Brief History of Wilbur

This area of southeastern Tyler County was given the name Wilbur in 1889. Before that time, various documents refer to Camp Mistake, Little Camp Mistake, Jeffrey’s (Jefferson) Run, Robert’s (Ross) Run, and other areas surrounding what became the center of the Wilbur community. Verbal tradition has it that it was at one time referred to as Fairview Ridge, but there appears to be no written reference to this name.

The area was probably first settled in the early 1800’s as people migrated to the interior of the region that was to become Tyler County. The earliest record that I have found is a reference, in The Davis Family History by H. A. Davis, to a Robert Davis who settled near the present Wilbur Chapel and cemetery about 1820. Early settlers came mainly from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland. The names Ash, Cumberledge, Davis, Doak, Grove, Keys, Mercer, Myer, Pratt, Seckman, Smith, Stewart, Underwood, Weekley, and Wise are some of the names associated with families located in this locale in the middle 1800’s.

Little has been recorded about the history of this particular locale during the nineteenth century, but something is known of the conditions that prevailed in the area during the first half of the century. It was a wilderness of virgin forests. The only roads were the ones that the pioneers built, and in many cases that consisted only of cutting trees and brush to clear a passage. The homes were log cabins and the many of the furnishings were made by splitting logs and hewing the resulting pieces into the desired shape and smoothness. The flat area of the log became the table top or a seat for a bench. Holes were bored and stakes inserted into these holes to make legs for the bench or table. Cooking was done in a stone fireplace, which also served as a source of heat in the winter. A trip to the Kanawha Valley was necessary to obtain salt and this trip took several days to complete. Many hardships had to be endured to live on the edge of civilization.

The Civil War Veterans Census and the Muster Rolls of various military units show that many men from Wilbur and the immediate area served their country during the Civil War. A partial listing of these names can be found elsewhere on this site. Also, according to verbal history, there was established in Wilbur the Perry Pratt G.A.R. Number 75.

In 1889 a post office was established with the name "Wilbur". (See the Post Office page and the obituary of John Wilbur Grimm for more information).

Until the turn of the century, the work activity of the area was limited for the most part to farming. The natural gas and oil boom in Tyler County changed that. The drilling of large numbers of wells in and around Wilbur brought an influx of oilfield workers. There was not sufficient permanent housing to accommodate them all. A tent city sprung up to house this workforce, which is said to have numbered nearly six hundred individuals. This, certainly, brought much change and activity to the community. Unfortunately, nothing was recorded and there is no longer anyone living who can relate the stories of everyday life or the humorous and the tragic events that undoubtedly transpired.

This photo was taken in a WV oil field in Doddridge County. The teamster on the left is John Curtis Yoho.

The photo is from a postcard that he mailed to his wife in Middlebourne, from Central Station, on October 25, 1910.

During this period of time, there were two stores in operation, one of which is pictured on the home page of this site and which became the Doak & Pierson General Store. The other sat directly across the road and later was used for the showing of silent movies. At the time of the oil boom, the two stores were supposedly connected with a walkway above the road to permit people to go from one to the other without having to wade across the often muddy road below.

There seems to have been an active social life in the community at the turn of the century. One of the indications was the number of chicken dinners and socials that were held in order to raise money for the construction of the Wilbur Chapel Church. A photograph of the dedication of the Church building indicates that over seventy people attended. At the time, the Fairview Church was also in operation and may have included a like number of people. There was also a Seventh Day Adventist Church on Ross Run and a "Holy Roller" Church near the Wilbur stores. Another indication of activity was the fact that the community had a band director and a band. The band played for local activities and also performed in concert. Members of the band at one point were: William Pratt, Norve Pratt, William Britton, Burt Castello, John Drane, Noah Ferguson, Nathan Ferguson, Kersey Doak, Borman Pierson, Wes Davis, Tillman Weekley and Howard Weekley.

Band member Howard Weekley and his wife Ella circa 1918.

There were several one room schools in operation in or in the vicinity of Wilbur. Some of them were: Jefferson Run School, Low Gap School, Fairview School, Frog Pond School, Morning Star School, Duckworth School, and Ross Run School. The past governor of West Virginia, Cecil H. Underwood attended the Ross Run School. This school building was moved, in 1999, to the lawn of the former Tyler County High School (now the Tyler County Museum.)

The oil boom was relatively short lived, and Wilbur again reverted to the quiet village that it had been. Most of the people remaining were the descendents of the early settlers who had resided in the area for several generations.

The 1920’s and 1930’s were the beginning of a transition for the community. The industrial revolution was in full swing and small farming was less profitable and less appealing to the younger generation. During this period, numerous young people left homes in Wilbur for Midland, Pennsylvania; Weirton, West Virginia; Cleveland, Ohio; Akron, Ohio and other large metropolitan areas, where jobs in manufacturing industries were available.
There was a period of time during the "Great Depression," when some of these people returned to the farms and their families, as a matter of survival.		Trapping was a means of income for some residents of Wilbur during the Depression. Harold Weekley with furs.

Employment in the cities had become extremely difficult to obtain or maintain. But as economic times became better, and with the advent of World War II, most again left for the cities or for military duty, leaving the older generations as the main residents of Wilbur.

During the 1960’s and 1970’s the exodus of young people continued. The average age of the population increased dramatically and many of the last members of the "old families," still living in Wilbur, passed on. Some who survived moved to other areas to be taken care of by their children. Family farms became overgrown with brush, many were sold to absentee owners, and only a small number of new families moved into Wilbur from outside the area.

There have been a couple of new homes built in Wilbur and a few of the older ones have been kept in repair. However, as you drive through today, the impression is of once neatly kept homes that have deteriorated, overgrown farmland, woods where houses once stood, and "No Trespassing" signs nailed to trees along miles of country roads.

Wilbur exists today as a community far different from the era that lasted for so many generations, but there are those who still remember Wilbur, the village that was.