The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-01-31
REPORT
0fthe COMMITTEES on the wheeling
and TuscaraWas Railway.

The undersigned, woo were apPointeu
by a meeting Of the citizens of Wheel
ing, held at the Grant House on the
evening of the 7th Of December, A. D.
1871, to take preliminary steps for the
organization OF railroad company 70
connect with the Lake Shore and JUS
carawas Valley railroad, now beg leave
to report:
That they Immediately proceeded to
procure charter from the State OF
Ohio, incorporating a company to con-
struct a railroad commencing at the
State line and the line OF the corpora
ton of the city of Wheeling, ID Bel
mont county, Ohio, running through
the counties of Belmont, Harrison ana
Tuscarawas, and, if deemed advisable
through the county Of Jefferson to the
line OF the Panhandle railroad, at or
near Dennison, in Tuscarawas county,
Ohio.
The corporators appointed 10y the
charter were John Mcclure, Thomas
Sweeney and Crispin Oglebay, Of the
city of Wheeling; W. w. Holloway.
Ebenezer Rhodes and R. j. Baggs.
of Bridgeport, Belmont county
Ohio; W. S. Streator and Selah
Chamberlain, of Cleveland, Guy
ahoga, county, Ohio; and Clement
Russell, of Massillon, Stark county,
Ohio. On the receipt Of the charter,
the corporators Immediately organized
and published notice. in pursuance OF
the laws of Ohio, that books would be
opened for subscription to the capital
stock of said company, which was
incorporated by the name of The
Wheeling and Tuscarawas Valley Rail.
road Company" on the first day Of
February, 1872.
Our capitalists, manufacturers and
business men will therefore be expected
on that day to manifest their faith by
their works"
1t has been assumed by your COM
mittee, in their consultations with the
officers and representatives OF the Lake
Shore and Tuscarawas Valley Railroad
Company, that 100000 OF individual
stock would he subscribed by the citi-
zens Of Wheeling to the capital stock
of this company, and that the. city OF
Wheeling in its corporate capital would
subscribe the additional sum Of $780,
900. This we have no doubt will furnish
us a complete, frst-class railroad, in full
and complete operation to all points on
Lake Erie, before the lst OF October, A.
D. 1873. The terminus and depot OF
the road for the present will be on the
eastern side of Wheeling Island, conve.
nient and accessible to river treightand
business, with convenient arrangements
for transferring freight in burden cars
across the river to the wharf or landing
on the eastern side Of the river.
We regard the result OF this enter
prise as fixing and settling the destiny
of the city OF Wheeling for generation
to come.
That the Lake Shore and Tuscara-
was Valley Railroad Company will
extend their connection to the Ohio
river at some point in the vicinity OF
Wheeling is "a certain as any other
future event. Whether it shall be at
Bellaire, at Portland, or at Wheeling, is
the question that is now to be deter
mined.
We say that this enterprise fixes the
the destiny of the city, because the bust
ness and population of q manufacturing
r.. numerical city depends essentially
N the extent Of the country which
rade and business can command, by
=. facilities OF trade and travel to and
I l'pm it.
The population of the city of Cleve-
'lnd in 1850 was 10000.
The population Of Wheeling in 1850
" as little less than 10000
The population of Cleveland in 1870
was fraction under $4,000
| The population of Wheeling in 1870
was little less than "a, 600.
Thus it will be seen that while the
population of Cleveland is nearly six
lines as much as it was twenty years
, 20, the population of Wheeling is only
lice as much as it was at that time.
II we now permit the city OF Cleve-
and to come to our very doors and take
be trade We now have without provid-
ing ourselves with facilities for COM
netting for it, the disparity in the rate Of
increase will probably be greater in the
future than it has been in the past.
1t will seen by reference to the map
of Ohio that the Panhandle railroad
leaves the Cleveland and Pittsburgh
railroad about eighteen miles above us
and the Central Ohio railroad five miles
below us, and both run westward nearly
parallel to each other for about fifty
miles, and then commence to approx
mate one another until they come togeth,
er at about one hundred miles from the
river. The country between these roads,
about thirty miles in width and from
fifty to sixty miles in length, is, perhaps,
the richest part of the State Of Ohio,
when we take into consideration its
mineral and agricultural resources.
All the surveys and explorations that
have been made Of the several routes
from Wheeling to Dennison show that
the road will run its entire distance from
Wheeling to Dennison through mex
haustible deposits of bituminous coal, OF
the same quality as that by which this
city is surrounded.
But, in addition to this, the recent
geological survey Of the State OF Ohio
shows that the valley of the Tuscarawas
contains the richest deposits OF Scotch
black band iron ore that is to be found
in the United States.
Professor Newbury, the chief geolo'
gist OF the State of Ohio, in a letter to
DR.. Sreator, President Of the Lake
Shore and Tuscarawas Valley Railroad
Company, dated October 26, 1871, says
"At Dover We enter the area of the