Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1883-12-20
Iron County.
It's interests as Seen by
an Outsider.
Mines, Manufactures, Etc.

Of the Amsricsnl Manufacturer
iron World.)
Editor american Manufacturer: After
leaving the busy scenes of city life In st. Lou
is, one does not expect to find any very great
amount of manufacturing being Carried on
much further south and west, but from the
efforts the people are making In
Ironton, Pilot Knob and Arcadia. It Will net
be many years before smoke-stacks VIII as
cend heayenwards from numerous factories.
as the natural advantages OF this locality
must In the near future-magnetic-like-
draw capital from the over crowded eastern
cities to this vicinity. 1t is only . three
hours' ride hy rail from st. Louis to enis 1l-
souri,, and it will well repay any one looking
for a location in this section Of country to
stop here and look the ground over.
There are really three towns In one here,
and i'm speaking Of the population OF eitner
town 1t wonld be but right to speak OF the
three as one; hence I will state that the pop
ulatiou In nearly three thousand souls, about
equally divided between the three towns.
7 find . more sanguine feeling existing
here az TO the future OF tnis section o. MS
pected to find the people discouraged, but
when. on the contrary, found such cheer
full state of affairs, you can imagine how
agreeabiy disappointed was. stated once
before in print that the state Of Missouri
would in time occupy front position, and
now more than ever feel that this grand and
productive state-of resources unlimited ana
% vet but very slightly developed-wiii soon
be the second or third statein the Union In
and diversified line of manufacturing insti-
tutions. As regards the latter many western
states realize, but are unwilling to admit, that
Missouri il fast coming to the front as man
ufacturiug state. I account for this from the
fact that labor Is not only cheap but reliable,
and the raw material used I'm many factories
Is close at hand. That this state ID on the
frontier and inhabited by rough, uncoutn
element, no longer finds credence among In
telligent people. To those who get tnelr IN
formation out of dime novels, the idea pre-
walls that the demon of the west yet infests
these regions.
II has been suggested that this valley will
become a great suburb Of st. Louis, and that
many Of the wealthy people VIII hni.d houses s
the climate and the picturesqueness OF the
surroundings. A banker Of st. Louis. who
spends his summers here, told prominent
business men that IL suitable hotel was
built here he himself could send three hum
dred people here during the summer months
A good hotel is badly needed, and It occurs
to me that bank with $4,000 capital would
ind an excellent field here, A. there Is none
in either of the three towns.
A prominent hardware merchant te!ls me
that q first.class foundry and machine shop
will paw here; he says the one here has all 1t
can DO. but lacks sufficient capital to run on
AZ large scale AZ the trade demands. From
what l have been told, Mr.. Simmerman, pro-
prietor of the foundry now running In Iron,
tom. would give an eastern man with capital
a most excellent chance to engage with him.
The above hardware merchant also thinks
hub and spoke factories, and all WOOD work
ing institutions using hard wood. would pay,
rs that commodity II near @ here IN almost almost IN, n,
large capacity would, in my judgment, be
a pronounced success from the start In Area
dia, Pilot Knob or Ironton. Cheaper grades
Of furniture is in big demand all through this
country, and the fact that 1t Is shipped here
from points in Michigan and further east is
sufficient reason why 1t should be made here.
1t must be very apparent that, as this great
western and southwestern country IL so rap
idly being settled and developed, manufac-
ioalities Offering the advantages this does
are bound to catch the eastern mOnied men.
Nowhere in this section Of country that
am aware of is there anything like an agri-
cultural implement factory. Nearly every
other state visited boasts of plow works,
seedcr factories, reaper works, &C., but no.
where in this part of Missouri is there such
an institution. Now the farming country
through here il pretty generally conceded to
he fine. the class of farmers considered we'll
to. do, and the kind of machinery used being
of the most modern style, do not think 1t
isioyer estimating 1t to say that the demand
In this vicinity Is sufficient to support an
agricultural implement factory giving en-
think the fact is pretty widely known
that Missouri has much, II not more,
standing walnut timber than any state in the
| Union, and 1t is now being cut and shipped
to Chicago and other eastern cities by the
hundreds of thousand feet. Why should moi
this be made here: No one will say 1t ought
mot to be, but many will, like me, wonder
why 1t has not been made up here long ago
Well, the fact OF the matter Is eastern men
many Of them, who had capital and wished
to invest it in that way, have not been wei
informed on this subject, but It will not bt
long before they will all be familiar with
this section of Missouri, as the people now
propose to keep the advantages their coun'
try offers before the public.
| Notwithstanding the fine farming country
around here, the abundant forests Of hare
wood, and all that, the iron mines are wha
will give this special locality more not0rietJ
than anything else. The iron ore sent fron
here now Is quite well Known, put the irol
one mine In this vicinity is being, worked
I think it is being demonstrated that wher,
the iron mines in the United States are 10
Gated there Is where great manufacturing
towns are built, as most Of the iron works
I mean fouadry and machine shops, bOile
works, novelty works, etc.-in the western
country that have visited are busy many o
them being behind with orders. That II VIII.
think this place will eventually become .
much Of an iron producing country to thi
State ~ Pittsburgh il to Pennsylvania. Th
iron ore 10 not confined to this immcdiat
vicinity, ~ one man told me he could TAX
me to the westsrH part Of this county wher
could walk over forty acres and step OF
thing but fine iron ore. This was only al
luded to BY way of showing me how grea
the supply is: True many will say it will b
years before there will be demand suf1cien
to justify capitalists to develop this miners
property. Very we'll, then; don't you thin
now is good time for young men to locat
here and develop and grow rich with tn
country
Hearing so mucn about the excellent quail
ity Of tha ore, the new and complete systel
of working and the efficient management {
the great Pilot Knob Mine, owned and Ope
rated by the 81. Louis Ore and Steel Co.,
resolved on paying visit to 1t and se
| whether it was all it WAS represented to b.
called at the company's office and aftt
making my mission known to Manager SimI
son, Cashier Dilts aud the chief of the OF
department, all very kindly assented to &
with me through the mine. In order to 3.
down in the mine IL Is necessary to 20 neATl