Big Harts Creek, often shortened to "Harts Creek" or "Big Hart," is a major tributary of the

Guyandotte River The Guyandotte River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 166 mi (267 km) long, in southwestern West Virginia in the United States. It was named after the French term for the Wendat Native Americans. It drains an area of t ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and Logan counties,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Geography

Big Harts Creek originates in Logan County. Its largest tributaries are Smokehouse Fork, Buck Fork, Big Branch, and West Fork. Its entire headwaters are located in Logan County, while its lower regions lie in Lincoln County.

History

Perhaps prior to 1800 and certainly shortly thereafter, Stephen Hart, an Indian fighter and

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides an ...

hunter, first settled at Big Harts Creek. At that time, the creek was located in

Kanawha County Kanawha County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charlest ...

. Hart constructed a cabin at the Forks of Hart (the mouth of Smokehouse Fork) and a smokehouse further up the fork to cure his venison. As more settlers arrived, Hart relocated to Roane County. Harts Creek was named for Stephen Hart. One source claims that it was named due to the plentiful supply of

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

(hart) in the vicinity. Richard Elkins was the first permanent settler of Harts Creek, arriving in 1807 or 1815. Elkins lived at the mouth of Harts Creek in the present-day town of

Harts, West Virginia Harts is a census-designated place (CDP) at the mouth of Big Harts Creek in Lincoln County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Guyandotte River. As of the 2010 census, its population was 656. Harts is a part of the Huntington-Ash ...

. As of 1809, the creek was located in Cabell County. After 1824, it was located in Logan County. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, over 90 percent of local men who enlisted to fight served in the Confederate military. In November 1861, Confederate General

Albert Gallatin Jenkins Albert Gallatin Jenkins (November 10, 1830 – May 21, 1864) was a Virginia attorney, planter, slaveholder, politician and soldier from what would become West Virginia during the American Civil War. He served in the United States Congress and ...

and his Confederate forces passed by the creek on their way east with Union sympathizers captured in the town of Guyandotte. Shortly thereafter, while Confederates rested in

Chapmanville, West Virginia Chapmanville is a town in Logan County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,025 at the 2020 census. Chapmanville is named for Ned Chapman, an early settler who operated a store and post office. It was incorporated in 1947. Ge ...

, Union Major

Kellian V. Whaley Kellian Van Rensalear Whaley (May 6, 1821 – May 20, 1876) was a nineteenth-century lumberman and congressman from Virginia before the American Civil War and West Virginia after the state's creation. During the Civil War, Whaley was major ...

escaped and made his way to safety up Big Harts Creek to Queens Ridge. His escape was widely reported upon by newspapers. Between 1867 and 1869, the lower section of Harts Creek became a part of Lincoln County. Harts Creek District, which includes Big Harts Creek,

Big Ugly Creek Big Ugly Creek is a major tributary of the Guyandotte River in the Harts Creek District of Lincoln County, West Virginia, United States. The naming of this creek was due to 1) an early settler at the mouth of the creek who was unpleasing to the ...

, Little Harts Creek,

Fourteen Mile Creek Fourteen Mile Creek, shown as Fourteenmile Creek on federal maps, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 creek in Clark County, Indiana, close to Charlestown. ...

, Sand Creek, and Green Shoal, constitutes one of Lincoln County's largest districts. From the earliest of times, timbering served as the creek's major industry. After the Civil War, large-scale timbering permeated the creek. The town of

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile Wo ...

, situated at the mouth of the creek, included several merchants. During the 1880s, the Lincoln County Feud occurred on Harts Creek.

References

Rivers of Lincoln County, West Virginia Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area Rivers of West Virginia {{WestVirginia-river-stub

Geography

History

See also

References