The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-08-27

---------0~@
General Reynolds. Among the Con-
federates who were killed during this
campaign was Colonel John Angus
tine Washington, personal friend of
Lee and the last private owner of
Mount Vernon.
To the south of the country through
which you pass after cutting across
the tip of Maryland is the Mononga-
hela National Forest, which lies in
Pocahontas, Pendleton, Randolph,
Tucker and Grant counties in West
Virginia, and Highland county in Vir-
ginia, and which includes something
like $4,000 acres.
About 10 years ago a movement
was launched to have the Federal
Government acquire forest land in the
Alleghenies in order to conserve for
est products, insure a supply of wa
ter and to protect cities and towns
against floods. The national forests
also aid tremendously in the protec-
ton and propagation of fish and game
and furnish the people in the cities a
place of recreation.
The ultimate area to be acquired for
the Monongahela tract is 100000
acres.
Nearly $4,000 acres of the Shenan-
doah National Forest are in West
Virginia-in Hampshire, Hardy and
Pendleton counties.
Somewhere between the Cheat
River and Grafton you pass out of
Preston county and into Taylor.
Taylor county was organized in
1874 and was taken out of Harrison,
Barbour and Marion. It has an area
of lit square miles and population
of 10000. While there is some doubt
as to which Mr.. Taylor was honored
in the naming of the county, the gen.
tleman is thought to be John Taylor,
a prominent man of Virginia during
the so years which followed the Rev.
olution.
Grafton came into being as a rail-
road town and was named for one of
the engineers in charge of the con-
struction of the B. & o.
The part of the town which you
first come to on the highway is called
Blueville, and is perched on the cliff
between the highway and the river.
Grafton is on the non-navigable Ty-
CARTS Valley River, named for pio-
neer who ventured in 1853 into the
valley which bears his name.
The town has population of about
10000 and has several manufacturing
plants in addition to extensive rail-
road shops.
You pass the railroad station
which is the turning around place for
shoppers coming in the opposite d.
rection-and enter the business Sec
ton.
The reason for turning around at
the station is that there is plaza,
and that is about the only place on
the principal street where you can
turn. With automobiles parked along
one curb, and street car coming
along in the middle of the narrow
street, there is so little room that
one line of traffic must follow the
street car, while the other line of traf-
fic proceeds along on the wrong side
of the street. A bit complicated for
strangers, tits true, but the motor
man usually signals to the distressed
out-of-town motorist the proper
course of action. l understand that
the highway through the town is to
be re-routed so as to avoid this con-
fusion.
Grafton is spread out on both sides
of the river, with several bridges con-
Meeting the two sections. On one OF
these I noticed a novel arrangement
to keep automobile drivers on the
proper side. Heavy pieces of wood,
a little less than the width of car,
are nailed to the bridge floor. If a
driver stays where he belongs his
wheels straddle these pieces and all
goes smoothly. If he attempts to
get out of line his wheels bump over
them and the result is not joyful
one for him.
The western end of the town, for
merly a separate village older than
Grafton, is called Fetterman. Here
you can see coal mine by the side of
the road. Near it is a monument pro-
claiming that here was killed the first
Union soldier during the War between
the States. The Union army main