SENATE
HOUSE
JOINT
BILL STATUS
STATE LAW
REPORTS
EDUCATIONAL
CONTACT
home
home
Introduced Version House Concurrent Resolution 33 History

   |  Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 33

(By Delegates Rowan and Cowles)

[Introduced March 2, 2017]

 

Requesting the Division of Highways to name a stretch of road beginning on County Road 15, Cold Stream Road, at Edwards Run (39.32213, -78.42876) to Frog Hollow Road (39.33781, -78.4329) in Hampshire County, “Gunsmiths Trace”.

Whereas, There is little evidence today that communities with churches, mills, local artisans and families were scattered throughout Hampshire County; nor is it thought that this county was a center of industrial activity in the early days of its history.  Yet, Hampshire County was the home of as many as forty gunsmiths with several of them residents in the area along Edwards Run to Cold Stream Run.  This location had access to Edwards Run and Cold Stream, sources of power and water and bordered the Cacapon River.  Until the late 1830’s, this area was along the main road that ran from Winchester to Romney and Cumberland, Maryland and points West, the direction Americans were moving; and

Whereas, The gunsmiths who lived in this area in the 1830’s include Zebulon Sheet, who served in the War of 1812, was appointed a justice of the peace in the county in 1828, and was a skilled gunsmith whose guns are highly prized today; James Rinehart was the most productive gunsmith in this area from approximately 1835 until he moved to Ohio in 1850; B. F. Shane was a blacksmith and gunsmith on Edwards Run in 1856;  Christopher Slonaker, III, was born and raised in the Cold Stream area and purchased a gun shop from B. F. Shane, where he plied his trade; and,  Henry Topper, who lived along the Cacapon River was noted in the 1820 Industrial Census of Virginia, to be engaged as a gunsmith with one helper and a production of 12 rifles a year.  He also repaired firearms, clocks and other mechanical devices; and

Whereas, The Edwards Run –Cold Stream area no longer shows any evidence of the busy community that was the home to churches, mills, local artisans and families and the center of industrial activity that included the gunsmiths whose artistry was so important to residents and pioneers and settlers who were moving ever westward; and

Whereas, Naming that stretch of road in stretch of road “Gunsmiths Trace” is an appropriate recognition and reminder of what this community was like and of the small but important industry that has left so many prized artifacts in the hands of serious gun collectors across America of their contributions and accomplishments; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name a stretch of road beginning on County Road 15, Cold Stream Road, at Edwards Run (39.32213, -78.42876) to Frog Hollow Road (39.33781, -78.4329) in Hampshire County, “Gunsmiths Trace”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the stretch of road as the “Gunsmiths Trace”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation.

This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information.  |  Terms of Use  |   Email WebmasterWebmaster   |   © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **


X

Print On Demand

Name:
Email:
Phone:

Print