Marlinton's First Train

 

Marlinton's First Train

The first train arrived in Marlinton in 1900. The train's arrival marked the completion of the track laying to that point. The event was celebrated with a public ceremony and barbecue. Thousands of people came to witness the event. The engineer of the train was asked to give a speech. He requested that they give him room to turn his train around and that they cleared a space of some acres.

This arrival was likely on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. In 1891, the vice-president of the railway stated that the proposed route for a line into Pocahontas County had not yet been determined. The railway was considering two routes: one up the Greenbrier river, and the other across by Mountain Grove.

By 1892, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway schedule was being published in the Greenbrier Independent. The schedule provided arrival times in Ronceverte for both eastbound and westbound trains. There are images of "First Train in Marlinton" in a directory of Pocahontas County images. This suggests there may be other sources that contain more specific information about the arrival of the first train in Marlinton.

Your previous questions about the oldest building in Marlinton indicated that the town was named for Jacob Marlin who settled there in 1749. Marlinton had grown enough by 1900 to warrant the construction of a railroad line. You have also previously discussed Marlinton Academy, which was operating in 1901. This also indicates that by 1900 Marlinton was a growing town. This growth likely made the arrival of the train a momentous occasion for the town.