By Dan Graybeal
John Swift built a furnace on a long rocky branch "in a remote place in the west."
According to Swift s journal, the furnace was built in a rockhouse and a second
rockhouse facing the east was located 100 yards above the furnace. A rockhouse is
nothing more than an overhanging cliff of rock which can be walled in on one or more sides.
Furnace Creek (as Swift called it) flowed generally northeast and had two forks.
Swift described the area as being very rough, rocky and so dense with laurel thickets
that their horses were never taken more than five or six miles from the mines. A salt lick
was located above the furnace and a larger salt lick about two miles north on another creek
called Lick Creek. Furnace Creek had several smaller forks.
The mountains around the mines had but very little timber. A large mountain seven
miles long located three miles north of the furnace had large timber, where they burned
wood and made charcoal for smelting. Swift wrote that the richest ore was
located at latitude 37" 56 north and a lesser vein was found at 38" 2 latitude. By
astrological observations and calculations, both veins were found near the longitude of 83
degrees. As stated earlier the margin of error was such that these coordinates could not be
relied upon for accurate location of the mines. The land was very cliffy and rocky.
The banks of the streams were full of laurel,underbrush and vines which greatly restricted travel.
Near the mines, Swift spoke of two monument rocks, one 15 feet and the other 25
feet high. these could be seen by looking east from the upper rock house. He wrote of a
haystack rock, a chestnut burr rock, a buffalo rock, a table top rock, a sky rock (one with a
hole through which the sky could be seen), a turtle back rock and a rock resembling a grave
stone called lookout rock. These rocks were named due to Swift s interpretation of their shapes.
Swift spoke of haystack-like hills. He said that they passed through gaps full of
Indians called Meccas. The Indians used certain gaps (apparently called Meccas) as
ceremonial gathering places. Apparently Swift passed through these areas which were sacred
to the Indians. This may have provoked some of the Indian attacks, since he may have
traveled over forbidden ground. Swift said that the French mined silver
to the south of their mines. The French were jealous of Swift s company and were
unfriendly to them because they were more successful and the majority were English.
The west mine can be located by traveling due south poles (833 feet) from the
west side of the furnace rockhouse. This will lead to a small drain or hollow. At the head of
this drain on the right the mine can be found. The ore can be located by searching the grey
sandstone in a ridge running to the right. A large rock called Balanced rock was located in
the center of the ridge.
The middle mine can be located by traveling up over the furnace rock house
southeast to a hanging rock. On the east side, a line of rocks can be found about 100 yards
from the hanging rock. Careful searching can reveal the mine opening in this line of rocks.
The richest mine was located about three miles from the furnace. It can be located
by climbing the rocks at the left side of the furnace in a due south course striking a small
branch. By traveling up the branch to the head without crossing over, one may find Swift s
name on three beech trees. A due east course will bring one out of
the cliff country. Turning right along the ridge will reveal a knob that is higher than the rest of
the ridge. Going right from the knob to a low gap, a descending trail will lead to a hanging
rock and one that has fallen from the other. An opening between the two rocks will
lead to an opening between a red sandstone ledge and the top of the cliff. Swift covered all
traces of the mines and covered the opening before his final departure. He goes into much
detail in his journal regarding different locations of ore and the burying of coins near
the furnace. The restriction upon a publication of an article of this type will not allow a word
by word description. Swift s mines consist of two groups
called the upper and lower mines. Swift mostly worked the upper mines west of the headwaters
of the Great Sandy Creek. He seldom visited the lower mines which was located several
miles southwest of Sandy Creek along the great ridge.
From The Dickenson Star, 1989
All files on this site are copyrighted by their creator. They may not be reproduced on another site without specific permission from Vickie Sturgill Stevens . Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc., are.