This book was originally part of a much larger book called History of Logan County, West Virginia; by G.T.Swain. Except for a handful of minor grammatical changes, and in spite of numerous politically incorrect instances, we have left the book as published in 1927.

Princess Aracoma was the daughter of Chief Cornstalk, the leader of the Shawnee Indians. Both Cornstalk and Aracoma are legendary and have an important place in the early history of West Virginia.

Princess Aracoma was known to be strikingly beautiful, and a fair and wise leader. Even after the unjustifiable death of her father, Aracoma led her people with dignity and strength.

Her marriage to a white man—Boling Baker, whom she dearly loved, and who treated her with every kindness and devotion, is a story told throughout West Virginia’s history.

Not only does this book show the conflict and struggles between natives and settlers in the rugged land that would eventually become Logan County and surrounding areas, it conveys the gradual evolution of the land, the people, and the emergence of what would become the state of West Virginia.

After the Battle of Point Pleasant and the death of Chief Cornstalk, in 1774, the Shawnees in West Virginia were under the command of Cornstalk’s lovely daughter, Princess Aracoma. Yet, it was fourteen years prior to Cornstalk’s death that the princess and many of her people had already moved into a lush valley in what is now southern West Virginia (Midelburg Island, in Logan County).

While there, the princessﾠis credited with settling a conflict between the native population and the earliest settlers coming into the region, which involved her eventual marriage to a white man, Boling Baker. Aracoma brought peace to the territory, became the undisputed leader of her proud people, and lived among them until her death in 1780. This special volume documents the true story of Princess Aracoma and the original settling of the Mountain State.