Glade Creek Timber

Glade Creek Timber. . , As logging in the New River Gorge expanded, timber operations gradually became more efficient. Local timber company J. R. Beaty and Company created the first railroad in Raleigh County, the Glade Creek and Raleigh (GC&R) Railroad, in 1895. The GC&R built a 15-mile narrow-gauge route from the New River up Glade Creek gorge via switchbacks to the Grandview plateau, through a newly-dug tunnel at Crow Ridge, to its western terminus at Raleigh (near Beckley)., When timber stands in one area were logged out, other areas had to be exploited, leading to changing railroad routes. The Crow Ridge tunnel route was closed in 1904 when a new southeastern rail route was installed to access timber stands on upper Glade Creek. The tunnel was sealed shortly thereafter, but trackage remained in the area until the Crow sawmill closed in 1910., The new Glade Creek Coal and Lumber Company (GCC&L) made a major investment in this area in 1921 when they built a standard gauge rail line up Glade Creek, which extended nearly to White Oak Mountain. They also built a sawmill at Hamlet, and a 750-foot steel railroad bridge across the New River to connect Hamlet and Glade.