Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1892-06-16
A MAMMOTH ENTERPRISE.
A Golden Opportunity for Goldsbort
to Do Great Things for Herself.

We publish in this issue the char
ter of the North State Lumber Com
pany, an organization of bankers
and capitalists of the city of Balti-
more, together with gentlemen from
Suffolk, Va, and this city, for the
purpose Of purchasing and develop
ing the vast pine timber resources
of that section of country in our
State bounded by Neuse liver on the
North, the Cape Fear river on the
South, the W. & W. r. r. on the
East, and the Wilson and Fayette-
vile Short Cut Railroad on the
West.
This enterprise has been brought
about by Mr.. S. S. Hardison. of this
city, formerly of Norfolk, Va, who
commenced an investigation of the
pine timber resources of this section
of the State about two years ago.
After examing thoroughly all the
country from the coast up, he be-
came convinced that the above sec
ton contained by far the largest and
most continuous bodies of the fin
est quality of the now famous s'slash"
Or short-strawed pine timber in the
State.
Twelve months ago he started an
agent in the field taking options, and
at the same time associated with him
self Mr.. Geo. L. Barton, of Suffolk,
Va, who sent an agent to assist Mr..
Hardison, and within three months
they had secured quite enough Of
the section to justify an effort to or
ganize company with ample means
to buy up and control the whole
situation, whereupon they invited
capitalists to join them to develop
the effort, and so inviting was the
field that these were readily found,
and about six months ago they COM
menced the work of taking up op-
tions and paying cash for the tim
Der, while the work of taking op-
tions continued, until now the Sec
ton is so thoroughly purchased and
controlled by the company as to ex-
clude any possibility on the part of
others to enter the field.
The company now have three
Iagents with coLveyances regularly in
the field, finishing up the purchas-
ing, surveying, examining and es-
timating the various timber tracts
and taking up options as they ma
ture, which will require three months
more, when the company will own
land control about 100000 acres,
VIRTUALLY in one body, Of the finest
and largest yielding timber per acre
that has ever been found and pur
chased by any single company in
this State, and probably in the
ISouth.
| The company expects to COM
mence the work of erecting very
large mills, kilns, etc, just as soon
las they can determine just where
they will lay their main line Of rail
road. And herein lies a golden oppor-
tunity for Goldsboro to secure not
only the mammoth mill plant of
the company, but also their main
line of railroad. But Goldsboro
: would need to bestir herself; because
the timber territory of this company
, is bounded by competing railroads
on every side, and all of them will
doubtless vie with one another to
, secure the junction of the line oi
railroad the company VIII necessarily
have to build to get their timber te
mill and to market. The G. F. &
wv. will want it, and SO will the
R. & D., and SO will the W. & W.
{ either for its main line at Mount
3 Olive, or for its Wilson and Florence
} "Short Gut" It is to be presumed
that Goldsbofo has a decided ad1ant.
age over any other point, because
while Sunbury is mentioned in th'
e charter as the seat of incorporation
Goldsboro is now the home of Mr.
Hardison, who is the directing
lspirit of the incorporation from
business standpoint, and, therefore
there is where most of the correspond
0 ence will doubtless be done. Be
sides, Goldsboro is in immediate
contiguity to the vast timber hold
lings of the North State Lumbe
Company, and with her 'alread!
many competing railroad adyant
ages, she could offer strong induce
ments for the locating of the mil
plant here, as also the securing o
= the line of ra1lroad-in fact, the on
necessarily carries the other with il
But again, the territory of timbe
held by this company is largely tina
through which the proposed exter
Ision Of the A. &. N. G. R. r. woul
run. This road must surely be e1
/ tended, the exegencies of It's sur
roundings emphatically demand i
If this extension is made, as it shoul
i'll be at once, then there will be L