Welcome to Downtown Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Martinsburg is the county seat of Berkeley County and one of the core cities in the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Both city and county are growing rapidly due to an influx of people, many of them commuters, from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. The first post office in what is now West Virginia was established at Martinsburg in 1792.
The city was founded in 1778 by General Adam Stephen of the Continental Army. Martinsburg's strategic location, close to Washington D.C, Maryland, and Virginia has positioned the community well over the years. It enticed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to come through the town in 1842, and Martinsburg rapidly became one of the state's bustling railroad stops. The Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad reached Martinsburg in 1842. The B&O Roundhouse and Station Complex was first constructed in 1849.
During the Civil War, the location on the dividing line between North and the South caused the town to change hands 50 times. One of the town's most notorious natives was the infamous Confederate spy Belle Boyd, who was captured in Martinsburg in 1863 and imprisoned. Her childhood home, the Belle Boyd House, is a museum owned and operated by the Berkeley County Historical Society.
Martinsburg's location has positioned the town well for the future. We're less that 90 minutes from Washington, D.C. and commuter trains connect us daily to the Nation's Capital. We're considered part of the Washington, D.C. metro area, yet we still retain the small town charm and history from our founding. Take a walk through our city and our storied past is evident in the well-preserved historic homes and national landmarks.
Main Street Martinsburg, Inc. was officially designated a Main Street Program in August 1992. We assist the community in revitalizing the downtown commercial district through historic preservation and economic redevelopment. Being one out of twelve local Main Street Communities in West Virginia, Main Street Martinsburg receives strategic planning, technical assistance, and leadership from the state program, Main Street West Virginia. We offer technical planning, organizational and training assistance, and design assistance services for building façade improvements and maintenance.