The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-01-15

| apples TO be naQ lOr lue ashlu6, coAH oi6hIS
cents pcr bushel when it was 81 25 in your old
city, and corn juice-ahem what was it I was
going to say? In short, living is cheap, eli
mate is good, and land passably productive.
No wonder, therefore, that there should be q
great tide of immigration turned in that direc-
ton; nor is it surprising that lands should be
held at high figures when there is such great
demand for them, As usual in such cases, de-
sire runs little ahead of reason, and the
prices asked for lands are not untrequently
from two to three hundred per cent. above
their present value. Every one has this land
fever; every one is open to trade. No cDe in
the morning can tell whether he will have
house of his own in the evening, in which to
repose his weary head and dream OF vast sums
of money, copper mines, gold mines, and what
not all. Trade and blrter ale the order of the
day. S.ores, houses, mills, farms, horses, in
short everything, is liable to change hands
every day. saw young ee.-tleman at Bic
mann's, yesterday, who had just sold his farm,
several miles from here, for buggy and fine
pair Of mares. He thought he had made
good trade, but what to do with the mares he
wist not.
It is said that Colonel Gresham, when he
purchased, years ago, all these lands, predicted
that fine town would some time be built on
this site, and that he set apart lot for court
house. This prediction is now being fulfilled.
The convention divided Pickens County, and
Walhara has been selected as the county seat
of the newly formed county, "Oconee." The
courthouse is to be built during the present
year next to the Lutheran Church, one OF the
finest sites in all that vicinity.
There are two churches here, Lutheran and
Methodist. The Presbyterians have organized
congregation, but as yet have no building.
A Baptish chul ch is in process of formation.
The Newberry College, under the auspices of
the Lutheran denomination, has been recently
removed to this town. A large wooden build
ing, partly furnished, erected by the Ladies'
Educational Society, has been diverted from
it's original purpose and presented to the trus-
tees OF the said Newberry College. The Rev.
J. P. Smelzer is president. The Sumter Fe-
male Collegiate Institute, in charge of Miss
Morgan, is doing well.
The Intendant of this thriving town is Mr..
q. W. Van Divere, and Hon. D. Biemann,
senator, &C., keeps the hotel The chief busi-
ness men arc: Wesley Pitchford, F. & W. Pie
per, Waller, Watson & c., D. Biemann, W.J.
& j. E. Neville, VIM. korber, Dr.. A. E. Nor
man, J. N. Benson & Co, Carter & Matheson,
A. Taylor, Hendrix & Simmons, Whitmore &
Co., c. L. Reid & Co., Boucknight & Darden,
R. B. & B. R. Chambers, and Ostendorf d
Ansel.
The s'Keowee Courier" formerly published
in Plckens Courthouse, was removed to Wal
halla last spring. Messrs Keith g. Young are
the proprietors, and Whitner Sims, ESQ.,, is or
rather was, the editor; for Mr.. S. having re-
Gently taken unto himself partner, has relin-
auished his connection with the paper, and
Mr.. VIM. C. Keith is now the editor. The Cou-
rier is good paper, fully representing the
continents of the people Of this part OF our
State, and contributing its share to healthy
restoration, political, industrial and social.
Walhalla, OF course, cannot get along with
out lawyers, and accordingly took the cen
sus Of the profession, which is as follows: :
Colonel J. ]. Norton, VIM. G. Keith, Esq, j.
Fl. Whitner, Esq, and W. Sims, Esq. In ad-
dition to these, heard of some others desir.
GUS of pitching their tents here; and among
them julius ]. Fleming, Esq, Of Sumter,
who, hope, will do we'll III this new field.
Icannot enumerate all the mechanics of this
town; but it is far better supplied in this re-
spect than any place of it's size in the State.
1t boasts three watchmakers, timers, black
smiths, bootmakers, tailors, wheelwrights-all
giving proof that this is the gathering point
and mart of large number of people.
The great desire Of the people throughout
this section, as you may readily suppose, is
that the Blue Ridge Railroad may be complet-
ed. 1t may be that they oyerestimate the ad-
yaptages that would accrue to them from the
enterprise; though am OF those who think this
road oue hit to be built, and will be built. As WAL
hala is the present terminus, aud must 80 re-
main during the tedious working and compile
ton of the tunnel, it will necessarily be mate
rally benefited during all that time, whether
the ultimate completion Of the road be any ad-
vantage to it or not The road, as tor as 1t is
built, is in excellent condition, the work supe-
rior, and apparently more durable, than is
found on any other road in the State.
There is much water-power within few
miles of this town, which, in few years, will
set innumerabe mills at work, if not large wool
and cotton factories. The several streams in
the vicinity empty into the Seneka River,
which, with the Tugaloo (at AndersonUl!e),
| forms the Savannah. In the extreme north
western part of Oconee the waters run into
tributaries of the French Broad, which emp
ties into the Holston, this into the Tennessee,
and thus through the Ohio, and the Mlssis-
sippi, some of our South Carolina waters find
their way into the Gulf of Mexico.
Oconee County is SO called after "oconee
Station" (Anglice "wild hogs,") an old Indian
settlement. There is also an Oconee Creek.
The first house in Walhalla was put up by
MIR. D. Bemann, Christmas, 1851. In the orl-
nal drawing of lots for town lots, Mr. Bemann
drew the site of his present house. Two hun
dred acres had been laid off for the town, each
lot in the town an acre and half; the hall
acre on Man-strcct, and au acre on a back
street for garden. The farms were laid oil
outside the town, and all drawn by lot. After
the mealbers had drawn their lots, the COM
pany sold the remainder, though it Still holds
some land near the Little River Falls.
But this letter is getting too long, SO must
| pTDr,c CvC