Prepared by C. E. and B. F. Huffman
The vicinity of Indian Camp is conceded by the best authorities to have been the camping place, and possibly the dwelling place, of the aboriginal people of America ages before the coming of the white man. This authorative concession is based on tangible evidences found, and to be seen, at the Camp Rock and in its immediate surroundings.
Many implements used by the Indians such as spear-heads, hatchets, and other trinkets have been found at the Indian Camp Rock and in its vicinity. There is no doubt about the rock at Indian Camp having been used as a camping place by the Indians as the ashes from their camp fires were several feet deep under the rock when the white settlers first came to the community. The skull of some Indian, or of some unfortunate white man, was found among the ashes under the rock some years ago by excavators who came to the rock in search of Indian relics.
Because of the evidences and traces of visits by the Indians to the rock seen by the first white settlers to come to the community, it was named Indian Camp Rock, and the community naturally was called Indian Camp.
Abraham Kline settled on what is now the Phillips farm in the years between 1840 and 1850. He built and lived in a log cabin near where the ball diamond of the Indian Camp Normal School was located. He sold to a man named Cutright. Cutright sold to the Howses, who in turn sold to the Phillip's, the present owners of the land.
Samuel McCann, the father of Squire McCann and the grandfather of Rev. Samuel McCann, David, Henry, and William McCann, settled on the hill not far from the present lndian Camp U. B. Church and near where John Bonnett now lives, in the years between 1840 and 1850.
Jason Loomis settled on the farm where Wash Cutright now lives sometime between the years 1840 and 1850.
No one lived between Indian Camp and Sago previous to 1850 except Andrew Casto. He lived on the head waters of Saw Mill Run on what is now known as the Casto farm and owned by Mason Cutright at the present time.
Kline, McCann, Loomis, and Casto were the only settlers on the Buckhannon River between Sago and Alton previous to the year 1850.
In the fall of the year 1850, Joseph and Anthony Huffman came from Hampshire County to the Indian Camp Rock, and moved into a cabin which Anthony had built the previous summer, he having been to Indian Camp in May of the year 1850. They lived in this cabin which was located just across the public road in front of the Odd Fellows Hall until they built a house up the creek on the farm where Otha Boyles now lives and moved into it. It is still standing and is the oldest existing building in the community. Anthony afterward married Andrew Casto's daughter, Lucinda, bought land, moved down on lower Indian Camp, and settled on the farm now owned by B. F. and J. W. Huffman.
In the fall of 1850, after the coming of the Huffman brothers, Henry Bean and. David Bosely came to Indian Camp. Bean settled on the head waters of Indian Camp above where W. P. Newcome now lives. He later built and moved down to where James Bean now lives, and finally to Bean's Mill where he erected the mill which is yet standing. Bosely settled where W. P. Newcome now lives.
Joseph Bosely, Henry Bosely, Andrew Bean, and William Bean were the next settlers to cone to the community. They came in 1853. Joseph Bosely settled where William Phillips now lives. Henry Bosely moved into the Huffman cabin at the Indian Camp Rock until he built on his farm at the place where Melroy Tenney now lives. Andrew Bean moved into the property of David Bosely at the place where W. P. Newcome now lives. William Bean settled on the hill at the place where Silas Rowan now lives.
Johnny Howes came to Indian Camp in the years between 1850 and 1860, bought of Cutright, and settled at the place where Abraham Kline had lived.
Thomas Bond settled on what is known as the Gideon Hoover farm between 1850 and 1860. He was the father of the late Thomas Bond, and the grandfather of John Ephriam, and Elijah Bond.
The first preaching done in the Indian Camp community was done under the Indian Camp Rock by a United Brethren minister by the name of Benjamin Stickley, in the year 1854. Later a log church was built on the hill where the present church now stands. The log building has been replaced by a frame house which is yet standing.
William Bucklew, a German Baptist Dunkard minister, was the first German Baptist minister to do ministerial work in the Indian Camp community. He converted eight persons in the August of 1865. In November of 1867, Elder S. A. Fike, William Bucklew, and Jacob Thomas held a week's meeting at the home of Henry Fultz at Waterloo which added some more converts. The church was organized by Elders Fike and Thomas in 1871. In the year 1872 the log church which now stands on the Indian Camp Rock was built. It was used for a number of years. In 1902 the class was moved to Bean's Mill, where a new church building was erected.
The old log church at the Indian Camp Rock, the rock, and the surrounding land has been purchased and now belongs to an association of the U. B. Church.
Previous to the erection of the church buildings, preaching appointments were arranged and preaching done at the homes over the community and under the Indian Camp Rock.
Schools were taught in the community before the coming of the public school system. They were known as subscription schools, the patrons personally paying the teachers for their teaching. One of the pupils who attended those schools says, "The length of the school term then was never over three months."
The first school was taught in Johnny Howse's house by Joseph Bosely who was the first teacher to teach in the Indian Camp community.
The second term of school was a summer term and was taught in a log building on Otha Boyles's farm by Elizabeth Bean.
A school building was then erected. It was built of logs and stood on the exact location of the old log church that now stands on the Indian Camp Rock. It had a stone chimney as wood was the only material then used for heating purposes. The wood was cut and prepared by the boys who attended the school or by the patrons. One window gave light to the pupils. It was from five to seven feet long, and of 8 by 10 inch glass set in a hand-made frame, The seats were made of split logs, somewhat like the puncheons used for floors in the log cabin days, with pigs driven into auger holes for the legs. They were arranged before the chimney or fireplace so that they formed the three sides of a square. The writing desk was a slab split from a log, hewn smooth, and put up against the wall back of the seats on wooden pigs driven into auger holes in the wall so that the desk would slant slightly forward toward the writer.
Some of the pupils had steel pens, but most of them used pens made of quills from the feathers of geese or turkeys. For ink, maple bark was boiled and copperas was mixed with it to give it color.
Henry Bosely, the third person to teach in the Indian Camp community, taught the first term of school in this newly erected school building. His successor was Chapman Cutright, followed by William Bean who taught two terms.
Rebecca Huffman (Tenney) was the first teacher to teach who received her education at Indian Camp. Jamima Huffman (Boyles) was the second followed by Robert and George E. Bosely.
The first public school taught at Indian Camp was taught by James Moore of Sago. It was taught in the public school building which stood on top of the hill west of William Phillips's known as the Indian Camp hill. The year 1867 is said to have been the year in which it was taught. Oscar Moore, brother of James, taught the public school at the Phillips school on upper Indian Camp the first term the same year.
Under the directions of the U. B. Association in charge of the grounds and Camp Rock at Indian Camp, and by the aid of the people of the community and adjoining communities a building was erected in 1913 for the purpose of having a school of higher order than the public school, for church purposes, and other community activities. School was opened in this building in the spring of 1914 under the direction of Prof. J. H. Ashworth assisted by E. C. Brooks. A very successful school was conducted during the succeeding years until 1918 when war and adverse world conditions made it necessary to abandon the school, which, unfortunately, has not been re-opened. A vast amount of good was accomplished, however, by the school while in session both for the community in which it was located and for other communities that sent students to it.
The people of Indian Camp have been engaged in farming and lumbering principally until in very recent years. The farming has been of a diversified character and mainly to supply the needs of the farmer and his family.
A grain mill has been in operation at Bean's Mill since the time when Henry Bean settled there.
The first lumber cut on Indian Camp was sawed by hand with saws called whip-saws. This mode of manufacture was very tedious and laborious. Then came the steam sawmills, a number of which have been set up and operated on Indian Camp.
At Imperial, a station on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, is a plant for the manufacture of glass sand.
Three coal mines are within the limits of the community,
A farm club, and a boys' and girls' Four-H club have been in our community helping and encouraging the farmers and their boys and girls for a number of years. A farm women's club has been recently organized.
Three stores and one fraternal organization are within the community limits. The Odd Fellows have their hall near the Camp Rock.
The spirit of industrial and educational development is growing rapidly among the people of the community.
Jamima Boyles is the only person now living (1923) who came with the first settlers to come to Indian Camp. She was then only a small child and came with her father, Joseph Huffman. Her grandfather came with them and is buried in the Huffman cemetery.
From the Indian Camp school the following persons have gone forth as teachers: Rebecca Huffman (Tenney), Jamima Huffman (Boyles), William Bosely, Robert Bosely, George E. Bosely, Anna Phillips (Snyder), C. E. Huffman, A. R. Huffman, A. W. Huffman, E. L. Huffman, B. A. Huffman, Anthony Linger, Myrtle Loudin (Cain), and J. L. Fultz.
From the Upper Indian Camp school the following have gone forth as teachers: Samuel McCann, Mary McCann (Hoover), Pearl Thomas (Simons), Ressie Cutright (Huffman), Mae Phillips, Carmie Phillips (Hinkle), Henry Queen, Jacob Queen, Henry Powers, and Esther Cutright (Lamb).
Five ministers who were reared and partly educated here have gone from the community. Samuel McCann, William McCann, Ertha Bean, and Hazel Fultz were German Baptist ministers. Floyd Fultz is a United Brethren minister.
Samuel McCann was ordained as an elder of his denomination at Bridgewater College, in Virginia, in 1893. He spent a number of years in India as a missionary, came back to America, and taught in the College at Bridgewater for several years. He died in North Dakota and is buried at Bridgewater, Virginia.
William McCann is a resident, and minister, of North Dakota.
Ertha Bean resides near Bean's Mill, West Virginia, Hazel Fultz resided near Bean's Mill. She died in 1923, and is buried in the McCann cemetery.
Floyd Fultz's residence is at Indian Camp, but he is now (1923) located at Mt. Lake Park, Maryland as the U. B. minister of that charge.
Two doctors were reared in our community. They were Floyd Bean of Fort Pierce, Florida; and J. B. Simons of Buckhannon, West Virginia.
One county officer, Ernest Phillips, was reared here, and spent his boyhood playing over and around the old Camp Rock. He was elected and served one term as county clerk of Upshur county; then was re-elected and succeeded himself to the same office for a second term which he is now serving. Four telegraph operators received their education here. They are Frank E. Phillips, Charles Thomas, French Thomas, and A. R. Huffman.
Frank E. Phillips has filled some of the most responsible positions with the leading railroad and telegraph companies of the county with credit.
A. P. Huffman is the agent and operator at Newlonton, West Virginia, for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company.
One stenographer, Miss Lavida Bean, received her education at Upper Indian Camp School. Her home state is now Florida. Her place of employment was formerly Evanston, Illinois but at present her home is in Florida.
Our community has furnished soldiers for every war in which our country has been engaged since our war with Mexico in the forties. They fought on several battle fields of our Civil War, fought the Spaniards in 1898, and helped to drive the Germans back in 1917. Over a dozen stars deck our service flag, but fortunately the stars are yet all of one color - our boys all came back.