The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-04-18
BUENA VISTA.
Its Future Assurcd-lt Stands on Solid
Basis.

Valley railroads. With the dawn of the
year 1889 few elterpiislng gentlemen of
he county CT Rockbridgp and town CT
Lexington placed before The public
''prospe ctus of the Buena Vista Land and
mrr ,ytment Company. for tie purpose
of developing the Buena Vista iron ore
lands and building a large manufacturing
town at Green Forest, klckhridg. county,
Va" The scheme rut before the public
WAS "a most ,atti acti,e one, and The stock
was placed with rapidity which not only
startled the projectors. but was carried on
to open the eyes of our people to the fact
that d new day was dawning for our be-
loved old State The scheme was attrac-
tive, the basis solid and the wave of popular
approval which placed SOC. 600 dollars of
the stock, in the unprecedently short
time Of 8 days, was only an echo of the
fame of Buena Vista. which has been
whispered about for years. but was just
now berg given to the public i'll a tangible
form. for the accomplishment of the pur-
poses for which the great store house of
nature had been filed 10y the architect
swho modelled the hid treasures Of the
earth after his own fashion,
For many years tack Buena Vista has
been known as one of the finest iron proper
ties In Virginia, The Joldans had control
of it many years. and under all the disad-
vantages of fiat boats for transporta-
tion for their ores and metal, together " it'll.
the destruction of their property during
the war, and at a time when all enterprises
in Virginia were as good as dead. they
paid Off large debts which had accumulated
against them in past years, maintained
and added to their properties, and are to-
day not only interested in the development
of the new Buena Vista, but are living
intelligent witnesses, to the extensive
and abundant resources of the ore beds of
Valley.
The Buena Vista lands embrace II 500
acres. which include ! 500 acres of rich
farming and bottom lands, 10000 acres of
.
quantities of yellow pine. tan bark. hoop
poles, railroad ties. telegraph poles. and
locust posts. from which an immense an
nual revenue can be had. Five miles Of
the Blue Ridge mineral belt is embraced
in this land. which contains several of the
most extensive and valuable ore beds in
the South. Professors Campbell, of Wash
ington s. Lee University, say of this prop
erty, 1--WE believe that ten miles is not an
extravagant estimate of the beds of ore.
and these beds vary from five to fifty feet
in thickness. and average, at the lowest
possible estimate. eight feet in width. -
THE quantity of ore is practically mex
haustibie. All of these extensive ore beds
are easily approached and inexpensively
mined"
Prof. Andrew s. McCreath, of Pennsy.
vania, fully sustains the report of the
Messrs. Campbell. The anal, sis of these
ores shows about 544 per cent of metallic
iron, with only trace of phosphorus.
The actual average yield of some of the
ores was | ,060 pounds of iron from 1000
pounds of ore. To the Buena Vista lands
the company has added by purchase. the
valuable Green Forest and Hart Bottom
lands. thus furnishing an unparalleled lcea-.
tion for a large manufacturing city, This
magnificent property. located in the Val
ley Of the North River, with beautiful
uplands. and gently rising mountain lands.
yxrI,a ba ~
to have come from the creative hand de-
signed to be in the hands of man. centre.
of industrial enterprises. and spot where
the throbblng activities of human thought
and action, shall bring into play the bound
less wealth deposited for the blessings of
the human race.
Isolation and the slumbering energies of
a people seemingly dead to their best in
teri SITS. have retarded the outgrowth of
this wonderful work of nature. But no
more shall the horn of the old canal boat
be heard to echo among these beautiful
hills. failing to awaken in the sturdy in
babitants of the Valley any degree of en-
ergy or activity. The hand of progress
has been laid upon the once dead scene.
and now the iron horse stirs to life and
activity the energies OF people alive to
the great values in hand, and the grand
destinie before them. Three miles of 'front.'
age on two rival railroad lines, with close
connections and traffic arrangements with
three transcontinental railways, the Ches
apeake & Ohio, Norfolk t5sWestern, a....,a.
Baltimore Il Ohio, are some of ths -
elements which enter into the vatapzG4d
development of this property.
With these magnificent railroad facili-
ties, every thought of difficulty as to trans
portation is absolutely swept away. and
the unparalleled richness of this property
is put in direct contact with the industrial
world.
The Board of Directors have not been
idle. The lands purchased have all been
paid for and the deeds secured. Surveys
have been made, industries have been
started, and others are being contracted
for; skilled engineers are employed in lay
ing off the future city. and already build
ings are going up, which will mark the
site of the city. Practical men have been
employed to carry on Investigations as to
further finds" of minerals, and as the
result of such Investigations, splendid de-
posits of manganese. rich in quality, and
pronounced by experts to rival any mines
heretofore opened. have been found. Mr..
Shannon, formerly manager of the Cri.
mora mines, has thoroughly and critically
examined these manganese deposits, and
pronounced them the finest he has ever
seen. He has arranged to get to work on
them at an early date. The manganese:
and iron ore beds have teen found close to
each other, and free from any difficulties
as to mining. Investigation has demon.
strated that the strata of iron ores centre
ing as they 60 down below the surface,
form solid mass and furnish an mex
bic supply.
Thus practical work and theory comb ine
and place their joint approval on the work
done in the laboratory of nature. The
two, railroads have agreed Jointly to cons