Settlement at Timber Grove

Rockbridge County · dedicated 2022 · Timber Ridge Road at intersection with Sam Houston Way

Timber Grove, two miles northeast, is believed to be the first European American settlement in what is now Rockbridge County. The community, composed mainly of Scots-Irish immigrants, had been formed by the late 1730s. Presbyterian minister John Craig, who traveled extensively in the backcountry, baptized several residents in 1741, and a meetinghouse had been constructed by 1748. A small cemetery is the only remnant of this settlement. In 1755-56, community members built the stone Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church here. John Mackey, traditionally regarded as the area’s first European settler, is buried in this church’s cemetery; his gravestone is significant because of its age and craftsmanship.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church120 ft

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