Haltwhistle was probably in existence in Roman times, as it is one of the closest approaches of the River South Tyne in its upland reaches to Hadrian's Wall. The earliest recorded history of this area derives from the Roman occupation period; in 122 AD, the Romans constructed Hadrian's Wall, the course of which lies about one kilometre north of Haltwhistle. The length of Hadrian's Wall is 117 kilometres, spanning Britain; the wall incorporated Agricola's Ditch and was constructed chiefly of stone in the eastern reaches, such as near Haltwhistle. The wall was designed primarily to prevent entrance by small bands of raiders or unwanted immigration from the north, not as a fighting line for a major invasion according to Johnson. The old Roman road or Stanegate passes just two miles to the north of the town. The development of the town was based on its position on the main Newcastle to Carlisle road and on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway line. Although the name of the town suggests that it may have been named because of the presence of the railway, this is not so; the name Haltwhistle was in existence long before the railways arrived, and derives from the Old English twistle, meaning a meeting of rivers, and possibly the French prefix haut- meaning high. Haltwhistle railway station was also the northern terminus of a branch line to Alston, in Cumbria, the line was thirteen miles in length. Part of the southern end of the Haltwhistle to Alston line has been reopened as a two foot narrow gauge railway, known as the South Tynedale Railway, between Alston and Kirkhaugh. The expansion of Haltwhistle in the 18th and 19th centuries was due to coal mining in the area and to a lesser extent the use of Haltwhistle as a loading point for metal ores coming from the mines on Alston moors. In 1836 while some workmen were quarrying stone for the Directors of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, on the top of Boreum, a high hill in the township of Thorngrafton and Parish of Haltwhistle, one of them found a copper vessel containing 63 coins, 3 of them gold and 60 copper. The gold coins were, one of Claudius Caesar, reverse Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus; one of Nero and one of Vespasian. More recently, paint manufacture became a major commercial force in the town, but has now stopped major production. In the 21st century, the tourist industry dominates the economy with Hadrian's Wall and walking and rambling counting among the principal interests of tourists. More on Haltwhistle