Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1870-09-07
Desirable Location for Manufacturing
Establishment.


Establishment.
Nearly every inhabi,ant of Miffiin and
Patterson has some time or other asked.
or been asked, "To what use does the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company intend
to put the almost abandoned chops at
Patterson 7" The community of the
towns agree that the question has never
been satisfactorily answered. The com.
muni,y also agree in the belief that if a
lease of the shops can be obtained from
the company that the buildings could be
used as shops in the manufacture of cars
or agricultural implements. The machine
shop is fine oblong building of brick.
covered with slate. and includes within
It's walls three rooms. The first is the
machine room, in which are places for
work benches and lathes in abundance
The second room. which may be called a
side-room, for it is at the side of the build.
ing, is an engine room, and was used as
such by the railroad company when these
shops were in full operation. The third
room was made and used for the smith
shop, and has a full supply of fire places
A frame carpenter shop of sufficient ca
pacity to meet the wants of the railroad
company when it used the shops, stands
near the machine shop. A large semi
circular house of stone, usually called the
"round house, faces the railroad. Cars
from the turn table can be run into any
of the numerous doors of this building,
and track leads directly through this
house into the machine shop, and one
also into the carpenter shop. Notwith-
standing that these shops were not erected
expressly for the purpose of manufactur-
ing cars or any other particular thing,
machine. or implements, they would be
admirably suited to the manufacture of
either cars or agricultural implements.
All the changes necessary to fit them for
such business could be made at, com.
paratively speaking, small cost. No
more desirable place for the manufacture
of cars Oh farming implements can any
where be found than just here at Mifflin,
even if the railroad shops cannot be
leased. Labor is cheaper than about the
cities or large towns; living is cheaper,
land and building lotsare lower in price,
and if the manufacturing establishment
would be for farming implements,
the interior valleys of the State could
be reached easier and cheaper from this,
central point, than from any other. The
freight alone upon implements sent into
the interior of the State from The West
ern country and the Eastern portion of
the State, would go quite a distance to-
wards keeping up an establishment. We
are also near y midway between the an.
thracite and the bituminous coal regions,
and Juniata has perhaps more fine oak
timber. which we all know enters largely,
indeed mostly. into the manufacture of
cars and farming implements, than has
any other county of its size in the State.
Licking Creek Valley, it is estimated,
alone contains many millions of feet of
the finest of oak timber. Thousands of
feet of the best of oak lumber annually
is taken out of our county to Eastern
counties, and there manufactured into
various machines and implements and
into cars, and in these manufactured
articles distributed through our State.
If it pays to ship away and manufac-
ture, it certainly would pay better to man.
ufacture at the place where the raw ma
terial is produced. The freight itself
would be an object of consideration
We have also iron near at hand, both
above and below us, on the ,Juniata.
What great effect upon our towns the
addition of one or two hundred indus.
trious mechanics would have The change
would be almost marvellous.
We have timber here in abundance.
We are admirably situated tor the easy
procurement of both coal and iron. In a
word, when everything is considered. we
have perhaps the best situation in the
State for the manufacture of cars or agri-
cultural implements /; and if we have not
the means or the experience to encourage
us to embark in such enterprises, let us
invite men of capital and experience from
abroad to come among us and do it.