The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-12-19
The Ohio and Potomac Railroad.

A telegram from hanaWna Court House.
dated the 18th, to the Richmond Dispatch
says that ground was broken on the Ohio
and Potomac Railroad in that county on
that day, several hundred Of the citizens
taking part in throwing up the 'irst dirt"
The contractors are now at work with full
force and will push the work eastward as
fast as possible.
Tie contractors for twenty-five miles OF
the same road, from Harrisonburg to the
Shenandoah Iron Works, have broken
ground by this time, near McGayhesville, II
miles east OF Harrisonburg, and will pros
ecute the work actively. The precise line
of the road from McGaheysville to Harri-
sonburg has not yet been located. but the
engineers were to have gone to work on it
the first of this week. When this has been
effected work will be commenced near
Harrisonburg. The implements of the
contractors were at the Harrisonburg De-
pot last week, and Mr.. Hayes, the senior
of the contracting firm, was also there.
These Indications look like active bust
ness, and are the first fruits of the long and
arduous labors of Mr.. r. N. Pool, in organ
izing the company, composed, as it is, most
ly Of eastern capitalists, with Hon. John
Lynch, Of Maine, as President. Mr.. Pool
has applied himself with unflagging energy,
for the past twelve months, to the devise
inert Of a scheme to develop the material
wealth Of Virginia and West Virginia, along
| the line Of this road. With unaided effort,
and confronting obstacles which would have
| discouraged any other man, he has brought
to the attention of eastern gentlemen the
wonderful timber and mineral resources of
the country through which the road will
pass, aud so far interested them in it as to
induce them to form this company, to con-
strucJ an Improvement from Quansico, on
the Potomac, to Kanawha C. II. TIE region
trayerscd probably embraces more material
wealth than any other IN occupied and feas-
ible line on the continent, and will develop
as rich trade as any road now in operation.
The counties of Kanawha, Clay and Brax-
ton have already subscribed about $3.50, 900
to the capital stock Of the company, and
this subscription will be. increased by other
counties in the same tier to 100000. Large
property owners in West Virginia are inter-
ested in it, as an essential outlet to the inn
mense lumber trade that will be created, as
the finest timber region on the continent will
be trayersed by it, These eastern gentlemen
are primarily looking to this character OF
production, but incident to the improve
ment will be the development of the most
affiuent coal fields in the country, and iron
deposits of exhaustless quantities. A very
rich pastural aud agricultural region will
also be opened up and taking it altogether,
we can conceive of no greaterinducement that
could be offered to the capitalists than the
construction Of railroad through this co,ln-
try OF boundless material wealth.
We can not speak knowingly OF the re-
sources Of the company, nor positively say
that they are prepared to push forward the
enterprise to speedy completion. But of
one thing we may speak adyisedly, and that
is, that there is 10 section of country in the
United States. Which offers greater induce
ments for a work of this kind than that
through which the Ohio and Potomac Road
will pass. Mr.. Pool has given the interests
involved a great deal Of intelligent study,
and directed to it an amount of labor that
would have appalled, and crushed other
men, but he has been sustained by an en-
thusiastic faith in the merits of the improve
ments which has enabled him to accomplish
this much towards the realization of the
ideal of his ambition-a railroad from the
Ohio in the West,to deep water in the East,
through this magnificent timber, coal, iron,
pastural and agricultural country, now shut
out from the world for want of railroad fa-
cilites