title: Fortune Seekers in the Promised Land: A Tale of Exploitation and Development in the Canaan Valley and Blackwater Region of West Virginia (Black and White Version)
author: Stephen C Schimpff MD
description: <i><span>"Fortune Seekers in the Promised Land</span></i>reminds us of the need for appropriate public policy to prevent wholesale destruction of our natural environment. The desolation imposed on a most beautiful region was almost indescribable and regeneration of the land will take centuries if not millennia. The question is - will we learn from our past mistakes or are we destined to repeat them?"<br /><i><span>Robert C Orr, PhD, Dean, University of Maryland School of Public Policy</span></i><br /><br />"The story of Canaan Valley, the highest valley east of the Mississippi,is one of national significance. Encompassing some of the most majestic scenery in the highlands, with its bogs, heaths, and boulder strewn plains, its history is as rich and diverse as the land it encompasses. The<i> Fortune Seekers in the Promised Land: A Tale of Exploitation and Development in the Canaan Valley and Blackwater Region of West Virginia </i>separates fact from fiction and follows the transformation of the area from pristine plateau to pillaged woodland to wildlife preserve to tourist destination."<br /><i><span>Nikki Bowman, Editor, WV Living and Wonderful WV magazines</span></i><br /><i><span></span></i><br /><i><span>"Fortune Seekers in the Promised Land: A Tale ofExploitation and Development in the Canaan Valley and Blackwater Region of WestVirginia </span></i>is a great tool for all educators looking for resources to better help our young people understand the history of one of the most beautiful regions in our great state. The information and insight provided in the book is tremendously helpful and inspiring for teachers and students alike. Read it and learn!"<br /><i>Eddie R. Campbell, Jr., Ed. D.,</i><i><span>Superintendent of Schools, Tucker County, WV </span></i><br /><i><span></span></i><br />"Rock outcrops, overlooks, rivers, and spruce...discover why nature has the upper hand in the land of Canaan."<br /><i>Chip Chase, Owner/Manager, Whitegrass Ski Touring Center, Canaan Valley, WV</i><br /><i></i><i><span></span></i><br />"David Miller and StephenSchimpffhave written a fascinatingnewbook about the original owners of the land in West Virginia's Canaan Valley andBlackwater Canyon. Their research has taken them back to before theAmerican Revolution, through old deed books in Virginia County courthouses --all the way to the present day. They show how beautiful landscapes damaged by mining and timbering are being healed by the Monongahela National Forest, two state parks, and the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge. These large public landholdingscould one day recreate the original forest primevaloftheBlackwater Canyon and the spectacular Land of Canaan!"<br /><i><span>JudithRodd, Director, Friends of Blackwater, Charleston, WV </span></i><br /><br />"The story of Canaan Valley and the surrounding "highlands" is told here by Stephen Schimpff and David Miller detailing the human history which has forever shaped these West Virginia wildlands.<span> </span>From vast untamed wilderness through various exploits to use and eventually protect the area, this story details the evolution of human use and understanding.<span></span>Something which is clearly evident to those who know the Canaan Valley and its surrounds is that this is a story of resilience; resilience of those who initially settled the valley all the way forward to the resilience of those who fought to protect it. And perhaps most importantly the resilience of the environment itself, shaped by nature, changed by man and slowly regaining ecological integrity through careful management."<br /><i><span>Ken Sturm, Wildlife Refuge Manager, Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge and Former Wildlife Biologist for the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge</span></i>
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  Wars And Rumors Of Wars  
    
  
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  # Wars And Rumors Of Wars
  
  
  ### Winston Churchill
  
  
  This page copyright © 2001 Blackmask Online.
  
  
  http://www.blackmask.com  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  AND so our life went on the same, but yet not the same. For I had the Land of
  Promise to dream of, and as I went about my tasks I conjured up in my mind
  pictures of its beauty. Bear hunting with my father, and an occasional trip on
  the white mare twelve miles to the Cross-Roads for salt and other necessaries,
  were the only diversions to break the routine of my days. But at the Cross-
  Roads, too, they were talking of Kaintuckee. For so the Land was called, the
  Dark and Bloody Ground.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The next year came a war on the Frontier, waged by Lord Dunmore, Governor of
  Virginia. Of this likewise I heard at the Cross-Roads, though few from our
  part seemed to have gone to it. And I heard there, for rumors spread o