Going Greene: Worley’s Fort & Lake Wilma

The wide sprawling valley along Dunkard Creek has been home to civilization for millennia. Low rolling hills and fertile meadows line the banks, and throughout history, quaint towns and villages have grown up in the lands by the vital waters.

Blacksville, a small community established by David Black in 1830, sits on the border of Wayne Township, Greene County, PA and Clay District, Monongalia County, WV. It was an important place in its day – a stop on the railroad with many stores and industries that supplied much of the surrounding area. But the history of the area can be traced back long before 1839.

No doubt Paleoindians traveled this area nearly 13,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age, though little trace of them can be found now. Certainly, the Archaic peoples that inhabited the eastern woodlands called this land home, and remnants of them can be found in the area, especially in plowed fields and gravel banks of creeks, in their distinctive stemmed arrowheads. Around two thousand years ago, the Adena people built their burial mounds and settlements on the floodplains along Dunkard Creek. But of the prehistoric peoples, the ones we know the most about are the Monongahela people who lived in circular villages, many of which have been discovered around Blacksville, WV.

The Monongahela people were planters, raising their hefty crops on the plains along Dunkard in the areas immediately surrounding their villages. Corn, or maize, was one of their staples and evidence of corn production is well documented in the archaeological record. By 1635 or 1640, the Monongahela people had disappeared, and this area was vacant, seeing only visits from hunters of cultures from the four cardinal directions. A century later, European settlers began inhabiting the area.

Brice Worley was one of the earliest settlers around Blacksville, having come to the region as early as 1766 with his brother Nathan. Brice settled east of Blacksville on land between the Blacksville Cemetery and what are colloquially known as the Blacksville Ponds, or more properly, Lake Wilma. At that time, Lake Wilma did not exist; it was just a small run ran down from the ridge and drained into Dunkard Creek. Andrew Waychoff, in 1925, related the following incidents of the Worley family in their early days of settlement in the area near Lake Wilma:

“Brice Worley’s first born babe died in infancy (around 1778) and there is a well treasured tradition that the brave mother with gun in hand stood a faithful sentinel while the father nailed up a rude box, prepared the grave and committed the darling baby to the tomb. The little mound is still well preserved and, to the credit of succeeding generations of kinfolk, is still cared for and kindly cherished, an act that speaks volumes on behalf of the head and heart of the Worley Family. Brice Worley’s house was stockaded and known as the Worley Fort. Nathan Worley, his brother, was killed by the Indians in one of the later deeds of violence committed in that community.”

By all indications, Worley’s Fort stood on the edge of what is now Lake Wilma. Worley Cemetery is on the high meadow about equidistant between the Blacksville Cemetery and the road that goes along Lake Wilma. The last time I visited the Worley Cemetery, sometime around 2010, it had become somewhat overgrown, and I could not identify the small burial mound that Waychoff mentioned in 1925. However, it is likely just hidden by the overgrowth. There is a large marker commemorating John I. Worley, a grandson of Brice, that also serves as a family plot marker with footstones around it, showing the graves of other family members including Brice and his wife Martha.

As time passed, the Worley Farm passed to the Chalfant family, and the area of Lake Wilma was known as Chalfant Meadows. Later, Consolidation Coal Company bought the land, and in the 1960s (though I could not find an exact year) the coal company flooded the meadows and created Lake Wilma. Lake Wilma, now a 19-acre lake owned by Consol Energy and leased by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, is one of the most popular fishing destinations in the area. The lake is regularly and well stocked, and fisherman often find themselves catching the likes of bluegill, carp, bass, trout, crappie, and many varieties of catfish. The land around the lake is well kept and suitable to bring a few chairs and poles and spend a day or night fishing. The lake is off limits to boats, and its depth isn’t very great, but the fishing is exquisite. And should you find yourself hungry, the nearby Creek & Rail Café is an excellent destination for lunch and dinner, Monday through Friday!

Should you find yourself fishing at Lake Wilma this season, consider its rather long and interesting history and, as always, enjoy the scenic natural beauty that the Dunkard Valley offers!