Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1900-10-16
JEFFERSON COUNTY
One of the Most Productive in the
Valley of Virginia.

One of the Most Productive in tn
Valley of Virginia.
LIVE TOWNS AND VILLAGES
Charles To,on, tie County Seat-GrowA Il
Population and Manuf factuTes-Ii Rail
road Facilities.
Especial to the Baltimore Sun
Charles Town. W. Va, oct. s.-Jeffer
son county was laid off from Berkeley
county, Va, in 1901. named in honor o
Thomas Jefferson and is the extreme east
ern county of West Virginia Itisbound
ed on the north by the State of Maryland
the Potomac river forming the boundary
line, and on the east and south by vir
ginia, the line on the east running on the
top of the Blue Ridge Mountain, separat
ing it from Loudoun county, while Clarke
county lies on the south, and Berkeley
county, from which it was made, forms
its western boundary. The surface of the
county is rolling, the soil of limestone
quality, fertile and unsurpassed by any
county in the State Tor productlveness.
Agriculture is the chief business and all
tae cereals. wheat. corn rye oats. are
raised. The county yisabout by 16miles
in extent and has population of 1900
in round numbers. 1t has over I2s, 900
acres of productive farm lands with an
assessedvalue of 81, 100000. The average
assessed value of the these lands is S25
per acre and.many of the best farms near
the towns sell from sos to S75 per acre.
The Shenandoah river flows through the
eastern portion and empties into the
Potomac at Harper's Ferryland the county
forms the northern limit of the famous
Shenandoah Valley, known for its beautl-
full climate and productive soil. On the
east sideofthe Shenandoah river the land
is hilly and is partly made up of the west
ern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountain,
where there IS iron ore and other miner
ais, which number of years ago were
successfully mined and shipped on the
Shenandoah river when 1t was navigable.
There is still an abundance of iron ore in
these hills, but for lack of a railroad
through them mining was discontinued.
Other minerals found here are manga
nese, barytes, zinc, lead and silver. A
shorHiae railroad connecting this region
with the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at OF
near Harpers Ferry would cause mining
to begin and develop the wealth now ly-
ing hidden in the hills and mountain.
Among these hills in the last few years
has been established one of the largest
fruit and tobacco farms in the Valley of
Virginia by Becker Bros, of Baltimore.
On this river are Shannondale Springs,
whose mineral waters, with magnesia and
sulphur as their chief ingredients, are
we'll known for their medicinal qualities.
Prior to the war this was celebrated
summer resort, where gathered many of
the leading families of Virginia. The
hotel was destroyed by fire and in recent
years another was built and the place has
been again opened as summer resort.
TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
The towns in the county are Charles
Town. Shepherdstown, Harpers Ferry
and Bolivar, while Bakerton, Engles Sta
ton, Molers, Uvilla, Duffelds. Shenan-
doah Junction, Kearneysville, Leetown,
Middleway. Summit Point, Aldridge,
Rippon, Kabletown, Myerstown, Dali
leys, Millville and Halltown are thriving
villages, each doing good share of busi-
ness and contributing to the revenues of
the county. AT Halltown are located the
large strawboard mills Of Eyster & Son,
employing about 100 men, and at Baker
ton and Kearneysville the Standard Lime
and Stone Company have large works,
quarryIng rock for ballast and burning
lime, giving employment to nearly 500
men. Shenandoah Junction is located at
the junction of the Norfolk and Western
and main line of the Baltimore and Ohio
railroads, and does considerable rail
road business, besides manufacturing and
commercial business Summit Point is
an important shipping place for grain
and cattle and is on the valley branch Of
the Baltimore and Ohio. The main line
of this road runs through the county from
east to west, while its branch runs from
east to south, and the Norfolk and West
ern from north to south. On these roads
are IA stations within hecounty. Will,
the chief industry in Jefferson is farming
yet large quantities of fruit mostly apple
and peaches, are raised and shipped tt
Northern and Eastern markets. The sol
is we'll adapted to the raising of small a
well as large fruits, and hisindustry lla
Ireceived considerable attention in recen
years, the result being that there are nov
a number of apple and peach orchard
which are bearing fine crops and bring
ing additional income to the farmers.
ATTRACTIONS FOR HoMEsEEKERs.
4 Persons seeking rural homes could d
no better than locate on some of thefarn
lands of Jefferson, whose soil is tertil,
climate congenial and healthfulness III
surpassed. The value of land is not hig
when compared with its productivenes
and is one of the safest Investments. b,
cause thereis no shrinkage in value. Fc
the last 10 years there has been a substa1
tial increase of from FIVE to ten dollai
per acre in land. and in many instanc,
even greater than this. Such thing
total failure of crops is unknown. an
it is rare that they fall below the averag
: Drouths are not frequent and as ru
when they occur notmore than one cere
: out of the whole crop is injured.
thrifty farmer with one-half of the vali
of a farm in cash can buy the same al
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