 During this period, Jamaica and other towns in the West River Valley bonded together in a venture that was seen as the salvation of the area’s economic woes, the West River Railroad.Originally chartered in 1867, the proposed railroad was to run from Brattleboro to Whitehall, New York.In 1877, financing provided by the valley towns moved the languishing project forward with the first segment from Brattleboro to Londonderry.