Dunkard's Bottom / Claytor Lake

Dunkards Bottom historic site on Claytor Lake State Park

Dunkard's Bottom settlement was established in 1745 on what was then Wood's River. Col. Abraham Wood first discovered the river in 1654. In 1753 Dunkard's Bottom settlement was attacked and destroyed by raiding Indians. Many of the surviving residents fled the community, some heading south to present day North Carolina, and others heading further west to the Holston River Valley. Some remained, however, and with additonal settlers continuing to move down the Philadelphia Wagon Road into the area, Dunkard's Bottom became a permanent settlement and one of the first established forts west of the New River. New River Notes and History of Abingdon Presbytery