National Register Listing

Baltimore and Ohio and Related Industries Historic District

Roughly bounded by B&O RR from S side of Burke St. underpass to N side of B&O & PA RR bridge, Martinsburg, WV

The B & Oofomplex is of national significance because of its outstanding round-houses and complex of early buildings. It has great historical importance for the change it brought to Berkeley County. Further importance is the part it played in the Civil War and the Eastern Panhandle becoming part of the State of West Virginia.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railway was the first public railway in this country, following closely on the heels of the Liverpool and Manchester Hailway in England. This pioneering company was in the forefront of railway technology for nearly three decades after its founding in 1827. Major contributions included the development of the all iron railway bridge by Bollman and Fink and major improvements in rolling stock design by winan et al. In every aspect of railway construction and operation, the Baltimore and Ohio were instrumental in the development of the characteristic American railroads which increasingly differed from British practice.

The Main Stem, as it was and is called, reached Harper's Ferry on December 1, 1834, but it was not until early 1842 that the railway reached Martinsburg. The railway was not only of material significance but it had a profound influence on the essentially agrarian plantation life in the county. It marked the beginning of industrialization in Martinsburg, which reached a golden age at the end of the century. The Baltimore and Ohio was also of great economic and military significance in the Civil War. As a result Martins burg and the entire county changed hands several times during the conflict. The occupation of the Baltimore and Ohio by Federal forces towards the end of the war was a notable factor in the county joining the newly formed state of West Virginia.

The first major work on the Main Stem in the county was the crossing of Opequon Creek on a stone and timber viaduct of 150 feet span, forty feet above the creek. This was later replaced by a patented Bollman suspension truss, the first patented all iron railway bridge. As locomotive loads increased this truss bridge was in turn replaced by the current bridge, a deep plate girder deck bridge.
At Martinsburg the line crossed the Tuscarora on a unique viaduct of ten w' spans, composed of iron and timber. The spans were supported on two abutments and 18 stone Doric columns, Not surprizingly it was called the Colonnade or Pillar bridge.

In 1849, the Baltimore and Ohio established its railroad shops in Martinsburg and erected here two most noteworthy roundhouses and workship buildings. In June 1861 orders were issued to the local Confederate forces to destroy all property that might prove useful to the enemy. The Colonnade Bridge was blown up, the Opequon bridge demolished, thirty five locomotives destroyed and the shops and roundhouses razed.

The Colonnade Bridge was not rebuilt but rather a large embankment was constructed with an underpass for Burke St. The latest underpass structure is a combined steel girder and concrete slab bridge built in 1911.

In 1866 the two roundhouses were rebuilt as well as the machine shop and a frog and switch shop. The west roundhouse is the best surviving example of the circular engine house type built by Baltimore and Ohio in several places, in essentially original condition.
Covered by a bell-shaped roof with a steep pitch designed to trap locomotive smoke, which was then removed by a large ventilating cupola that originally crowned the top. The roof is supported by inclined prefabricated cast-iron columns and horizontal trussed struts. This is a unique and remarkable structure of material significance.

One identical to the west roundhouse, the east roundhouse was altered in 1927 when the bell-shaped roof was replaced and structural timbers replaced much of the iron framing.

The building now serves as the station was built in about 1849 and was sold to Baltimore and Ohio in 1866 to serve as a station, replacing the original station which was destroyed in the Civil War.

Flanking the central group of buildings are two freight stations, one located near Burke Street and the other near Exchange Place. Near Burke Street, Freight Station exists. a small frame building that is said to have served as a telegraph office.
The entire group of buildings is of outstanding historical and architectural importance.

Westward from Martinsburg, the Main St em crosses the Valley on a route 26 miles long. On leaving the Valley by a rather tortuous route, several miles north of North Mountain, the Main Stem leaves the county on a stone arch of 80' clear span, 54' above Back Creek.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.