In 1851, a new railroad called the Northwestern Virginia Railroad was approved to connect the B&O Railroad with Parkersburg. The B&O and the city of Baltimore funded most of the project. The line started near Grafton and was 104 miles long, but construction was slow and it didn’t open until 1857.

The railroad struggled financially at first but became important during the Civil War because it connected to major cities like Cincinnati and St. Louis. The B&O took full control in 1865, renamed it the Parkersburg Branch, and made it part of their main system. This helped strengthen ties between western Virginia and Baltimore, rather than Virginia’s capital, Richmond—something that later influenced the creation of West Virginia.