Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1870-03-10
THE FARMaNGs RESOURCES OF
TdE VALLEY OF THE SHENAN-
NOAH.
Br pnoE. Il. d. MAuRY.

BE PR0T. r. b. MAuRY.
Ofshe many eligible lands of the South5
in quest Of Northern labor and capital,
few are more inviting than those of the
Shenandoah Valley, in Virginia. Il was
| originally settled BY families of Scotch
/ Irish descent, and subsequently increased
bv Marylanders and sPennsylvaaians. Ly-
/ ing between the Blue Ridge and >the cas-
tern spurs Of the Allegheny Mountains,
with varying breadth of from forty to a
hundred miles. the Valley is watered by
the Shenandoah River, a mountain stream
Of great beauty and boldness, formed by
the junction Of the South and North rivers,
near Harrisonburg, and running thence
| distance Of one hundred miles into the
Potomae ct Haspss's Ferry. The Valley
of Virginia extends from the Potomac to
the soutkern Boundary Of the State, bat
the section Of which we especially write
terminates near Staunton. 1t there con-
meets by the Virgiaia Central Railroad,
as also at Strasburg (forty miles from the
Potomac) with Eastern Virginia. But,
besides these railroad connections, there
Hare not less than eight turnpikes crossing
west, leading over the AAegbanies.
Mt. Airy, many years ago known as
The Steinbergen Estate near Mt. jack
son, in the County of Shenandoah, con-
sis:iug of four thousand acres of bottom
lands, has perhaps no superior in any Sec
ton of the continent. The towns in the
Valley Of the Shenandoah are none of them
large, but are beginning now to improve.
Martinsburg, in Berkeley Coassy, the en-
gine-depot of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroads is, of course, quite city. Win
chester, Charlestown. Halltown, in jeff
erson are connected with the Potomac BY
an admirably worked branch Of the Bal
timore and Ohio Railroad. And Stras-
burg, a place of Eve hundred inhabitants,
is the point where tie Alexandria and
Manassas Railroads enters the valley, by
way of Fauquier and the town of Front
Royal in Warren County. The latter
town twenty-five miles east from Winches-
ter, is remarkable for the Warren Springs,
a fine sulphur. alter much esteemed Min
eral Especially -chalybeate) springs are
quite frequent in the valley. The Ork-
ney Springs. in Shenandoah, and Jordan
Springs, six miles north Of Winchester. on
the railroads, are popular watering places.
The water of the valley. from the northern
edge of Rockingham County to she Ps-
tomac, is delicious aud abundant. The
springs are generally large enough for the
dairy, and there is little need for ice in
summer. One of these, in Rockingham,
expands into lake more than mile
square, Lincoln's near Edinl urgh, is al
most as striking an object. The town Of
Winchesteris abundantly supplied from
single spring near the city, the water in
the pipes never failing or falling short in
the summer seasons.
The turnpikes in the valley Of the Shen-
andoah are among its chief recommended
ton. They are macadamized with tho
limestone, which is SO abundant every.
where that one seldom sees any kind of
fence but the stone wall, which can be
built for cost of hauling and labor.
| Besides the Shenandoah River, there
are several large creeks watering the val
| ley of which the chief are Back and &C.
| der creeks and the Opequan Cedar Greek
flows obliquely across the valley at Stras-
burg. into the Shenandoah ; and the OPP
equan runs from Winchester, for dis
lance of forty miles into the Potomac.
The banks of these streams, like the low
grounds of the Shenandoah, are of unsur-
passed richness, and the pasturage is ex-
cellent. The products of the dairy are
however, noticeable throughout the entire
length Of this garden Of Virginia, and the
rich butter is proverbial, selling at from
fifteen to twenty cents, even in times Of
scarcity. Buckwheat, flax, hemp, tobac-
co, and the great cereals are, of course,
the chief products of the valley. AS a
fruit country, it strongly resembles the
valley of the Wyoming, but the cold snaps
of March do not so frequently cut Oft the
crops. Appie-butter was probably never
known to be scarce in the valley of the
Shenandoah, and the tables Of the Dutch
farmer are never set without two or three
kinds of fruit, winter or summer. AS the
land affords stone for buildings and fenc-
ing. wood land is not in much request
but south of Winchester there is no search
ty Of it. Latterly, coal has been brought
by the Winchester Railroad from Harper.s
Ferry to the former place, whence 1T Is
easily wagoned into the adjoining country
over tue excellent turnpikes. The geolog'
ical survey Of the State. by Professor
William b. Rogers, leads to the BELIZE
that there are valuable beds of anthracite
coal in several parts of the valley His
analysis showed that in the anthracite Goa
of Bsrkely County, in 100 grains only
4.94 grains were Of gray ash and the res
was Of volatile or combustible matter
Semi bituminous coal-beds. Professor
: Rogers found in Frederick, Shenandoah
and Rockingham. The iron ore of the
valley at Rockingham is we'll known and
there are large iron works near Harrison
burg and at Port Republic. The ores
are known as the honeycomb and pipe.
Professor Rogers tells US that beds of slate
aad limestone occupy nearly all the val
ley, with layers of silicious limestone and
bands of sandstone intermingled. lie
ADDS: Limestone strata Of vast extent,
hydraulic lime, marble, trayefi tine, or de.
posit mari. slate, iron ore and lead ore, are
among the materials included in this Sec
ton. Approaching the Masssnutteu
Mountain. slight ridge running between
Warren and Page, the belt Of limestone is
| l.