Pound Gap probably was named for a nearby grain pounding mill. Christopher Gist, returning from the Ohio River where he surveyed land for the Ohio Company, crossed the gap in 1751. During the Civil War, Pound Gap gained strategic importance as a gateway between Virginia and Kentucky. Union Col. James A. Garfield, later president, and his brigade forced the gap from the Kentucky side on 16 March 1862 after a skirmish with Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall. Confederate Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan forced it from the Virginia side, capturing and destroying property in Kentucky.