Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-09-30
AN IRON CENTRE.
THE GREAT MANUFACTURING POSSIBILITIES
OF GOSHEN, VIRGINIA.
The Auction Sale Of L9ts at this Gateway City
Between Virginia and West Virginia.
Prominent Men Identified With
the Move.

TIC Aucula sale % Lots 40 thus gateway C.iy
Between Yirgiaia and West Virginia.
Prominent Men Identified With
the Move
TEoaa p cras'y d. lflaerlc,uors' Record.
GOSHEN, on THE c. * O.,
+ ROCRBEmCE COUNTY, Sept. 10, 1890.
/ 10 is said that 80 years ago Commo-
/ dore Maury, that wonderful Nirginian,
everywhere ilmStriouS as deep-Sea
soundcr and author of the standard
/ physical geography Of the world, gave
/ 70 as bis opinion that this very spot here
. n the northern corner of the old, old
county of ROckbridge, upon which Is
/ being buildcd the new industrial city of
/ Goshen. would some day, in the prOvi-
dence of God. become the iron center OF
/ the American continent. And the dying
words of Commodore Maury were Gear
rv me through Goshen Pass when the
/ laurel is I'm bloom" Afterwards. when
/ his remains were diSintcrred for removal
/ from Lexington it was in conSonance
with this. his dying wish, that the
cl>kct was actually carried while on
/ its way Co final resting place, through
what mas Just been named Maury
avenue-thc chief thorOughfare of
/ the coming iron ccnter-paSt the huge
/ Victoria furnace. i'm sight OF an enor-
NOUS rolling mill. now being rapidly
constructed. close 20 the site OF plant
where nearly 100 men will make iron
tubing. and as close tO other industries,
already contracted for, which will con-
Jointly give employment to over 1000
wOrkmeu.
Although knew that Governor Lees
/ pittSburg and Atlanta railroad would
probably cross the Chesapeake and Ohio
at this natural gateway between rich
mineral region i'm West Virginia and
nearly all the rapidly growing new
towns of the mother State, nevertheless
/ l was aStoniShcd at what / have seen
4 here to-day. The wonder of il is how
such substantial acquisitions could have
/ been procured with 50 little ado-how
such extraordinary progress could have
/ been made In 50 short q time. My con
viction. however, is that the industrial
growth of Virginia viii, within the next
twelve months, surprise all the world
much more than ! was surprised here nj
Goshen to-day.
And right here 10 is pertinent toQuotc
paragraph from the pen of that gifted
Virginia writer, Mr.. IL. c. TinSley, OF
the StauutOn l-WdicUtur. which Is IN
harmony with the teachings of the Nan
Uflctuc>' Record during the last few
years. Under the heading ~ PennSyl-
vauiau's View of the Future of Goshen,
Mr.. Tinsley says:
I'll have already expressed my opinion
about tho successful future that is be-
/ fore the new city of Goshen, but / would
/ like 90 give YOU the opinion of an old
PENNSYLVANIA i'm the iron business, that
/ I met here asked him if lac thought
there were too many towns building
/ u Virginia, and If they were too close
I to each other 20 thrive. His reply was
SD quaint and characteristic that l give
/ lt. You NlrgnianS. he said. ARE pew
| to the business, and you are shy.
/ You don't begin 90 know what you've
got. You are like flies that have
/ been walking around the top of a sugar
| hogShcad for "a century and didn
| ku0w what was under IL. And some oil
you are Ike flies that have found "a
crack in the top and think that the SUI
{ gar they can see through il is all there
/ is. There is room ON top OF your Nlr-
/ rinia hogshe0d for 500 towns, and as 90
/ building too close, look Gt the Cone
Iuaugh valley Take a stretch like
/ Johustown. Cambria City, Coucmaugh
l aud the rest. where street ear lines con-
meet them. Y0u Virginia men are max
. ing your first appearance, and you get
stage fright too easy Nou forget what
is under You. ana think that
/ YOUR boom is ON the West
crn wildcat crdcr. where they put q
town ON prairie land with nothing under
Iftaud boom 10 ou what comes OUT OF
the freight depot. This Goshen town
8, built on lime rock and fenced in with
iron mines. and If YOU live ten years
you'i sec those fellows that are loading
. those wagons ROW. putting mp $1,000
, houses for themselves. Things 90 fast
, in new manufacturing towns. I've
.hcunall along there aud seen the changes
they make. IT you NirsiniauS let land
gambling alone you've got the thing IN
your own hands Never put a dollar ia
where there amt going 20 be work done.
/ ava too old now 10 move my people
down t0 Virginia, but / am going TO put
something in the lots here when they
put 'cm up. But if ! hadn't seen the
bosses building rolling mills and factO-
rieS and going into manufactures they'd
never see q dollarof my money. I'm five
years this town ought 10 be manuiac-
turing everything that is made Of iron
chat aiu't tied mp by patent, and you'll
~ee it,"
As said % moment ago, il struck me
a- wonderful how the existing substau-
tialitlcs here had been brought about so
uoiSclcs>ly, for. as "a rule, town compan-
ies-aud very naturally, as the world
-ocs-dO am immense amount OF hurrah-
ing over really insignificant additions to
their p0pulation-making enterprise. The
secret of tine surprising prospect for pay
rolls 800 Goshen is one which, i'm a meas
urc. cNempliGcS the idea of a certain
friend of mine who declared that with
the right men behind him aud with
money enough, he would undertake. TO
build big city IN the center of the
Sahara desert That is To say, when
Mr.. G.. r. Ehrmau and his aSSoci-
ates inaugurated this enterprise,
they sought and secured as
their allies men with sufficient
influence and money, and, best Of all,
familiarity with Industrial ways and
means to guarantee success, provided
they had made NO mistake i'm picking
out the point To- bee improved. In other
words. they had "a little list, and all
that was needed was TO prove the fit
ness of the location To- secure the full,
cordial. energetic cooperation of men
who could do anything they wanted to
do. Concerning the men brought to-
gether I'm the organization OF the Gosh
cn Land * Improvement Co., l shall
have word 20 say directly. Right
now let as take look at the location.
Mr.. Ehrman. who had come mp 10
Virginia from Birmingham-and make
"a note OF TO that men of sagacity are
coming To Virginia from the South
land West. as well as from
Che North-argued somewhat in
this wise: THE Chesapeake aud OHIO
is the great artery from East 10 West OF
the Appalachian region. There Is go
ing 20 be- another great North and South
artery through the same region.
Wherever these two mect-provided
other things are equal-that Will 0e the
place where % pretty decent town VIII
grow nap spontaneously; but II the at
vant0ges of that location be pushed by