Editing Philippi, West Virginia (section)

===Later history===
Philippi was [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]] by act of the [[West Virginia Legislature]] on 1 February 1871. The first railroad{{dash}}the Grafton and Greenbrier, a [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]]{{dash}}arrived at Philippi on 25 January 1884. Three years later the line was extended to Belington and in 1891 it became a [[standard gauge]] when it was acquired by the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad|B&O]]. In 1904, citizens passed a bond issue permitting the city to begin generating electricity for the first time by gas.<ref>Mattaliano, Jane K. and Lois G. Omonde (1994), ''Milestones: A Pictorial History of Philippi, West Virginia, 1844-1994'', [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]]: [[The Donning Company Publishers]], pp 97-99.</ref>

In 1901, Broaddus College (founded in 1871 in [[Winchester, Virginia]] and later located in [[Clarksburg, West Virginia]]) relocated to "Battle Hill", overlooking Philippi. In 1932, Broaddus merged with Alderson Academy (itself founded in 1901 in [[Alderson, West Virginia]]), whereupon these two Baptist institutions became Alderson–Broaddus College. (The institution changed its name to the current "[[Alderson Broaddus University]]" in 2013.)

In 1905 a new [[Barbour County Courthouse]] was completed. It was designed by J. Charles Fulton in a monumental [[Romanesque Revival]] style. The building contractor was J.P. Conn.

Rail activity at Philippi peaked in the 1920s when as many as six passenger trains, along with mail and freight, transited the town daily. The automobile brought about a decline in the local railroad service, however, and the final passenger train made its last stop in Philippi in 1956.<ref>Mattaliano, ''[[Op. cit.]]'', pg. 115.</ref>

Throughout its history, Philippi has suffered from [[floods]] because of its proximity to the river and the relatively low elevation of most of the town. The [[1985 Election day floods|most damaging of these]] came in November 1985. The town has since adopted a [[flood plain]] management plan.

On July 31, 2023, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission revoked Alderson Broaddus University's ability to confer degrees after the end of the year, and ordered to it cease admitting students, due to its "rapidly deteriorating financial condition".<ref>{{cite news |first= Brad |last= McElhinny |url= https://wvmetronews.com/2023/07/31/emergency-meeting-renewed-over-imminent-material-financial-loss-at-alderson-broaddus/ |title= State officials revoke authorization from Alderson Broaddus, order the start of a wind-down |publisher= wvmetronews.com |date= July 31, 2023}}</ref> On the same day, the university's board of trustees voted to close the university.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/us/west-virginia-alderson-broaddus-university-closes-students/index.html |title= Financially struggling university in West Virginia closes down, leaving students scrambling |first= Mitchell |last= McCluskey |publisher= [[CNN]] |date= August 2, 2023 }}</ref>