The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-20
VIRGINIA CLAY PIPES.

The Largest Factory in the World
Is Located at Historic AppOmattOx.
From the Richmond Dispatch.
The largest tobacco pipe factory in the
world is located in Appomattox county
near Pampln City, Va.
This is In itself an interesting fact, and
one not generally known, but the manner
in which the factory came to be located
in Appomattox is of even greater inter
est.
1t had been known for many years prior
to the war between the states that there
existed clay in that county well adapted
to the manufacture of tobacco pipes, but
the industry was carried on in the most
desultory way. Sometimes a negro al odd
times would fashion a few rude pipes
and sell them in the nelghborhood, gen
orally at the country store, receiving in
exchange such articles as he coveted most
and were within the reach of the very
moderate means derived from the sale
of his handwork.
But at the close of the war the whites
turned their attention to the clay depos-
it's 1t was a necessity, and not a matter
of choice.
The war had swept away everything. 1t
was a short road 10 absolute want There
were no crops growing, and nothing had
been left from previous years to help tide
over the one in which the earth yielded
nothing. Therefore the farmers had to
cast about for some way of making mon
ey to keep want from the door, and it
was in this way that they came to devel-
oping the deposits of pipe clay upon their
lands The implements with which the
pipes were manufactured were simple and
rude and it must be- confessed that the
article which they fabricated did not bear
the closest possible resemblance to those
turned out by the thousand to-day.
The pipes were sold TO local merchants,
who shipped them to wholesale dealers
in Northern cities, who sold them to re-
tailers throughout the country.
And now comes the part of the story
that sounds rather romantic, though it
is every word true, according to the APP
pomattox man who told the story TO
Dispatch reporter
Among the retail dealers who purchased
a lot of these poor mems pipes was
groceryman in a little town in Ohio. lie
sold them at from to cents apiece, and
found them popular.
Among those who purchased one was a
wealthy citizen Of the town, who was led
to do so by a less wealthy neighbor, who
had found them sweet smokers. The capt.
talist was delighted. He smoked nothing
else for some time, and finally inquired OF
the groceryman as to where the pipes
were made The latter could only give the
name of the wholesale dealer from whom
he had purchased, but from him the gen
tleman learned that the pipes were made
from a clay bank in the county of Appom-
attoX in Virginia.
The man saw that the pipes were of rude
construction. He saw also that were
proper machinery used, they could be
turned out with great rapbdity, and that
a profit could be made in selling them at a
penny apiece. He was growing interested
and finally his mind dwelt so much upon
The subject that he came over to Virginia
and to the little town of AppomattoX. He
went at once TO the store of the dealer in
pipes and was not long in finding that
the best were made at a bank about eight
miles away, at what is now Pamplin City.
The rest is soon told. The land was pur-
chased for a small sum, buildings were