The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1890-09-05
TIE FUTURE MINING METROPOLIS.
How n Keen and Disinterested Observer
Regards the Future of Big Stone Gap.
4 DESCRIPTION WORTH READING
fIau,es Lane Alien In Harpcr.)

Big Stone Gap III uoes hol sunni
bir. What is it? AT certain point OF
this continuation of Cumberland noun
tain. called Stone mountain, the main FORK
nj Powclls river has in the course Of ages
worn itself away down to Il practical rail-
ro,d mass Mt water-icvel, thus opening
connection between the coking coat on
thc north and the iron ores on the sonth
or tho mountain. Pause for single mo-
mcnt at this mountain gorge. No pass
that have ever sccil-except those made
hr thc Doe river in the Cranberry region
Of North Carolina, has its wild, cnrap-
turing loneliness; towering above on each
side are the mountain walls, ancient ana
pray and rutcly disordcrcd; ut every colgn
of vantage in these, grasping their preclp-
itous buttresses as the claw OF great
earle might grasp the uttcrmost brow OF
cliff. enormous trees above trees, anu anna
all thc trees 4 green lacc-work of under
rrowth. Below, in Il narrow winding
channel piled high here and there WIN
powders, with jutting rocks anu slu'ce-
like fssures-below and-aGalnst all these
the river hurls itself, foaming, roaring.
whirlinr. Il long cascade of white or lu-
cent water. This is Big Stone Gap. ana
the valley into which the river pours us
full strong current is the site of the city
4 lofty valley it is, having an elevation
of sixteen hundred feet above the sea,
with mountains girdling it that rise TO
the height of four thousand-a valley the
surface of which gently rolls and slopes
toward these encirclng bases with con-
slant relief to the cyc-a valley spacious
enough, with those opening into 1t, TO
hold IL city of the population of New
York.
This mountain pass, lying in the heart
of this reserved wilderness of tlmbers,
Goals, and ores, has always had its slender
thread of local history. 1t was from
time immcmorial II buffalo and Indian
trail. leading to the head waters OF the
Cumberland and Kentucky rivers; during
the civil war it played its part in certain
military exploits and personal adventures
of Il ouixotian flavor: and of old the rich
farmers of Lee county used to drive their
cattle through il to iattcn them on the
pca-vinc and bluegrass growing thick on
the ncighboring mountain tops. But IN
the last Twenty-Five years-that qlartcroi
the century which has developed in the
United States an cver-growing need OF
iron and steel, of hnrdwoods, and Of all
varieties of coal; period which has seen
one after another of the reserve timber
regions of the country Trimmed ana c1-
haustcd-'luring the past twenty-five years
attention has been turned more and more
toward the forests and the coal fields in
the region occupied by the south Allie
ghanv mountain system, and especially
fixed upon the wealth of resources that
are tributary to this spot.
But simply general knowledge of this
wealth was not enough to determine Big
Stone Gap as the site of manufacturing
city; and here one comes upon an idea
that deserves momentarv thought 1T
may he said that large part Of the South
is passing through a period of Industrial
town making largely due to the discovery
that ii is intellectually rich in various
grades of iron ore. and to the growing de-
mand for woodworking industries. But
the founding of Il town in 50 remote and
unapproachahc region as Big Stone Gap
is no trivial affair Consider how the idea
of such IL thing is formed and spread
abroad
Some fine summer day Il solitary bee
wandcrs into Il VALLEY as IN original dis
covercr Around and around he flies,
then suddenly rises high into the air and
strikes Il line for home. By-and-by he
rcappcar> from another direction, bring
iny Il -rgcr bee with him. who flies slow
" and su-piclouSly from place 10 place,
grumh II. and smelling 1T everything III
II al, I,l
had been brought there for nothing. Sud
denly he too rises in the air. and Is gone
like IL l,uIet from gun. Then presently
there are seven bees huzzing about in
different parts o: the valley, and then
nineteen. Then all the bees organize
thcmSclyc, into 4 hivc->ay. Big Stone
Gap Improvement Company-and fall to
work TO construct waxcn comb (pian Of
a city, which j. presently TO be flied with
m--honcy.
Only. in establishing city the problem
is lifted from the simple instinct OF the
bee to the utmost foresight. judgment.
skill, and combined energy OF man. 1t
was not enough then. TO know that at Big
Stone Gap there WAS water gap admit
ting the passage OF railway or each
side at watcr-lcvcl. and connecting con-
tguous workable Goals with ores; not
enough repeatedly to test the abundance.
variety. and purity of both of these; not
enough to know that Il short distance off
Il single vertical section of coal measure
rocks has thickness above drainage level
of Twenty-Five hundred feet, the thickest
in the entire Appalachian coal field from
PENNSYLVANIA TO Alabama: not enough that
from this point. hy available railroad TO
the BcsScmcr steel ores in the Cranberry
district OF North Carolina it is the short
est distance in the known world separating
such coke and such ores; not enough that
there are here superintendent limestone
and water. the south fork of Powells ry-
or windin. about the valley. full bold
current. and few miles from town the
head waters of this same river having Il
fall of seven hundred feet; not enough
that near by is rich agricultural region
to supply all needed markets, and that
the valley itself has :; natural drainage,
delightful climate. and ideal hcauty-all
this WAS not enough. 1t had to be known
that the great water gap through the
mountain ut this point, by virtue OF its
position and by virtue of its relation to
other passes and valleys leading to it,
ncccssitatcd, sooner or later, IL c0ncentra
ton here Of railroad lines for the gather
ing, the Development, and the distribu-
ton Of its resources.
From every imaginable point Of view n
place like this is subject to unsparing test
before it is finally fixed upon as Il town
site and enters upon process of develop
memt. But when choice has once been
made, development cnsucs with irresisti
bic energy. know of nothing that would
better illustrate the tremendous power