Walter Cool, born circa 1802 in Franklin County, Virginia, was a pioneer settler on the Right Fork of the Holly River who married Hannah Clifton in 1825 and had eight children. He was elected the first sheriff of Webster County in May 1860. During the Civil War, Union authorities accused him of being a guerilla and thief, tried him by military court, and sentenced him to be hanged in 1862. He was instead sent to military prison and is believed to have later been part of a prisoner exchange. He died either in prison or at Wytheville while on his way home.