Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-01-23
saw MILLS ON THE CENTRAL.
4 Visit 10 the Pine Lands of Eman-
uel and the Saw mills OF Burke
The Town Of Rogers-EaTlY DAYS
ofIhe Saw MtIl and the Latest Inn
prOVements Thereto.


towns, and those few Of such limited pro-
and few stations or stopping places are
/ all that breaks the monotony Of the view Of
forests, swamps and fields. This state of sf-
| fairs Is more remarkable from the fact that
the company whose iron rails traverse this
section for nearly two hundred miles is the
most prosperous In the country, and whose
depots, workshops and other Improvements
at either terminus are Of the most modern
| construction and betOken that the project
Ors snd promoters were men far In advance
| OF their day aud generation.
The cause of this marked absence of
towns and villages is the cupidity of the
/ PEOPLE OF the olden time, who owned the
! land through which the railroad was To-
| Gated and who. 10 consideration Of Giving the
right Of way, depot grounds and other small
] privileges, reserved to themselves the ex-
elusive right to buv, barter and sell all the
! goods, wares and merchandise st that par
ticulsr place, and thus gather in the shekels
| OF their less fortunate neighboTs,
| This shOrt-sighted policy has brought
| forth bitter fTui 4, and the result Is that
where there would probably have been
| prosperous towns few unsightly buildings
| are the only evidence OF human ltfe-still,
u
retarded the development Of their county
| and the progress Of the State. In soma
| cases the party who wss responsible for this
| embargo on progress has been removed in
| the time hOnOred manner. and the
! green Prtss rOvs over his last resting
| p'sce. The Old station or depot, no longer
| bamuereG by his self illness. Is poisoning
fOi- h into a cosy village, laid cut in wide
streets and rows If neatly painted houses
| snd a steepled church, thus sdOrning the
/ spot which was but barren common few
| years since. a few more obituaries and
| hen will we see more prosperity. So much
FOR some Of the old stations, now about the
new ones.
Prominent among these is the prosperous
settlement known as "Rogers," a name
| given to II in honor of the sturdy Super
! intandent Of the Central. William Rogers,
! ESQ. II Is situated in Burke county, eighty
! SIX miles from Savannah, and within four
| hundred Yards OF the Ogeechee river. Il
| Is the seat OF q large timber and lumber in
| terest, and has a depot and warehouse,
Ia rye store, several offices, saw mill and
a planning mill. besides number of houses
| occupied by the proprietors and their en-
/ p'oves On Friday last a party Of gentlemen
| BY invitation took a special train at S:25 a.
| m. for this plsce, and after pleasant run.
having only made one stop, at Egypt,
| arrived at their destination shortly before
| twelve, and were warmly welcomed.
The settlement is located on a portion Of
| one Of sew raj large plantations which were
| purchased about year ago by Mr.. W. o.
| Wadlev, a son of Colonel Wsdley, of the
Central, and who possesses many Of the
sterling charac' eristics Of his father. The
| country around Rogers has gentle slope
| towards the river, and is admirably adapted
for agricultural as well as msnufsc-
| turing purposes the land being fer
tile and capable OF growing almost
! any kind OF crop. North of the track are
the houses OF the employees of the Messrs.
| WadeY, a wheelright and blacksmith
! shop, where are made wagons and timber
drags for use On the plantations and at the
mill. On an elevated plateau, half mile
from the depot, stands the dwelling OF Mr..
| W O. Wadley, from which, as far as the
! eve can reach, mav be seen we'll cultivated
fields On the south side OF the track of the
Central is the dep0t, ard large s. ore at which
| Al be purchased everything tn at is needed
] g supplying the wants OF the male and fe
| male inhabi ants. One end OF this building
| is devoted to the office of Messrs. W. o.
] Wadlev & Bro. Some distance below the
| depot are the headquarters of Messrs Wad-
/ lev & Co, aud a quarter of a mile lower
| down the large saw mill owned by
| this firm Railroad tracks, sidings
| and switches extend In every direction, az
/ ford'ng ample facilities by which the entire
! place can be utilized for receiving timber
| and the slowing, delivering and shipping Of
/ lumber, one engine being constantly en-
gagged in moving the cars from one place to
| another. After the visitors had zen intro
| duced (hut few OF them, hOwev required
/ an Introductory, the party q ! urned to
| one OF the buildings, where tab had been
/ spread, upon which the flesh aud fowl of
| Burke county, in the shape of turkeys,
/ hams and roast pig, were conspicuous.
After luncheon the party visited the saw
mill and witnessed the process of convert
irg the stately pine fresh from the primeval
forests of Emanuel into merchsntable lum-
ber The mill mas been in operation but
two months, and has all the latest improve
| ments known to the business. A load Of
! logs Is brought in on a car aud placed con-
| v-nient to the log-carrisge, on which stick
a'rer stick Is placed in rapid success
sion to be sawed into shape
! This log carriage is driven by direct
sc'ing steam power, piston in the car
| rage working directly into a cylinder,
| giving a steady, uniform speed, as the
/ log Is being sawed, and a rapid
reverse motion. This is said to be vast
i Improvement on the old plan Of moving log
carriages BY belts aud chains. The squared
timber or boards, as the case may be, IS
then pushed along to another saw, which
cuts the log 10 a uniform length
| The refuse boards are dressed of
by machine, aud the slabs
| are taken on a carrier" to the pit some
! distance from the mill and there consumed
| nv 6 fire which burneth day and night"
| Even the saw dust IS utilized, being taken
" a ''carrier" which passes over the tops
| f he furnaces into which it is fed in such
| quantities as are needed from time to time;
| me fireman only having to see that
! he iced is working right. The
| arrangement Of the mill IS as far
| as possible automatic, thus reducing the
| fr7ir "a MIA
mill is not yet IN working order, but the
machinery is in the building and it will pro-
| baby be In operation wit in month. The
| vesr'v production OF the mil is estimated az
! 100000 feet merchantable lumber, and
| 1000 COO feet merchsntable outside boards.
Mr. Joseph Phillips is the superintendent.
This saw mill is the successor OF a num-
| Der of others which have been built during
| he past thirty-6ve years by the Messrs.
| WadleY, who are among the pioneers in the
| business on the line Of the Central Railroad.
| Mr. d Wsdley, the senior member Of the
firm Of Wadley s. Co, built the first steam
mill in Jefferson county, near station No.
g. in the early part OF lo4T, and which was
| Operated successfully for number OF
! wears Previous to that year three mills
! had been erected on the line Of the railroad.
| The first by the late F. NJ. Stone, Of this
! city, at the thirteen-mie post, and two 9TH
ers one by Jos Hines q Bro and the other by
! a firm whose names cannot now be recalled.
| None Of the ventures, however, we're sue
! ces fol, and 1t was generally accepted belief
! that lumber could not be probably manu-
| featured by steam. Al this time hewn tim
Der and lumber, especially that which was
! intended for use in the construction and re-
pairing of railroads, was considered more
durable than sawed material. The trees
were hewn aud sided up In the for
! est and then sawed by whip
/ saw So great was the prejudice
| against steam-sawed lumber, that Lorlng o
| REYNOLDS, the Chief Engineer Of the Cen
/ trail Railroad, a man of recognized ability,
| opposed using such material, and It was
| only after persistent efforts could he be in
| dueed to give an order 10 the steam saw
| mill, and contract was awarded In ls4T to
| Messrs Wadley & Co. (Who were the low
| est hidders)~ for lumber for stringers and
1 bridges The question Of hewn lumber We
| sawed Timber was matter Of controversy
In the newspapers. It was the
| old story, the same that vas Used against
| Stephenson's locomotive, which, 1t was
urged, would cause all the horse property
! of Epglsnd TO be worthless, ruin the stage
/ coach builders, and bankrupt the tavern
| Keepers L. was represented that by the
use OF the steam saw mill the timber cutters
would starve and the people OF the pine
| lands ruined
Mes=rs N. s. D. Wadl have been the
| principal owners Of thirteen steam mills, the
! last Of which is the improved one at Reg
| ers 4 remarkable fact Is, that they have
never insured g mill, and have never lost