The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-10-31

: SIX leet in thickness. Both were cor
!. siderCd OF good quality, but the upper
: most the best. The contents Of neither
however, will be required for many ger
erations to come"
+, In addition to abundance and cheapnes
! Of fuel, our local position Is another i'm
/ portant consideration. The many grca
, thOroughiarcs which pass through thi
place in all directions make II the funne
through which nearly all the trade ant
travel between the East and West mus
necessarily pass. With comparatively few
exceptions all the Western merchants re
siding South OF the latitude and West o
the meridian Of this place pass through
this city in making journeys East and or
! their return. This circumstance renden
this point US convenient as any other L
lay in their stores OF Western manufac
tures,-one from which transportation is
as cheap US from any other, and from
which shipments can always be made when
they can be made from any point.
These considerations make this as suita.
BILE q place rs any other in the Western
country that could be selected for the
establishment Of an Armory Of the United
States. The machinery OF such an es'
tablishment can be nearly as economically
propelled by steam rs by water power,
and without moments interruption the
year round, whereas II water power be EN-.
ployed calculation must be made OF a
loss from one to three months every year.
Besides, the facilities torthe transportation
OF arms and ammunition OF war from this
place to any point'oi our Western and
Northern frontier would compare adj
vantagcously with the facilities OF any
other place whatever"
In another editorial under the head Of
"Whecling' the following reference is
made to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
an enterprise that had been started in 1928
and that was steadily finding its way west
ward:
"Thc Baltimore & Ohio Railroad d.
rcctory have selected and established this
place Us one OF the terinini OF their great
thoroughfare to the West, or rather 1t may
be said with equal propriety that they have
selected this place rs O point through
which it is to pass, for its destination Is
not to stop here, but TO be extended
beyond this place, northward to the lakes,
westward to the Mississippi, and south
| Nutu u NtN OEltttust Wy SoHhSIhVA W.
other routes already chartered or that will
speedily be chartered. Already has
1t been extended by charter from
Wheeling TO the Ohio canal, and but a
small hiatus, comparatively speaking, re-
mains to be filed by charter TO extend it to
New Orleans. The Baltimore d Ohio rail-
road, Tor a branch ofiU us such, must ter
inmate here, the route to this place being
the most practicable that exists between
Baltimore and the Ohio river AS regards
the interests Of the company and OF the
city OF Baltimore and her commerce with the
entire trans-Allegheny region,of this conti-
nent, this sthe most suitable pointatwhich
the road could arrive with view to its cx-
tension beyond the Ohio river. The route
from this place through the State Of Ohio
is equal to the best anywhere else, and
perhaps better than any other that could
be found"
This reference to the Baltimore & Ohio
Road sounds quite prophetic in all save
the importance attached to the relations OF
Wheeling to it. That road has certainly,
rs the "Directory" man said must be the
case, been extended "northward to the
lakes and westward to the Mississippi"
but Wheeling has not been part and par
eel Of its development and growth to the
extent apparently anticipated by Mr..
Green. Mr.. Green had pretty large
ideas in regard to the growth
Of Wheeling. lie traces its growth from
1903, Mt the time II was laid out as town
by Col. Ebcnczcr Zane, up to 1880, show
/ ing that in 1910, the population was only
Ola, and that in 1920 it had increased to
,567, growth of Il per cent, and that
from 1920 to 1880, the increase was about
o33 per cent. He estimated the popula-
tion in 1886 at "from $500 to 10000, "and he
remarked that 'thc prevailing anticipa;
ton at present is that from this time un-
til 1910, the increase will be equal to, per-
haps exceed, that between 1920 and 1880.
We arc sorry to say that Mr.. Green's en-
thusiastic vaticinatlons in regard to the
future rapid growth Of Wheeling did not
nan out according to the programme. He
had not calculated for the panic OF 1887,
that followed SO soon on the heels of his
editorial, and that affected so disastrously
every industry of Wheeling.
II seems that in 1885 the question OF
q bridge across the Ohio river at this point
agita,ca the public mind. The Directory
records that
"The stock for the erection OF bridge
across the Ohio at this place was sold last
fall. and the erection Of q part OF 1t that
il over the branch OF the river between
the Island and the Ohio shore contracted
for. 10 be completed against the LIST oil No
yembcr next. We are informed that
proyision is made in the articles OF con-
tract for the adaptation OF the bridgeto the
passage Of the railroad train over It"
We learn from this old paper what We
never knew before, that at that time the
Island was called columbia" The editor
saws that he had Just been shown "the
plot OF the town recently laiL out on the
! Island, opposite this place. 1t contains
923 lots. The town was laid out with the
view nt adding the residue Of the Island
ut future time, anu us less thah na!t U
the Island has been laid out, the whole
will be sufficient for upwards of @,oo(
lots"
In the days of this Directory tho late
Joseph L. Fry was Judge here, and his
circuit was known as the Goth Judicla
Circuit Of Virginia. 1t included Brooke
Ohio, Marshall, Tyler, Mononsalia and
, Preston counties. Samuel Sprigg was
Prosecuting Attorney of this comfy, VIM
Webb was Sheriff and Isaac Mitchell
! Deputy Sheriff, The justices OF the count!
, were asfollows:
| /. Archibald Wpsls quallN.i October I, l!ss'
, 3, AhSiiSri RIlgeiry QuaIhAl March :, lSi?
3, Ths. Il. Knix GualAsi February 2, 1878.
1. Win. Webb q1alihel JMne !, isis, ,,