
Burned Bones, Mysterious Timber Circles & the Rites of the Ancients - Adena Culture in Mason County
Mason County, West Virginia is a place rich in history. Founded in 1804, the county is named after George Mason, who was a delegate at the American Constitutional Convention of 1787. In October of 1774, Colonel Andrew Lewis successfully lead the Virginia militia against a confederation of Algonquian Shawnee and Mingo forces led by Chief Cornstalk in the “Battle of Point Pleasant”. Lewis’ camp was named “camp Point Pleasant”, which became a permanent settlement and gradually grew into the modern town and County Seat of Mason County.
Illustration of Battle of Point Pleasant. 1854 (Public Domain)
Following the Battle of Point Pleasant, Chief Cornstalk (Hokoleskwa or Kokolesqua in Shawnee) became a diplomat and peace advocate who secured working relations between his Shawnee kinsmen and Revolutionary Americans.