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THE _CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAIILROAD/

/I/

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad connects the navigable
waters of the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River at Hunting-
ton— distant 423 miles from the James River wharves at Rich-
mond, Virginia.

The harbor facilities of the Company are good, and vessels load
readily for foreign ports. The present available depth of water
up to the Chesapeake and Ohio wharves is 15 feet, and is in pro-
cess of improvement to 16 feet under supervision of the United
States Engineers.

Regular lines of steamers ply between these wharves and the
cities of Norfolk, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston,
and fleets of sailing vessels bear an increasing trade to home and
foreign ports,

Connections are had at Richmond with the Southern Railway
system, and at Staunton and Gordonsville with the Northern lines.
At Huntington the excellent steamers of the Cincinnati, Big
Sandy and Pomeroy Packet Company afford admirable freighting
and passenger communications with the West.

Efforts are on foot, with a fair prospect of succcess, for the
early completion of all-rail commmunication with the Western
Cities and railroad system which, when consummated, will make
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad one of the most important
trunk lines in the country.

Character of the Work.

The road is of the standard gauge, 56J inches, common to the
greater part of the American railroad system. In its construction
the most modern and approved plans and materials have been
adopted. Iron bridges have been erected in the portion more re-
cently built, with solid masonry abutments and piers for double
track in important cases. Steel rails were laid on a large part of

the Western Division, over which a heavy mineral traffic passes,
and other portions of the road are being relaid with steel ; culverts
and water-ways have been made of more than ordinary massive-
ness and durability ; and solid embankments have been built in
most cases in place of trestle-work.

Originally designed and laid Out on a thorough and comprehen-
sive plan as a great central highway between the extensive system
of internal navigation on the Western Rivers, and the most cen-
tral and commodious harbor on the Atlantic coast line of the
United States, it is a splendid achievement of modern engineering
skill, and in addition to its advantages in occupying the best natu-
ral pass over the Alleghanies, which was designated at a very early
day as the most desirable central route between the East and West,
it stood, at the date of its completion, in a much more perfect con-
dition, in its alignments, grades, construction, equipment, resources
and connections, than any of the other great Trunk Lines at the
same period of their history.

In the passage from the sea-shore to the navigable waters of the
West, the road crosses the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies by very
easy grades, the highest elevation attained being about 2,070 feet,
and the descent on the Western slope is made with remarkably
light and uniform grades, and without noticeable undulations.

The several ridges are cut through by natural water-gaps, or de-
pressions which have in places also been tunnelled far below the
general level of the range.

No care or expense has been spared in its construction, which
was necessary to render it a thoroughly first-class and substantial
railroad, and the liberal outlay for first construction in securing a
solid and enduring road-bed, masonry, bridges and superstructure,
which neither the lapse of time nor the action of the elements can
seriously impair, will result in great saving in its maintenance and
repair, and in the expense and regularity of its operation. The
current expenses for renewals and repairs, both of the track and
rolling-stock, will be much less than on more hastily and cheaply
constructed roads.

Among the special advantages of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad route for the transportation of the surplus productions of

the West, and a corresponding movement of merchandise in the
other direction which are attracting the attention of producers and
shippers, are the following :

I. Short Portage between the Ocean and Ohio and Mississippi
Hirer Navigation.

II. Direct Railroad Connections, in progress and projected, to the
chief Cities of the West.

III. Light C-rades and Carves.

IV. Cheap Fuel.
V. Genial Climate.

I. Short Portage connecting important Water Lines. By a
glance at the map it will be seen that the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad has an Eastern terminus at the most westerly tide-water
port of the North Atlantic Coast (Richmond), or, in other words,
the port of shipment which is geographically nearest the centres of
the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, while at the same time it is
nearer the open sea than Baltimore.

The deep water or extreme eastern terminus of the Road will
open directly upon the Chesapeake Bay ; by far the most accessible,
convenient and secure harbor of the entire Eastern coast, the value
of which as a sheltering roadstead and as a commercial rendezvous,
is well established. It is always free from ice, and vessels can
enter and leave it at all seasons of the year without obstruction.
The sailing time between Hampton Roads anddEuropean ports is
no greater than between New York and the same ports, while it is
nearer the open sea than either Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
or Baltimore.*

* Commodore Maury, of Virginia, better known to science as Lieut. Maury,
from his researches on the laws of currents and deep sea lore, speaking of
the relative merits of Norfolk and New York as commercial harbors, says
of the roadstead in the vicinity of which the deep water terminus of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad will be located, and which is common to
vessels seeking the wharves at Norfolk, Yorktown, or New Port News, thus
describes it : u Geographically considered, the harbors of Norfolk or Hamp-
ton Roads and New York occupy the most important and commanding* po-
sitions on the Atlantic coast of the United States. They are more convenient

The western terminus of the Road is situated upon the Ohio
River at the point where that stream begins its general westerly
course ; or in other words the most easterly point of its navigation
in proportion to the total distance traversed; below the principal
obstructions to navigation, and at the head of that part of the
river which is swollen by large Southern affluents, and where
longer seasons of navigation and better stages of water are com-
bined than at any point higher up.

Connecting an inland river system of from 12,000 to 20,000
miles of navigable streams with the ocean commerce of the world
by a low-grade route, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad possesses
a very marked advantage for the transportation of freights between
the East and West. Insufficient depth of water, shortness of navi-
gable seasons, sand-bars, and other obstructions have rendered the
cheaper transportation of the Western waters almost unavailable
in connection with the other great East and West lines of Railway,
and have driven them, each in turn, to rely upon all-rail lines
almost exclusively.*

to the ocean than Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston, because they are not
so far from the sea.

"Depth of water that can be carried out, and distance of the sea from
Hampton Eoads, distant 15 miles — depth 28 feet

ISTewYork, " 30 " 3| fathoms, 23 "

Boston, " 100 " 3J '• 21 "

Philadelphia, " 100 " 3| " 23 "

Baltimore, " 160 " 2| " 16 "

" Between the three last and the sea there is a tedious bay navigation, but
each of the first two is situated upon a well sheltered harbor, that opens right
out upon the sea with beautiful offings, those of Hampton Eoads surpassing
the others in all the requirements of navigation, both as to facility of ingress
and egress, certainty of land fall, depth of water, and holding ground."

He also shows, that to reach the Chesapeake, vessels cross the Gulf Stream
at its narrower part, and take advantage of the eddies on its south-eastern
edge ; going in the opposite direction to Europe by following the Gulf
Stream for a longer distance, will be helped along their course 50 to 100
miles per day.

* Should it be found desirable, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad can take
the traffic from river barges and boats at the head of navigation on the Ka-
iiawha, at a point 87 miles east of Huntington. This would lengthen some-
what the proportion of the cheaper water transport and would reduce the
land carriage to Richmond to 336 miles.

5

The tonnage of steamers and barges plying on those streams and
other tributaries was, in 1872, 448,000 tons, of which 287,360 tons
was propelled by steam.

For a good portion of the year, Steamers and barges can leave
Huntington and proceed continuously to New Orleans and Shre-
veport in Louisiana, Natchez, Yicksburg and Yazoo, in Mississippi ;
Little Rock and Jacksonport, in Arkansas; Memphis, Nashville
and Johnsville, in Tennessee; Cairo, Peoria, Alton and Quincy,
in Illinois'; Saint Louis, and Saint Joseph, in Missouri ; Leaven-
worth, in Kansas; Omaha and Sioux City, in Nebraska; Saint
Paul and Lacrosse, in Minnesota; Davenport, Dubuque and Bur-
lington, in Iowa; Evansville and New Albany, in Indiana;
Paducah, Louisville and Covington, in Kentucky; Cincinnati,
Portsmouth and Ironton, in Ohio.

Among the leading products of the Western States which can
be cheaply brought to the seaboard by the water lines to Hunting-
ton, and thence by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad to the coast-
ing or foreign vessels, to great advantage, are wheat, indian corn,
flour, pork, live stock, tobacco and cotton. The available surplus
of grain from the territory naturally tributary to the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi Rivers, amounts to millions of tons. The figures showing
receipts of flour, wheat and corn, at lake ports, and at the river
cities, give some idea of the actual movement of breadstuffs.
But these fall far short of the capacity of the same region
to furnish breadstuffs when the cost of transportation will justify
their production and shipment. The number of cattle, sheep and
hogs which find their way to the Eastern cities is not readily ob-
tainable, but the receipts and shipments of cut-meats and salted
provisions, and the number of hogs slaughtered at the principal
packing-centres will give an idea of the immense tonnage from
provisions alone.

The total shipment of Western tobacco received on the Atlantic
seaboard in the year 1875, is stated at 225 millions of pouuds, the
greater part of which finds market and manufacture at the Eastern
cities, and in Europe. The bulk of this tobacco comes through
St. Louis, Evansville, Louisville and Cincinnati.

In 1870, it was ascertained that no less than 350,000 bales of
cotton were sent overland by rail from the river cities to the sea-
ports of the North.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, with its connecting water
lines, at either terminus, offers special inducements to shippers of
all the above products destined to either home or foreign markets.

For the transportation of corn, bacon, bulk meat, &c, from Cin-
cinnati and other Western markets to the South Atlantic States,
where very large quantities of these products are consumed, it
affords a far quicker and more economical route than has hereto-
fore been open to that trade.

(2.) Short All-Bail routes to the Western Cities. The advantages
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad for through business are not
confined to its favorable connection with water lines merely, nor
to the carriage of freights alone. With the various rail connec-
tions, now projected, and which must ultimately be built, it will
afford the best eastward exit and entrance of the Ohio Valley,
whether considered in relation to available water transport or to
continuous railroad routes. Both in distance and in other working
elements, it is a short, economical line between the seaboard and
the principal cities and railroad centres of the Western States, and
offers the most advantageous outlet to the Ocean for an immense
system of interior Railroads.

The following table will illustrate the general directness of this
route, and show the comparative distances between the several tide-
water ports and the chief cities of the West and Southwest. It will
be seen that the advantage ranges from 30 to 300 miles in distance,
and covers the principal cities, with the exception of Chicago and
Columbus, where there is a trifling excess over two other lines, if
linear measurement only is reckoned. With a due equation of
grades it will be found to afford the shortest and best route to the
sea-board, even from those points.

TABLE showing Comparative Distances between Atlantic Ports and Principal
Western Railroad Centres by All-Rail Travel, by CHESAPEAKE AND
OHIO RAILROAD and its projected connections, and by more Northerly
Routes.

MILES FROM PORT OF

Richmond, via. Ches. and Ohio.
Baltimore, via. Bait, and Ohio.
Philadelphia, via. Penn. R. R.
New York, via. Erie Railway. .
New York, via. N". Y. Central.
Boston, via. N. Y. Central

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573

*643

*S90

1020

828

557

688

580

697

929

1076

884

517

705

668

775

992

1152

960

548

736

861

997

1201

1354

1182

755

935

883

940

1144

1354

1176

761

830

941

998

1202

1426

1234

829

888

833
828
823
983
980
1038

* Will be shortened 13 miles by improvements now in progress.

Between all points of the West or Southwest and Washington
City — to which place as the National Capital there must always be
a large passenger travel — the Chesapeake and Ohio, with its pro-
jected rail connections completed, will afford the shortest and best
communication ; and Chicago, Omaha, and points in the Northwest
may adopt it with advantage. Comparing the distances between
Washington and the large cities of the West over the several routes,
we find a saving of from twenty to ninety miles in favor of the
Chesapeake and Ohio route.

TABLE showing the Distances between Washington and Western Cities via
the Chesapeake and Ohio and Other Routes.

Distance

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m

hi

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M

6
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From Washington, via

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Chesapeake and Ohio Kailroad

593

660

1,037

845

910

852

Baltimore and Ohio Kailroad

613

720

1,097

905

953

852

Pennsylvania Central Kailroad....

646

753

1,130

938

989

842

8

Between New York and Southwestern cities, the advantages of
the Chesapeake and Ohio Route are as decided for passenger travel
as for the transportation of freights. From St. Louis, Cincinnati,
and points farther South, the distance to New York will be shorter
than by the Erie or Lake Shore routes. Estimating the influence
of difference in grades, it will also be shorter, in time, between the
same points than either the Pennsylvania or Maryland lines.

From New Orleans, Memphis, and the lower Mississippi, the
Chesapeake and Ohio is the most direct and quickest route to all
points along the seaboard.

Distance from New York,
via.

TO
LOUISVILLE.

MILES.

TO

MEMPHIS.

MILES.

TO

ST.. LOUIS.

MILES.

TO
NEW ORLEANS

MILES.

Chesapeake & Ohio R.R.via Wasli'n

Erie Kailway, via A. & G. W

N. Y. Cent'l, via Lake Shore & M.S.

888
997
940

1.265
1,354
1,354

1,138
1,201
1,260

1,394
1,751
1,694

III. Light Grades. The line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road is remarkable for the uniformity and lightness of its grades.
From the western terminus of the road at the Ohio river to the
summit of the Alleghanies, 208 miles, the grades are without
noticeable undulation, and with a nearly uniform ascent, averaging
ten feet per mile, and in no case exceeding thirty feet per mile, or
one in 175. From the summit eastward to Clifton Forge, where
the line crosses the waters of the James river, a further distance of
twenty-three miles, the grades are descending, nowhere exceeding
sixty feet per mile. On the remainder of the line to Richmond the
average grades are light, there being less than ten miles, in all
exceeding sixty feet ; and at these points a reduction to the maxi-
mum of sixty feet is practicable.

The full force of this advantage and of long stretches of level,
or nearly level, track may be better understood by the statement
that the same freight engine (of suitable power) will be able to
leave Huntington on the Ohio River with its maximum load (of
say 50 cars), and proceed without interruption eastwardly for
231 miles, across the summit of the Alleghanies, at a nearly uni-

9

form speed, without encountering any opposing grade of over 30
feet per mile, and without requiring any auxiliary power.

Other east and west Trunk lines are now resorting to every prac-
ticable expedient, and preparing to expend large sums, to reduce
their grades, which in some cases are as high as 120 feet per mile.

In the carriage of heavy freights, such as produce, coal, iron,
and other minerals, as well as of passengers and the "quick-des-
patch" freights, low grades are of the utmost importance both to
the rapidity and the economy of transportation. The following
table, compiled from the published data of a large locomotive
manufacturing establishment, in Philadelphia, gives the relative
hauling power of freight engines over different grades, showing a
very rapid loss of power as the grades increase :

"Mogul" Freight Locomotive.

Maximum load on level grade 1,400 tons.

655 "

415 "

300 "

230 "

180 "

IV. Cheap Fuel, &c. In the supplies of equipment, machinery y
rolling stock, castings and wrought-irons, timber, fire-wood, lubri-
cating oils, and other items, involving large expenditure for the
operation and maintenance of railroads, the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad has very decided advantages. Timber, of all desired
sorts, borders the line ; the oils of West Virginia are the best
known for railroad uses; labor is cheaper than the average cost
elsewhere.

In fuel for locomotives, which is one of the largest items of ex-
pense in railroad operation, it has unrivalled advantages. The best
steam coals abound in thick seams in close proximity to and above
the level of its track, and can be supplied to its locomotives at the
bare cost of handling. It is believed that the Company's entire
supply can be furnished for an indefinite period at one dollar per
ton, or from one-half to one-fourth the average cost of fuel to some
of the other lines.

V. Genial Climate. Lying along and near the 38th parallel of

u

" 20 feet

it

" 40

14

" 60

It

" 80

U

• " 100

10

latitude, the Chesapeake and Ohio Road enjoys a mild and equa-
ble climate, exempt from extremes of heat or cold. The winters
are much shorter and more temperate than in Pennsylvania or New
York. There is never any obstruction from deep snows, nor lia-
bility to interruption from extreme frosts. The losses to which
more northerly lines are subjected, and the delays anjl disadvan-
tages to shippers, resulting from these causes in winter, will be
unknown upon this route; and its general and uninterrupted free-
dom from obstruction and delays during the seasons when the
efficiency of some of the most important routes is more or less im-
paired, will render it the most desirable winter route for both
freights and travel.

Resources and Attractions of the Country along the
Route of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.

The region traversed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad is
by reason of its natural advantages of soil, climate and agricultu-
ral and mineral wealth, one of the most attractive and inviting in
the United States, and offers at the present time probably greater
opportunities for the active and profitable employment of capital
and labor than almost any other section of our country.

It abounds in almost every element of material prosperity, health
and enjoyment, and opens to tourists, capitalists, coal operators,
iron workers, manufacturers, mechanics, farmers and emigrants
from the Eastern States and Europe, a field unequalled in the great
variety and rare combination of its advantages.

Many of the remarkable resources peculiar to the region tra-
versed by the more recently opened portion of the road, though
long known to scientific men and explorers, have, in the absence
of available communication, been heretofore secluded to a great ex-
tent from practical utility and development, and from popular
knowledge.

The completion of the railroad gives to them at once a new in-
terest and importance, renders them accessible to capital and indus-
try, and brings them into quick and economical communication
with the great centres of consumption and commerce.

11

So great is the interest which the opening of the Railroad has
awakened throughout this country and in Europe, and especially in
England, respecting the advantages for settlement, the opportunities
for the investment of capital in the purchase and development of
agricultural, iron, coal and timber lands, and the facilities for busi-
ness enterprise, along the route; and so numerous are the enquiries
for more specific and detailed information than has heretofore been
given in condensed and collected form, that it is proposed to pre-
sent in the following pages, a brief and comprehensive sketch of
some of the most important of these resources and advantages, and
their prominent localities, with some directions and references cal-
culated to be of interest and service to persons desiring to visit or
investigate them. Among the most conspicuous and available are:

(1) Soils of great variety and fertility, adapted to every branch of
husbandry , field, fruit and vine culture, and the raising of live stock;
forests of the best Oak, Yellow Pine, Walnut, Poplar, and other
valuable- Timber, with an admirable climate, and choice farm and
timber lands at moderate prices.

(2) Extensive deposits of Iron Ores of great variety and richness,
with abundance of Limestone, Timber, cheap fuel, and other condi-
tions for the profitable manufacture of Iron,

(3) The great Kanawha and New River Coal Fields, containing
the best Cannel, Splint, Bituminous and Cas Coals in veins of re-
markable thickness and purity, situated above the level of the Bail-
road, and accessible at a very low cost for mining.

(4) Salt Wells, Roofing Slates, Cement, Gypsum, Clays and other
miscellaneous minerals of commerce, and superior materials and ad-
vantages for the 'production of Soda- ash, Bromine, &c, <Scc.

(5) Favorable locations, and 'the material accessible at a low cost,
for almost every variety of manufacture and mechanical industry,

water power, &c.

(1) Soils and Agricultural Lands.

In its course from the ocean to the Ohio River, the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad passes centrally through the two great States of
Virginia and West Virginia, touching some of the oldest and

12

largest towns and cities, and passing through some of the richest
and most productive lands, embracing nearly all varieties of soil,
herbage, and climate to be found within the temperate latitudes.

The geological formation, the topographical features, the water-
shed and the elevation above sea-level give to the several portions
of the territory distinctive characteristics which have caused them
to be designated separately as the " Tide-water," the " Middle,"
the "Piedmont," the " Blue Ridge," the "Valley," the "Moun-
tain" or "Appalachian," and the " Trans-Appalachian" or " Ohio
"Valley" regions ; each and all of which have unusual agricultural
attractions, and are suited to the widest range of agricultural pur-
suits.

The Tide-water Region consists of a. series of extended penin-
sulas, whose sides are washed by the Chesapeake Bay and tidal
rivers, (most of them navigable,) affording a long and irregular
coast-line, with easy access to the markets of the seaboard and to
the interior towns and cities. The land is well-drained ; generally
free from marsh, with a soil of clay, marl and sand, and an over-
growth of pine and oak.

The principal item of land culture in this region is market
gardening, for which it is well adapted; the spring season in the
warm lands in the vicinity of Norfolk, Newport News and York-
town opening by the first of February. The. annual shipment of
early vegetables to New York by sea is estimated at $20,000,000,
exclusive of the amount sent inland, and the trade is steadily in-
creasing.

A large amount of farming land is under cultivation, the staple
crops being Indian corn, wheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes and pea-
nuts. In one of the counties bordering on the James River, the
average yield of wheat, for the plantation, was 35 bushels per acre.
Orchard fruits are also grown and shipped to a large extent.

Good farming lands are to be had at points along the peninsula
bounded by the York and James Rivers, at prices varying from
$10 to $50 per acre, according to their proximity to the navigable
channels or to the railroad line. Labor is abundant and the cost
of living low. The "marl," found but a short distance inland,

13

and the limestone crossed by the railroad can be cheaply and
abundantly supplied as fertilizers, and an unlimited market invites
to the rapid expansion of the industries of this and the adjacent
region.

The waters of this Bay, and its numerous indentations are al-
most as valuable to commerce as the lands; the extensive oyster
beds and fisheries being among the best in America. Oysters are
shipped from Norfolk and vicinity to eastern seaboard cities in im-
mense quantities. The total amount drawn from these waters
annually is estimated at 30,000,000 bushels ; the State tax being
collected on 20,000,000 bushels. Large quantities of oysters, as
well as of shad, herring, and other fish, are now sent to the cities
of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, by the Railroad.

The location of the deep-water terminus of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad, near the extremity of the chief peninsula of this
tide-water region between the York and James Rivers, and the
growth of an important seaport at that point, will impart a new
activity to all that region, and greatly increase the value of its
productive resources.

The Middle Country has a width of about sixty miles, and an
area of 12,000 square miles. The rivers of the interior and the
tidal waters of the ocean meet at its eastern edge, as the former
fall over the uplifted granite rim, bringing together navigable
water courses to the sea and numerous and effective water-powers,
and making of inland seaports advantageous sites for manufactur-
ing, milling and other industries The James River falls about
70 feet near Richmond, yielding a power for milling purposes ex-
ceeding that of Lowell.

The surface of the country consists of slight undulations, with a
gradual ascent to 500 feet above sea level at its western border at
thex South-west Mountain, as it is locally called, a low, outlying
ridge, having a general elevation of about 500 feet above the plain
at its base, whose sides and summits are, for the most part arable
land. The soils formed from a variety of rocks, are various,
ranging from the light brown of the ridges, to the rich, dark
brown of the bottom lands.

14

The principal farm products are wheat, corn, flax, grass seeds,
sweet potatoes, oats and tobacco, with a large representation of cat-
tle, sheep, etc. The three counties of Henrico, Hanover and
Louisa of this belt, which are traversed by the railroad, may be
taken as specimens of the average. Their productions were,
according to the census of 1870 :

Acres improved, 315,196

Acres unimproved , 302,564

Cash value of farms, ' • $11,055,990

Value of all live stock $ 818,209

Wheat crop (bushels) 329,859

Corn crop (bushels) 504,625

Tobacco (pounds) , 1,380,835

In 1860* the average production of tobacco was 246 pounds to
each inhabitant. The average value of farms in twenty-one counties
was, in 1860, $12.50 per acre. Lands in these counties are held
at low prices, improved lands being obtainable at from fifteen to
twenty dollars per acre. No part of the belt is distant more than
ten or twelve hours from the tidewater ports by railroad, and it is
thus within easy reach of good markets.

The poorest of the soils may be enriched by the abundance of
the marl or "green sand," a fossil manure of great value, which is
found and worked along the course of this railroad, the beds having
in places a depth of fifteen feet. More than a million tons per
annum of the same description of marl have been dug and distri-
buted in the State of New Jersey (Monmouth county alone fur-
nishing 600,000 tons), where its value as a fertilizer is well under-
stood, and creates a large demand for it at high rates.

The gathering and grinding of sumac leaves, found in abun-
dance in this and other sections of Virginia, along the route of the
railroad, is another important source of profit to farmers. The
value of the extracted dye-stuff is superior to that of Sicily, and
it commands a high price in English markets. The demand for
it is almost unlimited, the importations into the United States

being 2,000,000 pounds annually.

1

*The census of 1860 is quoted as showing more accurately the condition of
these counties, which in 1870 had not fully recovered from the effects of the
war.

!5

Inquiries concerning lands held for sale in Eastern Virginia, ad-
jacent to the line of railroad, may be addressed to Gen. Wins. C.
Wickham, the Vice President of the Company, at Richmond.

The Piedmont Region, as its name indicates, consists of the foot
slope of the Blue Ridge, and is divided into a tier of counties
covering an area of 6,000 square miles. There were in 1860 some
2,000,000 acres in cultivation. About the same quantity unim-
proved was inclosed in farms, leaving over half a million acres as
wild land. These proportions had not greatly changed up to 1870;
but of late there has been a considerable influx of immigrants
from the northern States and Europe, who have been enabled to
purchase improved estates, with fences and good buildings on them
at from $15 to $50 per acre, including improvements.

It is crossed by the Railroad in Albemarle County in a distance
of twenty-five miles. It includes several spurs or ridges lying
within the enclosing hills, all of them arable to their summits. By
soil, climate, scenery, chemical constituents, and distribution of
water, these lands are entitled to rank among the finest in America.
The variety and exuberance of the productions attest their capacity
for agriculture. The soil is for the most part a friable, red crumb-
ling loam, very easily worked.

To a population of 202,282 in thirteen counties, according to
the census of 1860, there were over $7,500,000 worth of live stock ;
eight millions of bushels of cereals, or forty bushels per capita,
were raised and of tobacco 24,000,000 pounds, or 120 pounds per
individual. The grasses, grains and orchard fruits of this part of
Virginia are celebrated. Prof. Ridgway, in a Geological Report
of this region says :

uThe Piedmont District, in Albemarle and kelson Counties, has a mixed
subsoil, rich in fertilizing ingredients, such as lime, magnesia, potash, oxide
of iron, &c, derived from the rocks beneath. Hence wheat, corn, oats, to-
bacco, the natural Virginia blue grass, English sward, clover, timothy, or-
chard and herd's grasses nourish luxuriantly ; also fruits of various kinds, the
pippin apple, pear, and grape attaining unusual dimensions, flavor and per-
fection."

By the census of 1860, Albemarle County showed a population
of 26,000; with 700 square miles of territory, half of which was

16

enclosed in 900 farms, 500 of which contained over 500 acres each.
Its annual products were :

Wheat, Corn and Oats— (bushels) 1,250,000

Tobacco— (pounds) 5,500,000

Potatoes— (bushels) 40,000

Wool— (pounds) 40,000

Butter— (pounds) , 200,000

Live Stock— (head) 60,000

Value of products of farms $2,000,000

The Blue Ridge Country has the same general characteristics of
the Piedmont and Valley districts, and these together form pre-
eminently the Fruit and Grain region of Virginia.

Major Jed. Hotchkiss, of Staunton Va., in a paper on "The
Resources of Virginia," read before the Society of Arts in London,
and reported in the Journal of the Society, in February, 1873, in"
referring to this section, says :

" Some 3,000 square miles, or two million acres, of Virginian territory per-
tain to the Blue Ridge — a region twice the size of your Sessex — most of it
covered with a fine growth of original oak, hickory, chestnut, and tulip-pop-
lar forest, with here and there a valuable grazing or fruit farm, a patch of
lighter green on the sides or summits. These greenstone rocks, as is well
known, crumble into soils rich in color and in the elements of fertility — soils
especially adapted to the wants of the vine, such as most of the world's great
vineyards are situated upon. The forests of the Blue Eidge abound in grape
vines of a large size and very productive — the originals of the Catawba, Nor-
ton's Virginia, and other well-known American grapes ; and thousands of
gallons of brandy are annually distilled from these by dwellers along the
mountain — one man having made 11,000 gallons in a season. Recalling what
was said of the topography of this range, it will be seen that almost any as-
pect can be chosen for a vineyard ; the soil has a special adaptation to the
vine, the latitude — that of France — gives length of season, while the eleva-
tion, above the "frost line " of the valleys, secures the maturity of the grape,
an indispensable requisite for the production of good wine. Numerous
vineyards are now in successful operation ; at Belmont, near Front Royal,
is one, covering some seventy-five acres, that has now an annual yield of
20,000 gallons of wine, the pure juice of the grape, and 10,000 gallons of
brandy, the vines that are in full bearing yielding from 300 to 500 gallons of
wine to the acre. The grapes are notably rich in saccharine matter, and
diseases of the vine are unknown. Nearly a million acres here are adapted
to this culture, and offer a pleasant and profitable field, and a virgin soil in
a most genial climate for this leading industry.

"This section has also an established reputation as a fruit-producing one,

17

its apples, pears, peaches, and other temperate climate fruits attain a flavor
and perfection rarely equalled elsewhere ; its Albemarle pippins command
prices that have induced the planting of large orchards of that single variety.
It is no 'uncommon thing for 500 bushels to be gathered from an acre, and
an English eighteen pence per bushel would yield a large profit to the or-
chardist. The day is not distant when Blue Kidge apples will form a staple
article of export to Europe, and one of the greatest blessings that can be
conferred upon any people is an abundance of cheap fruits to take the place
of stimulating drinks."

As has been stated there is still abundance of unimproved land
for sale in this section, and here and there are improved farms
which may be had at prices, which, though higher than those fur-
ther east and further west on the line of the road, are nevertheless
comparatively cheap in view of their natural advantages and near-
ness to market.

The Valley Region. Between the Blue Ridge and the next
range of mountains to the west lies "The Great Valley/' or, as it
is sometimes called, "Limestone Valley of Virginia," of which
the renowned Shenandoah Valley forms a part. It is a continua-
tion of the famous Goshen Valley of New York State, and the
Lebanon and Cumberland Valleys of Pennsylvania, though having
far greater dimensions. It is crossed by the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad in a distance of thirty-five miles. At Staunton the
Valley has an elevation above sea-level of 1,100 feet, and is shut
in and sheltered by enclosing ridges 3,000 feet on the eastern or
Blue Ridge side, and 1,000 feet higher on North Mountain side.

The Valley is notable for its grain and grass-growing capacity.
It includes about 5,000,000 acres of land, of which 1,700,000 are
under some form of cultivation ; 1,800,000 additional being in-
closed in farms, and the remainder, or a third of the whole, avail-
able for fresh settlements.

Some idea of the productiveness of its soil may be gathered from
the census figures of 1860, which gave as the total value of farm-
ing implements, $7,000,000; with 58,000 horses, 2,000 mules,
49,000 milch cows, 3,500 working oxen, 101,000 other cattle,
139,000 sheep, 254,000 swine; 606,500 head in all, valued at
$8,000,000. The annual value of animals slaughtered was $1,850,-
000 ; the wool clip was 500,000 pounds, the flax yield 66,000 pounds,
2

18

and from these a domestic manufacture of $250,000 was reported.
The wheat product was 3,250,000 bushels, corn 5,500,000 bushels,
besides large crops of rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, &c. ; 370,000
bushels of potatoes, 120,000 tons of hay, 27,000 bushels of clover
seed, 25,000 bushels of grass seed, 2,750,000 pounds of butter,
55,000 pounds of maple sugar, 171,000 pounds of honey, and
3,000,000 pounds of tobacco.

There are also raised large quantities of sorghum, syrup, wax,
hemp, hops, silk, wine, cider, peas, beans, cotton, orchard products
and other items, showing great variety in the resources and indus-
try of this part of the State. Its comparative productiveness at
that date is -shown in the facts that while it had but 1-142 part of
the whole population of the United States, it had 1-107 of the
horses, 1-174 of the cows, 1-146 of the other cattle, 1-156 of the
sheep, 1-132 of the swine, 1-135 of the value of the stock raised,
and 1-57 (or nearly three times the average production) of the
wheat, 1-120 of the wool, 1-115 of the oats, 1-35 of the clover
seed, and 1-95 of the value of land under cultivation.

Augusta county, through which the railroad crosses the head of
the Valley, is one of the richest in the State in agricultural values,
and is underlaid with mineral treasures of vastly greater value,
more particular reference to which is made in the pages following,
under the head of iron ores. Its population and products, and
the value of its agricultural lands will be great! v increased with
the great impulse which will be given to iron ore mining and iron
manufacture, by the recent opening of the railroad through to the
abundant and cheap fuels of the Kanawha Valley, and to the iron
furnaces of Ohio and the West, for which the Virginia ores are
likely to be in great demand.

The multiplication of iron ore mines and blast furnaces will
afford an increased home market for the surplus and increased pro-
duction, which will still further add to the general prosperity
which distinguishes this valley. Limestone of the purest kind
being the bed rock of this region, it is cheaply dug, and by
means of cheap coal -screenings drawn from the Kanawha can be
cheaply burned into lime for fertilizing purposes, and must be in
large demand for flux in iron smelting.

19

The leading items showing the present condition for agriculture
of this county, as shown by the census of 1870, are as follows, viz:

Acres improved 222,843

Acres unimproved 178,028

Cash value of farms $10,232,552

Annual value of farm products $2,130,430

Value of animals slaughtered $346,890

Value of all live stock $1,086,917

Crop of wheat (bushels) 463,270

Butter (pounds) 353,335

Wool (pounds) 23,291

Numerous English settlers have purchased farms and estates in
this vicinity.

Agricultural and wood-lands in this and adjoining counties are
still to be had at moderate prices, $25 to $50 per acre ; those con-
taining the heavy veins of hematite ores, or timber lands adja-
cent thereto being held at somewhat higher prices.

The Mountain or Appalachian Belt of country has a width vary-
ing from 20 to 50 miles, and is about equally divided between the
two States — Virginia and West Virginia — and consists of a great
number of comparatively long and narrow valleys, formed by the
head-waters of the Potomac and James River draining the eastern
slope, and by the Monongahela and New Rivers flowing toward
the Ohio. The population of the 20 counties (ten on each side of
the boundary) was 142,336 in 1860, and 148,509 in 1870, a gain
of near 4J per cent, or an average of twenty persons to the square
mile.

As may be imagined from the rugged aspect of the country, there
are on the mountain slopes hundreds of thousands of acres of dense,
unbroken forests. The prevailing timber consists of oak, hickory,
pine, spruce, cherry, maple, walnut, beech, and poplar. It is not
uncommon to find a hundred trees upon an acre, of hickory, white
oak, tulip-poplar, or wild cherry, from each of which a stick of
two feet in diameter, and forty to fifty feet long may be hewn; be-
sides pines and spruces of still larger dimensions. The consump-
tion of timber from the mountain districts of this same range in
Pennsylvania and New York has been very large; a single county

20

in the former State having sent to market 500 millions of feet in a
single year, at an average rate of 17 cents per cubic foot.

The want of railroad facilities has heretofore kept the Virginia
forests out of market, while the price of timber lands in the two
States above mentioned have greatly advanced in value as the rail-
roads penetrated them.

The opportunity is afforded by the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road to ship large quantities of hewn and sawed timber to both
eastern and western markets from the cheaper Virginia forests.
Lands can now be had in fee simple for from $1 to $10 per acre,
from which timber to ten times the value could be cut from nearly
every acre, and leave a large profit to the shippers, after payment
of all expense of cutting and hauling to the railroad. The timber
cutting upon the line has thus far been largely for local consump-
tion, and in opening up the new country west of the Alleghany
mountains. But already there has been a considerable exportation
of log timber to Europe direct and via New York, which will,
without doubt, largely increase. The foreign demand is chiefly
for the choice grades of walnut, oak and poplar, for which the re-
gion, traversed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, is noted.
The unusual size and quality of this timber has attracted attention
at the shipping ports and abroad.

Upon the Western and Greenbrier divisions, good openings are
also presented for the stave business, and the shipment of all coop-
erage stuff, locust treenails and posts, tan-bark and the forest pro-
ducts generally.

Howell Fisher, a practical Pennsylvania coal operator and iron
master, who has made this region a special study, visiting it many
times, says in regard to the agricultural capacities:

"On climbing up these mountains it is found that all the slopes and hill-
sides made by the numerous streams, and the table-lands on top, are covered
with a rich mellow soil that raises with ease, and yields finely, wheat and
corn, and particularly oats, potatoes, and all root crops in great abundance.
This is the unanimous testimony of all persons acquainted with the country.
On the south of New River, tobacco, said to be the finest sent to the Cincin-
nati market, is raised as easily and abundantly as in any part of old Virginia.

"Cattle and sheep fatten and flourish on the herbage and undergrowth with-
out other food, and with literally no care. The size of the sheep thus raised

21

Is stated by an intelligent gentleman, who has frequently passed through this
country, and had his attention called to it, to be much greater than common,
and their hardihood unusual.

"With this fertile soil, with a good climate, with the excellent water that
always belongs to coal strata, and with unsurpassed healthfulness, this
country, mountainous and hilly as it is, would have been filled with a hardy,
industrious, and thrifty population, instead of the few settlements that are
now met with, were it not for two causes, the principal one of which has been
want of communication and market, and the other, the magnificent growth
of timber with which the land is covered.

"This consists of large white, black, reel, and chestnut oaks, black and
white hickory, black walnut, ash, poplar, wild cherry, and chestnut, with
occasional groves of the maple, and valleys of some size of the white pine
and hemlock. There are other varieties, such as the dogwood, gum, etc.,
etc., which are not so numerous. When for some time among these forests,
one does not so feel their size, but upon leaving the coal strata and coming
to the Alleghanies, the trees there look dwarfish and the woods like a collec-
tion of brush.

"To the European immigrant, unaccustomed to the use of the axe, this
fine growth of timber has been deemed an objection, and he has wended his
way to the prairies of the West — with their chills and fevers, which most surely
destroy the general health of his family — rather than undergo the unaccus-
tomed task of clearing, in the mountain forests, the acres he needs. Even to
our American wroodsman this has been a serious task, arising from the ne-
cessity that heretofore existed of destroying the timber to get rid of it, in
addition to the ordinary labor of clearing. Land when rid of this valuable
timber has hitherto been worth five times as much as when covered with its
natural growth.

" But with the railroad opened, giving easy access to Eastern and Western
markets, all this is changed. There is a demand for the forest products and a
road to market. The car builders, the cabinet makers, and the numerous in-
dustries, dependent upon cheap lumber, will necessarily come along the line
of road. The unlimited supply of good bark will bring tanneries and their
.associate industries ; and when to these demands is added the timber that
will be marketed in bulk, and the large consumption for mining purposes,
it will be seen how acre after acre will soon be opened to the husbandman,
not only without cost, but with a large profit for the labor of clearing."

Although notably a timber-growing country, the mountain por-
tion of Virginia and West Virginia is by no means destitute of
general agricultural attractions. The extensive table lands and
numberless valleys are suited for corn and grass culture, the soil
being exceedingly rich and deep. There are also extensive pla-
teaus, or table lands, between the depressions caused by the

22

washing of the streams, upon which are fine grazing and orchard
lands.

It has been estimated by the Department of Agriculture that a
steer can be fattened from the nutritious blue grass and corn of
this section cheaper than in any other part of the country east of
the Mississippi, and it is much nearer the great cattle markets
than the Western grazing States.

There are still millions of acres available for field culture,
orchards, vineyards, sheep pasture, etc., which are held as wild
lands, and which may be had at from $1 to $10 per acre, accord-
ing to their surface peculiarities and proximity to the railroad.

The Greenbrier Valley, one of the largest and oldest-settled of
these depressions, is famed for its salubrity, beautiful scenery and
general adaptability to farming pursuits. In appearance it resem-
bles the renowned Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania — having,
however, a more luxuriant vegetation and finer views. The rail-
road enters this valley near the White Sulphur Springs, and fol-
lows its course to its confluence with the New River Valley, a
distance of thirty-five miles. The substratum of nearly pure
limestone which underlies this valley furnishes a rich soil. The
limestone will be largely in demand for commercial, agricultural
and mechanical purposes.

The climate of this belt of country is exceedingly favorable for
man and beast. The isothermal line of 55° passes diagonally
across it. At Lewisburg, elevated 1,800 feet above the sear
overlooking the Greenbrier, the average temperature in the spring
months is 54°, of the summer 73°, the autumn 56 °, and the
winter 35°, giving an annual mean of 55°, or about the same as
Baltimore and St. Louis, and higher than that of Philadelphia
and Cincinnati.

The Trans- Appalachian or Kanawha and Ohio Valley Region,
or, as it may be called the western foot-slope of the Alleghany
range, is at present principally known for its wonderful strata of
bituminous, splint and cannel coal.

The area in West Virginia is about 16,000 square miles. Its
agricultural advantages are of great importance and value, though
hitherto deemed subordinate to its great mineral wealth. The

23

improved lands in 1860 were one and a half million acres; the
lands in farms, six million acres. There were over three million
acres not held in farms — wild lands, generally owned in large
tracts for their timber and undeveloped minerals. Timber lands
can still be had in quantities at from $1 to $10 per acre, according
to their surface peculiarities and proximity to the road. The
average production of cereals was 33 bushels to the inhabitant,
and 2 4-5 animals to the person.

The capacity of the bottom lands for corn-raising is equal to
that of the best bottom lands in Ohio and Indiana, to which they
are analogous. Tobacco and root crops can also be raised advan-
tageously ; the tobacco being so superior that it has taken pre-
miums at several of the exhibitions of this crop. As a live stock
country, it resembles the famous pastures of the uplands which
border it on the east, and the notable " blue grass" lands of Ken-
tucky which join it on the west.

Its location between the great markets of the east and west, and
within twenty hours' travel of the seaboard and within forty-eight
hours of New York, will enable cattle-growers to reap all the
benefits of cheap feeding and economical transportation to market.

Active manufacturing and mining industries will be rapidly
developed along the central portion of this belt, especially in the
New River and Kanawha Valleys, on the line of the railroad,
which will furnish a home market for local produce and render
this portion of the country additionally attractive to settlers and
farmers.

Sumac and oak bark, largely in demand for tanning and dyeing
purposes, are found here in abundance, and tanneries here would
have hides and ingredients accessible at a minimum cost.

IRON ORES AND FACILITIES FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF IRON AND STEEL.

The extensive and very valuable deposits of iron ore, and of
coal, in the country traversed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road have attracted the careful attention of experts and capitalists,
who now rank this field of production among the most important
of the United States.

The resulting advantages for the manufacture of iron (and, in
due time, steel) are certainly somewhat exceptional; for at this
time of extreme depression in the iron and coal trade, almost the
only ore mines and iron furnaces operated in Virginia are those of
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. This fact means more, when
it is considered that the new furnace construction upon this Rail-
road was commenced about the date of its opening for traffic, in
the summer of 1873, was prosecuted through the commercial panic
which followed and completed upon falling markets, with the ad-
ditional weight of the largely increased outlay now essential for
the enlarged dimensions and improved machinery of the later blast
furnaces.

Yet in this short period, and in the face of these difficulties,
enough has already been accomplished to demonstrate that Very
superior iron can be made at low cost fr.om the ores, fuel and fluxes
which abound upon the line of this Railroad — a result only possible
with unusual local advantages. The steadily increasing tonnage
in ores, iron and coal, at such a time and under circumstances so
unfavorable, bears further evidence in direct point.

But there can be no doubt that the American iron manufacture
is destined to experience a great revival. This will be attended
with the certain development of those localities which afford the
greatest facilities for conducting this indispensable branch of human
industry; and when the revival does come, there is good reason to
anticipate that new enterprises will concentrate largely upon or
near the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, in the vicinity either of

26

its ore belts or of the coals of the New River and Kanawha valleys,
or both.

The iron ore deposits referred to are notable no less for their ex-
tent than the diversity and quality of the ores. For a distance of
375 miles along the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, there are found
in workable seams, at frequently recurring intervals, maguetic and
specular ores (as locally termed), the hematites in their usual va-
rieties and fossil iferous, red-shale, slate, block and black-band ores.
Many of these ore seams cross the line of the Railroad, and nearly
all are cheaply accessible. As will hereinafter appear, these ore de-
posits are very large, and in some instances are stated by competent
judges to exceed in dimensions the seams of the corresponding
stratification in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The ores in several counties along the Central. and Eastern Di-
visions of the Railroad have long been worked in the charcoal
furnaces of the past, and have produced excellent iron, standing
successfully the severest ordnance tests and ranking very high in
the Government records of gun-metal. Since then, however, the
conditions of iron making have greatly changed. Charcoal has
ceased to be an economical fuel in the greater part of Virginia, as
in many other American districts; and the present low market
rates for pig-iron would seem to compel the more general use of
the larger coke and coal furnaces with their complete blast ma-
chinery and their labor and fuel-saving improvements. Hence the
transportation eastwardly, at rates meeting the requirements of
economic iron production, of the West Virginia cokes and coals
(which are successfully used in the most difficult processes of iron
manufacture) becomes the first essential in the iron problem of the
future. But the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, with its favorable
grades, is prepared to supply this want, and is now moving the
fuel to the ores, and the ores, with every desired admixture, to the
fuel, at rates probably the lowest of any coal and iron railroad in
the country. These favorable conditions of ore supply and trans-
portation have caused the leading iron masters of the Ohio valley
to send several parties of experts to examine the deposits east of
the Blue Ridge, as a substitute for the rich steel (or Bessemer) ores

27

brought at considerable cost* from Lake Superior and the Missouri
iron mountain. These examinations have resulted in favorable re-
ports from the mining chemists and in business orders subject to
acceptable rates of transportation.

The first important iron ore belt crosses the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad in Louisa county, 56 miles from Richmond, with a
N. E. and S. W. strike, and can be traced for long distances. It
is described as a "fissure vein of hematite iron ore thirty feet wide,"
by Prof. Ridgway, who adds, "two and a half tons of this ore
make a ton of pig-iron." The ore has been mined for many years
past near the Victoria furnace (four miles from Tolersville), which,
in common with other charcoal furnaces of Virginia, is now sus-
pended under the stress of the times. It is proposed to connect
the Victoria works with the Railroad by a branch track, to serve
also the gold, copper and sulphuret mines north of Tolersville,
which will then permit the iron furnace operations to be resumed
with Western fuel and ores for mixture. The Louisa ores tend
decidedly to "red-shortness," while beyond the Blue Ridge "cold-
short" and neutral ores abound. This suggests an advantageous
combination in both directions, which the freight charges of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad will profitably allow in any ordinary
condition of the iron market.

The next well-defined formation of iron ores is passed immedi-
ately beyond Gordonsville. Near this, or Madison, station an ex-
cellent hematite (analyzing 57 per cent, metallic iron and 0.10 of
phosphorous) has been mined and shipped in quantity. The same
formation embraces also micaceous ores with specular and magnetic
characteristics. The micaceous ores are mined near North Garden
station, beyond Charlottesville, and shipped westward for mixture
to the Buffalo Gap furnace. These veins or deposits are traced
nearly parallel to the line of the Midland Railroad (to the south-
west) beyond James River. In Nelson and Amherst counties the
ore exposures become very large, and are described by Prof. J. W.

* Lake Superior and Missouri ores are now delivered to the Ohio River
furnaces, between Steubenville and Wheeling, at from $7 80 to $9 00 per
2,240 pounds, according to locality and percentage of ores, which range from
63 to 70 per cent metallic iron.

28

Mallet (of the University of Virginia) as "an intimate mixture of
specular iron and magnetite, a form of specular iron merging into
red hematite, and finally limonite or brown hematite." In four-
teen analyses, by Prof. Genth, of these ores from the country south
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (and near the line of the
James River and Kanawha Canal) the amount of metallic iron
was 56, 58, 43, 38, 6G, 57, 64, 53, 57, 6d, 45, 31, 50 and 58 per
cent., the proportions of phosphorus and sulphur shown being
very small. It maybe added that this ore formation, which is met
in workable seams on or near the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,
in Louisa, Orange and Albemarle counties, is considered by some
identical in position with the magnetic ore-belt in New Jersey, from
which, in 1867, 115 mines furnished 1,300,000 tons of ore. In
Virginia these ores have been imperfectly developed as yet, from
the want of cheap and good mineral fuel. This want can be
abundantly supplied, as already stated, from the Western Division
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad; and with a judicious
mixture of the better magnetic ores with selected hematites from
Augusta and the counties westward, experts look for a good
Bessemer iron.

Limestone for flux is found in Louisa and Albemarle counties,
and of a very superior quality west of the Blue Ridge.

Crossing into the Valley of Virginia, the Railroad passes through
another group of hematite deposits and considerable masses of
what is locally styled "specular ironstone." The hematites are of
excellent quality, giving, in several analyses of Prof. J. W. Mallet
and Mr. J. B. Britton, from 43 to 58 per cent, metallic iron, with
phosphorus ranging in many analyses from 0.14 to 0.24, and in
a single instance, reaching 0.52. These ores have been largely
mined both for the small charcoal furnaces of the vicinity and for
shipment as far east as Richmond. At the Powhatan furnace, near
that city, the Augusta hematites, used in combination with Rock-
bridge hematites and micaceous specular ores from Amherst and
Nelson counties, before referred to, have produced, in large quanti-
ties, an iron ranked by experts among the strongest and best brands
in the American market.

29

The "specular ironstone" of the Blue Ridge has attracted at-
tention from its entire freedom from phosphorous. The analysis
of Prof. Mallet is as follows :

Peroxide of iron 2.64

Sesquioxide of iron 51.33

Alumina 1.73

Magnesia 1.93

Silicic acid, as fine quartz 42.69

Trace of magnetite.

Metallic iron 37.98

The hematites of this section of the Valley are Silurian, and lie
in close proximity to the rich limestones of that series. This de-
posit is considered by Prof. Ridgway to be "an extension of the
same formation as the iron ores of the Cumberland, Reading and
Lehigh Valleys" of Pennsylvania.

Rising above the Silurian deposits of the Shenandoah Valley,
the line of Railroad next enters the North Mountain belt, one of
the most important of the Virginia group, and especially notable
for large masses of brown hematite, which have been designated by
Prof. W. B. Rogers, from their position and appearance, "Bluff
ores." Together with those of the parallel ranges (beyond Mill
Mountain, Warm Spring, Richpatch and Peter's Mountains), the
North Mountain deposits have been thoroughly examined by some
of the leading mining engineers and metallurgists of this country
and Europe, who attest their remarkable character for mass, posi-
tion near the surface and facilities for cheap extraction.

Prof. Ridgway, who devoted some time to the careful examina-
tion of these ores, says in his report :

"This Bluff iron ore of the Oriskany sandstones shows itself
near-to the Buffalo Gap furnace [see Map No. V]; also along the
same line of outcroppings, at a point one mile from the Elizabeth
Furnace station [see No. VI], where immense cliffs of this ore
may be seen; also near Pond Gap station [see No. VII]. Again,
in like manner, in the parallel hills at the Esteline furnace [see
No. VIII] ; and again, at the California furnace [see No. IX],
where there is an immense amount of iron ore reposing at a low
angle from the horizon, in a stratified form and in good mining

30

condition. Again, at the Australia [see No. X] and at the Lucy
Selina [see No. XI], the beds of ore are of remarkable extent and
in vast masses. The aggregate mass of hematite iron ore at these
points surpasses anything which I have ever seen elsewhere."

These deposits are traced continuously for miles along the
mountain slopes. They lie favorably for excavation and easy re-
moval down to the Railroad, and are mainly mined in open cutting,
though occasionally with shafts and drifts. Near the Elizabeth
furnace there is presented an ore front of over 1,200 feet, which
has been exposed at close intervals and worked irregularly for
years with no indications of failure. In some of the larger pits
there are vertical breasts of more than 30 feet of ore, with occa-
sional seams or interspaces of clay. The same ore is still met in a
tunnel drift 20 feet below the upper excavations, holding quality
well as the work descends. The furnace stack (35'xlO' and 3,200
tons annual capacity) is of the oldest style of constructing charcoal
furnaces and with corresponding blowing machinery. Under these
and other serious diawbacks, the Elizabeth furnace, with its unusual
advantages in ore, has been kept in blast until very recently. After
the proposed reorganization, it is probable that a new stack, with
improved engines, will be commenced during the present season.

In the Esteline, Callie, and other deposits in the same general
range, ore excavations have been carried on almost as extensively,
and even deeper than at the Elizabeth ; being also mined at the
same low cost, with the untrained mining labor of the country,
and in quality at least equal. Under local conditions so favorable,
it is evident that the cost of mining must be low even as com-
pared with the prices of the most favored ore districts.*

In a large number of analyses of the North Mountain ores by
our first chemists, the per centage of metallic iron ranges from 40
to 58 per cent. The working average of several furnaces, with
unwashed ores, exceeds 40 per cent, for the entire blast: in two
instances, an average yield of 50 per cent, is claimed. The analyses

* At the Panther Gap ore banks, (C. & O. R. R.), the contract cost of
mining during 1875 was 75 cents per 2,240 lbs. — at the Elizabeth banks, the
manager states 65 cents — and still lower prices were given at the Callie
fun ace.

31

referred to generally show no sulphur, but phosphorus is present
from a traee, up to O.y8^ in one extreme case, (the average being
under one-half of one percent.), suggesting advantageous mixtures
with the magnetic ores from below as previously stated. At the
Longdate (Lucy Selina) furnace, however, excellent iron is made
from local ores alone, with judicious combination. At the Buffalo
Gap furnaces, (two stacks, 35x9 and 40xlOJ, annual capacity
5,000 tons), micaceous ores from Albemarle county are used in
mixture with North Mountain hematites. At or very near all the
furnace sites named, good limestone for flux is cheaply quarried.

Passing westward, the railroad next crosses the line of occasional
deposits of argillaceous hematites in the vicinity of Goshen,
Rockbridge county, (168 miles from Richmond), the point of
shipment for ores from the large deposits to the southward, locally
called the Wilson and Preston, the Gay's Run and the California
furnace tracts, upon which are well known and extensive exposures
of brown hematite and the other ores of the region.

Three miles beyond Goshen, in the Panther Gap of Mill Moun-
tain, a well defined vein of fossil ore, about eighteen inches in
thickness, crosses the railroad near the site of the cold-blast char-
coal furnace, (38x9, annual capacity 2,800 tons), built in 1874
to work the local ores. In addition to the hematite ores, the
u red-shale" and "block" ores (ferruginous shales and sandstones),
yielding 30 per cent, or more of metallic iron, are very generally
distributed from the Mill Mountain Westward. The heavy hema-
tite masses, noticed upon the North Mountain, are again found
upon the parallel ranges Westward. Among other well-k own
localities, good outcrops appear on the Cope-Randolph tract west
of Millboro' : and further on, near the site of the old Australia
furnace, on the lands of the Longdale Iron and Coal Company,
ores have been mined for many years in large quantity and of
excellent quality. On account of these, and other local advantages,
well known Pennsylvania iron masters, under that corporate name,
have purchased a very large ore property south of Longdale
Junction, on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and have con-
structed a good branch track seven miles in length to the site of
the old Lucy Selina furnace. This furnace has been rebuilt upon

32

much improved lines, and with good equipment— the new stack
being 44x11 in dimensions, and 3,750 tons annual capacity. The
fuel, which was formerly charcoal, is now New River coke, brought
by rail from the Sewell mines of the Longdale Company in West
Virginia. The new furnace went in blast in 1874, and continues
to ship one of the best of the Chesapeake and Ohio irons, com-
manding ready sale in both Eastern and Western markets.

Clifton Forge Gap, 191 miles from Richmond, and the next
station beyond Longdale Junction, is the railroad outlet of another
iron ore district along the upper James river valley, and of which
the Callie furnace (four miles southward) presents the best opened
and finest ore exposurer. It is through this Clifton Forge Gap
that the James River and Kanawha Canal line is located, and
through which surveys are now progressing for a railroad connec-
tion from Buchanan, the present head of canal navigation, thirty-
three miles, with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. This con-
nection, when completed, is expected to become a valuable feeder
to the latter, affording a second line of communication with the
James River Valley, below Lynchburg, through a series of ore
deposits which are destined to draw largely upon the Western
division of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad for coal and coke.

Clifton Forge is the site of an old forge and charcoal furnace,
referred to in the Rogers' State Report, and somewhat noted in the
time of batteau navigation for quality of iron. A later organiza-
tion, entitled the " Raleigh Coal and Iron Company," has com-
menced here the masonry of a large coke-burning furnace, and is
mining ore for the Quinnimont furnace, 103 miles beyond, in
Fayette county, West Virginia.

In the Clifton Forge Gap, under heavy sandstone (anteclinal)
arches, on either side of Jackson's river, there is presented one of
the finest sections of the fossiliferous ore formations scattered
through the Alleghany region. The "lump" fossil of these ore
bands analyses from 50 to 56 per cent, of metallic iron with the
percentages of phosphorus usual in fossil ores. It combines well
with the more siliceous hematites westward to. make good iron,
and especially for foundry uses.

The largest and best organized of the several ore mines referred

33

to in this region are those of the Low moor Iron Company, on the
Northern slopes of the Rich-patch range, and 199 miles from Rich-
mond. The prevailing ores of the region are found here in ex-
tensive deposits. Of these, the hematites are now worked to meet
a special demand, but the fossil seams have also been well opened.
One of the larger hematite deposits is described by Mr. Charles E.
Dwight, mining chemist, as " a vein of ore from thirty to sixty feet
wide, and extending up the hill some 300 feet, and downwards,"
to depths not now ascertained. At least three considerable, and
nearly parallel veins, have been opened up, which do not include
other ore deposits, upon the same property, explored or trenched.
The Lowmoor Company have made large expenditures to place
these mines in thorough working order to anticipate the revival of
the iron trade. A branch track, (full guage), two and a half miles
long, has been constructed down to the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road. Crushers and washers, (steam power), of improved plans,
discharge ores into the railroad cars, in unusually good condition
for furnace use, and for distant shipment. The Lowmoor ores
are shipped largely to the Quinnimont furnace westward, and also
occasionally to the Ohio river furnaces. At Quinnimont, com-
bined in larger proportion with Clifton ores, the Lowmoor hema-
tites yield excellent foundry and mill iron. Upon and near the
Lowmoor tract are several advantageous sites for large blast fur-
naces, with very good limestone, water sup'ply, and all furnace
essentials, save fuel, which must come from Xew river, 100 miles
distant.

The annexed analyses, from two of the Lowmoor deposits, or
veins, sufficiently indicate their quality :

Xo. 5, {0. Wuth, Analyst),

Peroxide of Iron, f Metallic Iron. \ 50.26

Protoxide of Iron, t 41.48 / 0.00

Phosphoric acid. (Phosphorus, 0.106) 0.3S

Alumina 2.75

Lime 1.63

Magnesia , 0.76

Manganese 3.46

Sulphur 0.02

Water 9.94

Insoluble Siliceous matter 21.80

3 1U0.00

34

No. 4 and Raleigh.

Peroxide of Iron, J Metallic Iron, \ 75.89

Protoxide of Iron, \ 53.13 j 0.00

Phosphoric acid, (Phosphorus, 0.50) 1.21

Alumina 1,41

Lime 1.04

Magnesia 0.42

Manganese 2.93

Sulphur, (trace) ,

Water 9.57

Silicic acid 7.53

100.00
The ore deposits of the Kichpatch Mountain are traced in out-
crop, and occasionally opened, far to the southward and westward^
both along the James river slopes and upon the spurs (Clarkson's,
Carpenter and Horse mountains), leading down to Jackson's river
and Potts' creek — especially on the Wilson and Martin tracts, near
Covington. Also on the opposite side of Jackson's river, in the
foot hills of the Warm Spring mountain, around the Dolly Ann
furnace, (now the property of the Longdale Iron Company), and
up the slopes of the main Warm Spring mountain, there are ex-
tended and important deposits of hematite and fossil ores. Further
up the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, where it cuts
the foot of Peters' mountain, a spur of the main Alleghany,
Pittsburg parties have purchased large and valuable ore tracts,
with the purpose of building blast furnaces in the vicinity. On
Kates' mountain, another spur of the Alleghany, near the White
Sulphur Springs, a hematite vein has been opened, analyzing 49
per cent, metallic iron, and clay ores 31 per cent ; also, near by, man-
ganese ores. Again, to the North of the White Sulphur, on
Anthony's creek, Prof. Ridgway notes " fossiliferous and block
ore bands ; and the bluff ore of the Oriskany sandstone also shows
itself at numerous points in large masses, and is equal in quality
to the same class of ores found in Rockbridge county." Surface
indications of iron ore continue to be found at intervals on the
mountains enclosing the Greenbrier valley, down to its junction
with the New river at Hinton, 272 miles from Richmond. This
point is the outlet of valuable deposits in Summers, Giles, and
adjoining counties, of red and brown hematites and bog and slate

35

ores, ranging in six analyses from 43.80 to 64.95 per cent, metallic
iron, and phosphorus 0.020 to 0.240 of one percent. ; the presence
of oxides and 'specular ores being also reported. A line of rail-
road connections has been located from Hinton up the New river
valley by a Pennsylvania company interested in developing these
deposits.*

* Since the above was written, the following analyses have been received
from Thomas Graham, Esq., Vice-President of the New Kiver Eailroad
Mining and Manufacturing Company, who states they were obtained from
ore deposits along the tributaries of . New river, in Giles and Pulaski counties :

ANALYSIS.
Thomas Graham, Esq.

The sample of Iron Ore from New river, Virginia, which I have ana-
lyzed at your request, contains as follows :

Moisture 0.12 per cent.

Silicic Acid 1.83 "

Titanic Acid none.

Phosphoric Acid none.

Sulphuric Acid 0.05 per cent.

Magnetic Oxide of Iron 71.36 "

Ferric Oxide 26.52 "

Alumina , trace. .

Magnesia 0.07 per cent.

Lime 0.05 "

•100.00
Metallic Iron 70.238 per cent.

[Signed] F. A. GENTH.

University of Pennsylvania, May 3, 1S76.

MAGNETIC OXIDES.
Met. Iron. Phosphorus. Manganese. Chemist.

68.90 per cent. .017 per cent. Booth & Garrett.
55.69 " .028 " " "

69.74 " none. Prof. Fesquit.

65.92 " " " "

SPECULAR ORE.

62.89 " trace. Prof. Fesquit.

RED HEMATITES.

64.34 " .028 per cent. Booth & Garrett.

64.95 " .050 " " "

68.41 " .02 " Prof. Fesquit.

36

The immense limestone beds of the Greenbrier valley have
lately become of interest in this connection— a remarkably pure
limestone, analyzing from 90 to 95 per cent, carbonate of lime,
and with small percentages of. silica and magnesia. It is used at
the Quinnimont furncice, Westward, with fifty miles railroad trans-
portation from Fort Spring station, and is destined to bear an im-
portant part in the mineral development of this region.

A few miles West of Hinton, the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road enters the great coal formation of West Virginia. The iron
ores of this formation, so far as determined, consist of scattered
surface ores : thin seams of ore in place, of which one has been
opened on War Ridge, near Quinnimont furnace and the " black-
band77 deposits of the Kanawha region. The latter have been
recently discovered, and are considered important. They lie
wTithin convenient access to cheap mineral fuel of the best grades,
and being also near excellent building sites, will probably deter-
mine the location of extensive iron works in this favored valley.

The Kanawha " black-bands 77 resemble the noted Scotch ores
of the same name, as will be seen from the annexed analysis.*

BROWN HEMATITES.

57.80 per cent. .106 per cent. Booth & Garrett.

54.96 " .240 "

58.11 " trace. Prof. Fesquit.

56.93 " .09 per cent. " "

50.59 " .026 "

55.13 " .34 . "

48.49 ;i .10

47.43 " .229 "' 10.01 per cent. Booth & Garrett.

FOSSIL, OR CONGLOMERATE ORE.

50.36 " Prof. Fesquit.

* The following analysis by Otto Wuth, analyst, Pittsburg', is an average
of several made by well known chemists :

Carbonate of Iron 68.35

Carbonaceous Matter 26.02

Silicic Acid -•••• 4.64

Phosphoric Acid 0.58

Sulphur 0.42

100.01
Metallic Iron 33.02

37

They have been found in well defined veins in several localities
near Charleston, and especially upon Davis and Briar creeks. The
deposit upon Briar creek is described in the words of a well in-
formed correspondent as follows : " It is nearly six feet thick at
the outcrop, and is thought, when fully opened, to be seven feet
thick, with rock roof and bottom ; and has been traced through
several hills over a large territory — say 2,500 -to 3,000 acres."
The construction of a blast furnace was commenced in West
Charleston, not far from these deposits, but has been suspended for
an improved iron market.

At Quinnimont station, 294 miles from Richmond, and not far
from the Southern border of the New River coal measures, a large
furnace (of 12,000 tons annual capacity, with improved engines
and hot blast arrangements, and with its own coal mines and coke
ovens) has been built to test the question of cheap, good iron
from the ores and ^fluxes eastward, reduced with the cokes of the
vicinity — which it will be seen from analyses and results given
elsewhere, have proved to be of unusually fine quality for metal-
lurgical uses. Construction was commenced here in 1873 — the
furnace went in blast during 1874— and if is now in operation,
running daily 30 to 35 tons of superior iron, in good demand in the
leading markets. For a furnace to continue in blast through the
exceptionally low quotations of iron during 1875 and 1876 is
well known to mean iron made at low cost.

The Quinnimont enterprise has been prosecuted under greater
difficulties than usually attend pioneer operations in a newly de-
veloped country. The same company had to explore and to mine,
and at the same time to undertake heavy furnace construction and
operation. Also, from the panic of 1873, and the commercial
depression that followed, it became necessary to defer an important
part of the original plan, viz : the completion of a second furnace
at the ore mines of the company eastward, to be worked in reciprocal
relations with the Quinnimont furnace at the coal, and to that
extent reducing the cost of iron production at both. These diffi-
culties overcome, and they are not likely to recur in the same dis-
trict, better assure the success of enterprises to follow — the degree

38

of success being measured only by completeness of preparation and
close management.

It is the purpose of this paper to present carefully and correctly
the facilities for making cheap iron upon the line of the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Eailroad. In dealing therefore with the question
of cost, it is preferred to give, in place of general assertions or
statements, a few well attested facts, upon which experts can make
their own estimates.

During 1875, furnace stock was delivered upon the line of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, in quantity (and generally by
contract), for the prices below stated, per ton of 2,240 lbs. — those
in 1876 being less in some instances :

1. Ores. — For siliceous ores (Blue Ridge specular ironstone),
working from 30 to 35 per cent., on cars, per ton, $1 00.

For good unwashed ores, 40 to 45 per cent, (and with right to
deduct for bad order), on cars, per ton, $2 00 to $2 08.

For best ores, crushed, washed and well prepared for furnace
use, working 45 per cent, and over, on cars, per ton, $2 50.

Two furnace managers, using ores mined within one mile wagon-
haul of furnace, give the cost of good, unwashed, 40 to 50 per
cenfr. ores (delivered in stock-house), at less than $1 00 per. ton —
including all charges save interest.

2. Limestone. — For good furnace flux, averaging at least 90 per
cent, carbonate of lime, 50 cents per ton delivered on cars. In
localities very convenient to the furnace, it has been quarried and
delivered in stock-house for less.

3. Fuel. — Coal suitable for blast furnace use was delivered on
cars during 1875 for $1 40 per ton ; in 1876, for $1 20.

Coke running 1^ to 1-^ per ton of iron made, was delivered
in quantity to furnace stock -house (from ovens about 1,000 yards
distant) for $2 50 per ton ; afterwards, by contract, for $2 30.
The cost of coke in this district is expected to decrease as more
coking ovens are built.

4. Labor. — Furnace and mining labor along the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad, did not exceed on average, if at all, $2 97 in
1875, and $2 54 in 1876, per ton of iron made, being the average
cost given for anthracite iron in Pennsylvania for the same period.
(See table, page 39).

39

5. Transportation. — Freight charges on the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad, for furnace stock and material, have been, and they
are now, less than upon the average of coal and iron railroads.

Experts will see from the data thus given, that the cost of
making pig-iron in well selected localities upon the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad, and with proper preparation, should not ex-
ceed $17 per ton of 2,240 lbs., "on furnace bank" — including
full allowance for contingencies and interest on working capital.

It should be added, that the officers of at least two furnaces on
the line state that their iron is made for less than $17 per ton ;
also, that well known iron masters from Western Pennsylvania,
examining this iron region for investment, have made public their
opinion, that when the more perfect furnace plant and the trained
labor of the older iron districts come generally into Virginia, pig
iron can and will be made for less than $16 per ton.

The importance of these advantages will better appear from a
comparison of the cost in the anthracite districts of ore, limestone,
fuel and iron, as given in the subjoined tabulated statement* from

* Average Cost per Ton of Anthracite Pig Iron, 1S60 to 1876 — Run of the
Furnace — Compiled for the Iron Age, from original data, by Mr. Wm.
E. S. Baker, Secretary of the Eastern Iron Masters Association :

C5
O

a

O

Eh

o .
<v o

o

a

c3

*o

o

S-l

5

13

o .

■*» a
^ 9

"3

O g

*a O

o .

«^

Oh

cS

*- 3 oo

« o a
*»— o

03 O

3!

8*

So
3a

Hi*

«3

3

Eh

o

o

n

«w S3

o a>
be

"S

c^5h

l-i— j0

Si

S =

33

ao-fl
O^

o=-i

OQ -<

09

o

-3 °3°~
3 O sS

£ 3

o

O

O

o

O

o

<

Eh

1S60

7 45

3 49

1 21

1 87

2 S3

16 85

1 36

13 21

1861

7 35

3 26

1 17

I 97

2 86

16 61

1 57

IS 18

1862

7 08

3 68

1 11

1 57

2 67

16 11

1 57

17 68

1S63

7 49

9 12

13 13

3 42
5 41
9 66

1 20

1 93

2 S5

2 07
2 S5
4 56

2 35

1 66

2 01

16 53
20 97
32 21

1 40
1 59
1 61

17 93

1864

22 56

1865

33 82

1S66

12 19
11 71

10 92

11 86

7 55
7 44
7 11
7 41

2 65
2 76
2 51
2 14

3 46
3 99
3 86
3 46

2 03
1 98
1 90
1 96

27 88
27 88
26 30
26 83

1 64
1 80
1 63
1 71

29 52

1S67

29 68

1868

27 93

1869

28 54

1870

12 96

12 67

13 64

14 87
14 75
11 13
11 95

7 08

8 59
7 28
7 45
7 90

7 98

8 01

2 44
2 08
2 04

1 98

2 03
1 66
1 14

3 S9

3 54

4 69

5 11
4 40
2 90
2 97

3 67

2 77

2 93

3 00
2 39
2 12
2 10

30 04

29 65

30 58
32 41

31 47

25 79

26 17

1 85
1 82

1 75

2 03
2 00
1 80
1 70

31 S9

1871

31 47

1872

32 33

1S73

34 49

March 1, 1S74

33 47

Dec. 31, 1374

27 59

March 1, 1S75

27 87

March 1, 1876

9 54

6 79

1 01

2 54

1 73

21 61

1 59

23 20

40

the Iron and Steel Bulletin (May 3), compiled originally for the
Iron Age, by Mr. Baker, Secretary of the Eastern Iron Masters
Association. It will be observed in this statement, that the average
cost of production of anthracite pig iron "on furnace bank/' during
the year 1875, was $26 17 per ton ; and in 1876, $21 61 per ton.
Especial attention has thus been directed to the facility of pro-
ducing at low cost, upon this line, good iron in its first and most
important stage; controlling as it does so many resulting enter-
prises. Rolling and nail mills, foundries, forges, machine shops,
and their associate industries, are soon to follow ; and next, upon
the full development of. the magnetic ore deposits east of the
mountains, steel works. Already, in addition to the iron works
of the older cities and towns upon, the line of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad, important improvements have been com-
menced, and some completed, on the Western division — -notably
among others, a first class foundry at Huntington, independent of
the railroad works there. At intermediate points upon the line
there are several localities which offer unusual advantages for iron
works on the largest scale, and particularly in the low cost of lands,
in abundant water power, proximity to cheap iron and fuel, cheap
and very good timber (plain and ornamental), cheap supplies, and
a very healthy climate. These advantages can be very much better
understood and appreciated after personal examination, for which
the usual facilities will be given to parties interested.*

In stating, heretofore, that this extraordinary field of coal and
iron production has attracted the careful attention of capitalists
and experts, it should have been added that no small proportion of
the examinations were made for European investment, and more
particularly from Great Britain. Considerable amounts of English
capital has been invested in iron and coal lands along the line, and
in preparations for mining coal and the manufacture of pig iron.

*An office for the collection of reliable mineral statistics (with cabinet
samples, maps and topographical data) has been opened in the Chesapeake
and Ohio depot building, Richmond, Virginia. Full information will be
supplied to parties desiring to examine iron and coal properties, or concern-
ing facilities for mining and manufacturing, by application to General "VV. C
Wickham, Receiver ; or to the Consulting Engineer, in the Richmond offices.

41

Among other well known experts from England, who have
visited or personally examined the Chesapeake and Ohio mineral
districts, are Prof. D. T. Ansted, Messrs. Lowthian, Bell, Whit well
and Bowron, of the iron and steel interests, W. Clark and Wall,
Engineers, and Sir Antonio Brady, F. G. S.

Certain remarks of the latter, before the Glasgow Conservative
Association, February 16th, 1875, after his return from the United
States, and of interest in this connection, are quoted as follows :

" We have now to compete in the race with other nations
(America for instance) on very unequal terms. Nature has been
more bountiful to them than to us. Their coal and iron lie on or
near the surface, while ours have to be worked from great depths
and at enormous cost; and since the opening of the railway I
have mentioned, (the Chesapeake and Ohio), these stores of minerals
have become easily available.

" Indeed, I know not whether the mineral or the agricultural
wealth of the United States is the greater."

COAL.

Authorities agree that the largest carboniferous deposits of the
American continent, and in many respects the most important, are
the " Great Alleghany," Appalachian or Cumberland coal-fields
(as variously designated), extending from Alabama through the in-
termediate States into Ohio and Pennsylvania. The greatest ascer-
tained development of these deposits is found in the State of West
Virginia, where the surface area was estimated by Professor Wm.
B. Rogers, of the Virginia Geological Survey, to cover 16,000
square miles. These coal measures are here quite as remarkable
for their depth in vertical section, their variety and excellent
quality, as for their vast extent. West Virginia cokes and coals
are well known to be in special demand for all uses, to which min-
eral fuel can be applied in domestic uses, in metallurgy, and the
arts generally. In combination with the iron ores eastward, these
immense beds of coal mark the future site of one of the largest
manufacturing districts of the United States.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (passing the older or " false '
measures of Augusta county, near Buffalo Gap furnace, and the

42

carbonaceous shales with one coal seam of two inches thickness in
the Lewis tunnel) enters the Alleghany coal-field proper near the
junction of New river and Meadow creek, a few miles beyond
Hinton — the first outcrop being met on the slopes of Bluestone
river, four miles to the Southwest. Thence down the New river
and Kanawha valleys, the several seams referred to are traced
continuously upon either slope to the vicinity of Coalsmouth, or
St. Albans, 108 miles west of Hinton. Beyond St. Albans, for
48 miles to the Kentucky State line, the railroad skirts the Northern
border of the Coal river, Guyandotte and Big Sandy coal-fields,
for which, by branch tracks, it is the only outlet by rail.

In addition to the mining facilities , thus afforded by a frontage
of over 100 miles of main track, through the richest and deepest
portion of the New river and Kanawha districts, the tributary
valleys, including the Gauley and Elk river basins, supply lines
of interior access, aggregating at least 400 miles, upon which good
branch tracks may be constructed at moderate cost. The slopes
and side drainage are also favorable for coal inclines and for the
steep mining tracks successfully used in the anthracite districts of
Pennsylvania.

Mr. Howell Fisher, of Pennsylvania, in 1873, wrote as follows:

"In respect to conditions most essential to cheap and profitable working,
this region stands unrivalled. It has been stated before that the chasm of
the river renders it most peculiar service in its relation to the coal. Cutting
all the coal strata for nearly its whole length entirely through, and getting
down among the shales under the coal, the river has caused the numerous
streams which pierce this whole coal region to cut down through most of
the coal-bearing strata on their courses, leaving the coal entirely above water
level, accessible at hundreds of points by simply scraping off the surface
soil ; so that so far as the mere getting of coal is concerned, two thousand
dollars will open a mine ready to ship one thousand tons per week. There
is no region in the world where less physical labor will prepare a mine for
the delivery of coal at the drift's mouth.

" This will be made clearer by a comparison of the position of coal here
and in Great Britain in this respect. In Great Britain, and in fact in most
all of the European coal-fields, the coal is deep below the water-level. To
reach the seams requires the expenditure of years of labor and vast sums of
money in sinking shafts or pits, and in erecting pumping and hoisting ma-
chinery, to be maintained and renewocl at heavy annual expense. It is
authoritatively stated, that the cost of sinking shafts in the Newcastle region

43

of England to the depth of one thousand feet, has been, in many instances,
one thousand dollars per yard. In the great Northern coal-field of Great
Britain, producing twenty millions tons per annum, there are two hundred
pits or shafts, costing, in first outlay, for sinking and machinery, fifty
millions of dollars, to which must be added the necessary expense of con-
structing and maintaining proper air-courses and then* accessories requisite
to the safety of the employes.

" There is now invested simply in pits, and machinery for pumping and
hoisting the one hundred million tons produced in Great Britain, two hun-
dred million dollars ; and this vast sum is destined to utter destruction in
serving the purposes for which it was used.

'•These pits and machinery being constructed, they involve a certain
amount of labor for every ton of coal got, in addition to their cost and
renewal.

"Now, in this great coal-field crossed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road, Nature has already sunk all the necessary pits and shafts, which need
neither repair, renewal, or labor to work them. The laws of gravity have
provided the most perfect, permanent, and costless pumping machinery;
and the most perfect ventilation of the mine and safety of the employes,
instead of requiring scientific knowledge and anxious thought, is simply a
matter of the most ordinary care, the almost perfect freedom from noxious
gases being the natural result of the position of the coal strata."

Three years' working experience has intervened, under adverse
conditions of markets and mining labor, to test the sanguine views
of Mr. Fisher.

The number of mines has increased from two, which commenced
coal shipments by rail in 1873, to eighteen in 1876, not including
those mines on the far bank of the Kanawha river, which have
been compelled to ship by water. One of the largest and most
prosperous, (at Cannelton), however, now uses rail transportation
altogether, having good ferry arrangements over the Kanawha.
With this increase of mines, the coal tonnage has steadily in-
creased— that of 1875 being 35 per cent, over 1874, and in 1876
(first five months) about 50 per cent, over the same period of 1875.

Of the eighteen mines referred to on the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad, not one has been found to require machinery for venti-
lation, hoisting or pumping ; and there has been an unusual ex-
emption from mine accidents. Their mining plant is of the sim-
plest character, viz : side or branch tracks, inclines and tipples,
and occasionally bins. The facilities in this valley for opening
work at low cost are certainly exceptional.

44

At least three of the smaller mines have been opened, the officers
of the railroad report, for less than $'2,000, "so far as the mere
getting of coal is concerned."

But for greater precision of statement, reference is made to the
Coal Valley mine, (343 miles from Richmond), which weekly ships
960 to 1,000 tons from a seven foot vein, here 80 feet above the
railroad. The agent of this company states that the original
outlay to open and equip the mine was $4,200, and that the entire
expenditure to date, including all mining work chargeable to this
account, and for all fixtures, rails, tools, cars and stocks, has been
$6,230. This Coal Valley enterprise, one of the most successful of
the Kanawha Valley, is operated on leased ground, under royalty,
by an association of miners, and has supplied the Richmond Gas
Works by contract during 1875 and 1876 — also.shipping gas coal
to more distant points.

Other mines have been opened upon the Coal Valley and ad-
joining seams for less cost where they approach the railroad more
closely. The smaller mines are generally operated by miners on
lease, and when examined present the most convincing evidence of
the facility of mining superior coals at very low cost. It is em-
phatically the field of work for men, or companies, of small means.

In referring more particularly to these coals, the New river
group of the lower measures comes first in geological order;
although from the N. W. dip of the formation they are the higher,
topographically. For information in detail upon the, geological
features of this region, reference is made to the writings of Rogers,
Ansted, Stevenson, Hildreth and MacFarlane, and to the recent
report of M. F. Maury to the State Centennial Commission, upon
the mineral jesources of West Virginia.

The Quinnimont coal section on Laurel creek, of New river,
shows the outcrop of eight well defined seams, aggregating about
twenty-one feet of coal. These seams appear to thicken as they
leave New river. Four miles up Laurel creek, the four feet seam
mined at Quinnimont becomes five feet and over in several openings.
Also, opposite, on the Raieigh slopes, a six feet vein is mentioned
. in the State Report, (Maury). '

At Sewell Station, 313 miles from Richmond, the same authority

45

gives a section of eight seams, with twenty-two feet total thickness
of coal ; and at the Hawks' Nest, 324 miles from Richmond, seven
seams, with forty-four feet total thickness.

The " lower/' or New river measures, yield several superior
steam coals, the Nutall mine now supplying the Old Dominion
line of steamers from Richmond to New York, and the other
mines a large portion of the demand for the James river and
Richmond city. These coals have also very valuable coking pro-
perties, as will be seen from the annexed analyses, compiled from
mine records and the State Report :

COALS.

O

MINE.

a
o

a

w

3

a

bo

l>a

a
a
fee
o

CHEMIST.

O

>

<

-ji

w

O

s

Nutallburg

69.00

29.59

1.07(?)
5.07
4.68
4.33

0 78

0 34

C E. Dwight.
J. B. Britton.

Sewell.. .'

72.32

T5.89
71.33

21.38
IS. 19
22.53

0.20
0.30

1.03
0.94
1.81

':.'.'.

Quinnimont

J. B. Britton.

New River Coal and Coke Co.

J. B. Britton.

COKES.

Nutallburg

Sewell..

Quinnimont No. 1 .
Quinnimont No. 2.
Qninnimont No. 3"
Connellsville

91.22
93.00
93.85
91.72
91.14
ST. 46

2.71

7,53
6.73
5. 85
5.09
6.65
11.36

0.92
0.27
0.30
0.48
0.42
0.69

0.23
0.49

0.38

1.17

0.01

C E. Dwight.
J. B. Britton.
J. B. Britton.
J. B. Britton.
J. W. Mallett.
J. B. Britton.

The New river cokes are ranked first class for blast furnace and
cupola use. They have supplied the Quinnimont, Longdate,
Callie; Elizabeth and Buffalo Gap furnaces, and the more impor-
tant foundries on the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
In blast furnaces, 1 J tons of this coke is the usual allowance for
one ton of iron made from raw ores ; and one case has been re-
liably reported, where, with prepared ores, the lower English

46

figures have been held. In cupola work, the Ensign Manufac-
turing Company (Huntington) reports for car-wheel, casting as
follows :

'• The coke sent from Quinnimont for trial has proved successful
and fully equal to the Connelsville coke we have been using. We
melted a heat of five tons, carrying a charge of one (coke) to nine
(iron) in fifty minutes, giving the metal very hot, and as fast as
eight moulders could take it away."

Similar results are reported in Richmond and in other foundries
upon the line.

In the New river district, mining work was commenced in 1873.
There are now four mines in operation, and a fifth is preparing to
ship.

The Quinnimont mines, 295 miles from Richmond, are chiefly
worked to supply the large iron furnace near by with its comple-
ment of eighty coke ovens, but shipments of coal are also made
for the Eastern markets.

The New River Coal and Coke Company has recently opened
upon the same vein, 13 miles westward, for coal, and eventually
for coke shipments. Their seam is here 4 J to '5 feet thick.

The Longdale Coal and Iron Company work the Sewell mine,
312 miles from Richmond, (in the upper vein of 3 J to 4 J feet
thickness), and exclusively for their "LucySelina" furnace, in
Alleghany county, Virginia. The coke-oven arrangements here,
and their product, are among the very best of the district.

The Nutall Company, four miles westward, has also com-
menced the construction of coke-ovens, but its operations are at
present more directed to coal shipments. The Nutall coke is ex-
cellent, and was used for several months in the Callie furnace,
Botetourt county, Virginia. It has also proved a first class fuel
in the Huntington car-wheel foundry.

On the Gauley mountain, there is the first marked transition
from the New river to the Kanawha series. The Gauley -Kanawha
Company has opened for mining the large 11 feet seam on that
mountain, three miles from Hawks7 Nest station, and has con-
structed a good narrow-gauge railroad down the slopes of Mill
Run. Cannel coal and black-band ores are also reported on their

47

Gauley tract. The State Report gives the following analyses (from
the Royal School of Mines, London), for coal from the 11-feet
seam :

Coke 65.99 Ash 2.15 per cent.

Volatile matter 32.62 Sulphur 0.74 " "

Water 1.40

100.00
Volatile gas per ton (2,240 lbs.), 10,100 cubic feet — 17T9^ candle power.

The State report describes the New river coals, in general terms,
as '' friable, rich, bituminous, exceedingly pure, and the seams
have the advantage of being very free from partings."

The Kanawha coals differ from the New river in several im-
portant characteristics. They are harder, have less fixed carbon,
more volatile combustible matter, generally less ash ; and in
variety they meet a somewhat wider range in the requirements o£
the mechanical arts. In the brief period since the completion of
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, the best grades of cannel,
semi-cannel, splint, block and gas coals, (as known to commerce),
have been introduced into and are shipped, in quantity and regu-
larly, to both Eastern and Western markets.

The extent and thickness of the Kanawha seams are considered
remarkable by geologists and mining engineers, even as compared
with the most noted of the Alleghany coal-fields.*

*The work "Coal, Iron and Oil," by Daddow & Bannon, Philadelphia,
edition of 1866, page 340, speaking of this coal basin, says : " Coal river,
Elk river, and Gauley diverge from the Great Kanawha and spread their
branches over one of the richest and most magnificent coal regions in the
world, and bring down their wealth to one' common centre on the Great
Kanawha. The coals of this region generally are better, purer, and more
available for all the requirements of trade and manufacture than the coal
from any other portion of the Alleghany coal-field. The seams of coal are
more numerous and their thickness greater than in any other portion of this
coal-field ; it can be mined cheaper and with more economy generally, under
the same rates of labor, than in any other region in this country without ex-
ception.

48

In the State Report, (Maury), which evidently seeks not to
overstate, there are given three sections of the coal strata at different
localities in the Kanawha valley, as follows, viz :

At Cannelton, 38 feet 6 inches thickness of coal, (with partings), "partial
above water level."

At Paint creek, 38 • feet 10 inches thickness of coal, (with partings), com-
plete above water level.

Near Coalburg, 41 feet 3 inches thickness of coal, (with partings), complete
above water level.

As in the New river measures, these seams become thicker as
they recede from the Kanawha.

The Ridgway section at Cannelton, (1873), gave five workable
seams there opened, with 29 feet of coal exposed, and an aggregate
thickness in section of 41 feet. Professor Ridgway adds : "The
lower coal measures which I have just described, (Kanawha, &c),
.are comprised in twenty-four seams, eleven of which — containing
an aggregate thickness of fifty -one feet — are workable. The pick
and shovel may disclose new beds in addition." His estimate of
the quantity of coal within five miles only on either side of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, above water level,, is very large.

The Ansted section for Amstrong, Paint and Cabin creeks, gives
fifteen exposed seams, with an aggregate thickness of 66 feet.
Professor Ansted is quoted at length further on.

Major Hotchkiss gives larger figures for the Cannelton section ;
probably estimating for coal seams under water level.

Such, however, is the well known wealth in coal of the Kanawha
district, that it is unnecessary to dwell further upon particular
sections, estimates or measurements. The practical question of the
future, as demonstrated during the brief mining experience upon
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, since its opening in June,
1873, is simply one of development, more or less rapid as affected
by the revival of the coal and iron trade.

The superior qualities of the Kanawha coals are sufficiently in-
dicated in their analyses, of which the following are compiled for
the leading mines, from the most reliable authorities at present
accessible — adding for comparison those of a few of the standard

49

coals of Great Britain and of West Pennsylvania, Ohio, and other
States :

LOCATION.

■Cannel Coals:

Peytona, West Virginia

* Cannelton "Selected," W. Va...
do. "Average," " ...

Darlington, Ohio ,

Kirkless Hall, England

Semi-Cannel, Cokinn and Gas Coals:

Cannelton, West Virginia

Coal Valley '-Lower Seam,*' W. Va
Coalburg " Main Seam," "

Raymond City, West Virginia ,

Despard. " ,

Sterling, Ohio

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

do. do.

Westmoreland, do.

Penn'a Gas Co. do.

Lingan, Cape Breton ,

Block House, Cape Breton ,

Newcastle, England

Splint and Bituminous Coals:

Paint Creek "Gray Splint," W. Va

Coal Valley " Top Seam," "

Gauley, "Kanawha, "

Coalburg "Splint," "

do. "4 ft. Seam," "

Campbell's Creek, "

do. "2d Seam," "

do. "3d Seam," "

Kelly's Creek, "

Winifrede, "

Youghiogheny, Ohio ,

Pomeroy, "

Canton, "

Star Mine, Indiana

Clyde Splint, Scotland

Enriching Materials:

Graharnite, West Virginia

Albertite, Nova Scotia ,

Boghead Mineral, Scotland

Hartley Mineral, Australia

46.00

46.50
46.50
43.00
40.30

35.10
35.20
40.50
33.00!
40.00
37.50
36.76|
41.10
36.00
35.80
35.20
40. SO I
32.70

30.13
3S.32
30.00
32.50
33.26
35.64
32.24
33.68
37.03
27.01
23.10
35.S01
34.50
32 50
36.S0

53.50
57.70
51.60

S2.50

41.00

43.20
41.30
40.00
56.40

62.90
61.60
56.50
50.10
53.30
56.90
56.17
56.90
5S.00
61.00
60.S0
57.70
65.55

63.74
57.20
65.00
62.00
,62.61
61.07
64.16
57.76
60.92
6S.53
66.69
47.72
59.50
61.50
59.00

44.50

41.90

15.70

6.50

o

ss

<

*

13.00

10.20

12.20

17.00

3.30

2.00

1.S7

1.33

1.50

2.00

6.90

6.70

5.60

7.o7

1.00

1.66

6.00

3.20

4.00

1.50

1.75

6.13

4 30

0.18

4.50

"it 66

1.50

1.81

2.32

1.41

1.8S

3.60

8.56

2.00

3.22

1.24

3.44

1.77

12.99

3.49

6.00

2.50

3.50

4.20

2.00

0.40

32.70

11.00

CHEMIST

OR

AUTHORITY

Manhattan Gas L. Co. and

Professor Chandler.
C. M. Cresson.
C. M. cresson.
Chandler.
Chandler.

Ford.

State Report.

Levette.

Vinton.

Chandler.

Chandler.

Chandler.

Levette.

Chandler.

Cresson.

Chandler.

Chandler.

Chandler.

Doremus.

Richmond City Gas Co.

Manhattan G. L. Co.

Levette. ^ & V

Riverside Iron Co.

Riverside Iron Co.

Rogers.

Rogers.

Rogers.

Locke, Cinn.

Locke, Cinn.

Locke, Cinn.

Warmley.

Levette.

Mnshet.

Chandler.
Chandler.

Chandler.
Chandler.

*The following analysis of the lower stratum of the Cannelton Cannel vein appears in
a recent publication of that company :

Fixed Carbon' 23.5

Volatile Matter 55.0

Ash 1S.5

SPLINT COALS.

Nearly all of the Kanawha mining properties have one or more
veins of splint or block coal, of which the distinctive features are

50

"square, regular cleavage and great purity," as appears from the
low percentage of ash in the foregoing analyses.

The State Report (Maury) refers to the splint coal as follows :
" In the Kanawha region it is abundant, and, in admixture with
more or less bituminous coal, is found in seams as thick as 10 and
11 feet. For the combined purposes of steam, domestic use, and
the manufacture of iron, it may be looked upon as the most useful
and valuable coal of the State, and even now it ranks so high that
in the New York retail market it quotes higher than any other
West Virginia coal, except cannel. Its value is due to its firm-
ness and solidity, which enables it to be handled, shifted and stored
with very little loss. It burns well, leaving but little ash; has
both high calorific power and intensity; is usually remarkably
free from sulphur and other impurities ; has little or no tendency
to clinker; is free from the danger of firing by spontaneous combus-
tion— a great desideratum in storage, and ocean transportation ; is
first rate as a steam and household fire, and it has particular adap-
tability in its raw state to the manufacture of iron in the blast
furnace, for which purpose it is eagerly sought in districts accessi-
ble to market, as it makes a quality of iron which can only be sur-
passed by the use of charcoal."

The great sustaining strength of splint coal becomes a very im-
portant consideration with the increasing dimensions of blast furn-
aces. In the United States these stacks have already attained the
height of 86 feet, and still greater heights in Europe, requiring
the strongest and best furnace fuel to support the " burthen " of
ore and limestone. In one of the highest of these furnace stacks,
(iEtna, Ironton, Ohio,) the Campbell's Creek, (Kanawha), splint is
used balf and half in combination with coke; also in the Belle-
fonte and other Ohio River furnaces with a much higher percent- ,
age of splint coal. The Ashland furnace, on the Kentucky side of
the Big Sandy, using for fuel only the coals of the vicinity, make
Bessemer iron from Missouri and local ores. Both Coalburg and
Campbell's Creek Splint have been used without mixture in blast
furnaces, and in two instances on the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road, in combination with charcoal. The question of practicability

51

has passed into one of relative economy, as compared with coke,
varying with local conditions and cost of transportation.

The Kanawha Splint coals are also in favor for heating and
puddling furnaces. Fine coal from several mines (the Stranghan
and Coal Valley, among others,) is transported 337 miles to the
iron works of Richmond, Virginia, and the Kanawha coals gene-
rally to the rolling mills westward.

GAS COAL.

Cannel — The name (Cannel — Candle) sufficiently indicates the
more valuable properties of this mineral. The high percentage of
"volatile (gaseous) combustible matter," shown in the analyses,
also explains its precedence and high price among gas coals in the
eastern markets. And this precedence appears more plainly in
comparing — say the Peytona Cannel yield of 13,200 cubic feet of
gas, 42.79 candle power, with the average of about 10,000 cubic
feet of 16 candle power for the standard gas coals of commerce.
Hence the demand for cannel coal in leading gas works, as an
st enricher."

The cannel coals are found in probably larger workable quanti-
ties in West Virginia than in other localities on the American con-
tinent. The Peytona. mine has shipped largely and almost contin-
uously since the opening of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,
using for the present the westerly outlet, Coal River with its slack
water navigation of 30 miles to St. Albans (Coalsmouth), and
transhipping there to the railroad for eastern markets. Surveys
have been made for a branch railroad connection (of about 12 miles
across the intervening ridge) with the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail-
road at or near Brownstown Station. This accomplished, will greatly
increase the shipping capacity of these valuable mines, and afford
access to other cannel properties in the Coal River district. The
Peytona Cannel vein ranges from 2 feet 6 inches to 4 feet in thick-
ness.

The Cannelton Company (across the Kanawha River from Can-
nelton Station, 343 miles from Richmond,) also ships cannel largely
in addition to working other seams upon the same property, viz :

52

No. 4. Cannel, ranging from 1 to 5 feet in thickness, with a
softer or semi-cannel on top.

No. 5. Block or Splint coal, about 8 feet thick, hard, strong, and
with other characteristics of the better splint varieties as described
elsewhere.

No. 2. Coking or Gas Coal, 7 feet thick, and conforming in po-
sition to the vein on the westerly slopes of the Kanawha described
as Coal Valley.

Capacity of the Cannelton mines 300 tons daily, with very com-
plete equipment and shipping arrangements.

The valuable Cannel seams of the Cannelton section, together
with other veins, have been opened at several points upon the
Huntington property adjoining, and elsewhere in the vicinity.
While the Kanawha coal formation is unusually reliable in the
continuity of its seams and freedom from serious faults, it is the
characteristic of Cannel seams generally elsewhere to run out sud-
denly or change into bituminous or other varieties in the same
seam. This well known peculiarity of Cannel deposits renders
the more important and valuable those of the Kanawha group in
their greater extent and vein thickness, so far as developed, although
it is not to be understood that even these deposits are entire excep-
tions to the uncertainty of Cannel formations elsewhere.

Upon the slopes of Paint Creek, below and opposite, there are
rich cannel deposits, some of which were worked for oil before the
general opening of petroleum wells. This was also done at Can-
nelton, the yield being 2 gallons per bushel, or 56 gallons per ton,
There are several well ascertained cannel deposits within a circuit
of some 20 miles radius from Paint Creek Station, and others at
more distant points upon which information is less, positive.

Cannel and bituminous shales are also found in large quantities
in this formation.

Semi- Cannel, Coking and Bituminous Coals — Under these desig-
nations are included most of the gas coals of commerce. It will
be seen from the annexed tabular statement, which contains also
several of the standard gas coals in Great Britain and the United
States, that the Kanawha coals compare favorably with the best,
and give decidedly superior results to most on the list:

53

LOCATION.

■r. .

51

« °

u o
I*

S3 D
Oft

o a
w 9

JE '~ DQ

t>wa

%1

o

o
d

OS

CHEMIST
OR

AUTHORITY.

Pcytona "Cannel," Kanawha

Cannelton " Kanawha... -J

" "Average," Kanawha

" "Selected," Kanawha

" "Coking:," Kanawha

Coal Valley "Lower Seam," Kanawha

Blacksburg " ?

Coalburg "

13.200
12.025
10,000
11.04S
12.5S3
11,334
10,080
10,304
10,752
10,707
11,244
11,771
10,765

10.642
9,S56
10.523
15,426
10,057
9,520
10,217

950.6'
992.7

' 473.66'
2755 '. 60 '

42.79
45.60
64.54

" 16.14*
17.0
17.0
16.0
17.8
16.9
17.0
20.41

16.62

i'slsT
"i'o'.ii'

12.92
4 17.32

Manhattan Gas Light Co.

> Manhattan Gas Light Co.

C. M. Cresson.

C. M. Cresson.

Ford.

Richmond Gas Works.

Richmond Gas Works.

Metropolitan Gas Light Co.

South Boston Gas Light Co.

Brookline, Mass.

*Coal Vallev... "

Despard, West Virginia

Chandler.

(Quantity of coal used in trial not
known.)

"Westmoreland, Pennsylvania

Penu'a Gas Co., "

Sterling, Ohio

Chandler.
Cresson.

Boghead, Scotland

Fyfe.

Newcastle, England

Lina'an. Cape Breton

Chandler.

Block House, Cape Breton

*The Kanawha tests, as above quoted, were from various quantities of coal, ranging
from 10 tons up to the working average, in one case, of 5,000 tons.

ERRATA.

After note on "Kanawha Tests," read the first six paragraphs on page 57.

Page 54, fourteenth line from top. read 34 to 44 inches.

Page 25, fourteenth line from top, read "and was completed."
veins upeneu — two worKed. The "Coalburg," 7 feet seam, sup-
plies one of the best splint coals known, aud is in special demand
for engine* fuel, iron works, and household uses. Present capacity
daily, 350 to 400 tons.

Houston mine, 2 miles west ; two openings, splint and gas ; the
latter about 3 feet thick, and partially cannel ; vein 60 feet above

» railroad. Work suspended for the present.

* Mr. Buck, M. E., gives the average engine consumption of Coalburg
coal used on the Kentucky Central Railroad, for six months during 1875, at
30 pounds per mile of train moved, and the following monthly averages :
March, 32^ pounds per mile run ; April, 31T\ ; May, 30T% ; June, 25, and
July, 27T%. The engine performance with Youghiogheny coal upon the
same railroad was not equal to the Coalburg, according to figures from same
authority.

54

Coalmont mine, near Lewiston, and probably in the Lewiston
vein, which is 370 feet above the railroad ; ships good splint coal,
with equipment for 200 tons when in full operation. Gas coal
vein also opened.

Lewiston Company, 356 miles from Richmond ; two openings in
splint veins, 4J to 7 feet thick, and two additional in gas coal
veins. The Lewiston is one of the best Kanawha splints, and is
shipped to New York and other distant points. A working test
of this coal for passenger engine* service on the Atlantic, Missis-
sippi and Ohio Railroad, is given below. Daily capacity of Lew-
iston mine, 450 tons.

Brownstown, 360 miles from Richmond. The English cannel
vein, one mile distant, and 480 feet vertically above the railroad,
has been opened with good promise, the vein showing 34 inches in
outcrop. A branch track to this seam has been located, and will
be constructed during the present season.

Nearly all the Kanawha coals thus mentioned, have been, or are
now used, for the Chesapeake and Ohio engine service. The
working results for the year 1875, are given in the following ab-
stract from the regular reports of the machinery department :

S9 •
Bss

o

3

be .

3 «
boH

c3
Fh

>

<

00
bJD

a
' '3

13
©

9

§

Pounds of coal
used per mile
run.

TRAIN SERVICE.

i
5 3

OB ^

03 O
® 08 bo

REMARKS.

Passenger and mixed. .

Lbs.
90,000

120,000

111,500

Lbs.
220,700

887,000-

324,000

521,814

1,127,350

106,069

29.62
52.44

37.0
62.5

40.3

The general aver-
age for the year in-
cludes in 'wastage'
the deterioration of

coal in stock and all
losses whatsoever.

♦Memorandum of trial of Lewiston coal upon the Atlantic, Mississippi
and Ohio Railroad, from notes of Mr. Henry Fink, Superintendent of Trans-
portation :

Weight of engine and tender loaded 110,300 pounds.

Weight of train West, 6 cars, exclusive of engine... 273,250 "

Weight of train East, 5 cars, exclusive of engine... 214,000 "

Sum of ascents West, (Lynchburg to Bristol) 4,815 feet.

Sum of descents West, (Lynchburg to Bristol) 3,755 "

Maximum grade, 70 feet per mile.

Maximum curve, 7 degrees.
Coal consumed per round trip of 408 miles, 29.02 pounds per mile run.

55

These working averages are found to compare very favorably
with the performance sheets of all railroads examined by the writer.
As this large item of expenditure is now receiving much attention
in railroad administration, and particularly from companies buying
" outside " fuel, a comparative statement of engine performance
with the coals of two well known districts, (under somewhat similar
conditions of service), is given below for the benefit of parties
interested :

FROM STATE CENTENNIAL REPORT— Page 222.

Baltimore axd Ohio Railroad,
Office of Chief Engineer, Martinsburg, W. Va., April 6, 1876.
M. F. Maury, Esq. :

Dear Sir — I give you results of observation on the consumption of fuel in
locomotives on this road :

1st Division, Baltimore to Martinsburg 100 miles.

Weight of engine 72,900 pounds.

Weight of train 834,000 "

Maximum grade (per mile) 80 feet.

Minimum radius of curvature 600 "

Ascent westward 1,282 "

" eastward 913 "

Consumption of coal per mile run.. 60 pounds.

Coal was from large vein near Piedmont, in Mineral county.

3d Division, trip from Keyser to Grafton and return 157J miles.

Weight of engine 95,300 pounds.

Weight of train 831,000 "

Maximum grade (per mile) 117 feet.

Minimum radius of curvature 600 "

Ascent westward 2,518 "

" eastward 2,334 "

Consumption of fuel per mile run 134 pounds.

Coal was from large vein near Piedmont, in Mineral county.

4th Division, Grafton to Benwood 95J miles.

Weight of engine 73,400 pounds.

Weight of train 795,000 "

Maximum grade (per mile) 68 feet.

Minimum radius of curvature 600 "

Ascent westward. 825 "

Ascent eastward 1,167 "

Consumption of fuel per mile run 90 pounds.

Coal was from the mines at Fairmont, in Marion count}'.

56

Parkersburg Branch, Parkersburg to Grafton 104 miles.

Weight of engine . 73,400 pounds.

Weight of train 600,000 "

Maximum grade (per mile).. 52.8 feet.

Minimum radius of curvature 600 "

Ascent westward 1,644 "

Ascent eastward 2,086 "

Consumption of fuel per mile run 85 pounds.

Coal was from the mines at Clarksburg, in Harrison county.
Respectfully,
(Signed) JAMES L. RANDOLPH, Chief Engineer,

Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,
Office of Engineer and Superintendent of Transportation,

Richmond, Va., May 1, 1876.
ENGINE PERFORMANCE FOR FUEL.

FREIGHT SERVICE.

Eastern Division, Richmond to Staunton 136.38 miles.

Weight of engine 61,500 pounds 70,250 pounds.

Weight of train 754,800 " 943,500 "

Maximum grade (per mile) 75 feet.

Minimum radius of curvature 716 "

Ascent westward , 3,163.02 "

Ascent eastward 1,805.87 "

Consumption of coal per mile run, as determined by the

monthly average reports of the master of machinery... 54.68 pounds.

Middle Division, Staunton to Hinton 136.31 miles.

Weight of engine , 61,500 pounds 70,250 pounds.

Weight of train 435,140 " 586,100 "

Maximum grade (per mile) '. 80 feet.

Minimum radius of curvature 716 "

Ascent westward 2,520.32 "

Ascent eastward 2,530.50 "

Consumption of coal per mile run,' as determined by the

monthly average reports of the Master of machinery... 57.42 pounds.

Western Division, Hinton to Huntington 148.34 miles.

Weight of engine 61,500 pounds 70.250 pounds.

Weight of train 943,500 " 1,132,200 "

Maximum grade (per mile) 30 feet.

Minimum radius of curvature 716.8 "

Ascent westward 379.85 "

Ascent eastward 1190.35 "

Consumption of coal per mile run, as determined by the

monthly average reports of the master of machinery... 55.96 pounds.
(Signed) W. M. S. DUNN,

Engineer and Superintendent of Transportation^

57

The gas and splint coals referred to are mined by nearly all of
the Kanawha Companies heretofore noticed. In addition, there
are the following :

Straughan mine, half mile west of Coal Valley, and upon the
same vein ; height above railroad track, 70 feet ; present daily
capacity, 100 tons, with shipments 50 to 60.

Lewis and Love, Upper Creek, 2 miles west, in a 6 feet vein, 35
feet above traek level ; shipping good splint and gas coals ; pre-
sent daily capacity, 200 tons.

Paint Creek , Gordon and Seal, three seams opened, two being
splint, (black and grey), and one of approved gas coal ; 200 tons
daily capacity.

Kanawha Semi-Cannel Coal Company, 349 miles from Rich-
mond. Several openings, but working the 7 feet grey splint vein,
one of the hardest and strongest of the Kanawha coals, and prized
for family fuel. Present capacity 130 to 150 tons, which, in view
of the substantial incline track and equipment of the mine, could
be rapidly and largely increased.

Blach'sburg mine, 2 miles west, and directly upon railroad.
Vein 3J to 4 feet thick, without partings, and one of the richest
and best gas coals in the market, having been shipped in quantity
to gas works in Boston, New York, Washington, Richmond and
Cuba. Present daily capacity 100 tons, and mining facilities being
increased.

It has been stated that considerable investments of English
capital have been made in coal lands upon or near the line of the
Chesapeake and Ohio railroad.

The Gauley-Kanawha Coal Company (limited), one of the
largest of these enterprises, has opened mines on Gauley moun-
tain, as heretofore mentioned ; built branch tracks, and made other
improvements, under well understood difficulties^ topographical
and otherwise. The experience of this company (of the greater
interest on that account) is indicated in the following remarks of
W. Clark, Esq., (Mem. Inst. C. E. and sent out from England to
inspect and advise,) in presenting his report to the meeting of
stockholders in London, January 15, 1876. Mr. Clark said:

58

The report which has now been read was written with a desire to convey
to the minds of those who are interested the simple facts, of the case, that
they may be able to judge for themselves the position of the undertaking.
I have carefully avoided giving any coloring whatever to these facts, though
it is almost impossible to say too much of the property as a coal-producing
locality. I believe that when the company is in a position to place coal in
the market, they will be able to effect sales at remunerative rates. The
quantity will probably not be great at first, and the business must be pushed
by degrees. My estimate has been formed on an output of 300 tons per day.
When that quantity is sold daily, and I believe it soon will be, I think all the
shareholders may look for ten per cent, on their investment. There will,
however, be the usual difficulty of putting a new coal into the market ; this
will involve some expense and time. There must also be a working capital.
The amount necessary for this will depend on the contract made, and
whether the buyer or the seller pays freight ; in the latter case it will be con-
siderable. Prompt payments for labor are of course necessary. The rail-
ways and shipowners give no credit whatever. I find that I have omitted to
state that the one engine (narrow-gauge locomotive) Will be capable of work-
ing 400 tons per day over the hill, and with a second engine S00 tons. There
is one subject I have not alluded to in the report — that is the store. This I
found to be a very flourishing concern. It was started in April, 1874, with a
capital of $959. Besides paying the current expenses, it has now a stock
worth $2,193, or it has more than doubled its capital.

Some persons are of opinion that the best prospect for the future of this
Company is connected with the manufacture of iron ; and there is now a
very successful operation of this nature at Quinnimont, where the iron ore
is brought about one hundred miles, the limestone nearly fifty miles — both
by railway. The iron is smelted with coke from the coals of the mine, and
the pig iron is taken a distance of eighty-eight miles by railway to Hunting-
ton, on the Ohio, where it is put into barges and taken up stream to Pitts-
burg, a distance of nearly three hundred miles further, and sold at $25 per
ton, which leaves a profit, the cost of making it at Quinnimont being but $14
(so printed) per ton. The fact of iron made at so great a distance being able
to compete with iron made on the spot at the Birmingham of America proves
alike the capabilities of the district and the marketable quality of the iron.

There are also other evidences of the opinions with which the Americans
themselves regard the district. Our nearest neighbor, Mr. Nuttal, an En-
glishman, having been engaged in coal mining for many years in Penn-
sylvania, has transferred his capital and operations to a spot six miles only
from Hawk's Nest. General Gilmore, one of the United States engineers on
the commission appointed to examine into the Central Water Communication
alluded to in the report, is the proprietor of an estate adjacent to the Gauley
property, while a Virginian gentleman, Mr. Newman, recently purchased
1,000 acres on the Gauley, immediately opposite to that of this Company,
as the best investment he could find for his capital. There can be no doubt,

59

I consider, that property in this district must rise in value, and, I should
think, rapidly.

********

The chairman said they were in possession of a very valuable property,
and the means had now been provided to render its resources available.

Mr. Wall, who had accompanied Mr. Clark to the colliery, (Gauley-
Kanawha), said that one point had not been taken into consideration — that
the resources of the property were developed. As to the sale of the coal in
the Western markets, there were an enormous number of towns where con-
sumption would be very great, and there need be no fear of sale as soon as
it could be produced.

Also, in London, during a session of the Society of Arts, in
1873, concurrent testimony upon the great value of Virginia coal
and iron deposits was given as follows :

''Professor Ansted, F. E. S., said it was nearly twenty years since he first
visited Virginia, and examined some of its mineral riches. * * He could
speak personally and positively as to the nature of the coal fields alluded to,
which provided one of the greatest resources of mineral wealth of Virginia,
and one which would no doubt prove in the long run the most important of
all. They might form a good notion of the real value of this coal field by
drawing a comparison between Virginia and England, two countries of
nearly the same size. In Virginia the coal fields extended across the country
from Northeast to Southwest — as if two-thirds of England were one coal-
field— the coal not being difficult to work, involving very few mechanical
difficulties with water, and scarcely any danger from explosions. The com-
jnunications by railway were quite equal to those of England. It was true
the coal fields did not come actually to the coast, but they reached almost to
the Ohio and Mississippi, and he felt sure that the Mississippi itself would
ultimately be as great a highway for America as the Atlantic was for England.
There being easy communication with the Atlantic coast, he did not think
it was too much to expect that in course of time Virginia would send over
coals to England if the labor question remained as it then existed. At the
present time they exported coal largely from Newcastle, from the neighbor-
hood of England and South Wales, and he saw no reason why some of the
great Appalachian coal fields should not export coal with equal convenience
to England as we did to New York. For a very long time past the whole of
the gas burnt in New York had been made of English coal, notwithstanding
the facility they had for getting it from their own country ; but if the price
increased much more they would have to use their own. As to the existence
of coal in Virginia there could be no question, but it had never been pro-
perly worked ; indeed, there was no coal field which was more important,
and, although there were places where the seams were thicker, there were
none where they were more accessible or of a better quality ; and he did not
think it was always the case that the thickest seams were the most valuable.

60

The coal fields in. the Appalachian range were nearly all horizontal, inter-
sected by convenient valleys, and could be worked from numerous points at
the same time with ease, and might be looked upon as inexhaustible. * * * *
Virginia was also rich in iron fields of every variety and quality, and he saw
no reason whatever why, if the same amount of energy and intelligence
were applied to the manufacture of iron as in England, Virginia should not
take precedence, in the present state of the labor market, in that important
manufacture. Something of this kind must inevitably take place, unless
things were altered, of which he saw no chance ; and in this respect Virginia
had the chance of being one of the most important States of America, and
one of the wealthiest countries in the world : for, although up to a compara-
tively recent time it had been neglected, there was no reason for it so far as
the physical condition of the country was concerned. No country had
greater resources of wealth : for besides coal and iron there were other min-
erals, gold having been obtained in many districts with advantage, and it
was certainly not yet exhausted. There were also copper, limestone, marble,
salt and other earthy minerals, which he would not allude to. With all these
advantages, he looked forward to Virginia being one of the countries of the
future, and he was happy in being able to lend what assistance he could in
pointing out these matters, because he had visited it at a time when it was
much less populous than it was now, and had foreseen that when the coal was
worked it must rise in importance.

"Mr. J. Bowron (Newcastle) said that two years ago he spent some months
in Virginia, more particularly for the purpose of investigating its mineral
resources, and he could concur in all the remarks of Professor Ansted.
There was no doubt of the regularity of the coal fields throughout the whole
of Western Virginia, while the country was so intersected with valleys that
it was very easy indeed to open up at any point coal seams which could be
readily identified with the same seams occurring twenty or thirty miles off.
He himself followed one seam a long distance, and its regularity he could
hardly have believed if he had not traced it. On approaching the Appala-
chian region he found such immense deposits of hydrated hematite ore as he
had never seen elsewhere, though he was familiar with deposits of a similar
kind in Cumberland and also in Spain. Besides these resources the capability
of Virginia as a paper producing country were greater than he believed ex-
isted anywhere else. It had the materials at hand for producing those chemi-
cals for which, at present, America depended mainly on England, being well
supplied with metallic sulphurets, salt, limestone possessing ninety-eight per
cent, of carbonate of lime, manganese, pure water and coal, and having
these, it could not lack anything for chemical manufactures; and it pos-
sessed beside^ such a growth of non-resinous trees and plants, suitable for
the manufacture of paper, that he had no hesitation in saying that the one
State alone could easily supply paper for the whole of the civilized world.

'"Mr. Newton said he had twice recently visited Virginia and Western Vir-
ginia, for the purpose of ascertaining its suitability as a colony for English
agriculturists. He found that the land was richer than in England, and the

Gl

climate better; land could be bought for little more than one year's rent in
this country ; every crop that would grow here might be cultivated there,
and some especial ones besides ; there were as good markets, and every ne-
cessary could be obtained at a lower price. In fact, all that an English
farmer wanted was a little capital to start with, and he could not fail of
doing well there.

"Mr. Etheridge, F. R. S., referring to the recent statement of Sir William
Armstrong, that under the present prices of coal England was paying what
was equivalent to an annual tax of £45,000,000 on that article, drew special
-attention to the rich mineral resources of Virginia, and expressed his opinion
that uuless some solution of the difficulty could be found at home — and there
was no absolute necessity for such famine prices, seeing that at the present
rate of consumption our own coal fields would not be exhausted in less than
500 years — Virginia would, at no distant date, be found supplying the whole
world with coal and iron."

OTHER MINERALS.

Gold. — The auriferous belt of Eastern Virginia is passed by
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in Louisa county, near Tolers-
ville station. Oue and a half miles to the northward the Walton
Mining Company still work the gold quartz vein from a shaft 150
feet deep, crushing and amalgamating two tons of quartz ore daily.

Copper and Iron Pyrites. — Just beyond the Walton mine, the
Central Virginia Copper and Gold Company are operating more
extensively. At date their mining work (shaft and winze) is 300
feet below ground surface, with good mining machinery — their
veins at that depth running more into the copper sulphurets. The
sulphurets (iron and copper) are in fact the only ores at present
shipped to meet a steadily increasing demand from the copper and
sulphuric acid works of the northern cities. Thirty-four hundred
tons of these pyrites were shipped to New York, Philadelphia and
Baltimore during 1875, and the shipments of 1876 are doubling
these quantities. The best sulphuret ores analyze 47.70 sulphur,
the residuum being mostly iron with a small percentage of sulphur.
It is now contemplated to erect sulphuric acid chambers nearer the
mines.

Lead and Antimony ores appear in Louisa county and elsewhere
along the line, but the commercial demand has not warranted as
yet any extended explorations to find them in quantity.

.Manganese. — Deposits of manganese have been found iu Louisa,

62

Augusta, Rockbridge, Bath, Alleghany and other counties. Ship-
ments have been made in considerable quantity from Waynesboro*
and Panther Gap stations. Some of these ores yield 77 per cent,
bin-oxide of manganese (pyrolusite), or 7 per cent, above the usual
commercial standard.

Salt, Building Material, Kaolin, Fire Clay, Cement, &c. — The
Kanawha salt is too well known to require detailed description.
From the earliest historical mention in 1753 to date, the reputa-
tion of the brines of this valley has been unusually well sustained
for purity and strength. The Kanawha wells supply grades of
salt equal to the best Turks' Island and better than Liverpool
(Ridgway); and especially for the finer domestic uses, meat curing
and butter manufacture.

The strength of the Kanawha brines is . stated by Dr. J. P.
Hale, of Charleston, West Va., to range from 6° to 12° by sali-
nometer, Beaume scale, distilled water being zero; and from 8° to
10° for brines from which salt is now made. Another writer
gives 45 gallons brine for one bushel of salt, or nearly double the
strength of the Onondaga (New York) salt springs, from which
domestic salt is largely manufactured, the coal being drawn from
Pennsylvania. In the Kanawha Valley, the coal for the salt fur-
naces comes from the nearest hill. Wells are worked at depths
ranging from 500 to 1,000 feet, and salt is produced, according to
Dr. Hale, at an average cost of from eight to eleven cents per
bushel, or thirteen to sixteen cents in barrels ready for shipment.
The present capacity of the Kanawha furnaces is 2,500,000 bush-
els per annum, with convenient transportation to both eastern and
western markets. The stress of the times has .extended to salt
manufacture, few of the furnaces now being worked to full capacity.

Bromine and chloride of calcium are made from the bitterns, or
waste waters, from salt manufacture. Plans are also on foot to
make here caustic soda and soda ash, using the pyrites ores from
Louisa county, Va. This manufacture, as well as the history of
the Kanawha salt production, is thoroughly reviewed in the com-
munication . of Dr. Hale to the West Virginia Centennial Com-
mission.

The saline formation is traced far up the valley of New river,

63

salt springs and wells having heretofore been worked above the
mouth of the Greenbrier. Gas wells have also been long known
in the Kanawha Valley, and in instances have been used for heat-
ing salt furnaces. Petroleum has been found in several of the
deeper wells, but has not attracted the same attention as in other
localities on account of the more engrossing salt manufacture and
coal mining.

Building Materials. — From the granites of Richmond to the
limestones of the Valley and the fine sandstones of the Trans-
Alleghany, there is nearly every variety of desirable building
stone. Through the western division of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railroad there are quarries of indefinite extent immediately upon
the roadside, where very fine-grained and durable sandstones can
be loaded directly on cars at very low cost. There are also mar-
bles and ornamental building stone in several localities. Among
the more noted are those of Augusta county, Va., near Craigsville
station.

Roofing slate has been quarried in large quanties near Keswick
station, Albemarle county, Va. Ridgway describes it as of " soft
nature, and some bands of it would be well adapted to working
up into ornamental works of art."

Kaolin is found in considerable beds in Augusta county, six
miles south of Fisherville, and was used for porcelain and pottery
manufacture until the destruction of the works by fire not long
since.

Hydraulic Cement was made from the cement limestones not far
from Covington, and was used extensively in the masonry of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.

Also, "not far from Swoope's station is a band of hydraulic
limestone of good quality, as I demonstrated by actual test. It is-
already shipped and used for cementing purposes." Ridgway.

Fire-clays abound in the coal measures of New River and below,
and pipe clays. Several analyses have been made of selected clays,
which promise good fire-brick. No kilns however have yet been
built. From the considerable local demand already for blast furn-
ace and coke-oven linings, and the certain wants of the future, the

64

:fire-brick manufacture suggests one of the best business openings
on the line of the railroad.

WATER-POWER, INDUSTRIAL SITES, ETC.

A line like that of the Chesapeake and Ohio, ascending 2,000
feet in the first 200 miles of its course, and descending nearly
1,000 feet in the next 150 miles, crossing and bordering on num-
erous streams by the way, must, of course, abound in advantage-
ous sites for the use of water as a motive power.

At Richmond there is abundance of water-power for three or
four times the present manufactures; in fact, the available water-
power of Richmond is said to exceed the entire mill privileges of
Lowell and Lawrence combined.

The flour ground at the Richmond Flouring Mills, owing to
the influence of climate, is greatly preferred over other brands for
export to South America and other warm latitudes, and commands
a correspondingly high price. The capacity of the 68 "run" of
stones of three mills is 4,080 barrels per day, sufficient to freight
a large ship; or 1,224,000 barrels per annum, requiring over
6,000,000 bushels of wheat. The flour business of Richmond
may be largely and advantageously increased, now that the railroad
makes western wheat available in that market at a low cost for
transportation.

At the head-waters of the James River, also, nearly every
mountain stream can be turned to account for milling or machinery
purposes. The timber from the woods can be floated to the mill
by water, and by water-power sawed into merchantable lumber.

Along the New River are numerous and effective water-powers
and advantageous mill sites, many of which can be had with the
adjacent land at the bare value of the land. So of its tributaries
and affluents, the Gauley, Elk, Coal and Pocatalico Rivers.

No part of the country, probably, affords so fine a field for the
mechanical industries in which iron, wood, coal, bleaching materi-
als, hides, wool or cotton are employed, as may be found along
the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. The material,
the power and the markets are all accessible under very favorable
conditions.

65

Mr. Howell Fisher, in speaking of the water-power, says :
i

u Allusion should also be made to one peculiar facility incident to this
river, resulting from the deep chasm cut by the waters, and which certainly
cr.n be found at but few other points. It is the use that can be so easily
made of hydraulic means for the lifting and handling of heavy weights.

" To illustrate : At almost any point along the river the mountain streams
can be turned into pipes with heads of (say) 300 feet, giving a pressure at the
railroad level of (say) 125 pounds to the square inch. If you wish at any
point to lift and handle weights of ten tons, you simply turn this water into
a cylinder with a piston of eighteen inches, which will allow over thirty per
cent, for friction, and it will lift the ten tons, and can be operated by any
one who can turn a hydrant cock.

"At several points on Xew river there are natural falls, where water-
power to the extent of from 5,000 to 10,000 horse-power can be had, and this
power can be secured by artificial dams at almost any desired point.

"The great value of these powers can only be fairly understood when the
fact is known that water-power is rated and paid for in the Middle and
Eastern States at a rent of from twenty to lift}' dollars per horse-power per
annum, according to location.

'•Even in works where not ordinarily considered desirable, water-power
has been found profitable. In the manufacture of pig iron the waste gases
have been thought to be all that could be wished as a means of power; but
on the Lehigh, above Easton, there are five furnaces standing almost side by
side, working precisely the same kind of stock — four worked by steam raised
by the waste gases, and one worked by water taken from the Lehigh canal,
for which the owners pay a water rent to the canal company, for the mere
use of the water as a power, of $3,000 per annum, rather than use the waste
gases for the purpose, and an experience of many years has shown that
it is more profitable so to do.

''With this fine water-power, with the great breadth of excellent wool-
growing country all along it, and with a short outlet east and west, so soon
as population grows to give the necessary hands, the woolen industry will
spring up and thrive ; and while this location is some hundreds of miles
nearer to the cotton fields of Georgia and Alabama than the seat of the pre-
sent manufactories of this article, it is to be expected that in course of time
a fair proportion of this industry will also be established ; and it will not be
many years before trains will be seen on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
wending their ways to the East and West, all of which — the locomotive, the
cars, the freight, and the rails on which they run — have been constructed,
manufactured and made on the line of the road."

66

Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,

Office of Consulting Engineer,

Richmond, May 22d, 1876.
Gen'l W. C. Wickham, Receiver:

Sir — In preparing, pursuant to your instructions, an
official paper upon the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and its re-
sources, the pamphlet of Fisk & Hatch (New York, 1873), was
taken as a basis. Upon a careful re-examination by the proper
officers of the company, the larger portion of this pamphlet de-
scribing the road and road-bed, the topography of the country, and
its agricultural and manufacturing resources, was found to have
been so well done in the first instance, that it was preferred to hold
the original text, save in the few modifications made necessary by
some important changes from 1873 to 1876. .

In the mineral division, coal and iron particularly, to meet many
inquiries from experts and capitalists, it was deemed best to enter
more closely into local description and technical detail, and to refer
frequently to the actual working experience of the past two years.
In doing this I have drawn either upon personal knowledge, or
from the most reliable sources of information now accessible to the
officers of this company, giving authorities for all material data
quoted. For this portion of the preceding pages I am responsible.
Respectfully.

I. M. St. JOHN,
Consulting Engineer.

Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,

Receiver's Office,
Richmond, Va., June 10th, 1876.

Gen'l I. M. St. John, Consulting Engineer, &c, &c. :

Dear Sir — I have examined this pamphlet and approve
it for publication. It is proper that I should add to what the paper
contains by saying that our rates of transportation on coal, ore and
metal are such as to foster the business and give satisfaction 'to
those who handle them, and that the adoption of such a system of
rates is and will continue to , be the fixed policy of the company.
Your ob't serv't,

WMS. C. WICKHAM,
Vice-President and Receiver,

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad as a Route for
Pleasure Travel: Its objects of Historic Interest
and Curiosity, Magnificent Scenery, Mineral Springs
and places of summer resort.

The completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad from
Richmond to the Ohio River opened to tourists, invalids and per-
sons seeking rest, change and enjoyment, one of the most charming
and attractive routes for pleasure travel in the United States, and
affords to business men and others, having occasion to travel
between the East and the West, a most delightful route, opening
to them, while pursuing their journey with speed and comfort,
scenes and objects of interest until then inaccessible, except at con-
siderable expense of time and money devoted expressly to the pur-
pose of visiting them.

The Eastern portion of the route is thronged with historic asso-
ciations and objects of national interest, and takes the traveler
through and in sight of . localities which have had a conspicuous
place in our National History from the settlement of Jamestown
and the days of Pocahontas, through the Revolutionary period,
and the historic events of more recent years.

The scenery of the Blue Ridge, of the Valley of Virginia, and
of the Alleghanies, is unsurpassed for beauty, grandeur and extent
by anything which greets the traveler anywhere east of the Rocky
Mountains. In approaching the summit of the Blue Ridge from
the East in a clear day, there is afforded an unbroken view of hill,
valley, table-land and cultivated fields, extending as far as the
eye can reach, and of rare beauty. The passage through the great
valley and the ascent of the Alleghanies afford a constant succes-
sion of objects of interest and attraction.

From Staunton to the celebrated White Sulphur Springs, the
road winds among a remarkable succession of hills and valleys,
the interest of which, in addition to their scenic effects, is height-
ened by the immense wealth of iron ores with which they are
known to be filled.

West of the White Sulphur Springs the rcute enters a region of

68

wonder and beauty, rendered accessible to the ordinary traveler
for the first time, by the recent opening of this portion of the road ;
and until then unknown to tourists, except to a few, venturesome
enough to shoot the rapids of the rivers in batteaux, or ride along
their narrow banks on mules.

For nearly forty miles the road follows the Greenbrier river,
here shut in by mountains and cliffs, and there coming suddenly
upon beautiful openings and fertile bottoms, to its junction with
the more turbulent and wild New river, whose banks it then
follows closely for sixty miles, to where, in its junction with the
Gauley, near Hawks Nest, it becomes the Great Kanawha.

The gorge or canon of the New river affords one of the most
remarkable and fascinating experiences in railroad travel which
can be found on the continent, and one which no traveler, having
once enjoyed, would feel that he could afford to have missed.

It is no ordinary valley, but an actual chasm, down into the bowels
of the earth, whose natural surface of table-land and rolling
country is above the river and the railroad from 500 to 1,000
feet ; and whose geological strata of coal, iron and limestone crop
out on the sloping or perpendicular sides of the cut from 100 to
300 feet above the level of the track.

The road follows the natural curves of the river, which are
broad, graceful and easy, down upon its banks, never losing sight
of it, except when dashing for a moment through a tunnel or cut
where some projecting spur of the enclosing mountains has left no
bank for the road bed, or rendered the curve too sharp.

The mountains rise on either side in steep slopes or perpendicular
bluffs, divided by frequent valleys and ravines coming down to
the river level, and sparkling with mountain streams and water-
falls. The windings of the road, through this wonderful gorge,
with the flashing river always before, behind and beside you, and
the forms of the enclosing hills and cliffs changing with each new
curve and altered point of observation, presents a panorama which
is very wonderful and thrilling — a sort of giant kaleidoscope in
which vast objects are whirled about and combined in gorgeous
transformations like the bits of colored glass in the child's toy.

Just below Miller's Ferry the road crosses the New river — whose

69

riidit bank it has hitherto followed — in sight of the famous " Hawk's
Nest." A little further down, the New river and the Gauley join
their waters and become the Great Kanawha, whose left bank the
road now follows for 40 miles further, through the great Kanawha
coal fields, past Kanawha Falls to Charleston, the capital of West
Virginia, a thriving and growing city of about 6,000 inhabitants.
Sixteen miles below Charleston the road leaves the river, and
strikes across a rolling country to Huntington, its terminus on the
Ohio.

Here, where three years ago there were only a few scattered
farm-houses, is now a busy and growing city of 3,000 inhabitants,
which from its favorable location on the river, its healthful ness
and its unsurpassed facilities for the various industries requiring
cheap iron, fuel, lumber and transportation to market, is destined
to become one of the most important centers of manufacture and
trade in the Ohio Valley.

Mineral Springs.

Between Staunton, in the Valley of Virginia, and the junction
of the Greenbrier and New rivers, in West Virginia, on the line
of the road, and at distances from it varying from two to thirty-
seven miles, is probably the most remarkable collection of Mineral
and Medicinal Springs in the world. Many of them have been
long known and frequented by -invalids and seekers after health
and pleasure, and are celebrated for their medicinal properties, and
their wonderful curative effects.

The summer climate of this region of the Springs is delightful,
being cool, dry and invigorating, and remarkably healthy. Its
elevation, of about 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, exempts
it from the extreme heat of summer, and gives a purity and bracing
character to the atmosphere, which is felt at once, and long re-
membered by those who visit it in summer.

The most important and most widely known as a summer resort
is the celebrated Greenbrier White Sulphur, situated directly on
the line of the road, six miles West of where it crosses the summit
of the Alleghanies, 227 miles West from Richrnoud, and 194 miles
East from Huntington. The hotel and cottages connected there-

70

with have accommodations for about 2,000 guests, to which large
additions are being made to accommodate the increased number
of visitors which the opening of the road through to the West has
brought.

There are numerous other resorts of established reputation for
the medicinal properties of their waters, and for good accommo-
dations, pleasant surroundings, and agreeable society
# Below will be found a list of the various Springs and points of
interest, stage connections, distances from the railroad, accommo-
dations for guests, and names of hotel proprietors, which may be
of assistance to persons proposing to visit them during the coming

season.

The M.neral Springs of Virginia, though chiefly known in
years past as the favorite watering places of the people of the South
have within a few years been growing in popularity with those of
the North and East, especially since the opening of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Eailroad, from Eichmond to White Sulphur in 1869

Untd recently, these Springs and places of resort, so peculiarly
adapted to the wants and tastes of the people of the West and
bouthwest, have been accessible from that direction only by lono-
stage coach journeys. The opening of the road through to the
Ohm river brings them wilhin less than twenty -four hours from
Cincinnat., and makes them the great watering places of the

Now, that they lie midway upon a. great through route of travel
between the East and West, and can be visited for a day or two at
a time by thousands of people passing to and fro, and taken en
route between the great centres of business and population on the
Atlantic Coast and in the Mississippi Valley, their celebrity has
been widely extended, and they form a meeting point and social
centre for people from all sections of the country, unequalled, in
their natural attractions, their facilities for health, rest and pleas-
ure, and the society which they bring together, by any of the
famous watering places of America.

Tickets are now on sale at all of the Principal Ticket Offices
East and West, thus affording all persons traveling in either direc-
tion an opportunity of visiting them, and, at the same time of

71

effecting a great saving in the cost of their tickets, as the rates by
this line, via Richmond, between Southern and Western points, are
from three to seven dollars less than by any other route, while
they are the same as those of other lines between Western points
and those North and East of Richmond.

Distance Table to the Various Springs and Points of Interest.

Names of Springs.

County.

a

_o

«!

a

3

u

<B
O

c

s

Nearest
Railroad

Station.

a

o

1
o
2
S
o

*o »
>}<
■o
3.

ea

o

a

o

3

r

c

O

a
1

a .

o

D

' Hotel
Proprietors.

Bath Alum Springs

Capon Springs

Cold Sulphur Springs

Healing Springs

Hot Springs

Jordan Alum Springs

Bath

10
15
2
16
20
5
0
36
12
11
12

200 Stage.
500 Stage.
100 Stasrft.

Joseph Baxter.
Frazier <fe Sale.
W. H. Waddell.

Hampshire...
Rockbridge...
Bath

Capon Road

Covington

Covington

250
350
350
100

100
500
400
150
500
150
200
200
700
300
250

2000

Stage.
Stage.

Stage.

Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.
Stage.

W. B. Bishop.
J. A. August.
J. B. Tinslev.

Bath

Fayette

Rockbridge...
Shenandoah..
Rockingham .

Kanawha Falls. . .

Peyton & Page.
Wm. Stephenson.

Mt. Jackson

Harrisonburg

Talcott

G. W. Bunker.

W. Adair & Co.

Rockbridge Alum Sp'gs.. Rockbridge..,

Rockbridge Baths , Rockbridge...

Shenandoah Alum Sp'gs. . < Shenandoah. .

6
U
12
13

Mt. Jackson

A. J. Myers.
Chesley Kinney.
Oliver Beirne.
Parke & Stack.

Sweet Springs

Sweet Chalybeate Sp'gs. . .

Monroe

Alleghany

Bath

10
9

16
4
0

Alleghany

Alleghany

Augusta

Greenbrier...

Weyer'sCaveSt,.

White Sulphur...

White Sulphur Springs. . .

G. L. Peyton <fe Co.

STAGE CONNECTIONS.

At Staunton, for Stribling Springs.

At Goshen, for Lexingnon, Eockbridge Baths, Natural Bridge
and Cold Sulphur Springs.

At Milboro' or Goshen, for Eockbridge Alum Springs and Jor-
dan Alum Springs.

At Milboro', for Bath Alum Springs and Warm Springs.

At Milboro' or Covington, for Healing Springs and Hot
Springs.

At Alleghany, for Sweet Springs and Sweet Chalybeate
Springs.

At Talcott, for Eed Sulphur Springs.

72

List of Stations on Line of Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, with Eleva-
tions above Tidewater and Distances from Richmond.

STATIONS.

Richmond

Hunslett

Atlee's

Ashcake ,

Peake's

Hanover

Wickham's

Southanna

Junction

Anderson's

Noel's

Hewlett's

Beaver Dam

Green Bay

Bumpass'

Buokner's

Frederick's Hall

Tolersville

Lonisa

Trevilian's

Green Springs

Melton's

Gordonsville

Lindsay's

Cobham

Campbell

Keswick :...

Shadwell :..

Charlottesville

Lynchburg Junction

Ivy.

Medium's River

Greenwood

Af ton

Waynesboro'

Fisherville

Staunton

Swoope's

Siberton

No. Mountain..

Variety

Elizabeth

Pond Gap

Craigsville

Bell's Valley

Goshen

Panther Gap

Millboro'

Mason's Tunnel

Crane's

Griffith's

Longdale

Peter's

Clifton Forge

30.03

100.00

201.00

199.00

194.00

82.00

76.00

68.00

134.00

221.00

254.00

2T6.00

282.00

326.00

329.00

321.00

348.00

401.00

452.00

524.00

526.00

538.00

498.00

4T7.00

401.00

348.00

435.00

303.00

451.00

485.50

516.00

550.00

1,225. 6T

1,377.38

1,284.42

1,321.00

1,387.18

1,653.00

1,885.00

2,060.00

1,905.00

1,812.00

1,677.00

1,516.00

1,507.50

1,410.00

1,590.00

1,679.50

1,550.00

1,361.00

1,165.00

1,150.00

1,175.00

1,047.50

0

5.50
S.85
12.41
14.76
18 24
20.95
22.76
27.54
30.39
33.34
35.38
40.06
42.88
45.00
46.94
50.21
56.31
62.08
66.49
69.70
72.61
75.81
80.69
82.90
85.83
89.58
92.96
96.81
97.68
104.30
107.28
114.95
119.71
123.90
128.95
136.38
144.31
147 26
149.50
151.97
153.33
155.15
159.35
164.44
168.44
171.50
175.51
177.39
181.50
186.00
188.14
1S9.70
191.50

STATIONS.

Williamson's

Jackson's River.

Lowmoor

Steele's

Covington

Callaghan's ,

Backbone

Alleghany

White Sulphur..

Caldwell •..

Ronceverte

Fort Spring

Alderson..

Mason's Mill....

Lowell's

Talcott

268 Mile Post....

Hinton

New River Falls
Meadow Creek..

Paw-Paw

Quinnimont

Siding

Buffalo

Dimmock

Sewell

Nutallburg

Fern Spring —

Fayette

Hawk's Nest....

Cotton Hill

Kanawha Falls.

Loup Creek

Oannelton

Paint Creek

Blacksburg

Coalburg

Lewiston

Brownstown —

Alden

Salton

Charleston

Spring Hill

St. Alban's

Scary

Scott

Hurricane

Milton

Thorndyke......

Barboursvllle . . .

Guyandotte

Junction Switch
Huntington

1,053.00

1,135.00

1,155.00

1,210.00

1,245.00

1,427.00

1,690.00

2,050.00

1.919.64

1,765.00

1,660.00

1,625.00

1,550.00

1,527.00

1,510.00

1,510.00

1,434.00

1,377.00

1,290.00

1,265.00

1,237.00

1.196.00

L150.00

1,109.00

1.045.00

1,004.00

948.00

914.00

908.00

S28.00

896.00

672.00

647.00

636.00

622.00

626.00

625.00

616.00

50S.00

5G5.00

608.00

602.00

600.00

594.00

590.00

6S3.00

683.00

586.00

640.00

5S0.00

560.00

560.00

566.50

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