Grafton High School - Re Echo Yearbook (Grafton, WV)

Page 15 text:

The second U. S. Post Office in Grafton was located on St. John's Street at the rear of the present Masonic Building. Daniel Wilson was the postmaster. At that time St. John's Street was one of Grafton's principal streets. The Grafton Brass Band was prominent in 1887. It furnished music for entertainment for the town folk playing for many festivals, celebrations, and weddings. The fire of 1887 started in an ice cream parlor operated by Mrs. William Martin. It took thirty-three buildings in its course on both sides of Latrobe Street and some on . Main Street. The Bradshaw Building was located at the site of the present First National Bank. It contained Yokum's Gallery which was a photography shop, the first telephone office, and the office of the Grafton Sentinel. The occasion is the I.O.O.F. Decoration for the funeral of Brother Frank Crawford who died in Baltimore in 1884 and was buried in Bluemont Cemetery. The flood of 1884 flooded many parts of the city causing considerable damage. Communication by rail and road was cut off from Grafton. 11

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This is the first locomotive used on the Parkersburg Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for hauling fast freight. John H. Gigley was the engineer. The Grafton House and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station were built between the railroad tracks leading to Wheeling and Parkersburg. It was in this hotel that the attack of the Civil War against the Confederates at Philippi was planned. It was built in 1857. Some of the leading businesses of 1876 were located on Railroad Street. Important in that day was the boardwalk which extended from Ethel to St. Johns Street. Many of the town's people gathered here to watch the trains come and go. This old Ross Winan's Cornel Engine ran between Grafton and Piedmont. Eight of these engines were transferred to the Parkersburg division in 1857 to handle the traffic. Previous to this picture the Confederate Troops were camped at Fetterman. Captain Robinson, in charge of Confederate Troops, hod taken his men for a tour of the town when they saw the stars and stripes proudly flying in front of the home of Mrs. George Latham. Robinson asked her to take them down and when she flatly refused he highly insulted the flag. Upon this act George Jordan, who had been watching from the porch of the Ward House, threw a chair at Robinson, knocking him from his horse. Quite indignant, Robinson started to order his men to open fire. When he saw Latham's men approaching in the distance, he and his men ran back to Fetterman. They remained here until two women spies reported that forces of Union soldiers were on their way to Grafton. Among these troops were two men destined to become president of the United States—Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley. The Union forces took Grafton without firing a shot. 10

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The Baltimore and Ohio machinists as they appeared with their tools in 1889. Their working uniform is quite a contrast to those worn by the present day machinists. The B. O. Bridge was built in 1884 and demolished in 1890. A freight train jumped the track knocking out its supports, causing an oil tank to explode. Someone threw a lighted broom into the river setting the surface ablaze from Grafton to Fetterman. The Memorial Day Parade on Main Street May 30, 1884. Horses and carriages were prominent in the parades of that time. This scene in front of Love's Grocery Store is typical of 1889. It was located on the site of the present Wolfe's Tire Shop. Mr. Love is the gentleman with the long whiskers standing in front of the store.