West Virginia Mountain Railroad National Historic Trail

The West Virginia Mountain Railroad National Historic Trail is a proposal for an over 100-mile-long multi-use trail that would connect Davis, WV, to a more extensive network of trails throughout the East Coast, including the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath Trail, Great Allegheny Passage, and the Appalachian Trail. This route follows the North Branch of the Potomac River along the historic West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway created by Henry Gassaway Davis in the late 1800s. This rail line that once connected West Virginia to its prosperous coal and timber resources again has the chance to connect West Virginia to another industry: outdoor recreation. This trail would become an economic driver for many of the towns it passes through and bring in users from other regions to see the Wild and Wonderful resources West Virginia has to offer.

The main stem of the West Virginia Mountain Railroad Trail will follow the North Branch of the Potomac and the Blackwater Rivers, paralleling Henry Gassaway Davis’s West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway, built from 1880 to 1889, from Cumberland, MD, to Elkins, WV. Spur trails could lead to Belington in Barbour County to the west and Durbin in Pocahontas County to the east.

The history of our trail begins with Henry Gassaway Davis, a man born in Baltimore who began his career at 14 as a water boy at a quarry after his father's death. Although Davis’s family faced vast challenges throughout his life, they were also well-connected to many influential and prosperous individuals who lent support. By 1842, Davis had become a respected worker, gaining more responsibility in his roles, and was offered his first job on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as a brakeman. He was responsible for manually stopping trains by pulling a lever to apply brakes during this time. He excelled in this new position and drew the attention of B&O president Thomas Swann because of his leadership and skill in clearing the rear-end collisions that were so prevalent in this era. It wasn't long before Davis was promoted to supervisor of the line between Baltimore and Cumberland.

In 1853, Davis married Katharine Bantz of Frederick, Maryland. He requested the position of station agent at Piedmont, which was quickly becoming a commercial hub as the final stop before the trains crossed the Allegheny Front. During his time at Piedmont, he was fortunate enough to realize the growing opportunities in trade, timber, and coal. In 1858, he resigned from his position in Piedmont and established H.G. Davis and Company. This new company primarily helped provide oil and lumber to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and continued to do so throughout the Civil War in support of the Union. His success before and during the war allowed him to purchase thousands of acres of land throughout several West Virginia counties, where he saw opportunities in timber and coal. By this time, Davis had become a successful businessman in West Virginia and, in 1865, was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates, where he served term one before becoming a state senator. In 1870 he was chosen by the state legislature to represent West Virginia as a United States Senator, an office he held until 1883.

During his time in the House of Delegates, Davis received a charter for the Potomac and Piedmont Coal and Railroad Company. By 1880 his railroad had evolved into the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway and was under construction, making the connection from Cumberland, MD, to Elkins, WV. In 1884 the railroad was completed all the way to Thomas, WV, opening the area to mining operations and associated growth.  One such operation was the Davis Coal & Coke Company, established by Davis, his son-in-law Stephen Elkins, and other investors, many of whom were Davis’s relatives. The company was headquartered in the coal company town of Coketon, developed near Thomas. At the turn of the twentieth century, this area was booming with business and growing because of the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway, and so began our opportunity for connection once again.

The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway sparked lots of business up and down its route, creating several mining and transportation towns along the way. As we begin to think about this route as a National Historic Trail, it is important to consider each of these towns and their role in the success of West Virginia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The following walks you through many of these communities in a journey to capture the character and history of the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg historic rail corridor.