Ice's Ford - Cheat River Valley, West Virginia

Ice's Ford - Cheat River Valley, West Virginia

Ice's Ford, which had been founded prior to 1769 by the brothers Andrew and Frederick Ice, was a rude frontier outpost located at the foot of the beautiful hundred-mile-long Cheat River Valley, [In what is now (1996) part of West Virginia.]

There were a number of temporary lean-tos and tents but the only structure of any permanence was a log cabin which had been built by the Ice brothers. It served the combined function of a store, meeting house, drinking place and message center. In actuality, it was little more than a brief stopping point for traders, trappers, scouts and adventurers, either preparing for that last big step into the wilderness or making a welcome first contact with white civilization after having spent an interlude in the unknown country.