Middleway is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in Jefferson County,

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 ...

, United States, in the lower

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

. As of the 2010 census, its population was 441.

History

On January 15, 1786, the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

passed an act establishing the town of Smithfield on land owned by John Smith II and William Smith. A post office was established in 1806; and since there was another town called Smithfield in the state, a different name was needed to avoid confusion. Because Smithfield had become a center of commerce between several other towns, the post office became known as "Middleway." Middleway remains a small village and retains many of its historic buildings. The

Middleway Historic District The Middleway Historic District comprises sixty major buildings from the late 18th century and early 19th century in Middleway, West Virginia. Middleway was a crossroads town on the Shepherdstown- Berryville road and the Charles Town turnpik ...

was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1980. The area where the town grew was first visited by John Smith I and his sons John Smith II and Rees Smith in 1729. By 1734 they had established a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and a

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

mill. In the 1790s, in an effort to increase the town, the Smithfield Promotion was undertaken. This did increase the size of the town, but it stagnated from then on. The town has also been known as "

Wizard Clip The legend of the Wizard Clip is a popular ghost story about an incident said to have occurred in Middleway, West Virginia in the 1790s. The story of the Wizard Clip is part of the oral history of the area, and was called by Rev. Alfred E. Smith ...

" or "Clip", and townspeople as "Clippers". This is the result of a legend from the 1790s, in which a traveler lodged with Adam Livingston and his family. During the night, the traveler died, calling for a priest, though Livingston refused to let a Catholic priest enter his home. After the stranger's burial, Livingston saw various disturbing supernatural phenomena: heads and legs falling off chickens, all the crockery spontaneously falling to the floor, etc. The most common experience was a constant clipping sound, like that of scissors, pervaded the house, giving the legend its name. Anyone entering the house had their clothes cut into tatters or half-moon crescents. Livingston dreamed of a priest, and found in Shepherdstown Father Dennis Cahill, a Catholic priest who appeared in his dream. This priest exorcised the spirit and the family converted to Catholicism. Afterwards they would frequently hear a disembodied voice who provided advice, tell them to pray, and told them to be better Catholics.

Gallery

Image:Middleway hist dist41.JPG, Middleway Historic District Image:Grace street31.JPG, Grace Street Image:Halfmooncrescent clippers.jpg, Half-moon crescent symbol Image:DanielFryHouse.jpg, The Daniel Fry House on Queen Street Image:Half moon crescent clippers.jpg, Half-moon crescent symbol

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Jefferson County, West Virginia Census-designated places in West Virginia Populated places established in 1786 1786 establishments in Virginia