed, they were unable to find a teacher for the school. Mr. Williams took charge and served as teacher until they found a teacher.

    Curtis Vass, the man for whom Cirtsville was named, was one of the early teachers of the Cirtsville school. Not only did he teach at Mr. Williams school but he also married his daughter and was for many years a resident of Cirtsville.

    After a few years the little log schoolhouse was too small to accommodate the children of the community. A larger log building was built at Cirtsville on the spot later occupied by the Spangler Mill. When the mill moved in, a framed building was built across the creek from the mill near the Amos Williams' store and that one-room school was sufficient for the needs of the community for 20 years. When a two-room school was built on the same spot, it served the people of Cirtsville until 1921 when a four room building was built midway between Maynor and Cirtsville and a junior high came into existence.

    The first principal of the Cirtsville Junior High was Mr. E.J. Wauhop. He was a very energetic man and worked very hard to build up the school. He was successful in getting several of the larger boys of the community interested in attending the school. He organized basketball teams for both boys and girls and for several years Cirtsville was noted for its basketball teams.

    In 1924 we were successful in getting a gymnasium built for the basketball teams and for several years we were able to have winning teams for both boys and girls. Cirtsville won several trophies in tournaments and in 1924, was able to defeat Woodrow Wilson High School in basketball.

    For several years the pupils of the Cirtsville school were able to complete all their high school up to the twelfth grade at the Cirtsville school. Then they would attend the Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley for their senior year. We had two boys that completed all their high school work at Cirtsville and graduated with the Woodrow class. When the hard-surfaced road was completed from Cirtsville to Beckley, the county school officials ruled that high school students of Cirtsville should be taken by school bus to Beckley. Cirtsville school was reduced to grade school until 1978 when the large grade school building was completed at Bradley and the Cirtsville School was discontinued. In 1980 the Cirtsville school building was destroyed by fire and all the Cirtsville people have now is memories of greater days.

    In the early years of the communities of Upper Paint Creek, there were one-room schools in every community. On Dixon Branch, there was a school known as the Dixon Branch School. This school started in 1908 and was discontinued in 1923. At the head of Sims Branch was the Craddock School named for Jimmy Craddock who gave the land for the school. Up Maple fork was another one-room school located on the spot that is now the Paul Roop residence. In Maynor at the mouth of Laurel Branch was the Laurel Branch School. At Sweeneyburg were two one-room schools, the Isaac Bailey School and the Speed Harper School. Farther up the creek towards Harper was the Rucker School. Later there was a two-room building there and it was the Rock School. On South Sand Branch were two one-room schools, one located where Appalachian Bible College now stands known as the Jim George School and one farther down the creek known as the Thompson School. The people of Upper Paint Creek were interested in the education of their children and tried to the best of their abilities to provide them with schools but the system of consolidation came into effect and all the one-room schools are gone.

    Churches
    For 50 years after the first settlers established homes on Upper Paint Creek, there was no church building in the Raleigh County section of Paint Creek. The nearest church building was a one-room building constructed with logs located at what is now the Humphrey Cemetery on Willis Branch. The people who worshipped at this church were of the Baptist faith. However, the lack of church buildings did not deter the people from assembling themselves together for the worship of their Lord. There were many local preachers who would hold worship services in the homes or in the school buildings. There were also traveling evangelists who would pass through the community and hold protracted meetings. These meetings were great events in the community and were well attended.

    The first church building that was built in the Raleigh County section of Paint Creek was the Cirtsville Methodist Episcopal Church. This building was erected in the year 1898; however, there had been a Methodist organization at Cirtsville for many years before the church building was built. Before the church was built, they held their worship services in the schoolhouse in winter. They had cleared out brush and erected seats in a pine grove just below where the church was built in which services were held during the summer. The establishing of the Methodist Church at Cirtsville came about in this manner: It seems that there was a strong Methodist Church at Kincaid on Lower Loop Creek in Fayette County. One of the leading members and a local preacher was Rev. Johnnie Kincaid. His son, Morris Kincaid, married a daughter of Allen Williams and acquired land and built a home in the Maple Fork area. Also, his daughter who married Reason Gilliam lived on a farm adjoining her brother, Morris Kincaid. Rev. Johnnie Kincaid came to visit his son and daughter and the people of Cirtsville invited him to preach in the Cirtsville schoolhouse which he did. Later they invited him to hold a protracted meeting for them. The meeting was a success in that there were quite a few converts. These converts organized into a Methodist congregation and became a part of the Kincaid charge. I have been told that the Rev. Kincaid had a very effective way of keeping order during his services. If someone in the congregation started talking or disturbing in anyway, he would stop preaching and stand looking straight at the offender. Of course every eye in the house turned in the direction that the preacher was looking. This became very embarrassing for the offender. The preacher never rebuked or reprimanded the offender but the utter silence was all that was necessary.

    For 20 years after the Methodist Church was established at Cirtsville, they continued to meet in the schoolhouse in bad weather and in the pine grove in good weather. An interesting story is told of a service that was held in the grove. This service was a quarterly conference and was conducted by Elder Hues. It was on a Sunday morning and a large congregation had assembled to hear the Elder preach. Just as the service began, a real dark storm cloud appeared over the mountain, lightning began to flash, and heavy thunder rolled. It looked like a bad storm was approaching. Some of the people started to leave and seek shelter but the Elder asked them to remain. He proceeded to talk to the Lord about the situation. He told the Lord that the people had assembled for worship and there was no building large enough to accommodate them and asked the Lord to stop the storm. Suddenly the cloud divided, one half of it passed by on the east side and the other half on the west side. Not a drop of rain fell on the grove and the service continued.

    The people continued to meet for worship in the schoolhouse and the grove until 1898. They had several different preachers for their pastor during that period. In the year 1897, a young minister by the name of Rufus Backus from Nicholas County became pastor of the Cirtsville Methodist congregation. He was a brilliant young man and he presented the idea that the Cirtsville people should have a better place to worship and started work on getting a proper building for worship. There were quite a few people of the Baptist faith in the community, they agreed to help the Methodists build a church with the understanding that the Baptists were to have the building for one revival each year. So the Baptists, Methodists, and others all joined in the effort to build a church. They cut logs from their woodlands and hauled them to Spangler's Mill. Spangler sawed them into lumber and dressed the lumber as required without charge. They were fortunate in having an expert carpenter in the congregation, Albert Lilly, who took charge of the building. All the money they needed was enough for nails, windows, and doors but at that time there were quite a few delays and the building was not completed until spring of 1900. At last it was ready for dedication. A date was set and what a gathering that was. It was an all day meeting with dinner served on the grounds. The farmers had butchered sheep, cattle, chickens, and turkeys. People came from every direction and it was a great time of rejoicing.

    The young ladies of the church were organized into an organization called the Epworth League and they had many projects to raise money for the church. This building served the people of Cirtsville area well as a place of worship for 60 years. Then came the West Virginia Turnpike and wiped out all of Cirtsville, including the church.

    Maynor
    The area of Upper Paint Creek now called Maynor was considered a part of Cirtsville in the early years of the settlement of the region. It is the area around the place where Sand Branch empties into Paint Creek and for many years it was known as Skittersville.

    All the land in this section was owned by Madison Williams, who came into this area several years after Lonesome Dave Williams arrived. Madison Williams came from Giles County, Virginia as did Dave Williams. I never heard that they were related but I have recently learned that one of Lonesome Dave's brothers had a son named Madison. I believe that is the same man that settled near the mouth of Sand Branch. If so, Madison was a nephew of Lonesome Dave.

    He seemed to have more money than the other settlers and was able to obtain a large boundary of land. At one time he was owner of all the land of the Cirtsville area including the lower section of Dixon Branch up to where Dennis Vass now lives, Simms Branch including the Joe Tyree place, Sand Branch up to where the rock quarry is, up Paint Creek to Laurel Branch, and all of Laurel Branch, a boundary of perhaps 2000 acres. He had a large family and his desire was to have enough land to give each of his children a farm and he succeeded in reaching that goal.

    When the Deepwater Railroad was completed and they decided to build the station near the mouth of Sand Branch, John H. Maynor, who had bought the John Sweeney store, succeeded in trading land he owned on Dixon Branch to Charlie Painter for the land at the mouth of Sand Branch and built a large three-storied frame building. The ground floor of this building was to be a general store. The second story was his living quarters and the top story was to be a factory for the making of men's work clothing, pants, shirts, and gloves. The general store was a success and continued in business for many years. The living apartment was fine and served as home for many years but the clothing factory was a complete failure and was never in operation.

    Mr. Maynor was also successful in getting a post office located in his store. It was named Maynor. That is how Skittersville came to be called Maynor. There is no distinct line dividing Cirtsville from Maynor nor Sweeneyburg from Maynor.

    Families of Upper Paint Creek
    I think we should go more into the history of some of the families of the early settlers of this region.

    The Williams Family
    As stated before David Williams was the first settler of Cirtsville. His wife was Elizabeth McGriff. They were parents of six sons: Patrick, Henry, John, Jim, Allen, and Wilson. Patrick lived in the Cirtsville area and had two sons, Henderson and Bob. Henderson married Isabella Honaker. They were the parents of six sons: Preston, Henry, Tom, Frank, Alfred, and Joe (Slick).

    Pres lived all his life at Cirtsville except for a few years that he was police at Mount Hope. He married (1) Adeline Stover and (2) Iowa Craddock. Tom married Jane Maynor. He became a Methodist preacher and serve as pastor of several churches. Henry married Elisha Maynor. He died at an early age. Frank married Edna Maynor. Allen married Lucy Feazell. Joe (Slick) married (1) Lucy Blevins and (2) Lutie Toney. Patrick's son Bob married a Stover. They were the parents of 22 children. They hold the record for the largest family in this section.

    Henry, son of David, went across Spruce Mountain to find a wife. He married a daughter of John Stover. They had a large family. The Clear Fork Williamses are descendants of Henry.

    Jim, the fourth son of Dave, married Lucinda Albert of Giles County, Virginia. They were the parents of seven sons. Pleasant Williams (Ples) married Rebecca Kidd. Floyd married a Lafferty. Aaron married Martha Arnold. Andy married Minnie Williams. Leonard married a widow from North Carolina. Linus married a widow Godbey, and John L. married the widow of Husto Carper. She was a daughter of Archibald Sweeney. All these sons lived in the Sand Branch area and had large families.

    Dave's two youngest sons, Allen and Wilson, settled near the Raleigh/Fayette County line and near where Needmore was located. They both reared families. They were farmers and good citizens. Wilson was the champion fiddler of the country and provided the music for many square dances.

    The Maynor Family
    The first settler to establish a home at what is now Sweeneyburg was John Bailey. John Bailey married a daughter of Isaiah Maynor, who lived on Smiths River in Patrick County, Virginia. They decided to cross over the mountains and establish a home on the Reed grant. So they came by way of Lewisburg and followed Reed's trail to the Indian camp on Paint Creek. They built their cabin on a knoll back of where Mrs. Thelma Miller now lives. Sometime later two of Mrs. Bailey's brothers decided to visit their sister and brother-in-law and if they liked the country to establish homes on the Reed grant. These two sons of Isaiah Maynor were Joe and Richard (Dick) Maynor.

    Joe had married a young lady in Patrick County by the name of Stanley. They had one son, a chubby little boy who they named Swinfield but he soon became known as Chubby. That little boy became the man we know as Uncle Chub Maynor. Soon after Chubby was born his mother became ill and died. Chubby was taken by his grandparents, the Stanleys, and spent his childhood with them. Richard T. married Nancy Belcher. So it was Richard, Nancy and Joe that came to visit the Baileys.

    On their way in just where the Raleigh Mall shopping center is now, they located a vacant cabin. They liked the country and after they had spent a few days with their sister Sally and her husband, Joe decided to go take over the vacant cabin they had seen. Dick and Nancy started building them a cabin on their brother-in-law's land. I don't know the exact location of Dick's cabin but he told some of his grandchildren that it was near a big spring. So I think it was near where the two-storied Miller house now stands or the Earl Miller house. As the two brothers, Joe and Dick, now go separate ways, we will go with them one at a time.

    I don't know just how long Joe occupied the cabin he took over but Joe was a man of action; the loneliness soon overcame him and he went back to Patrick County. There he found another young lady to his liking, Miss Mary Stone. They had a happy two years together. They had one son who they named Thomas. Just as his first wife, Mary became ill and died leaving Joe again a widower. Joe soon got the urge to see new scenery. He left little Tommy with his grandparents, the Stones, and took off for Tennessee. He spent a year in Tennessee and then made his way over into Kentucky where he found a third wife, Miss Elizabeth Lowe.

    Betsy Lowe was a good wife and she stayed with Joe a long time. Soon after they were married, they left Kentucky and came back to Smiths River. There they picked up Joe's two boys, Chubby and Tommy, and headed back to Paint Creek. There they found a cabin all ready for them. This cabin was located just above where Evelene Vass now lives and near where one of the Vippermans now live. Now we will leave Joe and Betsy happily settled in their new home and see how Dick and Nancy are getting along.

    Dick and Nancy finished building their cabin but they did not get a deed from their brother-in-law, John Bailey, for the land it was built on. Dick was not a very good business man and that fault was handed down to many of his descendants.

    After a short time, John Bailey sold his property on Paint Creek including Richard and Nancy's cabin to Houston Carper. Mr. Carper did not object to Richard living on his land so he and Nancy continued to live there for a while longer. Carper sold to Archibald Sweeney who had a large family and needed all his land for his children so he traded Richard a rifle for his cabin and Richard and Nancy moved out. They located a spot on Dixon Branch and built a cabin on what was later known as Uncle Chub's farm. Later Richard located a place on what we know as the John Evans farm and built a good log house there. He and Nancy spent the remainder of their lives there.

    After many years together, Nancy died leaving Richard a widower. Also, Archibald Sweeney died. After a year or so of living without a companion, Richard saddled up the old gray mare and rode up to see the widow Sweeney. He proposed marriage, Widow Sweeney was agreeable and they proceeded to get married. They were too feeble to keep up a home so the widow went back to live with her children and Richard spent the remainder of his life with his youngest son, Bill, who inherited the farm. Bill married Joe's daughter, Margaret. Joe's son Chub, married Richard's daughter, Jane. The two, Richard and Joe, owned all of Dixon Branch and Vass Branch.

    The Feazell Family
    Another family of the early settlers of Cirtsville was the Feazells. The progenitor of this family was W.J. (Billy) Feazell, who came from Giles County, Virginia. His wife was Cynthia Steagall. Bill Feazell was an interesting character and a man of many talents. He was a preacher, a school teacher, a doctor, and was said to be the best fisherman that ever cast a line in Paint Creek. He was a herb doctor making his medicine from the herbs he gathered from the fields and woodlands of the area. Some of the citizens of the community testify to the fact that some of Dr. Billy Feazell's concoctions were powerful stuff and would either kill or cure the patient. However, Dr. Billy was the only doctor available to the Cirtsville people and he helped them to stay in good health for quite a while.

    Dr. Billy Feazell and his wife, Cynthia Steagall Feazell, were the parents of three sons, John, Benjamin, and Everett, and three daughters, Mary, Martha L., and Susan. John Feazell went to Charleston when he was a young man and never came back to this area many times. He married a girl of the Charleston area and reared a large family. Many of his descendants are still living in the Charleston area.

    Ben Feazell married a daughter of Raver Sam Davis and became the owner of the farm on Simms Branch, that is now known as the Elbert Bailey place and is now owned by Norma Craddock. Ben Feazell was the father of a large family, six sons and four daughters. His sons were James Everett, William, Sam, Frank, Henry, and Alex.

    Jim Ev. married a daughter of Giles Cottle and lived on Laurel Creek in Fayette County. Will married Evelyn Gilliam and lived in the Mount Hope area. Sam left this vicinity when he was a young man and I don't know who he married. Frank married Rebecca Williams, a daughter of Amos Williams, and lived in Cirtsville all his life. Henry married Reta Harper and lived at Stanaford for many years. Alex married Mabel Lafferty, a daughter of Rose Lafferty, and lived in Cirtsville all his life. Dr. Billy's daughter Mary married J.W. (Buck) Maynor and lived on the head waters of Clear Fork of Coal River. Martha L. married Amos Williams, the merchant of Cirtsville, and Susan married Caperton Romine and lived on Maynor Branch on the farm of her father, Dr. Billy Feazell.

    The Romine Family
    Allen Caperton Romine was a man of more than average ability. Where he came from and what brought into this community, I have not been able to find out. However, he came and once here, he never left. He married Dr. Billy Feazell's youngest daughter, Susan. They took care of Dr. Billy and Cynthia in their old age and inherited the home place.

    Cape Romine had so many talents. One of which was the care and doctoring of animals. So for many years, he was the veterinarian for the community. When a farmer's horse or cow became sick, they sent for Cape, he always came and was usually successful in helping the animal to recover. He never made any charge for his work but would accept whatever was given to him. If the farmer had nothing to give him, he looked after his sick animal just as well.

    Another talent that A.C. Romine had and that he often used to help his neighbors was his oratorical ability. He very often defended some young fellow that was being tried in justice court and could plead a case with the best of lawyers. He was a strong Democrat and became a leader in the party in Raleigh County. In spite of the fact that Raleigh County had a large Republican majority, Cape was elected Justice of the Peace twice being able to get both Democrats and Republicans to vote for him.

    He was also active in church work and he and his wife, Susan, were leaders in the Cirtsville Methodist Church. His family consisted of three sons and two daughters. His older son, Tommy, chose to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Billy Feazell, and become a doctor. He gained quite a reputation as a surgeon and was one of the leading surgeons in Charleston for many years. The second son, Walter, was a talented workman and gained quite a reputation as a road builder. He served as county road supervisor for several years and was overseer of the building of many roads in Raleigh County. Samuel, the third son, was an automobile mechanic. He was killed while he was still a young in a traffic accident. His oldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Cleveland Maynor. She was a school teacher and was the last postmaster of the Cirtsville post office. His second daughter, Mae, died at age 12. She was a beautiful little girl.

    The Tyree Family
    The Tyree family also were early settlers in the Upper Paint Creek valley. There were three members of the Tyree family that came to this area. Richard T. (Dick) Tyree settled in the Pax section. His farm encompassed the farm now known as the Charley Tyree farm, the Lewis Davis farm, and the Pax Community Cemetery. Dick Tyree married twice and had children by both wives. His first family consisted of five sons. There were also some daughters but I have not been able to learn anything about them. The sons were R.T. (Tomp), Granville, George, Lowden, and Tomp lived just below Cirtsville. He had a water-powered grist mill and ground the corn of his neighbors into meal for them. He had a very good business until Spangler put in the steam-powered mill and that took most of his business. He was a good farmer. His family lived well and were active in the social affairs of the community. Tomp's family consisted of four sons, Christopher, Oliver, Richard, and Alfred, and four daughters, Eliza, Emma, Pricilla, and Rosa.

    Granville Tyree lived on a farm that adjoined Tomp's farm and was up on the plateau between Paint Creek and Simms Branch. He was also a good farmer and his family lived well.

    Dick Tyree's son, George, died at an early age. I do not know who he married or where he lived but he had two children; Garland who married a daughter of Jimmie Craddock and a daughter Ruth who married Van Rutledge. They had several children.

    Dick's other two sons, Newt and Loud, lived on Maple Fork and both reared large families. Dick Tyree's second family consisted of two sons and one daughter, Joseph, Charley, and Rhoda.

    Joe Tyree was the first undertaker of the Upper Paint Creek valley and was the first founder of the business that is now owned and operated by his grandson, Joe Tyree. He has a thriving business with funeral homes in Mount Hope and Oak Hill.

    Charley Tyree, Dick's youngest son, inherited half of Dick Tyree's farm and lived there all his life. He married Nan Davis, daughter of James S. Davis. Rhoda, Dick's daughter, inherited the other half of Dick's farm and married Lewis Davis, son of William Davis.

    Dick Tyree had a brother who came here probably at the same time Dick came. He was Eddie Tyree. Eddie settled on Maple Fork and reared a large family. He had three sons: Louis, Eddie Jr. (Little Eddie) and Mathew. Louis was a carpenter and a schoolteacher. He moved to Smoot in Greenbrier County many years ago and spent the remainder of his life there. Little Eddie stayed with his father on Maple Fork. They were carpenters and stone masons. They built many of the houses and stone chimneys that were built in Upper Paint Creek valley in the early days. Mathew lived in the Sweeneyburg area for many years. Eddie Tyree had several daughters. One of them married Joe Edmons and they were the parents of a large family. They lived on North Sand Branch. Their daughter, Pauline, married James Allen. Their children consisted of three sons and two daughters: Arthur, Frank, John, Mary, and Martha. Mary married Edward Dewitt; Martha married Henry Stover. The Allen family lived on Spruce Mountain. All of them are dead now.

    Eddie Tyree's daughter, Cora, married John Hoskins. Their children were seven sons and five daughters. They lived at Sweeneyburg. Eddie's youngest daughter, Nannie, married Quince Dillon. They lived at Mattsville on Sandlick. The Eddie Tyree family loved to sing. Eddie was a tenor and Little Eddie sang bass. Their grandchildren and great grandchildren still sing. The choirs of most of the churches in Upper Paint Creek valley have some of the Eddie Tyree descendants singing in them.

    Lucy Tyree, the sister of Eddie and Dick, married Raver Sam Davis. They at one time owned most of the land on Maple Fork. They had a large family and gave each of their children a farm. After helping them build a house and establish a home on the land they had given them, Lucy and Sam expected their children to develop the land to be prosperous farmers. If they did not do well, Sam and Lucy disowned them and had nothing more to do with them. All of the sons did well but some of the sons-in-law did not do so well. Abner Toney who married their daughter Jane said when he was courting Jane, it was "Mr. Toney", after they were married, it was just "Old Ab" and hardly that.

    The Steagall Family
    Another family that came from Virginia and settled in this area were the Steagalls. There were four of them. An old man, his two sons, and a daughter-in-law. The old man was Drinkard Steagall; his sons were William and Preston; and William's wife, Betty Ann Taylor Steagall. They took up their abode in the log house on the farm of G.W. (Wash) Maynor on Simms Branch. This house was built by two men who owned a stave mill and had bought the stave timber on the Maynor farm. After working their timber into barrell staves, they moved out and the house became a place of refuge for anyone needing a place to live. I don't know how long the Steagalls lived there but later they moved to Dixon Branch and lived in what became the Henry Vass farm.

    Drinkard Steagall did not live long after coming to this area. I do not know where he was buried. Bill and Betty Ann were the parents of three sons, George, Bill Jr., and Harrison, and three daughters, Dora, Chloe, and Maggie. George married Agnes Billups; their children were Oscar, Clifford, Clarence (Butch), and Virginia. Bill Jr. married Minnie Vass; they had no children. Harrison married Frances Estep; they had four sons and one daughter. Dora Steagall married Bill Bowyer. Bill and Dora had a large family; none of them are living in this area now. Chloe Steagall married Giles Lester. Their family consisted of three sons and four daughters. Several of their children and grandchildren still live in this area. Maggie Steagall married Frank Bowyer; they were the parents of several children. They moved to Greenbrier County and none of their descendants live on Paint Creek now. The Steagalls were relatives of Cynthia Feazell's uncle.

    The Sweeney Family
    The section of Paint Creek now known as Sweeneyburg was first owned and occupied by John Bailey but after a few years there, Mr. Bailey sold his property there to Huston Carper. He purchased the land where Hulett Smith now lives and the property later known as the Shumate Dairy. Carper did not keep the Sweeneyburg property long but sold it to his father-in-law, Archibald Sweeney. It was the Sweeneys that developed the land and converted it into a nice farm. The Sweeneys are of Irish origin and the name was probably McSweeney but was shortened to Sweeney after they came to America.

    Archibald Sweeney was born April 4, 1813, in Giles County, Virginia. He was the son of Delany Sweeney and his wife, Prescilla Calloway Sweeney. Archibald married Lucinda Pack. Lucinda was born December 24, 1814. She was the daughter of Laommi Pack and his wife, Jane Lively Pack. Archibald lived on Rich Creek, Monroe County, until 1863, when he moved to Raleigh County. He died June 30, 1985. He lived only two years after moving to Sweeneyburg but he left a large family. Some of his children took over the developing of the property on Paint Creek.

    Archibald's children divided their inheritance. Will Sweeney took the upper section of the bottom land and divided it between three daughters. Minnie, who married Speed Harper, took the lower part of their land and lived there until her death. Ada married Will Reece. Their farm was up the stream called Little Paint. Mollie married Sam Wingrove. Their farm was the upper end of the Sweeney bottom. Will Sweeney left Sweeneyburg many years ago and settled in Grassy Meadows in Greenbrier County. He had one son, Cleveland, who went to Grassy Meadows with him. Another son of Archibald Sweeney, Wilson, took the lower end of the Sweeney bottom. Wilson was active in the political affairs of Raleigh County and served one term as sheriff. He had two sons, John and Joe. These sons took over the lower section of the Sweeney bottom at Wilson's death. John taking the Wilson Sweeney home and Joe taking a section lower down the stream. Joe's place was on the site now occupied by the Kosnoski home. Joe married Amanda Cottle. He was a good farmer. He and Amanda lived at Sweeneyburg all their lives and reared a large family.

    Archibald's daughter, Malinda Williams, lived on the ridge that lies between Paint Creek and South Sand Branch. They had a good farm and lived well. Another daughter, Olivia, married Evan Davis. Their home was up Little Paint above the Reece farm.

    Post Offices
    Boyd
    The first post office to serve the people of Upper Paint Creek was Boyd. This post office was located just over the line separating Raleigh and Fayette Counties on the Fayette side near where Needmore was. It was in Henry Woolwine's store. For many years I wondered why they gave it the name of Boyd. Finally I got the story from C.P. Maynor who said he got from Will Humphrey who lived at the mouth of Boyds Branch. In the early years of the settlement of the country, there came a Mr. Boyd. He obtained land at the lower end of the stream now known as Boyds Branch and proceeded to erect two log buildings; one for his home and the other for a store. He became the first merchant on Upper Paint Creek. The supplies for his store were shipped to him by steamboat and he hauled them by wagon from Pratt on the Kanawha River. After he had been in business a while, he went to Pratt for a load of goods. On his return home one of his horses became lame and it looked like he was not going to make it back home that day. He saw a good looking horse in a field he was passing, he took his lame horse out of the harness, caught the horse in the field, hitched him to his wagon, and came in home without further trouble. But Mr. Boyd was not as lucky as he thought he was. A few days later the sheriff served him with a warrant charging him with horse stealing. He was taken to Richmond, Virginia, there he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to one year in the Virginia State Prison. Before his term in prison was over, he died. He never knew that a small stream and a post office were named for him.

    Several years after Mr. Boyd's departure, Mr. Henry Woolwine came from St. Albans and purchased the land formerly owned by Boyd. He erected a two-story frame building. The first story was a store and the upper floor was his living quarters. He applied for a post office and on August 20, 1881, the Boyd post office came into existence with Mr. Woolwine as postmaster. The Boyd post office served the people of Upper Paint Creek until March 8, 1887. At this time Cirtsville had become the center of activity in the area and a post office was granted to Amos P. Williams. The Boyd post office was discontinued. The time of tenure of the Cirtsville post office was from June 14, 1886 to May 6, 1932.

    Nesco
    Up on Maple Fork, Henry Davis had a large country store. He made an application for a post office and on June 6, 1907, the Nesco post office came into existence with Mr. Davis as postmaster. At first the mail for this office was brought in from Mount Hope but after the completion of the Virginian Railroad, the Nesco mail came to the Cirtsville post office and was carried by horse to the Nesco post office. Ben Feazell carried that mail. The Nesco post office was discontinued November 30, 1926, when Rural Route 1 from Mount Hope was established.

    Oley
    Wilson Sweeney put a store at what is now Sweeneyburg. His application for a post office was granted and the Oley post office came into existence on September 20, 1889. It continued under the name of Oley until September 6, 1906, when the name was changed to Sweeneyburg. Wilson Sweeney was postmaster of Oley post office. Mrs. Mollie Gouch Sweeney, wife of John Sweeney, was post master after the name was changed to Sweeneyburg. The Sweeneyburg post office was discontinued March 13, 1913.

    Maynor
    When John H. Maynor built the large three-story building at the mouth of Sand Branch and put in his store, he made application for a post office. His application was granted. I don't know the exact date this post office started but it was probably 1912. John H. Maynor was post master of this post office until his death in 1922. Then his son, Ira J. Maynor, took over the store and was postmaster until May 13, 1932, when the post office was moved to Spangler's store and Inez Spangler became postmaster. The Maynor post office was discontinued June 3, 1954.

    Joe Raines
    The history of Upper Paint Creek would not be complete without the story of Joe Raines. Joe came into the Cirtsville community about the year 1875. He was born and grew up in Monroe County but had gone to Mingo County and spent several years there before he came to Cirtsville. He was a little man about 5'4" tall, weighing about 140 pounds. He had the largest ears I ever saw on a man. He had a little more education than the average man of his day. He was always ready to come up with a good answer to any question. When asked what brought him to this community, he said the Lord had sent him here as a pest on the Maynors and Williamses for their meanness. That is the only reason Joe ever gave for coming to Cirtsville. However he came and once here, he proceeded to make the most of the generosity of the people of the community. He established a circuit of enough homes that he would spend a night with so it took him two weeks for him to cover his route. If Joe was delayed in making his rounds, the people became worried about him and began to inquire about his whereabouts. Joe liked to fish and spent many hours fishing in Paint Creek. After fishing all day Joe would take his string of fish to the home he was going to spend the night with. He would dress them and give them to the cook to fry for supper. Joe was not a lazy man and always had some kind of project underway. But it was always usually something that was of no benefit to him or anyone else. His first project in the community was a school. There was a small building at the foot of Spruce Mountain that was vacant and Joe took it over for his school. Some of the people paid a small fee and enrolled their children in Joe's school. A few of them learned to read and write and a little arithmetic. Joe's school lasted two months. All his pupils were tired of school and quit going so the Raines School closed.

    Joe was the slowest man I ever saw. The method used to speed up someone who was dragging behind was to say: "Come on, you are as slow as Joe Raines."

    Another project Joe tried that was hard work and very little profit was to gather up surplus from the gardens and haul it to Mount Hope and sell it. Then he would take the money he received for the products and buy such items as soda, soap, matches, and other things that the farmers needed and bring them back and sell them to the people who had given him the garden products. One summer he used a wheelbarrow to transport his products. Another summer he used a small wagon which he pulled himself. Each year in April he would leave Cirtsville and go to Sandlick and spend a month with the Sandlick people but he would return to Paint Creek by May 1.

    Another visit that Joe made every summer was to the Tollison Stover home. This place was on Lick Run of Coal River. The route traveled was to go to the top of Spruce Mountain then take a footpath along the Lick Run ridge. It was a good half day's journey for any man and at the speed Joe traveled, it took most of the day. So on this occasion Joe started early in the morning and it was late afternoon before he arrived. He was tired and hungry. The girls of the family were good cooks and were all glad to see Joe again. They prepared a good supper for him. Among the things they had were biscuits, butter, and honey. That was Joe's favorite food. Joe just could not quit eating honey and hot biscuits, so he overate. A short time after supper he began to feel pain in his stomach. Joe's remedy for all ills was Japanese oil but it did not help. The pains continued to get more severe so Joe decided to go to a higher power. Joe went to prayer and his prayer was: "O Lord, I need your help. If you don't help me Lord, I am going to die. Lord, I know you can help me. I know you have the power to help me but the H--- of it is, will you." Joe's prayer was answered. He recovered from the honey colic but from that time on, he put a limit on how much honey he consumed.

    Joe stayed with the people of Cirtsville until he became too feeble to make his rounds and he was taken to the poor house at Shady Spring where he died. He made his boast that he lived in Cirtsville for 40 years and had as much to eat and was as well dressed as anyone else and never had done any useful work.

    Conclusion
    THIS DOCUMENT WAS COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY OKEY R. STOVER. SOME OF THE STORIES WERE FROM MEMORY BUT MOST OF THE WRITINGS WERE FROM DATA HE COLLECTED OVER THE YEARS. IT WAS COMPLETED IN 1985 WHEN HE WAS 90 YEARS OF AGE.

    conclusion by unknown person




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