Early History of Buckingham County

"The Early History of Buckingham County" by James Meade Anderson, 1955

"As to the exact date of settlement or the identity or the first settlers of this area, there is no evidence. However, the names and date, 'R. BOLLING, I. BELL, 1700,' are carved in a rock ledge on Willis Mountain. This is the earliest known date that any white man put foot on the soil of Buckingham County. It is an assured fact that there would have been trips into Buckingham before 1700. It is therefore logical that the pioneers made their way up the James and in settling their searches toward the west, eventually scaled the mountain for a better view of terrain. Since, this lone mountain peak, which was later named Willis Mountain, rises from a relatively flat plain to 1,159 ft., it may be seen for several miles. Nine years later W. SMITH and P. TURPIN made their way into a cave, later known as Woodson's Cave, on Willis' Mountain and carved their names along with the date 1709. These two carvings on the mountain are the only known records that have been discovered concerning early adventurers into Buckingham County."

"So Obscure A Person” is about the descendants of ALEXANDER STINSON who was an early pioneer to Buckingham County, Virginia. In 1750, ALEXANDER STINSON's land lay adjacent to the Rocky Ridge of Willis Mountain, which bordered on the land of Colonel JOHN BOLLING.