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Summersville, the county seat for Nicholas County, has a unique claim to fame. In July 1861, a lady Confederate spy led an attack on the town which captured the Union forces and their leader, Capt. Starr. Most of the town was burned. The spy was Nancy Hart, 20, tall, lithe and a dark eyed beauty. She was the sweetheart of Perry Connolly, a Confederate guerrilla. Later she herself was captured and held in the Summersville jail. Her striking beauty and bright roving eyes kept her guards in a turmoil between duty and desire, it is said. Connolly was killed in a battle at Welch Glade, and the Union forces took control of the entire countryside. It was believed that this would make Hart's escape impossible and her execution certain. Fate had other plans. Hart had the privilege of roaming the jail and could walk in the courtyard with a guard escort. One evening she asked the guard if she could examine his pistol. Probably overtaken by her charms he foolishly gave it to her. She killed him on the spot, and escaped to the Confederate territory. After Lee surrendered, Hart returned to the county, where she married Joshua Douglas and lived out the rest of her life. Nicholas County is in central West Virginia on the Allegheny Plateau and contains part of the Monongahela National Forest. Its economy is enhanced with livestock and fruit farms, tobacco crops, lumber, bituminous coal, and limestone quarries. Nicholas County is named in honor of Wilson Cary Nicholas, who served as Governor of Virginia from 1814 to 1816. The county was established in 1818. It consists of some 657 square miles of land area. Carnifex Ferry Battlefield Park is located in the county, as is part of the Monongahela National Forest. Summersville Reservoir, nearly 14 miles long on the Gauley River has a surface of 2,723 square miles. |
