— by Marcia Hartman
Note: This story originally appeared in the March 2021 edition, Volume 6 Issue 6 of The Crossroads magazine, part of The Journal and the Noble County Leader, www.journal-leader.com. Copyright Southeast Publications, Caldwell, Ohio. It is reprinted with permission.
Preview: We talk about taking a leap when someone tries a risky venture. Not many take a leap like Sam McColloch did in 1777! Just one of several adventures across the river in Wheeling.
McColloch’s Leap
In 1777, Samuel McColloch (1752-1782) was a major in the local militia and commander of Fort Van Meter located about seven miles north of Wheeling near what is now Clinton, West Virginia — a few miles northeast of Oglebay Park. Samuel served in the militia alongside his brother John. In 1770, the McCollochs emigrated from land they owned on the South Potomac, near where Moorefield, West Virginia is today, and settled on Short Creek where Fort Van Meter was built. The family is thought to have been somewhat more educated than most other early settlers. McColloch served different positions in government during his life and was third in command of the nine militia companies in the Ohio County Militia. (Interestingly, one of the McCollochs’ sisters married Col. Ebenezer Zane, making her a sister-in-law to Betty Zane, who is credited with saving Fort Henry during a later Indian attack.) Read More