Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad

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The Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad (M&K) was a West Virginia railroad that operated from 1899 to 1920. It started in Morgantown, connected with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), and ran to Rowlesburg in Preston County, covering about 47.9 miles, with about 5 miles of branch tracks. The line followed Deckers Creek to Kingwood and had a yard and shops at Sabraton. Its freight included coal, building stone, glass sand, and lumber. By 1906, it also offered two daily passenger trains to Kingwood.

The company was chartered on January 10, 1899, led by George Cookman Sturgiss. Construction progressed steadily: eight miles were graded by September 1899; tracklaying began on September 19, 1899; three miles were laid by November, with ten miles graded. By December 1901, twelve miles were complete. Stephen Elkins bought the railroad in 1902, and by September 1902 eighteen miles had reached Masontown. In 1904–1905, sections from Bretz to Reedsville were built, and the line reached Reedsville in 1905. By 1905 the project was moving toward Kingwood, with work continuing toward Rowlesburg; about nine miles were laid that year.

The M&K was completed in three stages: Morgantown to Bretz by September 1903, Bretz to Kingwood by March 1906, and Kingwood to Rowlesburg by July 1907. The route followed Deckers Creek for much of its length. The railroad helped stimulate the region’s economy in the early 1900s and had a rail yard at Sabraton. In 1920, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad gained control of the M&K and operated it as a subsidiary.