The Republican., 1925-11-19


Bark (carloads) ..... 2,91S
Pulp wood (carloads). 283
There have been employed by the
lumber industry of Crellin, on the
mill, railroad and woods for the past
thirty -four years from 275 to $50
men regularly. The pay rolls have
varied from S25,000 to S75 900 per
month during all these years. The
timber has been removed from thous-
ands of acres of virgin forests in Gar
rett county, Nd, and Preston and
Tucker counties, West Virginia. There
has been constructed over one hun
dred miles of standard railroad track
to remove these immense bodies of
timber to the mill.
The first railroad was built up
Snowy Greek ami Laurel Run across
the mountain to Aurora and millions
of feet of timber were removed from
those sections Of the country.
After the timber in the Aurora
country had become exhausted this
railroad was torn up and the COM
pany in 1904 started to build a rail
road up the beautiful valley of the
Goughiogheny River. This road fol-
lowed the river twelve miles to its
headWaters at Breedlove, West Va.
From BreedlOve there were several
branches of the railroad constructed
for removing the timber from the
west side of many miles of the Great
Backbone Mountain; thence down the
stream known as Wolf Run for a dsi-
tance Of seven miles to Horse Shoe
Run, West Va. Here the lumber
company built sixteen dwellings and
large store, had a postoffice estab-
lished and named the village Shaffer,
in honor of William Shaffer, from
whom the site was purchased. This
town was used for headquarters for
the woodmen and the woods super
intendent. Mr.. George A. Porter,
who has filled responsible positions
with the Kendall Company since its
organization, has his headquarters at
Shatfer and is woods superintendent.
From Shaffer the main line of the rail-
road was built down Horse Shoe Run
to Cheat River. One branch, only a
few miles from the town of st.
George, West Va, and another branch
less than six miles from Parsons, w.
Na,,was used for the purpose of trans
porting the logs from the cuttings.
From this main line of the railroad
there were numerous branches, from
two to twelve miles long, built up
different water courses and creeks
where the timber was removed and
then the tracks were torn up.
The last log was sawed on the mill
Friday, November 18th. The saw
yer operating was Milton Bittinger
and the last slab was turned down
by the famous old-young man Jesse
Loraw, who is the son Of the late W.
A. Loraw original owner and opera
tor of the first portable saw mill
that stood in Crellin more than thlr-
ty-five years ago. Mr.. Loraw turned
down the first and last slab on the
old mill as we'll as the first and last
slab on the present mill. When he
handled the first slab he was young
and his head was covered with a
fine growth of hair, but since that
time great changes have taken place
in Crellin and with Jesse. He is not
now bothered with combing his locks,
for when he removes his hat there
remains nothing between he and
heaven but thin air.
The town of Crelin in the future
will not be saw mill town, but will
be a mining town of considerable
proportions.
The town was purchased short
time ago by the Stanley Coal Com
/ pany and this company expects to
keep all the dwellings filled and ev-
erybody residing, there occupied in
the mining industry. Crellin now
has seventy-fve families residing in
the houses owned by the coal COM
pany; twenty-eight families residing
in their own homes, while twenty-six
families live in company houses at
the mines, besides number Of pros
porous farmers on farms of their own
close by the town. Crellin boasts of
a fine church, a four-room school
building with four able teachers in
charge Of t56 pupils and & fine new
school building at the mines just oven
the State line in West Virginia in
charge of an able teacher with 45
pupils On the roll IL addition to all
this the town has a wonderful or
gariaatton known as the Boys Bard
composed If twenty-five youths, z
nunber cf whom have shown great
aptitude along musical lines. Ther
twanty-three students i'll the Oak
land high school are transported by