Campbell's Choice | Big Stone Gap Publishing

575, which really is the residual of LO Q-345 not included in LO 1-344. The issue was negotiated between Preston and King. The county line between Washington Co. and the new Smyth County was drawn to divide the works of Preston and of King, and Preston leased his salt works to King. The entire operation became known as the King Salt Works. At some point Francis and Sarah Preston moved to Abingdon, and built what is now the Martha Washington Inn as their home. He practiced law there.

The General Assembly of Virginia in 1779 passed a law affirming the British Colonial Law that land title was not transferred by anything other than registration with the Commonwealth of Virginia Land Office. Specifically, neither a land warrant, nor a survey – even if recorded in the local county court house, conveyed title to land. So much money was at stake that this issue continued to rear its ugly head until 1834 when it was heard by the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, which upheld the law.

King sank a 210 foot shaft mine on LO Q-345 with intent to mine the salt rather than to evaporate the saline water. The shaft flooded and King reverted to the evaporation process. About 1795 he built himself a log house that still stands near his salt works.

William Alexander Stuart, co-owner of the Salt Works, bought the King House in 1863, and when his brother Jeb Stuart was killed in 1864, W. A. brought the ... Continue to Page 25

CAMPBELL'S CHOICE	Page
INTRODUCTION	1
SALTVILLE GEOLOGY	1
SALTVILLE INDIANS	4
LEGAL MECHANISMS OF LAND TITLE OWNERSHIP IN VA.	6
THE SETTLEMENT OF SALTVILLE	13
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AROUND SALTVILLE BETWEEN THE PIONEER PERIOD AND THE CIVIL WAR	27
SALTVILLE IN THE CIVIL WAR	31
AFTER THE WAR	47
A MODERN CHEMICAL FACTORY	52
EPILOGUE	57
BIBLIOGRAPHY	61
INDEX	66

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