Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1877-02-02
a Veteran Railroad Contractor.

Frank Leslie's Chimney Corner' con-
tains in it's gallery of "Self-made Mem
a portrait of our fellow-citizen, Capt. G.
r. Mason, the well>knoWn railroad cons
tractor, which is abominable; but which is
accompanied by a very interesting sketcl
of his life by Mr.. Frank Smythe. Man.
Of the facts in it are, of course. familiar
but there are many that are not. Capt
Claiborne Rice Mason is a native OF High
town, Duchess county, New York, and is
seventy-six years of age. His father re-
moved to Chesterfield county, Virginia,
when the son wa only three years Of age,
and being a miner obtained employment in
the coal mines there. Capt. Mason became
foreman of a carpenter shop in Manches-
ter, the county town, when he was eight
cen years old. He afterwards worked on
the old Pennsylvania ship of War in the
Gosport navy yard, and the next year com
menced his long career Or public works, in
the employ Of contractors on the james
River and Kanawha Canal.
In 1929 the first railroad in Virginia was
COHllcICCu-d llUUlC lOdd UOA hAilCo Wig
from the coal pits to a wharf opposite
Richmond, and on this Mr.. Mason was
axe>man, assistant engineer and contract
or. After the road was completed, he
spent a short time as overseer in a tobacco
factory in Richmond, and the next year
took a contract on the Petersburg & Vel
don Railroad. He also took contracts on
the Baltimore Il Ohio and Richmond u
Fredericksburg railroads. He was mainly
instrumental in getting up the old Louisa
Railroad" (the germ of the Ches apeake 4
Ohio Railroad first broke ground on it
and built three miles of it, besides making
the first survey and heading the first sub
scription list with SIS. 1t was twenty
miles long from Louisa courthouse to
Hanover Junction, and was completed in
1887. He was the superintendent of re-
pairs on it, and when it became the Vir-
ginia Central Railroad, became general su-
perintendent. He was also one of the
contractors OIL the Orange Il Alexandria
Railroad. When the civil war came on,
MI. Mason though sixty years of age rails
ed a company, was elected captain and
mustered into the SD regiment. Stone
wall Jackson had him detailed for duty
with his brigade. 1t was daring this ser
vice that he built a bridge, 800 feet long
across the C~hickabomlny in two hours,
enabling Jackson to strike McClellan's
flank. and it was on this occasion when
the engineers brought him the plan fol
building it, he announced to them that
the bridge was already up.
After the war Capt. Mason resumed op-
erations on the Virginia Central and Ches.
apeake & Ohio roads. He built Mason's
Tunnel one>fourth Of a mile long, Lick
Run tunnel one-tenth Of a mile, Morses
Run tunnel one-tenth, and Lewis tunnel
near the White Sulphur Springs, seven
eighths of a mile long. The amount O.
work he did on this road reached 81 900,
900 and not foot of it was ever pronounc
ed defective. In 1874 he built a portion
of the Valley Railroad, and in 1876 he
had a contract on the Cincinnati u South
ern Railroad In Kentucky. He has los
one or two fortunes in railroad bonds, ant
of late years has put his earnings in agri
culture and stock raising and now OVID
six farms well stocked and improved-twe
of them al e in Augusta, ''the Falls planta
aion" in Chesterfield, n of 1900 acres il
Orange county. one of 400 acres in Sum
mers county. W. Va. and one of 4,0O(
acres in Highland county.
To our people in Augusta it is of yer,
little use to say anything of Capt. Masoi
as a man. There is noble simplicity abou
HIM, combined with sterling integrity
which is promptly recognized by all VIII
know him-one of those whom you ca
find nobody to say a word against.