FRAZIERS BOTTOM
-- An Historical Account
According to the “New
Dictionary of American Family Names, by Elsdon C. Smith, published in 1973,
Frazier, Frazer, Fraizer, Fraser, Frasier, Frasher - all
are variations of Frazier, q.v. Frazier
is Scotch-Irish and means “one who came from Friesland, a Frisian”.
Frase, Fraze (French) means
“one who raised and sold strawberries”.
In the book, “Dictionary of
Given Names, With Origins and Meanings”, by Flora Haines Loughead, copyrighted
1974, Frazer, Fraser is old French for “Curly Headed”.
I guess then, that we can
assume Frazier means “A curly headed, strawberry merchant who came from
Friesland”. J
This is kinda contradictory
though, as Friesland is “A region of Northern Europe on the North Sea between
the Scheldt and Weser Rivers”. The
Frisians, a Germanic people, were conquered by the Franks in the eighth
century. The Frisian Islands are a chain
of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of the Netherlands, Germany, and
Denmark. The East Frisian Islands and
most of the North Frisian Islands are part of Germany; the other North Frisians are Danish. The West Germanic language of the Frisians is
the language most closely related to english.
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The Vandalia Journal,
Chapter 13, Historical Bus Tour of the Lower Kanawha Valley, by William D. Wintz, page 5
Stop (11) - The town of
Fraziers Bottom is said to have been named for four brothers who came down the
river on a flatboat about 1798. Family
tradition says that one of the Frazier brothers was lost overboard during the
night and the others landed here to look for him. When the missing brother could not be found,
the remaining three decided to stay and settle in the area.
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In the book, “West Virginia
Place Names, Their Origins and Meanings”, by Hamill, Kenny, copyright 1945:
FRAZIERS BOTTOM
A h. and p.o. on the Kanawha
R., Teays Valley D., Putnam Co. GGWVa
1904, p.58; post village. NDA 1933.
It appears that during the Taft administration (1909 - 1913) the name of
this place for a short time was Ruby.
The present name was given
“sometime before 1850”, and is from the surname of the several families of
“Frazier” who settled here then. (Mr.
W.H. Miller, the post master (1936), on the authority of C.D. Holloway).
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The above would seem to be
true as verified by:
The Putnam Democrat, Friday,
July 14, 1911
Personals
“The name of the Fraziers
Bottom post office has been changed to Ruby, the name of a 12 year old daughter
of the postmaster H.F. Jordan.”
Although the postmaster may
have changed the name to Ruby, the local Putnam County residents evidently
didn’t take to the new name, and continued to call it Fraziers Bottom as
evidenced by comments such as these in “The Putnam Democrat”:
November 12, 1913
“The civil service
examination which took place at Fraziers Bottom Saturday was attended by only
one applicant, W.S. Rece. We say
Fraziers Bottom because it is, always has been, and always will be, Fraziers
Bottom. Our hand, postmaster Rece.”
January 16, 1914
“Postmaster Merchant William
S. Rece, of Fraziers Bottom -- that’s what it is, was in Winfield yesterday
on business. We serve notice on the
citizens down there right now that “Ruby” post office will be changed to
Fraziers Bottom post office as there is more mail goes to the old address than
to the new. Every body knows the place
as Fraziers Bottom, and we will see that the people down there get what justly
belongs to them and what they desire.”
January 30, 1914
“The name of Ruby will in a
short time be supplanted by Fraziers Bottom.
We told you so. Why was it ever
changed?”
So ... I guess the name of
“Ruby” was short-lived, about two and one-half years per the newspaper
account. But, I guess that Ruby Jordan
can say that she did, indeed, have a post office named in her honor!
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The Putnam Democrat, Friday,
October 29, 1954, page 4
FRAZIERS BOTTOM
residents hear that two 70-acre tracts and a 150-acre parcel already are
under option -- and one of the owners is said to have
reported that the option to his acreage was exercised at $500 an acre.
Information current at
Winfield this week was to the effect that properties of T.W. Vaughn (150 acres)
and James and Carmen Frazier (70 acres each) already are under option. It is known, too, that the old Alexander
farm --
about 379 acres formerly owned by the late Judge A.S. Alexander, and now
owned by Charles W. Caldwell, Dunbar attorney, and his father, C.M. Caldwell of
Dunbar -- is additional acreage sought by Thomas and
his associates, presumably for the Olin - Mathieson combine.
JUST HOW
MUCH of the approximately 2,500
acres of Fraziers Bottom -- a six-mile-long stretch between Big Hurricane
Creek and Five-and-Twenty Mile Creek
-- is to be procured is not
known. The land involved is four miles
west of Winfield, most of it situated between W.Va. Rt. 17 and the Kanawha
River.
The old Alexander farm, now
owned by the Caldwells, has a stretch of approximately one and a quarter miles
of foothills and level bottomland at the deepest point between the hills to the
south and the river bank to the north.
Property owners in the area
were agreed that Thomas and his associates “mean business” in seeking the
options, the concensus of the folks being that the agents have made “as many as
50 trips” into the community in their quest for options.
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Putnam Democrat, Friday,
November 18, 1955, page 4
F r a z i e r s B o t t o m
O p t i o n s R e p o r t e d l
y B e i n g D r o p p e d
By James
W. Harris In
Charleston Gazette
A national business magazine
of the chemical process industries published a comment in its Nov. 12 edition
that Olin Mathieson Chemical Corp. “is
reported to be favoring an industrial location in the Fraziers Bottom section
of Putnam County (W.Va.) ... as home of its long contemplated aluminum plant.”.
The magazine --
Chemical Week -- stated that the “reason for the desirability
of Putnam County” is “the direct Kanawha River link with nearby Fayette and
Kanawha County coal mines.”
The Gazette has confirmed,
however, that options taken between August, 1954 and March of this year on
Fraziers Bottom properties expired progressively between May and August of this
year. Those options, picked up by a
Huntington agent, were believed to have been in the interest of the Olin
Mathieson Corp.
One Fraziers Bottom property
owner whose land was one of the parcels optioned --
until the option on it expired last May
-- said last week that “it looks
like Olin Mathieson may have shifted its interest from Fraziers Bottom to some
other industrial site.”
He reminded that an
Associated Press story from Wheeling last Tuesday fixed Cresap, Marshall
County, as the most probable site for the location of a multi-million dollar
Olin Mathieson Corp. aluminum plant.
The same source called
attention to the fact that the coal interests associated with the Cresap development
are the Pittsburgh Consolidated Coal Co. and its subsidiary, the Hanna Coal Co.
of St. Clairsville, Ohio.
The Fraziers Bottom
landowner who advised The Gazette that the options on property in that
community have expired remarked, however, that he is “optimistic that new
interest will be manifested in Fraziers Bottom for industrial purposes --
because it affords extensive well-situated acreage well above flood
level, yet in close proximity to the Kanawha River.”
He said that he and other
property owners of the Fraziers Bottom community whom he represents have not
been reapproached about renewing options, but he remarked that he understood
one, possibly two others have received recent inquiries as to whether or not
they will grant new options at the same price as those that expired. The informant said he did not know the source
of the rumored recent option inquiries, or in behalf of what interest or
interests they were made.
In any event, the Fraziers
Bottom informant said he hopes that the Olin Mathieson and related developments
“will at least end up in West Virginia
-- if not in the Kanawha
Valley -- so that the state’s economy and revenues will
get another shot in the arm.”
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Putnam Democrat, February
19, 1976, page 2
F r a z i e r s B o t t o m
B i c e n t e n n i a l C o m m
u n i t y
Fraziers Bottom
(unincorporated) has made application to the American Revolution Bicentennial
Commission to become an official bicentennial community.
During a meeting held
Sunday, February 1, a group of citizens organized a committee and a motion was
passed stating that Fraziers Bottom should make the application.
Officers were elected and
several projects were discussed and adopted.
Elected officers are:
Chairman: Jim Frazier, Vice
Chairman: Geraldine Young,
Secretary: Kathy Akers, Treasurer: Calvin Akers, Reporter: Shirley Keeling, and Photographer: Frank Crist.
The next meeting will be
held Sunday, February 15, 2:00 p.m. at
the Fraziers Bottom Church of God.
Projects will be discussed and project leaders will be appointed. All interested citizens are urged to attend.
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