Glass_ili2Ji^_ \ 3 A AND- MANUFACTURING fiESODRCES OF- BESSEMER ■IN THK llKAK'l' OF ALABAMA. ZFOXJJ^sTI^Er) X88V. & i f ^ fe A PROPHECY. Col. A. K. McClure, of the Philadelphia Times, says: "No citizen of the North of fair intelligence can review the slumbering wealth of Alabama and the waterways, which ofll'er the cheapest transportation, without accepting the conclusion that the next generation will see this State an iron and coal center equal to, if not surpassing Pennsylvania. * * * * It is idle for Pennsylvania and other great iron and coal-producing States to close their eyes to the fact that we have reached the beginning of a great revolution in those products. No legislation, no sound policy, no sentiment can halt such revolution when the immutable laws of trade command it; and the sxidden tread of the hordes from the Northern forests upon ancient Rome did not more suddenly threaten the majesty of the mistress of the world than does the tread of the iron and coal diggers of Alabama threaten the majesty of the Northern iron and coal fields. * * * These lessons come upon us plain as the noonday sun, and it is midsummer madness not to read them under- standingly. We cannot war with destiny ; we cannot efface the beneficent gifts of Him who leads the waters rto the sea and sends them back in the dews and rains of Heaven. Alabama has been gifted far beyond even our boasted empire of Pennsylvania, and only the Southern sluggard has hitherto given the race to the North. Now there is a new South, with new teachings, n«w o[)portunities, new energies, and manifestly a new destiny, and the time is at hand when a large portion of the great iron and coal products of the country which enter competing centers will be supplied cheaper from Alabama than from any State in the North." ^ PRINTED BY LUCAS & KICHAKUSON. Chaklestox. S. C. KOR THE BESSEMEK LAND AND IMPROVEMENT CO. Owners ok the Site ok BESSEMER CITY. ALABAMA. ^^>^^ "Weigh not so much what men say as what they prove; rennem- bering that Truth is simple and naked, and needs not invective to apparel hei" comeliness."— Sir Philip Sidney. MINING AND MANUFACTURING RESOURCES — OF — BESSEMER CITY, IN THE HEART OF MINERAL ALABAMA. J^usincss facts are the mo.st convincing' and effective when the plainest stated. When the object is to convey information, and relying upon that information, to secure certain results, the more scrupulously that inforrtjation is divorced from all semblance of exaggeration or conjecture the more impressive and effectual it becomes. The following" pages contain a recital and aggregation of facts, plainly and accurately stated and defined, which are submitted — as a proposition from one business man to another may be — to those whose attention and interest it is desired to enlist — to practical, industrious workmen, skilled artisans and mechanics, capable and progressive agriculturalists, enterprising and sagacious manufacturers and capitalists and reputable business men. The information thus presented is believed to be of sufficient value and interest to the classes cited as to insure their consideration and to inspire that investigation and action as will best subserve the interests and destiny of each. The conditions of life and business in this great republic have not yet become so stable, remunerative or satisfac- tory as to neutralize that migratory tendency and disposi- tion which has so noticeably distinguished the American people, and the effects of which is seen in the greatest development and most wonderful progress recorded in the world's history. The enlarged personal freedom guaran- teed by our institutions inspires ambition, which seeks the best and most favorable field for labor and gratification. When the advantages and opportunities of one section have been absorbed, or exhausted, or monopolized, recourse is had to another. The incentive to better one's condition is inherent in every intelligent, progressive and ambitious American mind. The city of Bessemer, Alabama, and the section which in a commercial, manufacturing, mining, agricultural and industrial sense is tributary to it, presents a field, the re- sources, advantages and attractions of which are outlined in these pages, and their superiority will be made evident in the discussion and support by indisputable facts of the following premises, preceding their discussion with a brief reference to the location, founding and progress of the city. PREMISES. There is no place on this continent, if there be in the world, where the conditions for the PRODUCTION OF IRON exist in so complete, practical and economical a form and combination as they do at and immediately tributary to the city of Bessemer. There is no location in the South, if there be in the whole country, more suitable, advantageous or better adapted for GENERAL MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES by reason of a wealth of raw material in the greatest abundance and economically available, a central commer- cial position and superior facilities for distribution and delivery, than the city of Bessemer and its vicinage. There is no portion of this country offering" a more certain or generous return to the TRUCK FARMER AND DAIRYMAN than the territory in immediate proximity to Bessemer. ^ There is no section of the South more attractive or de- sirable for RESIDENCE AND HOME by reason of its natural and picturesque beauty; its prime conditions of salubrity; its medium temperature; even 6 rainfall; pure and abundant water supply; thorough natu- ral drainage; the absence of stagnant vv^ater or swampy lands and of noxious insects and vermin ; and an abund- dancc and infinite variety of the bounties and fruits of the earth than the section at and immediately surrounding the city of Bessemer. There is no point in the country that will afford a safer or more stable return to the labor, skill, enterprise or capi- tal of the WORKIXGMAX, MECHANIC AND BUSINESS :\IAN by reason of opportunites for employment and industrial pursuits; the advantages for mining and manufacturing enterprises; the inducements for commercial effort and venture, and the needs and demands for the judicious in- vestment of capital than the city of Bessemer. THE CITY OE BESSEMER Is in North Alabama, midway between the Eastern and Western boundary State lines, and about a score of miles north of the centre of the State. It is located in the lower section of Jones Valley, where it broadens into a vast amphitheatre, a spur of mountains being projected across its face, and forming its southwestern limit. This valley, with slightly varying width, extends thirteen miles to the northeast, where Birmingham is located. It is bounded on the southeast by the Red Mountain range, and on the southwest or opposite side by the Rock Mountain range. With a width of a mile and a half at Birmingham the valley gradually broadens until at Bessemer it is three to three and a half miles from range to range. This anticlinal valley is distinguished in geological history as being at one time the scene of an intense seismic disturbance or upheaval, which projected the sub- carboniferous stratas of limestone to the surface, leaving them in vertical or distorted ledges, throwing to one side immense seams and masses of ferruginous rock, now form- ing the mightiest aud most wonderful iron deposits in the world, while on the other side vast beds and fields of coal were disclosed. Thus in close juxtaposition are the com- plementary elements that combined creates the most powerful and economic factor in modern civilization. This great upheaval gave features to the scenery 8 strikingly picturesque and beautiful. Heavily wooded hills and mountains; large areas of fertile valley and uplands; innumerable bold flowing springs of free and mineral waters, clear, cool and limpid; swift running streams; the most perfect drainage ; a wealth of beautiful and attractive verdure and a magnificent forest growth of the lordly oak, the stately pine, the graceful cedar and the rich foliaged hickory, walnut, chestnut, ash and elm. The site of Bessemer is over six hundred feet above sea level and the bordering foothills and mountains will give an additional elevation of from two to five hundred feet. Bessemer was founded in the spring of 1887, the first sale of lots taking place on the 12th day of April of that year. The city has now a population of over 4,500. It has a ^ regular municipal government under a charter granted by the State legislature. It supports free public schools; is constantly prosecuting a system of street and public im- provement ; has secured the establishment of costly and extensive water-works; has established and is constantly extending a system of sewerage; is erecting a large and expensive city hall; has the streets of the city lighted by electricity, and is vigorously supporting all measures look- ing to the good and welfare of the city and citizens. A detailed enumeration of the industries and business houses and establishments of the city, with descriptions of the more prominent constructions with other specific in- formation may be found on other pages. For specific information as to the geographical location of the city and its relation to contiguous points, mountain ranges, water courses, and the existence of valuble natural resources, reference is made to the maps herewith attached. THE PRODUCTION OF IRON. The elements entering into the production of pig iron are iron ore, coke and limestone. The last two articles forming the fuel and the flux, to melt the ore and carry off the foreign substances that had been in combination with it. IRON ORE. The geology of Alabama shows the existence at Besse- mer of a mountain of fossiliferous hematite or red fossili- ferous iron ore. This mountain, which is a range of moun- tains, forming the southeast boundary of the valley in 10 which Bessemer is located, is within a stone's throw of the corporate Hmits of the city (as will be seen from the map attached) and^ has a varying height above the valley of from two hundred and fifty to five hundred feet. The ore is in regular veins or stratas varying in thickness from five to fourteen feet, aggregating at this point a thickness of forty feet Avithin a fifty foot measurement at right angles to their direction. The ore veins crop out on the summit or on the north- western trend of the range. At Bessemer there were found uncovered at the highest point, immense ledges of the ore, moss covered, for decades past forming ob- structions in the pathway of the hunter and to stock on the range, much to the disgust of the native, who saw no value in or use for those "monstrous red rocks," or as many termed the out crop "dye rocks." The stratas of ore have declination to the southeast of about thirty de- grees. They have been traced and followed far over into Shades Valley (which is bounded on the southwest by Red Mountain range), where they show practically the same inclination, thickness of vein and quality of ore. By some geologists it is asserted that similar to the coal basins of the Black Warrior Coal fields, these stratas of ore deposits likewise form an immense basin, reaching a level in the course of a distance of four or less miles, then rising at a similar angle crop out at the summit or south- eastern trend of the Sand Mountains forming the right or west bank of the Cahaba river. This theory, if sustained by facts, determines the existence of the most remarkable and enormous body of ore in the world, under conditions of the most surprising economy for mining, with billions of tons above the w^ater level. But in the absence of a basin formation centuries of persistent mining with yearly outputs of ore sufficient to make the present iron product of the United States will not exhaust the deposits within four miles of Bessemer. The Red Mountain range covering the out crop of this extraordinary deposit of iron ore extends for a hundred miles in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, but at no point does the veins show such a remarkable thick- ness, such unusual purity of the ore and absence of silica, and such astounding economical conditions for mining as at Bessemer. Hence four-fifths of the total output of iron ore in the State of Alabama is mined within three miles of the citv of Bessemer, and from these mines ores are fur- f2l#" 12 nished to the Chattanooga, Gadsden, Birmingham, Ensley City and many other furnaces. Besides the deposits of the Red Mountain range, the Rock Mountains bordering the Bessemer Valley on the southwest, separating it from the great Black Warrior Coal fields contains immense deposit-; of both the red and brown ores. A mile to the west of Bessemer an immense body of brown hematite has been uncovered and is now being worked, and a few miles to the southwest at Gothite and Tannehill are the largest bodies and masses of brown hematite ore and the most famous in this country. These deposits are owned by the DeBardelcben Coal and Iron Company and the Thomas Pioneer Iron Company. The ore is mined at Bessemer, and loaded into tram cars at a varying cost of from thirty-five to forty-five cents per ton. The freight from the mines to the furnaces in Besse- mer ranges from three to five dollars per car of thirty to thirty-five tons. The red ores yield practically from forty to fifty per cent, of metal while assaying from forty-five to sixty-three per cent., while the brown ores yield forty-five to fifty-five per cent, while assaying fifty to sixty-five per cent. The red ores can be delivered at the furnaces at a cost of about fifty cents per ton, while the brown ores cost from twenty-five to fifty per cent. more. The red ores are mined by improved drill machinery, run by compressed air; the veins being laminated, cleave readily and regularly, immense masses of m 'ny tons being precipitated at a single blast. The ore as mined is ready for the furnace. The cap stone overlying the ore stratas is of compact sandstone or conglomerate so that but little if any expense for timbering is incurred. These ores are mined from slopes entering from the crown of the range and from lateral drifts entering the veins at its breaks or passes. COAL. There are 9,000 square miles of coal fields in Northern Alabama, covering in many places series of seams showing a vertical depth of from forty to ninety feet of coal. The Black Warrior Coal fields contains nine-tenths of this area and are divided from the valley at Bessemer by the Rock Mountain range. The coal measures of this division reach to within one mile of the corporate limits of the city. _j h"^ 1^ (f *^* V 14 The Cahaba Coal fields, the next largest and richest di\'i- sion. lie some half a dozen miles to the south of Bessemer. The bulk of coal from both of these fields is of excellent coking- quality. The remaining division, and the smaller and least important, is the Coosa Coal fields in Northeast Alabama. The Blue Creek basin in the Warrior Coal fields belong- ing. to the DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company lies five miles southwest of Bessemer. It is the richest and most remarkable field of coal in tbe South. It crops out for miles along the line of the Bessemer and Tuscaloosa Rail- road, and slopes in at an angle of about twelve to twenty degrees. At a distance of about thirteen hundred feet the level or basin is reached, which is maintained for three or four hundred feet, when the same degree of ascent begins and the coal crops out on the opposite side of the basin. The main seam now being worked is nine feet in thickness. Thirty-five feet beneath this is another seam of four feet, which is entered from the level or basin, and is worked by the machinery and through the slopes of the main seam, thus enabling thirteen feet of coal to be w orked from one slope. From two slopes now open 2uoo tons daih' can be taken. The production can be readily increased to 4000 tons daily by the extension of slopes now partially com- pleted. The Bessemer Blue Creek coal makes the best coke, not excelled by any in the country, as will be seen from the analysis. A careful estimate of the coal in the Blue Creek basin, in the two seams described available for mining, shows that it will afford a daily output of lO.OOO tons for 250 years. Other workable seams below the two mentioned exist, but no effort has been made to locate them, as there will be no occasion for their development for decades, if for cen- turies to come. In the Blue Creek mines, during the pre\alence of the present price of pig" iron, the miners receive forty cents per ton for mining and delivery, furnishing their own tools, mining supplies and doing their own track laying They make better wages than miners elsewhere receiving fifty to ninety cents per ton, while the expense of the operator in delivering for shipment is but trifling compared to the expense of mines generally. The railroad rate for trans- portation to Bessemer is $3.50 per car of thirty-five tons. Coal is delivered in Bessemer at a cost of less than 80 cents a ton to the operator and coke is made from it in Bessemer at a cost of less than two dollars per ton. 15 The Woodward Coal mines are three miles from Besse- mer. While the Pratt Coal mines, the most famous, but far from the richest, are eight miles, and the Blocton mines from which Anniston obtains all of its coal, are twenty miles to the southwest. There are within twenty-five miles of Bessemer 600,000 acres of coal fields, which at lowest estimate will practi- cally yield 30,000,000,000 tons. A daily supply of 10,000 tons for 8,000 years. LIMESTONE. The Trenton limestone crops out vertically throughout Jones Valley, and at points it is found in enormous masses, projected high above the level of the valley and in places forming the bulk of huge mountains. This is noticeably the case at Gate City, sixteen miles above Bessemer. The limestone is of the purest qualit)', analyzing 98 per cent, of lime. It is de!i\ered at the Bessemer furnaces at sixty cents per ton. THE COST OF PIG IRON. It would be interesting to give quotations as to the actual cost of producing iron in Bessemer, but there are so many var\'ing conditions in mining the components parts as also so many elements in the economics of furnace work, that it would not be possible to give figures that would be accurate for the whole, and individual exhibits would serve no good purpose in this narrative. Suf^ce it to use the pregnant words of P2x-Mayor Hewitt, of New York, who saj's : "This section of Alabama is the only place on the North :\merican Continent where it is possible to make iron in competition with the cheap iron of England." OFFICIAL AND EMINENT AUTHORITY on the iron ores, coal deposits and iron making resources of Bessemer : Prof. Henry McCalley, A. M., C. & M. E. Chemist and assistant State Geologist of Alabama, says of the red fossiliferous ore of Bessemer : *' This famous ore is special!}- well developed there, where with its partings of shale it reaches an average thickness of some thirty feet, well de- fined between strata of non-ferrugin(jus sandstone, and is of superior quality both as to purity and richness. This deposit is not only the largest in the State, but is regarded as one of the mineral wonders of the world. 16 "The measures thicken and become more productive of coal from the northeast to the southwest until they reach a thickness of 3,000 feet with about fifty seams of coal. These seams of coal range in thickness from a few inches to some 14 feet, and at least thirty-five of them with a total thickness of about 90 feet are of workable thickness, or are of 19 inches and more in thickness * * * The Warrior Coal fields is destined in the near future to be the center of large industries, and to be one of the greatest coal producing areas in the United States." Hon. Abram S. Hewitt says this section "is the only place upon the North American Continent where it is possible to make iron in competition with the cheap iron of England." Mr. Hewitt has lately stated in England that iron can be made here at a cost of $7.50 per ton. Col. A. K. McClure says he believes this section "will be the future coal and iron empire of the United States." ANALYSES OF BESSEMER IRON ORE, COAL AND COKE. IRON ORE — RED ORE FROM LARGE VEIN NEAR BESSEMER, ANALYZED BY CHAUVENET & BLAIK. Silica 12.18 Peroxide iron 80.92 Alumina 2.68 Lime 0.28 Magnesia 0.39 Phosphoric Acid 0.292 Water 2.960 99.702 Metallic iron 56 64 IRON ORE — RED ORE FROM LARGE VEIN NEAR BESSEMER. Water 2.30 Peroxide Iron 76.16 Silica 18.40 Alumina i -74 Carbonate lime 0.31 Phosphorous 0.67 Sulphur 0.28 99.86 Metallic iron - 53.31 Phosphorus 0.18 f *'^"J^'!*::W^^^I^M :,■-.. ..,.vS-^/.J| 18 TRON ORE — RED HEMATITE, DE BARDELEBEN COAL AND IRON COMPANY MINES, MURPHREES VALLEY. Sesqui-oxide of iron 83.6807 Phosphoric acid 0'339 Silicic acid 1 1-I93 Metallic iron S^-S7^ Phosphorus O.148 Silica 0.93 IRON ORE— BROWN HEMATITE, DE BARDELEBEN COAL AND COMPANY, SOUTHWEST OF BESSEMER. Silica 4-307 Metallic iron 57-50 Phosphorus 0.3 142 COAL — FROM THE BESSEMER BLUE CREEK BASIN MINES. Moisture Ad., 212 deg., Fahr 4-307 Volatile 27.557 Fixed carbon 66.219 Sulphur 0.656 Ash 4-83 100. (^•QKE— MADE FROM BLUE CREEK BASLN COAL. Moisture O.25 Volatile : • • 0.4 Fixed carbon 92.3268 Sulphur 6.8232 Ash 6.2 lOO. GENERAL MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. The most essential requisites for successful manufac- turing arc : An ample supply of raw material at low cost. An eligible location with economical conveniences and favorable surrounding conditions for the home and satis- faction of labor. A central commercial position, with ample and com- peting facilities for distribution and easy accessibility to markets. Iron, steel and wood are largel\- the basis and bulk of nearly all manufactures. Iron, as has been shown, is the 25 cheapest at Bessemer of any place on the Western cj^nti- nent. Steel of the best quality is made by the basic process from Red Mountain pig iron at a much less cost than steel has ever been made before in the country. Both iron and steel are rolled or manufactured into mer- chantable forms of almost every conceivable degree by the Bessemer Rolling Mills. Timber of nearly all of the most merchantable varieties covers this section. Lumber from the resinous or yellow pine is sold in Bessemer from $8 to $iO per thousand feet. Cedar is in great abundance, while the different kinds of oak, ash, gum, black walnut, hickory and other varieties of forest growth are found in the territory surrounding and tributary to Bessemer in enormous quantities and availa- ble at a remarkably low cost. Fire clay and chert for fire brick and furnace blocks, clay for building brick, pure sand for glass making, crystalized limestone or marble for finishing or ornamentation, quar- ries of both sand and limestone for building purposes are here in immense beds. Cotton is largely raised in this county, and Bessemer has already become an important shipping point. The expanse of the valley at Bessemer, with the radiating lines of competing railways and an abundant water supply gives innumerable eligible sites for manufacturing enter- prises, and with an inexhaustible supply of fuel at a mimi- mum of cost surrounds their establishment with conditions of convenience and economy that cannot be rivalled, while the healthy conditions of cfimate, the beauty and attrac- tiveness of the country, school and church facilities, opportunities for enjoyment and diversion, abundant and reasonable produce markets, fair rentals and eL\sy oppor- tunities for securing homes, makes residence for all classes here a pleasure and homes eagerly sought. The position of Bessemer commercially, geographically, and as a distributing point is singularly advantageous and central. It is midway between "New Orleans and Louis- ville, Savannah and St. Louis, Mobile and Nashville, At- lanta and Memphis, Meridian and Chattanooga, with each of which she has quick railroad communication. Seven lines of railway now run to Bessemer and three other lines are surveyed and in process of construction. A full description of Bessemer's Railway system is given on another page and an accurate idea of it is obtainable by a reference to the map. '>9 Any one seeking openings for manufacturing of almost any character can determine from the information here given the degree of advantage that Bessemer will afford. Of the various lines of manufacture those which find a lucrative and expanding market in the great West and Southwest will find in Bessemer a location unrivalled for their establishment. For the more bulky creations of iron, steel and woodwork, whether in the shape of a steam engine and kindred constructions, of enormous castings of iron or steel, or of agricultural implements or of furniture and builder's supplies, the advantages of position here will immediately command the discriminating mind. Beside the inexhaustible supply of raw materials, the eligibility and advantage of situation, the distributing facilities of this city are remarkably complete and comprehensive. Besse- mer is the converging point of four grand systems of rail- way lines, which with their branches and connections cover the great West and Southwest, viz: the Louisville and Nashville system, reaching the Gulf ports and connecting with the Southern Pacific and Mexican railways, the Queen and Crescent crossing the Mississippi at both Vicksburg and New Orleans; the Georgia Pacific crossing the Mis- sissippi at Greenville, and the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham crossing the Mississippi at Memphis. Through the medium of those lines that enormous terri- tory is reached and its markets made tributary to the manufactures of this city. Bessemer is not only the near- e>-t distributing point to that vast territory, but is notice- ably central to all of the Southern markets, and especially accessible to the growling markets of the West India Islands, Mexican. Central and South America. The enor- mous possibilities of development in these latter fields is now largely engaging the attention of business men and statesmen in this country, and it is safe to predict that but a brief period will elapse before the demand for and consumption of the manufactured products of this country will be increased many fold. In the fabrication of textile products the conditions are so favorable and superior that the establishmenfof this industry on a large scale is a matter of immediate and momemtous interest. With fine grades of cotton raised in abundance, at hand, a specially favorable climate, and the cheapest supplies of fuel possible, there seems no es- sential wanting to insure the foundation here of thk im- Sassassssss^ss^sss^^ u portant industry. The field for the manufacture of textile fabric in all grades is here illimitable. Of the minor and novelty manufactures, the proximity of markets, the availability of material and facilities for dis- tribution are potent factors in promoting and securing their establishment. FRUIT CULTUEE AND TRUCK FARMING. The concentration of population affords a regular and stable market for the products of the truck farmer, fruit grower, poultry raiser and dairyman. Their most liberal and steady patrons are the skillful wage earner and the miner; those who earn good wages and spend the same freely for their table supplies. Before the development of iron production in this sec- tion, Jones Valley and the contiguous valleys and table lands were regarded as generously productive, yielding freely of cotton, corn, wheat, oats, and all kinds of vege- tables and fruits. A half bale of cotton, fifty bushels of corn, twenty of wheat and forty of oats to the acre were common results, and with ordinary good cultivation and attention the yield will now exceed these figures. The soil is of a red, sandy, clayey loam, deep and inclined to be tenacious. It retains fertilizers and manures admira- bly, and when thus stimulated and fed, there seems no limit to the extent of production. This has been especially demonstrated in tracts devoted to gardening or truck farming, which yield frequently products of a value of over three hundred dollars to the acre. Home-made manures are especially beneficial. With moderate fertilizing and careful and deep cultiva- tion, good yields are almost certainties. The exigencies of the climate seldom affect the crops. The distribution of the rainfall is generally regular and seasonable. STOCK RAISING AND DAIRYING. Prior to the late war the farmers did not regard this valley and section as being valuable for or suitable to stock raising. Though the range was unlimited, yet the grazing was inferior, the native grasses being scant and of poor quality ; clover had not been introduced, and blue and June glass and red top would not take. Hence, only a moderate quantity of stock was raised. But soon after the close of 3- o f ST 3 W ch 3" y O T3 rr — • CO 0) cr NO 3. O 0^ o _. n "^ S- 0^' to -4- r^f„ VV^^^^^vJ T3 3 3" n 3 3 H CO to r c p G 3 CO 3- ■3 crt- cj-. 0' 3 ^ CO ^'■ .-^ Q- p (-1- _.^ •^ C ■3 o c CO <-t- p 3 CO c 3 Q- co rt- -D C 3- -u -a O -0 m CTl c 3- 1 ■0 J (•-) 3 3- <+ u^ «< 3* S c "5- D. ? 3 :?! 20 the war the farmers noticed a strange grass or plant grow- ing in the commons, and in the timber, the valleys, and even upon the summits or crowns of high mountains. It seemed to cover the surface of the country almost as it were in a night. The cattle, horses, sheep and hogs grazed it with avidity and rapidly fattened and flourished. The plant would grow, take deep root and form a mass of ver- dure in what before were barren places, even in deep washed gullies. This grass was discovered to be the now famous Lespedeza or Japan clover. It was introduced into Florida from Japan before the war. By some prox'idential means, how, it is not known, but supposed to be through the medium of cavalry horses, it was introduced into this section and other sections of the South. It has been a perfect wind- fall. It is one of the richest forage grasses. Stock of all kinds thrive upon it. A glance at the stock, always sleek and in fine condition grazing in this valley will impress any observer with the conviction that this nuist be a superb stock country. The finer grades of cattle, the Jerse\-s, Alderneys, &c., flourish as readily as the more hardy native born. The flow of milk and the yield of butter is as abundant as in any section, and the universal existence and general distribution of cold, clear, free flowing springs make this almost an ideal dairy country. FRUir GROWING. Travelers through this section see numerous old orchards of the apple, peach, cherry and pear. In former times old settlers assert that there was an abundance of fruit raised, and fruit of the finest varieties. It is still abundant and of excellent quality, but orchards have been neglected and have somewhat deteriorated. The farmers failing to adapt themselves to the necessities and advantages of changed conditions resort to the mines and furnaces where they can the more readily realize from their labor. But that the climate and country is adapted to the various kinds of fruit sufficient practically is seen on every side. The grape thrives vigorously and small fruits of nearly all kinds are in their prime. The country is covered with the dew and blackberry, the whortlebery, the plum and the persimmon. The strawberry reaches it highest develop- ment. 27 Various kinds of nut trees are found in the forests, which bear bountifully. Among them the wahuit, the hickory and the chestnut. POULTRY RAISING. This section of Alabama seems to be a natural home for the fowl. The earlier settlers found the woods swarming with the wild turkey, the pigeon, and partridge, and the domestic breed of fowls thrive to perfection. Immense quantities are now raised. In some instances artificial hatching or the use of large incubators is resorted to, and invariably with great success, but in spite of the present extent of the industry of the large quantities of eggs and chickens marketed, the demand is far from being met by the supply. There is every requisite here for successful poultry raising, and no more profitable field for it can be found in this country. LANDS. For stock raising and dairying, truck farming and fruit growing sell within an area of five or six miles from Besse- mer from six to one hundred dollars per acre. There are thousands of acres overlying the ore beds and coal measures that are fertile and susceptible of large yields and easily brought into cultivation. RESIDENCE AND HOME. Enough information has been presented in the listing of facts on previous subjects to clearly establish the premise that Bessemer and its environs possess superior attractions for residence and home. All character of sites, in valley, upland, highland or mountain, covered with greenest sward, richest foliage or grand forest growths, are available. The climate is superb, with an average mean winter tempera- ture of 42° Fah., a mean summer temperature of 72° Fah., and a mean annual temperature of 58^ Fah., with an abundant and pure water supply, an average yearly rainfall of 54 inches. Quick and frequent communications exists throughout the valley and to all parts of the country. With these attributes, indisputable, the requisites for a residence and home are afforded in their most attractive form. 'J 8 THE WORKMAN, MECHANIC AND BUSINESS MAN can certainly find a fitting field in this section for his labor and his enterprise. Millions and billions of wealth is here dormant, in nature's greatest, richest storehouse. Thous- ands and thousands are daily wrought from it and thrown into the channels of business and industrial life. iO,000 tons of coal and 5,000 tons of iron ore are daily mined, the first within an area of fifteen miles, the latter within an area of six miles of the city of Bessemer, and yet the de- velopment so far is scarcely noticeable. $150,000 is paid out monthly in mining furnaces, rolling" mills and other industries within a distance of three miles centering at Bessemer. Can there be a more inviting prospect to the laborer, the artisan, or the business man? THE RAILWAY SYSTEM OF BESSEMER. In an area of four blocks, nine lines of railways center, — The Queen & Crescent Railroad. The Louisville & Nashville Mineral I>inc. The Bessemer & Huntsville Railroad. The Georgia Pacific Railroad. The Kansas City, Memphis & Bessemer. The Bessemer & Tuscaloosa Railroad. Bessemer & Birmingham Railway. All of these lines are running to Bessemer. The Besse- mer & Huntsville is completed as far as Chepultepec, sixty miles on the way up Murphree's Valley, with its ultimate terminal point at Huntsville. The Bessemer & Tuscaloosa is completed to Woodstock, a distance of thirty miles, lacking only eighteen miles of reaching Tuscaloosa. At Woodstock this line connects with the Blocton Coal Mines Railway. The lines of the Bessemer & Selma Railroad, and Mobile & Bessemer Railroad, when completed, will center in this area. The first has been surveyed, a strong company organized, and the funds necessary to grade it to Bessemer are being raised. It is one of those enterprises that is certain to be carried out. The latter road which is part of that great Southern system, the EAST TENNESSEE, VIRGINIA AND (iEORGIA under a new local organization is now being rapidly graded to Bessemer from Blocton which is on the line of survey of 29 the Mobile &; Bessemer, and from Montexallo which is di- rectly south of Bessemer on the East Tennesse, Virginia 8: Georgia line. From these two points these two lines converge and meet about ten miles below Bessemer, and come to this city over one track. An immense force is now at work grading this line. It is expected that it will be fully completed and trains running to Bessemer by Jan- uary, 1890. At this point this line for the time being will use the tracks of the Georgia Pacific to Birmingham. It is stated that this great system will extend branches to the various iron ore and coal mines throughout this section. From Bessemer this line will be extended to Huntsville to connect there with the Memphis & Charleston, which be- longs to this system. The completion of this line to Besse- mer, gives this city another competing and trunk line to the Gulf, through trains running from this point to Mobile. The ShefTfielcl & Bessemer Railroad is projected to Bessemer. It is now built as far as Jasper, forty miles northwest of Bessemer. The Birmingham, Powderly & Bessemer Street Railway, to connect the two cities, Birmingham and Bessemer, is all under contract, and nearly one-half of the grading com- pleted. Trains will be running by December ist, 1889. It will run down the center of Jones Valley, paralleling largely the Alabama Great Southern Railroad track. This Una completed, will make the fourth line of railway in Jones Valley, connecting Bessemer and Birmingham. A Belt line connects all the lines of the city and encir- cles the manufacturing section, affording most perfect transportation conxcniences for our \arious industries. A railroad has been partly built branching ofT to the West, northwest from the Bessemer & Tuscaloosa Rail- road passing into and through an unusually rich coal field of coking coal, eighteen miles west of Bessemer. This coal field adjoining and lying north of the famous Blue Creek Coal Basin, is directly tributary to Bessemer, and in but a year or two its yearly output of a million tons or more will pass into and through this city. There are now, at least, twenty miles of railroad sidings in Bessemer, and these are already overtasked by the traffic developed. The A. G. S., the L. & N., the (ja. P., and the K. C, M. & B. R's each have depot buildings in Bessemer already constructed. The map attached will give an elcellent idea of Besse- mer's railway system. THi; INDUSTRIES OF BESSEMER. The leading industries and enterprises of Bessemer, es- tablished and in operation, as Avell as those under con- struction are : THE FURNACES. The DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Co., Capital $4,000,000 Have two furnaces in blast, each 17 by 75 with a daily output of 125 tons of pig iron. With these furnaces are seven Whitwell improved stoves. The first furnace was blown in June 15, 1888, and the second on the 1st of April, 1889. The company has two batteries of 340 coke ovens and over five miles of railway in connection with plant; 600 men are employed, of whom 250 are at the coal mines. A duplicate of this plant of furnaces will soon be put under construction by the com- pany, which will enable them to produce 500 tons of pig iron daily. This company owns the celebrated Besse- mer Blue Creek Coal Mines, some forty thousand acres of the richest coal lands in the South. Also a large area of the Red Mountain Iron Ore Mines centering at Sparks' Gap, three miles from Bessemer, and many thousands of acres of brown and red hematite ore lands southwest of Besse- mer and in Murphree's Valley, and thous- ands of acres of coal lands in the latter valley. The Bessemer Iron and Steel Co., Capital, $1,500,000 Has two furnaces each 17 feet bosh by 75 in height, with daily capacity of 125 tons, and six. Whitwell improved ovens or stoves, completed and now being lined, with the 31 various auxiliary structures, cast and stock- houses and engine house ah-eady completed and of most elaborate and substantial con- struction. This company is erecting ad- joining its furnace plant two immense bat- teries of coke ovens, each of 200 ovens — one battery is already completed. These furnaces will be ready to go into blast by New Year's day. This company owns the rich Henry Ellen Coal Mines now yielding 800 tons of coal daily, besides many thousand acres of other coal and red and brown hematite ore lands. The Little Belle Iron Co., Capital $ 250,000 Have a sixty ton 15 feet bosh charcoal iron furnace nearly completed, all the iron con- struction done. The stock, cast and engine houses are completed, and the stack and stoves are now being lined. It will go into blast by New Year's day. This company will establish car-wheel works, and other manufacturing establish- ments to consume their full ]M-oduct. ROLLING MILLS. The Bessemer Rolling Mills, Capital $ 600,000 Have the largest plant in the South. They have 24 puddling furnaces and se\'en trains. The capacity of the mills is 100 tons daih". The machinerv' is of the hea\iest and most elaborate character, and was specially pur- chased of a character and strength to roll steel. The mills ha\e a department for the manufacture of corrugated iron, and turn out five to ten tons daily. About 700 hands are employed regularly. The Rolling Mills have been in operation since August i, 1888. FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS. G. W. Beggs & Bros., Foundry and Ma- chine Shops, Capital . - - $ 50,000 32 A large plant, castings, construction anei re- pairing, employ 25 to 35 men. Birmingham & Bessemer Railway Ma- chine Shops, Capital . . - g 20,000 Repairing and construction. PLANING AND SAW MILLS. Bessemer Manufacturing^ Co., Capital ■ $ 50,000 All kinds of wood working machinery. Fur- niture manufactured. Employs from 40 to 60 hands. Buck & Preston's Saw and Planing Mill. Capital $ 10,000 Manufactures pine and hard lumber, and various kinds of dressed building materials. TEHRA GOTTA. SEWER PIPE, FIRE AND BUILDING BRICK. The Bessemer Fire Brick Co., Capital - S 50,000 Manufactures iire brick and furnace blocks, sewer pipe and terra cotta, has the largest plant in this country, employs 175 men at yards and clay banks. Bessemer Brick Company, Capital - $ 50,000 Has a capacity of 50,000 brick daily. Em- ploy about 50 men. Marvel City Brick Company, Capital - $ 25,000 Has a capacity of 35,000 daily. Employ 35 hands. Gere's Brick Yard, Capital - - $ 10,000 Capacity of 25,000 daily. ICE MANUFACTURING Bessemer Ice Manufactory and Storage Co., Capital $ 15,000 Have a large plant in operation, furnish ice for city consumption and adjacent towns. ""^ 7\i 34 MINERAL WATER MANUFACTURING. Bessemer Mineral Water Manufactory, Capital .---.-$ 5,000 Maiuifactures in large quantities, mineral and aerated waters of all kinds for consump- tion in city and surrounding towns. NEWSPAPERS AND JOB PRINTING. Bessemer Printing and Publishing Co., Capital, - - - - - $ 40,000 PuVjlishes the "BESSEMER," and does book and job work. Bessemer Journal, Capital - _ $ 5,000 Newspaper and job office. METAL WORK. Bessemer Cornice Works, Capital - $ 5,000 Manufactures metal cornices, facades, &c. CARRIAGE AND WAGON MANUFACTUSING. Morris & Minis Carriage Shops, Capital - $ 3.000 Construction and repairing. DUMMY LINES. The Bessemer Dummy Line, Capital - $ 200,000 (Lately chartered as the Bessemer & Bir- mingham R. R.) has 19 miles of track, 5 en- gines, 15 cars, runs from Bessemer up Jones Valley to Birmingham, twenty passenger trains daily, carries freight and passengers. Birmingham, Powderly & Bessemer Rail- way, Capital $ 250,000 Bessemer to Birmingham, south side Jones Valley, now building, owned by Bessemer,- Valley and, Birmingham interests. 36 ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER. Bessemer Electric Light and Power Co., Capital ....-$ 60,090 Have large brick plant. Lights the city, furnaces "and rolling mills, and supplies private consumers with arc and incandes- cent lights. WATER WORKS. Bessemer Water Works Co., Capital and Cost S 125.000 Has extensive plant, 2,C00,000 gallons ca- pacity daily. BANKS. Bank of Bessemer, Capital Paid in - - $ 50.000 Total Capital ■ $7,013,000 And to this list an aggregate can also be properly added — The Woodward Coal and Iron Co., Capital $1,000,000 Having two large furnaces, 17x75 feet, each of a capacity of 125 tons of pig iron daily and iron ore and coal mines within two miles of the furnaces. These furnaces are but a mile from Besse- mer, and the employment given there and the trade of the place inures largely to the benefit of this city. Adding the amount of the capital of this company t© the total before given, gives an aggregate of $8,013,000 In addition to these industries, the n-on ore mines of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, the Sloss Iron and Steel Com- pany, and the WoodAvard Iron Co., which are within a quarter of a mile of the city limits of Bessemer, and which employ regu- larly between 600 and 800 hands can very properly be called Bessemer industries, as the trade and support of their employees centers largely in this city. 38 In addition to the specific industries, there are large and important enterprises here, which by heavy investments and ex- tensive construction and improvements and the use of vast capital are contributing greatly to the growth and development of Bessemer. These are the LAND AND BUILDING COMPANIES. The Bessemer Land and Improvement Co., Capi- tal $2,500,000 The Carolina Real Estate Co., Capital 300,000 The South Bessemer Homstead Co., Capital... 250,000 The Natchez Land and Improvement Co., Capital 200,000 The Orleans Land and Building Co., Capital. .. 100,000 The Richmond Building Co., Capital 60,000 The Bessemer Investment Co., Capital 40,000 The Magnetic Ore Co., Capital 500,000 This Cowpany owns many thousand acres of choice and rich mineral land surrounding and in proximity to Bessemer. Aggregating . $3,950,000 The Bessemer Building and Loan Association, Authorized Capital 250,000 Has been in operation since the ist of Janu- ary, 1888. Adding the total of the capital of the land and building companies, excepting the last men- tioned company (whose capital will require seven years in which to mature), we have show- ing the amount invested in the industries of Bessemer with the capital of its various land and building companies a grand total of . . . . $11,963,000 THE CHURCH AND SCHOOL FACILITIES. The following denominations have now church buildings of ample capacities erected in the city of Bessemer: The Methodist Episcopal South. The Episcopalians. The Presbyterians. The Baptists. The Cumberland Presbyterians. 40 The Roman Catholics. All the foregoing have regular service except the Cum- berland Presbyterians. The colored people have churches and regular services of the following denominations: The Baptists. The Methodists. The city keeps up three public schools, two white and one colored. There are several private schools in and in proximity to to the city, some of whom have obtained a high standard. BUILDING SUPPLIES. The facilities and materials for construction exist and are obtainable is Bessemer in a surprisingly economical degree and at a most reasonable rate. The ground is of the character that enables the use of cellars. The deposits are firm, insuring stable foundations ; stone is had for the quarrying. Building brick is sold at six dollars per thousand, lime in quantities at sixty cents per barrel. Choice yellow pine lumber is sold by the thousand feet, as follows: Rough and framing, $9 to $11; flooring, $14 to $17; weather boarding, $10 to $12; finishing stuff, $14 to $16; shingles, cypress, $2 to $3 per thousand. Sash, doors, mouldings, scroll, stair work, &c., all done in Bessemer at proportionately low rates. Metal cornice work and mouldings, iron roofing, pillars and framing manufactured and constructed in Bessemer are furnished at rates as low if not lower than anywhere in this country. Elegant homes of modern architecture, with the usual modern appointments and conveniences are erected at a cost of from two to three thousand dollars. VALUES IN BESSEMER. EEAL ESTATE. Values in Bessemer are rapidly becoming stable and less liable to fluctuation, than has been the case during the preceding year ( 1 888). The highest price asked and paid for lots on the opening sale day, the 12th of April, 1887, was seventy-five (75) dollars per front foot. This was for a choice business lot, the one now occupied by the building of the Bank of Bessemer. The least price asked by the Bessemer Land and Improvement Company on the open- ing sale day and since is ten (10) dollars per front foot; this for residence property. The highest price paid for an unimproved lot in Bessemer is one hundred and fifteen (i 15) dollars per front foot. The present valuation of unimproved city property is from ten (10) to one hundred and fifty (150) dollars per front foot. Good business lots can be purchased at from forty to one hundred dollars, and residence lots at from ten to fifty dollars per front foot. Residence lots in sub- urban places and additions to the city plat can be pur- chased as low as three dollars per front foot. Larger plats of land for residence purposes w thin a mile and a half to two miles of the center of the city can be purchased in acre tracts for a hundred and fifty dollars. Business lots, except key lots, have a frontage of twenty- five feet, and a depth, except in the corners, of one hun- dred and forty feet ; on corners and key lots, one hun- dred feet, and fronts of latter, twenty feet. The Bessemer Land and Improvement Company residence lots are fifty feet front and one hundred and forty to one hundred and ninety feet deep. Lots in additions to the city and sub- urban plats vary in size. Over two thousand lots have been sold in Bessemer of which over fifteen hundred have sold by the Bessemer Land and Improvement Company. Over one-half of the lots within the fire limits or business portion (an area of twenty blocks and six hundred and twenty-two lots) have been sold. Purchases have been made principally by 44 investors settlini;' or intending to settle permanently in Bessemer and not by speculators, simply purchasing for an advance. Eligible residence lots can be obtained at this time within a half a dozen blocks of the business portion of the city at ten dollars per foot front, and business lots within the fire limits at fifty dollars per foot front. Improved property, both residence and business can be obtained at proportionate values, adding the cost of im- provements to the prices of lots as given. RENTS. Neat two room cottages, plastered, rent at six dollars monthly ; with rough kitchen attached at seven ; three, four and five room houses from nine to fifteen dollars — nice, commodious five, six, seven and eight room houses from fif- teen to thirty-five dollars. Business houses and store rooms bring a rent from twenty to seventy-five dollars per month. MARKETS. There are excellent market facilities in Bessemer. Meats, fresh, bring generally ten cents per pound; the choicest cuts of beef are sold at twelve and a half cents ; fresh pork and sausage and choice mutton and veal at ten cents. Cured meats at nine cents and up, chickens sell at $1.25 to $3 per dozen ; game is frequently quite abundant. Partridges, wild turkey, rabbits, squirrels and venison being in the market. Eggs generally bring ten cents per dozen, and butter twenty-five cents per pound. Fruits in season are very cheap, and the variety is very large and the quality excellent. The country at this season is covered with the blackberry, large and luscious, remaining unpicked. Peaches in the greatest abundance and of the finest varieties from local orchards have been in the market since early June; strawberries and cherries were abundant and cheap in their season ; apples are now abundant. Vegetables of every variety are raised in profusion, and though cheap, bring constantly remunerative prices. Milk is retailed at ten cents a quart for fresh sweet milk, and ten cents a gallon for butter milk and sour milk. ^ ^\ff^^ rj^ 46 Ice is delivered at fifty cents per hundred pounds. l^read is delivered at twenty-eight pound loaves for one dollar Watermelons and cantalouj^es of the best \-arieties retail in their season from five to twenty-five cents each. The season lasts three months and longer. Good milch cows can be purchased from twenty-five to sixty dollars each, the latter price for registered stock. The finer grades of cattle thrive in this section. The native stock furnish excellent milkers, yielding two and a half to four gallons of milk daily. Good riding and driving horses can be bought at seven- ty-five to one hundred and fifty dollars each, a good safe horse with top buggy and harness can be bought for one hundred and fifty dollars. Furniture and house furnishing goods are sold .it low rates and on the instalment plan. In the line of mercantile supplies, Iiessemer can compete with any city of its size. There are in the city about seventy business establishments at this time. WAGES. The wages of common labor vary from $i to $1.50 per day. The bulk of it is colored, and the prevailing rate is one dollar per day. Carpenters receive $2 to $3.50 per day; painters $2 to $3 per day; masons $3 to $4, and other me- chanics in a similar ratio. Coke makers and workers earn about $45 monthly; chargers, off-bearers, etc., earn ac- cording to skill rec|uired and shown; skilled machinists and workmen in the Rolling Mills from $3 to Sl^ per day. Miners in the iron ore mines in the suburbs of Bessemer receive from 30 to 45 cents per ton for mining, earning from $2.50 to $6 per day and paying their helpers $1.25. In the coal mines, miners receive 40 cents per ton, and earn from $2 to $4 per day. Within an area of three miles centering at Bessemer, fully 2,500 workmen, miners and mechanics, and s illed ar- tisans are employed, and over $100,000 is paid out monthly in wages. THE IMCREASE OF A YEAR. As stated elsewhere Bessemer w^as founded in the Spring of 1887, the first lot being sold on the 12th day of April of that year. It w^as the first of May however, before the 47 purchasers of lots and immii;rants i)rcscntcd much evi- dence of improvements or that any noticeable headway was made in inaugurating the building up of a town. The traffic on the railways rapidly increased, and the business exhibited to-day by the different lines running to this city is conclusive of the great destiny that awaits its speedy development. As indicative of this business and increase the traffic of the two principal systems — the Louisville and Nashville, and the Queen and Crescent, is given officially for the month of May, 1888, and the same month for 1889. 'J'lIE LOUISVILLE AND NASHVILLE. Under date of June 25, 1889, Superintendent W. M. Newbold gives the traffic business done by that line in cash, as follows: May, 1888, cash business $ 3,167 7^ May, 1889 " " 10,85600 an increase of 250 per cent. THE QUEEN AND CRESCENT. C. C. Harvey, comptroller, under date of June 28, 1889, gives the traffic done at Bessemer by his line in tonnage as follows: May, 1888 3,064 tons. May, 1 889 9,842 tons. an increase of 225 per cent. The other lines of railway have only been completed during the past year, hence their opei'ations have not been sufficiently extended as to afford comparison. The exam- ples given are conclusive in demonstrating a substantial, solid and rapid growth. ASSESSMENT AND TAXATION. Assessments are generally made on about a one-half or less actual valuation. The State and municipal tax is limited by the constitu- tion to each not to exceed one-half of one per cent. The county ta.v, including road tax is but thirty-five cents on the hundred dollars. CONSIDERATIONS TO THE IMMIGRANT. Intelligent and self-respecting new home seekers outside of mere business or monetary considerations gives a serious thought to the conditions which will environ himself and 48 his dependents in the new iield he may seek. He rec®*- nizes that there is sonriethinLi in life beyond the fact of money making and money getting. If with this faciUty is combined agreeable, healthy and happy conditions of live- lihood, the v^ery acme of successful and contented life is secured. The city of Bessemer is located in the foothills of the Appalachian range of mountains in the descent to the plains which border the Gulf of Mexico, and over which the fresh, invigorating breezes of the ocean courses unre- stricted. Its elevotion is high, far above the miasmatic and malarial belt, which exempts it from the febrile dis- eases so occasionally prevalent in some sections of the South. It lies in the very medial line of the temperate zone where the long summer has no distressing heat nor the brief winter any cruel cold to embarrass or embargo labor or to produce noticeable inconveniences or untoward sacrifice. The air is always fresh and invigorating, bearing the health inspiring incense of the pine and cedar. Life here possesses every charm that nature is prone to bestow. The most picturesque environments greet the eye, clear, cold, crystal streams of water reticule the landscape, sylvan shades refresh and inspire the traveler. There is not exaggeration in this description. These conditions impress the mere casual visitor to this section. And with these incomparable advantages are coupled the opportunities for sure and liberal returns from industrious effort and safe and lucrative invest for capital. The most superficial in\-estigation upon the part of the intending immigrant cannot fail to impress him with the attractions and advantages of this section and with the desirability of establishing here his home. Til!': MtrrAMORl'HOSIS OF A DECADE. The iJUKirkablc dcvcloiMiicnt of mineral Alabama has teen barely the work of the past decade. This is specially so of Jones Valley. Yet after the war this section was in as deplorable condition as any other part of the South. There seemed no remedy for the devastating effects of the war which had divested it of all its wealth and comforts. Even ho])e bad almost departed. But genius and progress ventured into this field and the dormant agencies which had slumbered for countless ages in the neighboring hills, and reposed in unvexed quietude in the bowels of the earth, awoke into energetic life, and the mists of gloom .and w^ant and idleness faded away, and the sunshine of prosperity and cheerful activity briglitcned the beautiful valley, and to-day from one end to llie other, from border to border, Jones Valley is almost one scene of ceaseless industries. Its population and wealth has increased ten- fold. The ancient furrows, relics of another day, when agriculture was the only avenue to maintenance and ease and comfort, still mark the sp )t in many places and are co-incident w ith the track of railways, the walls of furnaces, the lines of populous streets and avenues and other in- dices of a mightier and more affluent development. The thin wreaths of smoke from antique farm houses of the olden time is mingled with the dusky volumes from factory chimney and furnace stack, and the evening's pastoral quiet and peace is menaced by the fierce rush of the blast, and the mounting of huge flames of fire athwart the skies. The sweet breath of pine clad hills is tainted and darkened with the black smoke of rushing locomotives, and from one end to the other of the valley the echoes are awakened by the numerous voices of a tireless activity. Here men are busy laying new tracks of railway — there arise the walls of furnaces, rolling mills, factories, shops and resi- dences. The aboriginal forests of one day gives places on the morrow to streets, avenues and railway depots, and familiar scenes are often found by a few day's absence radically changed and improved. No place in all the val- ley is a better exponent of the spirit of industry and pro- 50 gress which pervades this section, nor a more strikini; and conclusive exemplification of the wealth (^f natural re- source discovered here, than Bessemer. Vet the progress made is but an incident of its capabil- ity. Where one man gleans to-day a hundred may glean to-morrow. The work immediately at hand centuries- cannot exhaust, and its products form the superstructure- which civilization is building. TO-DAY. Though but twenty-seven months ha\e elapsed since the founding of Bessemer, and the larger portion of that period ha- been subjects to a general industrial depression, and to the \icissitudes and unsettled values consequent upon an exciting national political campaign, yet the pro- gress of the city has been marvelous. Beginning with but the name — the concentration of a population approximat- ing five thousand in number, the erection of eight hun- dred buildings or structures, some of them as elaborate and ornate as are found in cities of ten times the population — the investment of capital counted by millions in the brief period of time mentioned is an incident in progress and history that is not paralleled. The development in progress to-da\' is a fit complement of the history already made. As confirming the stability of Bessemer, the breadth and strength of its foundation,, and its forcible attraction to business and cajn'tal, the im- provements now in progress and the sales of real estate lately effected aptly illustrate. Prominent among the improvements in progress is the construction of a large and commodious brick and stone city hall. In this relation allusion can be made to the remarkable high financial standing that this two-year old city has attained among the moneyed institutions of the country. On the i^t of July, 1889, thirty thousand six per cent, fifty year bonds of the city, for the erection of a city hall and improvement of streets were offered for sale on sealed bids. There was no offer less than par, and they were purchased by a Chicago house at 103.15. Besides the city hall, there are several other large brick blocks now under construction, and scattered throughout the city a large number of dwellings, many of them hand- some residences are being erected. A cotton factory to cost $400,000 has been arranged for.. 51 in which the ]^)csscmcr Land and In)pr<)\ cnicnt Company will be the leading and lan^est stockholder, the con- struction of which will commence early in the fall. This factory will be the largest in Alabama, and will contain 20,000 s{)indles. and give employment to 500 people. Two new lines of railway are now umler rapid con- struction to Bessemer. One the Blocton, I>riarfield and Birmingham Railroad, will be a continuation of the East Tennessee. Virginia and Georgia system, and give this city a short and direct line to Mobile, and the other the Bir- mingham, Powderly and Bessemer Street Railway will connect this cit\' with Birmingham. lioth these lines will be completed and running by the first of December or first of January next at the latest. Within the i)ast week or two over $20,000 worth of real estate has been sold in Bessemer, and sales are increasing from week to week. CONSTRUCTION IN BESSEMER. 1 he character ot construction in l-'essemer is a monu- ment to the faith of its founders. It is fairly represented by the illustrations herew ith gi\'en. The Charleston business block having a frontage of three hundred feet, three and four stories in height, is a ma TC:> BESSEMER. TRANSPORTATION EVERYWHERE UNKXCEIaLiED. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 497 620 4 ^ .■*4^^M^ % ntm^'^- im: ''V\ \0