1928 - Alderson High School - 1968
Did The Stagecoach Run Though Alderson?
Barry Worrell - October 14 , 2019
A
very
interesting
question.
At
the
beginning
of
the
18th
century,
stagecoach
like
vehicles
began
to
appear
in
the
United
Sates.
These
people
carriers,
as
in
most
inventions
to
serve
mankind,
started
to
improve,
with
increased
comfort,
narrowing
of
the
turning
radius,
and
in
some
cases
a
clever
device
to
keep
the
wheels
from
falling
off
while
in
motion.
As
time
went
by
it
became
necessary
to
improve
the
roads
and
make
new
ones.
And
that
road
leads
us
to
Alderson,
or
at
that
point
of
time, Alderson Ferry.
To
reach
the
community
of
Alderson
Ferry,
there
had
to
be
horse
trails
and
they
probably
followed
Native
Americans’
foot
paths.
I
think
it’s
a
given
that
people
also
came
in
by
boat.
But
for
a
passenger
carrying
coach,
it
needed
a
real
road.
The
closest
stagecoach
line
was
the
old
Midland
Trail,
which
became
Rt.
60/Interstate 64.
In
1787
the
first
recorded
road
out
of
Alderson
Ferry
was
constructed
from
John
Alderson
(his
residence
or
farm)
to
the
last
fork
of
Wolf
Creek
above
Joseph
Soaps
place.
When
Monroe
County
was
formed
in
1799,
one
of
the
first
concerns
was
a
road,
and
the
development
of
the
same
first
road
was
continued.
That
same
year
five
men,
Joseph
and
George
Swope,
L.
Lowe,
John
Alford,
and
Thomas
Alderson
were
to
envision
a
road
from
Alderson's
Ferry
to
Union
by
the
most
direct
course.
That
road
must
have
been
built
within
a
few
years
for
in
the
first
authentic
map
of
Virginia,
by
Herman
Boye
in
1828,
shows
one
road
from
Union,
through
Alderson's
Ferry
to
Blue
Sulphur
and
North.
It
crossed
the
Greenbrier
river
at
the
Ferry
and
crossed Muddy Creek about the location of Palestine.
Alderson
now
had
access
roads
from
the
North
and
the
South.
The
one
going
West
(toward
Hinton)
was
opened around 1813. And last, east on Rt. 63 to Fort Springs in the 1940s.
To
answer
the
question,
did
the
stagecoach
run
though
Alderson?
I
found
no
direct
evidence
that
places
a
stagecoach
in
Alderson.
But
history
states
the
Blue
Sulphur
Springs
resort
had
daily
stagecoach
runs
to
Lewisburg
and
Charleston.
Also,
there
were
stagecoach
routes
from
Salt
Sulphur
Springs,
which
was
only
2
miles
from
Union,
to
White
Sulphur
Springs.
Since
there
was
a
road
between
Blue
Sulphur
and
Union,
which went through Alderson, it stands to reason, that the stagecoach ran through Alderson.
For
me,
there’s
a
certain
fondness
for
the
stagecoach.
With
all
the
western
movies
I
sat
through
as
a
kid,
it
was
a
ever
present
image.
Not
the
most
comfortable
form
of
transportation,
but
it
was
what
they
had.
With
the
coming
of
the
railroad
it
signaled
a
death
sentence
for
the
stagecoach
as
a
people
carrier.
However,
from
the
first
road(1787)
to
the
first
train(1872)
in
Alderson,
that
was
plenty
of
time
for
the
stagecoach
to
make it’s way, even through Alderson.
Hmmm…. I wonder if anyone in Alderson hopped a stagecoach on their way west.
(click for larger view)
Comments From The Readers
Ward
Parker:
The
road
to
Blue
Sulpher
ran
through
what
you
would
know
as
Bill
Simmon’s
property,
down
to
Muddy
Creek
which
was
crossed
by
a
bridge,
(the
dry
laid
stone
abutments
are
still
partially
visible)
and
up
the
back
of
what
you
would
know
as
the
Curt
and
Evie
Baker
farm
to
Blue
Sulpher.
There
was
a
road
to
the
Feamster
Plantation
that
I
have
been
told
years
ago
went
out
by
Johnsons
farm
and
crossed
Muddy
Creek
below
Hockman’s
mill
(Blakers).
The
Hockman
house
had
a
room
accessible
only
by
ladder,
where
I
was
told
slaves
would
be
put
for
overnight
stays.
This
info
was
from
Aileen
and
Ernest
Feamster.
Also
from
the Feamster Plantation the road would up over Muddy creek mtn. to Lewisburg.
Shirley
Tolosa:
I
was
told
that
the
White
House
on
the
right
at
the
top
of
the
hill
on
Route
3
going
toward
Wolf
Creek
that
I
used
to
own
had
been
a
stagecoach
stop.
I
believe
the
original
house
burned
down
and
this house was built.