Rails Through the Timber: The Forgotten Story of the Virginia Southern Railroad
Tucked away in the steep ridges and hardwood forests of Grayson and Smyth Counties, the Virginia Southern Railroad once carved a lifeline through the mountains—a narrow-gauge logging route designed for passengers, timber, mail, supplies, shipments and more. Though its memory has largely faded, traces of the rail and its legacy still echo through the woods near Sugar Grove and Fairwood, and in stories passed down by the region’s old timers.
The Virginia Southern Railroad was the brainchild of Jerome W. Moltz, a seasoned lumberman who had already made his mark in Pennsylvania. There, his Moltz Lumber Company managed 7,000 acres of forest and operated 15 miles of logging railroad—an enterprise that remained active into the 1940s. Seeking new timber-rich territory, Moltz turned his attention southward to Grayson County, Virginia, and began constructing a new line between Sugar Grove and Fairwood.
The purpose of the Virginia Southern was clear: harvest the vast reserves of timber in the region and transport it to nearby sawmills for processing. This industrial corridor quickly became a bustling artery of Appalachian lumbering, reshaping both the landscape and the economy.
Eventually, the Virginia Southern, along with the Marion Rye Valley Railroad, came under the control of P.S. Swain of New York, who was appointed president over the combined 27-mile rail network. Swain’s oversight marked a period of organized expansion and efficiency, aligning two essential railroads under a single management structure during the peak of the southern Appalachian timber boom.
One of the more curious landmarks along the Virginia Southern’s route was a stop known as Jothmada, located between Sugar Grove and Troutdale, near present-day Raccoon Branch Campground along Dickey’s Creek. The name “Jothmada” was a creative blend—formed by combining the first two letters of the first names of the wives of the four men who founded the local logging camp. While most of the women’s names have been lost to time, one is remembered: May Moltz, wife of Jerome.
Old maps from 1916 and newspaper timetables list Jothmada/Jothmado (pronounced “jot a mada”) as a regular stop, and locals once referred to it as a “shack town,” a temporary settlement of logging workers. From this remote camp, narrow shoots of small-gauge rail snaked up into the mountains, allowing crews to access and fell timber from otherwise inaccessible terrain. The logs were hauled down to the main line, loaded onto trains, and transported to Troutdale and Fairwood for milling. The Jothmada stop was located at milepost 2 along the Virginia Southern Railway.
After the U.S. Logging Company had exhausted the forests along the line between Sugar Grove and Troutdale, the area’s economic flame began to dim. With the timber gone, so too was the purpose of the rail. Eventually, the entire operation was sold to F.L. Knight of Lynchburg, marking the final chapter for the Virginia Southern Railroad.
Though the tracks are long gone, the ghost of the Virginia Southern lives on in archival maps, rusted rail fragments, and place names that still cling to the landscape. It’s a story of ambition, resource extraction, and the transitory nature of boomtowns built on timber.
Photo of Moltz Lumber Engineer Grant “Dutchman” Bruner leans on front truck of a Shay Engine delivering logs to the mill at Lake Toxaway, PA. The company operated similarly there as it did here even using the same Shay style engines.
Special thanks to Gary Price and Ed Clayton for their contributions to the information in this article!
I truly love this site & the history of the area where I was born & raised , you are much appreciated from this ole “Grover” keep up the great work!
I am always looking for additional information to add to these articles. Glad you are enjoying the site.