{"id":4340,"date":"2016-08-02T00:50:36","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T00:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/?p=4340"},"modified":"2016-08-04T12:38:43","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T12:38:43","slug":"hempfield-railroad-yard-wheeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/hempfield-railroad-yard-wheeling","title":{"rendered":"Old Grave Yard Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Brief History of the Hempfield Yard Lot<\/h2>\n
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$\"\"$ <\/a>If we\u2019ve learned anything from watching movies, surely we\u2019ve learned that no good can come from unearthing duly interred bodies from sacred ground and moving them (or not) for the sake of development. You don\u2019t build things over an old\u00a0 graveyard<\/a>. You. Just. Do. Not<\/a>.<\/p>\n
But the fact is, the ground on which the Ohio County Public Library<\/a> now stands was deeded to the town of Wheeling from Noah and Mary Zane in 1816 for use as \u201ca burying ground.\u201d And, as a burying ground, it was most certainly used.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yes, it was a cemetery. One of the earliest in Wheeling.<\/p>\n
$\"This$ <\/a>
This 1853 map of Wheeling shows the \u201cOld Graveyard\u201d spanning from 17th to the old state capitol.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
It was known then, rather unimaginatively, as either the \u201cCity Grave Yard,\u201d or, after some time had passed, as the \u201cOld<\/em> Grave Yard.\u201d The current library property was part of \u201cGrave Yard Square,\u201d which was \u201cbounded by Chapline or Fourth street on the west, Zane or Seventeenth on the south, Fifth or Eoff on the east, while the northern boundary was the northern front of the Capitol or thereabouts (Intell<\/em>., \u201cOur Silent Cities,<\/a>\u201d Dec. 8, 1880). So the Old Grave Yard also included what we now know as 16th Street (John Street back then) \u2014 at least the part that now runs in front of the city building and library.<\/p>\n
Consequently, some posit, the library is haunted<\/a>. In fact, some staff have claimed to have encountered a corporeally challenged young man named \u201cAndrew \u201d whose ghostly shenanigans seem to be limited to causing fluorescent light bulbs to flicker.\u00a0A library ghost should be more creative.<\/p>\n
But, after ten years of working there\/here, including a lot of quality time in the basement red zone, I can assure you, the only thing that haunts our library is the architectural spirit of 1973, a disquieting poltergeist in its own right, to be sure, but hardly a ghost worth fretting about.<\/p>\n
$\"Mt.$
Mt. Wood in 1903. Sophia Dauber-Grubb Collection, OCPL Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Nevertheless, an old grave yard this ground most certainly was, a long, long time ago.<\/p>\n
By 1840, the city had grown, and the cemetery was surrounded by houses and nearly full. The Hempfield Railroad Company purchased the land in 1850 for use as a depot and rail yard. The bodies were removed (or so they claimed) to Mt. Wood, Peninsula, Manchester, and East Wheeling Cemeteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Hempfield$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tHempfield Yard in the 1901 Mueller Atlas of Wheeling.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t $\"Hempfield$ <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tHempfield Yard in the 1901 Mueller Atlas of Wheeling.\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The Smokestack<\/h2>\n
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Purchased by the B. & O. Railroad in 1871, the \u201cHempfield Yard\u201d was made the site of a power plant featuring boilers, air compressors, dynamos, and a huge smokestack, when the company\u2019s new passenger station,\u00a0dubbed \u201cThe B. & O.\u2019s Magnificent Present to Wheeling,\u201d opened across Chapline Street in September of 1908.<\/p>\n
$\"Sept.$ <\/a>
Sept. 2, 1908.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The power plant\u2019s unavoidable 124-foot tall smokestack features prominently in a number of the grimy, sooty, period photographs of the area, making it perhaps the second most prolific old-timey Wheeling photobomber after the water tower<\/a> on the old Boury\/Felber Biscuit building.<\/p>\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
The iconic image of the smokestack looking west on 17th. Photo by J.J. Young, of course. Courtesy WVNCC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
One wonders if its demolition in 1970 (see below) prompted the same kind of gawker curiosity as this<\/a> quite recent event<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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The Hempfield Yard During the 1913 Semi-Centennial<\/h2>\n
$\"A$ <\/a>
A Cumberland Valley Railroad train car sits underneath a B&O RR banner in the Hempfield Yard. The flags seen hanging from the banner were part of the West Virginia Semi-Centennial celebration in 1913.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"B&O$ <\/a>
B&O Depot, decorated for 1913 Semi-Centennial.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
When it came time to celebrate fifty years of West Virginia statehood in June 1913, Wheeling did so with great gusto, unbridled enthusiasm, and no-holds-barred style. The entire city was draped with patriotic bunting for the week-long party. Eighty-two years old, but \u201cremarkably preserved,\u201d Col. George Latham, a Civil War veteran, former commander of Camp Carlisle, and one of only six surviving delegates to\u00a0the 1st Wheeling Convention<\/a> held at Washington Hall in May of 1861, was hauled back to town for the occasion.<\/p>\n
$\"Postcard$
Postcard illustration of the \u201cTriumphal\u201d West Viriginia Semi-Centennial Arch, 1913.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
An ornate \u201cTriumphal Arch\u201d designed by Wheeling architect Edward Bates Franzheim <\/a>was erected at Market and 12th streets, and a large grandstand was erected near the old state capitol building on 16th Street. The streets of Wheeling were alive with parades of dignitaries and old soldiers, bands of music, and floral floats for the 35th state\u2019s Golden Jubilee.<\/p>\n
Not to be outdone, the B. & O. Railroad brought antique trains to the Hempfield Yard for an exhibition billed, \u201cThe Parade of Locomotives,\u201d and a \u201cGreat Exhibit of Railroad History of the World.\u201d The exhibit depicted the evolution of the locomotive from the early days through the Civil War and Statehood periods to the \u201cmodern era\u201d of 1913.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplete history of locomotion told in brief by examples of old and new types of machines that have seen actual service during the epoch each represents, beginning with the horse car pulled train and ending with the modern mogul, taking 76 feet of track. At least twice during the week\u2026this entire exhibit will be under steam and in motion. Never before attempted at an exhibition of this kind. Don\u2019t fail to see the race between the old gray horse and the Peter Cooper and the world\u2019s first railroad accident\u2026It was during this race that Peter Cooper had his thumb smashed and the old gray mare won the race. Pathe Freres<\/a> [a French film production company that created the newsreels commonly shown before feature films in the early days of cinema] will take films of this exhibit both for use and for history.\u201d
\n\u2013Daily Intelligencer<\/em>, June 3, 1913<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The old yard had been \u201ccleaned up and electrically lighted\u201d for the occasion, Security was apparently a concern, as the area was \u201cpatrolled by uniformed B. & O. officers,\u201d (along with plain clothes men) who were said to be among the \u201cmost capable detectives in the country.\u201d \u201cIt is a safe bet,\u201d the News-Register<\/em> predicted, \u201cthat crooks will have a hard time getting into town.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a typical railyard, most often filled with stacks of railroad ties and parked cargo trains, the Hempfield Yard was not the most photogenic spot in downtown Wheeling. As a consequence, not many photos of the area exist, with one notable exception.<\/p>\n
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The Parade of Locomotives<\/h2>\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
The 300 ton Mallet rumbles into Hempfield Yard from 17th.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
During the \u201cParade of Locomotives,\u201d each train was backed down the 17th Street track and steamed back onto Hempfield Yard in chronological order of age, polished bells clanging, black smoke belching from stacks for the first time in years. First came a\u00a0passenger coach \u00a0drawn by a gray horse. It was followed by an 1832 steam \u201cGrasshopper\u201d locomotive called \u201cThe Atlantic\u201d; then an 1836 \u201cGrasshopper\u201d locomotive dubbed the \u201cThomas Jefferson\u201d pulling an 1837 passenger car; a circa 1837 steam locomotive called the \u201cMississippi\u201d; an 1841 Cumberland Valley engine called \u201cPioneer\u201d (with coach); an 1848 Chicago and Northwestern locomotive also called \u201cPioneer\u201d; a circa 1848 steam engine called the \u201cDragon\u201d; a B. & O. Camel high powered steam locomotive of 1851 vintage, \u201cthe type of engine that drew the first train into Wheeling when in 1853 the B. & O. was completed to this city\u2026\u201d; and bringing up the rear, the \u201cmodern,\u201d powerful, 100-foot-long, 300-ton \u201cmonster\u201d steam engine \u201cMallet,\u201d (the largest locomotive ever built to that point) used by the B. & O. in the mountains of southern West Virginia.<\/p>\n
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Each day during the week-long celebration, at 9 am and again at 3 pm, each of these trains was moved \u201cunder their own heads of steam,\u201d for two hours, but only \u201cback and forth on their own track in the Hempfield Yard.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"June$ <\/a>
June 20, 1913, Daily Intelligencer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The crew of engineers, conductors, brakemen, and firemen assembled to move the trains was composed of mostly retired, \u201cgrizzly old\u201d \u00a0B. & O. veterans, many of whose service dated back to statehood. With a combined experience of some 750 years, they were transported in from Baltimore on board the B. & O.\u2019s \u201cInterstate Special.\u201d Although several \u201chobbled up to their engines on canes and had to be assisted into the cab, once mounted, the age seemed to roll from their shoulders, and they handled the ancient locomotives as perfectly as they did 50 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the men, 91-year-old conductor \u201cDaddy\u201d John Smith, had worked both the train that carried Abraham Lincoln to his inauguration in Washington D.C., as well as the funeral train that shipped the murdered president\u2019s body back to Illinois for burial.<\/p>\n
Another man, 99-year-old Philip McCardle, in classic Irish immigrant style, had begun working for the B.&O. soon after arriving in New York from County Mayo Ireland in 1844. Transferred to Wheeling, he helped build Tunnel No. 1, which opened onto the Hempfield viaduct spanning Wheeling Creek, \u00a0and had worked in the Hempfield Yard in the early days.<\/p>\n
Interviewed about life in Wheeling in the 1850s, Mr. McCardle said there had been a \u201cgreat mud hole\u201d where the city building was later placed and that children \u201cused to play in a frog pond where the Cathedral is located.\u201d He reminisced about mail stage coaches careening through the streets of town at regular intervals, and said the Island was all farmland where the future fairgrounds were \u201ccovered with willows.\u201d Mr. McCardle\u2019s grandson was superintendent of the B. & O. power plant.<\/p>\n
The parade of old engines generated a lot of interest. \u201cWhen the first demonstration was made Wednesday,\u201d the Intelligencer<\/em> reported, \u201calmost 5,000 persons gathered in the Hempfield yard and along Seventeenth street.\u201d The crowd, which stretched east to Wood Street, was \u201cwitness to one of the most spectacular and unique scenes ever made possible to Wheelingites.\u201d<\/p>\n
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$\"Flaccus$ <\/a>
Flaccus Bros. Factory, OCPL Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Nearby Businesses<\/h2>\n
Also located on the Hempfield Lot\u2019s northeast corner, (listed at 54-16th Street in the 1905 city directory) was Swift & Co. Wholesale Meats, a durable business still remembered by children of the 1950s and 60s, who took shortcuts through the yard on their way to school, dodging train-hopping \u201ctramps\u201d and \u201cwinos\u201d along the way.<\/p>\n
To the south of the lot stood Flaccus Brothers Preservers, a wholesale grocery store and manufacturer of canned goods, preserves, pickles, catsup, mustard, and other condiments. Wheeling Warehouse and Storage Company later occupied the site, which is now home to the West Virginia Northern Community College\u2019s Education Center.<\/p>\n
$\"George$ <\/a>
George A. Flaccus, originator and proprietor of the Flaccus Brothers firm, was granted a design patent for a \u201cshipping vessel\u201d container in 1898. Three different ship-shaped pots, the USS Oregon, the USS Olympia and the USS Wheeling, were produced in the late 1800s and were used to sell mustard. This particular mustard pot, a USS Oregon jar, still bears an original paper label: \u201cPREPARED MUSTARD With Fine Herbs. FLACCUS BROS. Fabricants WHEELING, W.VA.\u201d \u2013 from the collections of the Ohio County Public Library Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Breaking New Ground at the Old Burying Ground<\/h2>\n
$\"Library$ <\/a>
The Ohio County Public Library under construction. A bulldozer digs beneath the level of the graves that once filled the Hempfield Yard site. Looking southwest toward Centre Wheeling, circa 1971.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"Jan.$ <\/a>
Jan. 20, 1970.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
By 1968, when the Ohio County Public Library was looking to relocate from 2100 Market Street<\/a>, its home since 1911, the Hempfield Yard was one of the sites being\u00a0given serious consideration. It had fallen into disuse since the B. & O.\u2019s passenger service had ended in the early 1960s. In April of 1968, the library\u2019s board of trustees completed the purchase of the 44,000 square foot lot from the B. & O. for $99,496.30. The architectural firm of Forsythe, Bergemann, and Vanek of Canton was hired to design the new library building.<\/p>\n
By January 1970, grants had been obtained and demolition had begun on the old B. & O. power plant, boiler house, and 124-foot smokestack. By the following year, Grubb Construction had begun digging the foundation for the $1.6 million dollar project. And in 1973, the new Ohio County Public Library, built atop an old rail yard and an even older grave yard, opened its doors to the public.<\/p>\n
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Check Out the New Addition to Our B. & O. Display!<\/h2>\n
On Tuesday, July 12, 2016, the Ohio County Public Library unveiled a new photographic display tracing the history of the Hempfield Lot upon which the Library now sits. Situated in the lower level hallway of the library, the display traces the lot from Zane land to cemetery to rail yard to the opening of the Ohio County Public Library in 1973.<\/p>\n
By explaining the library land\u2019s role in Wheeling\u2019s railroading history, the display serves as an introduction to the exhibit of J.J. Young photographs<\/a> in the hallway.<\/p>\n
$\"OCPL$ <\/a>
OCPL Hempfield display.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Smokestack<\/h2>\nThis slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>