This is Martinsburg, West Virginia.
It is about 5 miles south of the border of Maryland and the furthest we got into the interior of the state. As a matter of fact, it is those same amount of miles, to the site of the Battle of Antietam Creek. Amazingly, we actually spent a half hour away from the river, where the border between the states is. Returning to it, when we reached Harpers Ferry. It was a pretty level valley, if my memory serves.
This first photo was the train station and I really liked the multistory building with the Memorial Day decorating on it.
This building is the Round House, on the North side of the tracks from the station itself. It was built by the B and O Railroad in 1866 and is framed by a cast iron skeleton. I was sorry to see that it is no longer used. 1988 it was closed, as were the other shops in the complex. You can read the history of it, including the burning down of the original roundhouse by Stonewall Jackson, HERE.
Next to the station was a sign explaining the fact that the first worker revolt, by the B and O Railroad workers, happened right here in Martinsburg. According to the sign and story on the roundhouse page above, it was the the first time that workers realized the power of collective action.
The section of land that contains both Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry, is the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and an obviously critical piece of land. How it ended up in West Virginia's hands, is an interesting story.
Due to the Appalachian Mountains that form the land that became West Virginia, there were no large plantations in the area. Thus, the landowners did not have slaves and did not want to secede from the Union. So they decided to become a state, during the Civil War. When the Eastern Panhandle was asked to be added in 1863, most of the voters who would have wanted the land to stay in Virginia, were out fighting in the war and so the vote went toward the non slave state of West Virginia. You can read more about that, HERE.
It was a very cool place to see and I learned a lot, just from that sign on the side of the station.
lol, was humming a certain John Denver tune when reading your blog and looking at the pics, great stuff Angel. but i am playing hooky again, gotto focus on work now, and thanks for an entertaining distraction :-)
ReplyDeleteGina: I was going to call this post "Almost Heaven, West Virginia". LOL
ReplyDeleteDue to the fact that I spent the entire post talking about Martinsburg, I decided it did not seem an appropriate title. :-)
As most do, I had some preconceived notions of what West Virginia is...and found out most all of them are wrong. It is a beautiful state.
yeah, now you see that traveling in your own country (yours way bigger than mine and bigger than the one i now live in) can be quite a discovery eh, i am all for it because i get to see some more of the usa as well this way.
ReplyDeleteMy Husband and I were shocked at how much we learned on this trip. I am an East Coast girl and yet look at all I had never seen...right in my backyard. Glad to give you a look at places you have never been.
ReplyDelete