Concord, Hampshire County, West Virginia Explained

Concord, West Virginia
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:USA West Virginia Eastern Panhandle#USA West Virginia#United States
Pushpin Label:Concord
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Coordinates:39.1951°N -78.4645°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:West Virginia
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Hampshire
Unit Pref:Metric
Timezone1:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset1:-5
Timezone1 Dst:EDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:-4
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID

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.

Geography and setting

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

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. Following the Restoration in 1660, Charles II finally ascended to the English throne. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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).

James Kelso, an immigrant from County Donegal, Ireland, purchased 779acres along Loman Branch near Concord in the 1804, and his landholdings eventually grew to approximately 2000acres.

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. A church known as the Concord Presbyterian Church also formerly operated in Concord.

The United States Post Office Department established a post office at Concord on March 8, 1876.[6] In July 1918, the department created a 12miles star route, which connected Concord to Gore, Virginia, on the Northwestern Turnpike, by way of Lehew and High View.[7] This postal route ran from Concord to Gore and back six times per week, and became operational on August 1, 1918.[7] Concord's post office remained in operation until March 15, 1933.[6] [8] Following its closure, Concord's mail was routed to the Lehew post office.[8]

Throughout its operation, Concord's post office had seven postmasters,[8] including five grandchildren of settler James Kelso: Ida Cordelia Kelso, John Newton Kelso, Carter Gilbert Kelso, Laura Ellen Kelso, and Olive Willetta Kelso.

Postmaster Appointment
Ida Cordelia KelsoMarch 8, 1876
John Newton KelsoMay 13, 1887
Carter Gilbert KelsoFebruary 29, 1888
Laura Ellen KelsoMarch 20, 1891
Olive Willetta KelsoMay 3, 1895
T. M. SpaidJune 13, 1899
Lydia A. SpaidJanuary 7, 1904

In 2000, the Christian-oriented Concord Retreat Center camp and retreat opened in Concord.[9] Its grounds include the old Concord post office and general store.[9]

Notable person

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. John R. . Ice . 1933 . Hampshire County, W. Va. South Section . New Descriptive Atlas of West Virginia: Contains a Separate Map of the State and Each of Its Fifty-five Counties. . Clarksburg Publishing Company . . 78952942 . http://www.historichampshire.org/maps/Ice-HC-botw.jpg . https://web.archive.org/web/20190223164403/http://www.historichampshire.org/maps/Ice-HC-botw.jpg . February 23, 2019.
  2. . Map centered on Concord, West Virginia . 2019 . February 23, 2019 . September 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920141749/https://www.google.com/maps/place/39%C2%B011'42.4%22N+78%C2%B027'52.0%22W/@39.1951128,-78.4992919,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d39.195104!4d-78.464452?shorturl=1 . live .
  3. Web site: [{{Gnis3|1718619}} Geographic Names Information System: Feature Detail Report for: Concord Post Office (historical) ]. February 23, 2019 . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
  4. Web site: [{{Gnis3|1718663}} Geographic Names Information System: Feature Detail Report for: L Ridge School (historical) ]. February 23, 2019 . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
  5. . Capon Springs Quadrangle, West Virginia–Virginia . 2016 . 1:24,000 . 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic) . February 25, 2019 . February 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190224171819/https://prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com/StagedProducts/Maps/USTopo/PDF/WV/WV_Capon_Springs_20161117_TM_geo.pdf . live .
  6. Web site: Post Offices by County: Hampshire County West Virginia . United States Postal Service Postmaster Finder . February 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190224151732/https://webpmt.usps.gov/pmt007.cfm?PostOfficeCounty=Hampshire&stat_state_name=WEST%20VIRGINIA . February 24, 2019 . United States Postal Service.
  7. News: Washington News Gossip . The West Virginian . . July 30, 1918 . 4 . February 24, 2019 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20190224021300/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86072054/1918-07-30/ed-1/seq-4.pdf . February 24, 2019.
  8. Web site: Postmasters by City: Concord Post Office, Hampshire County West Virginia . United States Postal Service Postmaster Finder . February 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190224155302/https://webpmt.usps.gov/pmt003.cfm?PostOfficeName=Concord&stat_state_name=WEST%20VIRGINIA . February 24, 2019 . United States Postal Service.
  9. Web site: The Concord Story . Concord Retreat Center . 2019 . Concord Retreat Center website . September 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190913174017/http://www.concordretreat.org/sample-page/ . September 13, 2019.

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