Dr. Horatio Hough, MD (1778-1830) was the 1st doctor in Lewis County. He served as the physician for Lewis County regiments during the War of 1812. He married Martha Pitcher before settling in Martinsburg. Their daughters Almira, Martha, and Dema married and lived in the area; they also had two sons. Notable contributions to the community and the nation were made by these sons, Horatio Gates Hough (1809-1885) and Franklin Benjamin Hough (1822-1885).
Horatio Gates Hough married Lydia Calkins Crandall and lived his entire life on the family’s Martinsburg farm; they did not have children. After an unsuccessful effort in 1841 to convince his local church to state opposition to slavery in the United States, Horatio withdrew as a member and the church expelled him. Horatio was the station master of Hough’s Cave, assisting enslaved people escape on the Underground Railroad to Canada.
It was an honor and a privilege to have a descendant of Horation Hough, Mr. William Greer, visit Martinsburg in the fall of 2022. We had a wonderful Open House and got great press coverage about the Hough property and cave.
