Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1902-10-24
A GREAT INDUSTRIAL
DEVELOPMENT

Commercial Invasion of the Green
ls hrier Valley and what RailWa,
Construction has done to Accom-
u pIish it--CapitaI Flowing into thi'
Field of Natural Wealth--Som'
of the New and Growing Towns
Personal Incident and Comment
(staff Correspondence of the spectator.)
l have but recently returned from q
trip through the richest lumber pro
0 ducing section of West Virginia, thai
lportioD of it lying along the valley OF
the Greenbrier river, and which is
!, being so rapidly developed by the
D lGreenbrier Railway, branch of the
lC. a. o. Within the year this railroad
has been completed to Durbin in Po'
D cahontas county, So miles north from
Ronceverte following the course OF
the river). and which is hemmed in by
lofty mountain ranges. save here and
, there where the narrow valley breaks
: away exposing to view stretches of
smooth and level farm lands. A "trip
over this route is therefore very pictur-
esque, with its palisades, its cliffs. its
lofty rock towers and it's sparkling
!, waters.
But it is from a business point OF
view that the average traveller, and
especially the capitalist, will most
enjoy the trip. This is to the CONNER
cial world new country, but just
lOpened and entering upon an era of
| n or
which may not yet be computed. So
vast is the supply of raw material and
SO easy is it of access, that development
has been rapid The stroke of the
woodman's axe is ever heard echoing
| through the boundless forests, and the
! buzz of busy saws are encountered at
almost every station along the route.
| From a point near Renicks to the
headwaters of the Greenbrier, 80 miles
distant, the mountain slopes and deep
| hOllOws running back to the open plat
teau country beyond, is clothed with
virgin forests of the finest timber. 1t
was principally to develop this great
source of wealth that the G. & o. PEG |
pie constructed their line. How well |
they are succeeding can only be realized |
by personal inspection of the indus
tries already in operation and in course
of erection along the line. From
the rear platform of the train, l noted
that nearly every station had its saw
mill near by, its stores and it's neat new
dwellings, while back in the hollOws
and at the foot OF the mountain slopes
were located other saw mills and log
ging camps.
THE COUNTY SEAT OF POCAHONTAS.
A two hours ride from. Ronceverte
lands the traveller at Marlinton, the
county seat of Pocahontas county, a
dignity it has enjoyed in recent years,
the former county seat having been
Huntersville where the original court ,
house was built in 1895. the same year ,
in which Thomas Jefferson founded .
and built the University of Virginia.
Marlinton is picturesquelY located, at :
the confiuenceof Greenbrier river and !
Knapp's creek, in mountain basin !.
surrounded by lofty peaks. 1t is an
old place, in fact the settlement at this {
point is perhaps the first ID the coun '
ty. Though an old town, Marlinton
has rejuvenated with the advent of the
railway and is today as wide awake a
town as is to be found in this section.
Besides securing it's share of the lum /
Der industry, the town rejoices in the t
recent requirement of large tannery c
plant, for the manufacture of heavy t
feathers. Besides this there are many i
new buildings both for business and c
residence purposes. e
There are also here two solid finan- 7
cial institutions, the Bank of Marlin t
ton and the Pocahontas Bank; the for '
mer being the pioneer bank. The Z
cashier of this institution is Mr.. Frank /
K. Hunter, formerly of Greenbrier I
county, and former graduate of the |
Dunsmore Business College, in Staun- i
ton. His house has lire of loans and t
discounts that run up to $50 900, and t
deposits in the sum of $l60,000. a
The new court house here cost $45 900 b
and Is credit to the county. It was /
built in 1894, is of brick, possessing Il
beauty, and Is complete a
and modern in its appointments. The d
circuit clerk, Mr.. J. HI. Patterson, has t
lis office in the building. Mr. Patter- L
son is well known to our readers, hav-
Dg lived in Staunton many years. He
IS son of the late Jas. F. Patterson,
former clerk of the Hustings of
stanton, The other men located
here from Staunton and Augusta coun l.
ty are s. B. Robertson, merchant, late t
Of Craigsville, Frank Diehl in the C
ewelry business. j. A. Hoover, cloth
ng and general merchandise, G. c.
Dunmore and E. b: Andrews, sales Il
men, formerly students at Dunsmore' I
Business College. v
E. M. Arbogast former sheriff of High
and AID We'll known ID Augusta, has :
also located here, built himself one of S
The incest homes in the place and is | G
among the solid men of PO- a
,ahontas. Mr.. Arbogast has been for
5unate both in his sales and holdings
Of timber lands. Marlinton is also a
credited with two newspapers, the c
and the Pocahontas Times, :
the latter edited by Mr.. Andrew .
Prices, being an especially well
equipped country office, operating
the presses by steam power and set C
ting the type by machinery. 6
THE LARGEST LUMBER INTERESTS.
From Marlinton north. my next
stop was at Cass. where is located the
largest lumber interests along the
Greenbrier. Here is an incorporated
town and the most extensive saw and
planning mill plant in this section. The
mills, the logging camps near by, the
net work of railway sho TT lines that ]
connect the camps, and even the town
itself, are all owned by single con-
cern, the West Virginia Spruce Lum- l
Der Co. By the courtesy of General '
Manager s. E. Slaymaker, l visited E
the company's logging camps on Cheat ,
mountain, the trip there being by
means of logging train over a seven {
mile switch back track and propelled
by what is known in the camps as a {
cog engine. The ascent was most ex-
hilarating as we climbed the higher
sleeps and the scenery from the more {
lofty of them was inspiring. At the
top, looking north, is the plateau val
ley of the Cheat-4, 900 feet above
sea level-and here the traveller
witnesses most remarkable phenom
ena, that of two rivers flowing paral-