FRAZIERS BOTTOM -- An Historical Ac

FRAZIERS BOTTOM -- An Historical Account

Fraziers Bottom is a 3.3 mile stretch of river bottom land on Rt. 35, between the Kanawha River & the hill

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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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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