The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-04-09
CHESAPEAKE & OHIO TOWNS.
Grouped Raw Material and
Railway Cooperation.
special Cor. manufacturers Record.l

There are three towns close to one an
other and all on the great Chesapeake y
Ohio Railway which are backed by re-
sources so immeasurable and managed
by men so capable, so sincere and so de
voted to the work Of actual development
and Improvement, that | shall never
have cause for regret. but rather for CON
tinuous congratulations on account OF
having iicfiaded the merits and adyan-
tages of these three locations to the
readers Of the Manufacturers Reeo9M
III the East, in the West, in the North,
in HE South and beyond the broad At
laDtic.
The three points referred to are Cliff.
ton Forge as the central point, with
Covington a few miles 10 the westward,
up the river and Bessemef few miles
to the eastward, down the swift, flowing
river James. The first named is where
the enormous shops of the Chesapeake
81 Ohio Railway are being bnIlded, and
where the Chesapeake u 0hio's James
River Division joins its main line. Gov
ington is nearer to the coal and coke of
West Virginia than any industrial aspi-
rant in the Old Dominion, while Besse-
mer is a new town located where the
Craig's Creek branch of the Chesapeake
s. Ohio starts from James river to pene
trate the enormous iron veins that lie
on its either side for many a mile. SO
much by way of preface except to say
that as may have time within the next
few weeks shall under the above cap
ton. THAT is to say, %Grouped Raw Ma
teral and Railroad Go operatiOn,s write
more Of Clifton Forge and Bessemer, 1T
is stated on good authority that the
Chesapeake Il Ohio Railway people will
work for the upbuilding Of these three
points as zealously as the Norfolk y
Western people have worked for the up
building of Roanoke. and it is certain
that nowhere in the South could railroad
cooperation be applied 10 better pur-
pose than in the development of the
grouped resources that encompass these
three towns.
CONVICTION, on JACKSON RIVER.
The traveller on the ID. L. "" the
Chess peake & Ohios magnificent palace
tra;u WHICH speeds Ia solid splendOr be-
tacsn Cincinnati and New York, ira
vers;ng FL. route the richest iron region
of Virginia and the best of West Viz
ginia s coal fields. il he Will look from
the platform when the train stops at
Covington, which is only q miles east of
the famous White Sulphur Springs. he
will behold "a lay OF land" the sight of
which can but force the conclusion that
for factories, for trade and. chief of all,
for homes Nature has here done her lev
el best, And if the self>same traveller
(who, | venture to hope, may some day
soon prove to be yourvery self, my most
sagacious reader,l will alight from that
vestibula platform and go for breakfast
to the 'sIntermont,N the finest and best
appointed hostelry between Cincinnati
and Basic City, and put in a day lnyes-
tigating the minerals near COvlngton
and the industries secured, and the Wa
ter power of Jackson river, and the
route Of Nv Camdep,s railroad. ard the
, great freestone spring which flows by
gravity into a reservoir on hill which
) towers above the city site and thence
throws a powerful stream, sufficient to
; put out any fire. into the sotel and
, town-the result will be shat you wild
) get as much practical information, as
} many pointers for profit rs are obtaina
bic by any other way Of spending a siu>
gle day.
WHAT A FURNACE OWNER SAM
There are more enormous deposits of
high grade iron ore MP Potts creek
(Which enters into jackson river just be
low Covington) than at any point |
know of in Virginia. Such was the state
ment made to me by Mr. r ]. Bird. lr..
: at present proprietor OF an iron furnace
: at Ironton, Ohio. After looking over
, the whole field, > he went. on to say. Il
have decided to build Il furnace here
and a nail mill. in spite of the fact that
other town companies offered me much
larger inducements so far as money and
land are concerned. The combined pro
pinquity of coke, ore and limestone
count for more, however, than mere bo-
muses..
1.-The truth is, every bona fde manu-
facturer,n said Mr. Bird, seeks cheap
raw material rather than a bonus. And
why2 Let as suppose that q furnace
owner is offered $40, eco bonus, and To-
cate my furnace at a point where | can
get raw material for only ten cents a ton
cheaper than he. That means Do cents
per ton on the pig iron produced which
will pay for the bonuses offered in less
e than three years and continue diyi-
dend of ten to twelve per cent. Oh an
: invested capital of $500, 900 in favor OF
the plant located with regard to the
grouping of the raw material rather
than the securing Of momentary ho-
nus.
Il mean by this said he, that it
takes Al tons of raw material to make a
ton of finished pig, which at 10 cents pei
ton in favor Of the consumer means Al
cents per ton on the iron produced Of
t $4,000 per annum from a concern pro
ducing 40, 600 tons a year
What do you think the advantages
Of Coyington over the average town in
the South will amount to, SO far as the
cost of the raw material is concernedy'
"Covington,a he replied, lis, in the
first place, located nearer the New
, River coal field than any other town on
, the Chesapeake j. Ohio Railway hence
an advantage in freight on coke. 1t is
located nearer the natural basin of a de-
velopment of different sections OF good
ores than any other town | know OF
? along the Chesapeake i Ohio system
As you put in your question the entire
South, it is but fair to say that while
: the Birmingham district has the advan
tage OF closer grouping of their raw
material, yet, when we take into &C.
= count the quality and value Of the pig
: iron produced here and the nearness b
the market, the advantages from a fnan
elal standpoint are in my Judgment de
cidedly in favor of this district '
How much do you think, admttin.
birmingham vantage ground in tht
5 matter OF grouping ore, coke and lime
@ stone, that the superior quality of Gov
ington pig will amount to from finan
: cial standard point.'
g Certainly from %l00to zoo per ton.
he replied. The reason OF this is thai
Virginia pig is better suited for machine
! castings merchant bar, nails and the like
than an all tde from fossil ores with
or i1eossuation Of Il brown hena-
tY e. Moreover. the Nir
from brown heIbatitt
Ses, stands second il
Hi tt nail mill rolling mill
fi'@ fpuHt'fs el achine shop which
asa - ZEE l.scteG = at CoviRgton.
ife el hn Led at our Coyingtol
Nv --.e so well adapted to thu
Is c,ron OF muck bar merchant iron
--"lls and strong foundry aastings that
we Rave decided to take advantage q
the means offered al:l group the differ
/ enf stages OF manufacture. thereby turn
I ng. out the finished article for the gen
eral MARKET
What will be the probable population
which the iron industries will bring t
d .Covingtong'
There will he employed by the fur,
), mace, la3 men; mnck mill, 100; nail mill
l2a; foundry, so: total, 400
*Af these, at least $50 will he skiIee
workinen. exclusive Of coinm,a, labor
, an't,,aceofiinss to population statistics
= t'.is means q population OF st;,nt so