Tucker County Connection

Throughout the entire history of Tucker County unforeseen and often tragic events have shaped the area we now know and love. We all now know Parsons as the county seat, but this is a title that may not have come to pass had it not been for a devastating fire that in December of 1888 claimed a large portion of the then prosperous town and county seat of St. George. The St. George fire wiped out a major portion of the infrastructure that allowed the town to thrive resulting in its eventual loss of both the county seat and the possibility of a rail line that could have potentially stemmed the decline. This fire forever changed the landscape of Tucker County, if not for this tragedy we would all probably still be paying our taxes, filing our marriage licenses, and taking shopping trips into the county seat of St. George rather than Parsons. Another major event that still burns bright in the memory of many local residents is again one of utter destruction, an event of such devastation...

Remnants of a bygone railway era remain scattered all around Tucker County like this bridge pictured to the left that every resident is no doubt familiar with. The railway system first came to Tucker County by way of what would later become Davis in 1884 and reached the area that would later become Parsons in 1888 as the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway, a name it would carry until it's merger with the Western Maryland Railway in 1905. The railway system in Tucker County is not only attributed with expanding the settlements it connected to but actually creating several of the towns we know today. The railway would operate under the Western Maryland moniker during most of it's operation in the county later being purchased by Chessie System in 1973 and merged once more into CSX in 1980. Line service ended for the Blackwater Canyon grade in 1983 and 6 years later after the 85 flood ravaged the line it was designated as a hiking trail. Many of the buildings a...