The Washington herald., 1911-08-12
MORRILL, TO BUILD
TOWN FOR MINERS
"POu red House" Inventor Is
Awarded Big Contract.
CITY OF MODEL HOMES
ID. l.. & w. r.. r.. Co. Decides to
Use Poured Cement Houses for
cite Properties Near Scranton,
Pa.-Method Has Proven Success.

The poured concrete house. which has
been popularized at Virginia Highlands,
near this city, has been adopted by the
Delaware, LaSAswanna and Western
Railroad Company as the best means
of housing mine workers of properties
controlled by that corporation. The rail-
road company recently placed an order
for forty such houses, to be erected near
Scranton. Pa. with the Morrill, Molds
Corporation of this city. The Morrill,
company has been erecting the poured
houses at Virginia Highlands and has
met with marked success.
Construction has already begun on the
Scranton work. A whole village of this
atives of the great anthracite mines
of that region. The village will be laid
out with an eye to the greatest possible
comfort for the workers and general
beauty of landscape. Before adopting
the poured house. the railroad company
made a thorough investigation of all
model systems of home building and
the awarding of the contract to the local
firm is taken as a signal victory for
the poured type of concrete house con-
struction.
For Moderate Income.
The public has watched this develop
ment with great interest, as 1t affords
an opportunity to the man of moderate
salary to own an attractive and per-
manent home.
The new cement town near Scranton
will be constructed by a novel system.
A railroad track will be laid around the
whole group of building sites. a mixing
plant will be mounted upon a fiat car
and an elevator for hosting concrete
will be attached. From the top Of this
elevator spOuts will conduct the concrete
into the steel forms, which are placed
around the walls and partitions, and the
whole is SpOuted poured into place.
A carload of cement, sand and Cinders
being attached to the mixing train, the
train moves along from house to house
as pouring is completed. The mixture
will be made up of cinders, sand, and
cement thus employing the waste pro-
duct from the burned culm piles which
adjoin the mines
Lawn in Center.
In the center of the group of buildings
will be a lawn or garden, some 800 70
800 feet in length. These attractive
white houses with their flower gardens
and flower boxes will surround this park.
The striking contrast between this
group of model homes and the dinEy and
insanitary miners houses should illus
trate the great possibilities which cement
offers in solving the problem of mex
pensve home construction.
Plans for this entire group of buildings
have been prepared by Milton Dana
Morrill,, architect, of this city, who in
vented this new system of mOlds, which
make the poured house possible.
Adjoining this group Of dwellings and
on high plateau will he located an at
tractive group of bungalows for the
superintendent and foremen of the mines.
The poured house lends itself especially
we'll to the construction of bungalows,
and the attractive houses of this char
acter at Virginia Highlands have DEM
onstrated the superiority of cement
houses. which are coldproof damp
proof, and fireproof