Mid Ohio Valley rifles?

[sherpa]

I am planning a build but wish to do some research first. I would like to figure out which type of rifles would have been used in the mid Ohio river valley in South Eastern Ohio, West Virginia & Eastern Kentucky. Would it have been Southern Mountain, SW VA, or  rifle made in PA & shipped down the Ohio river to be sold as a trade gun? My interest is also in a plain rifle that would have been used by a common man & not a wealthy one. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I don't know but I am picturing a Southern Mountain rifle stocked in plain maple, with very small or no side plates, no entry pipe, a single trigger, but with the parts of the rifle that are normally iron on a mountain rifle being brass. I would also use a brass buttplate. And no patch box. I would use maple because its more common there than walnut. And brass for iron because it would have been obtainable via river trade. These are just my thoughts, ideas or opinions? Thanks!

[Acer Saccharum]

You should pay a visit to the Log Cabin Shop in Lodi, OH...they have a number of Ohio-made rifles in their collection.

[sherpa]

I plan to ( next time I make it back East ). I have seen pictures of what is commonly called Ohio rifles. I have doubts that the people of WV & Eastern KY would have used them. The Ohio river Area and east of it is more similar to NC or TN than OH.

[ironwolf]

  Welcome aboard Sherpa. 
You should also consider when.  Prior to the westward expansion the lands on that side of the Dark and Bloody were hotly contested over by many different peoples,  red, white, French and English.  The "Ohio" guns Like the Vincents and such were later in the expansion period.
  I spent about 2 1/2 years in study before starting actually building guns.  Heck, that's half the fun.
  Having said all that, one can never go wrong with a PA gun as they were carried everywhere in the continent for a very long period of time.  Same goes for English and French smoothies.

  Don't rush it, and have fun

    Kevin

[sherpa]

Thanks everyone for the insight & replies. I think more research is in order. I can't wait to check out Lodi. I also do need to try to nail down a time frame that interests me.

[pushboater]

Welcome to the forum Sherpa.  Like Kevin said, you can't go wrong with a PA rifle or an English or French trade gun or Fowler. They were used all along the Ohio and all the way west to the Mississippi River and beyond.  Decide what time frame interests you and have fun with it. 

Capt. David

[Pete G.]

Look at some of the western Pa guns for some ideas.

[EricEwing]

In addition to time frame I would consider where the rifles owner migrated to Ohio from if they brought a gun with them

[G-Man]

Any of the styles you mentioned were carried and used in the region.  But why not also consider a rifle made in Kentucky - there were lots of them.  And there were lots of great rifles made in what is now West Virginia.

In addition - there is a lot of variety in the styles of rifles made in Ohio - especially in the early years of the 19th century.  I have seen a number of nice iron mounted rifles made in southern Ohio.

Guy

[sherpa]

     G-Man, what types or styles would have been made in West Virginia? I know that I mentioned the Ohio river, but the area I am wondering about is more WV or Eastern KY. The Ohio river would be the extreme western boundary of the area I am thinking of.
     I think that one thing I need to nail down is whether a settler/resident of this area would have obtained a rifle via the Ohio river trade or perhaps (less likely I think) from trade along the New river (which becomes the Kanawha & empties into the Ohio).
     I was also wondering if any rifles were produced locally in eastern KY or WV that would be even more likely than a trade gun coming down the river from PA.
     It's a little tricky to ask on a forum because I have to mention the Ohio river, but my question isn't really about Ohio or Ohio rifles. Ohio (95% of it anyways) is vastly different from the region I am wondering about. The extreme tip of South Eastern Ohio is similar though. I'd say from Chillicothe on Southeast.
     The area I ma wondering about is very Appalachian, just as much so as Western NC or Eastern TN, whereas most of Ohio is very Midwestern.
     I mention the Ohio river because it's a large geographical boundary & because I imagine lots of trade goods were shipped down it.

[smokinbuck]

Sherpa,
The type of rifle, and the makers, vary widely. We, the Association of Ohio Longrifle Collectos, have a five volume set of books available that you may want to refer to. They are divided into groups of counties and you could select the volume, or volumes, that cover the region that you are referencing. We also have a web site. aolrc.org, that you can get on to for more information. Let me know if we can be of more help.
Mark

[Gaeckle]

Just to reinforce what Mark has described, you can find the website for the Association of Ohio Longrifle Collectors by just doing a simple search........you can then view articles and see what was being made to get an idea.

[JTR]

Welcome to the forum, Sherpa!

If you want to be accurate in the rifle, I think you'll need to pick a time frame first. Also, do you want American made, or will French or English do?
A lot depends on the time frame.

John

[sherpa]

     Thanks so much again for all of the replies and advice. The Ohio long Rifle Association is out of Marietta, OH isn't it? Seems like I read something about their organization in the newspaper there some time back. Pretty cool outfit if memory serves. I will check out their web page & look into the books mentioned.
     As for place of manufacture, I am interested in American made (especially locally made) over foreign made. As for time frame, that is a little more complicated.
     I suppose that there are two different time frames that interest me. First is the days when this would have been considered the frontier. There are stories of Boone coming through WV via the New River to the Ohio & I believe he referred to it as the "Great Kanawha Valley" or some such. I imagine he would have carried a PA made rifle, but my interest is not just in him, but the common man of that era.
     Secondly I am interested in the very end of the muzzle loading/black powder era. The same time frame as when the Southern Mountain Rifles (in percussion) or "hog rifles" were being made in TN & NC. Were they made in WV or KY in the hinterlands as well?

[JCKelly]

For rifles used near the end of the muzzle-loading period, you might consider that the Ohio river valley was not isolated, as were the mountainous areas in Tennessee and North Carolina. Here, iron mounted guns were made by individual smiths right up to the 20th century. Read Walter Cline's book.

In the 1850's & later a regular guy would buy a factory made rifle out of Pitsburg(sic). One such manufacturer was Bown & Tetley. Another was the Great Western Gun Works.

Photos may be found in Volume II of that wonderful set by Jams D. Gordon, GREAT GUNMAKERS for the EARLY WEST

[sherpa]

Thanks for the tip on the book! I was thinking that most folks would obtain one via river trade. WV & East KY are as mountainous as NC/TN but aren't as technically isolated due to the proximity to the Ohio River.

[Gene Carrell]

I have a Benson (WV) rifle from the very late percussion period that profiles like a Vincent Ohio rifle with a lot of inlays. Light bbl and 30cal.

[sherpa]

I have found pictures on ALR of rifles built in Hampshire county WV. They are obviously very heavily influenced by PA guns. Though to be fair that part of the state isn't very far from PA at all. I believe that the rifles used in WV were different from the "hog" rifles of TN/NC (at least the mountainous parts of them) due to the proximity to PA & the Ohio river. As pointed out, the Ohio Valley isn't isolated, but the rest of WV very much is. It pays to keep in mind that it's the only state in the nation with every border within a mountain range as opposed to other states with a mountainous part of the state. I am still picturing a Southern Mountain Rifle/"poor boy's" rifle in plain maple with brass furniture (obviously sans buttplate & entry pipe & side plates) with a single trigger in a min of 45 caliber. WV & KY men would have needed to put down hogs & bears too, which is why I believe the Southern Hog rifles were larger in caliber, although freshing the barrels could account for some of this. The research & trying to put yourself in a different time & place is very much a fun part of this hobby!