The Cheaspeake and Ohio Station
Pocahontas County was formed in 1821 by an act of the Virginia Legislature (West Virginia was still part of Virginia at this time). The first county court met in the small community of Huntersville WV.
In 1891 the County seat was moved to "Marlin's Bottom" which was subsequently re-named "Marlinton" ("There ain't no "g" in Marlinton). In reality, Marlin's Bottom had been the scene of the earliest settlement. In 1851 Andrew Lewis, a famous early Virginia explorer, found 2 individuals living in the bottom, one of them in a tree.
Shortly after Marlinton became the county seat, The Cheasapeake and Ohio extended its Greenbrier sub-division into town and then beyond (the line eventually ended at the small town of Durbin WV). This station was constructed in 1901.
After the Greenbrier Sub-Division was abandoned by the Chessie System (the successor to the C&O), most of the roadbed was converted to the Greenbrier Rail-Trail. The Marlinton Station, by that time one of only 4 still extant on the line, was converted into a Visitor's Center complete with information and a display of what the station had been like in the period 1910-1920.
Sadly, this station burned last spring. I found out about it a few weeks ago from a fellow traveler on Amtrak's train, The Cardinal. He told me at the time that he understood the fire had started in the electrical system.
Since the fire, the Visitor's Center has been moved to the Van Reenen Home, and an effort is underway to build a replica of this station. This is an area of the country that has struggled economically for many years. Any help I am sure would be appreciated.
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