The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1885-04-15


RailrOad-An Important Project for
Columbus Trade-The Different
Routes Examined.
special Correspondence Ohio state Journal
WASHINGTON, @. H., April 9th. 1885.
To people who know that the old town
1t Washington @. H. lay dormant In the
mud for almost half a century, il tissurpr g.
ng enough to find how it has, IN recent
Years, walked into importance. activity and
ite. The splendid system Of free turn.
bikes completed some years ago aud which
low traverse every part Of Fayette county.
ave to the town its FIRST impulse. Since
hen 1t has become quite a railroad center.
be Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley, the
springfield Southern, the Dayton narrow.
gauge and the new Midland all passing
through the place Real estate has taken
on values unheard Of until year or so ago.
lew buildings are spriugiug up on every
side, and the town, while it claims six
thousand, doubtless numbers at least Eve
housand inhabitants
The people of Washington Q. II. I wish
hey could get rid OF those last two letters)
tre not content with the railroads they
nave, and found them agitating the sub
lect Of an extension Of the Midland line to
nv NANy va -AAiAl llAof NY nlh Us ~ revival
# an old project started with the first
firth Of the Midland and which has long
been considered a desirable object by the
people Of southern Ohio aud eastern Ken
lucky. 1t is project, too, in which the
ntizens, aud especially the business men
ind capitalists of Columbus ought to be
leeply interested, as the building of this
extension would bring the Capital CITY into
direct relations with great region of coup-
ry, the trade of which, now utterly cut off
from her, would then flow as naturally. to
and from her, as water runs down hill
That this extension of the Midland will
eventually be constructed, / do not doubt
The question is shall the men of the present
snJoy the benefits, or shall those benefits
be left to revert to future generations?
Meantime three different routes are
spoken of as possible for the extension.
and each has its advocates First, a route
leaving the Midland at Washington G. H..
Iud passing, either through Leesburp or
Lexington, to HillsbOrO, and thence to
Sardinia, which latter place is a common
point of departure for Maysville for all
three Of the routes The second proposed
route is to have the extension leave the
Midland at Sabina, midway between Wash
ington and Wilmington, run to Vienna,
thence to HillsbOrO, and thence to Sardinia.
The third route leaves Clinton Valley.
where the Midland forms junction with
the Cincinnati, Washington q Baltimore
road, and thence, not touching Hillsboro.
goes direct to Sardinia, as the others.
have carefully examined these proposed
routes, and, were the subject not so exten-
sive, should be glad to discuss the details
OF all three. Each has its advantages. but
on the whole l incline to think that the
route from Washington is of greatest advnn-
tage to all the larger towns involved, would
open up a richer and more extensive couu-
try in Ohio and would insure better returns
on the capital employed to build it. That
IL would be the best route for Columbus I
think there is no question at ALL The dis
tance from Washington to Hillsboro is
twenty-five miles. For four of these the
present Midland could be used leaving
twenty-oue miles to construct From Hills
0OrO to Sardinia is a narrow-gauge line of
seventeen miles which could be absorbed
by the new road and changed to standard
gauge, leaving thirty additional miles to
build, by way of Georgetown aud Ripley,
to Aberdeen, on the Ohio river, opposite
Maysville. Long ago, or soon after the
Midland road was projected, the above line
was graded for ten miles between Sardinia
and Georgetown, and this work could now
of course be made available. How easy
thing it seems to bring Washington and
Columbus, by this route into close and
mutually profitable relations with popu-
lous and productive section of Ohio, aud
with the coal, mineral and timber regions
of eastern kentucky The business men
of Columbus alone could afford to build
this line even if nobody else should give a
dollar.
said should not present each proposed
route in detail; and so I shall content N.Y.
self here with brief tables of distances by
each from Columbus to Maysville
FIRST ROUTE. Miles.
Columbus 10 Washington, on,............. SO
Washington to Maysyille. Observation-Disclosures. ~
SECOND ROUTE.
Columbus to Washington, as before. ...... SO
Washington to Sabina. Observation-Disclosures. 10
Sabina to Nienna. Observation-Disclosures. %
Hillsboro TO Maysville. Observation-Disclosures. 45
lOvhl' s''f' ''''s. .''s', ..,...,. llt
THIRD ROUTE.
Columbus to Washington. .................. So
Washington 10 ClintOn'Valley. ey............. -
Clinton Valley to Maysyille ................ SC
IOJal' '''.''.. .','.,,.,..,. .l2l
The one special argument for the Sabina
route is that it takes ia the hourishing and
ambitious town of Vienna; and the special
considerations which attract attention tc
the Clinton Valley route are the easy grades
| from thence to Sardinia, and the addItioua
| mileage for passengers aud freight that
would be given the present Midland road
It is a question, however, whether tn,
| greater business that would flow over tho
line from Washington to Columbus, if tn,
direct route from Washington be taken
would not more than compensate the Mid
land for any loss on the mileage above re