Virginius Island, West Virginia

Virginius Island was a thriving industrial town in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Shenandoah was a great source of power by which to operate machinery. There was good access to markets via the Potomac, and even more after the Winchester and Potomac Railroad, which ran through the island, arrived in 1836. Its successor, CSX, runs trains along these tracks every day (2021). The following year brought the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, joining Harpers Ferry with Baltimore, and soon Washington as well, via its new Potomac River Bridge. For different periods, there were a cotton mill, a flour mill (the longest lived), a sawmill, an iron foundry, a tannery, a rifle factory, a machine shop, a cooperage supplying barrels to the flour mill, and a carriage shop. At its peak in 1850, upwards of 180 residents lived in some twenty houses.{{cite journal ==Impact of the Civil War==

Virginius Island suffered greatly during the Civil War (1861–1865) The rifle factory was destroyed, as were some of the mills. The destruction of the Harpers Ferry Armory, the region's largest employer, and the destruction, depopulation, and insecurity of the town of Harpers Ferry itself were factors.{{cite book ==Virginius Island's decline and destruction==

Industry only partially recovered after the war. Manufacturers and potential manufacturers faced competition from new steam-powered industry, which could be built in locations without water power. The biggest enterprise during this period was a pulp mill. == See also ==