PEEKING INTO WEST VIRGINIA HISTORY

I always try to get a deeper historical feel for the culture of places I visit by exploring old towns, abandoned places, and period buildings and architecture.

Thurmond WV was accessible solely by rail until the 1920s.

“The town occupies a narrow stretch of flat land along the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad track, with no road between the tracks and the town. Instead, a single-lane road crosses the New River on a single-track railroad bridge, crosses the main line, and climbs the hill behind the town so that it parallels the town 150 feet higher on the hill before dropping down next to the tracks.^[13] Due to its strategic position on the rail line, the commercial center thrived in spite of the absence of a road.
In the residential portion of the town, housing types are standardized, with three or four basic types corresponding to different positions in the railroad hierarchy. The commercial district, while lacking a street for much of its history, boasted two hotels, two banks, and a number of other commercial buildings. The railroad station was built in 1888, while a railyard and shops served the extensive branch line network which carried coal out of the hills.^[13]
The town once had a population of several hundred, which has dwindled to fewer than a dozen.^[4] The railroad depot is now a visitor center for New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.” (Citation NPS Thurmond Walking Tour)

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF THURMOND

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