Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1869-09-13
The Water Power Of the Upper POtO.
mac River.

| q dam, across the foCOulaC WHICH Dacks water
| to feed the Georgetown level OF the Chesapeake
and Ohio canal, is above the Little Falls OF the
Potomac, and distant about five miles irom
Rock Creek, or four miles from the western
| boundary of GEORGETOWN, the canal running
about mile through the town.
The surface level of the canal at Georgetown
IS about thirty six feet above the surface level
on the Potomac, thus giving far greater head
a. water than in most places where water power
is used for manufacturing purposes. The SO
called dam, above referred to, was built BY the
Canal Company, and is miserably constructed
and inefficient arrangement, being, Us we nave
| minated, nothing more than barrier OF rub
HE stone. through which the water runs as
THROUGH a sieve. When heavy ireshets wash
off a porton Of the material, more Is thrown
ON until enough resistance is offered to force a
small stream through the canal. Yet even with
| this "shiftless" arrangement, and the necessary
drain and necessary wastaGc through the
| lock gates al Alexandra and Georgetown, there
| is not only enough water-exctpt when TIE
| Potomac is unusually low--to keep the George
town level and tho Alexandria Canal laggregat-
| ing over ten miles in lengthl full enough 10
| float heavy coal boats, but to keep seven large
Touring mills, one mill for grinding corn,
paper mill, and two coal docks In operation;
| These mills, to say nothing OF tho water used
| for working the hosting apparatus Tor unload
| ing coal boats, take from 1000 to 1910 lnchcs
| superfcial of watcr-we have not the exact
| figures. This quantity OF water, with head
Of thirty.six feet, which is the fall from the
canal to the river, represents, IN round mum
bers, 1900 horse power. The Touring mills
are large establishments, capable OF turning
out two hundred to five hundred barrels OF
| -four each per day-the last figure probably
representing very nearly the capacity OF Welch s
large mill and Hills paper mill turns out from
ton to ton and quarter of paper daily.
This is what is being done now. II, how
ever, 100000 should be spent 10 building a
substantial and tight timber dam across the
river, in charging the feeding and IN strength,
enng the canal, this power would be doubled
| if not treblcd. And it Is not too cxtravagant
| to say that it would be worth that much daily
| to the District of Columbia. BY raising such
dam and charging the canal, and halt the Poto-
mac might be turncd into It, atoidlng, water
enough to run five miles Of mills side BY side
from Rock Creek to the Falls for the volume
of water is more than ample. The present
water rents probably yield the Canal Company
| Sc, 900 per annum, or the legal interest on
| 100000. 1t is oil along the line only few
| hundred feet from the canal to the river, SO
that the raw material goes directly from the
canal into one end of the mills and the manu-
featured product out OF the other end directly
| into vessels on the Potomac. This places the
District practically nearer the New \ DIRK mar
kets than Lowell, Lawrence, Lewiston, Gardl,
I ner. Manchester, or any Of the leading New
England manufacturing towns The last named,
thriving manufacturing city in New lamp
shire on the Merrimac, is fifty miles from tide
water in a rough, sterile, thoroughly unpromis-
ing country, and yet in the first twelve years
after the essay to make the water power avail
able it had grown from nothing to city oil
%, 900 inhabitants. The corporation who star
ted the settlement put the lots at fixed price
of l24 cents per foot, and town was soon built;
And yet Manchester is nearly one hundred
miles by rail and two hundred miles by water
from market We are very much nearer the
sources of cotton supply than the New England
manufacturing towns, and have the unparalleled
advantages of tide water on one side OF our
mills and canal on the other affordlng ample
water power and in direct communication with
the rich grain fields of the valleys, the great
bitumnous coal mines OF the country, and album
dant mineral resources OF all kinds
At the Great Falls Of the Potomac, twelve
miles above, rs great volume of water, with
more head, could be procured than at George
town; but it would require railroad on the
Virginia side to reach it. The Maryland side
!, is not deemed available, and the water way
would necessarily be on the Virginia side o.
the river. Yet at Great Falls there IS larger
volume OF water than at Manchester, while the
railroad transportation would not be one NTH
the extent. But by increasing the capacity Of
the present canal, or making slulce way BY
its side, the water OF the Potomac could DC
very thoroughly utilized. In this way the
, l ~, al no a
, milling purposes in which case the five miles
of mills if capital and enterprise were torthcom
ing might become reality Wash. Star.
| PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY. During the re-
cess of the Court on Monday, pursuant to no.
toe an Essay on Man was read by Mis-
Nichols. Those who heard it pronounced it a
} very superior and highly artistic production.
| Mr. Robert W. Merchant hat been appoint
ed postmaster at Manassas, IN place oil Col. IL.
Nv. Cunningham, who resigned the oiiicc, he
having been appointed sheriff Of the county
some time since The appointment Of Mr..
Merchant is satisfactory to all.
The picnic on Thursday last at this place
} was attended by about three hundred ladies
and gentlemen of this and the adjoining c0un
. ties and the city oil Alexandria.
Major w. W. Thornton sold this week 81!
acre; of land situated near BristOo Station tC
MIR. Fountain, of New York, tor the sum o.
&, Ola. cash. Manassas Gd%cte.
VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE. The State Senate
, has A. MEMBERSHIP Conservatives, all white
and - Republicans, Of whom five are coored
Conservative majority, II. The House OF Dele
gates has l37 mcmbers-95 Conservatives, Of
whom three are colored, and II Republicans
of whom eighteen are colored; Conservative
majority, SIS. Total members OF Legislature
. lS0-l&5 Conservatives, Of whom three ar
coored and 55 Republicans, OF whom - are
coorcd Conservative majority on joint ballot
20. 10 the Senate are 40 whites and cO!ored
in the House of Delegates llG whites and .
:, coored. Total number of whites in Logsla
ture 1874 colorcd &c. One white radical mem
: Der of the house has died since the election IL
t July
TIE OTHER SIDE.-We learn that the agcn
of the Orange, Alexandria and Manassas roa'
, at this place has made tho most liberal offer
to load cars of the Chesapeake and Ohio roa(
with wheat, for Richmond, if the latter woult