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Saving the Bowden Fish Hatchery

6/27/2017

 
By Jody Brumage
​

For over a century, West Virginia’s sport fishing industry has been supported by federal and state administered hatcheries. We detailed the history of some of these hatcheries in a blog from June 2015. In this week’s Post from the Archives, we are examining the effort to save one of the state’s largest hatcheries in the mid-1990s. 

Bowden Fish Hatchery is located along the Shavers Fork River in Randolph County, just a few miles outside of the city of Elkins. Established in 1958 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the hatchery was built in the early 1960s. Senator Byrd visited the site shortly after construction was completed. At the time, Bowden was the third federal hatchery built in the state after White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County and Leetown in Jefferson County. 
Picture
Senator Byrd takes a break to fish while visiting constituents at one of West Virginia's many recreational lakes in the early 1960s.

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Keeping the Trains Running: Part 2

6/20/2017

 
By Jody Brumage

This is the second in a two-part series of blogs on Senator Robert C. Byrd and Congressman Harley O. Staggers' efforts to save passenger rail service in West Virginia in the 1970s. To read the part one, click here.
In our last Post from the Archives, we examined the short-lived West Virginian rail line operated by Amtrak in West Virginia’s north-central region from 1971 to 1973. This week, we will explore two additional rail lines championed by Senator Robert C. Byrd in the attempt to save passenger rail access in West Virginia.
​
Just one year after Amtrak announced that it would suspend service on the West Virginian line, West Virginia’s congressional delegation turned their attention to preserving passenger rail service in the southern region of the state. The mountainous terrain of this region made it even more isolated than northern or eastern West Virginia, strengthening the case for maintaining access to passenger service via the railroad lines which had bisected this area for over a century. Two main lines historically served this region: the Chesapeake and Ohio to the north and the Norfolk and Western to the south.
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Senators Jennings Randolph (left) and Robert Byrd worked closely to keep Amtrak services operating in West Virginia.

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Keeping the Trains Running: The Fight to Maintain Passenger Service in West Virginia

6/6/2017

 
By Jody Brumage

In this first blog of a two-part series, we are examining how West Virginia’s senators and congressmen worked to save passenger rail service through the state in the 1970s and 80s.
In 1971, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, better known by its operational name, Amtrak, was created to use federal funding to aid declining passenger rail service throughout the United States. For West Virginia, one of the railroad lines incorporated into the new Amtrak system was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad which traversed the eastern panhandle and northern regions of the state. However, when Amtrak’s operation of this line began in the spring of 1971, service west of Martinsburg (located in the eastern panhandle of the state) was discontinued. 
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A map showing to two major routes through West Virginia that were incorporated into the new Amtrak system in 1971.

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Shepherdstown, WV 25443
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The Byrd Center advances representative democracy by promoting a better understanding of the United States Congress and the Constitution through programs and research that engage citizens.
Copyright © Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education
  • Home
  • About
    • Latest News
    • Leadership
    • Our Partners
    • Careers
    • Parking and Directions
    • News Archives
  • Education
    • Educational Resources
    • Internship Program
    • People Powered
  • Research
    • Congressional Collections >
      • Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Sr. Congressional Papers
      • Harley O. Staggers, Jr. Congressional Papers
      • Scot Faulkner CAO Papers
    • Digital Collections
    • Byrd's-Eye View
    • Plan a Visit to the Archives
    • Collecting Policy
    • Oral History Project
    • Share Your Story!
    • Blog
  • Events
    • Constitution Day
    • Past Events >
      • Kate Masur 10/8
      • Nancy Spannaus 11/20
      • Tom Barkin 10/24
      • Constitution Day 2024 9/18
      • Mountain Music at the Mill 8/24
      • The Fiddlin' Bobby Byrd, Mountain Musician with Adam Booth 5/9
      • Beto O'Rourke 3/3&4
      • An Evening of WV Stories with Adam Booth 2/22
      • Niagara Movement Film 2/8
      • Voices of the Community Series 2023
      • Summer Fundraiser 2023
      • Constitution Day 2023
      • The Arc of Power
      • Forum on Pollution
      • Formidable - author event
      • Constitution Day 2022
  • Support Us
    • Friends of the Byrd Center
    • Name a Seat
  • Reservations
  • Login
  • WV Civics Coalition