Tag: Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike

August 26, 1887: Bridge Builder Lemuel Chenoweth Dies at 76

Bridge builder Lemuel Chenoweth died at his home in Beverly in Randolph County on August 26, 1887, at age 76. He was a renowned builder of churches, houses, sideboards, beds, buggies, wagons, and even dominoes; however, he’s best remembered for his covered bridges.

In the 1840s, the state of Virginia was taking bids for bridges to be constructed on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike; U.S. 250 and State Route 47 generally follow this route today. Legend has it that when Chenoweth arrived in Richmond with a model of his covered bridge, the plain design attracted little attention. But then, he supposedly placed the model between two chairs, stood on it, and challenged the other bidders to put their models to the same test. Although some dispute the story, Chenoweth received the contract to build all the main river crossings for the center section of the new turnpike.

His many bridges included the earliest covered bridge at Beverly and the Barrackville covered bridge on the Fairmont-Wheeling Turnpike. His most famous span is the Philippi covered bridge, which was completed in 1852 and restored after a 1989 fire.

December 13, 1861: Battle of Allegheny Mountain

On December 13, 1861, the Battle of Allegheny Mountain was fought in Pocahontas County. Following the Battle of Greenbrier River at Camp Bartow on October 3, the Confederate army had withdrawn to winter quarters atop Allegheny Mountain. Union General Robert Milroy likely believed the Confederates were demoralized and launched an attack on the cold mountain summit. Milroy’s force of about 1,900 went up against the Confederate’s 1,200 troops.

After a brief skirmish, Milroy divided his troops to attack both flanks of the Confederate camp simultaneously. The first column marched up the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and arrived near daybreak. A battle raged for several hours before Milroy was forced to withdraw. Shortly after, the second Union column attacked the Confederate left but also failed. Union casualties in the battle were 140 killed or wounded and two missing, compared to Confederate casualties of 128 killed or wounded and 34 captured or missing.

Ironically, a few days before Milroy’s attack, the Confederate brigade had received orders to withdraw from Allegheny Mountain, which would have prevented one of the bloodiest conflicts of the first year of the Civil War.

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