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Kimberling Valley

The secluded and peaceful Kimberling Valley is nestled in the beautiful mountains of Southwest Virginia in Bland County. It is in this area that much of our Miller history evolves. The Valley is several miles wide and approximately 10-12 miles in length lying in an East-West direction. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides except its entrance on the east end near Hollybrook. Witnessing a sunrise from the East or seeing the rising harvest moon in this picturesque landscape is spiritually enlightening to me. To take in this vision from Grandfather Miller’s front porch will be etched in my memory for a lifetime. A clear stream fed by the mountain springs bisects the Valley. It was and is the main water supply for the farmers’ livestock. In earlier times the stream was inhabited by an abundance of aquatic life. After extensive timber cutting during the past century and extensive forest fires the flow on the creek has diminished considerably, especially during the dry summer months. For the early settlers the stream was the focal point of their existence providing food and sport. Lying to the north the Valley is cradled by an extensive forest that at one time provided an economic base through the timber business. Most of this area is now part of the Jefferson National Forest. It is hoped that in time this vast forest region will reclaim some of its original pristine environment. It once provided a wealth of wildlife for our ancestors. During the French and Indian War Kimberling Valley began to be noticed. It is believed that one of the earliest settlers was Jacob Kimberline. It is not known whether he had a family or was an exploring hunter and trapper. During this period Shawnee Indian warriors, a northern tribe from the Ohio region, were raiding and killing along the New River Valley. The French had collaborated with these Indians and supplied them with arms to murder and destroy encampments in an attempt to discourage settlers from inhabiting the lands East of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. In the fall of 1763 some fifty Indian warriors traveled by way of the Great Sandy and entered what is now Mercer County, West Virginia. After a number of killings on the Roanoke, Catawba, and New River Settlements they were discovered whereupon they began a hasty retreat towards the Ohio. As they crosse d Walker’s Creek and entered the Kimberling Creek area Jacob Kimberline and two others were captured and taken northward. On October 12, 1763 around midnight Captain William Ingles and Captain Henry Gorman and their men (with the help of Captain Audley Paul) discovered the Indians and their captives encamped on the north bank of the New River in what is now Sumner County, West Virginia. Three of the Indians were killed and several wounded while the survivors escaped quickly down river. Records do not reveal whether Kimberline was freed from his captors or had been killed. Nevertheless, it is believed that Kimberling Creek and Valley received its name from this early settler. 1

1 David E. Johnston, A History of the Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory (Radford, Virginia: Commonwealth Press Incorporated, 1906, reprinted 1969), pp. 33-34.

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