The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-04-21
DEEP RIVER HAS A WEALTH OF
ENERGY AWAITING CALL OF MAN
Power, Power, Power Ever ywhere-It is a Crime or Is
1t Pathetic That 1t Is Going to Waste?-Blon

Stool Comuanv spent considerable
money in trying to work the BUCK
horn ore. but iron could not be made
here in competition with the cheap
ores Of Minnesota and disaster came.
1t was merely the accident that IN
he North the ores We're more easily
available. Iron is not the only thlng.
The water power all alone the peep
River is not affected by the cheap
ores of the Minnesota and II
North Carolina can no manufacture
| iron products, here at least are other
| things. No INT can manufacture
cotton products to better advantage
| than this State where the raw material
is lust as available as iron ore is on
Lake Superior.
Water Power Opportunities.
From the mouth of the Deep River
up the stream to Guilford county,
crowding one another like potatoes
in a hill. are water power Opportunl-
ties. and only here n there are the
opportunities utilized. AT Lockville is
a chance for a thousand horse power
or more. Not far above is another
power not much less effective. AT
Gorgas dam is another that is good
for hundreds Of horse power.
At Gulf, at Carbonton, at Glendon,
at Prosperity, are chance to develop
| water powers that will operate big in
! QuSIIloS. Al Dig HdIlS, III we
reached presently on the drive up the
river, we found one Of the most in
teresting sights imaginable. This Is
the plant Of the Big Falls company.
including saw mill. grist mill, cotton
mill and a quaint little settlement that
is worth a voyage out here to see.
Creator. Operator. Protector.
To the people around here the place
is known as Woody's mill, and it does
not take a very long stay to know
that it is wOody's mill. Mr.. Woody
is a genial chap. full Of business, a
creator, operator and protector, and
it is an agreeable diversion to fall in
with a man of his stamp INT to prowl
around a place like Woody's mill.
Woody's mill comes because here is
water power. N. d. Woody and sons
years ago owned this chance IN Deep
River. They lived up in Guilford,
but they concluded to come down here
and build a mill. That was the com
mencement of a lot more building.
Across the stream a quarter Of a
mile above the mills is a dam that
tells what Deep River power signifies
, The structure is built Of massive rock,
t Quarried right out Of the river, set a
few feet from their original place III
a powerful stone wall, and fastened
: there with cement. Where the dam
is built the rocks are up on end in
2 the stream, staggering across and al
up and down the channel like teetf
l in a huge comb. To build a dam it i!
necessary to take some of the rock:
from below the dam. drop them il
= among those that stood where the dan
was to be, and cement the removed
rocks in place. Ii anything can dis
turb that dam its name must be earth
quake.
The Big Falls dan is about ten o
n twelve feet high. 1t has a broad fla
e surface nearly all the way across tn
e stream and a more fascinating plac
e can hardly be imagined. ne pictur'
made by the water falling over tn
y dam, and churning away amid tn
rocks below never tires.
From the dam a canal leads dow
) along the river side to a saw mil
There Il wheel affords power for tn
saw. A little farther down a moder.
roller gradual reduction grist mi
makes a first quality of -four. Tn
y -four mill is one of the older institu
tons. 1t is a rather model plant. an,
=, runs right steady. there by the clat
X terins wheel, under the shadow O
II the forest trees, it is as romantic a
- any body could desire.
10 The Star Performer.
le Below the mill is the cotton mil
Of The cotton mill is the star performe
,r of the play. The dam is a substantia
work that conpels admiration. TIL
st saw mill Il not much out Of the ord
ct nary. The grist mill gets you inter
n ested. But when You come to tn
p cotton mill you find that Woody
m n1ore than an ordinary sort of a ma
l. Bear in mind that when these in
ne proEementS were commenced no raj
il road came within miles Of the pIac
n Even now the Randolph and Gun
berland is still a couple Of miles ava
a n the other side Of the river. ar
t. every bit OF freight has TO be wagone
Y. in or OUT.
OF \ wagon train hauling in bales
IS cotton or hauling out cotton produc
OF Is q daily sight on the hills up fro
or the Prosperity bridge or up the vale
to the mill.
When Mr.. Woody built his mill /
t started on a moderate scale. 1t was
10 smaller affair than he has now. b
sh il was substantial. On the hill sid