Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1904-06-10

TO THE FRONT.
Development of Large Lumber In
teresfs---vaIuabIe Finds in Coal
and Iron Incident and Comment.
Correspondence of the SPECTATOR

IcFtSiS---NdIudUIc iHuS III qua
II and Iron Incident and Comment
!. correspondence of the SPECTATOR
II From Messy Creek the train painted
its way up the long grade, by Mt. 80
II lon, Dorcas, and on till the conductor
3 annOunced-StO
We all knew of the place, in fact
!. many of us have friends or relatives
=. who have recently come to live there
and SO the name the conductor shout
\ ed fell familiarly- our ears. And sc
alighting on the platform / stood till
the train pulled out and disappeared
beyond the big steel bridge that spans
The swift current of North River. Then
l began to take my bearings, for it
was my first visit to this locality.
7 The settlement at Stokesville ana
North River Gap constitute but sin
gle community-hemmed in by lofty
mountains aud divided by the waters
of North River. The locality is pic
turesque and will in time possibly
mark the lay of a well established and
corporate town. At present it is new
and scarce emerged from the establish.
ed conditions of camp life. By this l
do not mean that there are not houses.
for there are, many of them, but in
their hasty construction, unfinished
crudities remain that time alone
must complete. In the busy rush pro-
gress has FASTENED, scores of men and
many families have come in and are
occupying houses faster than the car
| penters can finish them. 70 illustrate
| this-Our party of engineers, capital
lists, store clerks and drummers, ate
supper and breakfast in a part of the
boarding house next which force OF
carpenters the while were banging
away with hammer and saw. At the
noon hour that came day we were
moved over and dined in the new part |
of the building just quilted by the
force of workmen. But it is pleasant |
living there withal, for during the day |
every one is too busy to care and at
night there is a general gathering |
around the stores and other places of
social rendezvous, where story telling,
adventure, and good comradeshIp
make the evening hours pass pleasant
~. There is plenty of hard work but
with it goes good wages, the which
serves to attract and hold the best tai
ent and skill--the best laborer, the
best foreman, the best engineer, for
be it known that the largest money
both for professional skill and day
labor is earned by the men who follow
the course of rural industrial dsvelOpS
ment. The large plants, the impor-
tant surveys. the big logging camps,
that are remote from the centers of
population, offer good salaries which
attract the ambitious young man and
often his senior, the man of middle
life. l have sat at the rude pine board
table of a frontier camp, where every
man wore his corduroy suit, his rough
pants stuffed into muddy boots, or tied
above the ankles of his hobnailed
shoes, yet any one of the company was
drawing salary that would make the
average bank cashier env1ous, and all
of them were Intellectually capable of {,
grazing the best drawing room circle.
In this mountain settlement about
Stokesvile many of such conditions
are found, though the faithful women
have not abandoned the men to trough
life, many wife has come with her
husband and many sister or mother
with her son to build up the new town
and they are building it too. Though
the youngest of towns Stokesville is
doing business that astonishes all who
know of it's large proportions. Some
idea of this may be formed from the
figures given me by Depot Agent g. q.
Sellers. During the proceeding month
his books showed that $50 Car loads of
and bark had been shipped out,
the local incoming freight amounted
to over 200, 600 lbs. while the incoming
and outgoing passenger traffic footed
several hundred dollars.
One of the firms that contribute to
this large railroad business is the
Stokesville Stave and Heading Co.,
w. A. Bell manager, and w. II. Har-
man foreman. Both of these gentle
men are from Staunton. Mr.. Jas. A.
Bell of StauntOn, the veteran stave and
heading factory man, is also interested
in the compang. This industry began
work at Stokesville last August, 0pe.
rating barrel heading factory, but as
the business increased it was decided
to build in addition, stave mill,
locating it just across the river, This
is about completed and is engaged in
placing the machinery. including large
boilers and engine. The company have
extensive timber rights and will when
operating their lumber camps and fac
tory CINE employment to about so men.
Their product finds ready sale in
Pennsylvania and the Norfolk market.
Three stores carrying line of gen.
eral merchandise supply the commu-
nifty. The first of these, kept by A.
M. Horn-who is also postmater-is
located near the CIV. depot, and the
other two across the river, are kept by
G. G. Clinedinst and the J. g. Stiegel |
Lumber Company. The latter men.
toned besides their store operate large |
lumber camps and are running three
saw mills. MIR. J. q. Stiegel the NOV
ing spirit of this company. is also in
terested inthe HarrisOnburg Tannery,
for u, h ich he Is NOW enua0ad in nael. |