SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s remarkable shape is rendered even more so by its eastern panhandle, which extends nearly 100 miles eastward from the central state toward Washington, D.C.
How did this oddity come to be? More than anything else, its creation is tied to one crucial piece of infrastructure—the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The railroad shaped the geography of the panhandle as we know it today, specifically that of Jefferson and Berkeley counties, says Benjamin Bankhurst, associate professor of history at Shepherd University.
Before this, however, and before the arrival of Europeans, the routes of what are now wagon roads shaped the panhandle.
“The history of the Eastern Panhandle is tied to the movement of peoples up and down the Shenandoah Valley since before the arrival of Europeans,” Bankhurst says.
“The Shenandoah Valley is home to several prominent roads that predate the arrival of Europeans, the most famous being the Great Wagon Road of the valley, which is now Route 11.”
Immigrant groups of the 18th century, namely German and Scots Irish, finding lands near the larger ports already taken up, followed the Blue Ridge to settle in the Shenandoah Valley.
“The counties that make up the Shenandoah counties of West Virginia today played a really important role in helping funnel migrants into the rest of the state in the 18th century,” Bankhurst says.
Division in western Virginia boils over
By the 19th century, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, or the B&O, was a major employer and had greatly built up the area, eventually causing division when Virginia seceded from the Union.
Though Jefferson and Berkeley counties broadly supported secession, Martinsburg did not, chiefly because of its ties to the railroad.
“It’s such an important piece of infrastructure, and there’s a broad acknowledgment that it’s going to be a feature that the Union is going to fight over,” Bankhurst says.
“Most of the Shenandoah Valley was not pro-Union, but it will help us understand why the Eastern Panhandle looks the way it does.”
In 1861, counties in the Northern Panhandle resisted secession. When the people of Virginia ratified the decision, the first Wheeling conventions were organized, arguing that because Virginia committed treason, they were no longer the legitimate government of the entire state. (Read also: Unique northern panhandle of West Virginia created by historic dispute)
“The legal fiction of loyal Virginia served them well because, according to federal law, in order for a state to be carved out of another state territory, the state legislature or the state government of the territory being dismembered has to approve the decision,” Bankhurst says.
“Basically, the Wheeling government said they were the right government of West Virginia.”
While Jefferson and Berkeley counties did vote to come into the new state of West Virginia after the war, many in the region resented that vote, Bankhurst says, which culminated in a Supreme Court case Virginia v. West Virginia in 1871. Ultimately, six justices sided with West Virginia’s claims, and three voted against.
“Virginia’s argument was those counties hadn’t been legitimately transferred to West Virginia control and therefore should be returned to the state of Virginia,” Bankhurst says.
“Most residents of the two counties preferred that as an option, but the Supreme Court sided with the State of West Virginia, and Berkeley and Jefferson remained within the state of West Virginia despite what Virginia would have liked.”
Again, the reason for this is the railroad, as the entire path of the B&O went through what had been loyal territory during the Civil War. There was an economic necessity to include those counties in the newly formed state, even if, at the time, they were largely anti-Union.
“There’s some spite here,” Bankhurst says. “Why should the Virginians, having committed treason, have those two counties back and have that important feature, the B&O Railroad, back on their territory?
"So that’s kind of why we are the way we are. In order to understand why that’s the case, it’s the railroad. In Jefferson County, we’re fond of saying, ‘It’s the railroad, stupid.’ That’s why we’re here—why we’re in West Virginia.”
Eastern Panhandle: A Place Apart
While oftentimes remaining a place apart within the state, there is still a great enthusiasm in the eastern panhandle for the West Virginian identity that has grown over time, Bankhurst says.
One example of how different mainly Jefferson County is from the rest of the state is examining the aftermath of the mine wars, Bankhurst says. After the Battle of Blair Mountain, the treason trials were held in the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Predominantly agricultural, there was no real presence of the coal industry or the United Mine Workers of America, so Jefferson County was seen as objective enough to allow for a fair trial.
“That should lead people to scratch their heads,” he says. “This had occurred in Mingo and Logan counties. Why would this trial be so far away?
“If you wanted an objective trial, it was seen that Jefferson County would be the place. That kind of speaks to how different it is. In a way, though, it’s West Virginian. It just adds this bit of added flavor to the nature of the state. It’s distinct. It’s its own thing, though it is, at this point, I think, also quintessentially West Virginian.”
Bankhurst says he and his students often wrestle with the culture of the panhandle, debating if it is an inherently Southern or even a mid-Atlantic space.
“The answer to that question is both,” he says. “It’s a sort of coming together of these different histories and cultures. In a way, because of those wagon roads that brought German settlers into the valley, there’s still a very persistent Germanic cultural milieu in these parts of the state.”
Simultaneously, it is a place where there was enslavement; in 1860, anywhere from 20 to 30% of the county was enslaved.
“In that sense, the legacy of enslavement is very present, and it is a very Southern place as well,” Bankhurst says.
The panhandle’s unique ties to the national story make it stand out even more. With a concentration of Washington homes, Charles Town was named after Charles Washington, and Harewood House in Jefferson County was where Samuel Washington lived and where James and Dolley Madison were wed.
“You have this presence of the American story here, and of course, you can’t not talk about the Civil War, so that history is very present here,” Bankhurst says. “Antietam is right across the river, and that battle had repercussions where I am now; the town of Shepherdstown was a hospital site for Confederate wounded after that. It’s very present.”
Some in the panhandle consider their identity shaped by being a place in between.
“We are very much in the gravitational order of the greater Washington area,” Bankhurst says. “Our culture is now being sculpted by new arrivals seeking housing and working in Washington.”
“We are a weird sort of gateway in which we’re the entrance to the rest of the state in many respects. We’re the point where people are going to first arrive in West Virginia from the East. At the same time, from the perspective of being in state, we’re also a portal out toward the greater D.C. area. If you had to define the Eastern Panhandle, it’s a place in between.”
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