Pioneers Day Moves Forward in Elizabeth | News, Sports, Jobs

Lysle Amerson, 6, rings the bell while enjoying the Pioneer Day games in Elizabeth. (Photo by Madeline Scarborough)

ELIZABETH – The Wirt County community came together to celebrate the 18th annual Pioneer Day on Saturday. However, due to concerns over COVID-19, the festivities seemed a little different from previous years.

The Pioneer Day committee made the decision to exclude all confined space activities due to the growing number of COVID cases in the area, which means the usual visits to the Little Kanawha Hotel, home McClung-Morgan and the Beauchamp-Newman Museum were canceled with this quilt show of the year.

Outdoor activities continued as planned, with skirmishes, skits, demonstrations and vendor purchases.

On Saturday, a Civil War skirmish took place at 3 p.m., with gun and cannon fire, in front of the Wirt County Courthouse, and although the museum is not open, there is still had many people dressed in Civil War era clothing who could tell visitors the story.

The American Pioneer Daughters provided a portion of this story for those unfamiliar with it, hoping to generate interest and get community members to come to the reenactment to learn more.

Civil War skirmishes and other reenactments took place on Pioneer Day in Elizabeth over the weekend, with gun and cannon fire. Several areas of Wirt County witnessed Civil War fighting, as some of Wirt County’s enlisted soldiers fought to save the Union and others for Confederation. (Photo by Madeline Scarborough)

According to the story they provided, the Burning Springs oil field was located on Confederate soil at the start of the Civil War in April 1861.

As featured in the local history which can be found on the group’s social media posts, leaflets, plaques in the area, and history books sold around the event, the area has been divided in the early 1860s.

“Some enlisted soldiers from County Wirt fought to save the Union while others fought for Confederation” according to information provided by the Daughters of the American Pioneers through flyers and messages. “Politicians were also preparing to launch the new state of West Virginia, which played a significant role in the Civil War. “

The American Pioneer Daughters have drawn accounts from other sources such as “The Hardesty Story of County Wirt” (1884): “The first skirmish in Wirt County took place near High Log Run on Highway 5 in October 1861. Suddenly the Feds came under fire from the hill above the road. The heavy fire from the federal government lasted for some time. McClain and Weaver, soldiers with 11 VA Infantry Co. B in Wirt Hill County, were injured. Reports say no Confederates were injured.

They continued, providing information that the oil in County Wirt has become the focus of Confederate forces.

Civil War skirmishes and other reenactments took place on Pioneer Day in Elizabeth over the weekend, with gun and cannon fire. Several areas of Wirt County have witnessed the fighting of the Civil War, as some of Wirt County’s enlisted soldiers fought to save the Union and others for Confederation. (Photo by Madeline Scarborough)

“At the start of the Civil War, John Castelli”Cass”Rathbone provided uniforms, horses and equipment for a private army at his own expense. Isaiah Hill was tasked with keeping the oilfield in Union hands ”, says the flyer.

On May 9, 1863, LD Mills declared: “At the height of oil exploitation in 1863, General William Jones of the Confederate forces appeared on the scene with a command of several horsemen setting the oil on fire and effectively frightened the northern capitalists who had invested their money in them. Burning Springs fields. . “ Jones set the Burning Springs oil wells on fire and oil loaded into barrels on barges on the Little Kanawha River. Parkersburg newspapers reported that the Little Kanawha River appeared to be on fire for several miles downstream.

In April 1865, the state scout commander, Captain William F. Pell, sent a report to the Wirt courthouse. Pell wrote, “Since I reported my last rebellion, the rebellion is almost dead, no longer picking up, and peace seems to rise once again on earth. “

“There is so much history in this city and we want to keep it alive”, said Regent Carol Menefee of the American Pioneer Daughters. “Over the years, so many people have worked to preserve Elizabeth’s story. Pioneer Day helps us continue to preserve and promote our history.

On Sunday there was a Wirt County Civil War encampment and battle reenactment near the intersection of Route 5 and Route 14 in Elizabeth.

Infantry and artillery units opened their encampments to the public at 9 a.m., where visitors could chat one-on-one with the reenactors, who then were able to share even more of their historical knowledge of the Civil War.

Madeline Scarborough can be reached at [email protected]

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