Richard Blankenship, a Revolutionary War soldier, served in Major James Robertson's company of New River Valley volunteers that fought at the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. He lived on a 33 acre farm 8 mi. southeast at Ingleside in Mercer Co. and was recorded as an octogenarian in the 1840 census. An early settler, soldier, and progenitor of many people in this area, he became one of the region's foundational figures.