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The house in the bend of the road in Beverly is known as the Logan House. It will be the subject of my talk at 11 a.m. this Saturday, July 19 for Beverly Days
It was the home of James H. Logan, who seems to be my most curious ancestor. His house has fascinated me all my life, and it is the setting for parts of my new book, Fannie's Crazy Quilt.
Learning about the Logan House is a good way to begin to understand what is important about Beverly. That sleepy little town was a contentious spot throughout its early history. It was near the line between Native Americans and English settlers during colonial days when the Tygart and Files families risked their lives by crossing into Indian territory near what is now Beverly in the 1750s.
During the American Revolution the next generation of Randolph County settlers had conflicts with Native Americans who were fighting for the British. Stories about this contention period culminate in 1777, known as the Year of the Bloody Sevens.
Some Logan family members believed that the cistern in the basement of the Logan house was an underground reservoir for rain water originally used by Native Americans. A recent archeological study found no evidence for this claim. One arrowhead was found, but it was not in the cistern.
According to Hu Maxwell's "History of Randolph County," the town of Beverly was originally named Edmonton in honor of Edmond Randolph.
In 1790, the Virginia Legislature changed the name to Beverly to honor of Beverly Randolph, the 8th Governor of Virginia.
The town covered twenty acres on land owned by James Westfall. Those who bought this land paid five pounds each for a lot and promised to build a house sixteen feet square and to ensure that the house would have a stone or brick chimney
The historic sign behind Logan House tells that it was built on Lot # 1 in Beverly. Records were lost in fires, but the earliest deed to Lot # 1 was mentioned in 1817.
By 1845 it was bought by Benjamin Kittle who lost it at public auction in 1851. Jesse C. Ward bought the house and black-smith shop.
In 1837 James Harvey Logan graduated from Washington College when he earned the first college degree in Randolph County Virginia.
By 1853 he married Mary Gamble Crawford, and they bought the house on Lot #1 from William C. Chenoweth in 1856.
J.H. Logan worked as a surveyor, a teacher and a local politician. He had two daughters named Fannie and Emma.
My new book, Fannie's Crazy Quilt, tells what happed to the next two generations of the Family after they became members of the Scott Family.