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"In    1789    by    legislative    grant    from    the    Virginia    assembly    to    Elder    John Alderson,   a   ferry   across   the   river   was   established.   This   ferry   was   just   below the   present   location   of   the   railroad   station.   On   old   maps   the   place   is   named Alderson's Ferry. (click photos to enlarge) Prior    to    the    coming    of    the    railroad   Alderson's    Ferry    was    a    small    farming community.   It   was   not   close   to   any   of   the   three   county   seats;   it   had   little industry   except   small   mills.   In   1868   the   C   &   O   Railroad   Co.   was   organized   and by   1872   had   made   it   way   to   the   Alderson   area.      It   also   made   a   town   out   of Alderson's   Ferry.   Previously   plagued   by   poor   roads   and   isolation,   the   little village   now   boomed.   Lumber,   tanbark,   cross   ties,   and   live   stock   could   be shipped     to     market.     People     could     travel.     Alderson's     Ferry     was     in communication   by   telegraph   with   the   world.   Freight   could   be   shipped   in.   The   village   was   not   depended   on a road wagon and a team of horses or oxen, for commerce or travel." The   Ferry   Crossing   was   established   in   1786   and   the   Alderson   Ferry   House was   the   home   of   the   ferry   operator. The   ferry   discontinued   once   the   initial   steel bridge   was   built,   which   is   now   the   concrete   Memorial   Bridge.   (The   ferry   house no longer exists.) (The   below   copy   is   from   the   sign   at   Alumni   Park   on   the   Monroe   Side   talking   about   its   role   during   the   Civil War.) “Here,   where   you   are   standing,   you   can   see   both   sides   of   the   Greenbrier   River   where   Alderson’s   Ferry crossed.   The   ferry   was   named   for   Elder   John   Alderson   who   received   the   original   charter   from   the   Virginia Legislature   in   1786.   During   the   Civil   War,   the   ferry   played   a   significant   role   as   both   Union   and   Confederate forces   used   it   to   carry   men   and   supplies   across   the   river   here.   On   June   22,   1862   for   example,   1,600 Federal troops were ferried over the river here on an expedition into Monroe County. Because   of   the   importance   of   the   ferry,   occasionally   engagements   were   fought   here   as   each   side   sought to   control   the   crossing   or   deny   the   ferry’s   use   to   the   enemy.   On   July   12,   1862,   Union   Capt.   William   B. Harrison,    leading    two    cavalry    companies    from    Col.    George    Crook’s    brigade,    engaged    Confederate cavalrymen   here.   His   command   killed   or   wounded   seven   of   them   and   captured   about   a   dozen   of   their horses. Gen.   Rutherford   B.   Hayes,   the   future   president   of   the   United   States,   crossed   his   brigade   over   the   river   into Greenbrier   County   just   upstream   from   here   on   May   18,   1864.   It   took   twenty- four hours for the entire brigade to cross. Hayes’s   brigade   was   part   of   Gen.   George   Crook’s   Army   of   the   Kanawha, which   camped   here   in   May   1864.   Dr.   Thomas   G.   Clay,   who   operated   the   ferry, was   taken   into   custody   and   detained   for   a   day   without   Crook’s   knowledge. When   Crook   learned   of   it,   he   ordered   Clays   immediate   release   and   directed that   his   property   not   be   molested.   Clay   lived   in   the   ferryman’s   house   that   stood on   your   right   across   the   modern   railroad   tracks,   just   beyond   the   apartment building and the flat, grassy lot.”