Indian Rock has always had a good school. Frank Smith, now County Superintendent of Upshur County, took charge of the school in 1920 and later organized a high school. A beautiful brick building was put up in 1934, and high school pupils were brought in from the near by districts. This high school was maintained for several years till the scholastic population became so low they were forced to lower their grade. They still have a good school, however, with eight grades and four teachers.
The Baptist Church is the only church in the community, with Otis Shipp and wife, and Willie Floyd, as leaders.
D. F. Smith, Matt Camp, Gordon Carrington, Cleon Floyd, Milton Rash, and W. O. Hancock are the present trustees of the school. Buses from Glenwood and East Mountain, also one local bus, serve the district.
Enterprises
At an early date, the Johnsons put in a cotton gin operated by horse power. Aaron Floyd later put in a gin run by steam. John Reynolds also ran a steam gin. There is no gin in the community at present, however. W. A. Phillips and brothers once ran a saw mill in the community. Luther Stanley and Mont Camp are running saw mills at the present time.
Maxie Floyd runs a store at Indian Rock at present. Clyde Baugh also runs a store here. Mrs. Thornton operates a store at Thornton City, a little farther east. There is a large car wrecking yard, run by Douglas Davis, a little way on the road to Gilmer. Two mail routes from Gilmer serve the district; Routes No. 1 and No. 5.
Floyd Cemetery is located two miles east of the church,
West Mountain
About eight miles south of Gilmer, on the Gilmer and Gladewater road, is a picturesque little mountain, around which, in the early days, a large progressive settlement sprang up. Farther east, is another little mountain, so they were known as East Mountain and West Mountain. This location was ideal for settlement in the pioneer days. With a rich sandy soil, with abundance of pure water and fine timber of all kinds, this made a desirable location for homes.
One of the earliest settlers of West Mountain was John Morgan, who came here from Alabama with his family and a few Negro slaves. He reared a large family of children, three boys and seven girls. The boys were, Mack, Sebern, and Richard. They all remained at West Mountain and raised large families, who were instrumental in building up the fine community of West Mountain. There is no house at present on the place where Richard Morgan settled, but Mrs. Alice Brazille, a granddaughter, owns the property. Tump Morgan, a son of Sebern Morgan, now lives where his father settled. Coleman Starkey now owns the Mack Morgan place. Alph Phillips settled near the center of the community, where he raised a large family. He had three sons, Alpha, James, and Ben. They all remained in the settlement and raised their families. Ras Phillips of Gilmer, now owns most of the Phillips place. When Mr. Phillips settled here he built a large log house, which was removed only a few years ago. This house consisted of two large rooms, twenty-four feet square, with side rooms downstairs, and two large rooms upstairs. It had a hall twelve feet wide and a twelve-foot porch. It had a stock chimney with a fireplace downstairs and one above. It was made of large, hewed logs, and was a relic of the pioneer days.