USA > West Virginia > Preston County > A History of Preston County, West Virginia, V. 2 > Part 16
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At Altamont, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reaches its highest altitude of 2,620 feet. After crossing the summit at Altamont, the next improvement of importance was line revision and grade reduction between Hutton and Corinth, in Preston County, which made it possible' to dispense with the use of helper locomotives. Four or five miles beyond, a third track was constructed from Terra Alta to Rinard, on the Cranberry Grade. This work included the elimination of Rodamer and McGuire tunnels, also laying three and a half miles of new track. Eastbound freight trains now enter the third track at Rowlesburg and continue up the Cranberry Grade to Rinard, a distance of fourteen and a half miles.
Seven miles west of Rowlesburg, at the top of the Cheat River Grade, a new double-track tunnel was built at Kingwood which pro- vides three tracks through Kingwood Mountain. Since the road was extended through what is now Preston County, early in 1852, there has been a single-track tunnel through this mountain, but the single line was found inadequate to handle the trains at that point. The new double-track tunnel was opened through Kingwood Mountain on May 27, 1912, giving three tracks instead of one and practically marking the completion of the improvement work between Cumberland and Grafton. The new tunnel was built at a cost of approximately $1,500,000. It is 4,211 feet long, 31 feet wide and 241/2 feet high, the side walls being lined with concrete and the roof lined with vitrified brick. Incident to the construction of Kingwood tunnel, a reduction was made in the grade between Blaser and West End.
Just west of Kingwood tunnel six miles of third track were con- structed from West End to Hardman and Murray tunnel was eliminated. Murray tunnel was 310 feet long and too small to admit
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RAILROAD OFFICE IN BALTIMORE.
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TAS NEW YORK FORLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENDY HILDEN YOU: C
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
the Mallet locomotives used in freight service in this section. The completion of this work provides a third track from Grafton to King- wood tunnel.
At Newburg, about halfway between Kingwood and Grafton, a large gravity reservoir was built on Racoon Creek to supply water of good quality to locomotives. The capacity of the reservoir is 22,500,000 gallon's.
At Grafton a handsome passenger station was erected and mountains were literally torn down to enable the construction of a large classifica- tion freight yard at this point. This yard has a capacity of 400 cars in eastbound section, the westbound having a capacity of 420 cars. The yard also includes four engine tracks for ten engines each and repair tracks which accommodate 90 cars.
Many other improvements of a general nature were made in West Virginia, involving second track construction, additional passing sid- ings, building new terminals to take care of both passenger and freight patronage.
The rolling stock purchased as a part of the betterment program ranks the Baltimore and Ohio as one of the best-equipped trunk line systems in America. There have been added 23,000 freight cars, of which number 6,500 were gondolas, 6,020 hoppers, and 4,000 coke cars. This brings the total freight car equipment up to about 95,000 cars. Five hundred locomotives of the most powerful type have also been purchased, 434 of these being of the Mikado and Consolidation types for freight service. Twenty Mallet locomotives have also been added to the equipment for service in the mountainous regions, most of the Mallet engines being used in Preston county. There were also pur- chased 144 steel passenger cars, including 95 coaches, 20 baggage cars, 4 dining cars, 15 postal cars and 5 parlor-cafe cars.
These betterments to track and equipment of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad have placed the road in a prominent position among the large railroad systems of the country. The promptness with which the request of the West Virginia business men was acceded to is indi- cative of the policy of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to endeavor to keep abreast of the constantly expanding business which has nowhere been more extensive and persistent than in the territory the road serves in West Virginia.
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MORGANTOWN & KINGWOOD RAILROAD.
Early in the spring of 1887, Colonel Felix Nemegyei, Mr. Straus, Judge John N. Hagan, J. C. McGrew, George C. Sturgiss, J. W. Guse- man and John T. McGraw met in the parlor of Colonel Guseman's house, near Reedsville, to take steps towards the building of a railroad through Preston county. Not long after that, a meeting was again held in Grafton, at which time letters of organization and incorporation , were drawn up, with the general plan of a road outlined from Grafton to the Pennsylvania line to be called the "West Virginia Railroad." The route chosen ran through the districts of Lyon, Kingwood and Valley, the richest coal fields in the county. This coal region was leased by the company for the financial support of the undertaking. So far everything worked favorably. The survey of the roadbed was made by Colonel John W. Guseman, but when his work was completed further work was stopped. Subsequently, the road was sold to Mr. Robert Pitcairn of Pittsburgh, but he failed to fulfill his contract, and another considerable time elapsed.
In 1900, the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad, under the manage- ment of Hon. George C. Sturgiss and J. Ami Martin, was organized. At this time the citizens of Morgan district, Monongalia county, voted to subscribe $45,000 preferred stock, not without some opposition, how- ever, for few people knew what this line would mean to Morgantown and the beautiful Decker's Creek Valley at that time. Two years later, Hon. Stephen B. Elkins purchased all interests, and immediately placed a corps of expert men in charge. In 1905, Fortney & Zinn, contractors, had the new depot at Reedsville ready for use. Three hundred coke and coal cars were ordered, and from that time, under the survey and management of Julius K. Monroe, chief engineer, the building of the road went steadily forward until its completion at the M. & K. Junction, its length being 47.9 miles. With the completion of the road and trains running, the people of Preston county felt they were benefitted greatly, an additional value having been added to the real estate of the county over and above what could be measured by dollars and cents or by what might be gained from a commercial point of view. By this outlet into the world around them, a new hope inspired the people, new oppor- tunities having opened up, and an increase of population having come as a result.
The company has nearly fifty miles of main track, with five miles of branch lines. They have three passenger and eleven freight locomotive's.
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There are 360 freight cars, and of this number 320 are steel, equipped with the latest appliances. The steel cars have a capacity of 100,000 pounds, and those of wood 80,000. During the year 1912, over 1,000,000 tons of coal and coke were handled.
When this road was first built there was not an industry in Decker's Creek Valley. Now there are upwards of twenty industries, and all of them doing a large business. These plants in the Morgantown district bring the annual pay rolls and disbursements to more than $3,500,000.
The Elkins Coal and Coke Company.
In the broad, fertile valley through which the Morgantown & King- wood Railroad runs, and deep down in the bowels of the hills which tower on either side', are millions of dollars worth of fuel: coal, oil and gas. The valley is rich in limestone, cement rock, fire-clay and shales ; also a fine quality of glass-sand. The Elkins Coal & Coke Company controls 46,643 acres of coal lands, while other companies control some 15,000 acres. The coal in this section is of a superior quality for coke manufacture and is extremely low in sulphur. This vein is easily acces- sible for industries located along the road, at no point being more than three miles from the main line. The most of the mines and coke ovens along the M. & K. are owned by the Elkins Coal & Coke Company. There are seven mines which are in operation : No. I located at Richard ; No. 2 at Bretz; No. 3, Dellslow; No. 4, Kingwood; No. 5, Sabraton ; No. 6, Masontown; No. 7, Burke. In addition to the Elkins Coal & Coke Company, there are located on the road other mines operating some 400 ovens.
Limestone.
The valley has a layer of limestone on an average of 80 to 100 feet in thickness. This stone is shown by chemical tests as well adapted for the manufacture of lime and cement. A cement plant is in operation on the Morgantown & Kingwood road at Manheim, with a capacity of 1,500 barrels daily.
Glass Sand.
A very choice sand for the manufacture of tableware and prism glass is found in the Decker's Creek Valley. Several of the Morgan- town glass factories are using this sand. By a careful chemical test, it
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has been found to contain 991/2 per cent of pure silicia and a very slight trace of iron oxide. It is almost snowy white in color, and is sharp and clear cut in grain.
TIMBER.
There are several lumber companies operating large mills, with millions of feet of timber lands yet uncut.
PARKS. Oak Park.
For recreation and pleasure, the parks along the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad have come into popular use. They are not only . enjoyed by the people of Preston county but from other places in the state also. Ample accommodations have been provided for the pleasure seekers at these parks, and special provisions made for the public when visiting these resorts. Special attention is given to societies, lodges, 'Sabbath schools and family reunions.
Morris Park.
Morris Park is a regular stopping place for all passenger trains dur- ing the summer season. It is a charming spot on the Cheat River, studded with shade trees and carpeted in green, and a delightful place for parties tenting out for a week or so. Camping parties, with their own equipment, locate here frequently and live in the open, hunting and boating, bathing and fishing, in the meantime. Cheat River itself is a picturesque stream once' visited by Washington. It is made glorious by the wildness of its scenery and by its ever changing hues when re- flecting the variegated colors on its banks. Its scenes have been made famous by Indian legend and romance.
The offices of the company are in the Post Office building at Morgan- gantown, West Virginia, and here is a large force of clerks and stenog- raphers constantly employed. The officers of the company are: Hon. Davis Elkins, president; Stephen B. Elkins, vice-president; Richard Elkins, secretary; Blaine Elkins, assistant to president; F. K. Bretz, general manager; Charles Sutherland, general freight and passenger agent ; T. Frank Burk, auditor; W. K. Watson, car accountant; C. R. Metzler, train master; C. W. Murphy, master carpenter; E. H. Win- grove, supervisor ; J. B. Highberger, storekeeper; J. K. Monroe, chief engineer ; D. G. Desmond, master mechanic; Fred Judy, road foreman of engines.
B. S. RANKIN, M. D.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX ILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
BARRICK S. RANKIN, M. D.
Among those advocating progressive principles along all lines of professional work, the same as political, is that of Dr. Rankin of Tun- neltown, one of the well known physicians of Preston county. He is of Scotch descent, and possesses the sturdy qualities of that race. His earliest ancestor in this country, so far as is known, was Joseph Rankin, who came from Scotland in Colonial days and settled in New York. He married Patience Warren, a sister of Joseph Warren of Bunker Hill fame. They moved to Kenebec county, Maine, where John, their son, was born-the above-mentioned John being the great-great-grand- father of the doctor. The great-grandfather was born in the town of Fairfield, Maine, then called Smithfield. He married a Mrs. Maine, a widow, and by her had two children: John Warren Rankin, born June 4, 1794; and a daughter, who married a Mr. Furbush.
When seventeen years old, John Warren Rankin left Fairfield and went to New Brunswick. When twenty-three years old he married Jane Tapley and moved to Aroostook county, Maine. A large family of twelve children were born to this union, as follows: Sherman, John, May, Sarah, Jacob, George Franklin, Anna, Samuel T., Charles Henry, Robert, Alexander, Hoyt. George F. died in Florida while in the Civil War. He was in the Ist Maine Cavalry. Charles H. was in the 7th Maine Infantry, and was killed in the Battle of the Wilderness.
Samuel T. Rankin was born August 24, 1845, and died July 1, 1910. He married Amanada C. Irland of Calais, Maine, in December, 1868. He was a lumberman. To this union were born five children, namely : Birchfield, born in Clearfield county, Pa., in 1870, died when three years old. Barrick S., born in Clearfield county, Pa., on July 16, 1872. Maude, born October 25, 1877, in Clearfield county, Pa .; now Mrs. Guinn Neely of North Yakima, Washington. Claude Ray and Clare May (twins), born September 14, 1882, in Clearfield county, Pa. Clarge May married G. B. Green of Greenbrier county, W. Va., and Claude Ray, who resides in Knoxwood, Ala., married Miss Lillian Josephine Bird of Nashville.
Dr. Rankin was educated in the public schools of Clearfield county, Pa., where he lived until seventeen years of age, assisting his father in the lumber business when not at school. During the years of 1888 and 1889 he attended the Normal School at Clearfield, Pa., and in the fall of 1890 the family moved to West Virginia, where he again assisted his father as a lumberman at Richwood, until he took up the study of
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medicine, since which time he has been devotedly attached to his pro- fession. His studies in medicine were completed at the Baltimore Medical College, where the degree of Doctor of Medicine was given him May 21, 1907. His standing in the college fraternity was high, as shown by his election as a delegate from the college department of the Y.M.C.A., of which he was president, to Nashville, Tenn., where 5,000 delegates were convened in 1906, in the interest of the missionary crusade.
In October, 1907, Dr. Rankin, having been educationally equipped for the duties of his profession, located at Tunnelton, Preston county, W. Va., where he has since built up a large clientele in the general practice of his profession.
Dr. Rankin is a genial, wholesoulful man, both in the sick room and out of it. He possesse's a charming personality, and believes in every- body being happy and enjoying all the sunshine there is in life, and his hearty manner diffuses good cheer wherever he goes.
Socially he is well liked, politically he is a pronounced progressive, and believes that the salvation of this country is along those lines, and that this nation is yet in its infancy as a power for good in the world of nations.
On May 22, 1893, Dr. Rankin was married to Mabel Johnson, daughter of John M. and Mary Ann (Taylor) Johnson of Athens, Ohio. On May 9, 1894, their daughter Blanche was born.
She is a charming young lady now completing her education in the New Hampton Literary Institution, N. H. In 1911 a more permanent residence was taken up in their elegant new home which is equipped with every modern convenience and the plan and architecture is an index to the genius of its owner. Hospitality is extended to everybody by both Dr. and Mrs. Rankin. Both of them are active members of the ·Methodist Church.
Dr. Rankin is president of the Medical Society of Preston County; president of the Board of Education of Kingwood District, and health officer of the town in which he lives. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity of high degree, holds a membership in the Mckinley Lodge, No. 22, I.O.O.F., of Richwood, W. Va., and also belongs to the order of J.O.U.A.M.
J. S. DUNN.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
.TOR, LENOX ID NEJED I. INS
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
JOHN SANFORD DUNN.
The Dunn family is of Scotch Irish descent. It is an old family in America, somewhat widely diffused, and all of that hardy stock of people so characteristic of the race in the times of the Stuart Kings. It is not known when the great great grandfather of the Monongalia- Preston branch of the family came to West Virginia, but the suppo- sition is that when the county was first settled, Thomas Dunn, the grandfather, was one of the pioneers. He married Temperance Pier- pont, a woman of German descent, and by her became the father of fifteen children. They both died at the age of 87, but the father died ten years before the mother. They lived about three miles from Ice's Ferry, on Cheat River, close to what is known as the Tyrone post-office at this time. The names of the children were as follows: John, the father of the subject of this sketch, was the oldest. (2) James, who raised a family of 16 children and died just a few years ago; (3) Billy ; (4) Owen; (5) Thomas; (6) Larkin; (7) Zacquill; (8) Dorcas Reed; (9) Mary Warman; (10) Sade McGraw; (II) Jane Murphy; (12) Temperance Boord; (13) Martha Sheets, and two others who died in infancy. Of the sons only Zacquill and Thomas, and of the daughters, Temperance Boord and Martha Sheets are the only ones living at the date of this sketch.
John Dunn, the father of John Sanford, was born April 17, 1814, and died at Reedsville, February 27, 1906. He married Nancy A. Reed, a daughter of William Reed. She was born September 23, 1815, and died at the age of 77 years. Their children were: Ellen, born October 30, 1835, died October 16, 1839; Alcinda, born August 16, 1838, died October 12, 1839; Oliver, born June 24, 1844, died --- , 18 -; Brison, born April 16, 1846, died January 6, 1909; Lee Ann born March 2, 1849, still living at St. Clairsville, Ohio; Samantha Victoria, born May 30, 1853, still living at Reedsville, W. Va .; Francis Asbury, born November 23, 1857, and John Sanford, our subject, born August II, 1860.
The old Dunn farm, was an old land grant near the famous "Cheat View," overlooking Cheat River, and there the homestead was kept up until about seven years before the death of the father, when he went to live near Reedsville, close to his youngest son, of whom we write, and to be cared for by him. Like his father before him, and all his brothers and descendants after him, John Dunn was noted for his
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physical strength and great endurance. He was active up to his death when nearly ninety-two years of age.
J. S. Dunn has seen about as much of this country from coast to coast as any man in the State. His life has been a variable one, but along lines of contact with business men from the time he was a boy. These years of experience have given him acquired tastes, and such a com-' prehensive insight into the affairs of a business life as to fully equip him for the expensive undertakings in which he has engaged. His training for a successful business career was begun before attaining to manhood, and was based on untiring industry, coupled with a large degree of native hard sense. He cleared and improved a little farm adjoining the old homestead, and at the same time was extensively engaged in timber business on Cheat River, buying, rafting and trans- porting the same to Pittsburgh and the other markets on the Monon- gahela. In this he was engaged for some fifteen years. He acquired much skill as a pilot in navigating the turbulent Cheat with rafted logs, both for himself and others.
In 1888, Mr. Dunn bought the farm near Reedsville in Preston County, where he now lives. The farm was then covered with a dense growth of forest and thorn thickets, with no buildings or fencing. He cleared this land, erected buildings and improvements, and it is now one of the most productive and desirable farms in the county, pro- ducing unusual dividends for the acreage cultivated.
About twelve years of Mr. Dunn's life was spent largely as an agent and canvasser; first in selling fruit trees before his removal from the old homestead in Monongalia, as well as immediately after his removal to where he now lives, and then taking orders for enlarged pictures. He was engaged in this at the same time he was clearing and improving his farm in in the intervals he was at home, and in this way made the money to make the payments on the land, and carry forward the improvements,
At length came prospects of the building of a railroad and awak- ening interest in the marketing of coal around Reedsville, when Mr. Dunn became interested in the timber and coal business, and gradually gave up canvassing on account of larger business affairs engrossing his time and energies. He handled large acreages of coal, under option as well as by purchase outright. For several years Mr. Dunn's time has been largely taken up in the development and sale of town lots in different parts of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, in which business he has been markedly successful. He has, indeed, become
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known as a specialist and expert in all of the details of this branch of the real estate business.
His business ability and knowledge of affairs in general naturally brought him before the voters of his district, and in November, 1898, he was elected Commissioner of the County Court from Valley District. He served two years and was re-elected at the November election of 1900. Upon the organization of the Court at the January Term, 1901, he was elected President of the County Court and served as such for two years. He was a charter member of Freeport Lodge No. 186, Knights of Pythias of the Grand Domain of West Virginia, and is a Past Chancellor of that lodge.
Mr. Dunn was married twice. His first wife was Callie A. Downey, and they were married in 1879. Two children were born of this union, Vester B. Dunn, the well known lawyer of Kingwood, and one daughter, Dora Alice, who as born August 16, 1886 and died December 18, 1886. Mrs. Dunn was a daughter of Francis and Tillie (Blosser) Downey, of Fallen Timbers, Pennsylvania. She died July 14, 1887. Mr. Dunn later married Miss Laura A. Downey, a sister of his first wife, who is still living.
Vester B. Dunn was born May 21, 1880, and completed the law course of the West Virginia University at Morgantown in the Spring of 1906. In July, 1908, he began his professional career in Kingwood, where he has been eminently successful from the start, having now a clientele entirely satisfactory to one having practiced for but a short time. He has been twice honored by the people of Kingwood by election as Mayor in which office he served with satisfaction of the citizens. In January, 1912, he was commissioned as Captain of the First Infantry, West Virginia National Guard, assigned to command Company G., of Kingwood, which commission he accepted from patriotic motives, not wishing to see the local Company lost to the town. He commanded his company on Cabin Creek in the great strike troubles there of the Summer and Fall of 1912, and, although without previous military experience, he won the respect of his men and left the company of good shape when he resigned in the Spring of 1913. On November 19, 1908, Vester B. Dunn was married to Miss Edna E. Waters of Fairmont. One daughter, Leora Margaret Dunn, has been born of this union.
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EARL M. LANTZ.
One hundred and ten years ago Henry Lantz, a thrifty German from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, settled on the D. A. Dixon farm midway between Rowlesburg and Aurora. He had nine sons and four daughters, of whom John Lantz, hotel proprietor of the Mt. View House at Aurora, is a grandson. His wife, Olive V. Shafer, was a daughter of James H. Shafer, a very kind hearted and influential old gentleman, from whom many good qualities of heart and mind were imparted to the seven children of his daughter's family. Of these children, Nora, a successful school teacher in the Masontown schools, is the eldest. Mittie, the wife of H. S. Whetsell, editor and proprietor of the Preston County Journal, is the next. Lulu is the wife of Oscar C. Wilt, the well known cashier of the Empire National Bank of Clarksburg, West Virginia. Clarence C., is a manufacturer of chairs, and is engaged in the lumber business in North Carolina. Earl M. Lantz, of whom mention will again be made, is next. J. Scott Lantz, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, Reedsville, was born September 19, 1883. He was educated in the Common Schools and at the Commercial Department of the State University of Morgantown. In 1906, he was associated with the First National Bank, Salem, for four years, was teller then in the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Mor- gantown until he came to Reedsville and helped to organize the insti- tution above named, having been the cashier since the month of No- vember, 1911. September 19, 1912, Mr. Lantz was married to Miss Stella Twyford of West Union, West Virginia. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Twyford of that place.
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