Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-09-08
tFron our special correspondent.
"UP THE NARROW GAUGE"

bOME OF THE THlNdb WHICH THE BRATTLEBOhO
AND WHITEHALL RAILROAD HAS DONE FOR
THE WEST RIVER VALLEY TOWNS.
Mr.. Editor; Have you ever taken trip
up our "litte railroad" to South Londonder-
ry? II not, you do not know what narrow
gauge railroads will do for the beautiful val
leys that abound among our grand old Green
mountains. The West river valley for both
quiet romantic beauty and wild grandeur,
cannot be surpassed by any portion of our
vast country, and yet since the close Of the
war, until the opening of the Brettleboro and
Whitehall railroad every village and hamlet
in this most beautiful valley was steadily 60
ing to decay. Mills, tanneries and shops
were standing idle and "For Sale" or ITO
Let" met you at every point, with no buyers
for real estate at any price. Now notice the
change. Before reaching the first station at
West Dummerston you pass the fine, large
granite quarry just opened, where o noun
tain Of granite is to be converted into mill
ions of money. Arrived at Fayetteville our
venerable old county seat, you find the Van
Winkle sleep Of this quiet old town broken
by the steam whistle and the hum of machin-
NAg III Chh0iWObh u W. % h1W bA0hAA nm
and chair shop. You find the beautiful park
in front of the court house filed with ham
mocks and croquet grounds, and the hotel
crowded with city guests. At Townshend
you find a new steam mill busy, near the de-
pot, and vast piles Of fine soapstone being
loaded on the cars, from the quarry just
opened with the opening of the road. At
West Townshend you find the old mill that
was quietly going to decay, repaired, en-
largod and with steam power added, doing a
prosperous business At East Jamaica post
Office you find Wardsboro and Windham sta
tion, quite a shipping point for lumber, etc,
and you will learn that in Wardsboro two
new steam mills and chaI shops bave been
added to the many mills and shops that find
their outlet here. At Jamaica, which had be-
come as dead as any town ou the line, you
now find fine busy, growing village, with
more new houses erected in the last eighteen
months than in the last fifteen years before,
with an active movement in real estate and
ready buyers for every desirable piece offer
ed for sale. You see the old Read tannery,
which had been idle since the death Of @. d.
Read, repaired and improved with new ma
chinery and steam power added, being push
cd 10 its utmost capacity by its present en-
terprisng owners, Perry q Son. II you have
time to look up Ball mountain brook you will
find the old grist mill repaired and, with ma
chinery for getting out chair stock added,
run by o. G. Flint. To use all the water of
the stream, you find both the circular mills
of II. fl. FELTON,, Esq that had been idle
more than half the time since built run up
to their full capacity. At the old Holton mill
you find Fuller & Duane, with steam power
added to help in low water, doing prosper
Gus business, while just above, G. A. White
is obliged to add steam power to supply the
demand for his white bemlock shingles and
tubs. Just above Jamaica station you will
notice the new steam mill and chair shop
run by Wardwell Il Flint, standing at the
base of Ball mountain, in timber lot of
some five or six hundred acres, recently
bought by Hon. Hoyt II. Wheeler for few
hundred dollars, the timber from which will
pay him more thousands than he paid hun
dreds for the land, as fast as steam can con-
vert it into lumber. A little further on you
notice the steam mill Of Walker, Wood d Co.,
and their lumber yard near the track. At
Winhall station Gust over the line between
Jamaica and Londonderry you find a large
shipping point of lumber and chair stock
from tho many mills up the valley of Winhal
river and Mill brook Arrived at South Lon
donderry you will see what a local railroad
will do for its stopping point. Here you will
find large new hotel equal in every re-
spect TO the best city hotels built on the
ruins of the old hotel, by that enterprising
hotel man Col. IL. o. Peabody, who had the
foresight to leave Chester and secure this ho-
tel at the terminus of the new road, just in
time You will find the genial Colonel crowd
ed with guests, as he deserves to be, for he
is very prince of landlords. l should have
mentioned in passing Jamaica that you would
find the Jamaica House repaired and improv-
ed by its new owner, VIM. L. Barnes, crowd
ed with guests and doing frst-class bust
ness. These, with the addition of the tele-
graph and telephone, are some of the effects
of the narrow gauge railroad on the West
river valley. OBSERVER.