Work has been discontinued at the Virginia ore-bank between Shepherdstown and Harper’s Ferry, the Savery Company having had it stopped. The washing of the ore discolors the water so that the pulp mill could not be operated. A number of hands are thrown out of employment by the closing of the ore-bank.
Evidence Category: The Shepherdstown Register
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An Evening Drive (to Bakerton).
The REGISTER man took a drive the other evening down to Bakerton by way of Moler’s Cross Roads, and he has thought that what he noticed might not be uninteresting in print. The first impression is that the road from the Charlestown pike to Mr. Geo. M. Knott’s, four five miles, is far superior to the average country road. Mr. James M. Hendricks has been the supervisor for anumber of years, and he has it in splendid order. Nearly all of it has been macadamized, and as the work is still being pushed it will not be long until every foot of it is piked. If all the road supervisors were like Mr. Hendricks Jefferson county would soon get its name up. At Moler’s Cross Roads it was very quiet. The regulars were either at work or at supper– we reckon most of them at the latter– though they had begun to gather to practice pitching horse-shoes, in preparation for the great contest to take place between them and the Bakerton champions.
Our next stop was at Mr. Jacob S. Moler’s, near Bakerton. That neighborhood is getting to be a sort of a Klondike region. Extensive repairs are being made to the old Virginia ore bank property, which has recently been bought by Mr. Edward Mealey, of Hagerstown, and the mine will be worked at its fullest capacity. The new iron ore bank just being opened by Messrs. Moler and Trail is almost ready for business. The necessary machinery is in place, and in a few days active operations will be commenced on what we hope will be an important and profitable venture. During the past wek or two several shafts have been sunk on the land of Mr. J. S. Moler and the fact again established that he has iron ore of excellent quality almost as plentiful as clay. Mr. Moler showed us very rich deposits in the old workings, just waiting to be dug out and shipped away. Mr. J. G. Hurst, of Harper’s Ferry, is interested in opening up Mr. Moler’s mine. The iron is not quite up to the Klondike gold in value, but it is just as certain to pay good money and a great deal easier to get at.
A gathering storm prevented us from stopping at bustling little Bakerton, but we learned that business is just as brisk as ever at that place. A stone crusher has recently been set up there, giving employment to an additional number of men. The stone that is not suitable for lime is made into ballast for the B. & O. Railroad. Mr. John Baker, the manager of the works, did a generous thing the other day. When asked for a donation towards the new Lutheran Church at Uvilla he told the building committee to send down and get all the lime they needed, free of charge. It was a very liberal donations, and one greatly appreciated.
Before we left Mr. Moler’s he gave us a fine specimen of an Indian grain pestle, which showed that it had been used long and often to pound the grain for their bread. Mr. Moler found it on his farm, which was evidently at one time an Indian camping-ground. Many interesting reminders of the red man have been found. The vicinity of his spring was evidently the home of an aboriginal arrow-maker, for innumerable chips of flint and arrows of various sorts may still be found. A few yards from his house is a mound in which are a number of Indian graves, over which have grown oak trees of a peculiar sort. Several of the graves have been opened, and the crumbling bones of the savages that have lain there for perhaps hundreds of years exposed to the gaze of the curious. No relics were found in any of them, however. We prize our pestle very highly, and it makes another important addition to our growing collection.
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Potomac Refining Company purchase Chambers farm.
It is said that the Potomac Refining Company has bought the Chambers farm on the Maryland side of the river, opposite the Virginia Ore Bank, and will develop the manganese that is to be found upon it. William Griffith, who is at the head of the company, recently visited the place with a number of the stockholders, and they say that the tract contains millions of dollars worth of minerals— manganese, ochre, iron ore, marble, dolomite, limestone, and so on.
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Catoctin Furnace Timber.
The timber is to be cut from the 6,000 acres of the old Catoctin Furnace property in Frederick county, Md., now owned by Joseph E. Thropp, who is also the owner of the Virginia ore bank property at Bakerton. James K. Hendricks, of Jefferson county, is to be in charge of the work. Sawmills are to be installed and railroad switches run into the timber.
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Earthquake!
A well-defined earthquake was felt throughout the southern and middle western States on Monday about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The shocks lasted but a few seconds and no serious damage is reported, although chimneys toppled over in several places and tenants of tall buildings in several cities were frightened. The shock was felt in Shepherdstown by a number of persons. Mr. J. H. Robinson was in Mr. Hodges’ warehouse when the tremor was felt, and it was so perceptible he went out of the office in the belief that some one was running through the building. The Shenandoah Valley felt the full force of the earthquake.
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Trail/Moler Ore Bank
Messrs. Charles E. Trail and Charles B. Moler are preparing to open an ore bank on property they have leased near Bakerton, adjoining the celebrated Virginia ore bank. They have built a new washer and are putting in the machinery necessary to work in the mine. A switch of the branch railroad has been put in place. They have prospects of a good business which we hope will be realized.
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John Flanagan Barn Burned.
Barn Burned.
Late last Saturday night the barn on the farm of John G. Flanagan, tenanted by Cruzen Link, near Bakerton, this county, was destroyed by fire, with nearly all its contents. Among the valuable property that was destroyed was about 600 bushels of wheat, a lot of hay, a binder, drill and other farming implements, harness, etc. It is supposed that the fire was started by incendiaries, and we understand that there are suspicions as to who the guilty persons are. Fortunately no livestock was burned. There was no insurance upon either the barn or the contents, and the loss is particularly hard upon Mr. Link, who loses his crops and farming implements too. -
Walters, Ore Bank Accident
Fatal Accident at the Ore Bank.
A frightful accident occurred about 3 o’clock last Saturday afternoon at the Virginia Ore Bank, six miles east of Shepherdstown, by which Edgar Walters, son of George Walters, a former resident of this place, lost his life. The unfortunate young man, who worked at the ore mine, was riding upon the tender of a locomotive running backward, and as it went down a rather steep grade he slipped off and fell beneath the wheels. When the engine had passed a horrible sight met the view of those who had witnessed the accident. The wheels had completely decapitated Mr. Walters, and his body lay upon one side of the track and the head upon the other. In the twinkling of an eye his life had gone out. His fellow employees were greatly shocked by the occurrence and some of them were completely unnerved. The remains were gathered up and made as presentable as possible, the head being sewed to the body, and later were sent to his home on the opposite side of the river, in Maryland. The funeral was held Sunday afternoon. The young man was about eighteen years of age. -
Thropp to build settling pond.
J. E. Thropp, owner of the Virginia Ore Bank property near Bakerton, has bought from Jacob S. Moler eight acres of land, near the river, for which he paid $200 an acre cash. He will construct a settling pond on the tract, into which will be run the water from the ore washer. It will be remembered that the Harper’s Ferry Pulp Company brought suit against Mr. Thropp in the United States Court to restrain him from running the muddy water from the ore bank into the Potomac river. The case was decided against Mr. Thropp finally, and he will now build a settling pond. The water that is made so muddy from the washing of the ore will be run into this pool instead of into the river and the damage to the pulp mill avoided. We understand that work will be pushed with renewed vigor at the ore bank, and a large force of men will be employed.
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Charles Marshall, killed at ore bank.
Charles Marshall, aged 30 years, of Sharpsburg, was crushed by a large rock and almost instantly killed at the Virginia ore bank near Bakerton last Wednesday. Very little is known by his fellow-workmen as to how the accident occurred, except that the unfortunate man was at work down in the pit, when a large rock, weighing several hundred pounds, fell from above and struck him on the head, killing him instantly. The body was placed on a boat and taken across the river to Antietam, and from thence conveyed to his home. Marshall was a native of Sharpsburg, where he resided all his life. He formerly worked at farming and was also a stone mason. His wife, who was a Miss Huyett, one child, and a brother, John, survive, together with his parents.