Martinsburg

Martinsburg: Old Federal Building

Martinsburg, city, seat (1772) of Berkeley county, eastern panhandle of West Virginia, U.S. It lies 16 miles (26 km) southwest of Hagerstown, Maryland. Settled in 1732, it was laid out by Adam Stephen, later a general in the American Revolution, and was named for Colonel Thomas B. Martin, a nephew of Virginia landowner Thomas Fairfax, 6th Baron Fairfax. The town was chartered in 1778 and developed after 1842 with the arrival of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. During the American Civil War it was in turn occupied by both sides, and, after a Confederate raid (1861) destroyed the railroad, engines were hauled by Confederates using horses over muddy roads from Martinsburg to Winchester, Virginia, 18 miles (29 km) to the southwest. In 1877 federal troops were used in the city to put down a strike and riot threat by railroad firemen.

Martinsburg is located in a rich fruit-growing region (mainly apples) and has diversified manufacturing (glass, cement, plastics, and packaging). It was the early home of Confederate spy Belle Boyd, who was once jailed at the old courthouse. Colonial structures include the Tuscarora Presbyterian Church (organized 1740) and nearby Bunker Hill Mill, which began operating in 1738. Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management Area is about 10 miles (16 km) to the west. Inc. town, 1778; city, 1868. Pop. (2000) 14,972; Hagerstown-Martinsburg Metro Area, 222,771; (2010) 17,227; Hagerstown-Martinsburg Metro Area, 269,140.