The Blue Creek RR Clash Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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PLEASE READ! Please note that there may be a few wasps in the area - so just use caution.
As you head toward this cache – you will be taken over the Blue Creek Bridge. At the intersection where you will turn left, you will be on the site of an infamous dispute in WV railroad history. (Note: The bridge you crossed is new, but you can see the old abutments still if you look closely to the right on either shore.)
Background:
There were two major railroad companies in the area at the time, the Coal and Coke railroad (C&C) which ran on the Pinch side of the river and the Kanawha and West Virginia railroad (K. & W. Va.) which ran on the Elkview side of the river. In the early 1900’s the K. & W. Va. wanted to cross the river at Blue Creek and cross over the C&C railroad track using what was none as a “grade crossing.” In other areas, C&C officials had agreed to such arrangements with other railroad companies for a fee. For reasons unknown, the K. & W. Va. were unwilling to go that route.
The confrontation:
On 9/12/1906, upset by the lack of progress in negotiations, the chief engineer for the K & W. Va. sent 800 men, armed and “liberally supplied with liquor” to take matters into their own hands. Telegraph lines were cut and the main line 200 feet north of the site was destroyed. According to accounts in the Charleston Mail, only 100 of the original 800 actually had the courage to defend the site. When C&C officials got wind of the activity, they sent people who confronted the men. Fights occurred, and JE Conley, a supervisor from C&C was hit over the head with a piece of timber and injured. However, by 3:00 pm on 9/13, the C&C had prevailed and the offending grade crossing had been removed, and the track restored. Later, the K. & W. Va. would pay restitution for damage in the amount of $500. Finally, a contract was signed between the 2 companies and the grade crossing was peacefully installed. As a result, coal was transported out of the Wills Hollow mine via the K. & W. Va. In 1907.
The FTF is $2.85 - enough for a gallon of gas on the day the cache was placed.
Congrats to Spacegamer on the FTF!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)