During the Civil War there were many battles of the North
and the South. Martinsburg was once a
hub of trade and goods the people of the time used. The addition of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
crossed through Martinsburg, West Virginia and brought with it a booming
economical town during the Civil War. It
is located on 13 acres along the Tuscarora Creek. The first Steam Engine was brought to the
area in 1842 and in 1848 the first Roundhouse was built to support the workshops
that worked on the Steam Engines.
Martinsburg was a boom town during the civil war. It was developed by General Adam Stephens in
1773. It was the county seat for the
entire Berkeley and Jefferson Counties in 1820. The advent of the B&O
railroad brought many businesses to the area.
Hotels and large warehouses and, of course, housing for the workers who
worked in many of the factories, railroad and businesses that popped up in the
area. There were three main districts along the railroad and in the town of
Martinsburg.
The Downtown District was the center of town at the corners
of King and Queen Streets and still is the center of town. Some of the industry
there were the Heller Carriage Shop that was built in 1892, Farmer Hotel, which
now are apartments, built in 1813 was Norborne Hall and was a poor house at
that time, Miles Store, John Street Grade school which just recently became the
Magistrates Court. The Berkeley County Courthouse was built in 1855-1856. When you go into the building you can still
see the original architecture with the pressed tin ceilings and old iron vaults
and lighting. During the Civil War it
was used by the northern soldiers. The infamous
confederate spy, Belle Boyd, was held there after she was arrested.
In the Boomtown District a large number of housing was built
when electricity was brought in. In that
district you would find; Interwoven Mills, which was a men’s hosiery and became
the largest manufacturer of men’s hosiery in the world.
Historic District was comprised of the B&O Railroad and
industrial buildings. Among the districts that are located within Martinsburg
are: Fitz-Mathews Foundry and was the oldest businesses in Martinsburg built
before 1851, a former apple processing company became Hannis Distillery and
National Fruit Company in 1867. Along
Water Street the Adam Stephens House and the Triple Brick Building and since it
was the major district located around the Railroad it was the place where most
of the activities of the Civil War happened. In May of 1861, shortly after West Virginia seceded from
Virginia,
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| Source: http://dixieoutfitters.com/pages/blog/thomas-stonewall-jackson/ |
Because of tensions in Martinsburg, Stone Wall Jackson sent
troops to defray any more violence.
Tensions were caused by the fact that the rest of the state succeeded
from Virginia that was confederate, but Martinsburg wanted to continue being
Union and that was a great contention for Stonewall Jackson. In a 3-1 voted the citizens decided that that
was what they were going to do. Stonewall
Jackson sent in troops to destroy the railroad, The Roundhouse and any
buildings near it on July 20, 1861. The first battle, in Martinsburg, happened
on June 14, 1863 and was a part of the Gettysburg Campaign. The second battle in the town of Martinsburg
was on July 25, 1864 and it was part of the campaign to divide the Shenandoah
Valley. By the end of the Civil War
Martinsburg changed ownership over 30 times.
The B&O railroad was owned by Maryland, at the time, and
they showed no loyalties to either side of the war. Martinsburg was the major hub, as you can see,
and if he could stop the trains he would succeed in his plans.
In 1861 the troops of Stonewall Jackson pillaged and burned
the Roundhouse, the major building and businesses. They completely destroyed 42 locomotives,
300+ rail cars, 36 miles of railroad track, 102 miles of Telegraph wire, 17
bridges along with the Roundhouse and all the workshops. 13 train cars were
kept and used by the Confederate Army. It
was a most horrible day for anyone who lived and worked in Martinsburg, West
Virginia.
The Roundhouse was used to maintain, repair the Steam
Engines and build freight cars that mostly transported coal. The turntable was
used to bring in the cars or engines so the mechanics could fix or maintain
various cars or engines. They were
stored in the bays until read to use. 50 feet under the turntable was were the mechanics
stood to repair and maintain the Steam Engines.
Picture it being like the automobile oil changing stations we have
today. The various workshops made parts
for the Engines such as Frog and Switch points and they specialized in
those. They are the parts on the train
that guided the wheels from one set of railroad tracks to another. They got the
name because that is what they looked like in those days. Picture this as you
would be driving down the road and you are moving the steering wheel to go onto
a ramp to your exit. In the shops beyond the Frog and Switch shop were many
other shops that made various other parts including a blacksmith. The blacksmith made anything from making the
axles to sharpening tools used to make train and railroad parts. Some of the components were shipped from
Baltimore, Maryland. The components were ready to be put together when they
arrived.
Above the high rising dome ceiling were the vents that
allowed the steam to escape. The whole
building was designed and built by an immigrant engineer by the name of Albert
Fink.
After the destruction of the Roundhouse and all the
railroads Martinsburg began reconstructing between 1866 and 1872. During the years 1877-1988 the Martinsburg
Roundhouse was used as they were also transferring operations to Brunswick,
Maryland. Again, it was almost destroyed
by looters in 1990. In 1999-2000 the
Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority was created and their mission was to
restore as much of the roundhouse as they could with keeping the original
architecture intact. The Roundhouse at Martinsburg was designated as a National
Historical Landmark.
The Roundhouse in Martinsburg was built with cast iron and
is the only Roundhouse that still exists in the world today. There were at least 5 other Roundhouses of
this kind at the time.
Present day Martinsburg. The corner of King and Queen Streets.
