The Ephemeral Empires of the Allegheny: An Industrial Archaeology of Wildell, Gertrude, and Winterburn
I. Introduction: The Geologic and Economic Predestination of the Upper Greenbrier
The history of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, is fundamentally a narrative of topography dictating destiny. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the region encompassing the headwaters of the Greenbrier River—specifically the West Fork and the East Fork (or main stem)—became the stage for one of the most intensive episodes of resource extraction in the history of the Appalachian Mountains. This report provides an exhaustive analysis of three specific settlements that emerged from this industrial fervor: Wildell, Gertrude, and Winterburn. While often collectively categorized under the romanticized nomenclature of "ghost towns," these three sites represent distinct typologies of industrial settlement, defined by their specific relationships to the competing railroad empires of the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) and the Western Maryland (WM), and by their varying roles in the logistical chain of the timber economy.
To understand the sudden rise and equally precipitous decline of these communities, one must first confront the sheer magnitude of the resource they were built to exploit. The "Great Cutting," as the period from roughly 1880 to 1930 is known, was not merely a local economic boom; it was a systematic liquidation of a biological asset that had accumulated over millennia. The red spruce (Picea rubens) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) forests of the high Alleghenies were unique in their density and quality, offering yields often exceeding 30,000 to 50,000 board feet per acre. However, the rugged terrain of the headwaters, characterized by narrow valleys and steep, rocky gradients, rendered traditional extraction methods impossible. Unlike the white pine of the lower elevations, which could be floated to market on spring freshets, the dense spruce of the upper Greenbrier required the mechanical muscle of the steam locomotive.
It was the convergence of this specific biological resource with the maturation of railroad engineering—specifically the geared locomotive and the standard-gauge mountain railway—that summoned Wildell, Gertrude, and Winterburn into existence. They were not towns in the traditional agrarian sense, evolving slowly over generations. They were instant communities, "company towns" projected onto the wilderness by corporate boards in Pennsylvania and Maryland, designed with a lifespan mathematically calculated against the standing inventory of timber. This report reconstructs their histories through a synthesis of railroad archives, industrial records, and oral histories, revealing the complex social and technological machinery that operated within these now-silent valleys.
II. The Infrastructure of Extraction: The Railroad Wars
The existence of Wildell, Gertrude, and Winterburn cannot be disentangled from the strategic maneuvering of the region's two dominant rail carriers. These towns were, in effect, terminal organs of a vascular system designed to drain the wealth of the forest into the national market.
2.1 The Chesapeake & Ohio’s Northern Thrust
The C&O Railway, seeking to expand its freight dominance beyond the coalfields, identified the Greenbrier Valley as a prime target for timber traffic. The construction of the Greenbrier Division (or Greenbrier Branch) was a monumental engineering effort that proceeded northward from the main line at Ronceverte. The line reached Marlinton in 1900 and pushed on to Durbin in 1902. However, the railroad's ambition did not terminate at the junction with the Western Maryland in Durbin. In a bid to capture the timber freight of the extreme northeastern corner of the county—an area teeming with virgin spruce near the Randolph County line—the C&O extended its tracks roughly five miles further north along the East Fork of the Greenbrier.
This extension, completed in 1905, culminated at Winterburn, establishing the town as the absolute northern terminus of the C&O’s reach in the valley. The significance of Winterburn as a "stub-end" terminal defined its character; it was the point where the great engines of the C&O, powerful machines designed for heavy mainline haulage, reached their physical limit and were forced to reverse.
2.2 The Western Maryland and the Iron Road
While the C&O approached from the south, the Coal & Iron Railway (C&I)—soon to be absorbed into the Western Maryland Railway (WM)—approached from the north, originating in Elkins. Chartered in 1899 to connect the resource-rich interior to the WM system, the C&I faced a formidable obstacle: the perilous geography of the Cheat and Greenbrier headwaters.
The route selected for this line followed the West Fork of the Greenbrier River, a serpentine and narrow waterway flanked by precipitous ridges. The construction of this line was difficult and expensive, necessitating heavy grading and numerous bridges to navigate the "sweeping 180-degree turns through a tight valley". It was along this tortuous path that Wildell and Gertrude were established. Unlike Winterburn, which was a terminus, Wildell and Gertrude were through-stations on a vital artery connecting Elkins to Durbin. They served as extraction nodes where lateral logging railroads (often utilizing temporary, narrow-gauge, or standard-gauge spurs) fed into the mainline.
2.3 The Durbin Interchange
The strategic focal point of this entire network was Durbin, where the C&O and the WM met. This junction allowed timber harvested at Wildell or Gertrude to be shipped north to Elkins or south to Ronceverte, depending on market conditions and corporate alliances. However, the settlements of Wildell, Gertrude, and Winterburn remained distinct operational entities. Winterburn looked south to the C&O; Wildell and Gertrude looked north to the WM. This bifurcation influenced everything from the mail service to the movement of labor, creating two distinct "zones" of industrial culture within a few miles of each other.
III. Wildell: The Archetype of the Boom Town
3.1 Establishing the Industrial Footprint
Of the three towns under examination, Wildell represents the most fully realized example of the industrial logging community on the West Fork. Located approximately midway between Glady and Durbin, Wildell was established in 1904 by the Wildell Lumber Company. The site selection was not arbitrary; the valley floor at this specific coordinate widened sufficiently to accommodate the massive infrastructure required for a band mill operation.
Unlike the transient "peckerwood" mills that dotted the Appalachian landscape—portable circular saws that moved every few months—the Wildell operation was a capital-intensive industrial plant. The infrastructure included:
The Band Sawmill: A large facility housing a band saw, capable of processing logs with high speed and minimal waste (kerf).
The Planing Mill: A secondary processing facility where rough-cut lumber was surfaced and finished, adding significant value to the product before shipment.
The Log Pond: An artificial body of water used to store and clean logs before they entered the mill, preventing grit from dulling the saw blades.
Rail Sidings: Extensive tracks for the loading of finished lumber and the delivery of supplies.
3.2 The Statistics of Extraction
The output of the Wildell mill was staggering. Between its establishment in 1904 and its closure in 1915, the mill cut 110 million board feet of lumber. To contextualize this figure, if the average rail car of the era carried 15,000 to 20,000 board feet, the Wildell operation alone would have generated between 5,500 and 7,300 carloads of freight—roughly 600 full trains—originating from this single remote outpost. The primary species harvested were spruce (for construction and pulp) and hemlock (valued for both lumber and its tannin-rich bark, used in the tanneries at nearby Frank and Marlinton).
3.3 The Sociology of Wildell
Wildell was not merely a factory in the woods; it was a home to over 300 residents. The demographic composition of the town reflects the complex labor flows of the early 20th century. The workforce likely included a mix of native-born West Virginians transitioning from subsistence farming to wage labor, African American migrants drawn from the South, and European immigrants (Italians, Austrians) who were heavily recruited for railroad construction and timber work throughout the region.
The built environment of Wildell adhered to the paternalistic model of the company town. The Wildell Lumber Company constructed 40 homes for its workers. These were almost certainly of board-and-batten construction, a cheap and rapid building method that utilized the very product being manufactured. The uniformity of these houses served a dual purpose: it reduced construction costs and visually reinforced the company’s dominance over the domestic sphere.
Crucially, Wildell possessed the hallmarks of a stabilized community, distinguishing it from a rough bachelor camp.
The Schoolhouse: The existence of a school indicates the presence of families—wives and children living alongside the timber workers. This suggests that the company sought to reduce labor turnover by encouraging a more stable, domesticated workforce.
3.4 The 1909 Fire and the Imperative of Profit
The vulnerability of these wooden towns to fire cannot be overstated. In 1909, the Wildell mill was destroyed by fire. In a less lucrative industry, such a disaster might have marked the end of the venture. However, the "timber boom" was at its zenith, and the remaining reserves of spruce in the surrounding draws were so valuable that the mill was immediately rebuilt. This rapid reconstruction underscores the aggressive nature of the capital deployed in the Greenbrier Valley; the potential profits from the remaining standing timber far outweighed the cost of rebuilding the industrial plant.
3.5 The Decline and Dissolution
The demise of Wildell was preordained by the finite nature of the forest. By 1915, the Wildell Lumber Company had exhausted its timber holdings. The great band mill fell silent and was likely dismantled and shipped to a new "show" in the southern Appalachians or the Pacific Northwest.
However, the town did not vanish overnight. The post office remained open until 1923, suggesting a "twilight period" of eight years. During this time, the town likely served as a base for smaller-scale operations, such as pulpwood cutting for the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company (which operated a massive mill at Cass and had an insatiable appetite for smaller spruce logs), or simply housed families who were slow to relocate. By the late 1920s, however, Wildell was abandoned, its buildings salvaged for lumber or left to decay into the forest floor.
IV. Gertrude: The "Wisetown" of the West Fork
4.1 Unraveling the Identity
If Wildell was the metropolis of the West Fork, Gertrude was its enigmatic satellite. Often appearing only as a name on a timetable, Gertrude’s history requires a careful triangulation of sources to reconstruct. Located 9 miles north-northeast of Durbin and situated at an elevation of 3,005 feet, Gertrude was the next major station south of Wildell on the Western Maryland line.
The town’s identity is inextricably linked to the Wise Lumber Company (also referred to as F.S. Wise Lumber Co.). Historical records explicitly associate the station name "Gertrude" with the settlement locally known as "Wisetown". This dual naming convention was typical of the era: the railroad designated the stop "Gertrude" (likely honoring a female relative of the owner or a railroad official), while the inhabitants referred to it by the company name.
4.2 The Wise Lumber Operations
Gertrude was not merely a whistle-stop; it was an operational hub for a logging railroad. Archival data indicates that the Wise Lumber Company operated a standard-gauge railroad spur that connected to the Western Maryland main line at Gertrude. This spur would have extended up into the lateral tributaries—likely Snort Creek or adjacent hollows—to access timber stands that were too distant to be skidded directly to the main line.
Table 1: Locomotive Roster Associated with Wise Lumber Co. / Gertrude
The presence of a Shay locomotive is significant. Shays were geared steam locomotives designed with vertical cylinders and a flexible driveshaft, allowing them to negotiate the rough, temporary tracks and steep grades (often exceeding 5-8%) of the logging spurs. The Wise Lumber Company’s use of such a machine confirms that Gertrude was a transshipment point where raw logs brought down from the high ridges were transferred to Western Maryland flatcars for transport to larger mills, or processed on-site by a smaller circular mill.
4.3 The Scale and Lifespan
While lacking the massive infrastructure of Wildell, Gertrude was a persistent settlement. It appeared on West Virginia Geological Survey maps as late as 1929 , indicating a lifespan that extended well beyond the initial boom of the early 1900s. This longevity suggests that after the primary harvest of sawlogs, Gertrude may have transitioned to secondary extraction industries, such as:
Pulpwood: Harvesting smaller trees for paper production at the West Virginia Pulp & Paper mill in Cass.
Chemical Wood: Harvesting hardwoods for distillation plants that produced acetate of lime and wood alcohol.
Tanbark: Stripping hemlock bark for the tanneries at Frank and Durbin.
The settlement at Gertrude likely consisted of a cluster of portable or semi-permanent shanties, a commissary car or small store, and the necessary sidings and water tanks to service the Wise locomotives. Its legacy is that of a "feeder" town—a crucial capillary in the larger circulatory system of the timber economy.
V. Winterburn: The End of the Line
5.1 The Strategic Terminus
Winterburn occupies a unique place in the historical geography of Pocahontas County as the "End of the Line" for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. While the popular history of the Greenbrier Division often focuses on Cass and Durbin, the tracks officially extended five miles north of Durbin to Winterburn, terminating near the Randolph County line.
Completed in 1905, the Winterburn extension was the C&O’s final aggressive maneuver to capture the timber freight of the upper Greenbrier Valley. Situated on the East Fork (or main stem) of the Greenbrier River, Winterburn was geographically distinct from the West Fork towns of Wildell and Gertrude. It sat in a different drainage, served by a different railroad, and looked south toward Ronceverte rather than north toward Elkins.
5.2 The Thornwood-Winterburn Complex
Winterburn was closely associated with the nearby community of Thornwood. Together, these two settlements formed a complex of lumber operations at the head of the valley. Winterburn served as the heavy railhead for timber harvested in the surrounding Allegheny Mountains. The station required specific infrastructure to function as a terminus:
Turning Facilities: A wye or turntable was necessary to turn the heavy steam locomotives for their return journey south.
Servicing Facilities: Water tanks and coaling stations to replenish the tenders of the engines that had battled the uphill grade from Cass.
5.3 Economic Persistence and Passenger Service
One of the most revealing statistics about Winterburn is the duration of its passenger service. The C&O timetable listed passenger stops at Winterburn until July 1923. This is remarkable for a "stub-end" town in a remote valley. It implies that Winterburn possessed a stable population and commercial activity sufficient to justify the operation of scheduled trains for nearly two decades after its founding.
The station agency—the office staffed by a railroad agent responsible for freight billing and tickets—was closed on July 1, 1920. This date serves as a reliable proxy for the decline of the town's major industrial output. When the volume of outbound lumber dropped below a certain threshold, the railroad withdrew its agent, downgrading the station to a "non-agency" stop. The persistence of passenger service for another three years suggests a lingering community, but the commercial heart of the town had ceased to beat.
Unlike Wildell, which was an integrated mill town, Winterburn’s identity was more logistical. It was a point of exchange, where the raw material of the forest was handed over to the long-haul transportation network of the C&O.
VI. The Human Element: Society in the Spruce Forests
6.1 The "Transient Permanent" Paradox
The towns of Wildell, Gertrude, and Winterburn embody a paradox inherent to the extractive industries: the creation of "transient permanent" communities. Timber companies understood that to maintain high production levels over a decade, they needed a skilled and stable workforce. The "woodhicks" of popular lore—itinerant bachelors moving from camp to camp—could fell trees, but the operation of band mills, planers, and geared locomotives required sawyers, filers, and engineers.
To attract these skilled tradesmen, companies built towns with the trappings of permanence: plastered houses, schools, and churches. The school at Wildell is a prime example. It signifies the presence of children and the expectation of a multi-year residency. Yet, everyone from the mill superintendent to the lowest laborer knew that the town’s existence was finite, bounded by the number of trees standing on the ridge. This knowledge created a unique social atmosphere—a community built on a foundation of planned obsolescence.
6.2 Labor, Race, and Immigration
The population of these towns was far from homogeneous. The timber boom in Pocahontas County drew labor from a wide catchment area, creating a diverse and often stratified society.
Immigrant Labor: Snippets reference Italian workers in the region demanding payment in gold. Italian and Austrian immigrants were frequently employed in railroad construction and track maintenance, jobs that were physically grueling and dangerous. They often lived in segregated sections of the camps, sometimes referred to as "Dago Hill" or similar pejoratives in other regional camps.
African American Labor: Black workers, many migrating from the post-Reconstruction South, played a vital role in the timber economy, often working as teamsters, log loaders, or in the mill yards. They, too, faced segregation in housing and social facilities.
Native Appalachians: Local farmers often worked in the woods during the winter months or transitioned entirely to wage labor, bringing their families into the company towns.
This mix of cultures, languages, and races within the confined geography of a narrow valley town like Wildell would have created a complex social dynamic, managed by the strictures of company authority and the shared hardship of the work.
VII. The Ecological Aftermath: Fire, Flood, and Federalization
7.1 The Great Fires
The extraction of 110 million board feet from Wildell and comparable amounts from Winterburn and Gertrude came at a terrible ecological price. The logging practices of the era were total. The forest canopy was removed, exposing the deep humus layer of the forest floor to the sun. The "slash"—the branches and tops of the trees—was left to dry in piles.
When the sparks from the steam locomotives or mill stacks ignited this tinderbox, the fires were catastrophic. These were not normal forest fires; they were infernos that burned the soil itself, stripping the mountains down to the bare sandstone bedrock. The destruction of the soil layer meant that the spruce forest could not naturally regenerate. Instead, the land was colonized by scrub hardwoods, cherry, and birch, permanently altering the biodiversity of the high Alleghenies.
7.2 The 1907 Flood and the Weeks Act
The denuding of the headwaters at places like Winterburn and Wildell had consequences that extended far beyond the county line. The sponge-like capacity of the forest to absorb rainfall was destroyed. In 1907, heavy rains on the deforested watersheds of the Greenbrier and Cheat Rivers sent a torrent of water downstream, contributing to a devastating flood in Pittsburgh.
This disaster was a catalyst for national policy change. It led directly to the passage of the Weeks Act in 1911, which authorized the federal government to purchase private land for the protection of navigable watersheds. The "cut-over" and burned lands of the Wildell and Wise Lumber Companies were eventually purchased by the government, becoming the nucleus of the Monongahela National Forest. Thus, the ghost towns of today sit on public land that was purchased as a direct result of the environmental havoc their existence caused.
VIII. The Modern Legacy: From Rails to Trails
8.1 The West Fork Rail Trail
Today, the right-of-way of the Coal & Iron Railway through Wildell and Gertrude has been transformed into the West Fork Rail Trail. This 22-mile trail offers a unique opportunity for industrial archaeology.
At Wildell: The site is marked by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the "It's Your History" interpretive project. Hikers can find the massive concrete foundations of the band mill, the faint outlines of the mill pond, and the leveled terraces where the company houses stood. Signage provides historical photos, allowing visitors to superimpose the image of the bustling 1910 town over the silent forest of today.
At Gertrude: The site is less conspicuous, but the widening of the railbed indicates the location of the former sidings and the junction with the Wise Lumber Company’s spur.
8.2 The Greenbrier River Trail
South of Winterburn, the C&O line has been converted into the Greenbrier River Trail, one of the premier rail-trails in the eastern United States. While the trail effectively ends near the Durbin/Cass area, the history of the Winterburn extension is preserved in the archives of the trail’s interpretive materials. The preservation of these corridors allows for a tangible connection to the industrial past, turning the routes of extraction into routes of recreation.
IX. Conclusion
Wildell, Gertrude, and Winterburn were not failures; they were completed missions. They were designed to extract a specific resource, and when that resource was gone, they were dismantled. Their "ghost town" status is not an accident of history but a feature of their design.
Wildell stands as the archetype of the industrial boom town—a place of immense productivity, complex social stratification, and rapid erasure.
Gertrude represents the capillary network—the smaller, flexible operations like the Wise Lumber Company that penetrated the deeper hollows.
Winterburn represents the geographical limit—the point where the ambition of the C&O Railway finally met the friction of distance and terrain.
Together, these three settlements tell the complete story of the Appalachian timber boom: the technological conquest of the mountains, the voracious appetite of the industrial economy, the complex lives of the workers who fueled it, and the enduring environmental legacy that led to the creation of the National Forests we enjoy today. They are silent now, but their footprint on the geology, ecology, and history of West Virginia is indelible.
Detailed Data Appendix
Table 2: Comparative Analysis of Settlement Typologies
The Church: Religious institutions in logging camps often served as the moral and social center, tempering the rougher aspects of camp life (drinking, gambling) and providing a venue for community cohesion.
The Company Store: This was the economic heart of the town. While specific records for Wildell's store policies are lost, the standard practice in Pocahontas County involved the use of scrip—private currency issued by the company that was redeemable only at the company store. This system often ensnared workers in a cycle of debt, ensuring their continued labor.
The Post Office: Established in 1906 and remaining active until 1923, the post office gave Wildell an official identity on the federal map. It was the vital link to the outside world, facilitating the flow of news, mail-order goods, and remittances.
| Year | Event | Impact on Towns |
| 1899 | Coal & Iron Railway Chartered | Initiates planning for West Fork line (Wildell/Gertrude). |
| 1900 | C&O Reaches Marlinton | Southern access to the valley opens. |
| 1902 | C&O Reaches Durbin | Connection with WM established; Durbin becomes hub. |
| 1904 | Wildell Lumber Co. Established | Wildell founded; major construction begins. |
| 1905 | C&O Extends to Winterburn | Winterburn established as northern terminus. |
| 1906 | Wildell Post Office Opens | Civic recognition of Wildell. |
| 1907 | Wise Lumber Co. Active | Gertrude serves as junction for Wise railroad. |
| 1909 | Wildell Mill Fire | Mill destroyed but immediately rebuilt due to timber value. |
| 1911 | Weeks Act Passed | Federal mechanism created to buy cut-over land (later MNF). |
| 1915 | Wildell Mill Closes | Timber exhausted; town begins decline. |
| 1920 | Winterburn Agency Closes | Commercial freight volume declines below viability. |
| 1923 | Winterburn Passenger Service Ends | C&O retreats from northernmost reach. |
| 1923 | Wildell Post Office Closes | Official end of Wildell as a civic entity. |
| 1929 | Gertrude on Maps | Indicates lingering activity at Wise/Gertrude site. |
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