Clarksburg, West Virginia, can be aptly described as a city that arose around the glass and coal industries, having been an essential stop along the Northwestern Turnpike, now known as U.S. Route 50.
Clarksburg, West Virginia, can be aptly described as a city that arose around the glass and coal industries, having been an essential stop along the Northwestern Turnpike, now known as U.S. Route 50. The Turnpike, chartered in 1827, reached Clarksburg nine years later. The city’s prosperity was further augmented when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad extended westward from Grafton in 1856, constructing a substantial railroad yard. The St. Louis main, as it later became known, enabled the railroad to transport goods to and from the east coast and the Midwest.
As a consequence, Clarksburg’s population surged to a peak of 32,000 in 1950, coinciding with a zenith in industrial output for the region. Glass industries flourished in the rugged valleys surrounding the city, fueled by an inexpensive source of fuel – coal from the mines in the northern half of the state. The area became a hub of banking and commerce. However, the mechanization of industries in the latter 20th century, coupled with the exportation of employment to locales with cheaper labor costs and the decline of the domestic glass industry, left Clarksburg with a population under 17,000. Poverty permeated almost every neighborhood, and the downtown area, while structurally imposing, exhibited significant vacancy and deterioration.
Despite the challenges, not all is bleak, as evidenced by the former Clarksburg Central Junior High School, where several notable buildings are undergoing restoration or are slated for future revitalization efforts.
The service industry continues to thrive on the fringes of Clarksburg, providing much-needed employment for an area with a devastated industrial base. For instance, the former Waldo Hotel in downtown, completed in 1904, was once one of West Virginia’s most luxurious hotels, renowned for its lavish weddings, social events, and political gatherings. It later became an apartment complex and was shuttered by the time the McCabe Land Company purchased it for a mere $150,000 in 2000. A year later, it was sold to the Vandalia Heritage Foundation, which announced a goal of restoring the Waldo into a hotel and conference center.
Thus far, the only work completed has involved the removal of radiators and associated piping throughout the building.
Nearby stands the former Holy Rosary Catholic Church, established in 1906 to serve the needs of the Slovaks, Poles, Croatians, and Slovenians. The parish also included many Hungarians and Greek Rites. The Slovak church was unique due to its demographic composition, and as a result, worshippers would travel upwards of 50 miles or more to attend services.
The church’s construction was completed on September 30, 1909, when the cornerstone was laid. Due to a dwindling population and an increasingly impoverished income base, Holy Rosary closed in 1984 and was merged into the Immaculate Conception parish of Clarksburg and the Sacred Heart parish of Chester.
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Add Yours →I just moved to Clarksburg West Virginia for work ~ ironic. The abandoned homes and buildings break my heart. If wall could talk.