Rosbys Rock, West Virginia

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Rosbys Rock
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Rosbys Rock
Location within the state of West Virginia
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Rosbys Rock
Rosbys Rock (the United States)
Coordinates: 39°50′29″N80°42′43″W / 39.84139°N 80.71194°W / 39.84139; -80.71194
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of West Virginia.svg  West Virginia
County Flag of Marshall County, West Virginia.svg Marshall
Elevation
778 ft (237 m)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
GNIS ID 1546066 [1]

Rosbys Rock is an unincorporated community in Marshall County, West Virginia, United States.

The community was named after Roseby Carr, who with his son led two railroad construction crews that met on December 24, 1852 and thereby connected the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to the Ohio River near a huge (900 cubic yard) sandstone boulder near the original town site. [2]

At the height of train service, eight passenger trains and eight to twelve freight trains passed through the town daily, and B&O crews kept painting a memorial sign (originally carved with typographical error) on the rock. The last passenger train ran through the village in 1957 and the last freight train in 1972 or 1973. The tracks were removed in 1974 and replaced by an unpaved road (Boulder Road)(on the opposite side of Grave Creek from the paved Grave Creek road). [3] [4] [5]

The historical marker about the event is about 5 miles west of the actual rock, at the intersection of Lafayette and 12th Streets near the Ohio River bridge, with additional signage on 12th street pointing the route to Grave Creek Road. [6]

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References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rosbys Rock, West Virginia
  2. Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 541.
  3. "E-WV | Rosbys Rock".
  4. "Rosbys Rock". Archived from the original on December 2, 2008.
  5. "Rocking Christmas Eve". December 24, 2015.
  6. "Rosby's Rock - West Virginia Historical Markers on". Waymarking.com. Retrieved May 3, 2022.