Draper Valley
N 37° 01.081 W 080° 47.044
17S E 519208 N 4096892
Draper Valley in Pulaski County was home to John Draper whose wife and and sister were kidnapped by Indians.
Waymark Code: WMD4J
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 05/20/2006
Views: 48
The Draper Vally Historical Marker is located on Route 11 atop Draper Mountain, south of the Town of Pulaski at the Draper Mountain Senic Overlook. In 1755 Shawnee Indians traveled from the Ohio River Valley to raid the Western Virginia Frontier along the New River. The result of one of those raids, Bettie Draper and her sister-in-law Mary Draper Ingalls were taken captive and taken back to the Shawnee Camp in the Ohio River Valley. Mary Draper Ingalls soon escaped and traveled over 850 miles back to the New River Valley. Bettie Draper live with the family of an Indian Chief for the next six year before her husband John Draper found her and bartered for her return. They returned to the New River Valley and settled in 1765 in what is known today as Draper Valley in Pulaski County. The text of the marker reads:
"John Draper's wife, Bettie Robertson Draper was captured byt the Shawnee at Draper's Meadows (Blacksburg)in 1755. Mrs. Draper was carried into the Ohio Country along with her sister-in-law, Mary Draper Ingalls and five others. Six years later, John Draper found his wife living in the family of an Indian Chief. After paying for her return, went home to the New River Valley. About 1765 they moved into a log cabin in the area still know as Draper's Valley, just south and west."
Marker Number: K-40
Marker Title: Draper's Valley
Marker Location: U. S. Route 11, 2-miles south of Pulaski at the Draper Mountain Senic Overlook
County or Independent City: Pulaski County
Web Site: [Web Link]
Marker Program Sponsor: Not listed
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