BECKLEY, W.Va. — Questions may always surround a mysterious boulder found 200 years ago in southern West Virginia inscribed with the characters "S. Ferguson F. County 1814." (The numeral "4" is chiseled in reverse.)
Ferguson's Rock has since been the focus of local legends, including tales of a phantom that roams the scene of its death on the stony banks of Piney Creek.
According to popular legend, a lone hunter traveling on horseback was thrown by his steed at a ford on the creek where the rock was initially discovered. Fatally injured and accepting his fate, he inscribed his epitaph.
The most exciting version of the tale speculates that a mountain lion had leaped out of the forest, frightening Ferguson's mount. Even today, big cats are known to roam remote areas in West Virginia, though, like wolves, they were an ever-present threat in the region in the 1700s.
While the tale has captured the imagination of many, historian Tom Sopher says some scholars are dubious about the origin story and wonder about the details.
"In the first place, why would he neglect to write his full name?" Sopher asks.
"Why would he spend his last effort chiseling his county of origin? In addition, why did he change the "4" in 1814 to reverse? There are a lot of unanswered questions."
Some historians surmise that the inscription was hewn by a hunter of the Ferguson family, fur trappers of Franklin County, Virginia, and that he might have chiseled the characters while passing the time encamped there during a long hunt.
Apart from the mystery, Sopher said the rock is vital because it is an artifact of pioneer history that predates Beckley's settlement. It speaks to the importance of Beckley as a crossroads that Alfred Beckley would establish two decades later.
"Beckley is and was important because it is a natural crossroads," Sopher said. "Roads have always converged here. Alfred Beckley, an engineer, understood that and invested here because of it."
In 2018, members of the Raleigh County Historical Society thought it advisable to relocate the rock from private property to public property along the former Bluestone Road, now South Kanawha Street, part of the trail Ferguson traveled.
The rock was first relocated in 1984 during the expansion of a city waste-treatment facility along Piney Creek. Construction equipment had taken a big chunk out of the rock. The late Ray Sutphin, author of the manuscript "Atkinsville, Appalachia," then provided it a home on his lawn.
The historical society, in cooperation with the City of Beckley, moved the rock from Sutphin's law to the grounds of Wildwood, the historic home of town founder Alfred Beckley.
With the help of society historian Merle Cole, the rock was acquired in 2017 by the city, stored for several months, and then moved to public property where it could be protected.
Sopher said the rock has been installed on the lawn in front of Wildwood at 121 Laurel Terrace, where visitors can inspect it. (See the Map showing the stone's current and original location.)
"Here, they'll be able to trace the lettering with their fingers," he said. "And the location is near the route of the old Bluestone Road."
In some part, the Bluestone became the "Giles, Fayette, and Kanawha Turnpike," one of several Virginian routes that Alfred Beckley helped establish, along which Wildwood and Beckleville were established.
Sopher said historians will continue working to discover more about Ferguson's Rock and hope to develop the site further.
Read Also
Red House Rocks
Alfred Beckley Mill
History of Wildwood
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