ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512250001
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CASTLEWOOD
SOURCE: Associated Press
Daniel Boone was leading settlers to Kentucky in 1773 when Indians attacked the rear of the wagon train in Southwest Virginia and killed his 16-year-old son. The settlers retreated to Moore's Fort, which Boone commanded for two years before a second son died and he headed west again.
Two centuries later, Southwest Virginia residents are planning to rebuild the log fort to attract tourists and show future generations how difficult it was to settle the frontier.
The Wise County Historical Society, the Historical Society of Southwest Virginia and the Russell County Historical Society teamed up to form the Moore's Fort Reconstruction Committee.
``A lot of people know he (Boone) traveled through here, but I think a lot of people are surprised that he actually stayed,'' said Tabatha Mullins, who chairs the committee and directs the Coalfield Regional Tourism Authority.
Moore's Fort, built in the 1760s, was one of about 20 forts in southwest Virginia that provided shelter against Indian attacks to the area's early settlers, said Rhonda Robertson, secretary of the regional historical society.
The Indian attacks remained fierce after Boone arrived, forcing the settlers to remain at the fort until 1775. Boone then led his settlers through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky, where he founded Boonesborough.
Boone was commissioned as the fort's captain, the only military title he held. He and his wife, Rebecca, buried their infant son, William, near Moore's Fort in an unmarked grave in a cemetery still visible from Wilderness Road.
Boone's life in southwest Virginia is the theme behind Shirley Seifert's 1964 historical novel, ``Never No More.''
As more people moved into southwest Virginia, the forts were abandoned and others were built farther west.
Moore's Fort, built in a valley between Copper Ridge and Sandy Ridge, is one of the few forts in the region whose exact location is known. While little physical evidence exists to mark the fort's site, a historical marker designates where it was located.
The fort's foundation stood probably into the early 1900s, Ms. Robertson said. The site is now part of a 500-acre farm owned by Steve Banner, who has offered to donate up to 17 acres of land where the fort stood.
Banner said his 102-year-old grandmother, Audrey Banner, remembers playing in the fort's collapsed logs. Banner believes the logs were used to build a spring house nearby.
``My grandmother and my father were both real interested in the history of Castlewood, and I think it's important for future generations to know what it was like in that period and the deep roots of this area,'' Banner said.
His grandmother liked to retell stories of Indian attacks and life at the fort that were passed down to her, Banner said.
Moore's Fort Reconstruction Committee is in the process of incorporating and getting the fort site designated as a federal and state historical landmark.
Once the committee becomes a nonprofit organization, archaeologists will excavate the site. To finance the project, Robertson said, the committee will apply for grants and seek donations.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB