The Coming of the Railroad

As mentioned at the outset (see: “Intro”), in his “One Hundred Years of the History of Abingdon” L.P. Summers began by stating, “here begins the history of the West.” Much like in the West, Southwest Virginia as a whole, and Abingdon in particular, benefited greatly from the arrival of the railroad. An entire book could be written about the impact of railroads on the region (in fact, Doug McGuinn has written several. See: Bibliography). Suffice it to say, it was tranformed; transformed from an isolated, hardscrabble existence in which “the average person was a small yeoman farmer who lived off his own crops.”

“The railroad was welcomed into Southwest Virginia with enthusiasm by the farmers and businessmen. They now had an effective and relatively cheap means of importing and exporting their products.” (Garland,  p. 10, 13)

Early on, however, Abingdon had proven to be an exception. In 1777 the town was laid out and by 1835 it was already beginning to take on substance as a center for trade and political importance. In contrast to the rest of the newly formed county Abingdon was generally accessible. In 1833 the Board of Trustees of the Town “enacted an ordinance approving the MacAdamizing of Main Street and requiring the sidewalks to be paved with brick and curbstones.” Less than sixty years after Black’s Fort was hastily erected Abingdon had developed into a small, cosmopolitan center. “This town was the cultural, political, economical [sic], and religious center of Southwest Virginia. During the ante-bellum period, the wholesalers in Abingdon were reporting sales to the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually. There were nine of these businesses in the town, and as a result of the prosperity, Abingdon could report a total of nine lawyers and three doctors in the community”. (ibid, p. 9,12)

Abingdon also developed some political clout in the 30’s beginning with Wyndham Robertson who became Acting Governor with the resignation of Littleton Tazewell in1836. He was followed by David Campbell, also of Abingdon (1837-1840), along with John Buchanan Floyd, Jr., who was appointed Governor in 1848. His father had served as Governor in 1830. Still, the economic impact on Abingdon, as well as nearby Damascus, was significant.

“Long considered the frontier, southwestern Virginia by 1850 had a population of over one hundred thousand. While the eastern economy depended upon production of staple crops and the institution of slavery, the mountainous landscape of western Virginia demanded different farming methods. Farms tended to be smaller and produced grain rather than tobacco. Western farmers needed turnpikes, canals, or railroads for efficient transportation of their crops to eastern and northern markets. Industries such as salt and lead mines also would benefit from the construction of roads and rail lines.

“With the passage in 1851 of a revised state constitution, Southwestern Virginia finally wielded political power in the Old Dominion. A key figure in this debate was Governor John Buchanan Floyd, a lawyer from Abingdon.” (Reynolds, p. 1-3)

“The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad also played a part in the creation of West Virginia in 1863. There had long been a political division between the eastern elite of Tidewater Virginia, with their large plantations worked by enslaved laborers, and the farmers of Western Virginia, who tended small farms with few if any enslaved workers. The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad linked Southwest Virginia to the economic fortunes and political priorities of Richmond and the eastern enslavers. When a group of disgruntled delegates from Western Virginia began the process of forming their own state after the Virginia Secession Convention of 1863, the counties of Southwestern Virginia along the route of the Virginia and Tennessee sided with the eastern portion of the state, leaving the breakaway counties to form West Virginia. (McLean, Encyclopedia Virginia)

The story of the economic boom is largely centered on agriculture and resource extraction, but banking also played a part.

“The railroad brought economic progress to this section, and this was joined by another new institution which was an economic aid to the area. In 1849 there was established in Abingdon a branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia which had its headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. This was one of the first banks to be established in the western part of Virginia.” (Garland, p. 13)

• Garland, Jack, “An Economic Survey of Southwest Virginia in the Ante-Bellum Period”
• Pinnegar, Charles, Brand of Infamy: A Biography of John Buchanan Floyd 
• Reynolds, Cathy Carlson, “The Civil War in Southwest Virginia.” HSWCVa. Pub. Series II, No. 30 (1993)
• McLean, George, “The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad During the Civil War.” Encyclopedia Virginia
• Down the Road: A History of Damascus, Va.

Next: What did people do in Old Abingdon?