The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1874-04-16
A SOUTHERN CITY.
Some of the leading PoinIs OfHn-
tereSt al NcCOmb City. MIss.-ITs
Prominent Merchants and 9th

From the n \ Graphic.
New ORLEANS, March 25.-McCom
City, Miss, (of which some sketches ar
given elsewhere), is situated on what
tamilarly known as The Great jackson
Route one hundred and FIVE miles from
New Orleans, near the centre Of Pix
County, and about fifteen miles from tn
Louisiana line. The roads composing
this line are the New Orleans, Jackson
and Great Northern, and the Mississippi
Central Railroads, reaching from tn,
City of New Orleans to Cairo, Ill.-six
hundred and five miles from New Or
leans. The protector of this embryo city
is Henry S. McComb, of Wilmington
who controls the grandest trunk line il
| the Southwest, not only with regard IL
| length, but the importance of its connec-
lions, the magnitude of its business, the
country it trayerses, and its easy posi-.
| bilities of greatness, reaching from the
| City of New Orleans TO Cairo on the
Ohio River, a distance of six hundred
miles.
Passengers can now leave New Orleans
and go through to Chicago and St. Louis
in many hours less time than it required
heretofore to go to Cairo without change
of cars So vast is the distance over
which freight can pass without change of
bulk that those places are way stations as
twere-mere stages and resting places y
Cars can pass without breaking bulk,
from New Orleans TO Detroit, St. Paul,
Duluth, and, for that matter, to San
Francisco; and "from the Gulf to the
Golden Gate" is not only an euphonious
ALTERATION but "sober certainty"
And still the protector of this enterprise
is not satisfied with this victorious indus
try. His romantic and beneficent ambi-
ton aspires after new triumphs. 1t is
said Colonel McComb aims to build an
other road from New Orleans to Houston,
Texas-the only other thing needed TO
make New Orleans reap the benefits she
is so naturally entitled to. Colonel Nc
Comb has made by force his merit known,
and now on fortunes browning slope"
has become the very ''pillar Of this peo-
pies hope" where he has shOwered such
a largess of his fortune. He is regarded
with the highest gratitude and esteem by
the people Of the Southwest, and is solici-
ted with an almost filial hopefulness and
trust bv them for the countenance of his
prestige, the commanding influence Of his
council, and the aid Of his fortune in their
needed and helpful enterprises. And
well he may he, and richly is deserving
of their regard; for when he took the line
of this road-"The Great Jackson Route"
which is the great artery Of New Or
leans, it was in most deplorable condi-
ton. The road-bed and track were
wretched and the equipment most meagre.
Now the equipment is frst-rate. Ele-
CANT and sumptuous passenger-coaches,
frst-class engines with Westinghouse
brakes, new fsh-bar rails. gravel rOad-bed,
cypress ties, and vast addition Of freight
cars are among the mprovements-in-
deed every appliance to make the road
a first-class railroad not to be exceled
in its accommodations and facilities for
transporting people and freight by any
other railroad in the nation. Not only
does the company of which Colonel Nc
Comb is president control this line, but
other lines through Memphis and Padu-
cab.
a sketch of the life Of Colonel Me-
Comb would sound like romance. His
magnetism is very fascinating. His
vivacity, geniality, and afability make
him the centre Of afectionate admiration
wherever he goes, while his force, prompt
itude. decision, and sagacity command
respect
When Colonel McComb had selected
the site for the purpose of building a
town for the shops of the railroad comp
any, because the point after careful sur
vey and much deliberation was considered
one from which the line of the road could
be effectively worked, he named it Eliza
beth City, after his wife. But personal
friend OF his-a distinguished Kentucki-
an-now a leading banker in New York
city, happening at jackson, Mississippi,
during the session OF the Legislature, when
the bill chartering the city by that name
had passed one House, prevailed upon
Judge William Yerger, who had it in
charge, to strike out the name OF ELIZA
beth" and insert that OF 'McCOmb' -and
this fact was not known 10 Colonel Nc
Comb until the bill had become az law.
In the young city that bears his name his
friends and admirers see another noble
object of his ambition. They think he
will make of it a monument and memorial
to perpetuate his name. He chose in the
size for this city, beauty of location, sa-
lubrity of climate and proximity to great
city. The typography could not be sur
passed if man had moulded IL. The land
is billowy, with great evenness of undu-
lation, gentle dales traversing it from east
to west; making the drainage perfect
Two years ago small saw-miil and the
rough huts ola few wood-chOppers marked
the place; now there are handsome hous-
es, the finest hotel in the State, large
store, and the most commodious, best APP
pointed car-shops in the South. The ho-
tel is 100 feet front by 40 feet width with
an LIP feet and 80 feet wide. It's ofwood,
three stories high, and contains so rooms,
number en- suite. The store is a two
story brick building, 100 by 80 feet. The
engine house has 81 stalls, and is three
quarters of thousand feet circle. The
machine shop is 200 by 50 feet, and the
car shop is the same size. The blacksmith
shop is 40 by 40 feet; the foundry ditto;
the boiler shop is 40 by 90 feet; the par
farmhouse is 30 by so feet; the paints shop
is $50 by 40 feet; the car-repair shed is
200 by so feet; the brick offices and store
buildings are 100 by so feet; the freight
house is 80 by 80 feet. The machine
shop lie equipped with large number of
the newest and best machine for Jocomo-
tive repairs, and is on par with the finest
in the country. 1t is presided over by Mr..
Greener, competent master-mechanic.
The blacksmith-shop, among its numerous
machinery, has two steam-hammers. The
head of the car department is j. d. Bill
lings, a celebrated master car-builder,
millwright, and one of the most competent
men in this line of business in the coun-
try; and the shop is furnished with the
best modern machinery and build
ing for repairs of railroad equipment.
There are eighty-two tenements in the