Rainelle West Virginia
“A Town Built To Carry On…”
Town of Rainelle WV
The small town of Rainelle is located in Greenbrier County West Virginia at the base of Sewell Mountain and Sims Mountain. The only means of transportation to and from Rainelle are roads; primarily US 60 and WV 20, which merge on the west end of the town, and the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, which enters from the south. The town is rich in history, golfing, parks, hunting, fishing, hiking, festivals, lodging, and other outdoor activities for the traveler to the area.
History of Rainelle WV
Rainelle was named for the Raine family, Thomas and his brother John Raine whom moved here from Pennsylvania in 1906 to harvest a large stand of hardwoods for building homes. Thomas and John Raine started buying the entire valley; over 100,000 acres of virgin hardwood.
Their Meadow River Lumber Company operated for 60 years, and at one time was the largest hardwood sawmill in the world. In 1970, the owners sold it to Georgia-Pacific Corporation, which tore it down in 1975. The quality of Meadow River Lumber’s oak flooring was famous and was ordered for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel’s ballroom in New York City.
The town sprung up from the employees that worked at the lumber mill. The Raine brothers then built and incorporated the Town of Rainelle, building houses, a school, a hotel, theater, fraternal lodge, a bank, the golf course, and the Methodist Church for their employees.
The brothers brought in the railroad by building a spur line, formed the Sewell Valley Railroad which connected to the C&O in 1907. The Raine brothers logging railroad used the same Shay engines that are now at Cass Scenic Railroad.
