The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-08-01
A TRIP TO WHITNEY
A Cabarrus Man Writes interestingly
of the Greet Work Being Done
There


Editor Times: A drive through the
county of six miles from Albemarle
will take you to Palmersyille, a point
near the lower end of the canal and
rear the point where the power house
will be located, which is just above
the falls. A drive to the top of Palmer
Mountain gives you a fine view of the
river, the Narrows and surrounding
country, and will well be worth your
time. There is a good road to the top.
The canal will be 4 1-3 miles long, 30
feet wide at bottom, &C feet wide ct the
top. to carry a minimum of IA feet Of
water. Width Of canal at Il foot water
To be 60 feet. The dam is located at
the head of the canal, 4 La miles from
the Narrows, in a straight line and
about I miles if you follow the mean
behring's Of the river. The canal at Some
places is from one-half to one mile
from the river bed. Three steam
SliOVelS are now at work on the canal
with Dinkey engines for hauling dirt
and necessary hands for operating
same. The canal will have just enough
fall to carry the water and at the end
will be 1870 feet above the river, so
when the water leaves the canal
through the fumes that lead TO the
turbine wheels it will have a head OF
80 feet. with d minimum power to be
developed of $4,000 horse power, pos
sibly to average say $4,000 horse pow
CT. The dam is 10 be So feet high
above the bed of the river, with 10 feet
foundation TO be blasted out below the
bed of the river. s feet wide at the top
to 30 feet wide at the bed of the river.
The river is $50 yards wide where the
Gam is located. The dan will run out
in the hills on either side making total
length about 900 yards. The contract
fer erecting dam and eXcayatinS canal
amounts to 100000 to be completed
by January !. 1907. 1t looks now as
ii it may be done by that time, judS-
ing from the progress already made.
January 1, 1905, the present cOntrac-
tors arrived on the grounds, but not
much was done for 30 days as all the
preiiminaries had to be arranged. They
have now about 700 hands employed
n are pushing the work night and
day. They have the entire canal equip
ped with electric lights, using them for
night work. An elegant club house to
cost $4,000 is being erected on a
mountain overlooking the dam. On
the water will be Il yacht and electric
launches for use of the company II
guests. \ number of good houses have
already been erected at Whitney to ac-
commOdate their engineers II survey
Crs. They have also shacks, tents and
small houses for common labOrers. BY
eIything is under perfect system. Gil
Iespie * Co. of New York, and Pitts
burg, are the contractors for the dam
and canal. They operate their W
supply store and mess halls, n every
thing moves on like clock work. Sew
ePal piles of quarried granite have al
ready been brought and placed near
the dam. The piles look immense, be-
ing larger than the court house at JON
cord. Golfer dams have been built,
they have One-half of the river bed
now dry and are working four steam
drills in the bed of the river, blasting
out the foundation for the dam. They
will build half way across the liver
then by Golfer dams run the the water
so as to drain the other half of the
river channel. By that time the ana
will be completed so as to turn water
into the canal and close up the work
in the middle of the dam. Along the
canal where the ~eXcavating is now go
ing on one could easily imagine he was
at Panama.
Seems as if Stanly county was stead
lily and constantly drawing from Ca
barTus her good men and citizens.
Their two huge cotton mills have a
Cabarrus man for president and one
of the mills has a Cabarrus man for
treasurer. One of their banks has a
Cabarrus man for cashier and a Cabar-
rus man is now mayor of the town or
city as it almost is, having grown from
800 Inhabitants ten years ago TO a town
of 5000 souls including the suburbs
and mill settlements.-JOhn A. Barn.
hardt. in Concord Times.