By Rick Steelhammer, The Herald-Dispatch
The State of West Virginia’s “Lost Colony” historic marker stands near a large, flat tract of cropland along the Kanawha River at the junction of the U.S. 35 Connector and Old U.S. 35 near Beech Hill in Mason County. It lists the basics of an enigmatic event that unfolded near the site 250 years ago:
“In 1772, Washington patented 10,990 acres along the Great Kanawha River. In 1775, he had James Cleveland and William Stevens lead colonists there. Land was cleared, orchards planted, houses built. But when war ended, the colony was gone.”
Some written accounts of the story incorrectly claim that no traces of the former colonists were ever found.