The B&O Connection

The B&O Connection. . , The East Wetzel Trail is built on the bed of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The line connecting Cumberland, MD to Wheeling, VA (later WV) was completed on Christmas Eve 1852. This route, over the Alleghenies, was the most challenging mountain terrain ever attempted and required construction of eleven tunnels, five of which were located in this area (Glover Gap, Sole, Martin, Marshall and Board Tree). Board Tree was the most notable and significant in B&O history. Burton was an important passenger and freight stop and the largest Civil War marshaling yard in the western section of the B&O. Hundred, settled by Henry and Hannah Church, was a flagstop and became a railroad tourist attraction as the home of the "oldest couple in the states". Littleton, along with its oil and gas industry, gained national importance during the Civil War when Union forces opened an iron ore mine and shipped the ore east to make ammunition. Undoubtedly, the construction of the B&O enabled these towns to thrive during the heyday of the railroad., During the early days of the railroad, artists and illustrators were commissioned to characterize the technology and encourage tourism. At the time, "Porte Crayon" (David Hunter Strother) was the best known graphic artist in America. Strother was commissioned to create a body of work that would encourage tourism on the Baltimore and Ohio line. In July 1858, Henry Church was 108 years of age when "Porte Crayon" created several illustrations of the centenarian and his family. Many of Strother's works were published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine. Train conductors would point out "Old Hundred" as the train passed this site. The B&O's tourism efforts influenced the town's name of Hundred.