Mysteries along Cooks Creek

Mysteries along Cooks Creek. Fort Harrison Story Walk. , Early Shenandoah Valley settlers took advantage of abundant springs to supply fresh water for their families, livestock and crops. Daniel Harrison chose to build his substantial stone house overlooking Cooks Creek and a prominent spring, located down the hill., Local tradition tells of a tunnel to the spring to access water in case of attack by raiding Indians. No evidence of the tunnel has yet been found. However, local historian John W. Wayland examined the remains of a spring house on the property in 1953. Wayland speculated that since there seemed to be two rooms, and the innermost room had no door and was built into the side of the hill, access to that part of the spring was through the tunnel. Wayland also interviewed Mrs. Stella Flick, daughter of Solomon Burtner; she said that while digging for a foundation (perhaps for the original Summer Kitchen) her father found a stone wall, which they believed to be part of the tunnel., Long before the Harrison spring was used for a water source on their homestead, evidence shows that Indian tribes from the Early Archaic Period (10,000-5,500 BC) gathered at the spring while on hunting trips through the Valley. Hundreds of projectile points and stone tools have been discovered in the pasture to the east of the spring., (Captions):, This undated view of the Fort Harrison site shows the relationship of the house to the spring, Dr. John Wayland's "Everyday Book" in early 1953 recorded his thoughts about the tunnel mystery, (Above) View from the spring upward toward the Summer Kitchen and house. A mystery yet to be solved is whether an underground tunnel ran from the house to the spring. (Below left) An arrowhead uncovered by James Madison archaeology students is one of hundreds found in farm fields east of the spring., This interpretive sign is made possible through a gift from the Margaret Grattan Weaver Center, Bridgewater College.