The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1876-07-06
Capitalists in tie Valley-The Royal Land
Company Of Virginia.


ization of the Royal Land Company of Virginia,
and the steps taken for the development of the
mineral resurces of the Valley. We have also
referred to the purchase by this company of the
Fredericksburg and Orange Railroad, and the
purpose to continue the road TO Harrisonbnrg.
In allnding to the operations of the Land
Company, and the visit of number of North
| ago, the Old Commonwealth says:
At no time in the history of Harrisonburg
and Rockingham county, and in fact this
portion of the great Valley OF Virginia, have
| prospects looked so favorable as now. With
| the immense fields of rich anthracite coal and
| iron in the mountains west Of us, all our read
| ers are familiar. The existence of vast depos-
| its of iron to our east. in this and Page coun-
| ties, is also well known, The prospects of the
Washington, Cincinnati and st. Louis Railroad.
which is graded nearly to the Dora Mines, and
the status of our other roads has often been STA
| ted in these columns. and no mention Of them
need now be made.
Some weeks ago we gave our readers an ac-
count of the forming of the Royal Land Com
pany of Virginia, and of the work they were
doing here. We spoke OF its work of develop
ing the coal at Dora. and the prospects being
greater than the most sanguinc expected Five
veins have been opened at various places, one
of which shows upwards of seventeen feet
| The President of the Of Royal Land Land Com
pany is Mr.. s. d. Harms, OF Parker's Landing
Exchange Bank, the Iron Bridge Company,
the Parker and Harms City Railroad Company,
and Harms City and Butler Railroad Compa-
| ny. He is man of great wealth and fine bus
mess capacity, "whose name,'' says the Par
| ker City Daily, ''in connection with any finan-
cial project is the synonym of success
h,c Of ;,,fnr ctoI; ~
iron and coal interest alone. but propose to
give us another railroad. Some weeks ago.
Mr.. r. n Pool, general manager of the Roy
al Land Company, with his counsel, Chas. e.
Haas, Esq. went TO Fredericksburg to pur-
| chase the Fredericksburg, Orange and Pied
! mont Railroad. This road is graded to with
| i'll five mile OF Orange Court House, from Fred
ercksburg, a distance Of about thirty -eght
miles, and the cost of the work done amounts to
SS00,000 The purchase was effected, the
Royal land Company becoming the owner Of
l the road by paying It's debts, amounting to
some 10000. and completing it to Orange G.
| Ii. The road will not terminate there, howev-
| er, but will be brought to Harrisonburg. 1t is
| to be Narrow Gauge road, like the Washing
ton, Cincinnati and st. Louis road, and Mr..
Harms has taken the contract to complete it
| for the sum of two and half millions of dol
| lars. The road, by the contract of purchase,
! is to be completed to Orange Court House in
Tour months from date of sale, and from Or
ange Court llonse to Harrisonburg as soon
| thereafter as possible. When this road and
| the Washington, Cincinnati and ST. Louis road
| are completed and the prospects for an early
| accomplishment are very favorable, Harrison
burg will have four railroads. Then, should
the Shenandoah Valley Railroad be built to
| Harrisonburg, and there is no question of it,.
should it lease the Valley road we will have
| five.
| An excursion party composed of members of
| the Royal Land Company, who come to look
further into the coal, iron and railroad inter
ests of this section, and many other capitalists
started last week for Harrsonburg com
ing by way OF Pittsburgh. Philadelphia and
Baltimore. The party arrived on Tuesday eve
| ming aboutsiN O'Clock, Prof. Eshman's band
playing spirited air as tho train reached the
depot. The visitors number thirty or forty,
and are quartered at the Spottswood and Re
we're Hotels and at r. N. POOLS Esq.
| Among them are S. D. Harms, w. G. Mob
ley and r. B. Allen, of Parkers City, Pa; P
| Y. Hite, Samuel II. Hite and NJ. C. IIlte, OF
| Hites Station, w. p r. r., Pa; j. Fl. Wal
| ter, Harrison Graham and W. II. Kennedy,
Pittsburg, Pa; B. A. Tozer, Titusvlle, Pa;
Job Jackson, Wilmington, DEL; John l.. Ma
rye, II. X. Phillips, II. S. Doggett, NJ. Slaugl-
ter, John A. English, l.. B. Rose, Carter NJ.
1 DldAGois oOull ". 0OOITlCil. -. l. lCklCll,
j. G. Murkamp Wm. A. Little, Geo. r. Scott,
| w. Ii. Russell, Rufus B. Merchant, and B. H.
| Magrath, of Fredericksburg, Va; b. T.. Pat
| terson, Pittsburg, Pa.
| About III O'Clock at hight, after the concert
at Masonic Hall, number of citizens, ac-
| companied by Prof. Eshman's Band, rendered
the visitors a serenade at the Spotswood Hotel.
Col. Chas. L. O'Ferrall, on the part OF the
| citizens, welcomed them in Il we'll conceived
and happily expressed speech.
| At the conclusion of Col. O'Ferral' eloquent
remarks. Hon. John l.. Marye, eX-Lieut. Gov
enor Of Virginia. being called for, responded
| in a short speech. He said that Col OFerrull
had so happily expressed the sentiments of
Virginia that but little was left for him to say.
lie alluded to this section as rich, FERTILE and
prosperous one, inhabited by an honest, in
| teligent and energetic people. He spoke of
the fine farms, fine cattle, splendid water
power. the immense mineral wealth and OF
| the grandeur of its scenery. The towering
| mountains, he said, looked like pictured gems
set in the beautiful frames God had made for
them.
| His own section, said he. the ancient city OF
| Fredericksburg, was once closely connected
with the great Valley in u commercial way
when siN-horsc teams, stepping mcrrily to
| the music of their bells, poured forth the rich
productions of the fertile Shenandoah Valley
at their door. Time has changed matters
| and railroads have diverted trade elsewhere,
but once again Harrisonburg and Fredericks-
burg were to be united, not by road teams
but by a more lasting connectioll-an iron one
Soon the cars, laden with the rich mineral
and agricultural products of this fair section,
will be hurrying across the hills and valleys
to the mountains, thence to the low lands at
Fredericksburg, where water communication
with the outside world is reached.
Turning from business view OF matters
he indalged in few pleasantries concerning
the ladies. He would net speak of the fruits,
flowers, fish and oysters of his native place,
but before closing would say, and in no dis
para9ing manner to this section, that Fred
ericksburg produced the lovcliest ladies under
the canopy Of Gods heaven. 10 prove the
fact, he told of Virginia State Senator [Gen.
Roller who passed some days in his town, who
become SO dazed and amazed at the Freder-
icksburg ladies, that he did not recover for
ten days after returning to his home.
Calls were then made for B. IL. Patterson,
who responded briefly.
Mr. Patterson said that he and his fellow
Penhsylvanians had not felt that in turning
their steps to Virginia they we've coming among
strangers They remembered that Virginia
had given to the world the Father of his Coun-
try and the author of the Declaration of indie
pendence, and all had been accustomed to look
upon it as Fatheranl He was we'll eu,rn ~