The First Hewn Timber Building in Pocahontas County

 

The sources identify the "old house now owned by M. J. McNeel" as potentially being the first building constructed of hewn timber in Pocahontas County, Virginia. This house was located on the west bank of the Greenbrier River near the location of a lumber yard at the time the source was written. Unfortunately, the sources do not give a name for this particular structure.

The sources offer some details about the history of this house and the man who built it. The house was built by Robert Gay, an early settler of Pocahontas County. According to the sources, Gay had originally settled on the east bank of the Greenbrier River opposite the mouth of Stony Creek. He later built a new house on the west side of the river. The timbers from this second house were later used in the construction of a dwelling owned by Colonel Levi Gay at the time the source was written.

The sources indicate that Robert Gay was an important figure in the early days of Pocahontas County. He was involved in the county's organization, was described as a "brave patriot," and was well-known and respected. He was also a close friend of Jacob Warwick, another prominent early settler.

Although the sources do not definitively state that the house owned by M. J. McNeel was the first hewn timber building in Pocahontas County, the passage suggests that it was one of the oldest structures in the county at the time the source was written.