HAWKS NEST, WV (LOOTPRESS) – On this day 150 years ago, the final spike was driven on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway near Hawks Nest, West Virginia.
The C&O connected the Ohio River to the Atlantic Ocean and soon after its completion, West Virginia coal was heading out left and right to destinations all across America and the world.
The railroad’s western terminus at the time of completion was Huntington, named after rail tycoon Collis P. Huntington who stepped in and took over the Covington & Ohio Railroad and expanded the line from Clifton Forge, VA to White Sulphur Springs, WV and eventually to Huntington, WV.
The C&O opened up the New River Gorge and other parts of West Virginia to the rest of the world. The railway hauled countless loads of products and passengers through West Virginia and was the main artery of travel and transport through the southern part of the state for a time.
Towns such as Thurmond, Hinton, White Sulphur Springs, and Alderson were once some of the most booming towns in the state because of the railroad.
Today, trains and even Amtrak still run along the old C&O line under the ownership of CSX Transportation.