Most of the early history of the settlement of Scott County, Virginia, beginning in the mid-1700s, was marked by hostility between Indians and settlers. This extensive history gives many first hand accounts of Indian attacks, as well as harrowing tales of captivity. Daniel Boone played a significant role in the settlement of Virginia as well as the exploration and development of the Wilderness Road, which brought settlers through Virginia on their way West. Boone, leading a party of settlers to Kentucky, sojourned briefly in Virginia after his son, James, was massacred by Indians. While living in the Clinch Valley, Boone helped defend nearby settlements from Indian attacks before eventually moving his family to Kentucky. The early 1800s saw the establishment of a county court system, the selection of a county seat, the building of the first courthouse and the division of the county into government and school districts." In 1852, the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad Company was chartered to construct the first railroad to replace the Clinch and Holston Rivers as the "highways of commerce." Beginning in 1873 a number of small newspapers tried and failed before the successful publication of the Herald began in 1903. By early 1917 all classes of people began to read newspapers and periodicals. Of special interest was the war in Europe after Congress declared war on Germany and brought the war home to Scott County. Over 150 years of Scott County history comes to life in this book.