From: The Expedition of Elisha Wallen - part of this story says - A part of 20 or 30 men, led by Joseph Martin, settled in Powell Valley in 1769. The erected a fort on the north side of a creek, near two excellent springs and the fort and the creek were named Martin's Station. The settlers laid foundations for the settlement but Indians ran them off in late summer and the survivors returned to the headwaters of the Holston. A group returned to this station in 1775 but again were run out in 1776. The station known later as Martin's Old Station was not occupied after the Revolution. This is the area known as ROSE HILL today.... ...Priest's Fort date established unknown. Evacuation June 1776 at out break of Cherokee War. Located near present site of ROSE HILL. Joseph Martin led a group of land seekers into the Lee Co area in 1769. They staked claims in the name of Loyal Company and returned to their homes in HENRY COUNTY. Martin's Old Station was established when this group returned in 1775. This station was evacuated in 1776. In 1783 Martin established a new station 18 or 20 miles below the old station and about 2 miles from Cumberland Gap. In 1791 about 100 people were living in the area of Martin's Old Station and about 50 near the new station.<end> From "Frontier Forts" by the late Emory Hamilton comes this: In the year 1769, Joseph Martin of Henry County, Virginia, led a group of land seekers into Powell Valley in search of land. After losing their trail and having much difficulty in finding the valley they finally arrived, staked out vast acreages under the Loyal Company grant and returned to Henry County. In January, 1775, Martin with a group of men from Henry County returned to the valley. Among those accompanying him was John Redd, Mordecai Hoard, Brice Martin (his brother), and William Parks, the latter killed by the Indians the following year on his land claim. These men and others staked out their claims and were improving them for home sites. Sometime between January and June of 1775, this little group built a fort of which John Redd leaves this description: "Martin's Fort was on Martin's Creek. The fort was located on the north side of the creek. There was some 5 or 6 cabins; these built some 20 feet apart with strong stockades between. In these stockades there were port holes. The station contained about half an acre of ground. The shape was a parallelogram. There were two fine springs near the station on its north side. The station was not reoccupied after 1776, or during the Revolutionary War." (24) This station was evacuated in June of 1776, just prior to the outbreak of the Cherokee war. Captain Joseph Martin, after the Cherokee Campaign was appointed Indian Agent to that nation and moved his headquarters from the valley to Long Island. When Long Island was ascertained to be in the state of North Carolina, Martin then moved back to the Valley. In 1783, the Governor of Virginia and Council authorized the building of a fort at Cumberland Gap which fort was erected under the supervision and on the lands of Captain Martin, in the fall of 1783. This new station was some 18 or 20 miles below Martin's Old Station and 2 miles from Cumberland Gap on Indian Creek, or on Station Creek, a tributary stream, for certainly that is how the stream got its name. Unfortunately no one has left a description of the new station, but it is sometimes referred to as "the Blockhouse" suggesting that it had bastions at the corners. This was the last stopover for emigrants on the great Wilderness Road before their entry into Kentucky. Martin retained possession of this station until 1788, (25) when he sold it and returned to Henry County never to return to the western frontier in which he played so great a role, and has been almost forgotten by historians writing of the area. There is a State Historical Marker locating the site of Martin's Old Station at Rose Hill, in Lee County, Virginia. The location is correct, but the marker states that the fort was built in 1768, which is an error. Martin's first venture into the valley, as previously stated was in 1769, and no fort was built since their stay at this time was only a few days. The location of Martin's two forts can be easily verified by a letter written by him from his home in Henry County to the Governor of Virginia, on November 8, 1791, wherein he states: "From Moccasin Gap to Martin's Old Station, 25 miles; from thence to Martin's New Station, 20 miles; from thence to Cumberland Gap, 2 miles." He further states in this letter that about 100 souls were living at or near the Old Station, and at Martin's New Station and the neighborhood about 50 souls. These two stations were always in Virginia, and when both Walker and Henderson ran their lines they were so run as to leave Martin's Stations within the state. <end> There is some more information on Martin's Station at http://www.rootsweb.com/~chalkley Based on my research of the Spurlock family who lived at Rose Hill, I am comfortable in believing that Martin's Station and Rose Hill were the same general area. I don't think there is any question that both places were in the Powell [River] Valley. Best wishes, Pat Elder "I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." Abraham Lincoln http://ContinuityPress.com - Specializing in Melungeon, Appalachian/Cumberland, Jackson County Tennessee, and Civil War Genealogy-and-History Books

Thanks so very much Pat for taking time to share your research with us. This will give me a much better idea of the location of my folks. Norma