Tygart River, Philippi Covered Bridge

FOR MORE PICTURES CLICK HERE

This lovely covered bridge was not in place during the years our ancestor lived on the land where it is now built. But he did begin a ford across the river there, in response to a very public call for one, from the difficult crossing made one evening by the very famous Bishop Asbury, of the Methodist faith.  William Anglin and his son Samuel ran the Ferried crossing for many years, and ran an Inn on the town side of the river, as well as maintained the road to the crossing.  All of which are recorded by documents I found. And recorded information in numerous books on the subject.  The Inn was said to be situated very near where a small church stands just as you enter town after crossing through the bridge.  As I sat at this spot and tried to imagine it, I could almost feel the memories they left behind, a small boat or log float being hauled across from shore to shore by a long pole.  How many man hours did it take to run the ferry? How many travelers benefited from his work. Was it busy like the covered bridge is today, or did it take years to get to that point.  How many nights did they take refuge inside the fort he built there to escape the Indians. The stories said there were Dogs that that sicked on the unwanted Indians.  Nearby, a neighbor's family was killed by Indians, and their daughter was taken captive. William was among the men who spent two nights, as the story goes, seeking her, and were able to bring her back. No details on how that occurred, we can only imagine.  How many travelers, feared for their lives as they approached the river crossing, hoping to arrive to the safety of the Inn on the other side? His place was primitive, and not at all full of amenities. Basic food, flea ridden bedding, possibly dirt floors. But safety, food and rest none the less.  And eventually a means to safely cross the sometimes very swollen river, that received the waters off the mountains on either side.  During storm and high water, there was no place more welcoming than an Inn at a fort.

If you ever watched old episodes of Daniel Boone, or read a pioneer story from one of the great classic authors, you know how they gathered the neighbors to safety when danger prevailed against the early settlements.  I am so humbled when I realize my ancestor lived that lifestyle, developed the basics for that settlement, and made the place of Philippi possible eventually. Because he was among the Pioneers who cleared the land, and provided the place where they would eventually build the little town.

I have updated the ANGLIN page with more pictures of the Covered bridge and of the little town of Philippi, including of the plaque on the town square which reads that  the land on which Philippi is built was once owned by William Anglin.  Our William Anglin.  Father of our Isaac Anglin who moved to what became Yancey County.  The bridge itself has a great deal of history, not applicable to our family, but the location marks for me a place where I can go to contemplate the great thing our ancestor did, that made it possible for us to know life at all.  Thank you William Anglin, for persevering  And making a way for our family to have a future in the earliest days of the western frontier.