Martinsburg, West Virginia - City Hall

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🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: Rebuilding and RenewalThe same forces that made Martinsb...
06/21/2026

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: Rebuilding and Renewal

The same forces that made Martinsburg a target during the Civil War would help rebuild it in the years that followed.
In the aftermath of war and the creation of West Virginia, Martinsburg shifted from conflict to recovery. A city that had endured repeated occupation and destruction turned toward renewal.

Railroads led the way.

Following widespread damage in 1861 and 1862, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad rebuilt its facilities in Martinsburg, including the roundhouse and machine shops beginning in 1866. These projects restored critical connections and helped revive the local economy.

The city already had a foundation to build on. The train station, originally constructed in 1848, remained standing and continued to serve the community, linking Martinsburg once again to the broader region.

As rail service returned, so did commerce.

Businesses reopened, and the Martinsburg Market House once again became a center of trade. Merchants and craftsmen returned to their work. Farmers brought goods into town. The flow of people and products began moving again.

Recovery could be seen not just in rail yards and storefronts, but along the streets where residents lived. Neighborhoods stabilized, and daily routines returned as the city rebuilt itself block by block.

Civic life followed that same pattern. The courthouse and public square remained central to government and community activity, anchoring Martinsburg during a time of transition.

Within a few short years, Martinsburg had moved from a battleground to a center of growth. The same infrastructure that had drawn conflict now supported expansion, reconnecting the city to a rebuilding nation.

Martinsburg’s story did not end with war—it continued through rebuilding. The ability to recover, adapt and move forward became part of the city’s identity, shaping the path toward the Martinsburg we know today.



Photo Credits
View of South Queen Street looking north, Martinsburg, West Virginia, ca. 1906.
West Virginia & Regional History Center, WVU Libraries.

B&O Railroad Martinsburg Roundhouse, constructed beginning in 1866 (historic elevation drawing).
Historic American Engineering Record / Library of Congress.

Commercial building at Queen and Burke Streets, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
West Virginia & Regional History Center.

South Queen Street residential view, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
West Virginia & Regional History Center.

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: A New State, A New BeginningHappy Birthday West Virginia...
06/20/2026

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: A New State, A New Beginning

Happy Birthday West Virginia!

Just one day after the nation reflects on freedom and the end of slavery, West Virginia marks the anniversary of its own beginnings.

On June 20, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, West Virginia became the 35th state— the only state admitted to the Union during the Civil War—born not in peace, but in the uncertainty, conflict and urgency of a nation divided.

For communities like Martinsburg, this moment was deeply personal. By the time West Virginia entered the Union, Martinsburg had already experienced nearly two years of military occupation, raids, battles and destruction associated with the war.

Situated along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad—one of the most important transportation lines in the country—Martinsburg became a strategic hub for the movement of troops, supplies and communication, making it vital to the Union war effort.

The city’s location in the northern Shenandoah Valley and the presence of significant Unionist sentiment set it apart during the conflict. Historian Jonathan A. Noyalas notes in Encyclopedia Virginia that “Martinsburg, however, stubbornly remained Unionist” during Virginia’s secession crisis. On May 23, 1861, Martinsburg residents voted approximately three-to-one against secession, making it the only locality in the Shenandoah Valley to oppose secession in the statewide referendum. While loyalties in the region were often divided, Martinsburg’s importance to transportation and military operations helped shape both its wartime experience and its future.

The creation of West Virginia was closely tied to President Abraham Lincoln, who approved its admission to the Union and supported the formation of a state that would remain loyal during a time of rebellion. Statehood was not merely a political act—it was a wartime decision shaped by geography, allegiance and necessity.

The inclusion of the Eastern Panhandle reflected those same dynamics. Residents of Berkeley and Jefferson Counties voted to join the new state, though the process remained controversial and was later challenged by Virginia. The region's position along critical transportation routes—including the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad—made it strategically important during the war.

That dispute continued after statehood. Virginia challenged the transfer of Berkeley and Jefferson Counties, but Congress and the courts ultimately upheld their place in West Virginia.

For Martinsburg, this new chapter brought both challenges and opportunity. The years following statehood required rebuilding, recovery and a renewed focus on growth. Yet the same strengths that had sustained the community during the war—its location, its people and its connections—continued to shape its future.

West Virginia Day offers a moment to reflect not only on the creation of a state, but on the role of communities that helped define it.

Martinsburg’s story is part of that foundation—a reminder that even in times of division, new beginnings can emerge.



Photo: H.J. Res. 17 (February 19, 1866), approving the transfer of Berkeley and Jefferson Counties to West Virginia. Courtesy of the National Archives.

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: The Limits of Freedom and the Rise of SegregationJunetee...
06/19/2026

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: The Limits of Freedom and the Rise of Segregation

Juneteenth marks the moment when freedom reached the last enslaved people in 1865, but defining and securing that freedom would take generations.

As the nation worked to define freedom after the Civil War, the promise of Reconstruction brought real change.

Between 1865 and 1870, three constitutional amendments reshaped the country. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment established citizenship and guaranteed equal protection under the law and the 15th Amendment sought to protect the right to vote regardless of race. Together, they were intended to define freedom in law and secure it for future generations.

For a time, those changes opened new opportunities.

But that progress did not go unchallenged.

Across the country, laws and practices emerged that limited those gains. Black Codes restricted freedom and economic opportunity, while new barriers were put in place to limit political participation.

As Reconstruction came to an end, a system of segregation began to take hold. Often described as “separate but equal,” it created divisions in schools, public spaces and daily life. In practice, opportunities and services were rarely equal.

In West Virginia, state law required separate schools for white and African American students, reflecting a broader system of segregation that developed after Reconstruction. In Martinsburg, the Martinsburg Colored School—established in 1867 with support from the Freedmen’s Bureau and later known as Sumner‑Ramer School—served as a center of education and community life for African American families building opportunity in a segregated society.

These changes also affected access to resources and participation in civic life. Barriers to voting and unequal public services reflected a widening gap between the rights promised in law and the realities experienced by many.

This period reminds us that progress is not always permanent. Rights can be challenged and change can move unevenly.

The effort to fully define and secure freedom did not end with Reconstruction. More than 100 years after the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s grew out of generations of advocacy and inequality. Through protests, legal challenges and civic action, new federal laws—including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965—worked to end legal segregation and remove long-standing barriers to voting and equal access under the law.

In Martinsburg and across the country, the story of Reconstruction did not end with new laws. It continued through the efforts of communities determined to move forward, even when the path was difficult.

As we remember Juneteenth and reflect on freedom, this chapter reminds us that defining and protecting that freedom has taken generations.



Image 1: “Colored Waiting Room” sign, Rome, Georgia, 1943, photographed by Esther Bubley for the Farm Security Administration. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Image 2: Segregated public facility interior, illustrating the separation of public spaces under Jim Crow laws. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Image 3: 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified December 6, 1865, abolishing slavery. Courtesy of the National Archives.

Image 4: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the East Room of the White House, July 2, 1964. Civil rights leaders and members of Congress look on. Courtesy of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and National Archives.

Image 5: Civil rights marchers during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963, advocating for equal rights and an end to segregation. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: Freedom and a Nation Redefined — JuneteenthAs the Civil ...
06/19/2026

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: Freedom and a Nation Redefined — Juneteenth

As the Civil War moved toward its conclusion, the meaning of the conflict began to shift. What began as a fight to keep the country together became a defining moment in the effort to end slavery and expand freedom.

President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, issued January 1, 1863, declared enslaved people in Confederate states to be free—transforming the purpose of the war. But for many, freedom depended not only on that declaration, but on Union victory and enforcement. Here in Martinsburg, that reality was clear.

Occupied, contested and strategically vital, the city saw constant movement of both Union and Confederate forces as control shifted throughout the war. Its rail lines made it a critical target, placing the community at the center of the conflict and the broader struggle over transportation and communication. At times, the outcome of the war itself was not certain.

More than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, on June 19, 1865—known today as Juneteenth—Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No. 3, informing the last enslaved people that they were free.

Freedom was not delivered by message alone—it arrived with the presence of Union forces who made its promise a reality.

The conflict that passed through Martinsburg was part of that larger effort. Sustained Union control of key rail lines and infrastructure in regions like the Eastern Panhandle ultimately helped ensure the war could be brought to its conclusion—making it possible for emancipation to be enforced across the country.

The end of the war brought both relief and uncertainty, but it also marked the beginning of a new chapter. The nation faced the work of rebuilding—not only infrastructure, but the principles upon which it stood. At the same time, the nation also mourned its President, assassinated in April 1865, only days after the effective end of the Civil War. Lincoln’s leadership had transformed the war into a fight for freedom and set emancipation in motion.

Freedom, once contested, was more firmly embedded in the American story—but it would take generations to define, and remains a work in progress.

Juneteenth offers a moment to reflect on that transformation—and to recognize that the path to freedom ran not only through distant places, but through communities like Martinsburg as well.



Photo 1: General Order No. 3, issued June 19, 1865, by U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, informing the people of Texas that all enslaved people were free.

Photo 2: Emancipation Proclamation, issued January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states to be free.

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: A City at WarWhen the Civil War began on April 12, 1861,...
06/18/2026

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: A City at War

When the Civil War began on April 12, 1861, with the opening shots at Fort Sumter, the nation was still less than a century old—and its future uncertain. Over the next four years, until April 1865, communities across the country would be drawn into a conflict that would redefine the United States.

In Martinsburg, that impact came almost immediately.

Within weeks of Virginia’s move toward secession, Confederate forces entered the city. By June 1861, Colonel Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson had taken control of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Martinsburg and began systematically dismantling it—marking the first major wartime action in the community.

What had made Martinsburg prosperous—its railroads and strategic location—now made it a target. Control of the city meant control of movement along one of the most critical transportation corridors in the country.

Jackson’s operations were among the most remarkable of the early war. Under orders to deny the Union use of the railroad, Confederate forces burned rail cars, destroyed infrastructure, and tore up track. In a feat of engineering and manpower, about 14 locomotives were dismantled and hauled south by horse-drawn teams, eventually reassembled for Confederate use. Dozens more were destroyed or disabled.

The scale of destruction was significant. Rail yards, bridges, and critical infrastructure were repeatedly damaged and rebuilt, reflecting the high stakes of controlling this vital corridor.

Martinsburg quickly became a contested city. The first major fighting in the area occurred in early July 1861, when Union forces crossed the Potomac, clashed with Confederate troops, and occupied Martinsburg on July 3.

From that point forward, control shifted again and again. Over the course of the war, Martinsburg changed hands approximately 37 times, making it one of the most contested places in the region.

The city also saw a number of well-known Civil War figures operate in or pass through the area. Stonewall Jackson directed early Confederate operations here, supported by cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart. Later in the war, Confederate General Jubal Early’s forces again moved through the city during the 1864 campaign toward Washington. Local figures were also intertwined with these events, including Charles James Faulkner of Martinsburg, who served on Jackson’s staff, and whose family home, Boydville, remains a historic landmark.

Martinsburg’s wartime experience also included deeply personal stories.

Residents like Belle Boyd—born in the city and later known as one of the Confederacy’s most famous spies—lived through the uncertainty as control of the town shifted again and again.

Boyd first gained national attention in July 1861 after shooting a Union soldier during an early occupation of the city. In the years that followed, she gathered intelligence from Union officers and relayed it to Confederate commanders, becoming one of the most recognized figures of wartime espionage.

Her story reflects how the conflict extended beyond the battlefield, involving civilians caught between opposing forces. Her family home on East Race Street still stands today, a visible reminder of those who experienced the war firsthand.

Even as the war progressed, Martinsburg remained in the path of conflict.

Confederate and Union forces returned again and again, with significant activity continuing into 1864 before Union control was more firmly established in the final year of the war.

The scenes captured here—from damaged rail facilities and troop positions to a regional campaign map showing Martinsburg’s strategic location, alongside the image of Belle Boyd and her surviving home—reflect the reality of a community in the direct path of war.

Despite these challenges, the people of Martinsburg endured. The community continued to function, rebuild and adapt in the face of conflict. What had once been a center of commerce became a place defined by resilience and determination.
Martinsburg’s experience during the Civil War reflects its importance not just to the region, but to the nation.

This was not a distant battlefield—this was home, and the same streets we walk today stood at the center of a war that would define the future of the United States.



Photo Credits
Image 1: “Views in and Around Martinsburg, Virginia,” engraving by Alfred R. Waud, published in Harper’s Weekly, December 3, 1864. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Image 2: Map of the Shenandoah Valley and Valley Campaigns, showing Martinsburg’s strategic position along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Valley Pike. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Image 3: Belle Boyd, Confederate spy, Brady-Handy photograph collection. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Image 4: Belle Boyd House, 126 East Race Street, Martinsburg, West Virginia. Photo by City of Martinsburg / Berkeley County Historical Society.

Martinsburg City Hall and administrative offices will be closed in observance of Juneteenth, Friday June 19 and West Vir...
06/17/2026

Martinsburg City Hall and administrative offices will be closed in observance of Juneteenth, Friday June 19 and West Virginia Day on Monday, June 22, 2026.

Trash collection will be adjusted as follows:

Friday's collection will occur as scheduled - no changes.
Monday’s collection will occur on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s collection will occur on Wednesday.
Recycling will be collected on Wednesday.

Please plan accordingly.

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06/17/2026

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🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: A Strategic Crossroads of National Importance — The Rail...
06/17/2026

🇺🇸 America 250: Where America’s Story Runs Through Martinsburg: A Strategic Crossroads of National Importance — The Railroad

By the mid‑1800s, Martinsburg’s growth and location had made it more than a regional center of commerce—it had become a strategic crossroads of national importance.

That transformation accelerated dramatically with the arrival of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the 1840s.

For the first time, Martinsburg was directly connected to major cities and markets, linking the community to a national transportation network.

That connection came quickly.

The first locomotive reached Martinsburg in May 1842, and by November of that same year, the city saw its first passenger train. Within a few years, a station and hotel complex—built around 1848–1849—served travelers moving through this growing rail hub.

Running east to Baltimore and west toward the Ohio River and the expanding frontier, the B&O line placed Martinsburg along one of the nation’s most important transportation corridors—linking Atlantic commerce with westward expansion.

As rail traffic increased, the B&O constructed extensive shop facilities in Martinsburg, including maintenance shops and two roundhouses that supported operations along this critical corridor.

The railroad changed everything.

What once took days by wagon could now be moved quickly and efficiently by rail. Goods, materials and people flowed through Martinsburg at an unprecedented scale, fueling economic growth and attracting new industry and opportunity.
The city was no longer just connected to the region—it was connected to the country.

This new infrastructure elevated Martinsburg’s importance almost overnight. Its rail lines became vital corridors for commerce and communication, making the city a key link between the eastern seaboard and the expanding western frontier.

With that importance came both opportunity—and vulnerability.

When the Civil War began, Martinsburg’s rail connections made it a critical target. Control of the railroad meant control of movement—troops, supplies and information. The same infrastructure that drove growth now placed the city at the center of a national conflict.

Trains, tracks and rail yards were repeatedly contested and destroyed as control of the region shifted.

More than 175 years later, the rail connection remains.

Martinsburg is still an active rail hub, with Amtrak and MARC passenger service linking the city daily to Washington, D.C. and beyond—carrying forward a legacy that began with those first trains in 1842.

While rail service continues today, the rail shops, which had operated in Martinsburg for more than a century, closed in 1988, marking the end of an era in the city’s industrial history.

Martinsburg’s role during this period reflects its significance not just to the region, but to the nation.

The arrival of the railroad transformed the city—turning a growing town into a strategic and economic hub at a pivotal moment in American history.



Photo Credits
Photo 1 (rail yard with workers and locomotives):Baltimore & Ohio Railroad shops, Martinsburg, West Virginia, Civil War era (c. 1860s). Workers, locomotives, and coal cars are shown within one of the nation’s most strategically important rail centers. Source: PhotoQuest / Getty Images (archival collection)

Photo 2 (station/hotel building): Baltimore & Ohio Railroad depot and hotel, Martinsburg, West Virginia, late 19th century. Source: West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVU Libraries)

Photo 3 (roundhouse and yard): Baltimore & Ohio Railroad shops and roundhouse complex, Martinsburg, West Virginia. Source: Library of Congress

🇺🇸 America 250: From Orchard Rows to American Roots Long before modern highways and neighborhoods, this region was defin...
06/16/2026

🇺🇸 America 250: From Orchard Rows to American Roots

Long before modern highways and neighborhoods, this region was defined by something simpler—and more enduring: agriculture.

In the early days of settlement, nearly every farm included an orchard. Apples weren’t just a crop—they were essential to daily life—eaten fresh, preserved for winter, and pressed into cider, one of early America’s most reliable beverages.

As settlers moved through the Shenandoah Valley—along routes that would become today’s Route 11 and I-81—they planted seeds, cleared land, and built farms that helped sustain a growing nation.

Here in the Eastern Panhandle, fertile soils and a favorable climate helped transform agriculture into a driving force of the American economy. Beginning in 1851, commercial orchards spread rapidly across Berkeley County and the surrounding region—helping turn apples from a local farm crop into a product that could feed cities and reach markets far beyond the valley.

With the arrival of the railroad, Martinsburg became part of something larger. Apples grown here could be shipped quickly to East Coast markets, connecting local farmers to a growing national economy.

By the late 1800s and early 1900s, orchards blanketed the landscape. The Eastern Panhandle became a regional hub of apple production, supporting hundreds of orchards and feeding communities across multiple states. Processing companies like National Fruit in Martinsburg and C.H. Musselman in nearby Inwood helped transform local harvests into products distributed across the country.

Apples weren’t just part of the economy—they became part of our identity.
While many of those orchards have been replaced by neighborhoods and development over the years, agriculture—and the orchards that remain—continue to play an important role in our community and economy.

That legacy is still visible today:
• From the “Applemen” name and local traditions
• To the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival
• To the orchards that still surround our community

And in downtown Martinsburg, the Apple Time Capsule on King Street stands as a symbol of that legacy—set to be opened in 2040, reminding us that this story isn’t finished—it’s still being written.

From the orchards that once covered this valley to the farms and markets that continue today,

America’s story didn’t just pass through Martinsburg: Martinsburg helped feed a growing nation.

And it grew here.



Photos: West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVRHC)

Map of West Virginia showing areas suitable for apple growing and major commercial orchard regions (ca. 1901)

“A million bushels of apples at Martinsburg, West Virginia…” — historic caption describing Martinsburg as the apple center of the Eastern Panhandle, with large canning and vinegar plants processing the fruit—even utilizing cores and seeds for stock feed

Apple Time Capsule: Berkeley Arts Council

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232 N. Queen Street
Martinsburg, WV
25401

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