The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-10-14
4 THRIYING TOWN.
All About Florence-How 1T Grows
Appearance of the Village-A Batch
of Gossip-Hints for the Curious-The
Lands, the Laborcrs and the Crops.
TrRoM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT

| FLORENCE, S. c., October l3
Florence, they say about here, is city o
steam engines, cotton gins and babies. EN-
brace in the description pine trees and railroad
tracks, and the traveller will not fail to recog
nize the locality. Within ten years, the place
has grown from mere wilderness, with 1t:
wayslde blacksmith shop, to town of more
! than respectable dimensions, and the eye rest'
upon as picturesque collection Of fresh look
ing country homes and tidy stores as are to bt
found in this portion of South Carolina. II
| truth. Florence has all the elements of pro
gress and expansion. Two trains day from
Charleston, Wilmington and Augusta, and one
from Cheraw and Darlington, rest in its spa
cious depot, to gather or deposit merchandise
and passengers. Thirty or forty merchants
already established here, are building up
permanent trade. Cotton from the surround
ing country is brought here to be ginned, balet
and shipped Saw mills are at work in the
vicinity cutting out lumber for home use and
distant markets, and the handiwork of thrift
and enterprise is everywhere observable
There are four ministers, two or three pretty
churches, graveyard of no use to anybody
and a round dozen of doctors who grow
chronically at the prevailing good health. The
colored population are orderly and lazy, and
cotton stealing measurably increased.
The fine hotel, SO familiar to our soldiers
during the war, is still kept by Mr.. j. w.
Gamble, assisted by his son. Architecturally
it is one of the prettiest structures in the
State, and the wayfarer is always sure OF
substantial and stomach-satisfying repast.
It's superb place to pick up personals" As,
for instance, General Joseph E. Johnston and
President w. ]. Magrath stopped here yester-
day. An old North Carolina farmer, who has
made money by producing, buying and ship
ping twelve hundred bushels of blackberries
during last year, is on his way to locality near
Georgetown to purchase with his surplus a
phosphate plantation. Another stranger is on
his way from Philadelphia to look after kaoin
says there's heap of money in it, and peo-
ple don't know it. A third, talking around the
parlor fire, believes in draining our swamps
and getting our timber. He says that thirty
years ago, until people went wild over cotton,
timber was cut into slaves. and constituted a
handsome proportion Of the trade of Charles
ton with the West Indies and France. The
suggestions of fourth Indicate that he has an
aptitude for agricultural machinery, and that
if some Charleston merchant will bring out a
stump extractor that will ''snake" lightwood
roots out of the ground, he and his neighbors
are prepared to- buy half dozen. And so on.
In short, CANDLES Hotel is place where you
can hear suggestive thoughts expressed by
men from every part Of the country and en-
gagged in every variety Of enterprise.
The business done, here is chiefly In cotton,
brought forward from the nelghborhood, the
merchants supplying in turn the demands OF
the planters. Rumor hath it that o well known
Charleston dry goods firm is about to establish
q branch house at this point. Besides the
handsome lists of Florentine merchants, Cap
tain E. W. Lloyd, formerly of Charleston and
captain OF the Washington Light Infantry, has
a carriage factory and steam mill; and Captain
John Wylie has an extensive steam ginning
establishment The Northeastern Railroad
shops, under the management of Mr.. Daniel
Haynes and Mr.. Alexander Corrie, also turn
out the elegant cars and machinery which are
to be seen on that road.
The neighboring lands are good for cotton
planting, and are appreciating in value. Form
erly the planters of this section were wealthy.
Many of them are rapidly recovering from
losses incidental to the war. Within three
miles of Florence there is excellent water
power, and the wonder is that some enter
prIsing capitalist, with the example of the Au-
gusta and Saluda mills before him, dividing
immense profits among the owners, and saving
fifteen per cent. more than Northern mills,
does not come here and invest thirty or
forty thoutand dollars in the erection of
q cotton factory. If he did no more than
transfer cotton from the bale to the bob
bin, he would make his pile. The field Is
ample, and ''the early birds" in this growing
town are destined "to catch the worm."
Another want, which, for their own business
advancement, these live people need, is a local
newspaper. A watchful editor never need
hide his candle under bushel In
FLORENCE.