Shenandoah Valley Company Building
Walking the historic downtown of Martinsburg, I found myself searching for the buildings that would have been familiar to my father during his youth. Many storefronts have changed but some of the city’s grand commercial buildings remain much as they appeared when he walked these streets.
One structure that caught my attention was the Shenandoah Valley Company Building, completed in 1906. Rising five stories, its classical facade and impressive arched entrance reflected the confidence and prosperity of Martinsburg during the early twentieth century.
The Shenandoah Valley Company was an investment enterprise created during a period when Martinsburg was growing as a center of transportation. The company itself has disappeared, but its headquarters remains one of the architectural treasures of downtown.
I could not help but think that this was a building my father surely knew. It had already stood for nearly twenty years when he was born in 1920 and would have been a familiar sight throughout his childhood.
Read More From Nancy
Jackson’s Great Train Raid of 1861
Established, 1778, by Gen. Adam Stephen. Named for Col. Thomas Martin, nephew of Lord Fairfax. Home of Admiral Charles Sterling and Admiral Charles B. Caldwell. In Jackson’s raid, 1861, captured 8,500 locomotives and 300 miles of railway. This marker is referring to a remarkable railroad operation of the Civil War, commonly known as Stonewall Jackson’s […]
Martinsburg Roundhouse Plagues
The beauty of the Martinsburg Roundhouse was not fully evident until I stepped inside. Looking upward, I found myself captivated by the extraordinary ceiling soaring above the turntable. A circle of windows beneath the cupola filled the vast interior with natural light, while an intricate web of iron supports and wooden trusses radiated outward like […]
Cast-Iron Ceiling of B&O Roundhouse
What captivated me most about the Martinsburg Roundhouse was the extraordinary ceiling overhead. During the tour, I learned that the building is not just an old railroad structure, it is the only surviving cast-iron framed roundhouse in the world. Designed by engineer Albert Fink and rebuilt after the Civil War, the structure was revolutionary for its time. Unlike […]
