Railroad & Resort

Before the railroad reached Cedar Bluff, travelers arrived by country roads and old turnpikes. In 1889, the Norfolk and Western Railway came to Cedar Bluff through hand labor and the strength of oxen, and local residents earned extra money by housing construction workers in their homes. The railroad gave the town's economy a tremendous boost by opening access to markets far beyond the immediate region, bringing new supplies for the mills and carrying local flour east more quickly and at lower shipping rates than had been possible on the winding, dusty turnpikes. In 1901, completion of the Cedar Bluff-laegar branch line brought still more trains through the community. The trains also brought new visitors as Cedar Bluff became known for its natural mineral springs. The Scott family first built tourist cabins for people who came to take the waters, and those cabins were later replaced by the Blue Sulphur Inn, a three-story, forty room summer resort built on the site of the sulfur mineral springs beside the train depot. For years, the Blue Sulphur Inn stood at the center of Cedar Bluff's social life as locals and visitors gathered there almost nightly to dance and enjoy music.

Cedar Bluff, Virginia · United States