Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-01-10
Holston River Improvements.


Philadelphia paper, as | understand:
Along the Schuylkill River, between
the falls of Schuylkill and Norristown, q
distance of about ten miles, there are one
hundred and four manufactures, employ
ing nearly ten thousand hands, and the
annual products of which are nearly TWEEN
ty-fOur milliOnsn
This is a very important lesson for Knox
vile, yet we seem to be infatuated with
other interest that we do not seem to real
ize the fact that, what the Schuylkill is to
Philadelphia. our rivers may be to Knox
vile
What brought the state of affairs about
that gives employment to so many people
and produces SO many millions of money?
What produced this great water power?
1t was brought about simply by some de-
mented creature like myself, who con-
ceived the notion that the Schuylkill River
could be made useful for navigation by
daming and locking at certain falls, to be
used for navigation alone, peradventure,
but it was found that it could be made to
answer two-fOId purpose and all have
plenty of water. The result is, with all the
trade passing through these locks, there is
still power enough within the short dis
lance of ten miles to produce $24, 000, 900
and employ those thousands of people This
perhaps is more than the earnings of every
yet we short sighted people, with an OPP
portunity presented to us, similar in many
respects, turn our eyes contemporary
away and cry out, give us narrow gauge
railroad to Clifton, away with this fascinat-
ing picture, which you have presented to
us, and tempt us not, for, say they is not
railroads king.
Now, Mr.. Editor, I would not under
value the Importance of railroads. A rail-
70 h
nience to few people, but running as it
would, away from the bulk of the business
to be done, it could not control that trade,
and consequently for generations to come
the earnings of it would not reach $50, 900,
and afford no other facilities than a mere
carrier of freights and passengers. l beg
leave to present the facts in the case as it
appears to me, which l think is susceptible
of q clear demonstration.
We have Schuylkill at our door cap
able of doing as great wonders as the
Schuylkill of Pennsylvania the French
Broad possesses advantages for Knoxville
equal to the Schuylkill. And if we had no
other object in view, the safe and reliable
navigation of that river would pay a bet
ter divident than any railroad in Tennes-
SEQ over has done and, perhaps, ever will
do for yeras to come. This is no idle boast
or the rawlings of a disordered brain. We
to any unprejudiced mind, and if you will
indulge me, we will make the effort.
Build a dam at Bakers shoal in sight
of your city, and one at MichaePs
mill ,one at Pickel's Island, Il think ,one at
James Campbells mill, two at Seven Is
land, one at Brabson's Island, or Gallop's,
one at Hanging Rock-eight dams in all to
the mouth of Pigeon river; and one dam
at Saffell's mill, one or two at Evans Is
1o,, at I,,ie TcIn cirr Of
Notwithstanding thirteen dams be-
tween Knoxville and cambridge; eight
more dams between cambridge and Lead
vale, making twenty-one dams in all.
They would average five to seven feet in
hight and about four feet in width, (being
six feet at the base and tapering to about
two feet at the top making about four feet
on the average, and from 900 to 500 feet in
length. The locks about $50 feet long. The
two walls say seven feet in hight and four
feet wide, average width), all of solid ma
sOnry, would make about l, 900 cubic yards |
to each lock. What it would cost to put
up these walls is, / think, very easy to es-
innate.
Knox county is paying so so per cubic |
yard for building the peers now going up
for the bridge across the river at this |
city, as | learn, beginning six or seven feet !
under water and raising them over thirty |
to calculate that such masonry could be |
done ON the river above Knoxville as
cheaply as it can be done here, where |
building stone can be got for the quarrying |
and removing to the place to be used and |
to be raised only about to feet above |
the water / think the work can be done |
for less money. If we have q dams aver
aging 900 cubic yards of masonry, the |
whole would make q 900 yards. This, at |
I,
makes the sum ofS220, 800. think the gates |
for each lock could be built at $1,000. |
q lock gates at S2, 900 each makes $40 900. |
This added to the 1920, 800 mades total of !
S262, 800. This completes the whole struc- |
ture md creates permanent, safe and re- |
liable navigation of the French Broad |
from Knoxville to Leadvale, distance of
seventy-five miles along the French Broad |
Valley, a country not surpassed by any
other in East Tennessee for fertility and |
agricultural products Those locks and |
dams can be used by one or twenty boats |
with about the same wearand tear scarcely |
any atall, as they are not liable to get out |
of order. The dams are built low, and not |
liable to be injured by high water, as drift |
wood never begins to run until the river |
gets up about ten feet high; and again, by |
being built low, they will not overflow the |
lands along the river to injure them.
Two small boats can do sufficient bust |
ness in a year with ten tons of freight each |
way and ten passengers each way, to make |
so, 900 at an expense of SIS, 800, leaving |
balance of q, 800 profit or the same !
boats can do 100000 worth of work, if it |
would offer, at an expense of $50, 900, and
this can be done at the lowest stages of the |
river. But this beautiful showing, with |
our two pretty little steamers, one going |
up and one going down every day, is but |
an atom in the advantages and profits to |
be derived from building those dams. The |
vast power created by those dams is the
great source of wealth that would result. |
of this article, for basis to make that cal
culation. You can make that calculation |
better than can, perhaps, and if some of
our friends of the &c Narrow Gauge" per-
suasion wish to figure at it, I hope they
NAV be encouraged TO do so ne If may have