Collis P. Huntington Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

August 13, 1900: Railroad Mogul Collis P. Huntington Dies at 78

Railroad mogul Collis P. Huntington died on August 13, 1900, at age 78. The Connecticut native grew up in poverty before moving to California during the 1848 Gold Rush. Unlike the miners, he realized that the real money was to be made from selling supplies, not panhandling for gold. After amassing a fortune, he became one of the “Big Four” railroad moguls who built two giant rail systems: the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific.

Huntington’s connection to West Virginia began in 1869, when he purchased a nearly bankrupt Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Construction of the C&O from Richmond to the Ohio River had stalled before crossing the mountains into West Virginia. Collis Huntington first extended the line over the mountains to White Sulphur Springs and Hinton. Then, in 1871, he selected a western terminus for the railroad, located on the Ohio River in Cabell County. The new city of Huntington quickly became a railroad hub and gateway to the southern West Virginia coalfields. Coal flowed into Huntington, and manufactured goods traveled out, creating a booming economy. In less than two decades, Huntington had become West Virginia’s second-largest city.

February 27, 1871: Huntington Incorporated By West Virginia Legislature

On February 27, 1871, the West Virginia Legislature incorporated the city of Huntington. It came into existence quite unlike any other community in the state.

It was named for Collis P. Huntington, who, in the early 1870s, was extending the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway from the Atlantic Coast to the Ohio River. For the western terminus of his railroad, he selected a plot of Ohio River farmland that was best known for a small teachers’ school known as Marshall.

Huntington’s brother-in-law purchased 51 farms in the area, totaling 5,000 acres. An engineer from Boston laid out a geometric gridwork of intersecting avenues and streets. In this sense, it was the most planned city in West Virginia history.

Huntington quickly became an important railroad and manufacturing center as well as a gateway to the southern coalfields. In less than 20 years, Huntington’s population had topped the 10,000 mark, making it West Virginia’s second largest city—behind Wheeling. By the mid-1920s, it had grown into the state’s largest urban area. Today, Huntington, which boasts the largest inland port in the country, is again the state’s second largest city.

November 23, 1869: C&O Railroad Company Transfers Ownership

On November 23, 1869, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company transferred ownership of its struggling rail line to Collis Huntington and others. It was a major turning point in a venture that would transform southern West Virginia into a coal-producing giant.

The eastern leg of the railroad had been opened between Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley prior to the Civil War. Plans were underway to extend the line to the Ohio River. However, the war halted construction. Making matters worse, four years of brutal fighting in Virginia’s heartland had badly damaged the tracks. When the war ended, an effort was started to repair tracks and extend the line to the Ohio River.

Unfortunately, money was scarce. To attract funding, company leaders transferred the railroad to Collis Huntington and his colleagues. Huntington had played a major role in building the first transcontinental railroad and saw the C&O as the eastern section of a coast-to-coast rail line. Most importantly, he had access to major investors. Within four years, Collis Huntington had expanded the railroad to the new city of Huntington and launched the southern West Virginia coal boom.

January 5, 1810: Village of Guyandotte Established

On January 5, 1810, the Virginia General Assembly established the village of Guyandotte at the confluence of the Guyandotte and Ohio rivers in Cabell County.

By the late 1830s, Guyandotte was a popular Ohio River port and a busy stagecoach stop on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. The town’s gristmill was supposedly the largest between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

In November 1861, Confederate troops won a battle at Guyandotte. The next day, Northern troops took back control of the town. Incensed by local support for the Confederacy, the soldiers set fire to the town.

The village’s fortunes took a more lasting downturn in 1871. As the legend goes, railroad tycoon Collis Huntington was considering Guyandotte for the western terminus of his Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. On a visit, he supposedly received the equivalent of a parking ticket for leaving his horse unattended outside a Guyandotte tavern. Feeling slighted by the town, the railroad mogul instead located his terminus a few miles downstream—at what would become the new city of Huntington.

The city of Huntington grew rapidly and overshadowed Guyandotte. Since 1911, Guyandotte has been part of Huntington.