Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-01-30

town BY electricity, and possibly siriy
some plants.
What is called the 'slay'' Of the land g
the new site is perfect. Commencing Mort
Of the Hotel Brandon ali elevated bencl
of land runs after gentle serpentin
fashion all along the property and at it
foot lies the bottom land on which it i
proposed to put manufactures. Back o
this bench separated only by q fringe o
woods, rise the Blue Ridge mountains.
THE RAILROAD CONNECTIONS.
This property located III the centre of thu
Valley of Virginia viii be connected will
the rest of the country by the Chesapeake
& Ohio Ry. to the West and the sea, ant
by the Norfolk & Western to the North ant
! to the South. 1t is to this point that comes
the natural route of the projected line tt
connect the Valley Branch of the Il. & o
it is here the shops Of the new cross line
would be naturally located. 1t will have
the great advantage of two competing lines
OF railroad to all parts of the country, and
this cross line will give it the addition of
one more. Everything manufactured in
this little bend of the river will have the
choice Of three great railways to market.
IT'S PROSPECT FOR THE FUTURE.
This is one Of the enterprises whose fu-
ture hardly needs discussion. And yet L
could not help putting the two-it and its
neighbor, Basic City-together. With the
latter | have been familiar from its corn
field state, or from, as we would say in wri-
ting of man, it's infancy. 1 remember
when it started-just eight months ago. |
walked over the cornfeld that May with
the projectors of the enterprise. Every
one of them was from Staunton OF Angus
ia county. There was not rich man
among them. [ looked at them and then
looked at the cornfeld that they said conf
IDENTIFY would be city. listened with nom
cOmmittal politeness to Judge Quarles as he
pointed out the ''site reserved for indus
tries, - the ''site for the Queen Anne hotel''
the ''site for the belt railroadn and many
other things. The site for the industries
looked to me like it would hold all the in
dustries | had ever seen in Virginia. There
was nothing to back these men and their
enterprise-no millions, no railroads and
And yet when | saw the location they had
captured, the trains running in from the
South, the North, the East and West, I
thought | saw the key Of the high arch
they were building for the future.
To-day. as 1 came back, when I struck
the dividing line Of Basic City and saw
what had taken pace in the eight months
which have passed, pretty well concluded
that nothing [ was likely to prophesy of
good about the new town site l am writing
of, would be apt to be too good. The ''site
reserved for industries in Basic City
is crowded with great factories-car
works, furniture factory, hardware
factory. match factory, knitting fac
tory, cigar factory, paper mill, and
others. and instead of having been too
large for the industries, has proved to be
too small for them. Looking down at me
from the hill stands the big Hotel Brandon
completed and in full operation. Around
me are stores and dwellings located on
broad streets, and some of the streets cross
ing iron bridges. And as [ drive by the
big Normal College and hear the hum of
the students [ can see a train moving
along the belt line of railroad. 1t was not
an idle dream then, this picture drawn
eight months ago, but prophesy. And all
done in eight months!
/ could not help rejecting that if all this
had been done in this time. what may we
not expect from another enterprise i'll the
same locality backed by great wealth, and
the cooperation of great corporation-a
corporation which has already made South
western Virginia bloom like a rose by the
millions it has caused to be invested there.
I rejoice in the prospect not only because
it is i'll our county, but because it will
broaden and strengthen my old favorite
Basic City. 1t will relieve that town of
some pressure that it would not willingly
bear. One-the big territory to be occupied
by the Norfolk & Western for side tracks
and for which it Is now arranging, will be
located on the new site, much think to the
relief of Basic.
AS the Norfolk s. Western people believe
in iron and the iron ore mines of the Basic
City M. NJ. & L. Co. are hardly eight miles
from here, [ suppose we may early look
for an iron furnace ON the new site.
THE COMPANY'S SCHEME.
[ see published in the prospectus Of the
company that after donating eighty acres
for the purpose of securing and locating
enterprises-which by the by it will find
too small just as Basic City has found her
site for that purpose-they will have 425
acres left, which will make $3.50 lots which
estimated at $500 lot, will bring to the
company's treasury 81, 5000 when sold
The prospectus calls it a low average, ,
perience with lot sales in the new towns
$500 is a low average. Take it's next dool
neighbor, Basic City, for instance, where the
management have made it point to keei
the prices OF their lots down as far as pos
sible, and look atthe result! The fact is
where you put up buildings and go to man
ufacturing and where lots are necessarily
within a few blocks of the industries, it is
hard to keep the prices down, and still
harder to get the average down to $500
When one remembers the 81 900, $4,000
So ,000 lots in Basic City the low average
looks still more impossible. In the new
site Of the Basic City Development com
pany the large amount Of dead level lane
and the large quantity Of gently rolling
land makes pretty much all their land goot