Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1875-01-21

Ottumwa, Iowa,-Hcr Business EN-.
terprlses.

OUR CITY.
Ottumwa, Iowa,-Her Business EN-.
terprises.
Correspondence of the Chicago Enterprise
OTruMwA, Iowa, January !, 1875.
Ottnmwa, the county seat of w apollo
county, Iowa, is one of the sprightliest
towns on the line of the Keokuk & Des
Moines Hallway. Wapello county con-
tains 2o2 square miles of territory, one
third of which is heavily timbered.
Ottumwa was first incorporated as
city in 1854. Her growth since that
time has been slow, but study and sub
stantiai, and Of late years rapid. Her
population numbers something over
1900. She is located seventy-tive miles
West OF Burlington, at the junction of
the Burlington & Missouri River, Keo.
kuk q Des Moines, st. Louis, Kansas
City q Northern, and the Iowa Cen
trail railroads.
Coal exists in this neck of woods in
great abundance. There are three coal
companies working the mines. the
Southwestern, Union and Ottumwa.
The mines are located from four to
fifteen miles nom tho city, one being
"shaft," and the others "slopes !" the
veins vary In thickness from two and
half to seven feet. Thirteen thous-
and five hundred bushels of coal are
shipped from this point daily, the most
of it going West; and the amount of
money paid out daily to the miners is
eight hundred dollars.
A project is now on foot looking to
the Improvement of tho water power
of the Des Moines river at this point.
An estimate has been made showing
that by an expenditure of $4,000
fourteen and half feet head can be
procured, which will give twenty-five
hundred horse power.
The different railroads entering here
employ force Of about three hundred
men. There are two district schools
here, ana ono private female seminary,
besides . conservatory Of music with
three teachers. There are ten churches
of the usual variety OF tenets. Their
court house was erected some years
ago at cost Of $4,000. There are
some very fine business houses In the
city, the one known 90 s'Union Block"
probably being the most elaborate.
There are two large packing houses
which annually send seventy thousand
hogs to the happy hunting grounds,
besides two foundries and machine
shops, two planning mills, one Touring
ana two feed mills, two wagon and
carriage factories, one plow factory,
two breweries, three butter and egg
packing establishments. two .nationat
banks, one private bank, four weekly
newspapers and one daily, the Courier,
and four hotels, the chief among which
is the Ballingall, which is made partic.
ularly pleasant and cheerful bv the
presence Of Mr.. w. A. Forbes at the
desk.
Among the largest manufacturing
interests here 10 The Observation-Disclosures 81
tho Johnston Rufiler Company, which
was organized three years ago to man.
ufacture . sewing machine attachment
called the Johnston Rufiler, which 10
sold in large quantities and distributed
In New York. They have since start
ed a foundry and machine shop, with
eighteen thousand dollars worth of
building and machinery. They en-
ploy q force of about sixty hands, and
are melting two hundred and fifty toms
of iron annually. This firm has pay.
roll amounting to two thousand five
hundred dollars per month. They man.
ufacture great variety of machinery,
steam engines and heating stoves.
They are now building q brick addi-
ton to their foundry, giving them a
building sixty by seventy.five feet.
The machine shop adjoining is forty
five by ninety feet, two stories high,
connected with an iron pattern room.
Their foundry-work trade extends all
over Iowa. and lie rapidly increasing.
Another of the institutions of Of
tnmwa 10 the immense drug house and
book store of J. l.. Taylor & Co. Mr..
Taylor commenced business in 1854, In
o building fifteen by twenty -four feet,
and congratulated himself ON doing q
heavy business whenever his sales
amounted to five dollars per day. He
now occupies . building forty BY one
hundred and thirty-two feet, four stor.
les in height with basement, costing
twenty-fOur thousand dollars; en-
plOys thirteen men, and does bust.
ness oftwo hundred and fifty thousand
dollars per year at Wholesale. He car.
ries an average stock of seventy thous-
and dollars. He also has large ware.
house bon. e. th cd dsP8t for w. tSSsss.a.t
OF the main store are kept oils, glass
lead and liquors. The first floor is
devoted to the retail trade in drugs
and books. The Office and packing
rooms are on the second floor, and the
third and fonrth are devoted to stor-
age. The trade of this firm extends
all over Western and Northern Iowa
and Missouri.
The OttumwA Iron Works, owned
and managed by Duck worth 3 Harper
are deserving of especial mention.
These works, erected at an expense of
over twenty thousand dollars, consist
Of q one-story frame foundry eighty
by thirty-twO feet, . machine shop two
stories in height sixty BY forty feet,
engine house twenty by forty feet,
and blacksmith shop twenty by six
teen feet. The leading article Of manu-
facture in this establishment is the
Richardson patent iron sawmill car
riage head.block. This invention is
not An experiment, but . thoroughly
tested machine, having valuable merits
that no other makers claim. The
head blocks constitute carriage in
themselves, and are strong and dura-
BILE. The sett works are accurate and
simple, the dog levers safe, sure and
always ready. This establishment
gives employment to twenty-five work
men. Its products are shipped to all
parts Of the United States, and wher.
ever used receive from al parties
words Of the highest commentator.
Messrs. Duckworth & Harper also
manufacture cast and wrought iron
work OF every description, portable
and stationary steam engines boilers
and mill machinery.
4 Deg In aChuFn.
From the Miners journal. ~
A short time since farmers wife
residing in Berks county, Pa, was on
gagged on the green sward in front of
the house in chnrning butter. The
fame "a ma 80 ek~.~ >~~~A~ A$A.,