Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-06-27
BLUEFIELD.
TIE NEW crrY OF rRE soUrswEsr
PART OF vIReIHIA.
Her Origin, Rise, and Proersss-The = -
Railroad and Mineral ',s,s. g. -.
OF tAe Southwest



BI.uETrrrp, W. VA. June a. ISIS.
"where Is Bluefclty fhcrc = no tpca
place az that on the book" said so express
agent at Treyiliau's Louisa county, ioageh-
tieman the other day when he asked him 10
exnrcss package 10 BluetieId. so, as there
Is so much ignorance as 10 an important
MACE even now and soon ia be much more
40. and only abou' twelve hours from Rich
mond. this chronicler for the Dispatch VIII
tell lis readers something about the young
CITY. ,,..
The Town n situated on the New-River
h,snch of the Norfolk and Western railroad.
twelve miles east OF P0cahontas. III
IA IN pretty valley whose fields
are sodded with biuc-grass, from
which Il takes IFS name, and is the highest
noint on the Nort,ik and Western road, ana
catches the cool brcezes that fan the clouds
2.b57 feet above Norfolk. II was only last
winter that the Norfolk and western man
agement decided that the lengthenlng OF
their lines aud The increase OF their business
demanded a new division. and. determining
10 locate IL upon the Bluefieid summit,
bought three hundred'acrc farm from MI
Uiegenbotham az SIS an acre. aud, after
Christmas. broke ground for the new town.
This will he the terminus 81 three divisions
the Radford, the Cl,nch Valley, aud the Flat
Ton. The long iraius o. thirty cars loaded
with coal are pulled by BIG mogul engine
aud pushed by another out from The coal
fields up The heavy grade to Blueiieid, where
the pushing engine leaves The train in chargs
Of the puler and returns 10 the black dla-
mond beds for another load.
A great deal OF work has been done az
Bluefeld. cutting down hills and levelliug the
ward for FIVE miles OF sid track. A large and
elegant machine. non, built OF pressed brick,
an oil.house and rOund-housc OF the same
material. have been erected. and a Inc once
and many petty residences for the employees
Of the road, ali in The Queen Anne style OF
architecture. a roOmy and wel-kept h0lel
hasinst been opened. snd another fine S2j,O0Q
one has been commenced. A number OF
business-hou.cs and private residences have
also been erected. and about the 1T OF July
a large number Ct SHOP. tram, and other ral'
road employf, will be removed from bedford
and POcahOntps. and the pisce will be an i'm
portant railroad town with population OF
1000 or 1,2)i persons 10 begin win.
brisk trade in lois h1, sprung up, and stimuli
lated bvthe advantages ~ water. air, climate,
and accessibility. q good deal oi money has
been nIalle in their change Of hands.
The Chnch Valley branch, which leaves
the New RivCr extension no Graham. j. be-
ing rapidly pushed forward, the trains rum
Mug OSa about twelve miles on the new
track. The road is let To contract through
TaZcwcl, Russell, and Wise to Big-Sl0ne
Gap, seeking It's southern connection with
the Louisville and Nashville road. and n
great future for the road and this country is
assured in opening up tAls hitherto nacces-
sihle section. rich in minerals aud lumber
II IL now considered an assured fact that
great civ. the Birmingham Of Virginia, Is
ia the near future 10 be built at some point
southwest Of this place, where the iron, coal,
aud limestone are 10 be found convenient 10
each other. some think II VIII he
at Bg-Stone Gap aud others think
n Princes Flats, I'm WISE county,
and the delightful uncertainty as TO
iis location rs very embarrassing 10 Spocu-
lstOIs and emicrants Just now. The ironton
branch is also being pushed IN the direction
Of that ONO Valley cltv. l. leaves the
BiucstOnc line a. Mill Greek, near Bramwell,
going 10 a nOrlhv eSterly direction. The
mountain is tunnelsd here through SOLID
vein % coal all tie way about $500 feet.
The coal taken out OF this tunnel WIS OF fine
quality and was shipped from this end oi the
tunnel % the eastern markets. At the
western outlet OF tue tunnels both ends
were worked at the same time and there
were no means Of transp ortation-many
hundred tons o. the valuable fuel had 10 he
dumped IN The fills with the common dir,
but some Of 1t nay be available hereafter.
The road west OF the tunnel strikes the Eik
Horn fork oi Tug river, and some twelve
miles OF this extension is IN running order.
Thousands Of men are az work over in this
valley. maki1g the road and opening up the
coal enterprises. soon TO roll their wealth
also towards The rising sun.
What great country this Southwest Nir-
GINA is shortly to become. Even now $780,
600 month Is paid hy the railroad company
and the coal operators for labor within a
radius Of ten miles from POcahOntaS, and
every month the amount is increasing. Old
Virginia Will bc IN empire, big, rich one
too, before the present generation has passed
away. or else uuequalled natural resources
and indomittble pluck 20 for nothing
NOx.