2026-04-29T15:39:56-04:00 Zend_Feed_Writer http://shenandoahstories.org/ Shenandoah Stories http://shenandoahstories.org 2019-10-15T11:33:26-04:00 2019-10-15T11:33:26-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/324 The Shenandoah Stories Team The Powhatan Lime Company of Strasburg Virginia dates to 1902. It was founded to quarry some of the area’s plentiful New Market limestone and to convert it into lime for use in construction agriculture, and numerous other industries. Powhatan Lime Company was on what is now Powhatan Road, near Junction Road just southwest of the Town of Strasburg corporate limits. Its location was not only near limestone deposits, it was also adjacent to the major rail lines that made up the Strasburg Junction. Rail power allowed the lime produced at the Powhatan plant to be shipped to markets around the country and internationally. In a May 10, 1918 edition of the Strasburg News Powhatan Lime Company is listed as one of five local lime plants. Collectively, these businesses employed over 250 persons and had a monthly payroll of over $12,000 or approximately $235,000 in today’s currency. The newspaper noted this income helped support local merchants and “without these plants, Strasburg would lose much of her life.” With the prosperity brought by these companies came risks. Lime production was, and is, and dangerous industry. Numerous locals lost their lives in accidents at plants in the Strasburg area. Included among these are Jack Renner, Hunter Boyd, Ashby Mitchll, George Huffman, and Cecil Alonzo Rinker. These five men were killed when a lightning strike detonated a buried dynamite charge at the quarry. The date when Powhatan Lime Company closed is uncertain. A 1945 National Labor Relations Board case noted the company was in operation, manufactured “chemical lime, fluxing lime, building lime, hydrated lime, agricultural lime, and crushed stone,” and produced approximately $125,000 worth of products annually, 80% of which was shipped outside the state of Virginia. A 1976 Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Report listed it as an abandoned quarry meaning the plant closed sometime between those two dates. Today, only the former quarry, now flooded, remains. For more, view the original article. 2017-01-26T12:23:09-05:00 2018-12-18T12:13:08-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/140 The Shenandoah Stories Team In 1878 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad completed this passenger depot in Strasburg Virginia. It replaced an earlier station constructed by the Manassas Gap Railroad in 1854 near the current site of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. The new structure was designed by famed architect E.F. Baldwin who was responsible for the majority of B&O depots along the Valley line. At the time the town of Strasburg was booming because of the presence of the railroad. The connection between the north to south B&O with the east to west Southern Railway line west of town brought expanded rail service. This factor led to the growth of local industry. Over 20 lime kilns, numerous textile mills, potteries, lumberyards, and other industrial concerns provided employment to the majority of the town and caused the town to grow. The B&O allowed these businesses to ship their products to buyers and for local stores to import goods to sale. This growth would lead to the demise of this building. By 1915 the railroad had outgrown the structure. So B&O expanded operations by purchasing the former Strasburg Steam Pottery building in town and renovating it to serve as a depot. Once that site opened, the former building was demolished. Passenger rail service would be based there until the railroad ceased providing passenger service to the Valley in 1948. For more, view the original article. 2016-05-13T11:31:43-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/47 Shenandoah County Library Despite the attention given to passenger service and its depots, the main railroad business in Woodstock and Shenandoah County was freight. The region exported hundreds of carloads of agricultural products each year while importing heavy machinery, finished goods, building supplies, fuel, and much more. Well into the 1960s trains were still supplied the majority of local businesses, including automobile dealerships whose new vehicles arrived via the railroad. Woodstock’s freight depot was constructed on the south side of Court Street sometime in the 1880s. It included a large stock pen to load cattle onto outgoing trains. Eventually the entire area between the Triplett Mill and the track, now open space, was filled with railroad facilities. Siding capacity expanded dramatically during the 20th century until it peaked at 175 cars from 1928-1942. The freight depot was also home to the telegraph office which established the Woodstock symbol as WD. Starting in the 1950s the rail service in the area began to decline as trucks began to supplant the train. Sometime before 1969 regular service ended. Interstate 81 had opened and all but the heaviest loads could be transported via that route faster and cheaper. The final depot manager retired from Woodstock in 1973 and the depot was demolished soon after that. For more, view the original article. 2016-05-13T11:15:21-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/46 Shenandoah County Library Trains belong to the Manassas Gap Railroad first arrived in Woodstock on August 27, 1856. The following year, a two stall engine house was constructed near this site. This structure would be destroyed during the Civil War. In 1885 a depot was built by the B&O Railroad. It stood on the south side of Court Street and was later home to the freight office. Three years later a new depot was built on what was called the “commons.” This was an ornate, limestone structure. It was more elaborate than most stations in the area, especially when one considers Woodstock’s modest size. A large covered platform stretched from the building to Court Street and facilitated the loading of passengers. It served until 1948 when passenger service ended. In 1954 the structure was sold to Gordon “Sonny” Bowman who dismantled it and used the material to construct the press box at the Massanutten Military Academy’s football field. Many locals passionately opposed the railroad’s decision to demolish the building and that its eventual loss damaged Woodstock’s historic character. For more (including 6 images), view the original article. 2016-05-05T16:29:32-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:20-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/28 Shenandoah County Library The first railroad bridge to cross the Narrow Passage Creek, at what was then called Willow Grove, was built in 1855 by the Manassas Gap Railroad. Its life would be short. The bridge was burned by Turner Ashby in 1862 to delay Union forces. In 1868 the bridge was rebuilt. This structure would stand for eight years. On the night of Monday, March 6 1876, the railroad bridge spanning Narrow Passage Creek south of Woodstock collapsed. The bridge had been constructed in 1868 as a replacement to a previous bridge that was burned in the Civil War. It was primarily constructed of wood with masonry supports. Atop the structure when it collapsed was an eastbound stock train with 151 head of cattle aboard. The train contained eleven loaded cattle cars, five freight cars, and one passenger coach. It was under the leadership of Conductor James Russell and Engineer T. Cunning. Local news reports indicate the collapse occurred at around midnight. Upon approaching the bridge the train had slowed and confirmed with the bridge sentry that it was safe to cross. It passed over the center of the bridge when suddenly the center span gave way. When the bridge collapsed, the train fell 114 feet to the stream bed. Eleven members of the crew were killed. Seven survived. The entire bridge, the engine, and all the cars settled in a mass of debris at the bottom of the bridge. Helped was called for from Edinburg and Woodstock and arrived at around 1:00AM. Doctors Prescott, Bellew, Campbell, Magruder, and Carter lead the response. This collapse remains the worst railroad accident in Shenandoah County History. It would take two months for rail service to be restored. A coroner’s inquest, led by J.H. Grabill, investigated the crash but was unable to determine the exact cause of the collapse, though the two most plausible explanations were a broken axle on one of the cars or rotten timbers in the bridge. The bridge would be completely rebuilt in 1909 by the Southern Railway Company. The four-span, deck-plate girder bridge was constructed by the American Bridge Company and, at 462 feet, is the longest in the area. By 1989 the line, which had once been exceedingly busy, had only one customer. Trains, consisting of eight cars, crossed the bridge once a week to deliver material to Johns Manville. In 2007 this plant closed and the trains ceased to pass over this line. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2016-05-04T11:57:23-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:20-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/14 Shenandoah County Library Trains first arrived at Mt. Jackson in 1859 when the Manassas Gap Railroad completed construction of a new line that terminated in the town. Though the railroad intended to extend the route to Harrisonburg, money had run short. Anyone wishing to finish their journey to that city would have to disembark and board a carriage for the remainder of their trip. The position of the railroad terminus would affect Mt. Jackson during the Civil War. The Confederate Army established a hospital here in 1861 since it was easy to transport soldiers here via that railroad. Eventually this would become a major medical center that treated thousands of patients from both sides. In 1871 the railroad was completed through to Harrisonburg and Mt. Jackson became just another stop along the route. Seven years later they established a telegraph office in the town. A new depot would be completed in 1890 and was expanded in 1913. It served a town that exported thousands of carloads of apples, livestock, and grain each year. Even though the service remained brisk, the passenger portion of the depot was dismantled in 1951. The remainder of the station was demolished in the 1970s. The freight service had ended a year earlier. Today, the Mt. Jackson Town Hall stands on the site of the former deport. It was designed to recreate the characteristics of the old depot. The train no long runs through the town. For more (including 2 images), view the original article.