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Article: Tracking a Lumber Town's History
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 9, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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At Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in southeastern West Virginia,
it doesn't take long to get derailed from the present. A nearby
radio observatory renders mobile phones useless, leaving the tweets
to the birds. And with few modern trappings in this historic
railroad community, you feel as though you really have backtracked
to the early 20th century.
A quest for the unusual yet historical drew my friend Tracy and
me to Cass late last month. We found a town still thriving since its
birth in 1901, when the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Co. laid the
railroad to haul pristine timber from Cheat Mountain back to Cass. A
mill would then process the wood for the country's booming paper and ...