The New River Railroad was founded as the New River Mining and Railroad Company on May 24, 1874, at the Montgomery White Sulphur Springs, in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Construction of the railroad began on September 16 at the New River Depot on the

Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) was formed in 1870 in Virginia from three east–west railroads which traversed across the southern portion of the state. Organized and led by former Confederate general William Mahone (1826-1895) ...

Route

The railroad route travels north through

and down the New River valley to the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...

on the mouth of the

Greenbrier River The Greenbrier River is a tributary of the New River, long,McNeel, William P. "Greenbrier River." ''The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Ken Sullivan, editor. Charleston, WV: West Virginia Humanities Council. 2006. . in southeastern West Virginia ...

History

The company issued and sold $4 million of stock to pay for the railroad. The development of the railroad revealed multiple coal seams along its route. The company established its headquarters in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Mining companies could own stocks, and counties affected by the railroad could sell bonds or levy taxes to buy stock or pay off the bonds. J. Dickenson Sergeant, Thomas Graham, Richard Wood, Henry Beckwith, S. H. Newbery, William Firmstone, R. F. Hoke, P. H. McCaull, P. W. Strother, and Richard B. Roane were the founders of the railroad. William Firmstone, an industrialist and engineer, died three years after incorporating the company in 1877. He had rebuilt the furnace of Glendon Iron Company to modernize it. Frank Firmstone, his son, modernized two more furnaces. Another of his sons, Harry Firmstone, was the first engineer in Virginia to use coke to make

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

in 1874. The high-grade coke that made this possible came from the New River. P. H. McCaull was a delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates and a County Clerk of Roanoke County in 1887; McCaull was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

who wrote to

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician. As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...

in 1877 that an election had been lost due to a law that gave Democrats control of voting rolls. P. W. Strother was also a Delegate. Richard B. Roane, a Superintendent, was married to a relative of

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

. In 1878,

Frederick W. M. Holliday Frederick William Mackey Holliday (February 22, 1828May 29, 1899) was a member of the Confederate Congress as well as an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He also became the List of governors of Virginia, 3 ...

, the

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

, provided

prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

to work on the railroad system. Many of these were wrongfully convicted, innocent men used for

convict leasing Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor which was practiced historically in the Southern United States, the laborers being mainly African-American men; it was ended during the 20th century. (Convict labor in general continues; f ...

to the New River Railroad. The state would subsidize the cost of clothes, food, medical expenses, and guards for the men equivalent to what the state would pay if the men had stayed in prison. In return, the railroad would pay back these expenses each year with railroad bonds along with six percent interest. On December 23, 1881, the New River Railroad and Mining and Manufacturing Company merged with Bluefield Railroad to form the New River Railroad of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. These railroads were the foundation for the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

, New River Division. Norfolk and Western Railway President

Frederick J. Kimball Frederick James Kimball (March 6, 1844 – July 27, 1903) was a civil engineer. He was an early president of the Norfolk and Western Railway and helped develop the Pocahontas coalfields in Virginia and West Virginia. Kimball was born in Ph ...

bought the New River Railroad and transformed the railroad system from one that just transported agricultural products to one that made significant profits from coal by opening the

Pocahontas Coalfield Pocahontas Coalfield, which is also known as the Flat Top-Pocahontas Coalfield, is located in Mercer County/ McDowell County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia. The earliest mining of coal in the coalfield was in Pocahontas, Virginia ...

in western Virginia and southern West Virginia.

References

{{reflist Rail freight transportation in the United States Defunct Virginia railroads 1874 establishments in Virginia Railway companies disestablished in 1881