Area History

County of Alleghany
Town of Clifton Forge
City of Covington
Town of Iron Gate

County of Alleghany
Alleghany County took its name from the mountain range in which it is located. It was formed by act of Virginia Legislature on January 5, 1822 from parts of Botetourt, Bath, and Monroe counties. At that time Monroe was a Virginia county and remained so until the formation of West Virginia in May 1862 during the war between the states.

The County comprises approximately 452 square miles of which nearly 50% is in the National Forest. The County surrounds one city, Covington, which forms the principal center of population.

Before the formation of Alleghany County, property records and court services for the area were provided from Fincastle, the county seat of Botetourt County. As this involved a two day trip for recordation of deeds or any court business, the formation of the Town of Covington a few years earlier made it desirable and perhaps necessary to provide a nearby location for these services. By further Act of the General Assembly, passed February 15, 1822, the County of Alleghany was attached to the Chancery District Court centered at Lewisburg.

One of the most influential persons in the formation of Covington and Alleghany County was Bernard Pitzer who owned and operated the first store in this area and bought from Uriah Humphries 217 acres lying at and west of the Mouth of the Dunlap Creek and Jackson River, now called Rosedale. Bernard Pitzer was assisted in his various activities by his large family. His brother, John Pitzer, Jr., was sheriff of Botetourt County, the most important local official at that time, during the period of the formation of Alleghany County and Covington.

From about 1790 to after 1825 the principal cash crop in this area was hemp. Hemp production was encouraged by the state with a bounty being paid from each unit delivered. Locally produced hemp was hauled by wagon to a rope factory in East Richmond. As ship stores accumulated, prices for hemp declined and agriculture shifted to grains, hay, and livestock. Early farmers of the area aimed to be as self-sufficient as possible.

In the Civil War, Alleghany County furnished more soldiers to the confederacy than it had voters. The County suffered greatly in the war due to its location and many years were required for recovery from the losses sustained.

The government of Alleghany County has generally been very progressive in developing and supporting policies tending to economic growth and provision for improved services for the citizenry. An essential element for this is to encourage cooperation between agencies of the area where it is mutually advantageous to do so. At the present time, there are many cooperative activities between the jurisdictions.

Town of Clifton Forge
The Town of Clifton Forge, Virginia is a municipal corporation and a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Although the Town was chartered in 1906, its history dates back to the 1700s. The land that the Town now occupies was originally part of a 1770 land grant to a Robert Gallaspy by Lord Botetourt, the Governor of Virginia. The ownership of the land changed several times, and the Williamson and Smith families became the owners in the 1820s. A settlement developed along both sides of the Jackson River from Slaughter Pen Hollow to Smith Creek. The iron industry in Alleghany County and the completion of a road over North Mountain (now U.S. Route 60) in 1826 began the growth of the settlement. Mr. William Lyle Alexander of Lexington owned a forge in the Rainbow Gorge near Iron Gate, and he named the forge "Clifton" in honor of his father’s estate in Lexington; thus, we have the name "Clifton Forge."

The Town has a rich railroad heritage with the first passenger train arriving in Clifton Forge in 1857. Clifton Forge grew up with the railroad industry and it became a major maintenance facility for steam locomotives of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad (C & O Railroad). The Town was a virtual boomtown during the heyday of the railroad with the C & O employing nearly 2,000 people. With the advent of the diesel engine, in the early 1950s the C & O Railroad located its maintenance diesel shops in West Virginia and many of the jobs were transferred to the new facility. Because of its rich railroad heritage, Clifton Forge is the home of the Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Society, Inc.

The Town and its neighbors, the City of Covington and Alleghany County, comprise the Alleghany Highlands – Virginia’s western gateway. The region, named for the beautiful Alleghany Mountains, is a lush mountain playground nestled at the southern tip of the Shenandoah Valley. Recreational and educational opportunities abound. Nearby are Douthat State Park, Lake Moomaw, and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, which offer camping, hiking, canoeing, boating, and fishing. Nearby colleges are Dabney Lancaster Community College, Washington & Lee University, Southern Virginia College, Roanoke College, and VMI. The Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center is located in downtown Clifton Forge and offers art exhibits and locally crafted items of the highest quality. A short drive North is The Homestead, a five-star, world renowned resort offering golf, tennis, snow skiing, ice skating, fly fishing, sporting clays, and horse back riding.

City of Covington
Originally, the first settlers in the Shenandoah Valley (the "Great Valley of Virginia") laid claim to the land of what is now Covington in 1745 when the area was administered by Augusta County. This changed in 1769 when Botetourt County came to control much of the area. Boundaries were not exact and both Bath and Monroe Counties contained portions of present Alleghany County - Covington region.

In 1817-1818, the town of Covington was named in honor of General Leonard Covington, the outstanding and courageous hero of the War of 1812 who was mortally wounded the eleventh day of November, 1813 leading his troops at the Battle of Chrystler Fields near Williamsburg, Canada.

By the time of the sale of lots in 1818, it was anticipated that it would be advantageous to form a county to provide local administrative and court services. To record deeds required a two-day trip to Fincastle by horse. Accordingly, Alleghany County was formed by Act of the Virginia General Assembly from portions of Botetourt, Bath and Monroe Counties on January 5, 1822.

Despite the sale of the lots, Covington grew very slowly for by 1855, there were only 43 houses on two streets. At that time this was an agricultural community and the prosperity of stores and businesses in the town depended upon those tilling the soil, raising crops and livestock.

The first industries included the Covington Iron Furnace in 1891 (in Sunnymeade) which produced 110 tons of pig iron daily, the steam powered Deford Tannery (near present Superior Concrete Plant) in 1892, the E.M. Nettleton planing mill, and the Covington Machine Shops which produced the patented Coke extractors for use in furnace cleaning in the steel making process. Also there were two flour mills, two brick yards and the Alleghany Pin and Bracket Company. Westvaco did not begin operations until 1900 when A. Adams McAllister sold land to the company at a low price as an inducement to locating in Covington. Now, MeadWestvaco Bleached Board Division is the largest corporation and employer in the Alleghany Highlands.

The 1890's were an economic boom to Covington. Population jumped from 704 in 1890 to 2,950 at the turn of the century. The railroad ran fourteen passenger trains daily through Covington and the City was the fourth largest freight paying station on the entire C&O after Chicago, Cincinnati and Richmond.

Industrial development occurred in the 1890's and this caused the local population to increase and the town to develop its public services. A bond in the amount of $10,000 was authorized in 1892 for sidewalks and sewerage and the high school (former City Hall) was built for $30,000 around that time.

Fortunately for Covington other industries moved into the area, of which two are Industrial Rayon (now Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc. or AET, Inc.) and Lear Corporation. Also the Allied Chemical Corporation assumed control of the former Extraction Plant and continued its operations.

In 1902, the Town of Covington was designated by the General Assembly to be the county seat of Alleghany County. After several expansions of the corporate limits, the Town of Covington became a City in 1952. Covington offers a wide range of services and facilities for its citizens and possesses a sound financial base. Since Covington is an independent City, residents of the City pay only city property taxes and not city and county property taxes as do residents of a town.

Town of Iron Gate
The Town of Iron Gate was an iron mining suburb of Clifton Forge prior to becoming incorporated in 1890. It is a small town with less than 500 citizens. It has a mayor/council form of government. The Chief-of-Police is still called the Town Sergeant. The Town Sergeant works closely with the Alleghany County Sheriff's Office in providing additional law-enforcement services, code enforcement, and security at official meetings and events. The town has U.S. Route 220 and the CSX Railroad within it's corporate limits. Over 10,000 vehicles and regular trains travel through town daily.