Bass was so named, by Glaspy V. Wolfe, Postmaster, on account of there being bass fish in the nearby creek.[2]
Adam Wolfe, Sr
During the great conflict from 1861 to 1865, most of the people of the South Branch Valley (later Hardy County) supported the Confederacy.
However, sentiments of western Virginia were predominately for the North, as were sentiments of the Wolfe (Wolf/ Woolf) family as they struggled to support the government and their country.
The Home Guard of the North worked to prevent enlistment with the South, to provider safety for soldiers of the South who chose the North, to prevent confiscation of properties by the South, and to provide protection.
By the mid-1700s the Wolfe family had settled on what has come to be known as Wolfe Mountain in the South Fork area of the county.
Adam, Sr. ("Paddy") and Sophia Wolfe raised their sons, Adam, Jr., James, Benjamin, Jacob, George, and daughters, Susan (Roby) and Sarah (Ruddle) in their two story log cabin. The house had a tunnel constructed to open into a gulley in the not too distant woods. The hidden tunnel was well used during the conflict, as local Confederate soldiers sought refuge, and as the Home Guard sought to protect southern soldiers who sided with the North.
"Paddy," a blacksmith and farmer, was well known for his home-brewed moonshine. With the use of a hot iron, a hammer and chisel, the center of a white oak log was hewn out to form a "yag," used for storing and transporting the brew. A slice of the log was shaped for a close fitting lid.
Son, Adam, Jr. b. 1819 d. 1893 and grandson George b. 1841 joined with other local men to form a Home Guard Company commanded by Captain Sampson Snyder. In 1866, Adam Jr., corresponded with a law firm in Washington, DC to recover funds for his services "as a scout, as a spy, and a guard" and for losses the family suffered during the Civil War.
Adam Wolfe, Jr., and his first wife Rebecca See were the parents of four sons, John, George, Jacob, Anderson, and one daughter, Martha. Adam and his son John ("Mink") became well known blacksmiths admired for their unusual cow/ sheep bells constructed with welded seams. The rounded-corner bells were welded by placing pellets of brass in clay and putting this in the seams. As the bells were heated, the brass melted to seal the seam. The clay was removed leaving a smooth finished product. Bells were inscribed with the initial of the maker.
John Harmonious Wolfe b. 1849 d. 1926 and Katie Ann Sherman (Catharine Ann Shireman) b. 1862 d. 1955 were married in 1879. They raised 14 children: Martha Delaware, Glaspy Valentine, Pleas Harmon, Lemual Price, Roxanna Eunice, Amby Kenneth, Blossie Chloe, Wilbur Vance, Ramon Orville, Courtney Dewey, Loring Dacy, Ira Roosevelt, Hazel Leota, and Melvin Paige. They also reared a niece, Blanch, whose mother died when she was six weeks old.
The family is known for its longevity in family reunions with the first held on September 14, 1919 and the 70th held on September 3, 1989. ~ by Elizabeth Wolfe Whitener[3]
Glaspy Wolfe
This is another story about Wolfe Mountain located about a mile off the South Fork road near what would later be Bass, West Virginia.
Glaspy Valentine Wolfe was the second of fourteen children born to John Harman Wolfe and Katie Ann Sherman Wolfe. He was born on Wolfe Mountain on January 25, 1882.
He attended grade school at the See School on South Fork.
After finishing school, Glaspy, several brothers and a cousin went to Cumberland, Maryland to find employment. They went to work for the B&O Railroad Company. Glaspy, as a brakeman on the line between Cumberland, MD and Pittsburgh, PA.
It was on one of these runs that he was called by the blast of the whistle to come from the caboose to the engine at the front of the train, to take water at the water tower. When he finished and was making his way back over the cars to the caboose, he slipped on the ice and snow, and fell down between the engine and the first car. The complete train passed over him, mangling both legs.
Glaspy was transported on the train to McKeesport Station where they were met by an ambulance. He was taken to McKeesport hospital. There they had to finish amputating his legs.
After a long recuperating period he was fitted with artificial legs.
He later attended Catherman's Business School. At this time he was approximately 21 years old.
Glaspy then returned to South Fork where he purchased a plot of ground from George Paskel located at the foot of Wolfe Mountain. He built a small house and country store. This later became the Bass Post Office which he named after the fish in the river.
August 19, 1909 he married Josephine Southerly, daughter of Abraham and Rose Ann Southerly. To this union were born eight children: Curtis, Eugene, Omer, Hester, Warren, Carl, Earl, and Ralph.
Glaspy continued with the store and post office and a little farming until the family was grown.
He then bought The Valley News Agency which he operated until his death on October 4, 1944.
Josephine, with only a few months schooling, operated it until she retired at the age of 75 years. She died April 17, 1985.
Glaspy and Josephine are both buried in Olivet Cemetery at Moorefield, WV. ~ by Hester Wolfe Newhouse[4]
The West Virginia Hills
Since the first Wolfe Family Reunion held in 1919, "The West Virginia Hills" by Ellen Amanda King has been part of the family tradition.
Hardy County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,299. Its county seat is Moorefield. The county was created from Hampshire County in 1786 and named for Samuel Hardy, a distinguished Virginian.
Hampshire County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,093. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town (1762). The county was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1754, from parts of Frederick and Augusta Counties (Virginia) and is the state's oldest county. The county lies in both West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions.
Berkeley County is located in the Shenandoah Valley in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 122,076, making it the second-most populous of West Virginia's 55 counties, behind Kanawha County. The City of Martinsburg is the county seat.
Moorefield is a town and the county seat of Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. It is located at the confluence of the South Branch Potomac River and the South Fork South Branch Potomac River. Moorefield was originally chartered in 1777; it was named for Conrad Moore, who owned the land upon which the town was laid out. The population was 2,527 at the 2020 census.
Wardensville is a town in Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 265 at the 2020 census. Originally named Trout Run, Wardensville was chartered in Virginia in 1832 and incorporated in West Virginia in 1879. Wardensville is located west of the Great North Mountain range, which separates it from the Shenandoah Valley. The town lies on the east bank of the Cacapon River at its confluence with Trout Run. The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests border the town to its east and south.
Keyser is a city in and the county seat of Mineral County, West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,853 at the 2020 census.
The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia, near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of 139 miles (224 km), the mouth lies east of Green Spring, Hampshire County, West Virginia, where it meets the North Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac.
U.S. Route 48 (US 48), also known as the incomplete Corridor H of the Appalachian Development Highway System, extends from Interstate 79 (I-79) in Weston, West Virginia, eastward across the crest of the Allegheny Mountains to I-81 in Strasburg, Virginia. It is planned to extend 157 miles (253 km) from northwestern Virginia to central West Virginia.
The Sloan–Parker House, also known as the Stone House, Parker Family Residence, or Richard Sloan House, is a late-18th-century stone residence near Junction, Hampshire County, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It was built on land vacated by the Shawnee after the Native American nation had been violently forced to move west to Kansas following their defeat at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1975, becoming Hampshire County's first property to be listed on the register. The Sloan–Parker House has been in the Parker family since 1854. The house and its adjacent farm are located along the Northwestern Turnpike in the rural Mill Creek valley.
West Virginia Route 259 is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The state highway runs 45.6 miles (73.4 km) from the Virginia state line near Mathias north to the Virginia state line at High View. At both termini, the road continues as Virginia State Route 259. WV 259 passes through Hardy and Hampshire counties and runs concurrently with WV 55 on Corridor H between Baker and Wardensville.
West Virginia Route 28 is a north–south route through the Potomac Highlands of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 39 in Huntersville. The northern terminus is at the Maryland state line in Wiley Ford, where the route continues into Cumberland as Canal Parkway upon crossing the North Branch Potomac River.
West Virginia Route 29 is a north–south state highway located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 55 and West Virginia Route 259 in Baker, Hardy County. The northern terminus is at West Virginia Route 9 three miles (5 km) south of Paw Paw in Hampshire County.
Durgon is an unincorporated community in Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. It is located on US 220/WV 28/WV 55 at the routes' junction with County Route 220/5, west of Moorefield along the South Branch Potomac River.
Fisher is an unincorporated community on the South Branch Potomac River in Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. It lies west of Moorefield. The precise origin of its name is unclear. It may be named generally for the Fisher family that lived in its vicinity, or more specifically for George Fisher, whose family lived on the South Branch approximately one mile due south of Fisher.
Milam is an unincorporated community on the South Fork South Branch Potomac River in southern Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. Milam is located along County Route 7. Originally known as Wine Spring, the community's name was changed to Milam in 1898.
McNeill's Rangers was an independent Confederate military force commissioned under the Partisan Ranger Act (1862) by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War. The 210 man unit was formed from Company E of the 18th Virginia Cavalry and the First Virginia Partisan Rangers. After the repeal of the Act on February 17, 1864, McNeill's Rangers was one of two partisan forces allowed to continue operation, the other being 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry. Both of these guerrilla forces operated in the western counties of Virginia and West Virginia. The Rangers were known to exercise military discipline when conducting raids. However, many Union generals considered Captain John Hanson McNeill (1815–1864) and his men to be "bushwhackers," not entitled to protection when captured, as was the case with other prisoners of war.
U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a U.S. Highway that travels from Rockingham, North Carolina, to South Waverly, Pennsylvania. In the state of West Virginia, it travels for 93 miles (150 km) from the Virginia state line two miles (3.2 km) south of Harper to the Maryland state line at Keyser.
The Mountain Parkway Byway and Mountain Parkway Backway are two routes in northern Webster County, West Virginia. The Byway is a state-designated scenic byway which follows West Virginia Route 20 for 9.8 miles (15.8 km), traversing the headwaters of several mountain streams including the Right Fork Little Kanawha River, Jerry Run, and the Left and Laurel Forks of Holly River. The Backway explores backroads in the same area, is 32 miles (51 km) long, and follows stretches of the Right Fork Little Kanawha River and Left Fork Holly River for portions of its route.
"Willow Wall", also known as McNeill Family House, is a historic home located near Old Fields, Hardy County, West Virginia. It was built in 1811–1812, and is a two-story, U-shaped brick dwelling in the Georgian-Tidewater style. It has a double Georgian porch, outlined by Ionic order columns. The two wings have double Palladian windows on the front gable ends. The interior features the French hand-printed wallpaper "The Passing of the Chase." The property was first settled in between 1760 and 1770 by Daniel McNeill. During the American Civil War the McNeill properties were centers of activity for McNeill's Rangers and the Willow Wall residence was used as a hospital for wounded men.
Clyde McNeill See Jr. was an American politician and lawyer from West Virginia. See served as Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1979 to 1985 and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of West Virginia in 1984, a race he lost to Republican Arch Moore.
↑ Original story written by Elizabeth Wolfe Whitener as submitted in Hardy County Family History to 1990; County Commission Launches Book Project: The County Commission of Hardy County; Moorefield, WV 26836
↑ Original story written by Hester Wolfe Newhouse as submitted in Hardy County Family History to 1990; County Commission Launches Book Project: The County Commission of Hardy County; Moorefield, WV 26836
↑ Welcome to the 87th Annual Wolfe Family Reunion; September 3, 2006; newsletter by Elizabeth Wolfe Whitener
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