Audio
Fayette Station Auto Tour Chapter 4
Transcript
Chapter 4 Native Americans and settlers in the area knew about the coal in the gorge, because it was so visible, and they may have gathered it for their own use. However, the large coal seams in this remote region lay basically undisturbed until 1873, when the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway completed a railroad through the gorge, opening a gateway to the rugged wilderness and untapped coalfields. Suddenly, the eastern seaports of the mid-Atlantic states were connected—via the gorge—to the industrial cities of the Midwest—Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Chicago. Astute businessmen seized this golden opportunity and immediately started setting up coal mining operations. Now there was a way for New River gorge coal to reach its market!
The railroad literally became a highway through New River Gorge, connecting towns that were relatively inaccessible by any other means. The population increased dramatically. African Americans migrated from the South, and thousands of poor European immigrants streamed into southern West Virginia in search of work, riches, and a better life. The railroad pulsed life into the area as mining companies built towns with houses, stores, hotels, and railroad depots. Residents could easily get the morning paper from Richmond or Cincinnati the same day it was printed because of the number of trains that ran through the gorge each day. In 1910, for example, more than 200 people a day traveled through Thurmond’s new train station, which made more money for the C & O Railroad than any other place on the line. The rush was on!
[fade in music] You should be approaching a very tight hairpin turn to the left. If you want to end your tour of Fayette Station Road, you can return to Route 19 by turning right onto Burma Road. Stop the recording until after you have completed the hairpin turn. [music fades out] [after a pause, music starts, and fades out slowly]
Description
Chapter 4: Under NRG Bridge to Burma Road
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