A Journey Home to the Hills: A Heartfelt Letter from 1865

“We will have one of the Richest little States in the union in afew Year hence”

Gather ’round, neighbors, because I have something truly special to share with you today. I was recently looking through our archives and came across a four-page letter written on June 29, 1865, by a man named John G. Gwinn to his brother, Saban. The paper itself feels like a piece of living history; it is yellowed with age and shows the distinct, heavy fold marks of a letter that traveled far in a pocket or a saddlebag. You can see some staining and foxing where time has left its mark, but John’s cursive remains remarkably clear, even if his spelling is as unique and colorful as the West Virginia hills he called home.

This letter captures a world in transition. John had just returned to Ohio from a trip back to the Kanawha Valley, right as the dust of the Civil War was still settling. He tells his brother how their parents had “failed very much” since they last saw them—a gentle way of saying the hard years of war had taken a toll on their health and spirits. Yet, despite the scars on the land, there is a sense of resilience. He describes neighbors getting back to work like “fine fellows,” with corn crops looking well and the community finding ways to manage even when horses and money were scarce.

John gives us a raw, unvarnished look at the political tensions of the day. He describes a meeting at Gauley Bridge where the atmosphere was thick with resentment. Former Confederates were being told they would no longer be supported for office, finding themselves disenfranchised and uncertain of their future in the very places they called home. It is a sobering reminder of how difficult the process of healing a divided country really was, as neighbors who once fought on opposite sides had to find a way to stand on the same ground again.

Interestingly, while the social fabric was frayed, the land itself was beginning to hum with new energy. John notes that land merchants were as “thick as hail,” with New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians swarming the Elk and New Rivers. He describes the sight of engines boring for oil and the high prices being offered for local acreage. It is a fascinating glimpse into the very beginning of the industrial boom that would define the region for decades to come, bringing a sense of hope that prosperity was just over the horizon.

But what makes this letter truly human is the family drama woven throughout. John doesn’t hold back his feelings about a relative named Harrison, whom he calls a coward for talking behind the family’s back. He shares a particularly stinging memory of Harrison feeding him “hogs feet” while he was sick, even as complete strangers offered him the best they had. It just goes to show that no matter how much the world changes or how many wars are fought, family squabbles and the value of true hospitality remain constant themes in our lives.

Reading John’s words today reminds us that history isn’t just a collection of dates; it’s the story of people trying to rebuild, of brothers keeping in touch, and of a community looking toward the future. It shows us that even in the wake of great tragedy, there is a drive to move forward and a hope that we might eventually become one of the “richest little states” through hard work and perseverance.

Original Transcription

Sligo Clinton County O
June the 29th {65
Mr Saban Gwinn Dr Brother
I conclude this morning to drop you
A few lines to let you know that I
Have Got Back home from Va and
found my family all well I Got home
Last Saturday at twelve OClock I left
Charleston Va on friday morning at four
in the morning and got to Cincinnati
Next morning at Eight and taken the
Nine Oclock train and got to Clarks ville
at Eleven I found father and mother
In tolerable good health But they have both
failed Very much Since we left there
Eldridge ” Lock ” Ogdensams . X Livelys family
are all well and the folks generaly are
Well times are prety hard up there but
Not So much So as I expected to find them
money is Very Scarce that is the Green Back
They all have plenty of Confederate but
it is of no avail the folks are all at
work like fine fellows corn crops look well
Wheat is prety good but has Sum Rust
Sum of the folks have Horses and Sum
Have none But they have all managed
Some way or other to Get in a prety
Good crop ” times is quiet and fine
I Rode all around a mong the Thurmondes
With out any molestation What eve they
all claim to be union men now and Says
that they have been all the time But was
forced to doe what they did by the Rebels
They will be forced to due a greatdeal now by

The game Seemed to be going when I left
There There was a meeting held at gauley
Bridge while I was up the to appoint
States attorney Sheriff Const & Co Samull
Charac was pushed out in ranks by
The Secesh but was objected to by the
union Party they told him that Rebbels
Shouldent be Supported there that they Intended
to Support union men hence forth and forever
The Rebs now Stan on the Same Shoes that
Now that the Negro did before the war
commenced They are neither allowed there
Vote nor there oath and it is very uncer
tain whether they will be allowed to Stay among
us or not I red Several of there parls as
I come down Kanawha and the Sumed Read
as tho it would be avery difficult mater
for them if they are permitted to Stay in the
country they only Parall them they are not
allowed to take the oath of allegence yet
your place is not Rented Saml Boggess
is living on it there is no chance to rent
Land up there I tried to rent mine but
could not I could Sold it half dozen times
Before I could Rented it once
Land merchants is thick as hail up there
I come Down with three Pennsylvanians
from charlesto to Galliopolis they have baught
Land twelve miles above gauley Bridge up
on newriver they wanted to By mine but
I will Bet on a while longer yet I could
Sell mine for Double what I could before
The war commenced the newyorkers are
as thick as hail up on Elk river they are

Boring for oil up the I was up at oald
Samuel Higginbothams twelve miles from
Charlesto and Saw Several Engine in operation
The lands is nearly all baught up on Elk and
leaced to gether it is allso leaced up asfar
as the widow hamiltons at the hawks nest
and up coal River Samuel Higginbotham
Was offered twelve thousand dollars for his
Land on Coal River We will have one
of the Richest little States in the union in afew
Year hence
I expect to move Back home about
the first of august if nothing prevents
you can go Back home as Soon as you choose
if you wish there is nodange at all
Father & mother wants us all to come back
as Soon as we can father got alleter
from you afew days before I Got out there
and one from harrison
Harrison Semed to be
Very uneasy when I left Ind for fear we would
all give him a bad name from the way
He flouts us all to father he certainly want
Sumthing of the kind Spoken of he Stated
I his letter that we had all lef there well clad
With money and Every thing But Saw people
Wouldent Bear Good treatment and he
Respected you as a Gentleman
I did not calculate on Saying
any thing about him in any way to tell the
truth I dident think Enough of him to doe
So he is like the fable of the preachers little
Dog I heard of while the minister would be
hiding By the door the dog would be two

Excuse mistakes and Bad Spelling
Cowardly to atack the preacher but as
Soon asthminister would get out of Sight
The dog would Bark on his track
So thats the way with
Harrison he was two cowardly to Say any
thing to our faces while we were there
but as Soon as we got two or three hundre
miles away he flew out on a cold track
and as for the Gentleman Ship if he takes
you to be one it is more than I take him
to be anyman or a brother at least that
Would let a person by there as I did is not
fit to live in Society let me be what I
may be dog “hog” “Cow Bull” or “Devil for my
own part I never have taken the upper Seats
In the Synagogues or makeing loud prayers
to be hear By men on holy Sabath Days
and then querrel and fight with my family
all weeke and feede Sick Brother on hogs feet
as he did me while Strangers Gave me
The best they had he need not throw his
Slurs back to Va at all thinking that he can
Redem his credit ther for he is known there the
Same as he is known in Ind that land is
What Sticks him to the Red and well it
may for if god permits me to live I inten
to have my lot or Sink what I have In
Virginie unles he pays me for my Share
I could Give you a Great deal more news from
Va but I must close uncle John George got killed
a few days before I got up ther By a horse it Broke
His neck Give my best Respects to all of my oald
friend out there you know who they are please
Show this to H. Gwinn yours in love John, G. Gwinn