Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 5.04 Railroads
Presentation #1 Title
"Train Time: The Clinchfield Comes to Dickenson County"
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Train Time: The Clinchfield Comes to Dickenson County The coming of the railroad was a turning point in the history of Appalachian coal counties. The great wealth lying under the ground could finally be exploited, as reliable transportation opened the way to market. Everything changed with that one big change, as mountaineers traded the plow for a pick and shovel, diverse new people swept in from elsewhere, and cramped coal camps replaced scattered farms as the primary venue of domestic life. The economy was transformed, and the very face of the land. Certainly this was true for Dickenson County, Virginia. The CC&O Railroad, known as the Clinchfield, crossed the county in 1912-15, building its Elkhorn Extension from Dante, Virginia, to Elkhorn City, Kentucky. Beginning with a mile-and-a-half tunnel under Sandy Ridge and ending with its sinuous passage through Breaks Canyon, almost all this new stretch of track lay within Dickenson’s borders. Part of a larger study of Dickenson County, my paper will focus on the actual building of the railroad. With all the mountains that the Clinchfield Railroad went around (and through), and with so many train songs to chose from, a connection to our Many Mountains, Many Musics theme could no doubt be contrived. A better argument for presenting this paper at this conference is that Johnson City was Clinchfield’s headquarters and the home of its founder, ETSU benefactor George L. Carter. The work is largely based on research at the ETSU Archives of Appalachia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Ken Sullivan is executive director of the West Virginia Humanities Council. He edited the print version of The West Virginia Encyclopedia and is publisher of e-WV, the online version. He is writing a history of Dickenson County, Virginia, his native home.
"Train Time: The Clinchfield Comes to Dickenson County"
Train Time: The Clinchfield Comes to Dickenson County The coming of the railroad was a turning point in the history of Appalachian coal counties. The great wealth lying under the ground could finally be exploited, as reliable transportation opened the way to market. Everything changed with that one big change, as mountaineers traded the plow for a pick and shovel, diverse new people swept in from elsewhere, and cramped coal camps replaced scattered farms as the primary venue of domestic life. The economy was transformed, and the very face of the land. Certainly this was true for Dickenson County, Virginia. The CC&O Railroad, known as the Clinchfield, crossed the county in 1912-15, building its Elkhorn Extension from Dante, Virginia, to Elkhorn City, Kentucky. Beginning with a mile-and-a-half tunnel under Sandy Ridge and ending with its sinuous passage through Breaks Canyon, almost all this new stretch of track lay within Dickenson’s borders. Part of a larger study of Dickenson County, my paper will focus on the actual building of the railroad. With all the mountains that the Clinchfield Railroad went around (and through), and with so many train songs to chose from, a connection to our Many Mountains, Many Musics theme could no doubt be contrived. A better argument for presenting this paper at this conference is that Johnson City was Clinchfield’s headquarters and the home of its founder, ETSU benefactor George L. Carter. The work is largely based on research at the ETSU Archives of Appalachia.
