Colonel Stonewall Jackson, The Roundhouse of Martinsburg, West Virginia and The Civil War

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, 

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.

Today it is used for transporting of goods and shipments. Amtrak is also doing business there and so are the MARC trains. Though it has a long history of serving the people of this state and has had its days and destroyed, it is with the help of the people that we should continue on. West Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle steeps in history from the Civil War and it is part of our America’s heritage.

Present day Martinsburg.  The corner of King and Queen Streets.

West Virginia’s Battle To Become A New Independent State

West Virginia State Seal


West Virginia State Seal
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/
Introductory
Western Virginia was part of the Confederate state of Virginia up until right about around the Civil War. The Civil War was more than about slavery and who owned who and what and who could do what to whom and so on and so forth. It was about livelihoods and commerce and economics, land and living on that land. It was about industry and wealth of the major players and it was about independence too. The independence that I will be talking about in this article is the way and when and how West Virginia became its own independent state in the Union.
There were many brothers who fought brothers and fathers who fought their sons and sons who fought their fathers in the bloody Civil War, but non such as when West Virginia became a state in the union. Some of this is confusing to me to write about and I will try to not confuse you as I try to explain this to you.


West Virginia: The Road to Statehood
How It All Began
It was in the state of Virginia that the subject and ownership of slave became a huge issue and it began to tear the people apart. This division lasted for several years and when things began to calm down that is when the state of West Virginia started forming.
With the battle of Fort Sumter and President Lincoln calling for volunteers did the talk of secession from the union come about. All delegates were in accordance before then. All hell broke loose and the federal government was the coercion that President Lincoln planned to use. Though it was not possible to do such against a state. Virginia came to vote on this and become a state in the new Confederate States of America for the South.. The nation as it stood before the civil was was more like two than one. There was the North called the Union and then there was the split that the South wanted and that was how the Confederate States came to be, only it did not last. Virginia wanted to secede from the northern states. The trouble started when those who lived in the western part of Virginia had 2/3rds of the vote to not secede from the Union.
It was then that the union and the confederates wanted to keep hold of the proposed state. You will be surprised to find out that it was not coal as it is today. It was the farmland and the salt as the products of West Virginia had at the time. The biggest push or resource was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Virginia did not want to give this up as it was valuable in bring resources into the most powerful southern state of Virginia also known as the Old Dominion. Retaining this part of the state was a strategical part of the Confederacy because they thought that it would preserve the high standards and morale’s that the South prided themselves on before the Civil War began.


Harpers Ferry, West Virginia




Harpers Ferry, WV
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/




John Brown

John Brown
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
When John Brown, a passionate abolitionist, seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry it threw the South into a panic. John Brown planned on using the guns and ammo to give to the slaves of Northern Virginia. The Underground Railroad was being use at that time and maybe a little bit before that. There were many places slaves were helped along the way to their freedom. Many did not make it but many also did. This is that backbone to our nation’s real beginning and the spark to our very own freedom.





Watch the History Channels video on Slavery and Black History in America:
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery




The first colony to acquire slaves


Start Of Slavery In America
Slavery started in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. They were brought from Africa. They were brought to increase the production of such crops as Tobacco and cotton that was mainly grown in the South. They did not just pick up the Africans as in regular people. They picked and chose those who were in high status and the strongest which had an effect on Africa jeopardizing the strength of the African Nation. The Dutch sent over a ship and brought the first 20 slaves to America just after 1619. It is estimated that by the 1800’s there were more than 6 million slaves in the South alone. Most were farmers, household workers and the like. There has been movies that depicted how it was in the north and in the south. Two most noteworthy ones are: Gone With The Wind and North and South. Though they be more romantic they do have lots of historical facts to them.


West Virginia Culture







The push to abolish slavery really came about because the north were having pains of remembering how the British treated them and how they suppressed them as well. This is the real crux of the situation. That is why many from Western Virginia did not want to be included in the slave trade of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It had come a very tumultuous time in the states and the president had to do something. The very livelihood of both north and south were tearing apart and tearing the nation apart as well. Frances and Julia Pierpont, who resided in the Western Counties of Virginia, thought up a plan to keep those who lived in the Western part of Virginia to stay loyal to the Union of the North. That stirred up lots of emotions and loyalties and fights and it changed the whole nation at the time. Western Virginia did not depend on slavery for their economic growth and presence. It was a different way of life altogether.



West Virginia and the Civil War





Many people who lived in the Eastern Panhandle were split in the decision to be North or to be part of the South. The deciding factor was where the Baltimore and Ohio Railway lay. That was what decided where the boundaries of the new state of West Virginia would be. This is when the president sent in the troops for the Civil War. Virginia was one of the states that did not want to lose its way of life and they wanted to stay as they were which the first colony in the Americas was. They had the power and prestige and the political intuitiveness. In 1851 was when the first Wheeling Convention was held. It was there that the Western Virginians, representing 24 counties in the Western part of Virginia decided they wanted to become their own state..



West Virginia Counties



Map Of The current West Virginia County
Source: http://geology.com/


The Split of Counties
Virginia was part of all the counties except that of what is now known as the Northern Panhandle which included the city of Wheeling. They were not part of Virginia but of Ohio.

The B&O Railroad traversed the top of the state starting at Baltimore, Maryland crossing the western panhandle of Maryland and going across to the Ohio River which was about 300 miles of tracks. They went through mountains, over mountains and over rivers to get there. It took many men to build those tracks. Some $43,000 was being paid to the railroad company to send mail back and forth over the lines.
You can learn lots more here: http://www.borail.org/
When the western part of Virginia split off from the commonwealth, the Eastern Panhandle was formed. The new counties were now known as Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties in the new state of West Virginia. The Northern Panhandle, that was in the state of Ohio, also split off and became the counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshal Counties in West Virginia. West Virginia became a brand new state on June 20, 1863. The first Governor of the new state was Arthur I. Boreman.


Without the Civil War and the changes in the thinking and livelihood of the people during the war, we would not have a Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. I am glad that we do. It is a wonderful state with many things to do and see.



© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing. It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.

Oil City, Pennsylvania The First Oil in the USA

Oil City, PA

Photo Credit:   Mine.  This is my husband’s Parents house when they lived there.

My Husband’s family lived there for many years and the lived in a house that was 100 years old.  Oil City is situated on the Allegheny River Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania. They took us on a tour of the area and it was all dismantled and the buildings that were there were all falling down. 

Oil City was the first to have an Oil Well on its land. It was the first to produce and refine petroleum in the United States.  It was in 1859 when Colonel Edwin Drake first built upon the Oil reserves there.  At that time it is said that the oil literally sat on top of the earth.  He was the first to drill that oil out of the ground.  In its heyday they shipped more than one million barrels of oil in a single year. 

When Oil was there the town was full of well off people.  There were also those who were workers in the oil plants that were also not so well to do.  They lived in a place called Pithole located on Oil Creek.  In 1866 is when the banks collapsed and that is when the petroleum industry in Oil City and Pithole started to crumble.  Many people left the area.  The population dropped from 20,000 to just 2,000 in one year.

You can take a tour on the Oil City/Titusville Railroad and see all the places where Oil Was first refined in the United States at +http://www.octrr.org/

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing.  It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.