Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1892-01-08
SOME THINGS ABOUT
AUGUSTA
THAT A GREAT MANY OF US DIDN'T
KNOW BEFORE.

KNOW BEFORE.
The lecture given Saturday night by
Mai. Jed. Hotchkss, of the series he is
now delivering at the auditorium Of the Y.
NJ. G. A., was ON Augusta county. His
blackboard already had the strata of rocks
marked off, and the rest of it was left blank
for map of Augusta, which he drew as
he went along. When he had finished it
and put in all it's creeks and rivers, it looked
like big spider web.
The position of the county, said Maj
Hotchkiss in beginning, is 70 W in longi-
tude and SO N in latitude. 1t is on the
same line with the Southern part Of Spain
and the Northern part of Palestine. 1t is
half way between the capes OF Virginia
and the mouth of the Big Sandy river, and
before old Virginia was divided, stood in
the centre of the State. 1t is midway be-
tween Portland, Me-, and New Orleans.
We are central in all respects, and are part
and midway of the great Appalachian Val
ley. the Valley that runs through Vermont,
New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and
through nearly half Of Alabama. The Blue
Ridge sinks at Tuscaloosa, Ala. You can
start n orth from there and follow it up to
the st. Lawrence river in Canada 1t is, as
| a whole, the richest portion of the United
States. In the year 1913 this county OF
Augusta embraced Virginia West ''to the
uttermost sea- for Virginia in that day
| a from n A
States have been male out of this county
of Augusta. 1t had those great dimensions
in 1880 when the first census was taken.
1t had, according to that census, 5000 in
| habitants. 1t is still the largest county in
Virginia, being little larger than Pittsyl-
vania it's rival in size.
The outline of the county forms a rude
rectangle 80 miles long and 36 miles wide.
Its streams are those which further down
form the Shenandoah-they are, South
River, which has it's head at Old Provi-
dence Church in Rockbridge; North River,
which has its head in Pendleton. county,
W. Va, and Middle River. 1t was for
that reason called by the old settlers the
County Of the Triple Forks of the Shen-
| andoah." The Presby .erians, the original
| settlers, built three churches Augusta
church, Messy Greek church and Thinking
| Spring church, and called them the
Churches of the Triple Forks. Messy
| Greek, one of its streams, is q remarkable
| one, from the fact that though only seven
Oh eight miles long, it has on it's banks
seven OIL eight perpetual mill sites. Naked
! Greek, another stream, was SO named by
the original settlers because Of the naked
| character of the country along it which in
their day had no trees on it. Located in
Elliott S Knob Mt. Rogers) is what may
be called the head spring of the Shenandoah
river. That spring is 1880 feet above the
sea level, but where the forks of the rivers
form the Shenandoah is only 1000 feet
above sea level, the waters of the spring
having made a fall of $500 feet in 80
miles. In the names of localities in the
| county there have been some curious
changes-the old settlers called the South
River country the ''Long Meadows" but
| that name has long since been transferred
| to the country this side of it near Fishers
vile.
The latitude of Augusta county, $50, is
| enervating, but for every 800 feet in alti-
| tude we practically gain a degree North
| that is we are in climate removed so miles
| further North. So that Augusta county
| is to all intents really in 43o, which is the
| latitude of Northern New York. But
a of of Of al ion
i'll our county and consequent variety Of
climate. In the lowest part of the county
which is only 1000 feet above sea level,
tobacco has been raised. At it's highest
point, on Elliott's Knob, is almost the
climate of Labrador, and the botanist who
wishes to study the flora of Labrador can
find much of it on Elliott's Knob. The
fringed orchids found around the spring on
Elliott s Knob are found in N orthern New
Y ork. The aspect Of the Valley is North
east which makes it still colder. Augusta
slopes to the East and Northeast. Middle
River is the river of the county. 1t runs
through 800 square miles of Valley land and
400 of mountain land. 1t drains 500 square
miles of the Valley land. 1t is only 80
|
miles long in an all line, but is 68 miles
long in it's winding course. South River
is 80 miles long in an air line, and so in it's
course.
Maj. Hotchkiss then left the geography
of the county and went into the geology.
Soon there appeared on the blackboard in
red, white and blue chalks stone swing,
one end of which is tied to the Blue Ridge
and the other to the n orth Mountain, in
which Augusta county nicely covered with
fertile earth, goes to sleep every night and
wakes up in the morning. She belongs to
the old families, and her swing rests on the
azoic, archaic and paleazoic rocks which
were built by Nature long before man was
thought of. When the Major got among
the rocks with their hard names and their
great number of strata, which were stretch
ed up the blackboard like the index doses
on the side of an apothecary S glass. the Te-
porter could only sit and wait for him to
come out again. While he was waiting,
the map on the board was rapidly changing
color-mOre blue here, more red there,
| llOlc WullC OOllCWuClC ClpC, UHCII GuC
whole underlying rocky bed Of Augusta
was mapped out.
The lecture was very interesting and
instructive one, and was listened to by
nearly 200 people. The popularity of the
series has extended far outside Of the
school teachers, for whom they were origi-
mated, and among the audience Saturday
night were clerks, mechanics, lawyers, mer-
chants-men of every vocation, and many
ladies'.
i MAJ. HOTCHKIss' NEXT LECTURE.
Tomorrow Saturday night, at P. M
n ho1 ToJ