It originated as a private lumbering railroad owned by William Caprio and Anthony Grieco, contractors in Lock Haven.
A charter was obtained for the Juniata and Southern Railroad on May 1, 1913,[2] which took over Caprio & Grieco's logging line.
The new railroad was surveyed as far as Jacobs and the coal mine there, 14.9 miles (24.0 km) from Marklesburg, and was projected south towards Hancock, Maryland.
Traffic was never heavy on the line, consisting of iron ore, mine props, and a little local freight and lumber.
Elevated prices for scrap iron during World War I may have contributed to the decision to abandon it.