McColloch's Leap
1851 lithograph by Nagel and Weingaertner; image from Library of Congress |
Photo (from 1890s?) of leap area (Ohio County Public Library). |
This almost mythic, but actual, event of Major Samuel McCulloch escaping Indians by forcing his horse to jump down Wheeling Hill is commemorated by a plaque placed near the summit of the Hill on Route 40 (National Road). The memorial is described in the Smithsonian Art Inventory
On July 30, 1782 Mingo and Wyandot Indians finally caught up with McCulloch near Fort Van Meter at Wheeling and killed him. Here is a detailed history of his death.