John Reynolds

     John Reynolds was born on 15 November 1758 at Virginia Colony, America.¹ He was the son of Silas Reynolds and Hannah Griffith. John Reynolds married Miriam VanBibber, daughter of John VanBibber and Chloe Staniford, in 1790 at Fort Randolph, Mason County, Virginia.¹ John Reynolds died on 29 February 1832 at Kanawha County, Virginia, at age 73 years, 3 months and 14 days.¹
     DIG PRESERVES PIONEER ARTIFACTS
Salt Maker's Settlement Studied

By Rick Steelhammer, Staff Writer
The Charleston News on line, Charleston Gazette, Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia
Friday December 15, 2000

What may be the earliest Kanawha Valley settler's home ever to be excavated by archaeologists has turned up in the process of developing the Valley's newest and largest public works projects - the Marmet Locks replacement.

Remnants of an L-shaped log house, with a huge cellar, a stone fireplace and an assortment of fragments of 18th- and 19th-century pottery from China and England, as well as French gunflints and Spanish coins from the 1790s, were unearthed during an Army Corps of Engineers-mandated archaeological survey now nearing completion. The tract on which the home was found will be a fill site for the new replacement lock, scheduled for completion in 2002.

The structure is believed to have once been the home of John Reynolds, a pioneer in the Valley's salt-making industry and a five-term Virginia assemblyman from Kanawha County. Reynolds' son Franklin could also have been the primary occupant of the home, according to archaeologists.

Kanawha County deed books show the Dupont City area land on which the home was built was sold to John Reynolds in 1818 by John Morris. Morris may have been the initial occupant of the home. The land was once part of a large tract owned by George Washington and Gen. Andrew Lewis.

'We have what appears to be the earliest domestic structure excavated in the Kanawha Valley,' said Robert F. Maslowski, archaeologist for the Corps of Engineers' Huntington District. The site contains what is 'probably the best collection of early historic artifacts ever excavated in this area.'

No trace of the home was visible when archaeological contractors made an initial survey of the site, which lies within the 130-acre project area for the new lock.

After a preliminary posthole-type excavation turned up promising artifacts, a more complete dig was authorized.

'It appears to have been a log structure built on stone foundations,' said William D. Updike, archaeologist for Cultural Resource Analysts Inc. of Teays Valley, the company conducting the archaeological survey for the Corps of Engineers.

'A lot of the foundation stones are gone now,' he said, standing at the edge of the dig site near the base of a stone hearth. 'But we should be able to plot layout of the walls fairly accurately from the location of the window glass and nails we've been finding.'

Bones found in a disposal pit near the house show that pork was the meat of choice of its occupants. Beef bones, along with the remnants of fish, turtle and deer, were also unearthed. Pottery found in and around the house helps archaeologists date its period of occupation. 'It will also help give us an idea about the socioeconomic status of the family that lived here,' said Updike.

Among pottery fragments found at the site are hand-painted creamware, manufactured between 1765 and 1820, pearlware from the 1780-1830 era, and redware, which was made between 1780 and 1840. Most of the pottery is English-made, although there were some fragments of 1800-vintage Chinese-made porcelain, plus lots of utilitarian crockery for food storage.

Luxury items found at the site include several items of jewelry, including a silver ring, a brooch, bracelet, medallion and several beads.

Four silver Spanish coins bearing the likeness of King Carlos IV and dating back to the 1790s were also found in the house.

'One of the coins was cut in half, which is the way they made change back then,' said Updike. Another coin was pierced, apparently so it could be worn as jewelry.

'That one suggests an African-American presence,' Updike said, since slaves, who provided most of the labor for early Kanawha Valley salt works, were known to wear similarly pierced coins as jewelry or charms.

'The people who lived here had Spanish coins, bowls from Straffordshire, porcelain from China, French and English gunflints. Even though they lived on the frontier, they had access to the world,' said Updike.

Starting in 1797, thousands of tons of salt were produced from saline brines that rose from the ground in the vicinity of the home, located near the confluence of Burning Springs Creek and the Kanawha River. Natural gas, which vented to the surface at Burning Springs, was used as a fuel source in evaporating the brine into salt.

Much of the Kanawha Valley's trademark red-tinted salt was exported to Cincinnati for use in a blossoming meat processing industry. When railroads reached Chicago, and that city became the nation's primary meat-packing metropolis, the Kanawha Valley's salt-making industry began to fade. The Dickinson Works, the Valley's last salt plant, closed in 1945.

The availability of coal and gas, along with the sophisticated engineering that went into making salt and salt byproducts in the industry's later years, led to the development of the Kanawha Valley's chemical industry.

In addition to manufacturing salt, John Reynolds represented Kanawha County in the Virginia Assembly from 1806 to 1810.

According to an article in the Jan. 24, 1884, Greenbrier Independent, Reynolds, in running for one of his final terms, agreed to take part in a debate with several rival candidates. He wasted few words.

'So much time has been occupied by my worthy friends who have already addressed you that I will only detain you a moment,' he was quoted as saying. 'You all know my political principles and my opinions concerning public affairs. If you choose to elect me, I will serve you to the best of my abilities; if you don't, you may go to hell.'

He was reportedly elected by a large majority.

While Reynolds apparently prospered for a time, he died penniless after speculating unsuccessfully in the salt industry, according to Updike.

His son Van Bibber Reynolds, daughter-in-law Elizabeth and grandson James are buried about 50 yards from the home. An overturned headstone, dated 1852, marks the grandson's grave. The graves will be disinterred and reburied near Montgomery as part of the Corps of Engineers' pre-construction mitigation work.

The Corps of Engineers and Updike's firm, Cultural Resource Analysts of Teays Valley, have also excavated the remains of two early salt furnaces, and plan to excavate several American Indian sites on the project site.

While the excavation portion of Updike's work is nearly complete, more work is needed to clean, reassemble, identify and date articles found in the Reynolds house dig. Then a narrative will be written to describe what is known about the home and its occupants.

Updike said three things about his job keep him interested in the work.

'I like doing the historic research, I enjoy working outside, and I like trying to solve a mystery. This lets me do all three.'

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From Gary R. Hawpe, ed. and comp., 'Glimpse of Salt Baron's Life Unearthed,' Van Bibber Pioneers E-Newsletter, Vol. 4 No. 9 (July 2001), pp. 8 - 10.

GLIMPSE OF SALT BARON'S LIFE UNEARTHED
Nearly 200-year-old mansion, graves found near Dupont City

By Rick Steelhammer, Staff Writer
Charleston Gazette, Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia
July 1, 2001 (Sunday)

After unearthing the remnants of a slaves cabin late last year, archaeologists working in the construction zone for the new Marmet Locks have found the remains of salt baron and Virginia assemblyman John Reynolds' mansion.

'It's 40 feet long and 32 feet wide and probably two stories tall, with fireplaces at each end,' said William D. Updike, archaeologist for Cultural Resource Analysts Inc. of Teays Valley, as he stood beside one foundation wall. 'We think it was probably built around 1811, not long after Reynolds bought this property.'

The Reynolds home, described in a newspaper account from the 1880s as a 'white frame mansion,' fronts the Kanawha River near the mouth of Burning Springs Branch on the western outskirts of Dupont City.

Updike believes the home was built in the Federalist style, and was probably similar in appearance to the restored Dickinson home along the Kanawha in nearby Malden, the residence of another pioneer salt manufacturing family.

The remnants of outbuildings, built in neat alignment with the mansion's walls, are also evident following weeks of excavation by a 20-person crew, working under contract to the Army Corps of Engineers.

'Here, along the back wall, where we found a lot of bricks standing on end when we started, we found what turned out to be a root cellar,' said Updike, peering into a brick-lined pit.

Many nails found at the site showed signs of having been exposed to fire, prompting archaeologists to speculate that the home eventually burned.

'Since the most recent artifact we found in the house was a 1907 penny, we think it probably happened sometime around 1910,' Updike said.

A short distance away lie the remnants of a beehive-shaped bread oven, built away from the house to reduce heat and fire risk in the living quarters. A stone-lined privy pit has also been uncovered, along with a huge rainwater cistern, a barn or stable building and a second root cellar.

Artifacts found at the site include numerous pieces of whiteware associated with higher-income households, salt-glazed stoneware, pocketknives, marbles, and a smoking pipe with the initials 'FR' printed on its side.

'It may have belonged to either Fenton Reynolds or Franklin Reynolds,' Updike said.

The remains of two salt furnaces have been found across Burning Springs Branch from the home site.

John Reynolds, a major in the Virginia militia who represented Kanawha County in the Virginia Assembly from 1806 to 1810, was a member of the Kanawha Valley's salt cartel. But he entered the business just as it started to enter a decline, as the nation's meatpacking trade shifted from Cincinnati to Chicago.

'There were 32 salt furnaces operating here prior to 1812,' said Army Corps of Engineers archaeologist Bob Maslowski, 'but by the 1880s, there were only two. It became much cheaper for the Chicago meat packers to use salt from Michigan than to bring it all the way from West Virginia.'

'He had money problems, but he at least kept up the appearances of wealth,' Updike said.

Reynolds died in 1833, and the Burning Springs property remained in his family's hands for another 14 years before bankers foreclosed on the tract. The salt maker's wife, Miriam, is believed to have continued to live on the property until the 1850s.

Behind the home, on a knoll overlooking a bend of Burning Springs Branch, members of the archaeological team have located 19 graves, including those of Reynolds, his sons, Van Bibber and Fenton Mercer Reynolds, Van Bibber's wife, Elizabeth, and a grandson, James. The grave of Reynolds' wife has not yet been found.

The remains found in the plot will be re-interred at Montgomery Memorial Gardens.

'All of the graves were oriented east to west, with the heads to the west,' said Alex Bybee, a physical anthropologist for Cultural Resource Analysts.

Several gravesites contained coffins that were hexagonal, which dates them earlier than the 1860s. Two of the rectangular, late 19th century coffins were equipped with oval glass viewing plates.

The land on which the Reynolds home was located was used as a vegetable garden until early this year, when the government acquired the property.

It turns out it was a garden spot long before the Reynolds clan occupied the site.

When archaeologists began to excavate mansion grounds, they were surprised to find a series of postholes and hearths that indicated the presence of a fortified Native American village of the early Fort Ancient culture.

'It probably dates back to about 1300 or so,' said Maslowski. 'They grew corn, beans and squash here, besides fishing and hunting for deer and turkey. The corn cobs found here have been tiny,' he said, extending his thumb and forefinger the length of a gum packet.

Attention will shift to the Native American village once work concludes on the Reynolds house in a few weeks.

An exhibit of artifacts found at the mansion, in the slaves' home and in the Indian village will be displayed in the visitor center for the new lock complex, scheduled to open in 2006.

From Gary R. Hawpe, ed. and Robert Maslowski, comp., 'The John Reynolds Homeplace and Graveyard Excavation Update,' Van Bibber Pioneers E-Newsletter, Vol. 4 No. 8 (June 2001), pp. 12 - 13.

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THE JOHN REYNOLDS HOMEPLACE AND GRAVEYARD EXCAVATION UPDATE

Subj: John REYNOLDS Graveyard update
Date: 6/11/01 7:49:31 AM Mountain Daylight Time
From: Robert.F.Maslowski@Lrh01.usace.army.mil (Robert Maslowski)
To: GRH9999@aol.com (Gary Hawpe)

Gary,

To date we have located 9 graves in the Reynolds Cemetery. We have headstones for five individuals:

Van Bibber Reynolds (b.28 Dec d. 18 Dec 1843)
Elizabeth B. Reynolds (b.18 Oct 1802 d. Sept 1838)
James Reynolds (Son of Van Bibber died Mar 3, 1852)
Fenton Reynolds (Son of John Reynolds)
John Reynolds (b.15 Nov 1758 d. Feb 29, 1832)

Most of the headstones were moved but we may be able to match up the headstones for Fenton and James Reynolds. There may also be the wife and daughter of John Morris in the cemetery. Bone preservation is poor so it will be difficult to determine sex and age in many instances. The headstone for Fenton Reynolds was buried under the roots of a big tree and was found only a few days ago so there is the possibility of finding more headstones. I haven't given up looking for the Miriam Van Bibber headstone. There are also later graves post civil war since one unmarked burial had a glass viewing plate and porcelain false teeth.

Unfortunately, the bottom of the Fenton gravestone is broken off and we don't have his date of birth and death. I left my camera in the car over the weekend and the heat ruined the film I shot of the tombstone. Will get more photos today.

I have been in touch with Ray Faircloth but not the direct descendants. Once we finish the excavations and get a report we will coordinate with the family members. We have a lot of data on the Reynolds family but it will be a while before we have any final reports.

Bob
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Subj: Tombstones at the John REYNOLDS graveyard
Date: 6/18/01

To: Robert.F.Maslowski@Lrh01.usace.army.mil (Robert Maslowski)
From: GRH9999@aol.com (Gary Hawpe)

Bob,

Were all these tombstones found at the burial sight? I thought Ann BIRD had the stone of John REYNOLDS in her possession? Which ones were still at the little graveyard?

Gary
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Subj: RE: Tombstones at the John REYNOLDS graveyard
Date: 6/18/01 5:56:26 AM Mountain Daylight Time
From: Robert.F.Maslowski@Lrh01.usace.army.mil (Robert Maslowski)
To: GRH9999@aol.com (Gary Hawpe)

Gary,

Four tombstones were found at the site and Ann Bird had the John Reynolds tombstone. She had what we thought was an unmarked Tombstone but it turned out to be a footstone. All 5 tombstones and footstones are in the lab. Today we will begin stripping the area around the cemetery to look for the remaining tombstones and possibly additional graves. I will scan the photos of the new tombstones and email them to you later in the week.

I haven't seen any information of Fenton Mercer Reynolds but I'm sure our historian or archeologist will find something. They indicated that he did not marry.

Bob.