USA > West Virginia > Monongalia County > History of Monongalia County, West Virginia, from its first settlements to the present time; with numerous biographical and family sketches > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
117
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
jected from Virginia by Clifton Forge down Tygart's Valley River and Decker's Creek. If the Iron Valley road was not built, it was feared the Virginia road would make a junction at Fairmont.
On April 2, 1881, the county court of Monongalia made an order submitting to the voters of Morgan District a proposition to subscribe $40,000 of preferred capital stock to the road. If the proposition received the requisite three-fifths vote, 4-24 coupon bonds were to be issued, of the denomination of $100, bearing six per cent. interest payable semi-annually. The principal was to be discharged in equal yearly payments from 1885 to 1905. The amount of the subscription was to be expended in the district in the construction of the road. The election occurred May 17th, and the subscription was authorized by a vote of four hundred and seventy-eight for it to five against it. Valley and Lyon Districts of Preston County, on the same day, voted subscriptions to the road; the former, of $11,000, and the latter, of $20,000. The estimated length of the road is thirty-four miles; estimated cost, $680,000. By act of the Legislature, passed February 19, 1883, the time of com- mencing the work of the construction of the road was extended to January 1, 1884 .* On the 22d of March the first work in the actual construction of the road, and the first ever did on any railroad in the county, was begun. A force of twenty to thirty men, on that day, broke ground near J. Joseph & Son's mill, on Decker's Creek, just south- east of Morgantown. The work of grading the road was
* If any railroad company shall not, within two years after filing its articles of incor- poration and recording them, begin the construction of its road, and expend thereon ten per cent. of its capital within three years, and finish and put in operation its road within ten years, its corporate existence shall cease. See Acts of 1881, chap. Xvii, sec. 66.
118
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
discontinued in a few days after the commencement, and nothing further of the kind has been done. An advertise- ment asking for sealed proposals "for the graduation, masonry, trestling and bridging of 14} miles of the Iron · Valley and Morgantown Railroad," appeared in the news- papers of Morgantown in their numbers for March 28th. Several proposals were received, but the action of the com- pany upon them has not as yet transpired. The present organization of the company and since May 11, 1882, is as follows : President, William C. McGrew; Vice President, John W. Guseman; Secretary and General Manager, George C. Sturgiss; Directors, John W. Guseman, William C. McGrew, Daniel R. Davidson, Ashbel Fairchild, William Morehead, John T. McGraw and Alexander Strausz. A preliminary survey has been made through to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the permanent location has been made to a point near Masontown, Preston County. Citizens of the town of Newburg and its vicinity, in March, sub- scribed several thousand dollars to the road, on condition that Newburg shall be made a point on its line. The offi- cers of the company are still making strong efforts to build the road.
On the 21st of March, 1881, a meeting was held at Fair- mont, in the interest of a projected railway south from Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. This road is known as the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Railroad .* Harrison and Marion counties voted subscriptions to it,
* The West Virginia and Pennsylvania R. R. is to " commence at the Pennsylvania line in the county of Monongalia, and run thence by the most practicable route, by way of Morgantown and Fairmont or Palatine, to Clarksburg." Certificate of incor- poration issued July 26, 1881 ; capital stock, $1,500,000, in shares of $100. Among the corporators were W. T. Willey, J. M. Hagans, Ashbel Fairchild, George C. Sturgiss, N. N. Hoffman, W. S. Cobun, Thomas F. Watson, Shelby P. Barker, J. S. Hood and W. E. Watson, of Monongalia County.
119
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
and Monongalia was requested to do likewise. But the request came so late (according to the Post), that the county court could not convene till April 18th-one day too late to give the requisite legal notice of the taking of a poll on the question at the election for school officers to occur in May. Besides, (continued the Post,) the projected Iron Valley and Morgantown Railroad was engaging the atten- tion of the people, and a vote by the county on the river railroad would be unwise, as Clay and Battelle could and most likely would vote it down. Another meeting was held in July at Fairmont, and representatives from Harrison, Marion and Monongalia were present. On April 29, 1882, at a special session of the county court an order was entered, in accordance with the prayer of several petitions, submitting to the voters of the county the proposition to subscribe $150,000 to the capital stock of this railroad, de- scribing it as a standard-gauge railroad to be built from the Pennsylvania line to the Marion County line. The friends of the scheme held meetings at several places in the county. The day of the special election* was June 10th, when the proposition was defeated by a vote of 1486 in its favor to 1045 against-32 less than the requisite three-fifths of all the votes cast upon the question.t Another effort was made by the friends of the road. A meeting was held, June 16, 1882, at Willey and Moreland's office. A new proposi- tion was prepared, which, it was hoped, would meet the approbation of all parts of the county. It provided for a subscription of $100,000 to the West Virginia and Pennsyl- vania Railroad, one of $60,000 to a narrow-gauge railway
* As to why special election could be held this year and not in 1881, see change made in the law by the enactment of chapter xi, of the Acts of 1882.
t See Constitution of West Virginia, Art. x., sec. 7; Acts of 1881, chap. v., sec. 24 ; Acts of 1882, chap. X1.
120
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
from West Morgantown to Blacksville,* and $15,000 to the Iron Valley and Morgantown Railroad. On November 9th, the county court ordered a special election on this proposi- tion to be held December 30th. Dissatisfaction with the arrangement having developed, on the 5th of December the order was rescinded. Two large meetings, however, were held at Blacksville in October.
New Year's-day, 1883, found the friends of the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Railroad+ assembled at the Wallace House, with Col. James Evans as chairman of the meeting, which adjourned till the next day, when a propo- sition was prepared providing that the county subscribe $100,000 to the above road and $60,000 to the Morgantown and Blacksville road. The county court entered an order for a vote to be taken on this proposition on February 17th. On the 13th, a large meeting was held at the court-house, and speeches in favor of the measure were made by the Hon. Benjamin Wilson, Shelby P. Barker, the Hon. W. T. Willey and the Hon. William L. Wilson. The proposition, however, was defeated. The vote was, for the subscrip- tions, 1383; against, 1479. At Laurel Point the people celebrated the result by the burning of tar barrels, etc. A meeting was held, February 21st, over which John B. Gray presided, and of which J. R. Hall was secretary. Speeches were made by Mr. Gray, B. F. Long, S. Stewart and W. R. Price. A series of resolutions were adopted, congratulating the people of the county on the defeat of the subscriptions, declaring that the " people of Grant District are in favor of
* The Blacksville and Morgantown Narrow-Gauge Railway was to extend from the Pennsylvania line, near the mouth of Roberts Run in Blacksville, to West Morgantown. Capital stock, from $100,000 to $200,000, in shares of $50. Corporators: E. P. Lantz, Thompson Strosnider, E. Tennant, A. Garrison, D. South, A. W. Brown and G. A. Burke.
+ The engineer's estimate of the cost of constructing this road was $19,000 per mile.
121
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
internal improvements on a proper basis," and would " ex- tend any reasonable facilities to a responsible company and will subscribe liberally to the capital stock of said company when the road is located," and that the people of Grant and Cass were "in favor of the railroad subscription, but, owing to some great prejudice on the East Side of the river, we failed to get our proposition granted by the honorable county court."
A meeting attended by citizens of Grant and Cass dis- tricts, was held at Granville, December 27, 1882, whose object " was to devise some plan by which to get a railroad through these districts." The meeting decided that the route " commencing at the Pennsylvania line in the district of Cass, thence to Granville and up Dent's Run by the most practicable route to the Marion County line in the district of Grant," was the most desirable. A committee was ap- pointed to ask the county court to order an election to be held in the two districts, to take the sense of the voters on a proposition to make a subscription to aid in the construc- tion of a standard-gauge railroad by the route before men- tioned. Another committee, to confer with " certain rail- road companies," to ascertain on what terms they would co-operate with the people of the districts, was appointed. The county court, March 8th, 1883, made two orders sub- - mitting a proposition to Cass and one to Grant. The proposition to Cass District was to subscribe $15,000 to the capital stock of the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Railroad Company, to aid in the construction of a standard- gauge railroad " through said district, beginning at or near the Pennsylvania line in said district, and running up the Monongahela River on the west side thereof, to the line dividing said district of Cass from the district of Grant in
122
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
said county ; and the further sum of $10,000 for and on behalf of said district of Cass to be subscribed to the capi- tal stock of the Blacksville and Morgantown Railroad Company," a narrow-gauge railroad leading from the town of Blacksville to West Morgantown. The proposition sub- mitted to Grant District was to subscribe $40,000 to the capital stock of the West Virginia and Pennsylvania Rail- road Company, a standard-gauge road, to run from a point at or near the Pennsylvania line in Cass District, up the west side of the Monongahela, to the mouth of Dent's Run; "thence up and along what is known as the Dent's Run route," through Grant District to a point on the Marion County line in said district. The vote in each district was ordered at the election for school officers in May, when both propositions were defeated. The vote in Cass was, for subscription, 51 ; against, 143. Grant's vote : for sub- scription, 63; against, 244.
On the 3d of March, 1883, a large meeting was held at Blacksville "for the purpose of inaugurating steps towards the extension of the Washington and Waynesburg [narrow- gauge] Railroad to Blacksville." Dr. A. W. Brown was president. "Articles of Association" for the extension of said railway to Blacksville, were presented by the manager of the road. The railway company asked $15,500 in sub- scriptions from the people along the route of the proposed extension. Eight thousand five hundred dollars were sub- scribed at the meeting. The Democrat, a newspaper pub- lished at Waynesburg, Penn., in its number of May 5th, said that nearly $20,000 had been subscribed, and that "the work steadily goes on." Work on the extension of the road, however, has never been begun.
Notwithstanding all these projects and the unselfish
123
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
efforts of many of her citizens, and the long years of agita- tion, dating from the days when the Baltimore and Ohio Company was seeking a passage through the county, Monongalia has yet no railway within her borders .* If repeated defeats and successive failures should crown rail- way efforts for years to come (which we do not believe), eventually the exhaustion of the Lower Monongahela Valley coal fields will necessitate the construction of a railway to the coal fields of Monongalia. In the future, capitalists will turn as eagerly to the great material resources of this county as did the projectors of the Ohio Companyt to its fertile soil and wealth of timber in 1748.
* On the 6th of March, 1847, an act was passed by the Legislature of Virginia, "authorizing the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company to construct the extension of their road through Virginia." In this act it was sought to include the location of the road. Many people in Monongalia and in every other county in Western Virginia, and in adjoining parts of Pennsylvania (see p. 107, foot-note), were bitterly opposed to & railroad, because, among other things, they said it would bring oats down to 10 cents a bushel, and would so far take the place of horses that there would be no sale for them. Among the men of that day having the foresight to see the value of a railroad, was Thomas.Haymond, then the representative from Marion County. It is said by those acquainted with the circumstances, that Haymond never mentioned his county as desiring the road; but being well acquainted with the geography of north-western Virginia, he quietly got the following clause attached to the bill: "That the said railroad to be constructed through the territory of Virginia, shall reach or cross the Tygart's Valley River at or within three miles of the mouth of Three Fork Creek in the county of Taylor." Previous to this, surveys had been made down Muddy Creek, Preston County, to get on to Decker's Creek and reach Morgantown. Haymond's clause compelled the road to make near the mouth of Three Fork a point. When this was done there was no route left to get from there to Wheeling but through Marion ; and Grafton became the junction Morgantown most likely would have been, as the engineers pronounced the route by Morgantown the most desirable.
t Upon the death of Thomas Lee, the chief management of the Ohio Company devolved upon Lawrence Washington, and at his death "Governor Dinwiddie and George Mason became proprietors." Col. Mercer's efforts in England to revive the Company having failed, he agreed to merge its interests in those of the Walpole or Grand Company. This latter company grew out of the plan proposed, in 1766, by Gov. Wm. Franklin of New Jersey, and Sir Wm. Johnson, Indian Agent, to form a new colony on the Ohio. Dr. Franklin, then in London, was engaged by them to press their claims for a grant. In 1770, Thomas Walpole, an eminent banker, was at the head of the scheme, hence the territory asked was called Walpole's Grant. August 14, 1772, the King approved the grant, " and that a new government should be established thereon." Its boundaries were as follows: "To begin opposite the mouth of the Sciota River, and to extend from thence in a southwardly direction through the pass of the Onasioto Mountain [near the latitude of North Carolina], thence northeast- wardly to the Kenhawa [Kanawha], at the junction of New River and Green Briar,
124
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
To present the information concerning the several railway projects in the county, in a succinct form, the subjoined statement, giving the name of each company and the date of its incorporation, has been prepared :
Name of Company. When Incorporated.
Morgantown and Independence. November 30, 1852
Monongahela and Ravenswood. February 27, 1854
Monongahela and Lewisburg. March 1, 1865
Monongahela Valley, extension of,. .March 3, 1868
Uniontown and West Virginia .February 18, 1869
West Virginia Central. .February 15, 1870
Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston. .February 25, 1870
Northern and Southern West Virginia .February 26, 1870
Pennsylvania and West Virginia. March 2, 1870
Iron Valley, extension of, February 28, 1871
Southwest Pennsylvania, extension of, February 28, 1872
Iron Valley and Morgantown. March 25, 1881
West Virginia and Pennsylvania. July 26, 1881
Blacksville and Morgantown Narrow Gauge. -, 1882
Recurring to the history of the turnpike enterprises, we have to note the incorporation, March 15, 1849, of the Morgantown and Bridgeport Turnpike Company. March 12, 1853, the capital of this company was increased $12,000.
The maximum limit of the capital stock of the Kingwood and West Union Turnpike Company was increased, in 1851, and the extension of the road to Morgantown was also authorized. This road was constructed; and, between Morgantown and Kingwood, is familiarly known as the "Morgantown and Kingwood Pike." February 10th, the Board of Public Works was authorized to borrow $2,800,
thence up Green Briar to the head of its northeasterly branch, thence easterly to the Allegany Mountains, thence along these mountains to the line of Lord Fairfax, and thence with his line and the lines of Maryland and Pennsylvania till the west boun- dary of the latter intersects the Ohio, and down said river to the place of beginning." The troubles connected with the Revolution prevented the organization of this new or 14th colony.
125
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
with which to macadamize this pike between Morgantown and Cranberry, which work was done. After the extension of the road to Morgantown, its name was changed to that of the Morgantown, Kingwood and West Union Turnpike. This is now the best road, perhaps, in all this section of country.
A bill appropriating money to macadamize the road from Morgantown to Ice's Ferry, was defeated in the General Assembly, in 1850, by a vote of fifty-four to forty-two.
There was some advocacy, in 1851, of the construction of a plank road to Cranberry.
The Assembly, February 10, 1853, appropriated $2,200 to complete the Maryland and Ohio Turnpike, and $6,000 to macadamize that part of it on Pharoah's Run.
The work of constructing the Brandonville, Morgantown and Fishing Creek Turnpike was let out by sections, in 1850, by William J. Willey, the superintendent, from Maryland to Morgantown, and thence nine miles towards Indian Creek.
The Blacksville and Worthington Turnpike Company was incorporated, March 26, 1853, with a capital of $15,000; shares, $25. Books of subscription were to be opened at Blacksville by Egan B. Tygart, Thomas E. Hall, William Lantz, Enos Tennant and John Shryon.
On the 1st of March in the same year, the capital stock of the Pennsylvania, Beverly and Morgantown Turnpike was increased $8,000; and on the 29th, the Smithtown Turnpike Company was chartered with a capital of $10,000.
On the 15th of February, an act was passed providing for the extension of the Beverly and Fairmont Turnpike to Warren. "The Dunkard Valley Turnpike Company" was incorporated, February 23, 1871, to construct a turnpike-
€
126
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
road from the Morgantown and Fairmont road, one mile west of Morgantown, by the way of Granville, Hamilton, Cassville and the Valley of Dunkard Creek to its source in Monongalia, and to Burton. Books of subscription were to be opened at Cassville, Blacksville and West Warren, under the direction of Morgan L. Boyers, John W. Tucker, Dr. A. W. Brown, Abraham Hair and Charles W. Edwards. The capital stock was to be formed of shares of $20 each.
Early efforts to secure water transportation have been mentioned in the first pages of this chapter. The State of Pennsylvania made the Monongahela River within her ter- ritory a public highway, April 15, 1782, and afterward appointed a commission to examine the river from the State line to Pittsburgh, and report an estimate of the probable cost of "locks, works or devices necessary to be made to render said river navigable." The Monongahela Navigation Company, a Virginia corporation, chartered in 1817, never accomplished anything. Slack-water navigation of the Monongahela was finally achieved in Pennsylvania by a second Monongahela Navigation Company, a Pennsylvania corporation, organized in 1837. A survey of the river showed it to be ninety and one-half miles from Pittsburgh to the Virginia (now West Virginia) line, and the ascent in the same distance, seventy-four and one-half feet. In 1844, dams and locks numbers one, two, three and four were completed, at a cost of $418,000. Their completion made the river navigable from Pittsburgh to Brownsville .*
* From 1844 to 1852, the company carried over 745,000 passengers, yielding a revenue of over $126,000. The great source of revenue to the company now is from carrying coal and coke. The coal shipments for 1881 were over 91,000,000 bushels, and of coke for the same year nearly 4,000,000 bushels. The revenue of the company for 1881 was over $216,000.
Some persons opposed slack-water, because, they said, it would make the upper river coal lands worthless; but these lands have risen in price steadily as the work has progressed.
127
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
Between 1854 and 1856, locks and dams numbers five and six were completed, causing slack-water to reach to New Geneva. The original intention of this navigation com- pany was to slack the river to the State line ; and for years efforts (as will be detailed presently) were made by the people of Morgantown to co-operate with the company. These efforts failing, the United States Government took hold of the work; and one dam and lock (No. 8) is now being built in Pennsylvania by the Government. When this lock and dam is completed, and Lock and Dam No. 7 in Pennsylvania (now in course of construction) is built by the Navigation Company, the improved navigation of the river will extend to Morgantown.
Another navigation company, called the Monongahela Navigation Company, was chartered by Virginia, March 10, 1847. Its object was to slack the Monongahela from the State line to Fairmont. At a meeting held February 24, 1851, at the court-house, subscriptions were ordered to be taken at eight different points in the county, and a com- mittee of correspondence was appointed. Meetings were held in Pennsylvania to aid the enterprise by subscriptions of stock to slack the river from Brownsville up to the State line. It was proposed for Monongalia and Marion to raise $30,000, induce Baltimore capitalists friendly to the enter- prise to take $50,000 of stock, and then get the State to subscribe $120,000. Although a considerable effort was made, the undertaking failed. Another meeting was held in 1852, to take steps to get the charter of the company extended. This was done by the Virginia Legislature in March, 1853, when it was enacted that the company should begin work in 1855, and finish by 1860 ; also that the board of public works would subscribe when Pennsylvania com-
128
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
pleted slack-water navigation in the Monongahela River up to the State line. Later in March, the trustees of Morgan- town borough were authorized to submit to a vote a propo- sition for the borough to subscribe not exceeding $100,000 to the company.
A meeting in the interest of slack-water navigation was held in Morgantown on the 25th of March, 1853, at which a committee was appointed to visit Pittsburgh and solicit aid. As the Pennsylvania navigation companion was not going ahead with its work according to the terms of its charter, a committee was appointed in the spring of 1853, by the people of Morgantown, to institute suit against the com- pany and compel it to do the work or forfeit its charter. November 26th, the town authorized by vote the levying of a tax to enable this committee to prosecute the suit. James . Dunlap was employed as attorney, but no suit was brought, as the Pennsylvania company got their charter extended.
The charter of the Virginia navigation company was revived and amended, April 7, 1858, and a capital stock of $100,000, in shares of $25, was authorized. Until the year 1868 was given for it to complete the work of slacking the river from the State line to Fairmont. A meeting was held at Morgantown (John B. Lough, chairman; Lewis Layton, secretary), to organize a movement to secure subscriptions to the stock of the company. The advisability of asking the county to vote a subscription of $25,000 was discussed. In the year 1860-March 8th,-the charter of the company was amended authorizing it to extend its work to Clarks- burg. Another effort was now made to get enough money to enable the company to begin work. Meetings* were
* At a meeting held April 24th, Col. James Evans was elected president and Dr. Isaac Scott secretary. W. T. Willey, Col. James Evans, P. H. Keck, Prof. J. R. Moore and Col. Wm. A. Hanway were appointed a committee to visit Pittsburgh to solicit aid.
-
MUSS-ENG
He are coworkers together A. L. Hade.
See Page 371.
129
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
held at Morgantown, and a committee was appointed to go to Pittsburgh and solicit aid. In November, Col. James Evans went to that city, and addressed the board of trade. Assurances of aid from the Pennsylvania navigation com- pany were received. Engineers employed to make a survey of the river, reported sixteen feet of fall from the Pennsyl- vania line to Morgantown, and that two locks and dams, costing $100,000, would be necessary to slack the river between these points. The borough trustees of Morgan- town ordered a vote upon a subscription by the town of $5,000 to the enterprise. There is no record of such elec- tion having been held. The presidential election of 1860 and the beginning of the Rebellion called away the energies of the people to other subjects ; and no further effort was made till 1863.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.