Martinsburg Apple History [Time Capsule]
At the core of downtown Martinsburg, WV an eight foot apple sentinels over the corner of West King Street. The bright attraction staggers, stuns and summons second looks from unsuspecting motorists. The Big Apple Time Capsule has a story that’s not yet completely been written… a history that runs parallel to that of Martinsburg itself… a story that needs to be told.
Why an apple?
The question isn’t so much of a “why”, but a when. At the very start of the 1900s the Eastern Panhandle Region emerged as an apple orchard region. This classification is likely due to the apple growing hospitable climate of the Shenandoah Valley. At one time you couldn’t throw an apple without it landing in an orchard. Production was the catalyst for the national distribution from National Fruit in Martinsburg and the C.H. Musselman Company in Inwood.
In the early 1900s the apple industry was that of a fresh fruit variety and not processed. Today only 20 percent of apple sales are fresh fruit. In 1912 the average consumer ate 74 lbs of apples in a year; whereas today the average weight is closer to 12 lbs per person. I can only speculate about the drastic change, but one would have to believe the “American Menu” has diversified over the years. (Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to go back to the “an apple a day” way of thinking.)
The influence of the apple industry on Berkley County is beyond applesauce and apple pies. Then C.H. Musselman president John Hauser, known for his philanthropy, offered assistance to the City Hospital. In 1949 Hauser also spearheaded the creation of Musselman High School, which decades later has set the roots for later life success for many Applemen Alumni.
That… that is why an apple towers over West King Street.
Why is the apple there?
As a car meanders downtown Martinsburg the location of the apple seems to explode out of the pavement like a sunflower in a gravel driveway. The shadow of the Time Capsule blankets and protects the tired factory that delivered decades of pulsing and production. The almost 12 acre manufacturing site is that of the former Interwoven Mills factory that stretches from the 600 block of West King Street to the south of West John Street. The building exists as a scar of a better time.
Interwoven Mills was the nation’s largest hosiery (sock) manufacturer at the turn of the 19th Century. The start of this company began in 1890 when maverick investors threw their resources at building the country’s first electric-powered mill. Whoa, that was a gamble. It’s easy to look back now and think, “Well, yeah, that makes sense.”, but electricity was new… New and unknown. Early electricity had its critics and none were more famous than residing President of the time Benjamin Harrsion. Harrison would have White House staff sacrificially turn on and off room lights, because of his fear of being electrocuted. Electricity was some scary stuff.
Well, those entrepreneurs bet right and by 1906 the company had 2,000 domestic accounts that included the country’s largest retailers, international trade and door-to-door sales. For several of those decades it ranked as the top employer of the county and seeded other locations in neighboring cities/states of Hagerstown, MD and Chambersburg, PA.
Business was great until it wasn’t. The stock market crash of 1929 impacted the hosiery industry just as it picked the pockets of the rest of the world. Organized labor issues of the 1930 and early 1940s slowed an already limping factory into an almost submission. Then WWII happened. The production of socks for the military reprieved the struggling factory and gave it some borrowed time. International trade swung the final stroke that chopped down the sock industry in West Virginia. Mill employment plummeted from 3,000 post WWII to just 900 in 1960. Eventually, the changing of ownership to Kayser-Roth spurned the relocation of most of its production to North Carolina and then ultimately the closure of the Martinsburg factory in 1976. Then… that’s where Interwoven Mills sat.
On October 19th, 1990 the Martinsburg Jaycees dedicated the Jeff Fink apple with 1990 specific artifacts stashed inside. The apple was slated to be “peeled” fifty years later in 2040 The Big Apple Time Capsule bridges two tales of the county together where both the rural and urban industry history of Berkeley County meet at West King Street. Almost through osmosis of the presence of the dormant factory The Big Apple fell into a cycle of neglect and began to deteriorate. Then something happened…
Polishing the Apple
The time capsule witnessed investor after investor attempt to revive and resurrect what once was with the campus of the factory. Asbestos and lead hampered and held efforts at bay for revitalization. The Big Apple rusted and rotted watching the parade of suitors be turned away, but then in 2017 a local Boy Scout wanted to earn his Eagle Scout Rank. Matt Frietz and Boy Scout Troop 29 saw the deterioration and with a fresh coat of candy apple red paint gave what Martinsburg needed… a second chance.
The Comeback
The last few years have seen a renaissance in Martinsburg. The long storied tradition of the Berkeley County workforce, that was refined in orchards and at Interwoven Mills, has baited large warehouses to anchor along Interstate 81. Commercial and residential builds rival that of the early 1900s and a new energy flows through Martinsburg.
An apple not a seed grew the resurgence of Martinsburg. A commitment was reached last year to ripen the grounds that were once the pride of Martinsburg, but over the last fifty years became a burden. The 80 million dollar development will be historically-sensitive and will reclaim both commercial and residential space. The three phase project will take where Martinsburg once was, take where it currently is at and move it in the direction they hope to be. Man, do I love a comeback story.
So what does Negley’s Water have to do with all this? Well… apples need water to grow. We value the communities we serve and as Berkeley County continues to evolve, so do we. Negley’s Water wants to deliver you the best in wells, pumps, water treatment, geothermal and community involvement. We’re here to help as you move in the direction you hope to be. The question isn’t if we can help you with your water needs, but “How can we help you?” You don’t want to wait until The Big Apple Time Capsule is opened in 2040 to find out what’s in your water. Call us today. Negley’s Water is ready when you are… ready to help you feel better about your water.
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