The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-01-03
Bridgeport Veteran Writes Of
His First Visit to Clarksburg
Over Sixty Years Ago.

by VGl6ThusJi
BRIDGEPORT. Jan. 2.on a
bright morning in June, 1852, 4
boarded the cars at 8 o'clock In the
city Of Baltimore, with my destina-
ton Clarksburg. had procured let
ters of introduction 20 citizens in
Glarksburg from George ". How
ard ghauncey Brooks and others
! who had a number aof friends In
Ciarksburg. by being engaged in the
Wholesale business in Baltimore and
having made occasional visits to
Western Virginia towns.
The first place Of interest we
passed was Harper's Ferry. where
the United States government owned
and operated an arsenal and gun
factory The machinery was run
by water power, the Potomac river
durniHhing the supply. The build
ines we're large and numerous, but
by the Union forces when they sur
BY the Unioon forces when they sur
rendered the place to .Stonewall,
Jackson, and the destruction was
completed by General Jackson when
he moved further south. The en-
CINE house in which John Brown
was captured stood near the pres
emit Baltimore and Ohio depot. This
building, called John Browns fort,
was moved to Chicago for the
worlds fair In 1898 but attracted
very little attention.
The train stopped at. Martinsburg
for dinner at Q p. m. and arrived at
Cumberland at p. m. This wau
considered fast time and people
prophesied that trains would in
the future attain speed of twenty
miles an hour. SEX
At Cumberland everybody stopped
~ the Reven House. where / stayed
for the night. The railroad was not
then completed to. Wheeling.
ON the train / became acquainted
with number OF people. People
were much more sociable then than
now met on the train C. s. Lewis
and Thomas y. Moore, of Clarks-
burg. who were returning. home
from Richmond, Va, where they had
been as members OF the legislature
from Harrison county. also met
benjamin. Bassell, the senator from
the Haffison5 county district, and ].
III. Bennett, of Lewis county.
cnmber1and to Fetterman in seven
hours. drawn by grasshopper en-
cine. and assembled the mountains
at a speed that would not have made
it dangerous to jump OF the train
at any time, The engine was fired
by wood and with the window up
cinders were quite annoying. But
everybody was happy that we were
going SO fast.
All the people then were accus-
toned to horseback travelling. and
II had been three days hard riding,
tired men and tired horses. and now
we had done all that three days In
seven hours, and nobody tired.
had dinner at FetterInan with
Henry Mahcneys at the Valley house.
Soon after a late dinner. out came q
coac; to which were attached -four
cream -coiored horses. The coach
was bfiftft red, and In gold letters
near the top was written its name
RED Bird. The coach held nine
persons inside and six could be
seated on top, including the driver
To ride Of, TOP WIS the favorite seat
and luckily n secured "a seat by the
driver's side, His name was Mack
Mack Bali All stag drivers had
ouphonious uAmes. &
The road was did smooth q
floor. being well niac damizec
with Limestone. and much use haf
made IL in GOOD order. The first
stop was AZ Rrtnt town 10 chang
mail The mall sack one for let
fers and one Tor apers. Werf
thrown on to the postrj ter. H
emptIed the contents out on th'