A Preston County community
Clifton Mills’ existing timeline connects the community with nineteenth-century public health and proposed railroad routes through the Big Sandy Creek country. The entries preserve a smallpox outbreak with conflicting reported dates and later railroad-incorporation plans that named Clifton Mills among their intended stops.
This overview draws on the connected timeline entries and the checked National Archives postal index. Follow the links below for sources and research qualifications.Community timeline
1875 or 1876 — conflicting dates in Wiley
Wiley's main chapter dates the outbreak to 1875 and reports more than forty cases; his appendix dates it to 1876 and reports forty cases with three deaths. The conflict should remain visible until resolved.
Open event and sourcesJanuary 2, 1886
The Pittsburgh and Preston County Railroad Company was incorporated in West Virginia by the following: Charles Kantner, William S. Armstrong, George H. Armstrong, Sanford K. Scott, Joseph W. Michael, Samuel T. Darby, Andrew…
Open event and sourcesMarch 9, 1889
The West Virginia and Pennsylvania Railway Company was incorporated in West Virginia by the following: George W. L. Marshall of Philadelphia; William M. O. Dawson, Niel J. Fortney, B. M. Squires, and P. J. Crogan, all of…
Open event and sourcesSeven indexed records from 1874 to 1942 include an establishment application, maps, questionnaires, and a location form. They describe a small village and the wider landscape of Big Sandy Creek, Cheat River, Brandonville, Gibbon Glade, and nearby Pennsylvania connections.
Explore all 7 postal recordsRecord dates are not necessarily office opening or closing dates. Applications and proposed moves retain their original qualifications.
National Archives · M1126, roll 651 · NARA pages 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417. View the original collection.