Old Fields, West Virginia

Old Fields
—  Unincorporated community  —
Old Fields Location within the state of West Virginia
Coordinates: 39°8′5″N 78°56′59″W / 39.13472°N 78.94972°W / 39.13472; -78.94972Coordinates: 39°8′5″N 78°56′59″W / 39.13472°N 78.94972°W / 39.13472; -78.94972
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	Hardy
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID

Old Fields is an unincorporated community on the South Branch Potomac River in northern Hardy County, West Virginia, USA.

According to the Geographic Names Information System, Old Fields has also been known throughout its history as Indian Old Field, Indian Old Fields, and Oldfields.

History

The South Branch was being settled by whites in the 1730s and '40s. According to Samuel Kercheval, these settlers "On the Wappatomaka [South Branch]...discovered...considerable openings of the land, or natural prairies, which are called the 'Indian old fields' to this day [i.e., 1833]. Numerous Indian graves are to be seen in the neighborhood"^[1]. This was the site of Fort Pleasant, built in 1756 during the French and Indian War.^[2] Fort Pleasant was one of the principal fortifications in Colonel George Washington's chain of forts on the Virginia frontier.^[3] Less than a mile to the east of the fort, the "Battle of the Trough" was fought in the spring of 1756, on the banks of the South Branch, during which several local settlers were killed.^[4]

See also

• Indian old field

References

1. ^ Kercheval, Samuel (1833; 2nd ed., 1850), A History of the Valley of Virginia, pg 37.
2. ^ Baker, Norman L. French & Indian War in Frederick County, Virginia, 2000
3. ^ Baker, Norman L. French & Indian War in Frederick County, Virginia, 2000
4. ^ Baker, Norman L. French & Indian War in Frederick County, Virginia, 2000