along the South Fork to protect the town from flooding. Moorefield is situated in the South Branch Valley along the
South Branch of the Potomac River. Native Americans populated this area for thousands of years. For centuries, they farmed along the river and hunted in the surrounding mountains. The historic
Shawnee people, who spoke a Central
Algonquian language in the same family as other tribes in their region, occupied this area when
Anglo-European settlers began arriving in the early 18th century, attracted by the fertile land. This early settlement was centered on the community of
Old Fields, referring to former Native American lands. This is located about five miles to the north of present-day Moorefield. Conflict between the mostly
British settlers and
Native American peoples broke out during the
French and Indian War. The British colonists constructed two fortifications to guard the South Branch Valley in the vicinity of Moorefield. Fort Buttermilk was erected in 1756 and garrisoned by Captain Thomas Waggoner's Virginia Regiment Company. A second fortress,
Fort Pleasant, situated at Henry Van Meter's Farm at Old Fields, guarded the northern side of the valley. It was also garrisoned by Waggoner's Virginia Regiment Company. In the spring of 1756, soldiers from Forts Buttermilk and Pleasant clashed with
Shawnee warriors under
Bemino (also known as Killbuck) at the
Battle of the Trough. Colonist Conrad Moore owned the land on which Moorefield was laid out. In 1777, the
Virginia General Assembly chartered the town of Moorefield in what was then
Hampshire County, Virginia (today
Hardy County, West Virginia). When Hardy County was separated from Hampshire County by act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1785, after the American Revolution, Moorefield was chosen as the county seat. Many of the historic houses in Moorefield date to the last quarter of the 18th century and first quarter of the 19th century; they display vernacular adaptations of
Federal and
Greek Revival architecture. During the
American Civil War, Moorefield was the site of a
cavalry engagement between Union
Brigadier General William W. Averell and Confederate
Brigadier General John McCausland on August 7, 1864, in which Averell routed McCausland. This was part of the
Valley Campaigns of 1864. That summer, Averell was the only Union commander to achieve successes against Confederate forces. ==Transportation==