Jackson River Depot

Jackson River Depot. Crook's Raid. , During the Civil War, the Jackson River Depot was located here. It marked the western terminus of the Virginia Central Railroad, which extended 200 miles from Hanover Junction north of Richmond. Located just east of the Kanawha Pass of the Allegheny Mountains, the depot, the railroad, and the Jackson River were strategically important as logistical links to Tennessee and served as the “back door” gateways to the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia., The 3rd Provisional Brigade, composed of Ohio infantry and West Virginia cavalry under Union Col. George Crook, raided the depot on May 20, 1862, to capture supplies stored here. Confederate forces had to evacuate the day before Crook arrived. He obtained vital information about Confederate dispositions, however, from the depot’s telegraph office, the telegraph operator, and his dispatches. Crook immediately burned a nearby bridge over the Jackson River and hastily returned to Lewisburg, in present-day West Virginia, where a few days later he defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Lewisburg., Two hundred yards to your right is the Oakland Grove Presbyterian Church, the only surviving structure of the Jackson River Depot railroad complex. The building served as a Confederate hospital and cemetery. Twelve unknown Tennessee Confederate soldiers are buried in a grave site behind the church., (sidebars) , Additional information about early operations of the Virginia Central Railroad and local history can be found at the Chesapeake and Ohio Heritage Center and Museum in the nearby town of Clifton Forge and at the Alleghany Highlands Genealogical Society and the Alleghany Historical Society in Covington, Virginia., For visitor information please contact the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism at 540-962-2178 or visit our website at www.visitalleghanyhighlands.com. The Visitors Center is located at 110 Mall Road, Covington, VA., (captions) , George Crook (as Gen.) Courtesy Library of Congress , Jackson River Depot – Courtesy Virginia Review , Depot grounds map – Courtesy C&O Historical Society , View of track from depot – Courtesy C&O Historical Society