Point Pleasant, the county seat of Mason County is rich in tradition and historical interest. It is situated at the confluence of the Great Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. The Indians called this place Tu-Endie-Wei which is a Shawnee term meaning "the mingling of the waters". Point Pleasant is the oldest town on the Ohio River south of Pittsburgh, PA and is the halfway mark between that city and Cincinnati, OH. Tradition says that the French established a trading post at Point Pleasant as early as 1749 and that Matthew Arbuckle was the first Englishman to bring his pelts for trade. Captain Matthew Arbuckle was the first white man to travel the Kanawha Valley. Records indicate that he reached the site of Point Pleasant in 1764. He was chosen in 1774 to guide the army of General Andrew Lewis to Point Pleasant and in 1776, built Fort Randolph and had charge of the garrison at the fort. In 1770, George Washington made a journey to the Ohio River Valey to look after military grants awarded by proclamation in 1754 by Governor Dinwiddle to the officers and soldiers who served in the French and Indian War. The survey contained 52,302 acres or eighty square miles and was subdivided as follows: 9876 acres, including the present side of Point Pleasant, to Andrew Leweis, 5000 acres for George Muse, 5000 acres for Peter Hogg, 8000 acres for Andrew Stephens, another 3000 acres for Peter Hogg, another 5026 acres for George Muse, 3400 acres for Andrew Waggener, 6000 acres for John Poulson, 6000 acres for John West. On the lower side of the Kanawha River, 13,532 acres for Hugh Mercer and 10,990 acres for George Washington.