The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-02-18


The La Belle and Jefferson Iron
go. ''A1 Works. Pr
BY our Old Employe. ------...
The year 1851 was "a sort iof turning
polnt'ih the history Of Wheeling. The
wild but magnificent steamboat enter
prises inaugursted in view Of the near
completion Of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, were destined in one blaze oil
glory to consume and dissipate forever
the hallucination that Wheeling, by sheer
reason Of her patio1, was, like Egyptian
Alexandra, the portal through which
must pass the rich commerce of the
ORIENT and the OCCIDENT, the East and
the West, and passing yield Its tribute Of
gold. During the prevalence Of that
mania, general as it was, there were still
left wiser heads to whom ,it vas evident
that In this section d TIC State of Viz
ginia, and especially in this city, the lu-
ture status OF It's business interests was
in the hands Of its own people; that II
the prosperity which was dawning upon
them would be assured, 1t must be by
continuous effort In developing the natu-
raj resources so abundant in their very
midst To this class OF men the with.
drawal Of Mr.. Woodward and others
from the Belmont Company, with view
Of erecting . new mill, indicated smother
step In the true direction towards pros
perity and commercial importance. The
swarm from the Belmont, as We have be.
fore noted, took place in the fall
Of 1851, and embraced nearly all
the original projectors Of that mill.
Those gentlemen connected others with
themselyeslrm In. all a company
Of twenty-five, They were 8. q.
Woodward, David spaulding, q. B. Doty,
Henry Wallace, WilliamE b. Bailey, VIII;
lam Linch, Isaac Freeze, Y, r.. E. Elliot
James Burke, Dennis Mc0oy; Richard
Slavery, r. 3. Irwin, Holston Hardin,
John MoGlinton, Andrew Glass, William
Dean, William Bailey, Joseph Hersey,
Noah Remick, Robert Csswell, John
Wright and William Hay.
These gentlemen organized under the
title Of Bailey, woodward 500 with
). II. Woodward as the business manager,
and purchased Of the late Joseph Caldwell
lour acres Of land, then lying outside tho
city limits aud about hall q mile south, for
which they paid one thousand dollars per
acre Two acres were reserved for mill
purposes and the other two acres were
laid of in lots on either side Of an avenue.
The mill was completed and put in oper-
alton in the tsll Of 1859 with twenty-five
nail machines, eight boiling furnaces and
two heating furnaces, at d cost Of sixty
thousand dollars, William BAILEY; VI was
the manager Of tho factory. Q II n u
Comparatively far removed from the
usual stir and hustle Of city activity the
company built up their comfortable
homes and carried on their business
without ostentatious display and 10 tie
music Of their own Gathering industry.
Prosperity took up its habitation with
them in the beginning Of their operations
and has never ,tor, q moment deserted
them They rapidly built up an exten-
s'ye trade and keptpacewith ita demands
~ constantly Increasing their productive,
capacity. They have also added largely
70 taeir original territory and have, Gov.
Greg itwlth extensive buildings, com.
Pth,ng warehouses, cooper shops, stock
sneds and other buildings necessary 70
'ne compact arrangement Of all their on.
erations. All their offices, the factory
and the residences on the avenue ara
Nghtedb by gas manufactured in their own
WORKS, Their coal privilege has from
ume to time been extended by purchase
untlI 1t now covers over three hundred.
acres and they hold the key to an almost
laexhauahhla aeld beyond. The number
. ol natl machines has been increased from
t s' 70 eighty-three, the boiling
ana S rom eight 30 tWenty-opse
anu anu an ss..I additional heating furnace.
and these furnaces constantly 'A MN
S SUsIas.. s 7, ;s! g day and night Tho
business q the company affords empl svs
ment % about four hundred persons
very striking feature intbe uasn ISS, a
OF The business of the co% Sr%S".