The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1890-07-17
PROSPEROUS JOHNSON CITY.
Headquarters for Modern Emit err
prlses and Pure Grlt-A Rail-
road Center.

Headquarters for Modern Emit err
prlses and Pure Orlt-A Rail-
road Center.
In writing of the different towns in
East Mennessee. w. D. Peters, the
special correspondent OF the Knox
willie Journal, has the following to
say If Johnson City in list Sundays |
issue;
And now we come t. Johnson City, |
live, growing, booming, the coming
Pittsburg Of the ,ulh, 50 they claim,
and no where else in the South is
there so much upon which to base
such claim. The town is spreading
in every direction. New and hand
some residences are going up in all
parts OF the city. To the eastward in the
direction OF Carnegie" addition the
most extensive Improvements are going
on. They are grading streets down
there mile long, and building a
splendid hotel, the first story OF
beautiful dark limestone, the upper
stories of brick much the color OF the
Knoxville article. Blocks OF hand
some business houses are going up
and material is on the ground for the
union passenger station to be built by
the East Tennessee, Virginia and
Georgia and Charleston, Cincinnati
and Chicago railroads. 1t will be a
handsome structure. The new blast
furnace is in Carnegie, and brick
works and planning mills are already
established. In the old part of town
the same spirit of progress prevails.
Business blocks are going up on al
most every important street, and the
very atmosphere seems to be impreg-
mated with enterprise.
~
Will Mathes says; Johnson City is
something like a hopper and every
thing in upper East Tennessee must
naturally pour in here, nature having
provided for it. Much of this is true
and much of it can be successfully
denied. johnson City has very many
natural advantages not possessed by
neighboring towns, but much OF hel
growth and prosperity are due to tn,
enterprising spirit OF her citizens. L
was when Gen. Pardee and his associ
ates purchased the Cranberry propert,
: and built the narrow gauge road tina
3 Johnson City came into prominence
This was made the terminus of tn
| narrow gauge, because better grad
e could be established from here thar
S from any other point. Soon after tn
D complication OF the railroad the grea
= Watauga tannery was established b.
Pennsylvanians, and Johnson City be
came at once headquarters fer the i'm
mense traffic in logs and lumbe
which naturally followed the pene
tration OF the mountain forests Their
g the late Col. Powell, Knoxville, ia
seeing gentleman and who loved hi
native mountains as only n true pa
!. triot can, became intere: ted in Johr
!. son City, and with his associates es
r tablished the Johnson City foundr
q and machine shops, and purchased
large tract of land south of the town
y To Col. Powell and Col. T. +. Ma
: son belong if | mistake not, the cred
' OF inaugurating the "Three C's" raj
' road. They got Ex-Mayor Mean
and John Carlisle, of Cincinnati, VIII
!. owned the Chattanooga railroad, il
terested in the scheme and thins
worked nicely until the famous Fidel
a ty Bank failure bankrupted Nj
il Means. Then Gen. Wilder, who i
U the meantime had turned his faith t
4 Johnson City, took hold and final
q succeeded in raising capital sufficier
o to build and equip the great trun
!. line In the next twelve mnnths Cal
II will be running from the Ohio riv,
to Charleston by the sea. 1t vi
q. Johnson City enterprise that brougl
V the "Three C's" this way. A better lii
a might have been found elsewhere, ar
II to make sure OF the read the pluck
% city voted bonds and exerted evel
d other means in their power to til
end.
The people Of Johnson City a
:, plucky and enterprising. They can
> from everywhere, bent on makir
10 money and building city. Thu
No are succeeding beyond doubt. TT
80 navf ton vuurs will show Tn thA wor