WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



65 



VIRGINIAN RAILROAD. 



Date of opening. 



• MAIN LINE 



Deepwater to Robson, 1898 



Robson to Princeton, Sept. 24, 1908 



Princeton to Virginia line, Oct. 7, 1908 



MORGANTOWN AND KINGWOOD RAILROAD. 



Date of opening. 



MAIN LINE 



Opened for short distance out of Morgantown, Sept. 20, 1899 



Opened to Masontown, Sept. 28, 1902 



Opened to Kingwood, .Mar. 12, 1906 



Completed to M. & K. Jet., July 8, 1907 



The first band saw mills were built in West Virginia between 

 the years 1880 and 1885. Deveraux Lumber Company's mill 

 built at Charleston in 1881, was probably the first. Two years 

 later J. R. Huffman^ the inventor of the band saw, built two 

 large mills at Charleston. The St. Lawrence Boom & Manufac- 

 turing Company erected a band mill at Eonceverte in 1884 ; and 

 the Blackwater Boom & Lumber Company erected one at Davis 

 in 1887. Others of the older mills were those of Hulings Lum- 

 ber Company, at Hambleton ; Gauley Lumber Company, at Cam- 

 den-on-Gauley ; Parkersburg Mill Company, at Parkersburg; 

 and Pardee & Curtain Lumber Company, at Grafton. 



The band saw mills in West Virginia have probably 

 reached their m.aximum number and production. Thirty years 

 ago there was not a mill of this type in the state. Noav there 

 are eighty-three. Thirty years hence they will be gone. The 

 figures given below show the rapid development of the band 

 saw industry and its no' less rapid decline from this date. 



Date. Number hand saw mills tn operation. 



1880 0 



1885 4 



1890 9 



1895 13 



1900 23 



1905 46 



1910 83 



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