ONE SMALL VILLAGE

Local histories often spotlight Shepherdstown’s early settlers, Charles Town’s Washington family, or the national significance of Harpers Ferry. Yet just beyond these well-told stories lies Kearneysville, known to many only as the site of Traveler’s Rest, the home of General Horatio Gates, one of three Revolutionary War generals who built residences in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, then Berkeley County, Virginia.This volume brings together the many additional stories woven into Kearneysville’s past. Within these pages are glimpses of the men and women who discovered opportunity in this fertile area and worked to secure a livelihood for themselves and their families. They shaped a community by participating in government, building schools and churches, solving local challenges, and responding, sometimes loudly, to pressures from outside influences. They celebrated successes, shared sorrows, and forged the foundations of a town.