The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-12-13
KENTUCKY ROAD.
Editor Post.

Editor Post:
have been pleased to see several arti-
Giles in your paper recently upon this sub
iect, and believe that when the adyantag-
es of this road is knownto all of our citi-
zens, they will ali take !9H active lntercst
in the matter.
Big Stone Gap, on account of its loca-
tion and being the headquarters tor all
the developing companies Of this section,
is destined to be the most prominent place
in Southwest Virginia, aud as it is the
nearest railroad town to the greater por-
tior. of Letcher, Pike and Harlan coun-
ties, Kentucky, it is nothing but natural
that they should get their merchandise at
this place.
By looking at the map it can be easily
SEGA that Whitesburg, the center of this
Kentucky trade, is only twenty-five miles
distant, yet in order for the merchants
and citizens to get their goods they have
to haul them in wagons from Norton, Va,
distant of about fifty miles, through
Pound Gap, and over road that billy
goat would consider unsafe. Sometimes
they haul from Pikcvile, Ky, where
steamboats, bring the merchandise up the
Sandy river from Cincinnati, Ohio. 1t
takes sometimes two weeks for them to
make this trip and the road is not as good
as the Pound Gap and Norton route.
The road We contemplate building ia
up Callahan Creek to top of Black Noun
tain so as to meet the Kentucky road that
comes up Franks Creek on the Kentucky
side, at the State line. 1t has been sur
yeyed under the directions of Mr.. Lafay-
cite Riggs, who is an expert road builder,
and We are assured that magnificent
grade can be obtained on less than FIVE
degrees, There will not be single hill
in the road until the foot Of the noun
tain is reached just above Pioneer City.
The cost of building it will not exceed
two thousand Ave hundred dollars. at
meeting of our city council severl weeks
ago they agreed to pay $500, and with
other subscriptions we now have about
fifteen hundred dollars in sight and when
the advantages to be derived are looked
at. jtis wonder the other thousand is
not received Immediately. # will give
thousands of dollars freight annually to
the Ian andS .A.&O R.R'ds that they do
not get now, and if the Louisville merch-
ants want this trade that is now being sup
Piled from Cincinnati by Sandy steamboats,
all they have to do is to help US. Of
course know very little can be done this
winter in working the road but everything
can be gotten ready for spring. so the road
can be finished in time fornext falls trade.
There has been committee appointed con-
sisting of Messrs, j. K, Taggart, Il. A.
Ayers. W. W. Nickles, J. ?. Moore and
others to take up the matter and push
it and it IL the duty of every citizen who
desires TO see our town prosper to give
them theirsassistance.
This road viii be OF more benefit to our
town than,a R.,R for it will bring the
people here to trade with us. 1t was the
wagon trade of the back counties that
bnilt Bristol, Abingdon and Lynchburg.
On ascopRsof the roaghness Of the coun-
try It VII be many years before there is
L, N. in these East Kentucky counties,
amd shepeople living there will giye:ustheir
trade If NC only reach out our hands and
welcome them The products Of this sec
lion are Just what our people want
Thoasa,ids Of dollars Of gfnsans and
xoali ran beexchanged with our merchants
'or aIour, coffee and other things, and sur