The Wilderness Road Crossing at New River

The Wilderness Road was a colonial road enabling settlers to travel from southwest Virginia to Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap. It crossed the New River just upstream from present-day Radford. The Skaggs family had a presence in this area throughout most of the last half of the 1700s.

The Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Association has an excellent article detailing the history of the ford, fort and bridge at the Wilderness Road crossing at the New River. I'll highlight the parts that involve our Skaggs ancestors. The following is a current map of the area:

In 1749 the area known as Dunkards Bottom was settled by German Moravians, Sabbatarians and Brethren from Pennsylvania who found there "a kind of white people who wore deer skins, lived by hunting, associated with the Indians and acted like savages." These Germans, who called themselves "The Brotherhood of the Euphrates" (commonly called Dunkards) were pacifist vegetarians who kept to themselves, eventually fleeing the depredations of the Indians to communities in North Carolina.  Dunkards Bottom was located at the letter "D" on the map above, now covered by Claytor Lake.  So when you see Dunkards Bottom on deeds or tax lists this is where it was.  It was also referred to by the Germans themselves as "Machaniam" and sometimes you also see this name for the community on deeds and tax lists.

Just downstream from Dunkards Bottom is the mouth of the Little River (in earlier times sometimes called the Middle River), located at the letter "C" on the map above.  Skaggs and related families owned property deeded on the Little River.

The Wilderness Road is shown as "B" on the map above.  It originally crossed the New River (sometimes known as Woods River) at a shallow ford located at point "G" on the map above.  This ford was sometimes referred to in deeds as "the Old Ferry Place."  The James Scaggs and wife Susannah who moved to Tennessee and later Warren County, Kentucky owned land at this Old Ferry Place.

Ingles Ferry was located at "F" on the map above.  William and Mary Ingles owned land on the west bank of the New River in 1762 but they didn't register their deed for land on the east bank until 1782, after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown and it was safe to register deeds at a "rebel" land office.  The Ingles house still stands at "A" on the map and the Ingles Inn and Tavern still stand at "E."  There were reportedly lawsuits in the 1790s between Old Peter Skaggs, his brother Solomon Skaggs and an Ingles and Russell in Montgomery County that would be interesting to investigate.

Fort Frederick was located on the Wilderness Road close to the New River ford somewhere between "B" and "G" on the map, likely very close to "G."  Fort Frederick was where the Western Virginia Militia mustered out in 1774 under Andrew Lewis and William Christian for the Battle of Point Pleasant, the decisive battle of Lord Dunmore's War against the Shawnee Indians.  Several Skaggs were in these militia units, including several of the Long Hunters and Zachariah Skaggs.

On January 5, 1779 there was a road order by the Montgomery County Court for the following:

On the petition of James Skaggs & Wm Christian Gent seting forth that there may be a nearer, and better road had from either by Skaggs Place commonly called the Old Ferry or by the Dunkard Bottom than that at present occupied by Colo Inglis’s it is therefore Ordered that James Montgomery Joseph Montgomery Samuel Drake [crossed out] James Finley Jno Newell, Jno Lowder & James Alison or any five of them being first Sworn view the Ways Petitioned for and at the March Court say which is nearest and best. 

On March 2, 1779 the Court recorded:

On order being made at last Jany Court to view the several Roads in Dispute between James Skeggs & Colo Ingles & no legal Report being returned, ordered that James Montgomery Sr Jno Lowder Saml Drake, Jno Newell James Finly Joseph Cloyd, Peter Wiley, Henry Patton, Frederick Edwards. & Andw Crockett, or any five of them being first sworn do meet and View the Road by Colo Ingles Ferry from the Sinking Spring on the west side the River to the Seven Mile Tree on the east side thereof; also the road by the old Ferry where James Scaggs lives from S. Spring to the 7 Miles Tree and make report of the Conveniences and Inconveniences of Each Road an also the Difference in the Distances of sd Roads after measuring them exactly, to next Court.

Finally, on November 3, 1779 the Court decided:

Ordered that Colo Christian have leave to keep a Ferry kept at the Dunkard Bottom & to Charge 1 Dollar for man and horse and so in proportion for other things. 

So it looks like William Christian got the right to establish a ferry at Dunkards Bottom to compete with the Ingles Ferry.  James Scaggs (very likely the James Scaggs married to Susanna) did not get approval for a ferry at point "G" on the map above (the Old Ferry Place) and he sold that property a few years after the Revolution and moved to Tennessee.