Ashe County

It is generally believed that the earliest inhabitants of present-day Ashe County were the Cherokees, the Creeks, and the Shawnee. At Old Fields and other sites a few artifacts found indicate their presence, but there is no evidence that any of them were long-term residents. We do know that wars were fought among the three Indian nations for control of the area as a hunting ground.

Among the earliest records of exploration by white people are those of the surveyor Major Abraham Wood. Major Wood led a survey party ranging west into the Virginia wilderness about 1740. Among other things, they found a river running north that no one had ever heard of before. The party named the discovery 'Wood River'. Later, for reasons now unknown, the name was changed to 'New River'.

For more information visit the Ashe County Chamber of Commerce Website.

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