The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-07-12
The Cherokee Tanning Ex-
tract Company.
COVERS BIG 1ANNERy
The IunaIuska Iron Mines---Hotels, Churches
Schools and Business Houses Of Andrews
80 Fine Place 10 Invest in In
dmsirial Enfernrisfs.
duslriaI Enterprise S.
(Staff Correspondence.)


an excursion to Murphy to attend the
railroad celebration. 1t was very soon af-
ter this Murphy branch was completed
to Murphy, and though had been on high
peaks, and did not think it possible to
see any higher than l had seen, yet all
who have viewed them will bear me out III
the assertion that after the train leaves
Bushnell down to Andrews on the left
of the train coming west these mountain
peaks go SO high that they seem to pierce
the skies.
The corner stone for Cherokee's new
marble court house was laid the same day
the railroad celebration was held. We
left Murphy next morning early and
stopped at Andrews for breakfast. This
is my first stop off here since that time.
had heard that Andrews was somewhat
on a boom Well, in the true sense I
don't find it so, but do see that men of
capital are investing their money here in
plants that are and will be fixtures to
push Andrews on to solid growth and i'm
provement. Monied men who meant bust
ness first made thorough investigation to
see what this place and its surroundings
had to offer as an inducement for them to
invest in. They found just what they
wanted and without delay proceeded to
get down to business.
One of the largest industries here at
this time is the big business of F. p.
Cover and Son, large, thoroughly
equipped plant with capacity OF shipping
1000 well tanned. heavy Texas white-oak
sides of sole leather per week. They
work from As to 80 hands. They get their
hides mostly from the West. 1t takes
from to months thoroughly to tan
them. Their principal shipping points are
Philadelphia and Boston. / should say
that this business represents an outlay of
over $4,000.
The largest industry here now nearly
ready to begin operations is the Chero-
kee Tanning Extract Company. I am re-
lably informed tina. over $125,000 will be
invested in this plant. The business of
this company is to extract from the chest
nut bark and the wood the tanic acid for
tanning purposes. This does away with
the old process of using the ground up
bark alone for tanning. but they use
also the chestnut timber, which contains
large per cent of tanic acid. The bark
brings $500 per ton. The wood is bought
for from 50 to So per cord. Machines
grind up the bark and chip up the wood
into a fiber. 1t is then mixed and con-
veyed to large wooden tanks or vats. In
this plant are "a of these watts Is feet deep
and about IL feet in diameter They have
steam pipes running through them.
Warm water is turned in on the fiber and
after steaming for a sufficient length OF
time all the acid being extracted. runs
through wooden pipes to the refining room
where. after further treatment, it IS
barrelled ready for shipment. There are
from As to so gallons to the barrel of
five hundred pounds. The full capacity
of this plant will be 80 barrels per day.
The officers of this company are:
President, j. j. Dickinson, from Charles
town West Va; w. H. Woodbury., vice
president; j. A. Barker, book-keeper; K.
G. Hernnerman, secretary; H. s. Stout,
superintendent, and Arthur Moulton, as
sistant superintendent.
Among the merchants here are w. P.
Walker, D. s. Russell, w. B. Fisher, Bris-
toll Brothers, W. B. Fisher, D. w. Whisen-
hunt. Elliott Brothers.
There are two hotels, the Elliott House,
Fl. B. Elliott, proprietor, and which has
heretofore been known as the Porter
House. Messrs. Elliott Brothers have re-
Gently moved to Andrews from Murphy.
They have recently built new store, and
besides the rooms In the hotel proper,
they have or 10 rooms for guests over
their store.
The Intemont Hotel, of which s. f.
Bryson is the proprietor, caters mostly, l
am told, to summer boarders, but guess
will also take transients. The physicians
OF the place are Drs. Wilson Webb and
Waldraup.
They have the free school system here,
but subscription fund keeps the school
going for seven months during the year.
There Is a barber shop, livery stable.
and other smaller businesses in the place.
Andrews is not an incorporated town,
but it should be, and will after the
next General Assembly, to make a town
of one mile square This would give it
a population of about 500 to 500.
There are within from to 10 minutes
walk from the Elliott Hotel five bold
springs of pure clear cold water, either
one of which / am told by the laying of
pipes would be sufficient to supply the
town On the north side of Andrews u
distance OF about 10 to 10 miles lie heavy
bodies of virgin timber lands, all kinds of
hard woods, poplar, ash and white pine.
The Santella Timber Company, composed
of capitalists from Cleveland, Ohio, OF
which NJ. E. Cozad, who resides here, Is
manager, owns large areas of this land.
There are three churches here, Metho-
dist, Baptist and Presbyterian.
Half a mile from Andrews are the
Junaluska Iron Mines. This ore will mine
81 per cent. The present capacity Is a
car load per day. This will be largely in
creased as soon as a track can be laid.
which l am told will be soon.
The country around Andrews is under
laid for miles with a very fine grade Of
marble citizen told me that a mile
snd quarter from the town, boring
machine went SS feet through solid marble
and did not reach the bottom. Four miles
below Andrews toward Murphy is a
marble quarry getting out and shipping
by the car load marble that will COM
pare with the Italian marble.
Improved farm lands around Andrews
sell for from $40 to $50 per acre; timber
lands from 81 to $1,000. This is also q