The old Bowman house, known as "Fort Bowman," "Harmony Hall," etc., was owned for a number of years. It was the scene of several exciting incidents during the Civil War, as well as in colonial days. It was to this house that George Miller's little daughter came running in 1764 with the tragic news that her parents had been killed by Indians. In this old house was born Capt. Isaac Bowman, who with his brother, Joseph, aided George Rogers Clark in the conquest of the Northwest in 1778-1779. In the older house that stood nearby were born Major Joseph Bowman, Col. Abraham Bowman and Col. John Bowman, all distinguished in the colonial and Revolutionary history of America.

In the old graveyard on the hill, about 200 yards west of the house, are buried Capt. Isaac Bowman and his wives; also Samuel Kercheval, the Herodotus of the Valley, with three of his daughters.

Excerpted from John W. Wayland's A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia

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