The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1896-01-17
The RANGE METROPOLIS

THE RANGE METROPOLIS /
The Pho ~ ! City As Portrayed By A
iiinnsapoils Tribune Reporter.
When one drops into this
booming little city and sees evi-
ldences of prosperity and ,busi
ness on every hand, he has a fra.
Gus Withhls better Judgment be.
fore he con fully realize that the
town Of Virginia is but three
years old. But it is the old
story we'll known IN the West, OF
a rapid and marvellous growth
q city springing as if by magic
from dreary nothingness. Only
in this case, there is an absence
of that eyaporating boom elemen,
which has been the death knel]
Of scorss Of new towns IN the
! West Virginia is here to stay.
her projectors builded better
than they knew. The town was
built Of necessity: it was built
bechuseait was needed: because
lit was the natural result of a gi.
gadtic enterprise which, being
inexhaustible, promises to make
this andIother towns on the Me.
saba range both permanent and
prosperous. This is why Vir-
ginia claims a distinction from
boom towns. Such an appella.
tion is resented by it's citizens
who, fof the most part, had a
hand in clearing out the forests
primeva in order to make room
for the town that was to be.
This particular time OF the
year may, not be the most satis-
factory q see Virginia to the
best advantage, yet the constant
throb OF business which pulsates
through its streets, even far into
the night, shows on what pros
porous lines the town Is drawn.
Virginia is pre-eminently a min
ing town. It has lumber to
some extent. Its mills manu-
facture possibly 10000, 1000 feet
a year, but this industry is a
pigmy compared with the gigan-
tic ore trade which is making
bonanza kings out # a score of
mea. The history Of the discov-
cry Of iron ore on Mesaba range
is familiar to all the readers of
The Tribune. The riches of the
e,stha emarlable facility with
which it can be mined and mar.
keted brought out a hoard of
projectors and capitalists. The
result is the starting of a dozen
towns on the range, and probab-
ly chief among the lot is Virgin
ia. The iron bearing portion
of the Mesaba range is perhaps
60 miles long, and very irregular
in width. The towns are thick
ly scattered over this territory,
yet the possibilities of the range
are as yet only limited at. An
other year will see many more
mines opened. Several have al
ready been located and are
awaiting nothing save additional
means of transportation to set
them in operation. There are
two roads already running into
this priceless country; the Du.
luth & Iron Range having it's
! vast ore docks at Two Harbors;
: and the Duluth, Missabe &
Northern with its huge terminus
at Duluth. In tapping the iron
country these two roads opened
up possibilities which are be-
Fyond computation. It is now a
matter of common talk that the
Merritts have projected anothe,
road into the range, the con.
structien of which would go tc
develop dozens of other mines
(which are now lying in their ma.
|tural state. The clash of inter
ests between the Rockefeller ant
Merritt companies will not dete,
tile opening of scores of new
mines.
Virginia is logically the cen:e
of this wonderful! range. It ha
) two railroads, which afford ex
5 cellent means of exit for the Or
. mined. There are a half a doz
en- big mines either within tn
j. city limits, or just outside, whfcl
t employ in round numbers, 200
e men in the height of the ship
J ping season. These 1000 horny
i banded sons of toll furnish th
brawn and sinew Of vigorous Vii
ginia which as stated before ha
S a population which crowds til
= 1000 mark. And all this With
S a period of three or four year.
II