Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-12-11
FACTS ABOUT EAST TENNESSEE.
NO. LXXXvIII.
OUR IRON INTERESTS.
some Facts About the Iron Interests of
Roane County.

The CHRONICLE takes pleasure in giving in
formation about every enterprise tending to de-
velop our mineral interests and build up the
workshops of Tennessee. The "Oakdale Iron
Company of Roane County, Tennessee" is a
new enterprise rapidly assuming grand pro-
portions. A correspondent in New York ac-
,quainted with the operations of the Company
writes as follows
New YORK, Dec 3, 1872.
MessrS. Rule & RickS:
GENTLEMEN Will you please mail to our
New York Office q few specimen copies of your
CHRONICLE, selecting, if you conveniently can,
copies containing articles upon iron and the
mineral resources of East Tennessee Your
articles on this subject are attracting much at
tention here, and in reply to the many inquiers
who know something of our own enterprise, we
lind the readiest and most satisfactory method
is to refer to copies of the CHRONICLE. We are
doing our share towards attracting capital into
East Tennessee. The noble-hearted encourage
ment extended US by General Wilder, of the
Roane Iron Company, and the assistance he has
rendered in making our drawings plans and
contracts have been simply invaluable.
Our furnace will be of 40 tons capacity-a
duplicate of the new furnace at Rockwood-and
next. We have nearly million bricks finish
ed ION the property and steam saw-mill hard
at work, (also on the property, of course) turn
ing out 10, 900 feet of lumber per day. Cabins
for the men are finished. Coal opened with
very unusual success, owing to a natural
gap or tunnel at the base of the mountain. We
have thrown out but 80 feet of loose stones and
dirt when we entered directly on the coal, thus
avoiding the great expense usually incurred by
building nclnes and tunnelling through rock
TO reach the coal veins. We have already
opened two four feet and one eight feet veins,
with 200 to $50 feet of coal over us. We have
began working our veins of red hemtaite ore in
the ridge and have also discovered valuable
beds of the brown hematte Our boilers and
our stack-shell, &c, are furnished by the
Lawrence Street Boiler Yards of Cincinnati
and are well under way. The Roane Iron Com
pany supply our castings The Company wa
organized July 18th, 1872 with capital o
S300OO9 We own the ore lying between. thu
Big Emory river and the Wilcox mines, and
from the Little Emory Gap we own about sly
miles east, in fee. We compliment our count
less giant oaks by calling our property oak
dale;" and Mt Oakdale, loveliest village of thu
vale lone of these days, who knows , we al
intend to live and move and have our being
with our families.
give you these facts because you may de
sire as full particulars as you can procure con
corning an enterprise which is certainly of mo
ment to all who are interested in the "Resour
ces of East Tennessee"
Our purpose is to become Tennesseeans an(
identify ourselves with the future of our section
the Switzerland of the South"
THE IRON INTERESTS OF LOCKWOOD
There are few persons who have not seen thi
place who have any just conception of its i'm
portance, and a word or two on the subject ma.
not prove unacceptable to the readers OF tn
CHRONICLE
The town-for such we must call tits abou
twelve miles from Kingston, and five miles from
the Tennessee river. 1t lies Immediately at tn
foot of Walden's Ridge, in beautiful plain o
considerable extent. The streets are wide AM
regularly laid out, but exceedingly roug
in consequence of the vast amount o
stones with which the ground is everywher
covered. A few very handsome building hav
been erected, but for the most part, the house
are of an inferior quality. The population
estimated at twelve hundred, but this it prob
ably above the ndmber
Iron ore is found in large quantities quite nea
the surface all along the valley. The coal is oh
tanned from small mines in the side of tn
mountain, one vein of which is over eight
feet in thickness. The supply of both is con
sidered inexbaustable. A small railroad ha
been Edt along the side of the mountain froI
the furnace to the coal mines, to which poir
the cars are drawn by mules, but return wit
their load by the force of gravitation, the roa
being constructed on an inclined plain. The OF
is hauled on wagons. Some idea 'of the wor
may be obtained from the fact that eighty mule
besides large number of oxen, are constant
employed to do the hauling.
The present furnace turns out about twenty
three tons of iron day, which is worth fort
dollars per ton at the furnace, Another an
larger furnace is being erected, and will be I
work before long. This will more than douo
the producing capacity of the works, and
course double the population.
A railroad is projected from tn
place to Swcctwater, and will soon be bull
The Iron Company will build half ofsthe who
length aud the balance of the capital will
readily furnished by interested parties. 1t Is b.
Iieved that the Cincinnati road will pass in
mile of the place. With railroad facilities tn
will soon become large and prosperous tow
There is q good school here, under the supe