Conclusion

For over a hundred years the Martinsburg shops were crucial to the economy of the town. The roundhouse shops and the railroad industry provided jobs to local people starting in the 1840s. People worked at the Martinsburg complex until 1985 when CSX moved positions from Martinsburg to Barboursville, West Virginia. The shops were fully closed in 1988. This ended the economic contribution of the roundhouse to the community.

The Martinsburg Roundhouse sat abandoned from 1988 until 1998 when the Berkeley County Commission purchased the 13-acre property. The Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority was then formed under West Virginia House Bill 2742. From 1998 to the present the Roundhouse has undergone extensive restoration. So though the Martinsburg Roundhouse Shops no longer hold any economic significance to Martinsburg, the site remains culturally significant.