Wingina, Virginia

In the 19th century a number of Monacans created a settlement at Bear Mountain in Amherst County, where many of the tribe live today.

This village located on the banks of the James River between Buckingham and Nelson counties was part of the original land grant of Dr. William Cabell in 1735.

The years of single file journeys had worn a deep narrow trail, crossing streams where fords were established.

As the area began to grow with early white settlers, this main Indian trail was widened and maintained by the local African slaves to accommodate horses and oxen, then to provide access to stagecoaches and wagons.

In 1853, the canal company owned by Joseph Carrington Cabell built a covered wooden bridge over the James River at Wingina, which was used during the American Civil War.

In 1880, the Richmond Allegheny Railroad purchased the property around the canal and named this area "Wingina" after a Secotan Indian chief of the 16th century who resisted the encroachment of the Europeans.