Right in the middle of the Historical Marker Trail of Abingdon’s Historic District, at the corner of Main and Pecan Streets, Marker K-48 designates the Site of Black’s Fort. “The fort, built in 1776, stood a short distance to the South.” But where exactly? For a town so thoroughly steeped in its history, one would expect a plaque located “a short distance to the South.”, in the vicinity of the Virginia Creeper trailhead, there is a road, just before the railroad crossing, called Black’s Fort Lane. But aside from a house situated at the corner on Pecan St., it is nothing but weed-choked lots. Historians have weighed in on various possible locations over the years, beginning with L. P. Summers. “Summers’ History of Southwest Virginia and Washington County locates Black’s Fort on Eighteen Mile Creek…now known as Town Creek”. (Forts of the Holston Militia, p.29).
In 2013 James William Hagy published a comprehensive History of Washington County Virginia to 1865, which provides an overview of the research done to date, along with speculation, about the likely location of Black’s Fort. “A plan of the town has imposed on it the approximate location of the fort, just south of the railroad tracks at the head of the Creeper Trail. The location is at Green Springs Road and A Street, SE. Excavations done there in 1975…found remains of old logs, some fragments of old porcelain, cut glass and pottery but not enough information about the fort. A study by Lawrence J. Fleenor and Dale Carter [cited above], places the fort a little to the east.”
“Gov. David Campbell stated in 1851 ‘that the fort stood on the first knoll on the Knob road on the spot where his gate was located’ [Mt. Calm]. That would place it to the west of the supposed location which would mean it was behind the Martha Washington building. Since he was born in 1779, had a strong interest in history, and lived in Abingdon most of his life, he likely would have known the location.” (Hagy, p.40-41; emphasis mine)
Recently, independent confirmation of this hypothesis came from an unlikely source. In 2014 artist Ellen Elmes was commissioned to design and paint a mural illustrating the “Social History of Abingdon.” The first panel portrays “a young colonial woman turning flax into fibers, among many daily activities practiced by early Black’s Fort settlers.” Ellen Elmes was inspired to include this feature after a visit to the Frontier Cultural Museum in Staunton, Va. where she saw a tableau featuring a couple of women spinning flax, “which was what I used in creating the mural imagery.” [Personal correspondence with the artist]
In 2006, Joe Goodpasture contributed a number of descriptions of early Washington County forts, including Black’s Fort. In it he states that “In 1776 the land now occupied by the Martha Washington was a dense thicket; and a cultivated field between the thicket and Black’s Fort was used for growing flax.” (“Early Washington County Forts Providing Protection for New Settlers,” p.1)
In order to settle the question once and for all, a Black’s Fort Historical District was created in 1975, encompassing much of Green Spring Rd., the first section of the Virginia Creeper Trail, and the entrance to the Meadows. In 2008 a Blacks Fort information sign was placed at the head of the Creeper Trail, near “Old Mollie,” “on the approximate site of the legendary fort.”
In 2015, Abingdon resident and former editor of the Abingdon Virginian Robert Weisfeld weighed in with a thoughtful and revealing “Special to the Washington County News.” He capably describes a variety of possible locations, referring to the continuing controversy about the location of Black’s Fort as “an arguably delicious historical mystery.” I think that aptly describes the Town of Abingdon itself. (“Black’s Fort remains a relevant part of Abingdon’s history—almost forgotten in Green Spring Road issue.”)
- The Forts of the Holston Militia, Lawrence J. Fleenor and Dale Carter. Big Stone Gap Publ, (2004)
- History of Washington County Virginia to 1865, James William Hagy. Pictorial Histories Publ. (2013)
- “Early Washington County Forts Providing Protection for New Settlers,” Joe Goodpasture. HSWCV Pub. Series II, No. 42 (2006)
- “Part of Abingdon History, almost forgotten in Green Spring Road issue,” Special to the Washington County News, by Robert C. Weisfeld (Nov. 13, 2015)
- The Historical Marker Database: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=211145 (additional Notes, below)
Notes:
- Site of Black’s Fort: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=45021 (contains link to Robert Weisfeld’s article);
- “Black’s Fort: Site of Washington County’s First Court” https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=210058 ;
- “Celebrate! A Social History of Abingdon, Designed and Painted by Ellen Elmes https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=210119