The High Ground of History: A Socio-Technical and Topographic Analysis of Price Hill and Beard Heights, Pocahontas County, West Virginia
The historical trajectory of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, is defined by its relationship with a rugged, non-glaciated topography that has both isolated and enriched its inhabitants. Within this landscape, two specific elevations—Price Hill and Beard Heights—emerge not merely as geographic coordinates but as institutional and cultural anchors for the town of Marlinton and the surrounding Greenbrier Valley. Price Hill, rising above the western banks of the Greenbrier River, has served as a vantage point for both literal surveillance and the intellectual recording of the county’s history through the medium of the press.1
Conversely, Beard Heights, situated to the southwest, represents the evolution of the region from a family-centric agricultural estate to the contemporary center of healthcare and administrative resilience.3 Understanding these localities requires a synthesis of early pioneer genealogy, the technical history of the industrial timber boom, and the administrative shifts necessitated by the environmental volatility of the Appalachian highlands.5
Geographic Context and the Distinction of Localities
In the study of West Virginian toponymy, the name "Price Hill" appears in multiple contexts, necessitating a precise geographic delineation for the purpose of this research. While a significant "Price Hill" exists as a residential suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio—occupying land once part of the Symmes Purchase and associated with Native American mounds dating to the Woodland Period—and another "Price Hill" exists as a former coal town in Fayette and Raleigh counties, West Virginia, the Price Hill of Pocahontas County is distinct in its socio-economic origin.7 The Pocahontas locality is intrinsically linked to the Price family of Marlinton, specifically the lineage of Reverend William Thomas Price, and is not a product of the carbon-extraction industries that defined the southern coalfields.1
Beard Heights similarly serves as a localized geographic marker, situated approximately 1.5 miles southwest of Marlinton along the U.S. Route 219 corridor.10 With an elevation of approximately 2,484 feet, it stands as part of the plateau system that characterizes the "Little Levels" and surrounding agricultural zones.5 The history of these two sites is a narrative of the transition from the "wilderness of forest and streams" to a modern civic infrastructure capable of withstanding the periodic inundations of the Greenbrier River.4
Pre-Industrial Foundations: The Marlin-Sewell Settlement and the Lewis Survey
The human history of the Price Hill and Beard Heights environs predates the formal establishment of Pocahontas County in 1821. The region was a traditional hunting and farming ground for the Shawnee and Miami tribes long before European incursions.7 The formal English presence began in 1749, when Jacob Marlin and Stephen Sewell established a homestead at Marlin’s Bottom, now the site of Marlinton.4 This settlement is historically significant as the first permanent English habitation west of the Allegheny Mountains, marking the beginning of a process of land acquisition that would eventually define the estates of the Price and Beard families.4
In 1751, the geographic reality of the region was codified through the efforts of Colonel Andrew Lewis. Surveying for the Greenbrier Company, Lewis marked two "corner oaks" on the 6th of October to define a 470-acre survey.4 This survey, the first of its kind west of the Alleghenies, provided the legal framework for the settlement of the bottomlands and the subsequent development of the surrounding hills.13 The proximity of these early surveys to the current locations of Price Hill and Beard Heights underscores the long-standing strategic value of the Greenbrier River corridor.4
Price Hill: The Intellectual and Visual Apex of Marlinton
Price Hill is more than a geographic feature; it is the physical site of the intellectual engine of Pocahontas County. Its history is inseparable from the Price family, whose members served as the county’s primary historians, theologians, and journalists for over a century.1
The Price Family and the Evolution of the Pocahontas Times
The Pocahontas Times, the county's first newspaper, was established in Huntersville in 1883.1 However, the paper’s defining era began on November 17, 1892, when it was acquired by the Reverend William T. Price and his sons, Andrew and Dr. James W. Price.1 The relocation of the printing office over time illustrates the family’s presence in the landscape. In 1896, the shop was moved to a small building at the W. T. Price residence located at the mouth of Jericho Hollow on the Seneca Trail, situated on the slopes of what would become known as Price Hill.1
The technical evolution of the newspaper reflects the broader industrialization of the county. Initially utilizing a Washington hand press, the family upgraded to a cylinder press in late 1896.1 By 1901, as Marlinton solidified its status as the county seat, a permanent office was constructed on Second Avenue, and a small steam engine was purchased to power the press.1 The Pocahontas Times remained a bastion of traditional journalism, being the last newspaper in America to use hand-set type before modernizing its operations.4
Price Hill as a Visual Perspective: The Doniphan Mural
The cultural significance of the view from Price Hill is immortalized in the Marlinton Post Office mural, "Past Visions the Future," painted in 1939 by Edwin Dorsey Doniphan.2 This New Deal-era artwork depicts a local farmer, Fred Sharp, pausing with his ox team (Pat and Star) on Price Hill to survey the development of Marlinton.2 The mural captures a pivotal moment in the town's history, showing the industrial infrastructure of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Marlinton tannery and the covered bridge over the Greenbrier River.2
Despite the mural's evocative nature, it contains a significant historical and geographic error: the artist placed the tannery at the wrong end of town.2 Nevertheless, the perspective from Price Hill remains the definitive "surveyor’s view" of the community, representing the intersection of agricultural tradition and industrial progress. Archival photographs from the Preserving Pocahontas collection corroborate this view, showing the row houses and industrial sites that once defined the riverbank as seen from the hill’s heights.15
Genealogical and Educational Landmarks of Price Hill
The area around Price Hill is also a locus of genealogical and social history. The homestead of pioneer John Johnston, a woodworker and veteran of the Virginia militia at Fort Necessity in 1754, was located west of Marlinton over Price Hill in the Swago Community.16 Johnston’s role in building Fort Cackley in 1772 and his acquisition of land in the Jericho community established a legacy of settlement that predates the county’s formation.16
Socially, the vicinity of Price Hill was significant for its educational institutions. The Greenbrier Hill School, built around 1917 on Fourth Avenue, replaced an earlier school building that had been located on Price Run.4 This institution served the African American community during the era of segregation. Following the integration of all county schools in 1966, the Greenbrier Hill School was closed, but the building remains a physical marker of the diverse social history of the families residing on and near Price Hill.4
Beard Heights: The Agricultural Estate and Modern Institutional Pivot
While Price Hill represents the intellectual and visual identity of Marlinton, Beard Heights represents its modern institutional and logistical expansion. Its history is a transition from the Scotch-Irish farming traditions of the late 18th century to a resilient administrative hub in the 21st century.3
The Beard Family and the Richard Beard House
The community of Beard Heights takes its name from the Beard family, whose arrival in the region dates back to the 1770s. John Beard settled in Greenbrier County, but his son Josiah Beard became the first clerk of Pocahontas County, establishing a family tradition of civil service and land management.3 Josiah’s son, James Henry Moffet Beard, continued this tradition, acquiring a 289-acre estate from Rob Rhea on the east side of Locust Creek in 1874.3
The architectural centerpiece of this legacy is the Richard Beard House, located near Hillsboro in the vicinity of Beard Heights.3 Built in 1890 by the firm of Howard Littlepage and Dassenville, the house is a two-story Queen Anne style frame dwelling.3 Its preservation is notable, as it remains the only original house of its kind in the county, featuring a side-facing T-plan, a three-sided hip roof bay, and original decorative elements such as scrolled brackets on the porch.3
The Institutional Relocation: Pocahontas Memorial Hospital
The most significant contemporary development in Beard Heights is the relocation of the Pocahontas Memorial Hospital. Originally established in a 40' by 65' building on Main Street in Marlinton in 1906, the hospital served as a memorial to the county's World War I veterans.4 However, the facility’s location in the river basin made it perpetually vulnerable to the Greenbrier River’s flooding cycles.
Following the devastating floods of 1985 and the subsequent risks identified in the early 1990s, the decision was made to move the hospital to the higher ground of Beard Heights.4 In 1995, the move was completed, transforming Beard Heights from a rural residential and agricultural area into the county’s primary center for healthcare.4 This move was a strategic adaptation to the environmental realities of the valley, ensuring that medical services would remain uninterrupted during future climate events.4
Industrial Intersections: The Railroad and the Tannery
The development of both Price Hill and Beard Heights was accelerated by the industrial boom that hit Pocahontas County between 1890 and 1920. The arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railway’s Greenbrier Division in 1900 provided the necessary infrastructure for large-scale timber extraction.4
The C&O Railway and the Greenbrier River Trail
The railroad entered Marlinton in late 1900, with the depot being completed in 1901.4 The line ran through the heart of the valley, connecting the remote timber stands with the paper mills in Covington, Virginia.5 This infrastructure brought a surge of laborers and immigrants to the region, including Italian, Austrian, and German workers who lived in row houses visible from the vantage of Price Hill.5
When the timber was exhausted and the railroad was abandoned in the late 1970s, the tracks were removed to create the Greenbrier River Trail.11 This 78-mile rail-trail now serves as a major tourism asset, running through the valley and offering recreation to the residents of Marlinton and Beard Heights.11
The Marlinton Tannery
Central to the view from Price Hill was the Marlinton tannery, which utilized the local abundance of hemlock bark for tanning leather.4 The tannery was a cornerstone of the town's economy throughout the early 20th century. Its presence in the Doniphan mural, despite the geographic error in placement, underscores its importance as a symbol of the town's industrial identity.2 Along with the sawmill operations at Cass, the tannery represented the conversion of the county’s natural resources into global commodities.5
Environmental Stewardship and Conservation
The history of Price Hill and Beard Heights is also a history of environmental recovery. The clear-cutting of the county in the early 20th century led to severe forest fires and soil erosion in the 1930s.5 In response, the federal government established the Monongahela National Forest in 1920, with the first land acquisitions in Pocahontas County occurring in 1923.5
The Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
Adjacent to these historical localities is the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, a 750-acre preserve that represents a rare non-glaciated peatland.21 The protection of the Glades began in the 1930s through the efforts of botanical enthusiasts and was formalized as a National Natural Landmark in 1967.21 The construction of the boardwalk by the Anthony Creek Job Corps between 1937 and 1949 allowed for the study of this unique ecosystem, which contains flora and fauna typically found in much more northern latitudes.21
Infrastructure and the Future of Beard Heights
In the 21st century, Beard Heights has become the focus of significant infrastructure investment aimed at supporting the town's expansion and the viability of the Pocahontas Memorial Hospital. Current projects include the development of a modern wastewater system and water supply projects to ensure the community can grow beyond the flood-prone basin of Marlinton.19 These developments, alongside the preservation of family farmland through conservation easements, suggest that Beard Heights will remain the administrative and residential anchor of the region.22
Conclusion: A Dual Legacy of High Ground
The history of Price Hill and Beard Heights encapsulates the broader narrative of Pocahontas County. Price Hill remains the cultural and historical "eyes" of the county, the site of its most important record-keepers and the vantage point from which its progress was measured. Beard Heights represents the "future" of the county—a resilient, high-ground solution to the environmental challenges of the Appalachian interior. From the Queen Anne architecture of the Richard Beard House to the modern medical facilities of the Memorial Hospital, these localities demonstrate a continuous process of adaptation, preserving the Scotch-Irish and pioneer heritage while building the infrastructure for a sustainable future in the Greenbrier Valley.
The synergy between these two sites—one focusing on the preservation of the past and the other on the logistical security of the present—ensures that the history of Marlinton is not just a chronicle of industry and flood, but a testament to the enduring strategic value of the county’s high ground.4
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