Rt. #2, Box 332 Clarksburg, West Virginia 26301
The old Lowdnes Bank and an adjacent department store here in
Clarksburg were demolished this past summer. A new bank was to be
erected, but now it will be the site of the new city municipal
building.
As the front wall dropped, it crashed onto the sidewalk,
dislodging the corner-stone that was laid there in 1902.
It must have been faith, for out rolled a metal box. It seems
that no one knew this time capsule had been placed there. The box
was sent to City Hall and the lid removed. It contained several
newspapers, photos, a city directory, and maps from that era. It
also contained a document listing the carpenters, stonecutters,
engineers, and workers who built the original Lowdnes Bank in
1902.
I was able to obtain the papers only for a few hours and here is
some material on the Electric Street Railway.
Clarksburg Street Railway Company
The car barn and engine house at Adamstown are built upon the
most approved plans. The former has the capacity for twelve cars.
The generator is a splendid piece of electrical machinery. It is
known as a direct current generator and was built by the
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company of Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania. Its capacity is 400 Kilowatts, E.M.F. 550, Amperes
728, and speed 90. A Wetherill-Corliss engine, direct connection,
supplies the motive force. It is of 800 horsepower, 28-inch bore,
4-foot stroke, 90 revolutions per minute. The boiler room contains
our boilers of 150 horsepower each. The fuel used is of natural
gas.