Paint Bank, Virginia

Last updated

Paint Bank, Virginia
Unincorporated community
Paint Bank train station.jpg
Former train station
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Paint Bank
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Paint Bank
Coordinates: 37°34′8″N80°15′43″W / 37.56889°N 80.26194°W / 37.56889; -80.26194
Country United States
State Virginia
County Craig
Elevation
1,847 ft (563 m)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
24131
Area code 540
GNIS feature ID1486039 [1]
USGS [2]

Paint Bank is an unincorporated community in northern Craig County, Virginia, United States. It is located at the intersection of State Route 18 and State Route 311 northwest of the town of New Castle, the county seat. [3] The village is located between Potts Mountain and Peters Mountain. It is one of the westernmost communities of the Roanoke metropolitan area.

Contents

History

Paint Bank got its name from the iron ochre and red clay taken from the banks of Potts Creek that was used by Native Americans, notably the Cherokees, as war paint, and to make their pottery with a distinctive red color. [4]

"Potts Creek on Route 600 near Paint Bank, Virginia." Potts Creek.jpg
"Potts Creek on Route 600 near Paint Bank, Virginia."

"Though remote, the area is easily accessible by following the creeks that run parallel to the mountains. It is likely that the earliest Native American visitors traveled this path of least resistance, passing through and even settling here: an Indian cemetery has been found in the vicinity. The area was well known to the Cherokee, who used the red clay deposits on the banks of Potts Creek for pottery and war paint. Early maps and deeds show descriptive names such as Paint Banks, Indian Paint Bank and Painted Banks." [5]

Reportedly settled by permanent settlers in the 18th century, during the early days of the 19th century, the same red clay was later made into a commercial paint and red bricks for permanent buildings. A number of land grants were made by Lord Fairfax and the Commonwealth of Virginia, especially the latter, around Paint Bank in the 1820s through the 1850s. [6] The Sweet Springs and Price's Mountain Turnpike ran through Paint Bank, and it was a popular stage coach stop between Fincastle, Virginia and Sweet Springs, West Virginia. [7]

Paint Bank General Store, made with locally produced red clay bricks. Paint Bank General Store.jpg
Paint Bank General Store, made with locally produced red clay bricks.

A few miles up the road between Sweet Springs, West Virginia and Paint Bank, is the location of the home of Anne Royall (June 11, 1769 – October 1, 1854). [8] By some accounts, she was the first professional female journalist in America.

"During the Civil War, the off-the-beaten-path community became known as the "Union hole," a place for deserters and resisters. It was close to this area that Union General David Hunter fought his most difficult battle, a confrontation involving two of Craig County's highest mountains, on his trek from Lynchburg, Va., to Sweet Springs, West Virginia" [9]

The Order of the Heroes of America, also known as the "Red Strings", extended into southwestern Virginia as well. Paint Bank, Virginia was known as a Union-Hole because of the pro-Union membership in these societies. One of the members of the Order was a Christiansburg, Virginia wheelwright named Williams. It is not known if this is the same man named Williams that residents of Back Valley, Virginia spoke about as a member of the Loyal League. [10] "Paint Bank, in Craig County, was the core of what local citizen George A. Linton called the "Union Hole"-an area with mixed loyalties that sometimes swayed heavily to the north, in this traditionally southern state." [11]

Milling

Colonel William Preston established a grist mill for corn and wheat in Paint Bank. "The grist mill sits on Potts Creek, on property originally owned by Revolutionary War hero Colonel William Preston. Colonel Preston was given the land grants in 1780 for his service in the war." Through the years since the American Revolution, ownership of the mill changed several times, and eventually became known as "Tingler's Mill".

A sign advertising Jim Dandy High Energy Dog Ration at the Paint Bank General Store in Paint Bank, Virginia Paint Bank Mills.jpg
A sign advertising Jim Dandy High Energy Dog Ration at the Paint Bank General Store in Paint Bank, Virginia

Although the Tingler's Mill building today only dates to 1873, the mill site has been in Botetourt County, where it was originally established in 1783. Then the land became part of Monroe County, Virginia in 1851. Then Craig County was formed in 1863 when West Virginia became a state, then was returned to Virginia. "Because of Civil War boundary changes, the mill has been in two different states and five different counties without ever having been moved." [12] The mill site is now undergoing renovation and conservation.

Mining

Iron ore and manganese were mined in the area during the 19th and early 20th centuries by the Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company. [13] [14]

During World War I, some further investigations were made in the region for strategic minerals needed for the war. [15] Again during World War II, the Strategic Minerals Investigations team of the United States Geological Survey promoted the mining of manganese as a strategic mineral. Sandstones and cherty sandstones of the Helderberg group are impregnated with manganese oxides, and they are exposed by a cut in the road 2 miles southwest of Paint Bank on the floor of Potts Creek. [16]

Forestry

During the 19th century, timber cutting was prevalent in the area, especially for the hardwoods. Oak and hemlock bark was used in tanning leather during this period, and these products were highly prized. The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are located nearby, as are the Shawvers Run Wilderness and Barbours Creek Wilderness areas. On Peters Mountain are parts of the Old-growth forest. "The Shawvers Run Wilderness Area is located in northern Craig County. This is an area of rugged and remote mountain terrain on the northwestern slope of Potts Mountain, just over the hill from Barbours Creek Wilderness. Elevations range from 2,000 feet on Shawvers Run in the extreme north to 3,800 feet on the top of Hanging Rock in the south. Hanging Rock, Virginia is a 240-acre geologic attraction. Rough hiking will take you through a hardwood forest interspersed with yellow pine, hemlock, and white pine growing in some of the drainages. Within the Wilderness, the headwaters of Valley Branch contain native brook trout, as does Shawvers Run. There is plenty of wildlife." [17]

Railroads

At the beginning of the 20th century, the local branch line of the Potts Valley Branch line of the Norfolk & Western Railway. The Train Depot dates from 1909, and the Section Foreman's Cottage dates from 1910. During this period, daily trains carried out the ore and lumber, and brought in passengers and goods. [18] Paint Bank was the center of a mining and timber boom in the early 1900s, when over 2,000 people lived around Potts Creek. The trains had to turn around at the terminus of a dead end run at Paint Bank. [19]

Originally, the Big Stony Railway was extended from the Norfolk and Western Railroad tracks at Ripplemead in 1896. The track followed the Big Stony Creek along an easy grade to reach the timber stands in the mountains. In 1909 the tracks were extended 27 miles to Paint Bank, and renamed "The Potts Valley Branch", the "Virginia and Potts Creek Railroad" or the "Punkin Vine." The tracks were removed during the 1930s and the Depression. [20] [21]

Potts Creek

Potts Creek, originally called "Carpenter Creek", runs through the village. The name was originally applied to a land grant of over 700 acres dating from 1750 to John Carpenter, which was located near present-day Covington, Virginia. The Paint Bank Virginia Fish Hatchery run by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is located in Paint Bank, and the trout that are raised there are released locally. Brown trout, Brook trout and Rainbow trout are raised there. The trout are released when they are about 18 months old, and are used to stock streams in nine counties. [22] "This state fish hatchery, just south of Paint Bank, provides a unique look into the trout rearing and stocking process. Numerous concrete tanks hold up to 1.6 million trout in all stages of development, thus providing an easy viewing experience. Around the fish hatchery is a variety of wildlife. The creek that runs along the edge of the property should be checked for butterflies, birds and at dusk some white-tailed deer." [23]

The earth science and ecology students of Glenvar High School raise some of the brook trout hatchlings, which survive at a rate of 10 percent, rather than the 1 to 3 percent that survive in the wild. They are released in the Roaring Run creek in Botetourt County, Virginia. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Castle, Virginia</span> Town in Virginia, United States

New Castle is the only town in Craig County, Virginia, United States. The population was 125 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Craig County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington and Jefferson National Forests</span> Pair of National Forests in the United States

The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover 1.8 million acres (2,800 sq mi) of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Approximately 1 million acres (1,600 sq mi) of the forest are remote and undeveloped and 139,461 acres (218 sq mi) have been designated as wilderness areas, which prohibits future development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Creek (South Branch Potomac River tributary)</span> Tributary stream of the South Branch Potomac River in West Virginia

Mill Creek is a 14.0-mile-long (22.5 km) tributary stream of the South Branch Potomac River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The stream is located in Hampshire County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Mill Creek flows into the South Branch west of Romney Bridge near Vanderlip along the Northwestern Turnpike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Route 311 (Virginia–West Virginia)</span> Adjoining state highways in Virginia and West Virginia, US

Virginia State Route 311 and West Virginia Route 311 are adjoining state highways in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. The two state highways together run 58.7 miles (94.5 km) from U.S. Route 11 in Salem, Virginia north to Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60 near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The two Virginia portions of Route 311 are maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, with the exception of the city-maintained portion within Salem. The West Virginia segments are maintained by the West Virginia Division of Highways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catawissa Creek</span> Tributary of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania

Catawissa Creek is a 41.8-mile-long (67.3 km) tributary of the Susquehanna River in east-central Pennsylvania in the United States. Its watershed has an area of 153 square miles (400 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia State Route 18</span> State highway in Virginia, United States

State Route 18 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as Potts Creek Road, the state highway runs 25.86 miles (41.62 km) from SR 311 in Paint Bank north to U.S. Route 60 and US 220 in Covington.

Mountain Lake Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The wilderness area is located next to privately owned Mountain Lake, and consists of 8,314 acres (3,365 ha) in Virginia and 2,721 acres (1,101 ha) in West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster</span>

The Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster is a region recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique waterfalls, vistas, trout stream and wildlife habitat. The heart of the region is the Mountain Lake Wilderness, the largest wilderness in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. These public lands are enhanced by the presence of private lands which are preserved to maintain their natural integrity. The region includes the Mountain Lake Biological Station that studies distinctive wildlife and ecology of the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbours Creek Wilderness</span>

Barbours Creek Wilderness is a U.S. wilderness area in the Eastern Divide Ranger District of George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, United States. The wilderness area was established in 1988 and consists of 5,382 acres (2,178 ha) of forests in the Appalachian Mountains ranging in elevation from 1,700 to 3,800 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawvers Run Wilderness</span>

The Shawvers Run Wilderness, a 5784-acre area located less than one mile south of Potts Creek, Virginia, is protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, it helps to preserve a variety of natural life forms and contributes to a diversity of plant and animal gene pools. Over half of the ecosystems in the United States exist within designated wilderness.

Horse Heaven is a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, United States, that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a "Mountain Treasure".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Rogers Cluster</span> Protected natural area in Virginia, United States

The Mount Rogers Cluster is a region recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique high elevation mountains, vistas, trout streams and wildlife habitat. The heart of the region is Mount Rogers, the highest mountain in Virginia. The area extends over the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and into part of the Cherokee National Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Creek Cluster</span> Protected natural area in Virginia, United States

The Craig Creek Cluster is a region recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique high elevation mountains, vistas, trout streams and wildlife habitat. The cluster contains wildlands and wilderness areas along Craig Creek, a 65-mile long creek with headwaters at the Brush Mountain Wilderness near Blacksburg.

Hoop Hole, a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a "Mountain Treasure".

Barbours Creek Wilderness Addition, a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a "Mountain Treasure".

Potts Arm, a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a "Mountain Treasure".

The Barbours Creek-Shawvers Run Cluster is a region in the Jefferson National Forest recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique high elevation mountains, vistas, trout streams and wildlife habitat. With over 25,000 acres in a remote corner of the national forest, the cluster provides protection for black bear, clean water and backcountry hiking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dismal Creek</span> Protected natural area in Virginia, United States

Dismal Creek, a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a "Mountain Treasure".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angels Rest Cluster</span> Protected natural area in Virginia, United States

The Angels Rest Cluster is a region in the Jefferson National Forest recognized by The Wilderness Society for its diversity of habitats with steep mountains, an isolated valley, a waterfall and wetlands. It is named after a high point on Pearis Mountain with views of the New River and surrounding area. It contains two large wild areas connected by the Appalachian Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walker Mountain Cluster</span> Protected natural area in Virginia, United States

The Walker Mountain Cluster is a region in the Jefferson National Forest recognized by The Wilderness Society for its diversity of habitats extending along Walker Mountain. The mountain, part of the Appalachian Mountains in southwest Virginia, borders the western side of the Great Valley of Virginia. Interstate 81 traverses the Great Valley as it takes travelers between Tennessee and West Virginia.

References

  1. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ↑ USGS. "Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report: Paint Bank" . Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Google Maps" . Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  4. ↑ Highroad Guide to the Virginia Mountains. by Deane Winegar. 2002. Page 143.
  5. ↑ Fisher, Terri L., and Kirsten Sparenborg. "Paint Bank, Craig County." In: Lost Communities of Virginia. Earlysville, Va: Albemarle Books, 2011. Page 219.
  6. ↑ Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia.
  7. ↑ Fisher, Terri L., and Kirsten Sparenborg. "Paint Bank, Craig County." In: Lost Communities of Virginia. Earlysville, Va: Albemarle Books, 2011. Page 220.
  8. ↑ Ann Royal)
  9. ↑ "Down Home in Paint Bank. By Gwen Johnson, Cooperative Living. 2015.
  10. ↑ Turk, David S. The Union Hole: Unionist Activity and Local Conflict in Western Virginia. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1994. Pages 83-84. The author is also quoting from the "Report of Detectives," October 10, 1864, published in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series IV, Volume 3, page 807.
  11. ↑ Turk, David S. 1994. The Union Hole: Unionist Activity and Local Conflict in Western Virginia. Heritage Press.
  12. ↑ Virginia's Blue Ridge. Page 17.
  13. ↑ Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company, and Standard Statistics Company. Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company. New York: Standard Statistics Co., Inc, 1927.
  14. ↑ Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company. Report of the Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Co. and the Virginia & Southwestern Railway Company. Bristol, Va.?: Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company, 1903.
  15. ↑ Virginia Geological Survey. 1918. Bulletin - Virginia Geological Survey, Issues 16-17. "Paint Bank and Sink-Hole Openings." Pages 128 et seq.
  16. ↑ Manganese Deposits of the Sweet Springs District, West Virginia and Virginia. Report by Harry Ladd. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off, 1944. Description: iii, 199-217 pages map, tables, diagram 24 cm. Series Title: Strategic minerals investigations.; Bulletin (Geological Survey (U.S.)), 940-G. Page 216.
  17. ↑ "Shawvers Run Wilderness Area." Paint Bank, Va.
  18. ↑ Depot Lodge
  19. ↑ "Braking for Paint Bank: Paint Bank General Store and Swinging Bridge Restaurant, Paint Bank, Virginia." The Place Setting: Timeless Tastes of the Mountain South, from Bright Hope to Frog Level, Volume 3. by Sauceman, Fred W. 2009. Pages 233-235.
  20. ↑ Pearisburg and Giles County. by Terri L. Fisher. 2008. Page 87.
  21. ↑ "The Potts Valley Branch Railroad and Tri-State Incline Lumber Operation in West Virginia and Virginia, 1892-1932" by Will Sarvis. West Virginia History. Volume 54 (1995), pp. 42-58.
  22. ↑ "Paint Bank hatchery giving trout a little more breathing room" By Carmen Forman, Roanoke Times. April 27, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Paint Bank Fish Hatchery."
  24. ↑ Gregory, Sarah. 2017.Tiny trout make a giant leap from classroom tank to Roaring Run, with a little help. Roanoke Times. April 13, 2017. Page 1.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.