Concord, Hampshire County, West Virginia

Concord is an unincorporated community and former post office in southeastern Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located along Eldridge Road (County Route 23/2) between the unincorporated communities of Lehew and Yellow Spring.

Concord, West Virginia
Concord
Concord
Concord
Coordinates: 39°11′42″N 78°27′52″W
CountryUnited States
StateWest Virginia
CountyHampshire
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)

Geography and setting

Concord is centered along Eldridge Road (County Route 23/2) in southeastern Hampshire County, West Virginia.[1][2] It is situated approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west-southwest of Lehew and approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east-northeast of Yellow Spring.[3][4] A 1933 map of Hampshire County placed Concord at the location of the former L Ridge School.[2][5] Cacapon Mountain and the Cacapon River valley are positioned approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Concord, and Timber Ridge is located approximately 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the community's east.[6]

History

The land upon which Concord is located was originally part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a land grant that the exiled Charles II awarded to seven of his supporters in 1649 during the English Interregnum.[7][8][9] Following the Restoration in 1660, Charles II finally ascended to the English throne.[10] Charles II renewed the Northern Neck Proprietary grant in 1662, revised it in 1669, and again renewed the original grant favoring original grantee Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper and Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington in 1672.[11] In 1681, Bennet sold his share to Lord Colepeper, and Lord Colepeper received a new charter for the entire land grant from James II in 1688.[7][12][13] Following the deaths of Lord Colepeper, his wife Margaret, and his daughter Katherine, the Northern Neck Proprietary passed to Katherine's son Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1719.[7][14][15]

Under Lord Fairfax's ownership, the Cacapon River Valley was predominantly inhabited by English-speaking settlers as early as the late 1730s; most came from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.[16][17] As settlement progressed during the second half of the 18th century, the fertile land of Hampshire County (including the Cacapon River valley) also attracted German settlers from Pennsylvania and elsewhere in Virginia before and after the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).[17][18]

James Kelso, an immigrant from County Donegal, Ireland, purchased 779 acres (315 ha) along Loman Branch near Concord in the 1804, and his landholdings eventually grew to approximately 2,000 acres (810 ha).[19]

The Concord Meeting House, once located in the vicinity of present-day Concord, was mentioned by early 19th-century Christian Reverend Christy Sine in his journal dating from the 1820s.[20] A church known as the Concord Presbyterian Church also formerly operated in Concord.[21]

The United States Post Office Department established a post office at Concord on 8 March 1876.[1][22] In July 1918, the department created a 12-mile (19 km) star route, which connected Concord to Gore, Virginia, on the Northwestern Turnpike, by way of Lehew and High View.[23] This postal route ran from Concord to Gore and back six times per week, and became operational on 1 August 1918.[23] Concord's post office remained in operation until 15 March 1933.[1][22][24] Following its closure, Concord's mail was routed to the Lehew post office.[1][24]

Throughout its operation, Concord's post office had seven postmasters,[24] including five grandchildren of settler James Kelso: Ida Cordelia Kelso, John Newton Kelso, Carter Gilbert Kelso, Laura Ellen Kelso, and Olive Willetta Kelso.[25]

Postmaster[24][25]Appointment[24]
Ida Cordelia Kelso 8 March 1876
John Newton Kelso 13 May 1887
Carter Gilbert Kelso 29 February 1888
Laura Ellen Kelso 20 March 1891
Olive Willetta Kelso 3 May 1895
T. M. Spaid 13 June 1899
Lydia A. Spaid 7 January 1904

In 2000, the Christian-oriented Concord Retreat Center camp and retreat opened in Concord.[26][27] Its grounds include the old Concord post office and general store.[26][27]

Notable residents

References

  1. McMaster 2010, p. 43.
  2. Ice, John R. (1933). "Hampshire County, W. Va. South Section" (Map). New Descriptive Atlas of West Virginia: Contains a Separate Map of the State and Each of Its Fifty-five Counties. Clarksburg, West Virginia: Clarksburg Publishing Company. OCLC 78952942. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019.
  3. Map centered on Concord, West Virginia (Map). Google Maps. 2019. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  4. Geographic Names Information System; United States Geological Survey. "Geographic Names Information System: Feature Detail Report for: Concord Post Office (historical)". Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  5. Geographic Names Information System; United States Geological Survey. "Geographic Names Information System: Feature Detail Report for: L Ridge School (historical)". Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  6. Capon Springs Quadrangle, West Virginia–Virginia (PDF) (Map). 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  7. Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 9.
  8. Coleman 1951, p. 246.
  9. Rose 1976, p. 25.
  10. William and Mary Quarterly 1898, p. 222.
  11. William and Mary Quarterly 1898, pp. 222–3.
  12. Brannon 1976, p. 286.
  13. William and Mary Quarterly 1898, p. 224.
  14. William and Mary Quarterly 1898, pp. 224–6.
  15. Rice 2015, p. 23.
  16. Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 2.
  17. Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 101.
  18. Scaffidi 2014, p. 9 of the PDF file.
  19. Harloe 1943, p. 129.
  20. Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 102.
  21. Harloe 1943, p. 206.
  22. "Post Offices by County: Hampshire County West Virginia". United States Postal Service Postmaster Finder. United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  23. "Washington News Gossip" (PDF). The West Virginian. Fairmont, West Virginia. 30 July 1918. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019 via Chronicling America.
  24. "Postmasters by City: Concord Post Office, Hampshire County West Virginia". United States Postal Service Postmaster Finder. United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  25. Harloe 1943, pp. 205–6.
  26. Concord Retreat Center (2019). "The Concord Story". Concord Retreat Center website. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  27. Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 92.
  28. Thomas 1900, p. 277.

Bibliography

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