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The first European to visit the area was probably Gabriel Arthur, who was captured by Indians in 1674. In 1742, John Peter Salling and John Howard explored Coal River, and in 1755, Mary Draper Ingles was taken captive. By 1771, Simon Kenton was hunting in the valley, and Walter Kelly started the first settlement in 1773 at Cedar Grove. William Morris and others arrived in 1774, especially after Dunmore's War reduced Indian threats. Charleston was settled in 1788 by George Clendenin.
