Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops - Martinsburg WV - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The B&O Railroad Martinsburg complex contains 3 contributing buildings; the Machine and Woodworking Shop, the West Roundhouse and the Car Shop. The complex was built in 1866. The last time the complex was used was 1985 by then owner CSX. They retained the property until 1999 and then transferred to Berkely County Roundhouse Authority, a local public entity.

The complex is historically significant in a couple of ways. First it is an example of 19th century engineering and industrial architecture. The West Roundhouse has an cast-iron framing system devised by Albert Finck. It is also the oldest fully covered roundhouse in the US. The Machine and Woodworking shop and Car Shop were designed by 19th century architect Johann Niensee. All of the buildings were among B&O's most significant remaining structures from the post-Civil War period.

The complex was a significant role in the The Great Railway Strike of 1877, a pivotal episode in American labor history. A handful of B&O employees in Baltimore had a work stoppage that came to nothing of importance. The following morning after the Baltimore's employee’s actions the railroad worker at the Martinsburg shop stopped work en-masse. There was a killing of a striker outside of the complex are which sparked and solidify a violent nationwide protest against low wages paid industrial workers. This strike was a the striking of the match for all workers suffering wage cuts across industry lines due to the economic times caused by the Panic of 1873. The Great Strike of 1877 broadened into a social uprising and considered by some historian as a class revolution. The Martinsburg complex escaped destruction that was typical of other railroad centers where strikes were held elsewhere in the US.

Street address: 300 East Martin Street Martinsburg , WV County / Borough / Parish: Berkeley Year listed: 2003 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1850-1874 Historic function: Transportation Current function: Work In Progress Privately owned?: no Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2016 To: 12/31/2016 Primary Web Site: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 1: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed

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