Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1901-12-06
FIVE Big INDUSTRIES

This the Excellent Showing Buena
Vista now Makes--Employmen1
Given to Hundreds of W0rkmen
New and Valuable Educational
Institution Established - HOte
: Accommodations - Notes ant
NComments.
| (Staff Correspondence of the Spectator)
Buena Vista, Dec 2-From the bal
cony of the Southern Seminary, on an
eminence. have just looked out upon
one of the prettiest located towns it
has been my good fortune to visit. A
town that teens with the animation OF
its big Industries, whose high smoke
stacks line the banks of North River
for more than mile, with the busy
hum of machinery, the steam escape
from a dozen exhausts, the smoke from
ever shifting locomotives. and the
glare from the big furnace, make an
industrial scene we'll calculated to i'm
press the stranger. When I was here
a year ago the scene was the same only
now there is more of it !; perceptable
increase. During that year BuenaVista.
has progressed steadily. She has put
her Idle wOolen mills to work. She
has built large extract works. She has
established the Southern Seminry-
all this in addition to keeping her 9th
er enterprises under full headway.
THE SOUTHERN SEMINARY.
This institution for the higher edu-
cation of young ladies came here from
Bowling Green this Fall and is COM
fortably established in the elegant hot
ell building erected here during the
boom days at great expense and is ad
mirably suited for its present uses.
When l called, Rev. E. II. Rowe the
President, was absent but in his stead
Prof. w. Il. Sanborn gave me quite
an interesting account of the Semin-
ary's work since it's establishment in
1867 From him 1 learn that the
present session is the most promising
the school has ever yet enjoyed. The
members of the faculty are we'll chosen,
some of them having studied in Eu-
rope as well as in this county. Its
home life and the thoroughness of the
work done are characteristic features
of the school.
SOME BIG INDUSTRIES.
Along the river front are fire big in
dustries, giving employment to hun
dreds of operatives, and all running
ahead on orders. The first of these
that attracted my attention was the
Columbian Paper Co., Thos. Bohan-
non, of Philadelphia, President, an ex-
Federal soldier, who campaigned
through the Valley in the sixties, and
a most genial companion. His mills
give employment to more than 100 per-
sons and are engaged in the manufac-
ture of card and fine writing papers,
the product being sold in the Western
and Northern markets.
A bit further down river is the Blue
Ridge Tanning Cos aggregation of
large buildings. Here 1 find as mana
ger in charge MI. J. E. Dawson, a man
Of valuable practical experience. Un-
der him are IS men which he keeps
ousy getting out the 1000 hides per
week. This Is heavy material and is
for sole leather and bslting purposes.
There are other tanneries at Salem and
Bluff City all operated by the same
owners Messrs Leas and McVitty, of
Philadelphia.
The Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke
co. is also doing a fine business here,
and their furnace under the manage
ment of P. johnson Superintendent is
turning out 120 tons basic iron per day
for steel purposes, almost all of which
is sold to the Carnegie Works. This
company burn their own coke and dig
their own coal from mines at Tom s
Creek, Va, the stone is had from In
dian Rock and Buchanan and the iron
ore from Rich Patch mines. One hun
dred men are given employment at the
furnace here.
Following the line of Industries
down stream next visited the WOOlen
Mills or more properly speaking the
Buena Vista Mills. These are owned
by G. N. McLein and John E. McMur-
try, of New York, who recently bought
the property. At the time of its pur.
chase, this valuable plant, with its
thousands of dollars worthy of fine
machinery was lying idle and had beer
for some time, but with new owner
ships, the wheels of industry soon be
gan to turn. In September the plan
was put into operation under the &C
tive management of Superintendent
John w. Wright, of Massa ch usetts
Since that date the mills have been
running on full time employing abou
60 operatives and turning out 100
yards cloth per day. The manufac
tured article is known as carriage o
cushion cloth and is used for the GOV
fering Of carriage and buggy cushions