The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-06-26
HATCHER /: In
SOUTHWEST
Discovers Fine Town III :
#s Valley Overlappei5 by
Mountains. e.3
LOCATED IN CoAL u
Norton a Young Giant, With the
re- Air5of Courageous Enterprise.
Fire Blessing in Disguise.

n Airsof Courageous Enterprise
Fire Blessing in Disguise.
Especial to Tho Tmes-Dlspa
NORTON VA, Juno 25.--Norton Is ono
of tour new mountain towns, and to the
traveller has quito a budget Of nttraction
1t ID strung along for q mile or two
in a marvellous fine valley In the south
Western portion Of Wise county. This
valley while walled in Of, every side by
overlapping mountains. Is broad, and, II,
addition to much comparatively level
ground, rises into gentle elevations, which
offer commanding sites for homes. 1t
claims population of three thousand,
and wears the air Of courageous cnter-
'ltprise. .3 III Ss.iss. Il; II " II
or course, the cast virgnian, who is
ubiquitous, Is here and shouting for tho
new town. but q flve-minutes talk Wit
/ him will reklndle his passion for the land
beyond tho mountains. Itlooks, however,
as II the Tenncsseeans were II dominant
There among tho makers Of the town, and
lit is due to them to say they have brought
| as a part Of their 3ba ggage q large cas-
ure of Tennessec'thrift. Nortonsi Is located
at the terminl of two ilroads--tfe Nor
folk and Western and the louisville and
Nashville-and is In asy connection with
nection with Bristol, 4nnd 1t is said that
other lines are already protected hat
will terminate hore. Fs3 5sss H n
NOBLE HILLS.
The surrounding mountains OF Norton
are simply mammoth. plies Of coal, and
to the north Of the town. for seven ty-five
miles. 1t is said to be an almost solid
bed Of coal. Within a radius Of ten,
miles Of the town there are eighteen coal
which arc the Norton Coal Company,
the Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Com
pany,F the Colonial Coal and Coke Com
pany and Sthe Stone Gap Collieryt Com
t1,nny. 1t would strain the credullty Of
the public II tho figures We're given as
to the number of operat ives employ Dyed In
these mines, who. with their families,
constitute an. altoge ether new ype OF
population. SItylse asinatter OF history that
until few years ago Wise county was
a pensloner upon the bounty of Virginia..
She did not pay sufficient taxes to de-
fray her running expenses. a single facr
will indicate the wondrous change which
has come. The assessed value ofEprop-
critics in this county now falls only
fraction short of 100000 and the popu-
lation has probably grown two hundred
L.
F- I4AWLESSNESS.
1t need not be said that with this be-
swildering influx OF population have come
many enterprsing and public spirited
peoplc. who greatly enrich the citizenship
OF tho county, but the bulk Of the new
element. except in the single point OF
labor, is not of the most congenial or de-
sirable sort. In the wake Of this mighty
invasion came the ndventurer and trick
ster, and for a time the lovers Of law
and order were dumb with dread. Disor-
ders abounded, the jail was thronged
and the officers Of the law had diff
cult and even dangerous task to suppress
disorder. and In not a few cases the gal
lows alone furnished relief In desperate
cases. Already the citizens gladly tes-
tify that sthe situation,sin this respect
shows marked Improvement Of crime.
The fearless maintenance of law and the
speedy punishment of crime have already
begun to bear the tpeaceable fruits OF civil
righteousness. 1t is q significant fact
that the county has absolutely shut out
the saloons, not SO much at the behest of
the temperance agltator as at the impe-
rlous demand of business and public In
telligence. We talk of the whirl and
storm of business in the crowded marts
OF trade. but in this section the whiz and
music of business can be heard on almost
every train, at every depot. and In every
village.
THE FIRE.
Nothing fattens on travel so rapidly
as a sensational rumor. Outsiders have
gotten an exaggerated view Of tho ftre
which occurred in Norton last week. 1t
was serious enough. indeed, but 1t was
not the far sweeping calamity which the
public was led at first to believe. The
fire was restricted to single square
did not consume all the buildings on that
square, and all the buildings burned
were of wood except two The square was
in reality the birthplace of the town, and
while many of the buildings we're highly
respectable, they were for the most part
inadequate and out Of keeping with the
later improvements of the town. Tho
burnt square has It's front. on the; main
street of the town, and before...the fire
occurred 1t had been determined that
no other frame buildings should be all
lowed on this street by last Saturday
night every motto of lament had ceased. |
and the chief thought OF the sufferers
seemed to be to secure architects and
make contracts for far more extensive
buildings than those which the flames
had eaten up. The spirit of enterprise
aroused by the fire is superb There Is
a wholesome enthusiasm abroad, anG In
a few months the last trace Of the fire
will be covered by handsome and more
stately structures than existed before
mo sufferers nave HHnueu IN ttueldlleu
statements of their losses, and the
amounts foot up $l04,ooo, much smaller
amount than that which was given out
at first. The amount OF insurance in-
yolved will be about $4,000.
BUSINESS ENTERPRISE.
Norton has five or six extensive whole
sale establishments, one of the most prom
inent of which Is the Norton Wholesale
Grocery, of which Mr. j. Frank Surface
is the very efficient and successful man
ager 1t Is said that the Wholesale trade
of the town Is quite active throughout
this portion of the State, and extends
largely into Kentucky and Tennessee.
The town also has two strong banks, the
Citizens Bank. Of which Mr. George Jen-
kns Is cashier, and the First National,
of which Mr., g. c. Hyatt Is cashier.
Without helng invidous. IT Is worth while
to say that town claiming among its
| citizens such public spirited~,and loyal
men as pr NJ u, Stalard, a. NJ. Kilgore,
j. L., Lyon, former Mayor u, IL, Ould,
w. N. Surface and H., II. Caspar with