THE INDUSTRIAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE KANAWHA VALLEY

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate School of The Ohio S tate U niversity

By

SELVA CARTER WILEY, B .A ., A.M.

*****

The Ohio State University 1956

Approved byt

— — A dviser Department of Geography 11

MAP I

TOLL IRlQt

KANAWHA VALLEY REGIONAL MAP tent lilt*

tow TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAQE

INTRODUCTION...... 1 A pproach ...... 2 Area of Study ...... U

CHAPTER I - THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE ...... 7 T e rra in ...... 7 Earth H istory ...... 11

CHAPTER I I - CLIMATE AND VEGETATION ...... 17 C lim ate ...... 17 Vegetation ...... 22

CHAPTER I I I - RESOURCES ...... 26 C oal ...... 26 Natural Gas ...... 32 P e tr o le u m ...... 37 Salt (Brines) ...... h6 C lay ...... 51 Sand and Gravel ...... 56 L im estone ...... 57 Iro n ...... 56 W a t e r ...... 59 Water Power ...... 62

CHAPTER IV - SETTLEMENT...... 66 P olitical Circumstances ...... 66 P a t t e r n ...... 69 Pioneer Economy ...... 73

CHAPTER V - DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE "GLASS AND GAS AGE" AND THE WAR TEARS TO THE TWENTIES...... 60 The Minor Role of Agriculture ...... 60 Evolution of Cosmunication and Transportation ...... 8U W ater ...... 8U T rails, Roads and Highways ...... 93 R ailw ays ...... 99 Antecedents of Manufacturing ...... I l l Salt Brine ...... I l l L u m b e rin g ...... n y Coal Mining ...... 118 Natural Gas Extraction ...... 121* Miscellaneous Developments ...... 126

i i i I t

TABLE OF CONTENTS (C o n tin u ed )

PACE

CHAPTER VI - DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE "GLASS AGE" AND THE "WAR TEARS" TO THE TWENTIES ...... 138 Agriculture ...... 138 Changes in Population ...... 3-1*2 Rapid Growth of ComnunIcation and Transportation ...... 11*8 Exhaustion or Changes in the Extractive Industries ...... 169 Rapid Expansionism in Manufacturing ...... 177

CHAPTER VII - THE EXPANDING CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES...... 180 Carbide and Carbon Chemicals ...... 181 E. I, du Pont de Nemours & Company ...... 202 W estvaco ...... 217 American Viscose Corporation ...... 223 Barium Reduction Conpany ...... 231 Ohio - A p e x ...... 233 General Chemical Division ...... 238 Monsanto Chemical Conpany ...... 21*0 Belle Alkali Conpany ...... 21*1* Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Division (Institute) ...... 21*6

CHAPTER V III - THE METAL INDUSTRIES ...... 2$0 Electro Metallurgical Conpany ...... 250 True Tenper Corporation ...... 255 West Virginia Steel Corporation ...... 257 Gravely Motor Plow & Cultivator Conpany ...... 259 Kanawha Manufacturing Company ...... 260 Evans Lead Division ...... 261 United States Naval Ordnance Plant ...... 263

CHAPTER IX - THE GUSS INDUSTRIES...... 266 Owens-Illinois Glass Conpany ...... 266 Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Conpany ...... 269 Dunbar Glass Conpany ...... 271*

CHAPTER X - THE REFINING INDUSTRIES ...... 277 Pure Oil Refining Company ...... 277 Other Refining Operations ...... 280

CHAPTER XI - MISCELLANEOUS DEVELOPMENTS ...... 282 Charleston Brick Industries ...... 282

CHAPTER X II - PROBLEMS ...... 285 Water Pollution ...... 285 Water-Overrated C apacity ...... 289 W ater-Flooding ...... 290

CHAPTER X III - CONCLUSION...... 29l* V

TABLE OF CONTENTS (C ontinued)

PAGE APPENDIX A - CHARTS, MAPS, TABLES, GRAPHS, AND DIAG AilS...... 301*

APPENDIX B - PHOTOGRAPHS ( I n d u s t r i a l F a c i l i t i e s ) ...... 318

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 327 2 MOT That signal note of distinction is even lore pointed idien ve consider The Industrial Geography of the Xanavha Valley uas chosen as i tbs late start sni the oonsequant progress in sotpirlm nitk other field for investigation because of the perticular unlqueneee vhich industrial areas such as Pittsburgh, vhlch had long since been mil urks Its soonoisie activity as an dust 100 per cent eelf-contained established, entity, Wills In i larger sms, industrial activity can rarely be The philosophy of eoonomlc geography as simplified in the indus­ deeaed as entirely self-sufficient, the outstanding developwnt in the trial activity of the Kanavha Valley reveals that it lies on the peri­ cheedeel industries of the Xanavha Talley eoies close to being entirely phery of geognphlcal science, The eiplersr, the geologist, the self-contained aid independent of outside forest, oheiist, the biologist, and the latheaatlclan have cabined their Abundant natural resource* of eater, coal, oil, gas and salt brines efforts to work lireclie with the ainificlent stores of natural re­ plus an aiple supply of lesser eleaents hare been the cornerstones of sources, Econcedc activities within the area shov close oooperatlon industrial progress in the Kanavba area, Vertical integration and and correlation among lany t the sciences in the developient of the industrial linkage are quite pronounced although not elaborated upon industrial ccmnlty, The accapllehient of such a laglcian's trick publicly ty nlley industry, Thus "captive* lines, gas, oil, and u is evident in the Kanavha Valley gives proof of this cooperation, brine veils along with the interchange of "basics11 hare sonicated the This is exeflified also in the pattern of industrial linkage vhlch industrial soeat, Indistrlal syiblosii continues to doinate the dyna­ integrates the activities of the area and identifies thei with the mic grwth of tbs aagic nlley, In essence though, it m through the cconay of the nation, Industrially, the Kanawha Valley is a segient visardry of COG (coal, oil, gas) that such phenossnal progress has been of the larger economy of the oountiy and veil deserves the high esteei lade over the past four decades, accorded such contributors to posterity, Iff Interest is ure deeply rooted because of the close associations

I had in the Kenanht Valley kills miking on various industrial units Approach

dirty the forties and even prior to then as a young college graduate field investigations vers carried out at various periods between in search of eaployient, Since I first knee of Charleston and the 1950 anJ 1955 a»tbs Quarterustsr was able to intermittently relieve Kanaidia Valley, the area's econoic schisvewti have had world mom as of duties, The aain approach to the problai vas a unufacturlng and such a designation as the 'Buhr of the 11,5,1," is sell founded, questionnaire which vas completed at the tias of personal lntervlsv or

1 vas left in rsspodslhle hands for later suhiission, Response to these questionnaires vis at least satlsfacto^ although progress vas saasiAat 3 hampered throu£i the reluct an oe of a few companies to an aver questions pertaining to their oonoeraa on the ground* of secrecy. Some few refused flatly to an ever questions of whatever nature which may reflect either the haughtiness of the oompany ooncemed or the saturation of the Kanawha area with inquisitive students bent on writing papers of one sort or the other. It appears too, that even with Congressional sponsorship, the veil of secrecy which cloaks aany of the plants in the valley is difficult to penetrate, even though a large part of the need for secrecy is purely a front on the part of sons plant supervisors. The first four chapters of this dissertation represents research in the Morrow Library of Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia, The Kanawha County Library, the Library of the Charleston Gazette, and the personal library of Dr. Roy Bird Cook in Charleston, The Ghio State University Library at Columbus, and the Congressional Library in Washington, D.C. Contacts were made both inside and outside the Kanawha Valley via telephone, correspondence, aid personal interviews. On-the- spot information was not always immediately available since many firms had to obtain the approval of the main offices located outside the valley. Ground level photographs were taksn by the author, but aerial photographs are available from Fairchild Aerial Surveys of New fork City, with written permission from the particular plants conoerned. Aerial coverage is also available from the United States Department of

Agriculture, but permission must be obtained from Second Amy Headquar­ ters before any part can be reproduced. 4

A rti of Study

The Kanawha Valley lifts along the western flank of the Great

Appalachian geosyncline In the Appalachian Hi^i lands of south-ceritral

West Virginia. The Nov River, chief tributary of the Kanawha, rises high in the Mountains of North Carolina, and after traversing a deep gorge in southern West Virginia, emerges to make a confluence with

Gauley River where the combined flow of the two rivers is called

Kanawha. From Gauley Bridge, th e Kanawha follow s a north w esterly course to the Ohio, ease 97 Biles distant. The aouth of the Kanawha at Point Pleasant is approximately midway between Pittsburgh, Pennsyl­ vania, and Cincinnati, Ohio. With its tributaries, the Kanawha River system drains some 12,300 square miles of West Virginia, Virginia, and

North Carolina.

The portion of the Kanawha Valley embraced in this study lies along the narrow, winding valley plain between Hawk's Nest Dam above the confluence of New and Gauley Rivers and the navigation dam at

W infield, some 70 meandering m iles downstream.

Despite its setting in the h ill lands of the Appalachian Plateau, the Kanawha Valley is relatively accessible to interregional commerce, more so in fact than to many of the nearby valleys. The facts of

Appalachian drainage are ouch that the James and Roanoke gaps through the Blue Ridge, the New and Kanawha Valleys, and the Old Teays Valley provide a transappalachian corridor followed by the Chesapeake and

Ohio Railway and United S ta te s highway number 60. The ro u te follow ed 5 by the railway has want so much to the road economically that a name

haa been oopyrigited to depict the extensive trade of the valley:

"Chessie Corridor ." 1

Thus the region delimited by the Winfield Navigation Dam on the

Northwest and Hawk's Nest Dam on the Southeast is a xichly endowed and

accessible valley. As ths Kanawha courses through the valley, it re­

ceives the flow from the Elk, Coal, and Pocatalico rivers.

The valley, although narrow and winding, has an average width of

seven-eighths of a mile from the capital, Charleston, to its mouth.

Nearly a ll economic activity of importance takes place along the flat

bottom lands of the Kanawha or in the level areas of the tributary

valleys. Despite a lack of level land, Industrialisation has developed

here so that the terms, "Little Ruhr," "Chemical Center of the World," ffagic Talley,” and "Ruhr of the U.S.A.,” are often used to describe it.

Significantly, the distribution pattern of exploited coal nines,

gas, oil, wd salt wells follows the gensral contour of the valley.

If, by chance, refineries or mines are not located in the valley proper,

they are not far up some tributary. This study then will be concerned

chiefly with the location of econaadc activity in the valley proper.

There are many factors which have led to the major industrial

growth of this valley. Among them is the type of specialisation prac­

ticed here In which at least 90 per cent of goods manufactured in the

Kanawha Talley are producer's goods, e.g., plastics, which are made

^The Chessie Corridor, Industry's Next Great Expansion Area. Industrial Development Division, Chesapeake Ac Ohio Railway, Huntington, 1 9 U . 6

Into a variety of products. In addition, practically all of the manu­ factured goods are partially processed basic materials rather than finished prockicts. In turn, these basic materials are further processed into hundreds of different items asny miles removed from the Kanawha

Valley; this one factor of demand gave a stability which lasted during the jeers of economic depression. This, then, was a basis for the rela^ tivs prosperity which the valley enjoyed throughout the wan years of th e 19 3 0 's and itiich, in keeping with the level of econosd.c buoyancy, provided & stimulus fcr industrial expansion and continued research.

The Kanawha Valley has had an ample and varied natural endowment plus the advantage of fortunate timing. These two advantages offered tremendous appeal to industry after the great growth of American chest- ical industries during and after World War I. CHAPTER I Tlfi PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE

T Train

The Kanawha V ail0 7 belongs to the Unglaelated Alleghany Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateau P rovinceP ortions of the Appala­ chian Plateau have been described as mountainous, so deeplj and irreg- 2 ularlj has the surface been dissected by stream erosion. In a few eases, as in the valley of the Kanawha River, the streams are from

1000 t o 1500 feet below the plateau surface .3

This is an area cf miner irregularities in elevation with piano- key ridges and diarp-sided valleys. Moderation in valley slope is nearer the crest of the hills rather than the valley bottom. The more easterly segment of the Kanawha lies in an area of steep declivities aid V-shaped gorges but the terrain is modified somewhat as the valley progresses to the northwest. It is in this area of lower and more gentle relief that economic development has been greatest. The deeply dissected plateau surface surrounding the valley shows not only a regularity in elevation but an evenness of slope with an average geological dip of approximately 25 feet per mile from the south­ east toward the northwest. The older rocks which are exposed in the southeast dip below ths surface farther north and are replaced by suc­ cessively younger formations. T^e hard Charleston sandstone caps the

^N.M. Fennenan, Rursioarachv of Eastern United States. New York, 193*, P. 290. W allace W. Atwood, The Physiographic Provinces of North America. New York, 1940, p. 115 • 3 lb ld . 7 8

southeastern hills and modifies the terrain to preserve regularity in the sloping, hilly surface, Since these rock series are homogenous in their resistance to erosive action, it is impossible under ordinary conditions of erosion for narked differentiation to take place in the surface regardless of tine or quality of the formation.^*

Evenness of the hilltops is the oldest topographic feature of the Kanawha Talley area. These hilltops back from the nain drainage lines bespeak a plateau surface Wiich onoe existed as far as the coal plateau of Eastern Kentucky, This surface, once a peneplain (probably in Cre­ taceous tine), was subsequently elevated and dissected. The summits of the now elevated surface decrease in height as they approach the principal streams,5 The decrease is visible mapy miles fron the stream but after a drop of a few hundred feet the ridges level off and extend to the very brink of their gorges. Sinoe the projecting spurs or terraces are at about the sane level it seeas logi­ cal that the larger strents once flowed in broad, shallow valleys whose floors coincided with the terraces and whose sides represent the gentle slopes now distant from the press it, streams, A reference to topographic sheets for this seventy miles of the Kanawha Talley shows no striking dissim ilarity. Proa the northwest to the southeast ali£it differences can be detected in the spacing of the valley floors, there being a gradual narrowing of the valleys as the hillsides be con more precipitous and closer together. The whole area consists of a deeply dissected plateau in which there is a consistency

^Charleston Folio, Geologic Atlas of ths United States, U.S. Geo­ logical Survey, Dept, of Interior, Washington, D.C., 1901, pp. 1-2.

^Quite readily observed from the platform at Hawk * s Nest, 9

of elevation in the tops of ths hills along a northwest-southeast

line. Prcai Winfield south to Gauley Bridge there is a slight increase

in elevation of these hilltops from around 1000 f e e t t o 1700 fe e t)

aonadnocks which escaped the period of deep down cutting, rise perhaps

300 to 400 feet higher but, in most instanoss, these are somewhat back

froa the nain channel*

Likewise the pattern of dissection runs froa shallow U-shaped

▼alleys 400 feet below the crests of the h ills to narrow 7-shaped gorges cut a quarter of a ails below the plateau surface* The profile chart (page 3QJ>) for daa levels in the Kanawha River also shows a grad­ ual leveling cub of the valley froa southeast to northwest. The grad­ ient of both Gaulqjr and New rivers increases rapidly away froa the

Kanawha toward th eir own headwaters.

The greatest valley width lies below the capital city, and the width increase s slightly toward Point Pleasait • Southward froa

Charleston, ths valley narrows oonspicuously with only occasional sec­ tions of any considerable breadth. As ths valley narrows, the river waters became more and acre shallow until the head of navigation is reached a t Kanawha P a lls .

According to the U.S. Engineers of the Huntington D istrict, the headwater level of the daa at Winfield stands normally at 566 feet, at

Marnet 590 feet, and at London 614 feet. In comparison with the last named station, the headwaters of the daa at Hawk's Nest stands at 815 feet, giving a difference of 201 feet within a distance of 2 0 .8 m iles.

The capital city of Charleston is approximately 600 feet above sea le v e l. 10 31nc« ic m 70 per cent o f th e Kanawha w ater she d has s o il o f very poor quality associated in most instances with rugged topography, a large part of the land is in second or third growth forest. The three soil groups within the valley proper are ( 1 ) the uplnd or residual soils, derived fron sandstones and shales; ( 2 ) the terraee or old allu­

vial soils, comprised of fine sands and silts; and ( 3 ) th e f i r s t bottom or recent alluvial soils representative of the fine loams washed from

upland areas.*

Thus agriculture is restricted throughout by the rough and rugged

character of the terrain. This scarcity of tillable land emphasises

the need fcr careful control of soil erosion, and emphasises the factors to be weighed in considering any large impounding reservoirs. It is very important to this section that the small areas of level land in the valleys of ths streams be conserved for agricultural purposes.?

Erosion is very active on the exposed hillsides of the upland soil types, and clay on the steep slopes of the valley has suffered severely from wash as a result of cultivation. Landslides are frequent on the steep hillsides, usually occurring during the spring rainy season from soil saturation or crumbling effected by froet on underlying rock strata.* Roads ad fenoea, mine tipples, and dwellings are subject to displacement cr overturning by these slides.?

6C. E. Krebs mid D. D. Tests, ’Kanawha County,” County Reports. West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1914, pp. &1&-63S. ^Drainage Basin Committee’s Report for ths Ohio Basins. Mo. -21, Kanawha. Water Resources Comsittee, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1937, p. 2L. *Sse page ?I. C. White, n Jack son, Mason, Putnam Counties,” County Reports. West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1911, PP. 317-31M. ” 11 Silty day loon occupies the swale • and poorly drained area# along

the Kanawha River bottoms where It ie subject to inundation or seepage

from nearby h ill land. The bottom land soils are fairly well drained except when inundated and are very productive. Along the smaller streams they are more liable to overflow than along the rivers. These soils produce good yields of corn and grass each season without the aid of fertilisation. The best agricultural land now remaining is in the lower course of ths valley and outside the scope of this study. Agricultural pursuits on a large scale are of a temporary nature only, since most of the available land has already been purchased by industry.

Streams of ths Kanawha drainage are dendritic in pattern and the transportation routes today store or less parallel the drainage lines.

Industries, such as mining and forestry, have been able to cope with the steep slopes of their working habitat only through Kan's determi­ nation to exploit the valley's natural resources.

Eamth History

In geologic history the Kanawha Talley is a trough cut into the Appalachian Higilands during and after the great uplifts. Before these upheavals, a slowly sinking interior sea accumulated sediments of eroded m aterial from Appalachia on the eastWith arrival of the epirogenlo processes idiieh formed the Appalachian System as we know it today, great pressures were imparted to the coal aarstms and peat bogs of the

^The original land mass preoedlng the great uplifts consisting of Older Appalachian Mountains, the Piedmont Uplaid, and other lands to th e e a s t . 12 interior sea, and ooal was formed along with otter 1 awl nation* of aedi-

■sit, aiy rook du» to compression. Tho compression ratio was about four to on* so that a psat bog of 36-foot thickness during the Pennsylvanian would have compacted into a nine foot seaa of coal. A cubic foot of sim ilar bituminous oo&l weigiing 87 & pounds was once represented by- four cubic feet of peat.^ Since being formed, many ooal beds have been broken by faults, folded by diastrophiam, and partially removed by e ro sio n . During successive stages of geologic tine, saline solutions of the interior sea became entrapped between tte solidified layers of sedimen­ tation. Although there are definite signs of salt brine in the Devonian and the Klsslssippian formations, tte best concentration within the

Kanawha Valley lies in the Pottwville series of the Pennsylvanian .^-2

Striking evklenoe of this entrapment is seen in the salt grains vhlch fill the interstices of the Pottsville sands, and articulated in the lower layers which are dubbed first, second, and third salt sands.^

There is little difference in tte geological history of all four of the great mineral resources which occur In the valley. However, since this valley Is situated almost in the center of the Appalachian geosyncline, it was perhapa subjected to greater degrees of pressure and more severe metamorphiam, which on tte whole resulted in a greater complexity of formations. The orogenie processes idiich took place in

H "Facts and Figures," Annual. U.S. Bituminous Coal Institute, Washington, D.C., 1949* PP. 17-20. •*-2Salt Brines of West Virginia. West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1937, P. 35. ^D riller's jargon for depth of drilling horison. 13 Pennsylvanian and Permian tin**, warped and twisted the laminations,

causing viscous matter to accumulate in subterranean pools. As tho waters of the interior sea receded, the accompanying upheaval folded

aid faulted the rock formations and gently Inclined them to the north­ west with a northwest-to-southeast trend.

After this epoch there came a period of erosional activity in tfcieh the work of streams was prominent. Other conditions aided this ero­

sional activity to provide a topography of general character which is very difficult to interpret without resorting to a study of conditions

in exlstenoe over a large area. The Kanawha Valley is especially diffi­

cult to understand because of homogenous rock formations which allow topographic features formed in different echelons of geologic time to melt into one another almost imperceptibly.

Conditions in ths Kanawha Valley were not too favorable for the

formation and preservation of topographic features with sharp distinc­ tions; and, hence, any interpretation of these features is inexact on

account of ths obscurity of ths record.^

At Hawk's Nest (Xip X ) the Schooley peneplain shows prominently

on the plateau, while monadnooks tamer above. However, the valley

bottom peneplain is beet repre serked by pronounced benches half way up

the side of the h ill which are readily distinguishable in the autumn.

There is a variance of opinion in correlating pensplanation from

one locality to another. William Norris Davis considered both the

summit and ths valley floor peneplain as involving a tiltin g seaward

on a fu lc ru m , while Bailey W illis suggests a dons-like uplift; Hayes

^Charleston Folio, p. 2. u and Campbell suggest interm ittent axes parallel to the great structural features, Hayes con- tending that the northern part had a greater uplift, sloping to the southwest; Keith suggested that different levels of peneplains would fora at the sane tins naturally; and Ver Steeg and Jones agreed, noting also that the higiest points would be on stream dirides. 15

In contrast to the earlier proponents of a strong uplift in the north, the writer believes that tiltin g and warping accompanied a wash greater uplift to the sovth. This reasoning is supported by the suc­ cessively’ lower levels of the peneplains visible as one prooeeds toward the north, and the conclusive findings of Campbell and Mendenhall in their report of 1895.^ They pointed out that the termination of quiet erosion in the Eooene was ended by a broad uplift, which may have occurred at intervals down to the present. They remark that the uplift was in the form of an arch with clearly defined axial lines idiidb passes through Hinton, Vest

Virginia (where the Greenbrier joins New River). At H.lnton the broad plain was raised from near sea level to its present heights of approxi­ mately 2,600 feet. South of Hinton the uplift is less pronounoed, reaching 2,200 feet at Radford, Virginia. Toward the north, the descent is much more rapid, readying 2,200 feet at Fayette, 1,700 feet near Montgomery, 1*100 feet near Charleston, and 1,000 feet at St. Alban a,

^L . Williams, Physiography of the Mew-Kanawha River. Unpublished Thesis, University of Chicago, 1935, p. 19.

R. Campbell and V. C. Mendenhall, "G eological Section along the New and Kanawha Rivers in Vest V irginia,” 17th Annual Report. Washington, D.C., 1895-96, pp. 479-509. 15 Thsse figwes represent preeent levtls of valley floor peneplaine n aon to each district. This, than, la tha uplift responsible for the lest rejuvenation of the drainage system and the rapid down cutting of the gorge.

Although the waters of the Kanawha River now reach the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, it was not always so* Geologically, the Kanawha has only recently turned froa an abandoned channel of the old Teays Valley system to the west, a few miles below Charleston, to a more northerly Junction with the Ohio forty mllms from its original mouth. This course through the Teays Valley was abandoned some time prior to the ice blockades set up by continental glaciers moving in from the north. Apparently the old course from the left back of its present stream (below St. Albans), once flowed past Scott Depot, Hurri­ cane, Milton, Barboursville, and Huntington into the present valley of the Ohio River* Prom there it coursed to the vicinity of Seiotoville whence it took a sharp turn to the northward and thenoe flowed through the valley of the lower Scioto and northward beyond what is now

Chillioothe, Ohio. Subsequent darning by early glacial advances caused the Teays Valley to become silted, and it was comparatively easy for the Kanawha to flow over a low divide to capture a part of the smaller

Pocatalico River channel* The Poeatalioo is reputed to be the crooked- est river in North America, which may be additional proof that these changes did take place in the recent past.

Summarising, most of the mineral resources found in the Kanawha

Valley were formed about the same time in geological history. The area is a representative geo sync line which has undergone a aeries of uplifts 16 and downgradings through several cycles of peneplanation. Topographical features are rathar indiatinct and do not present a sharp picture of past erents; the best correlation is found on the coal plateau of

Kentucky. From the southeast toward the northwest there is a gradual descent in relative relief also in keeping with the dip of the rock series. The area throughout is highly dissected showing perhaps the beginning o f la te m a tu rity . The ccabined systems o f the New-Kanawha rivers are typically antecedent in character and somewhat of a rarity since their waters still flow westward to the Gulf of Mexico rather than eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. CHAPTER I I

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION

C lim ate

This valley, aoc ording to Thornthwalte, is situs tod clim atically in ths Humid Mssothsrasl Regime of Msdium Thermal Efficla ncy,^ with possibly a rainfall deficiency existing between the summer and the winter seasons. It is an area where the climatic variables of precip­ itation and temperature may show wide range from year to year due to the diversified topography, in sons cases to the extent that parts of the same county may have marked differences. Charleston is the one station for which climatic record is available over a number of years; and, because of its central location in the valley, it gives a fair re­ presentation of conditions throughout. Wind direction is canmonly south in summer and northwest in winter but the upper air fluctuates between the two points throughout most of the year. However, the lower level air tends to become southerly be* cause of topographic deflection. The heaviest precipitation is in summer when convectlonal activity is greatest and, although precipita­ tion is fairly evenly distribi&ed, there are occasional severe droughts In the fall. A good exaiqple of the latter condition exists at this writing. Although there are several records of droughts in the vicin­ ity, the most recent one of note was that recorded during the early

1930's which was widespread.

3-Prom photostatio data supplied hy C. W* Thornthwaite, the in itia l climatic formula far the valley is B*2 representing a T-E Index of 6 4 . 6 4 . Rainfall is generally adequate. 17 id

Winds occasionally reach great enough velocity to be destructive, but the only one of tomadic proportions reported vas that of 1950 a t

Winfield idiich damaged a few buildings. The West Virginia Annual Summary of Climatological Data for 1949 reports that " on the 22nd of May at Charleston, hlgi winds and heavy hail did an estimated $100,000 damage t o 37 b u ild in g s . ”2

When excessive precipitation falls over an extended period, the valley is rendered vulnerable to the much feared flash floods. This vulnerability is dim to ths V-shaped narrow valleys, where surplus water walls up to oome roaring down without warning. Thus, from the sane Annual Summary as above reported for July: " ....it was the third hottest July on record. Both days and nights were warm with high humidity throughout. On the 13th, extremely heavy rains occurred on the headwaters of the Elk and Gauley rivers. The resulting flash floods did damage estim ated a t $ 700, 000, according to data collected by the U.S. Corps of Engineers."3

Thunderstorms may occur at any tine, bub more than 50 per cent occur during susmar, tbs season of greatest convectional activity. Sun­ shine and cloudiness are nearly complementary, and ordinarily the average sunshine fcr the valley equals the 46 per cent average for the state. However, the new chemical industries with their billowing towers of smoke tend to reduce that percentage somewhat.

^U.S. Dept, of Commerce, West Virginia Annual Sumary, Climato- logioal Data. Vol. LVII, Mo. 13, Chattanooga, 1950.

3Ib id . 19 Dans* radiation fogs, due Mainly to slow air drainage, are common to ths railsy. Ths period of early fall creates a maximum fogginess and areas of low terrain are particularly subject to concentrations. Skeoke hangs in the valley except on the clearest of days and often, due to the presence of fqg, snog is produced. According to data compiled fay weather officials of the Kanawha Airport, and tabulated in the Local Climatological Summary for 1950, there were 108 dense fogs during the year, with 23 in ths month of August alone. It may be that the higher elevation (950 feet) of the Airport allows for sans discrepancy with figures from ths lower valley levels (20 to 40 fogs annual average), sinoe there is a difference of some 300 feet between the two levels. Fogginess is mors noticeable as one descends from ths plateau country of ths southeast to the flo o r o f th e v a lle y .^ Commuters are often late to their jobs and on occasion are the victims of financial loss dus to vehicular accidents incurred tfiile driving through fog. In regard to agriculture, fqgs are mere or less beneficial to the farmer sinoe the hazard of frosts is considerably reduced and the growing season may be prolonged. Hail is mare frequent in spring and early simmer and generally occurs from one to three times annually.

Staowfall is meager and rarely remains on the ground for more than a few days. Ice i s more formidable in th e v alley than snow and may occur at any time of the winter season.

Overall temperature conditions are conducive to health, with periods of uncomfortably warm weather being infrequent and of short duration in

^Providing that conditions are optimum for fog formation. 2 0

the ralley bottoms, while at the higher elevations along the valley valla and hilltops, summer temperatures are delightful. The tempera­

ture is usually moderate, even in winter, with severe cold spells being

only intermittent and of short duration.

Kanawha Valley has the third longest growing season in West Vir­ ginia with a total of 186 days aided by a mean annual temperature of

57.5°F. Mean seasonal temperatves range from A4.7°F. in winter te

70°F. in suomsr. In the winter of 1917 the lowest temperature on record of -17 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded idiile ths next summer had the highest recorded temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit.5

Outdoor gracing is possible for upward of nine months out of tbs year since the average date of the last killing frost in spring is

April 20th, while ths average date of the first killing frost in the fall is usually on or after October 23rd.^

There is no great differentiation in the length of the seasons; however, atfcusns are relatively long and periods of moderately warm weather occur during the winter season. Winter also seems to be pro­ longed because of the procession of frontal storms which are accompanied with abundant precipitation.

A minimum p r e c ip ita tio n o f 26.13 in ch es f e l l d u rin g 1930; a maxi­ mum 60.6A inches fe ll during 1950.? With an average 44*96 inches over

^Yearbook of Agriculture. Climate and Man. U.S. Dept, of Agriculture, GoverbisKit PrintingO/ALoe, Washington, b.d., 1941, pp. 1182-1192. 6I b id . . p. 1182.

^C lim atic Si i i s ry of the United States. U.S. Dept, of Agrloulture, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1930, pp. 73-1, - 16 Supplement, Charleston, W. Vs., 1950. 21 a period of 59 years, precipitation can be expected to average between

37*71 Inches and 51*21 inches 68 per cent of the ties. Sixteen per cent of the tine, the total precipitation w ill range fron 26*13 in c h es to 37*71 inches and the renaining 16 per cent of the tine it will range between 51*21 inches and 6 0 .6 4 inches per annum.

As to the uniformity of precipitation in the Charleston vicinity of the Kanawha Talley during the 59 years (1892-1950) that records have been kept, the year by year uniformity fig ires 90.7 per cent • Records for five or six months after the year 1933 are not available, so that the averages for these months were substituted from the averages through the year 1930. This relative uniformity of precipitation forms a large part of the Industrial potential which depends on constancy in both ground and surface water.

Similarly, by substituting average aonths taken through the year 1930 , and by projecting the precipitation chart over a period of 59 years, the year by year dependability of precipitation for the valley can be obtained. Using Standard Deviation the average dependability over 59 years was computed to be approximately 85 per cerit. A precipi­ tation regime which over a period of 59 years only varies 15 p e r cen t is an attractive factor to most manufacturing industries.

The percentage of rtsi-off of the Kanawha River in the neighborhood of Mamet has varied froa 34*2 per cent of the rainfall for the drought y e a r o f 1930 to the higi of 81.6 per cent for the flood year of 190 1 . 22

V eg etatio n

Originally the loir and fertile lands of the Gaouley and the Kanawha were characterised by the abundance of yellow poplar, black and white walnut, white and red oaks, sweet buckeye, basswood, cucumber and white ash, as well as the less valuable sweet gum, sycamore, river birch, honey locust, and others* On the clays of the higher areas such spe­ cies as maples, white oak, and beech predominated, with fringes of hem­ lock along the water courses and with scattered clumps of pitch pine and scrub pine growing on dry ridges and along sandstone outcrops.

However, as early as 1 9 1 0 it was reported that nearly 80 per cent of the original forest cover of Fayette County had been removed, leaving only about 53,000 acres of virgin forest. At the same time practically all traces of the original forests had disappeared from the rich bottoms of the Kanawha Valley, and it was only in the remotest sections that any virgin forest could be found.®

A tract of land in virgin forest and which lay along the waters of

Kelly and Hughes creeks, containing 8,000 acres, was subjected to a tree count about 1 9 1 0 . The tract included poor hilly slopes, steep bluffs bordering mountain streams, and the rich lands of cove and bottom — probably representative of the forest cover over much or most of the

®A. B. Brooks, Forestry and Wood Industries, W, Va. Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1 9 1 0 , p . 1?6. 23 valley. The kinds and numbers of trees ran as follows:^

Yellow poplar 9,831 trees O a k s ...... 31,710 Beech ...... 2,U97 Maple (red) . 301 Chestnut .... 2 ,5 1 0 P in e s ...... 1,190 Basswood .... $71 G um ...... 509 Hickories ... 1,U63 A s h...... 122 B irc h e s ...... 111 Sugar Maple • 660 Black Walnut 62 Sycamore .... 5 Buckeye ...... 3

That Charleston was once the center of an important lumber industry is evidenced by the figures reported by the resident Engineer of Lock

No. 6, four miles below Charleston, for the year ending June 30th,

1 8 92:10

Tim ber ...... 39,585,000 feet I a n -b a rk 590 cords Railroad ties 92^,65 0 Hoop-poles • • 980,000 Shingles .... 2, 750,000

By 1 9 1 0 Mr. 3rooks estimated that there were 8,800 acres of virgin forest remaining in Kanawha County and some 81,000 acres in cut-over forest. He also estimated that every acre of the Kanawha Valley floor had been cleared. For the entire county, perhaps one-tenth of the original timber remained, which approximated 60 per cent oak, 20 per cent poplar, and 16 per cent other deciduous trees such as ash, basswood, chestnut, birch, and walnut, and the remaining 2 per cent in pines and hem locks

9 l b id . IQlbld., p. 1 7 1 . n Ibid., p. 175. 2U

Putnam County forests on either side of the Kanawha River were exhausted early due primarily to the settlers arriving before the timber had any commercial value* There were some forty hardwoods common to the area besides oak, yellow poplar, and yellow pine, which were in great abundance and of good quality. Much of the lower Kanawha is markedly deficient in forest cover today with about 56 per cent of the original cover remaining* The Pocatalico Basin, which makes up a large segment of this lower section, has even less than the average cover with UO per cent.

However, when judging those portions remaining, it should be kept in mind that this locality was one of the first to be cleared of timber after the early surveys of the eighteenth century.

The early forests of the Kanawha Valley played a vital role in the early economic development of the area, but forest industries today are relegated to minor supporting roles in the present economy. Hie vivid green which crests the ridges and rims the valley walls, bespeaks a luxurious vegetation with dense forests* The true nature of this luxur­ iousness is revealed to even the most casual observer though when he looks more closely to discern that the continuity of the green cover is maintained by minute clumps of mixed hardwoods, which can only be utilised for minor building construction, mine props, fences, or bridges. As a result of heavy cutting, but little good timber remains other than that found in occasional wood-lots. Virgin timber is practically nil since most of the forests have been cut over at least thrice.

In a broader sense, the depletion of forests in the Kanawha Valley w ill be more marked in their effect on the water supply, the character and distribution of soils, to sanitation and recreation, and to animal l i f e . 25

The forested watershed of the Kanawha has certainly exercised some influence on the behavior of the main stream and its tributaries as well*

On soils which are unprotected, due to lack of forest cover, the ground soon packs so as to lost its porosity, and the incessant boat of the falling rain render it almost into the consistency of hardpan* As a result, the water rune off immediately and the nearby streams quickly swell to the flooding stage*

It is the terrifying aspect of the steep barren slopes so common to the Kanawha which corpels us to take note* At the mouth of a mine where great buckets of coal drop down to Electromet at Alloy, the terrific power of a landslide is plainly visible* The mine superintendent's office, a rather strongly constructed block building built along the right of way to the nine, was consoletely eradicated by a landslide of considerable volume which had its origin in the removal of a few trees up slope, coupled with copious rainfall* The office today is built in­ side the mine portal, where it is relatively secure* This particular slope approached the angle of repose in steepness.

Strictly speaking, the water resources of the Kanawha hinge strongly on the preservation of the forest cover* River oommerce is dependent on a suitable draft to permit passage of boats* Irrigation may come into practice, sinoe many valley farmers despair each year lest it never rain again* The municipal water supply depends almost wholly upon these sur­ face waters, since in only one instance is the underground supply suffi­ c ie n t* CHAPTER I I I

RESOURCES

Coal

Good quality bituminous coal has been mined in the Kanawha Valley sinoe 1 8 4 0 , ^ whan more than 5 , 0 0 0 ,0 0 0 bushels were Mined and used for the loeal production of 1,000,000 tons of salt, Bituminous coal has com to be the principal natural resource of the Talley* The ceals of the Kanawha field hare Tarying ooMpositions because of the special stresses imposed at the bottom of this ge osyncline and the subsequent uplifting and folding processes* The types of coal in the ralley were determined in part, by the enrironnental conditions existing at the tiae of the coal—forming period when the area was core red ty vegetation* It was left to present day scientists to determine from chemical analyses the particular rank of these coals by a percentage breakdown into volatile aatter, fixed car­ bon, and quantity of moisture* They found that the greater the amount of fixed carbon, providing that the volatile setter decreases propor­ tionately, the higher the rank cf coal.2 The epochs of ooal formation in the Kanawha Valley took place under die similar conditions, thus giving the coal beds different characteris­ tics, even within the same seam* These differences in physical proper­ ties account f

S. Laidley, History of Charleston and Kanawha County. West Virginia, and Representative Cltlsens. Chicago, 1911, p* 315* 2U.S. Bituminous Coal Institute, op. d t *. p* 20* 26 27 The eonon bended coals

This is another coal which was derived mainly from attritus, and its components probably floated in some ancient swamp until becoming water­ logged, when they sank slowly to the bottom, Cannel is found usually in a nixbvare with other types of coal and has to be separated during mining operations. The other extensive ooal of the Kanawha district is boghead, simi­ lar to cam el In composition and occurrence, and ldilch probably came from an ancient source of vegetation not unlike the plankton of our

3 F a c t a about Coal. U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., 1950, p . A. 2 6 generation. More likely to be discovered in lens-like bed* of —all else, boghead ia highly rich in volatile hydrocarbons, often giving up to 15,000 cubic feet per ton — excellent far illumination. During distillation, quantities of oil nd tar are yielded.

The Kanawha Valley is fortunate in possessing the Eagle, No. 2 Gas, and the P owe lit on coals which are excellent by-product coking coals and very important as a source of raw material far the manufacture of am#- nia and methanol.^ Contrary to popular opinion, classification as to whether ooal is coking or non-coking is not based on rank; rather it is based on whether or not it w ill produce a coke when processed in the coke oven.

Most of the ooke produced in the valley comes from the process of carbonisation, wherein the coking (caking) ooal softens and runs toge­ ther when it reaches the ignition point. With the old beehive ovens of the Semet-Solvay Company, stretched along Route 60, further application of heat allows the volatile gases to escape. However, in the sealed chamber process of du Pont at Belle, the volatile gases are collected far by-product uses and the coke is left as a grey porous fuel. Thus the old and tbs modern methods of carbonisation are illustrated within a few miles of each other. Coking coal has primary use in the chemical and m etallurgical indus­ tries of the valley. Coke is classified as strong or weak, depending upon whether or not it can support the weight of a charge whioh goes into a blast furnace as well as its sulphur and ash content.

^Personal communication from West Virginia State Department of Mines, July, 1951. 29

Noncoking bituminous uqt appear to resemble ooking coal, not only in appearance bit also in composition. If the noncoking coal is pro­ cessed in the ooking chamber, all that w ill be left is char or a powdery residue. Nevertheless, these two coals can be used interchange­ ably for heating and cooking in power plants and in locomotivea.

The chemical industries of the valley take the basic gases of tar, aononia, and others from the carbonisation of coal to make hundreds of allied products such as dyes, explosives, insecticides, medicines, per­ fumes, plastics and road tar. The magnitude of ooal tar derivatives appears endless.

One ten of Kanawha Valley ooking coal (2000 pounds) w ill ordinarily produce the following compounds in a by-product oven: 5

Coke 1,500 to 1,500 pounds T ar 8 to 10 g a llo n s Ammonium s u lfa te or equivalent, IS to 24 pounds Light o i l 2.5 to 3.5 pounds Coal gas 9 .5 t o 11.5 thousand cubic feet Kanawha Valley coals are mined almost entirely by means of hori­ zontal d rifts which are opened on the mountainsides at such elevations higher than the levels of the rivers, railroads, and roads, so that most of the loading can be accomplished through gravity feeding. Under same circumstances when the mine is at the same or a lower level, ramps can be constructed to dumping platforms.

A good illustration of the economic development and mining future throughout the area is the replace* nt of the old style wooden mine props by the recent introduction of steel posts, jacks, and beams.

^U.S. Departaent of Interior, op. c it.. p. 9. 30

These substitutes hare bssn incorporated in a number of nines along with the even newer aluminum beans. Aocording to the Charleston Chamber of

Commerce,^ the Carbon Fuel Company of the Kanawha coal field is one of the leaders in the industry in the use of "sky-hooking" at its mines on

Cabin Creek.

"Sky-hooking" is the comparatively new method of supporting mine roofs by steel bolts, inserted in d rill holes through rock strata and anchored, instead of the conventional timbering method of two upright posts and a crossbar which has been followed for a century or more.'

One of the Carbon Fuel's mines has been completely adapted to this new maans of support as well as a substantial part of the second, with the company officials indicating that they intend to replace all the ndne timbering insofar as possible.

Some results of the change Indicated that the oompany was enabled to obtain a 10 per oent increase per man production at the coal face.

In addition, the new roof supports provided a safer place to work and allowed more clearance for the mechanised equipment now used in cutting and loading coal.

It is estimated that there are between twenty and fifty seams of commercially adaptable coal in the Kanawha district, ranging in thick­ ness from three to eigit feet. It is this factor in combination with the composition of overlying and underlying rock strata —sufficiently strong to prevent undue cave-ins or excessive enabling — which gives

^Kanawha Commrcs. Charleston Chamber of Commerce, Nay, 1951* p. 7.

7I b id . 31 increased potential to the Kanawha rsM m i, In addition, most of the workable seams are at cr naar the surface — at least they are accessi­ ble. This accessibility may be due to both the factor of geological

formation and the excessive downcuttlng tfcich has exposed ooal out­

cropping for easy extraction.

According t o the Annual Report of the Department of Mines for n 1930,° there were 66 commercial ooal operators fcr Kanawha County

alone as contrasted with 26 listed as domestic. Kanawha County, inci­

dentally, is one of the best yardsticks for measuring the funneling of

coal output into the main stem of the Kanawha Talley. The Department of

Mines states that all coal output within the boundary of the county can

be Included as Kanawha Valley and tributary output.

At least 50 per cent of the coal output from the 86 commercial and

31 domestic operations listed far Fayette County in 1950 is directly or

indirectly associated with manufacturing in the Kanawha Valley. Farther

down the valley in Putnam, the six commarclal operators as well as the

hi domestic producers are closely allied with shipping interests in the valley proper.

Another prims example of just how closely the Kanawha artery is

tied to the industries on the local scene can be seen when Boone County

is considered in the ligit of its 52 commercial and its nine domestic operations. Practically the entire output of all operators finds its way into soots dendritic arm of the Kanawha or into the main stem of the r iv e r .

^Annual Be port. West Virginia State Department of Mines, Charleston, 1950, pp. 24-30. 32

Boon* County is but ons eacaaqple af * peripheral d istrict which

channels its coal prockicts down a tributary and into the main traffic

flow of the Kanawha. A la rg e amount i s used lo c a lly by in d u stry , bub

a larger quantity by far is diverted fro* the local scene to distant poirfc s such as Toledo, Ohio, the greatest coal shipping lake port in the

world, or Newport News, where the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway has spent

aillions fcr unloading facilities at tidewater, Baking it the greatest

Atlantic coal port. In suenurising, there is every evidence froa the hundreds of analy­

ses Wiich have been Bade that the Kanawha Valley coal fields will con­

tinue to provide billions of tons of high grade bltuninous for an

indefinite period. With such a trenendous potential available for aanu-

factiring locally as well as for export, there should be great optimism

for the economic future of the Valley.

Natural Gas

Natural gas is second after coal in importance as a natural resource

in the Kanawha Valley and is available froa Hawk's Nest to Winfield. Gas production is Halted alaost entirely to rocks of Devonian age or younger, with those of the Kississippian constituting the aost produc­ tive horisons.9

At the tiae of the West Virginia Natural Gas Survey in 1935, almost

the entire production of gas was in wells of 5,000 feet depth or less.

9p. H. Price and A. J. W. Headlee, Physical and Chemical Properties of Natural Gas of W. Va., West Virginia Geological 3urvey, Morgantown, 1937, PP. «-9. 33 Since this particular survey there have been many deeper walls thrcugh-

out the Kanawha Valley area, which have been good producers and Wiich

have aided in extending the scope of natural gas production. In 1953

several good gas producing wells ware drilled in.

Natural gas occurs in connsrcial supplies within structural basins which muy have several traps or collecting areas for both oil and gas* The collecting areas in turn msgr ba quaquavereal, lens shaped, wedges,

or stream channels filled with sand. Not one of the gas fields in the valley is attributed to faulting.

Gas w ells in th e Kanawha V alley are of two types: those th a t are

or have been at sane tins in the past associated with petroleum, and

those that apparently were never connected with their more viscous rela­

tive. The maximum production for the whole state was reached in 1917, but the valley has always produced more than its proportionate share of the annual state output. Kanatha County alone accounted for over 30,000 million cubic feet of natural gas in 1953

Up until tbs year 1930, carbon blaok was an important manufactured product from natural gas in the Kanawha Valley, and the United Carbon

Company s till maintains one of the finer buildings of Charleston as their main office. Outside of the domestic uses of natural gas for heating, lighting, and cooking, gas wLtbin and without the Immediate vicinity of the Kanawha

^Ibid.. p. d.

^R. C. Tucker, "Oil and Gas Developments in West Virginia in 1953.” Bulletin of the Association of Petroleum Geologists. Vol. 3d. Mo. 6, June 19 5A, 'pp. ldft-To&T^ ------3 4 Valley is ussd for manufacturing coal products, cement, cellulose, chem­

icals, ceramics, dyes, electro-chemicals, fertilisers, food products,

gelatins, glue, leather, line, lacquers, iietsls, alloys, plastics,

rayon, glass, pharmaceuticals, paint, Tarnish, petroleum products,

pulp, paper, soap, sugar, aid structural steel.

The proportion of constituents differ greatly in gases from the many fields and the different strata, but essentially natural gas is

composed largely of methane and ethane, with a small percentage of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Gasoline vapor found in dry gas is probably a hangover from the gas having contacted oil at some former period when it absorbed sosw of the lighter oil fractions. Wet gas, or what is commonly known as casing head gas, is found to be closely associated with the

"sands" from diich oil cosws. When gas occurs with oil, the pressures as well as the volumes are usually low, and the gas has a greater possi­ bility for picking up the lighter fractions of oil than dry gas could which is generally held under high pressure. Thus, easing head gas be­ comes ric h e r w ith decreasing pressures or under vacuum pumping. Gener­ ally, this is applicable to dry gas wells also: as the volume and pressure decrease, the gasoline content increases.^

The difference between dry and wet gas is that dry gas is consider­ ed to contain less than one gallon of gasoline per 1,000 cubic feet, while wet gas contains a re . Dry gas from wells is generally the result of high pressure and large volume. Gasoline vapors are made up of

12 A. J. Headlee and L. C. Swing, "Natural Gas Survey," for the Public Service Commisalon o f West V irg in ia. 1936, p. 5. 35 pentane, hexane, and various others of tha more oomplsx hydrocarbons

(Chart on page 306), a ll of which have graatar heating valuea per cubic foot of gaa than methane or ethoie. Hence, it ia obvious that gae con­ taining theae vapor a w ill have hitter heating values than gases without then; consequently, as gasoline is remoted, the heating value of the discharge gas will be lower. Since the gasoline existed aa a vapor, upon its removal, the gaa ia reduced in volume also.

Natural gas suitable for gasoline extraction must have a consider­ able proportion of constituents above butane.^ It necessarily fellows that it must have a concentration of ethane and propane. In the extrac­ tion plaits today none of the ethane and only a small part of the pro­ pane is removed so that the treated gas has a proportionally higher ethane and propane content than the original gas as well as correspond­ ingly higher heating values.

Gases tfcich take no part in the chemical process of combustion are known as "inerts." The heating value of any certain volume of gas is consequently decreased by the amount of space occupied by these inerta.

Nitrogen seems to fluctuate more than any other of these gases but it is particularly significant in that the quantity present varies season­ ally. Water vapor varies very little , and in some cases the carbon dioxide content is negligible. Helium is next to the lightest gas known with the lowest melting and boiling point of any known substance.

Oxygen is not present naturally, and its presence may be due to causes incident with production and distribution of the gas.

^Major constitusnts of Kanawha Valley natural gases are listed in c h a rt. 36

Son* gasoline plants tuve besn noted to discharge into the dis­ tributing lines gas which contains a definite percentage of air. In spite of this factor, the btu was well over 1 9100, This phenomenon was explained In that the plants are operating on wet casing head gas froa oil wells, which even after treatment contained a high heating value of btu/cu.ft. The air probably did not enter at the plant but rather was drawn in under vacuum operations. Some air w ill inevitably seep In around the joints and fittings of the pipelines, especially in winter when the bolts, flanges, and screw fittings have their greatest contraction. Some lines tested in winter when the pipes had a tendency to c o n tra c t and spread th e i r seams showed as much as 2.58 per cent of air. These same lines tested during the warm days of summer showed a percentage of sero a ir.1** (Chart. IIJ#p, 307)

The Kanawha Valley area of West Virginia in 1951 produced 308,000 barrels of natural gasoline and 688,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gases from natural gases.^

During 1953* some thirty natural gas wells were drilled throughout the Kanawha area d th a total Initial daily gas flow ranging from 50 million cubic feet to 7,117 million cubic feet. The wells ranged in depth from 942 feet to 5*622 feet.^ Several wells were drilled solely for storage purposes.

^ Ibid., p. 37.

^U .S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C,, October, 1952.

^R. C. Tucks r, op. cit,. p. 1064. 37

Pitroliw

The Appalachian geosyncllne roughly parallels tha general trend of the Allegheny Mountains and with one exception (Burning Springs Anti­ cline) the major anticlinal and synclinal structures affecting the petroleum of the Kanawha Valley exhibit the same pattern. The distor­ tion resulting from the Burning Springs* north-south axis divided the

Appalachian Geosyncline diagonally and a t the same time caused the axis of the latter to be shifted some twenty miles farther toward the Ohio

River. ^ It is highly probable that the oil fields of the Kanawha

Valley would have been much moire extensive had this natural partition have failed cf completion.

As it now stands, the main producing districts of the Kanawha and tributary valleys are found flankwiae on the Chestnut Ridge (Warfield)

Anticline, and its secondary monoclinal folds of — Arche's Pork,

Hansford, and Milllkmi. This main anticline is the longest in West

Virginia and represents a fold which starts In Pennsylvania and contin- ues southwestward Into Kentucky .'1'0

Meet of the oil discovered in the Kanawha Valley was found before or soon after drilling into the Devonian formations. It is true that sons new discoveries were made in the Kanawha field during the 40*s, but they were incidental to the drilling of deeper gas wells in the

^Paul H. Price, R. C. Tucker, and Oscar L. Haught, The Geology and Natural Resources of West V irginia. West Virginia Geological Survey, Charleston, 1933, p. 273*

^%rebs and Tests, op. d t«. p. 327. 33

Orinskany Sards* Only ona oil wall was drillad in 1953 with a daily

Initial flow of algit barrels.^ The bads of tha Devonian are vary

thick, with a high oil and gas content which has tended toward consid- 20 arable economic importance.

In &r*y event, the petroleum and gas came into or ware gens rated Into

their porous parent material, and in the original horizontal formations,

oil, water, and gas were at first widely diffused throughout* This dif­

fusion has remained essentially the same in areas where the dip of the

rooks is very slight aid where the oil and gas are in small quantity and

not suitable for profitable development*

In the Kanawha Valley however, where there has been extensive fold­

ing and, as in most oil fields, the oil, gas, and salt water have been

able to separate out according to their relative specific gravities*

This cumulative and severags effect may hare had several catalytic aids

such as diastrophlsm, rock and hydraulic pressure, seepage, capillarity,

internal heat, molecular attraction, and other causes. No matter what

the causes, sinoe the law of gravitation works constantly, the gas w ill

have accumulated nearest the top of a stated anticlinal, monodlnal, or

quaquaversal structure, while the oil w ill be farther down, and at the 21 lowest level, if present, w ill be the salt water*

Tuctor, op, c it.. p. 1064*

^Price and Tucker, op* c it*. p. 161*

^Frederick G. Clapp, "Revision of the Structural Classification of Petroleum aid Natural Gas Fields," Bulletin of the Geological Society of Anerioa. Vol. 28, 1917, pp* 557. Perhaps it is significant that Dr. I. C. White of tha Wast Virginia

Qeologlcal 3urvey first formulated tha anti-clinal theory baaad on his 22 obsarration that petroleum is found mainly in tha tops of anticlines. From tha tins of Dr. White's postulation on the likelihood of petroleum

being present along anticline a, research geologists mors and more tended

to start their quest in anticlinal localities. Stories are told of fake

geologists who wandered through the countryside advising drillers to

seek the tops of hills, little realising that anticlinal peaks may be

in valley floors.

Thus it is that the oil fields of the Kanawha Valley vicinity are

found on the alternating flanks of anticlines, with their many different

ramifications.

The rtggedness of the anticlinal slopes imposed a severe hardship

on would-be exploiters. To drag-line heavy machinery onto very steep hillside location has in many cases added tremendously to the cost of

initial drilling. Even after the well has progressed to the producing

stage the mountainous topography adds further costs because of the d iffi­ culty encountered in laying pipelines, and the additional necessities far regulating pressures such as compressor houses and pumping stations.

Elk River Oil Production The Milliken anticline crosses the western part of this such dis­ turbed and considerably warped territory, while the Jarrett eyncline cuts northward through the oentral part, and the great Warfield anti­ cline dies down and disappears Just west of its center. It was in 40 this disconcordant structure that the first exploitation uncovered the

Coopers Creek gas field, the Blue Creek oil pool, and a part of the

Hackberry pool which also extends Into Big Sandy D istrict up to the head of Fuller's Creek.

The Hie River Oil and Gas Company struck the first commercial gas in 1908 to start a boom in the Coopers Creek gas field. Oil was not found until the latter part of 1911 in the No. 1 well of Swartm and

Barth, but with this finding, the Blue Creek pool subsequently led te rapid development. Many traces of oil were found in the numerous salt wells Wiich were seldom drilled below the shallow salt sands.

Froa an historical account of the Blue Creek unfolding, it appears that eastern financiers had envisioned a paying oil field rlgit on the spot where the particular Blue Creek later cans to be developed as early as 1864. They were able to enjoy such foresight, perhaps, because the structural alignment was in harmony with the Burning Springs field Wiich had becoaa a good producer a few years previously. The geologist sent into the region to ascertain the feasibility of drilling for oil reported that a large amount of oil had been discovered in a well as early as 1838 ; another had been struck only a half-mile from the lirst. Information was also given regarding the periodicity with which oil was found in the salt wells, and one in particular was cited ldiere a well of less than 300 foot depth had such a quantity of oil mixed in with the salt water, that it had to be cased off. His reports were substantiated by the eitisens themselves who verified the persistence with which oil and oil alicks appeared in the local salt w ells. u

The ease geologist was later aaked in 1065, as %n employee of the

Weat Virginia and Ohio Petroleum Company of Cincinnati, to give a

probability report on oil and gas in the Elk River section. His report

pointed out the potentialities of the Kanawha Valley as a great oil field.

His line of reasoning followed that since a profitable oil pool had been

struck north of this region and at the base of the sane series of anti­ clines it was feasible to believe that the same pool had sane continu­ ance to the south. As it later developed, his postulates were well- founded. In seaming the logs for some sight hundred wells, both gas and oil, which are recorded in the West Virginia Geological Survey report for Kanawha County (191A), one can read the story of oil and gas opera­ tions of the early days fairly well. The larger number of the logs does not report the initial flow of either gas or oil, but they do state whether or not it oould be called a gas well or an oil well. Soas of the wells overflowed slightly in their initial production of oil; how­ ever, most of then had to be puaped froa the very first and were aban­ doned as dry holes. In any number of instances, wells were apparently abandoned because aC production failure or because there was nothing te be gained by further drilling. Drilling equipment was removed froa the area and owners sold their mineral rights or leases to anyone foolish enough to squander money on a useless thing. Then, after the affair had quieted down, and some of the major oil companies had acquired all the leases for a given locality in this mamer, a very good producer was brougit in on the exact spot whs re a former dry or commercially unpro­ ductive well had been acdaimsd years before. Having had several years 42

of experience in drilling myself, I have no doubt that many we lie have

been drilled Just "short" of commercial pay in order to lessen the

desirability of oertaln leases. Later, when proper leasing arrangements

had been made, the hole was sunk a little deeper and the oil entrepre­

neur 3 were amply reimbursed.

The average depths for the productive wells of the Elk River dis­

trict falls between 1700 and 2000 feet with commercial pay being most

common to the Squaw and Weir sands (Appendix A). For the most part, gas

and oil ran pretty much hand in hand throughout. All in all, the trib­

utary valley of the Elk had contributed a major portion of the petroleum

output in the Kanawha System up until the time production became static.

In analyzing the record of abandonment for old oil wells in the

Oil and Gas Section of the Annual Report of West Virginia Department of

Mines, we find for the year 1950 that 110 plugging permits were issued

in the Elk River area. This in turn breaks down into 69 oil wells which date from 1912 on, 17 oil and gas combined, 22 wells of gas alone, and

two wells drilled in dry for the jmar of record.

Only one productive oil well was drilled in during 1950 along the

Elk. This well was sunk to a depth of 1954 feet and the initial open

flow was 10 barrels. Incidentally, this is the only oil well to be

drilled in either Fayette, Kanawha, or Putnam counties. Six gas wells

had been completed and eight wells were either in the process of being

drilled as the publication went to press or had failed to be reported.

Briefly siumarising, it is well to remember that the Elk River

production area was not far fzom Hughes River to the northwest where as early as 1826 oil was used in workshops and factories. By 1836 more 43

th an 100 barrels war* gathe rad from pita dug in tha sand. As soon aa cheaper methods of transportation for oil Mere secured by lines of iron

pipes connecting numerous wells and large tanks, the heavy liquid was farced farther and farther fra* point of origin. The Eureka pipe line

connecting series was begun in 1890 and soon was extended several hun­ dreds of miles in the state; in 1909 fro* Elm Run to Hamlin (83 miles); and in 1912 fro* the Blue Creek fields to Downs (110 miles).

Cabin Creek Oil Production The Cabin Creek area is traversed in the northern portion by the Warfield syncline, in a northeast-southwest direction. For a short dis­ tance in the western portion it is bordered by the Quincy synclixw which extends east-west. The Warfield anticline crosses into the district after it passes through Winifreds on Fielder's Creek. Near Coalburg the sync line of the same nans crosses the Kanawha Valley in a northeast- southwest direction. The Hansford anticline runs nearly north across the Kanawha at the city of tha same name. The Handley syncline crosses the Kanawha in a north-eastern direction, and the southern part of Cabin Creek is crossed by Wake Forest anticline.33

The Ohio Cities Das Coop any drilled in the first well on Cabin

Creek on December 18, 1914, which produced 214 barrels the first day. This old Number One well surrendered 38,000 barrels in ten years, then in a fit of diversity gave off a quantity of gas in the years following. More recent wells have surpassed the record of the Old Number One, however.

33ibid.. p. 388. 44 The story of oil in Cabin Crook la also tho otory of disaster.

Many remember tho flood of August 9, 1916* Wien Cabin and Paint creeks turned into roaring rivers, to sweep down their Talleys to obliterate coeipletely scores

This supply of petroleum is unique not only In the grade of its oil but in the manner of its tapping. In most boom areas, there is a mad rush to undermine the other fellow 's interests by drilling as close to his boundary line as possible. In this sense, Pure Oil (since 1924) has been able to control and develop the properties along sane and con­ servative lines over the entire acreage for a long period of years.

As to the uniqueness of the Cabin Creek oil pool, it so happens that this crude is the highest of its type, produoed In quantity, of any the world over, with an average of 47 degrees gravity. As the oil comas from the Berea (Appendix A) sand it Is a clear amber color and readily distinguishable from the dark green color of ordinary Pennsyl­ vania crude. In 1920, the year that well No. 204 was drilled in the Cabin Creek oil sands, this one well alm s more than doubled the output from well Number One, Wiich only produced 38,000 barrels over a period of ten years. The newcomer produoed 65,000 barrels its first year, and by 1948 had produoed 318,400 barrels of crude. It is estimated that another possible 50,000 barrels may be forthcoming from the same w ell.^

^W allace E. Knight, "Assignment W. V a.,N Charleston Oaaette. May 29, 1951, p. 10. 45 In all, some 550 walla have baan sunk In this field, with at least ten of then meriting the tern "Million Dollar Producer.n

The entire field now depends solely on secondary recorery tech­ niques, in which the productive water injection system is used. With the water injection ayatem, water is farced down into the pool and be­ cause of the differences in gravity, the oil rises to the top where it can be easily pumped off. Sosmthing fewer than 150 wells are on the water injection system now, which is about two-thirds of the contemplated developewnt. The entire field will be flooded when the project is com­ p le te d .

In the Oil and Gas Section, where the permits for abandonment of wells are recorded, for the year 1950 , out of the 41 oil wells plugged,

13 were noted as oil—water injected. In the Cabin Creek field for the same y ear th e re was one ( 1 ) gas and oil well in combination plugged, and

14 permits were granted for gaa walls singly. Prom the same source it is indicated that Pure Oil made one attempt to bolster their diminish­ ing oil supply during the year whan they drilled to a depth of 3*388 feet but marked it off as a dry hole. The particular acreage in which 25 they sunk this last dry hole contained 12,000 a c re s .

In 1952 tha Oil and Gas Section reported the Pure Oil Company as plugging 47 oil wells, most of which had been water injected. Sixteen oil wells were reported plugged in tha Elk and Big Sandy districts of

Kanawha County. The remaining fifty-nine of a to tal 122 wells plugged

^Annual Reports. Oil and Gas Section, West Virginia Department of Mines, 1950, pp. 20-21 ff.; 1952, 55-59 ff. 1*6

were either fee or reported ae a dry hole. Due to laek of funds, the

1952 issue of the Oil and Gas Section was the most recent available.

Salt (Brinee)

Salt brines of the Kanawha Valley are a direct result of diastro-

phic processes thich caused cyclic inundations by interior seas through

several geologic ages. Sinos the basin underlying these great inland

seas gradually subsided, depositions of organic remains, aud, sand and

lime accumulated on ths bottom and were later either cemented or com­

pacted into consolidated sedimentary r o c k s . ^ As the sedimentation

continued, sea water was retained or entrapped in the capillary spaces

between ths grains, and during these thousands of years great changes have teken place both physically and chemically in the entrapped water.

The brine in some instances has been found to be more concentrated, while ths re are cases in which it has become more diluted. Prom this

it will be gathered that brines differ in composition and concentration within the same geological region.

In the Kanawha region, the brines apparently are derived from this water of the ancient seas and possibly a smaller portion from magnetic waters. In the evolution of the brine to its present character, it was

0 7 influenoed by the following factors:

1. Composition of source water 2. Temperature changes 3. Pressure changes 4. Different materials with which the brine may cons in contact, including rocks, gases, hydrocarbons, and other waters. ^P . H. Price and C. E. Hare, Salt Brines of West Virginia.Vol. VII4 West Virginia Geological Survey, Msrgantown, 1937, p. 34* ^Ibld.. p. 49. 47 As the brines nd grata, they contact different rocks and mix with

other brines or liquids nd perhaps hydrocarbonaoeous gases. In their

rudimentary stages they are subject to deposition of organic matter

saturated with bacteria.

Proa recent analyses it appears that the density of brines froa the

lower horisons is greater than that for the brines of the higher series.

The heaviest Salt Sand (Appendix A) brine sample taken froa a well had

a density of 1.21*3; the heaviest Big Lias (Appendix A) was 1.1299; the

heaviest Big Injun (Appendix A) brine had a density of 1.1449; that for

the brown Shale (Appendix A) had a density of 1.1617; and heaviest

Qroskany (Appendix A) was 1.2246 gm/ml. The brine froa the lower hori-

eons seemed to be nearly saturated with sodium chloride . ^

For industrial use, Salt Sand brines and the Big Injun brines are

the best sources of supply, Salt Sand brines having stood up very well

over a long period of use, with some of the very old wells still com­ mercially productive.

Mr. J . A. Mooney ot Westvaco said that If the brine supply in their wells was diminishing, it certainly must be negligible. He stated that on one or two occasions whan the flow showed a slight decrease In volume that there was some alight feeling of alarm. However, upon investiga­ tion, It was discovered generally that soas phase of their pumping or piping facilities had become temporarily out of repair.

2%o«er A. Hoskins, "Analyses of West Virginia Salt Brines, Geo­ logical and Economic Survey," Report of Investigation Mo. 1. Morgantown, 1947, pp. 1-22. 29James H. C. M artens and P aul H. P ric e , "Rook S a lt D ep o sits o f West Virginia," Bulletin No. 7. West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1943. 48 The natural brine uaed by the Westvaco Chlorine Product* Corpora­ tion at South Charleston contains 8.95 per cent at eodiun chloride. A rtificial brine obtained by dissolving rook salt contains 25 to 26 per cent of sodium chloride, which gives some advantage over the natural b rin e .

Salt reserves of the Kanawha Valley are mainly in the form of brines. Recent deep wells have disclosed the presenoe of rock salt in the norths m section of the state Wilch is believed to be lying in the same plane as that of New York and Michigan. If this plane were pro­ je c te d under the b rin e beds o f th e Kanawha V alley, i t i s oonceivable that this might be another potential source of salt in the near future.

In 1953) test wells below the Orlskany sands southwest of the Kanawha

Valley disclosed rock salt at dspths over 8,500 feet. Mr. Mooney of

Westvaco Chlorine Products stated that he believed the brines of the

Kanawha area might be the resultant drainage from the solid salt depo­ sits farther to the north. At Natrium and other spots along the Ohio, competitive plants have sprung up using rook salt brines frost the water injection system. Since these newer companies do use such brines from far below tbs surface, and if his original postulate of the southern drainage is true, it. seems there would be no need to worry about a diminishing brine supply. Mr. Mooney mors or less concurred in this id e a . Suffice it to say that the Kanawha area has mors than enough brine to keep the local chemical industries and salt manufacturers supplied in raw materials far Into the future. Based on the great many samples of Kanswha brines used in estimating West Virginia salt reserves and on 49 the fact that the Talley ie one of the largest reprasentative areas, it

is reasonable to assume that here lies a major proportion of the

900,000,000 tons available froa the four horizons of the 29 salt pro­

ducing counties. With world consumption rated at 20 million tons annu­

ally, this amount would sustain the world in salt for forty y e a r s . 3®

A brief resume of the raw products derived from brines (Dunbar) are:

dymbol Per cent Sodium Na 27.7 C a lc iu m ...... Ca 7 .5 Magnesium Mg 1.6 B ro a d n e ...... Br .5 Iodine 1 2 .002

These raw produots are listed according to abundance. The other

constituents itiich appear in solution are merely registered as impuri­ t i e s .

Large quantities of sodium chloride are utilised directly for household and agricultural use, but thousands of tons are used as raw material for chemical manufacture. Large quantities of calcium chloride are used in treating roads and mines for dust laying. Magnesium chlor­ ide is also used to allay dust, while in the metallic fora it is used in light metal alloys. Broadne and iodine have wide use in pharmaceuti­ cals, but the former enjoys greater prominmnce for its use in the manufacture of anti-knock gasoline.^

^Price and Hare, op. cit., p. 126.

33-Ibld.. p. 127. 50

Seme comparison of salt consumption by the proosss industrlss can

bo gained from tbo following table:

Consumption of Salt in P rocess Industries^

PRODUCT THOUSANDS GP SHORT TONS 1935 1951 Soda ash and caustic soda .... 3,0067000 3,3037500 C h e m ic a ls...... 185,900 964,000 Meat Packing 4 Pood Processing 1,095,000 F ertilisers & General Farm Use 5,000 1,056,000 L eather ...... 100,000 232,000 S o a p ...... 100,000 61,000 Dust Control ...... 785.000 Water Treatment ...... 610.000 T e x t i l e s ...... 40,000 124,000 Table and Household Usee ...... 600,000 Chlbrine, Bleaches, Chlorates , 4,709,000 Undistributed ...... 1,159,000

From this table it is quite evident that soda ash or sodium car­ bonate, and caustic soda are the sodium compounds of greatest economic importance. Baking powders uso most of the sodium bicarbonate produced.

Hydrochloric acid is used mainly in the manufacture of iron and steel products and dyes, but it is used in many minor roles.

^ S tin e rale Yearbook. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., 1952, p. 1066. 51

O ther Sodium Compounds 33

1 . Sodiua sulphide NaS Used as a depilatory (hair reroever) for sulphur dyes solvsnt far sulphur dyes

2. Sodium thiosulphate NaSO^HO Ussd in photography for dissolving s ilv e r salts t e x t i l e Bills an an "antiehlor” 3. Sodiua bisulfite NaHSO Used for dye Banufacture and application for steri­ lisation of beer casks in Chile for iodine reduction 4. Sodium hypoeulfite Na3C Used as an "antiehlor" in reduction of certain dyes

C ist

The important clay groups of the Kanawha Valley are classified as

transported clays, and most of the b are iapure due to admixture of

foreign eleaents. These are in turn divided into three groups according to their refractory or fireproof characters, which in turn depend on the amount of fluxing impurities present. 3^

Refractory clays have great fire resistance and are used in fire brick for furnaces, kilns, fireplaces, gas retorts, glass pots, etc. In this type, flint clay is usually nixed with plastic clay in order to improve the quality of the finished product. The bed of clay which is usually found under every normal coal seen is called fire clay; thus

33prioe and Hare, op. c lt. . p. 137.

C. W hite, C lays. H— «d Cement. West Virginia Geologi­ cal Survey, Vol. Ill, Morgantown, 1905, pp. 73-76. 52 the Kanawha area has an abundant supply.

Semi-refractory clays are used for ware with leer water absorption.

These clays vitrify, which simply means that with the addition of heat, particles melt and move closer together to virtually eliminate porosity.

In order to be rated first grade, a good fire brick has to be porous, while the vitrified products have to be essentially non-porous or at le a s t show a minimum p o ro s ity .

Clays for these uses must be fusible, but the operator of the kiln must be aware of the degree to which vitrification has gone in order to prevent melting down the entire kiln. As a result, a good clay must have a difference between the melting point of viscosity and the point of incipient fusion. It must also have the ability to hold its shape during molding or during the time it is subjected to the pressure of overlying layers.

Color is mainly determined by the percentage of iron, so it becomes apparent that most clays do not possess all the desired characteristics necessary for various types of clay products; therefore, it is often necessary to mix clays of different properties and in measured quanti­ t i e s .

Paving bricks can be manufactured from either clay or shale or a combination of the two. As a result of competition, brick manufacturers have had to increase the quality, which necessitated a thorough knowledge of their clays as well as experience in using them.

Brick and tile clays are usually impure and more or less sandy.

Iron determines the color Wiieh in the Kanawha Valley usually suffices to give a red color upon burning. These clays are not adaptable to vitrification and are tharafcra bumad at relatival? low temperatures.

Sand? cla?a are present along tha Kanawha Rivar and it a tributaries

and deposit a may var? froa po cleat a of pure sand to layers of shala.

Thera a r e s o b s deposits of fire clay in the Kanawha Valla? which

compare favorably with the standard fire clays of the eastern staves.

These clays and shale* malm fine rad and buff brick and the quantity is

almost unlimited. Nan? of the finer grained clays are adaptable for tha

manufacture of ire seed bride and tile and stoneware.

The extant of these clays is very large and tha? have been subject to considerable intermitt ait exploitation due to their proximity to the

coal and gas of the valley. Transportation has always been more than ample with three railroads available, motor transportation, and the nearby Elk and Kanawha rivers. Even with these advantages, the Kanawha area has lagged far behind in the clay industries. The clays developed near Charleston are of the Conemaugh series of the uppermost Kanawha formation. (See Geologic Chart p.308)

The Kanawha Brick Company, which was formerly located one mile east of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad station, was built by W, 0. Isaacs in 1897. For eomam red building brick, the sand? river clay was dug from a large pit below the level of the plant. The company made a specialty of buff building brick, made from clay hauled from the mine one mile up Lick Branch Run. The? also manufactured a dark trimming brick by adding manganese to the buff burning clay. Natural gas was used as a fuel and the bricks were dried in drier tunnels and downdraft k iln s . 54 The mine a were located about one mile from the plant up Lick Branch and the entry was driven into the h ill at the mouth where the clay was six feet and ten inches thick. The upper two feot and ten inches burned buff and the lower four feet burned red. Chemical analyses failed to show a significant difference between the buff and red color c la y s:35

Element Upper portion (buff) Lower portion (red) Per Cent Per Cent S ilic a 61.92 60.29 Altunina 23.92 23.77 Ferric iron 0.52 0.27 Ferrous iron 2.86 2.95 Magnesium 0.78 1.59 Lias 0.42 0.54 Sodium 0.27 0.20 Potassium 2.91 3.49 Water 1.01 0.56 T itanium 0.40 0.83 Phosphorous Trace Trace Loss on ignition 6.04 5.27 100.45 99.76

Buff burning clays are found in other creek valleys near Charleston.

On Perry Branch there is a sean of buff burning clay 22 feet thick with a five to ten foot of cover over an area of 30 acres, underneath which liea a two foot vein of coal. The Kanawha and New R iver F ire Brick Company was organized in 1902 and was located 2£ miles west of Charleston on what is now the New Tork

Central Railroad. The initial plant was very substantial with a great amount of machinery and large, well constructed buildings. Cars loaded

35Ibid.. p. 228. with clay were hauled from the mines fay electric trolley, hut the instal­ lation was destroyed fay fire in 1904.

The clay mine is located about one-half mile north of the plant adjacent to the country road and 4iows the following consistencies:

Shales, red and b u ff ...... 30 fe e t Coal (Barton) ...... 3 inches Sandstone, Buffalo ...... 30 fe e t Blue shale ...... 1 fo o t Clay, red, blue, and b u ff ...... 12 f e e t Fire clay 5 feet Blue shale ...... 8 feet plus

The fire clay and associated mottled clays are found one mile east, by the roadside and up Woodward Creek, and is apparently of the same quality. Thors is also a deposit of pottery clay. A pit in tha fire clay horizon shows 12 feet of fire clay, red, and bLue clays. Chemical analysis gives the following:^

F lin t clay Shale Per Cent Per Cen S ilio a 54.49 51.07 Alumina 29.94 25.7 8 Ferric iron 1.67 3.08 Ferrous iron 0.04 3.75 Magnesia 0.18 1.26 Lime 0.52 0.57 Sodium 0.21 0.17 Potassium 0.17 3.27 Water 1.53 1.41 Titanium 1.15 1.01 Phosphorous 0.26 0,14 Loss on ignition 10.65 3.70 100.31 100.21

At Barlow in Kanawha County th e re is a good q u a lity cl*y which shows three feet of buff sandy shales, then 12 f?ot of blue clay which 56 in places is almost white. Chemical analysis givess^ Percentage S ilic a 49.81 Alumina 33*85 Ferric iron ...... 0.68 Ferrous iron.... 0.26 Magnesium ...... 0.43 TAwe...... 0.36 Sodium ...... 0.40 Potassium ...... 1.36 W ater...... 1.38 T itanium ...... 1.59 Phosphorous ...... 0.09 Loss on ignition 10.30 This clay should burn buff because of the low iron content

Sand and Grays1

According to C ongressional Document No. 31* 73rd Congress, 1933, proper sand and gravel deposits do not exist on the Kanawha. All the sand and gravel reported in Kanawha Hirer transportation for the years

1945, 1946, and 1947 was inbound traffic with rsry little material moving farther upstream than Charleston. Mr. R. Couch, purchasing agent for Pfaff 4 Smith of Charleston, states that they hare retrieved nothing from tbs Elk Hirer fcr at least fifteen years. Dredging in this small tributary was abandoned when the Elk sand became so inter­ mixed with fine ooal particles it was of no further use as a building material. Farther up Elk at Big Chimney, the Charleston Sand Company does remora some sand that is usually mixed with ooal and loam. Most of the present supply of sand and gravel for the Pfaff & Smith Company now comes from below Ravenswood on the Ohio H irer. 57 Tha ecn at ruction eoapanj new own* property along tha West Virginia

aide of tha river, which gives then dredging privileges to low water on

the Ohio aide. They have established an unloading tipple and derrick at

Glasgow on the site of the new Appalachian Power project which is under construction. The barge which brings in sand and gravel from the Ohio is 100 x 26 feet with approximately 350 ton capacity.

Line at one

Most of the limestones of the Kanawha area under discussion are known locally as "coal measure" limestones. To the east of Charleston in the tops of h ills fresh water shells have been found on Two Mile Creek (limestone of same name), 350 feet below the Pittsburgh Coal. It is found also on Coal branch run, a tributary of Elk near Charleston, and at the head of Porter run on the south side of the Kanawha above Charleston. Their small thickness renders them of practically no econo­ mic value, although part of it was ones quarried and burned into lime. The Campbells Creek limestone is rather persistent in the valley,

but unfortunately it is seldom more than a foot In thickness. In pro­ ceeding along Route 60 to the southeast, the layer is visible for many miles along the road cuts. Here and there, concretions assume a lens­

like appearance and provide some discontinuity. The Cannelton or Stockton limestone is about 2j feet in thickness and is located at Cannelton in Fayette County. It was once used in the manufacture of cement by Aaron Stockton and cams to be known as the

"Stockton*1 cement bed. The composition is very close to that of the Lehigh Valley cement rook but the thin deposit precludes its quarrying. 5 3

The oopposition runs:^

Per cent Lias carbonate ...... 53.6$ Magnesium ...... 3 . $2 Alumina ...... 3.60 S i l i c a ...... 21. 44 Iro n o x id e ...... 5.05 T itanium ...... 0.55 Eagle limestone occurs on the east bank of Armstrong Creek in Fayette County, with a thickness of 3 feet 2 inehe s. The sane stone occurs in thinner beds along the Gauley River. The Ames limestone, which is found in Jefferson D istrict of Kanawha County, outcrops on Browns Creek about one mile east of the Kanawha-

Putnam boundary with a thickness of roughly 2 feet. The chemical eon- 39 stituents of both the Bagle and the Ames stones are as follows:

SiC>2 P*2^3 ^*2^3 P2°5 ^°s* on CsCO^ MgCO^ Other Total Ignition ifeO

AMES 4.46 1.33 0.13 0.30 0.12 90.5$ 2.50 99.97 EAGLE 13.47 4.09 4.24 0.30 1.07 72.66 2.32 K^O 99.42

Iron

Considerable attention was onoe given to iron ore as the other resources of the valley were being developed, and at one time a furnaoe was ereoted on Davis Creek to snmlt the Blackhand ore. The enterprise had a very short life, and the old hi mace has long since fallen into decay. The are itself has been known for a long time because its qual­ ity is excellent though of negligible quantity.**0

H. Price and C. E.Hare, Limestone. West Virginia Geological Survey, Vol. XII, Morgantown, 1939, P* 426. 39ibid.. p. 301 ff. ^Charleston Folio, p. 9. 59 Water

Proa the beginning of settlement in the Kanawha Valley, water has had a very pronounoed effect upon the migrants who passed through as well as the settlers who tarried; its effect is still undiminished to

this day. At first, water from the clear mountain streams, bubbling

springs, and shallow wells was used almost solely far slaking thirst or

other domestic purposes such as cooking and washing. As a means of transportation, it was unexcelled during the so-called water age. Also, the pioneer soon learned the value of water as & source of power, as attested by the ruins of water wheels and the decomposing stones used in the old grist mills. Besides its use as a source of food, water in the form of lakes, streams, and cataracts, had had wide use fcr recreational purposes. Although water presents an ever ominous threat through soil erosion mid flooding, its benefits have outweighed its hasarda. The source of the Kanawha at the confluence of its two principal tributaries, the New and the Gauley rivers, is at Gauley Bridge, some seven miles northwest from the power dam at Hawk's Nest. Prom Gauley Bridge to the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, the Kanawha courses through a very thickly populated section dotted with industry. Within the state of West Virginia alone, the Kanawha drains an area of 8,400 square miles, or 35 per cent of the state's total surface area. The average daily flow of this stream, computed since 1877 by the U.S. Geological

Survey is 12,740 second-feet, near its iimsediate source at Kanawha P alish

^W est V irg in ia Water Commission, Kanawha Basin Zoning R eport. Charleston, July 1, 1947* p. 12. 6 0

X2N0THS OF RIVERS AN) SIZE OF WATERSHED AREAS IN THE KANAWHA VALLEY* Nans Length in Milea Waterahed (square wiles)

Kanawha 97 1,526 New 1,504 (total length 341*4 el.)

Gauley 104.7 1,440 Elk 172.1 1,536 Coal 70.0 8H0 New-Kanawha System 12,300 (at south of Kanawha)

*After deducting area for tributaries listed.

Gauley River rushes throu£i the most rigged country In West Virginia, the mountains rising sheer on either bank, and joins with New River at Gauley Bridge to fora the Kanawha. Due to the steep and v-cleft nature of this tributary valley, flash floods are quite common and walls of water six to eight feet in height often cause severe damage to property. Elk River rises in the Tew Pine h ills of Randolph County and empties into the Kanawha at Charleston. The average fall of two and one- half feet is not evenly distributed since it slopes gently both at the

source and at the mouth. Coal River empties into the Kanawha on the south bank some twelve miles below the confluence of the Elk and drains a somewhat lesser area than the latter. It rises in the highlands of Raleigh and Wyoming counties and runs in a northwesterly direction a little more than one hundred miles to its confluence with the Kanawha. Poeatalico River is the smallest of the tributary rivers, heading in Roane County and flowing west-southwest until it reaches the Kanawha 61 fir* miles below Coal River at Raymond City,

The hoses of approximately a third of the population of the state are located along the Kanawha and its tributaries, and these surface streams serve as a source of water supply for more than 200,000 people who live along them or on the interfluves. Water in excess of twenty million gallons per day is being pumped to satisfy the domestic urban requirements. Railroads operating in the area draw almost four million gallons far locomotive use alone. Industry pumps over a billion gallons per day from the streams.

According to Mr. Rochleau of the West Virginia State Water Commis­ sio n , th e only in co rp o rated oom amity in th e Kanawha V alley , to h is knowledge, depending upon ground water as a source of city water is

Ssdthers.^ He cites the following cities and towns as using the Kanawha

River ae a source of supply:^

Glen Fexris Alloy — supplies Boomer, Charlton Heights, Falls View M ontgom ery P ra tt Cedar Grove — supplies East Bank, Glasgow Chelyan — supplies Cabin Creek Handley Bells — supplies Chesapeake, Harmst, Connell, Levi, Diamond, Malden, Reed SnowhiU Charleston (affected ty backwater from Kanawha River; source of main supply is Elk River) — supplies South C harleston S t. Albans (a ffe c te d by backw ater from Kanawha R iver; source of supply is Coal River) Hitro — supplies Dunbar, Institute, Poca W infield

^Personal communication, July, 1951 •

^As far as is known, there are no industrial plmats using ground water as a source of Industrial water supply. 62

Water Power

Numerous small water-power developments were made in tha past along tha Kanawha but, in tha w in, oonatruction took placa on tha tributaries.

Practically all thasa projects have long ainea been abandoned, but at tha height of their development they supplied power to sawmills, grist

■ills, flour mills, and tanneries, playing a great part In the economic activity of the day. All of the water power developments existing today are hydroelectric, either modernized versions of old constructions, or of completely new and original design.

Deqpite the extent of its water power resources and its nearness to large markets, the Kanawha River experienced but little of the accel­ erated water power growth that was so much in evidence shortly after the end of the 19th century. This tardiness was due in part to the inten­ sive development of coal mining throughout the area and the accompanying disdain in which water power was held by those charged with power develop­ ment. Whatever drawbacks existed, or still exist in this regard, econo­ mic feasibility is not one of them. It seems rather that legal difficul­ ties, lack of adequate surveys, plus the obscurity clouding state and federal jurisdiction, serve to blanket any worthwhile persistence of the hydroelectric proponents.

In 1389 the Kanawha Falls hydroelectric plant was built to supply electrical energy of 6,000 horsepower. At the present, this power is being fed to Electromet located at Glen Farris and Alloy. This power project is located just above the limits of navigation on the Kanawha.

There is also a small auxiliary plant located on the Gauley at

Webster Springs which supplements the city plant with about 60 horsepower 63 In case of a breakdown.

By far tha most import art. water power project to be discussed in

this study is the Hawk's Nest power dam, located 6.6 miles above the

mouth of New River in Fayette County. This power unit was constructed

privately for the use of tin Electrometallurgical Division of Union

Carbide and Carbon at Alloy. The first shovel of dirt was removed on

the New River project on March 30, 1930, after corfcracts had been let

for construction of the tunnel, dam, steampower plant, and manufacturing

plant for what was destined to become the world's largest ferro-alloy

p la n t.

After almost six years of construction work and testing, the first

power from the hydro station was received at Alloy on July 9, 1936.

The dam is constructed of concrete for the diversion of New River and

consists of a conduit 16,250 feet long, a surge tank, and five steel

penstocks leading to a power house on the right bank about 5-5 miles below the dam. The tum el which is excavated through rock is 8,(XX)

linear feet of 32 feet diameter concrete lined and 8,250 feet of 46 feet diameter unlined; a surge tank ut the end of the tunnel is 110 feet in diameter and 60 feet high; the penstock has five branches. The area of the reservoir at normal flow line ia about 450 acreas, while the drain­ age area represented is something like 6,880 square miles. The top of the crest gates are 815 feet above tide, which gives an effective head

of 151 feet.

The powerhouse is constructed of brick and steel in the superstruc­ ture and the substructure is concrete. There are five vertical shaft,

Francis runner, hydraulic turbines of 33,000 horsepower each at the 151 foot hood. As well, there aie five vertical shaft generators of 44 29,200 kilovoltamperes each at 80 per cant power factor.

Other data of interest:

Primary power at productive head ...... 62,816 horsepoimr Primary peak power at productive head ...... 165,000 horsepower Peak discharge at productive head ...... 19,930 cu. ft. sec. Average per year output(at switchboard)..• Prim ary...... 331,921,000 kilowatt hours Secondary...... 394,770,000 kilowatt hours Total 776,691,000 kilowatt hours Estimated total cost of project $10,835,000 Approximate cost primary energy at switch­ board 2.30 miles per kilowatt hour

In th e navlgatlon-pow er developments along the Kanawha R iver, the first one downstream from the Hawk's Nest Dam is the London project

82.8 m iles above the mouth of th e Kanawha ifcich d ra in s an area of 8,435 miles. Farther downstream, the Marmet Dam is located 67*3 miles above the mouth of the Kanawha and has a drainage area of 8,810 m iles. The

Winfield project la only 31*1 miles from the mouth of the Kanawha, and water from the Ohio River dam at Gallipolis supports a nine foot draft to this point. The Winfield Dam has a drainage area of 11,280 miles.

Power supplied by these navigation dams is under franchise to the

Kanawha 7 a lle y Power Company.^

With the harnessing of water far power along the Kanawha and its tributaries, another great potential w a s a d d e d to the natural resouroes

^*TJ.S. Congress, Dooumenfc No. 91, 74th Congress, 1st Session, Government Printing Office, Waiting ton, 1935, P* 85* 65 of the valley. The growth froa en rliat u n by owners of water whoala to tha groat power companies of today has boon consistent and progressive, always keeping abreast of the growing industrial night which is now the

Kanawha V alley. Other data of interest in regard to these dans: London Mamet Winfield Normal elevation headwater 6 14 590 566 Normal elevation tailwater 590 566 533 Gross head 24 24 23 Net head 22. 1 21.1 25 Primary fl

SETTLEMENT

Political Clrcunstanoea

Tha ruins of anclant nail a on Armstrong and Loup crooks indicate

that primitive psopla may hare preceded the Indian in the Kanawha

Valley. These walls were constructed along a ridge leading up the

steepest part of the mountainsides near the mouths of both creeks.

Many of the rocks which made up the original wall hare since been scat­

tered about, but there are s till enough remaining intact to trace the

forumr plan of their construction. Here and there along the walls were distinct breaks to allow for a passageway, and some of the rocks were stacked well over eight feet in height.

If these unknown people and perhaps the moundbuilders at a later date are excluded, Indians ware the first to trod the primeval forests which lined the Kanawha Valley. Hundreds of relic Indian pottery and other utensils once used in salt manufacture attest the temporary work­ ing s of the Indian as he halted to evaporateusalt at one of the numerous

salt Ufcks on either bank cf the Kanawha.

Actually, the first white settlers in what 1s now West Virginia were Scotch-Iriah and German, with an admixture of Welsh, English and

Dutch. The Germans ware known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. The Scotch-

Iriah were descended, s of the Scotch-Prembyterians sent into Ulster, or

Northern Ireland, by James I in order to break down the reign of Catho­ licism. Their first stop was Pennsylvania whence they later moved down

66 67 Into the Valley of Virginia.'*’ When the bubble of the Trans-Alleghany barrier finally burst, these

sane people who had been damned up along the Atlantic seaboard rushed

through in mass exodus to the virgin territory of the west. Thus, by

1770 settlement was taking place In both ends of the Kanawha Valley; on

the upper end, settlers were pouring across the Trans-Allegheny via the

headwaters of the James and Greenbrier rivers, itille settlers on the

lower beanbes had descended the Ohio River after crossing the Alle­ ghenies via the Cumberland Gap and the National Road (present US 40).

Some few of these settlers in Pennsylvania and Virginia had pre­

ceded the big push into the tributaries and main stem of the Ohio

Valley. Others, who planted settlemmit on a large scale after the manner of the Scotch-Iriah and the Germans in the Valley of Virginia,

found that lands were to be granted solely to companies and not to indi­

v id u a ls. The Ohio Company (A ssociates) composed o f Lawrence and Augustine

Washington and other Virginia gentlemen was one of the most important

of the English companies interested in the settlement of Trans-Allegheny

Virginia and was organized in 1746. These half-brothers of George Washington had been promised 200,000 acres in the Monongahela Valley

and an additional 300,000 provided that they could settle at least two hundred families on the first grant within a period of seven years.

The Greenbrier Company, farmed in 1745» was given 10,000 acres in the

present region of Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

^Charles Henry Ambler, West Virginia Stories and Biographies. New York, 1942, p. 43- 68

Settlement was hampered by many skirmishes between the French and

the Indians; and, with the close of the French and Indian War, it was

natural that many Virginians wanted to go into the western Talleys to

s e t t le .

Colonel George Washington was one of the first to be concerned over

the influx of settlers to the T ran a-Allegheny, feeling that by going as

far as the Great Kanawha River he could find choice lands and escape

disputes with other claim holders. He took a northern path through the

Tran a - Allegheny similar to that traversed by present day US 40 down the

Ohio to the mouth of the Kanawha and, as he traveled, Washington kept an

accurate journal of what he did and saw. While he located lands along

both the Ohio and Kanawha rivers, contrary to popular opinion, he did

not survey these lands. Instead, at the mouth of the Kanawha, trees were marked as beginning points for surveys, and courses and directions 2 of streams were charted.

When the deeds were finally recorded, Washington planned to settle

a colony of Germans on these lands for a few years' tenure. Failing in

this, his agent found persons in England and Ireland willing to bind

themselves for a term of years. James Cleveland set out with the inden­

tured persons for the Kanawha Valley just as Washington was leaving to

take command of the continental Army. The group settled on the south

side of the Kanawha River, near the mouth of Nine Mile Creek, in what

is now Mason County, West Virginia.

^Roy Bird Cook, Washington's Western Land, dtrasburg, 1930, p. 26. 69 According to the m ilitary land surveys by Captain William Crawford, Samuel Lewis, and John Floyd aa surveyors during the years 1771 to 1774, 3 the following tracts were plotted:

P arcel Legend Acres No. 1 George Washington 10,990 ( a c tu a lly 10,594) No. 2 George Muss, Dr. James Craik and Wm. Bronaugh 7,394 No. 3 George WaWiiqgton and George Mise 7,276 No. 4 Dr. James Craik 4,232 No. 5 John Savage, Thos. B ullitt, Wm. Wright, Captain Andrew Lewis, Colonel Adam 3tephen, and C aptain P e te r Hogg 2 1 ,9 a No. 6 George Washington 2,000 No. 7 George Washington 2,950 No. 3 Andrew Wagener, John West, Colonel Mercer 6,733

The different sirveys embraced practically all of the acreage lying below the present site of Charleston between the banks of tbs Kanawha and the foothills tftich press rather closely in on each side. Toward the mouth of the river, the valley expands to its greatest width of approximately one mile mad one-quarter. In that day, these lands were certainly die best of the territory according to the use for which they were plamed.

P a tte rn

Leonard Morris is considered by many as the first permanent valley settler. Morris reputedly oams from the Shenandoah Valley in 1771, and built a cabin near Cedar Grove. After completing the building, he went back after his family and brougit them to a spot near the mouth of Lens

3Ibid.. p. 53. 70

Creek, Wiich empties into the Kanawha Juet east of press it, day Maneet.

The village which grew froa this crude beginning In 1774 was first known U as Louisa or Elisarllle after Leonard's spouse, Louisa.

Ill-fated Walter Kelly settled at the no lit h of the stress; which now bears h is name, in 1773 in th e v ic in ity cf Cedar Grave. A year la t e r he was followed by the prolific Williaa Norris, dr., whose heirs eventually encompassed the whole of the Kanawha Valley. In the sane jear, the

Flinn family settled on the opposite bank of the river at Cabin Creek. D isregarding tomahawk claim s, th e present s ite of Charleston ap­ pears to have been surveyed by Thomas Bullitt about 1775* Bullitt had been eonmissioned as a surveyor from William and Mary College, and he had know Washington, Crawford, Field, and other surveyors of the day. The territory surveyed at Charleston embraced 1,040 acres or the whole of Charleston's present "east" side. Tracts were also surveyed in the bottom land below Elk River; and, about the sans time, some 2,61d acres were surveyed opposite tbs site of St, Albans.^

The land granted far Thomas B ullitt's military services in the war between Great Britain and France under the proclamation of 1763 was devised to his brother Cuthbert, who was issued a patent out of the

V irg in ia Land O ffice by Governor Thomas Jefferso n in 1779. In the meantime, settlers had continued to move into the Ohio

Valley over the easiest and shortest routes. Thus the Virginia Counoil had instructed Colonel Andrew Lewis to construct a fort at the confluence

S fallace E. Knight, "Assignment: West V irg in ia ," The C harleston Gasette. Charleston, Sunday, May 27, 1951, News and Features, p. 10.

^Cook, op. o i t . . p. 134. 7 1 of the Kanawha and Ohio, since it might answer several good purposes.

By 1700 the Council had requested similar garrisons along the Great Kanawha, one of which was to be situ a te d a t Kelleys Creek. This g a r r i­ son was to have the double purpose of keeping communication open in the valley and in acting as a point of loading when carrying supplies by water. Boats were to be constructed here also for the George Rogers Clark expedition into the Illinois country. For the most part, actual settlement hinged around the establish­ ment of various forts in the valley, especially that of Fort Lee, fore­ runner of present day Charleston.^ FortLee enjoyed a steady growth from its inception in 1788 until the year 1795- It was the home of many important frontiersmen, such as Daniel Boone, who lived there during the lifetime of the fort. The city was chartered in 179U as

Charles Town, named by the founder for his father, Charles Clendenin.

The name was changed to Charleston in l8l8 and, with the exception of the decade from 1875-1885, it has always been the state capital. Settlem ent outside the f o r t a t Charleston a fte r 1788 was q u ite rapid. As the danger from Indians dwindled and means of transportation improved, the settlers were less reluctant to leave the sphere of gar­ rison protection. Hie first pears and apple trees were carried across the Trans-Alleghenies into the Kanawha Valley by 1800 to start the orohard in d u stry , and the Magic Valley £0 be f e l l h e ir to an e ra of peace and tranquility. the pattern of settlement in the Kanawha Volley today can be

^Roy Bird Cook, The Annals of F ort Lee, West V irginia Review Press, Charleston, 1935, pp* 3-b. 72 termed of the primary, secondary, and tertiary orders. In the first category would fall the settlem m ts »*iich have taken place along the main stem of the Kanawha bottom lands and the habitations which sprang up at the confluence of the lesser tributaries with the main stream.

The second grouping of settlement patterns would consist of any growths of population titlch have taken place up from the mouth of the tributaries in the narrow valley bottoms. Tertiary settlement, which is just now beginning to flourish, is that population distribution found on the interfluves, for the most part, extremely rugged terrain. That ths distribution of population took place in this manner simply follows the natural course of events. In any new development, especially if the terrain is rugged and heavily forested, the line of least resistance is travel hy water. Thus, transportation and communi­ cation follow water routes in any early civilisation, no less than did the pioneer moveraei t in to th e Kanawha V alley. Many of the first white settlers stopped in places most convenient for them in regard to accessibility, good hunting, and fishing. In turn, due to the gregarious pature of Man, other settlers built habita­ tions nearby in order to enjoy the companionship of others, safety, and perhaps far exchan9 of products produced at horns.

Later the high premium plaoed on level land in areas adjacent to the Kanawha, plus the fact that salt, gas, and oil wells, as well as coal nines were first discovered and operated along the narrow confines of the valley also aided in a continuing high concentration of popula­ tion along the valley floor. 73 Pioneer Economy

There was enough delay in ths settling of ths Kanawha Valley by

ths early migrants to allow than to absorb, in some degree, the new

agri cult ire which had radically changed the pattern of Western Europe

in the eig h teen th cen tu ry . The tru e pioneer of th a t f i r s t wave of mi­

grants into tls valley kid a Jackleg knowledge of just about everything

in existence.

Proa the eastern woodland Indian, he had derived an econony based

on an ''eked out" existence from faming. He had learned the ufay to

deaden trees ty girdling as well as the method of planting in hills and

the use of Indian crops. In this method, the Indian disregarded plant­

ing in rows and, among the dead stumps and trees, simply planted his

crops where he could get enough soil together to cover the seed. Too,

in his "hills," he often plmvted corns, beans, aid squash simultaneous­

ly, which created a much greater food supply without the added labor of

preparing ths ground for the plow or requiring draft animals or equip­ ment, bther than ths hoe or "digging stick."

The Old World system of faming was introduced into the New with

one exception — Indian corn was fitted quickly into the agricultural

economy and Increased ths liv e sto c k capacity of the farm s. Swine and

livestock oould be turned out to the toodlands whs re they thrived and

multiplied on the plentiful oust of the hardwoods. The combination of

corn, oats, wheat, rye, and clover plus European grains continued to

provide consistently high yields. Therefore, the pioneer to the

Kanawha Valley was an immigrant with a mass of ideas, eons new and un­

tried, at least by him, others old and tested. Most were new Ideas to I k

be tried in a new frontier — when he got the tine.

According to letters directed to Washington fro* Cleveland in 1175, as he reported on the state of affairs at the newly established settle-

■ent on Washington's Kanawha lends, living off the land was not too

good.^ They had apparently brought some quantity of corn in with them

as they started the settlement, but that had rapidly disappeared.

Cleveland himself reported that there was no game to speak of in a dis­

tance of twsnty-flve to thirty-five ndles. However, in this case, he

ndght have been at fault since he traveled by water and expected, no

doubt, to k ill game along the riser banks. He also mentioned that the

fish would not bite and that he would like to take all the animal skins

possible while they are in season. In ths same letters he states that

the closest com to be had is in Oreenbrier County, which is a little

too far to travel in order to bring it back.

In speaking of clothing far the servants he says that "....the

peoples close be wore out except britches & hats by the faul ahues may g be had hear. This garrosn I understand is to be brock up. ” The garrison he was speaking of may have been Fort Randolph at

Point Pleasant, where he assumed shoes would be plentiful in case the

regiment did break up.

When the construction of Fort Lee was started in 1788, all of the

supplies were brought in on horseback. Many of the men in the garrison were experienced woodsmen, carpenters, and joiners; and very soon they

*^Cook, Washington's Western Lands, pp. 45-51.

8Ibid.. p. 50. •at to vark cutting trees tnd hewing them into shape. Others split logs into halves far the stockade lhich had to be built, while some of the men "whipsawed" lumber with great labor for use in floors fro* the green

timber of the huge poplars found on the site. Logs for the walls were

squared, doublehewed, with broadaxe and ads, and dovetailed. After that

cans the "raising.n

That supplies were s till at a premium idien the fort was being con­

structed is evidenced by the amount of expenditure for the erection and

maintenance of the garrison. The following is a statement of expenses

sent to the Auditor of V irg in ia, who was severely c r i t i c a l of the amount expended: 9

The CoGsronwealth of V irginia

Dr. for supplies furnished the ranging company in Greenbrier County:

To 2,OCX) pounds weight of bacon purchased of Alexander Lewis fcr this use at 7 d £ p'r p d ...... 62- 1-0

To 200 lb weight of Gun Powder far th e ir use and ths fro n ­ tier militia at 2 s 6d p'r pd ...... 25-0-0

To 100 bushds Indian Oom at 3s per bushel ...... 15-0-0

To 250 lb weight of flour at 12s 6d per c weight ...... * .. 1-11-3 To ten pack horses for ten days going to and returning from the Kanawha, being two hundred miles a t Is 6d per day ...... 110-22-3

With ths uncalled for criticism from the auditor, Clondenin hast­ ily sent a tart directive to the Governor to the effect that supplies on ths frontier were hard to get. People who had supplies did not wish to sell. He either must pay ths price or disband his msn. No flour 76

could be ■•cured since there was no ad 11 within a hundred miles of Port

Lee, The authorities in Virginia were more or less uncooperative and,

in the very face of severe Indian trouble, there was an order to reduce

the farce by half,

Kanawha County was founded from G reenbrier and Montgomery County in

the year 1769; but Clendenin later deplored having to watch over such a

large area, which ran from Harrison County on the north to Kentucky on

the south, and bordered on the Ohio River for 190 miles. In 1790 Colonel

Clendenin furnished books for record purposes and was paid for them in

tobAcco.

On January 3> 1792, Governor Henry Lee requested that Clendenin

file a statement of expenditures in operations along the mouth of the

Elk and the neighboring Kanawha. In his requisition, he states that

the number of men to be assigned (twenty) is not enough to protect the

man "making crops" between Fort Lee and Kanawha Falls, and who would

there be to "give succor to travelers when they arrive at the boat yards

(Kelleys Creek) within said County on their way to Kentucky?^

In looking over the muster rolls for 1792, the men at Fort Lee were

fairly well scattered around ths vicinity of ths fort. Some of the

notations were: Alexander Clendenin, ensign, "made his crop at William

Clendenin's, one mile from the station, his family at station." "Abram"

Baker "made his crops at his own place, three miles from station." John

Edwards, family At Clendenin1s, "made his crops on his town lots £ mile from the station." It will be noted that most of the "crops" were made

^Cook, The Annals of Fort Lee, p, 4*1* in short running distance of the fort.

It is well that they so located for the pioneer ecoaoagr was defi­ nitely tied up with the Indian at this tine. Although never seen in large numbers, they were usually around; and hundreds of accounts are recorded in Kanawha h is to ry . T herefore, in th e e a rly y e a rs of s e t t l e - 11 merit, not much was done in the way of "making crops." Farming was a haphazard undertaking in any event; and, if one chose to raise live­ sto ck , someone had t o rem ain around to look a f t e r them. There are many

Instances of livestock stealing, especially horses, by the Indians.

The resignation of Clendenin in 1795 marked dusk on the military activities of Fort Lee, Peace was apparently at hand with all the suc­ cesses to the westward, and ths "flag of the frontier" was hauled down in th e Kanawha V alley.

Daniel Boone was among the successful trappers in the valley before the supply of game began to diminish. He caught many beaver at a place called "Long Shoals" in the Kanawha, Which is still today marked by a series of rapids and on all islands. The G&uley River valley was also a good spot for hunting deer, while ths lower bottoms of the river were occasionally sites for a good "buffalo k ill." In 1792, a Mr. Vanlear, probably from Philadelphia, wrote Boone to keep the good work up, and 12 if possible to "discharge ths balance due us by spring." It seems that there was every prospect for deer and other skins as well as fur to command a good price, but bearskins of any dimensions were in first demand.

n Ibid., p. 73. 78

The first settlors gat brssd ly ths hominy block snd hand mill; for

a s is to they stretched deerskin over a hoop and perforated it by burning with an ordinary table fork at red heat. Clothing was fashioned from

flax ard cotton, which was grown next to ths cabin in snail patches.

Practically all the meat cane from the forest. There was an abundance

of bear, deer, and turkey, and salt cans frcn the salt springs along the

Kanawha. The la s t elk i s rep o rted t o ha to been killed in 1818 along the

course of the fa nous tributary. 13

According to historians, numerous grist mills began to spring up in the latter part of ths 18th century and ths first part of the 19th.

William Naylor, who had settled on Elk River near the mouth of present day Jordan's Creek, constructed tbs first mill for grinding grain.

Johnson, who had been the first settler in the valley cf the Pocatalico near Tuppsr's Creek, started the first grist mill ths re in a clapboard covered building, which had one run of stone 20 inches in diameter mo­ tivated by water power. The first saw mill was constructed in the vicinity of Sissonville by John Parsons after the old "sash saw pat­ tern, n which used a flutter wheel as the driving power.

Much of th s Kanawha te r r ito r y was so f a r away from markets th a t i t was a common saying among the inhabitarla that thsy could only sell those things which could "walk away," meaning cattle, horses, swine, and so on. Aside from this there was little Inducement for one to raise mors grain than his own family would consume; and, consequently, there was little room fcr enterprise on the part of the agriculturist. His products, when they would sell at all, brought but a trivial sum. For

^Laidley, op. cit.. p. 216. 79 instance corn, the chief product, brought bub 17 to 25 cents per bushel;

oats, 12£ cents a bushel; pork, beef, and venison, $2.00 to $2.50 per

hundred pounds and otlnr things were priced accordingly. The pay, to o , was all too frequently in store goods on which the merchant, owing to

h is 3irall amount of custom, charged exceedingly heavy profits.

The econony et first varied very little. If there were an oppor­ tunity for dam building cr channeling water to act a3 a source of power,

some sort of mill was 3et up. It is reported that John Martin built the first grist mill operated fay water cn the Horseshoe Bend of the Pcca- talico in 1806. The mill had a daily cracking capacity of twelve bushels of corn, and it was further reported that the "patience of the pioneer was not deemed to be sufficiently tested until he had waited his turn at Martin's mill.

^ Ib id .. p. 219- CHAPTER V

DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THS "GLASS AND GAS AGE”

AND THE WAR TEARS TO THE TWENTIES

The Minor Role of A griculture

Early migrants into the Kanawha Valley *wre principally fisherman and hunters rather than farmers. Gome was abundant and in most in­ stances was sufficient to supply the family larder if augmented by small patches of corn and vegetables. Agriculture has never assumed as great importance to the farmers in the Kanawha Valley as that of similar size areas in ths Corn Belt to the northwest or the Cotton Belt to the south, perhaps in part due to the scarcity of level land, and to the early predominance of the ex­ tra c tiv e and manuf act tiring in te re s ts .^

First settlers to the upper reaches of the valley generally con­ structed homes on hillside locations bscause they afforded better protection for both man and his livestock. In the oarlier days, since it was unwise to venture far from the threshold of one's cabin, small patches of land under hoe culture were cultivated nearby. It has been mentioned that the art of planting squash or pumpkin in the same h ill with corn and beans had been borrowed from the economy of the Indian.

Attempts at settlement in the lower course of the Kanawha were from the first based on agricultural and pastoral activities. Prior mention has also been made to the efforts of Johr. Cleveland on one of

^L eslie M. Davis, "Economic Development of the Great Kanawha Valley,” Economic Geography. October 1946, Vol. 22, No. 4> p* 260.

30 81 the early Washington grants.

Natire offered great assistance to the agriculture of the first

▼alley farmers. Native grasses provided aag>le pasture for livestock while swine were merely turned loose in the woods to fatten on mast.

Livestock constituted the major source of income during the nineteenth century because it vas quite mobile in contrast with hard-to-transport agricultural commodities. Sheep ralsLng became important early in the century due to the demand for "home spun*1 garments; but, with a steady

Increase in population, much of the land devoted to pastoral use was destined to become agricultural. There were other factors Involved in this decline in sheep. Among these were the bands of wild dogs which were allowed to roam unchecked over the countryside to slaughter hun­ dreds of hapless sheep; newly cleared land planted to suoh a cash crop as tobacco oould be shipped to C incinnati by water or to Richmond by rail; many lands tended to fall into "mineral estates’1 for later capi­ talisation and were well-posted with "No Trespassing" signs; again, some of the livestock owners decided it would be profitable to give up livestock raising far mining and lumbering.

After the first wave of pioneer-hunters, the settler’s aim tended to be centered Around supplying his home needs. To this end, he kept a few cows and horees, a few hogs, and poultry. Wheat and corn could hardly be grewn commercially, but many farcers came to grow their own domestic supply to be ground in looal grist mills. These bread pro­ ducts, together with the produoe from gardens, orchards, and perhaps a patoh of sorghum furairtied xt>ugh by pelatable sustenance. These early 82 agricultural practices helped to fbrm the concept of Paul Vidal de la 2 Blache *s "cloasd eoonomy.”

Thus, from the earliest history of the valley, fanning and grasing vers destined to bacons only minor activities. Unfortunately, the limited amount of truck farming was also doomed to atrophy because of the press of industry. 4s industrialisation developed, the major com­ panies purchased most of ths level land for expansion purposes and new building sites. Through the purchase of these level lands, the compa­ nies avoided the prohibitive expense involved in constructing largs plants on hilly land and, at the same time, availed themselves of a waterfront location close to inexpensive transportation and an inex­ haustible water supply. In keeping with this industrial expansion, the price of the few remaining level lands rose beyond the farmer's ability to pay. Subsistence farming tends to be static and the camasrcial farosr has retreated either to temporary refuge away from industry or has given up.

With the beglming of the 20th century, agriculture was confined to general farming and stock raising with tarns hay, corn, and other small grains as the chief crops. There was a slight growth of the trucking and dairying interests, b\jt the manufacturing industries continued to exert a centripetal force which either pushed agricultural and pastoral pursuits up the tributaries or toward the mouth of the Kanawha.

In 1910, farms averaged less than BO acres for most of the valley, with a few farms along the lower Kanawha bottoms averaging up to 120

^Paul Vidal de La Blache et L. Galloie, Geographic Universelle, Tome XIII. Paris, 1930, p. 376 ff. **3

a e r o s . 3 it am at be remembered that the greater portion of this acreage

was in hillside farms and in acreage not readily adaptable to the plow.

In this respect, the proportion of improved land in farms of the coun­ ties through which ths Kanawha and its tributaries flow was between 12&

and 25 per cent. The are rage amount ef improved land per farm was less

than forty acres. The percentage increase in value of all farm property by counties, 1900-1910, showed most cf the industrialised section of the Kanawha Valley up 100 to 125 per osnt. The average value of the land per acre in this section at that time ran from $10 to $25. The per cent

of increase in the average value cf farms showed Putnam County farms

100 to 125 per cent, end Payette County farms up 125 to 150 per cent.

Tenant-operated farms in the middle industrial portion of the valley

with 20 to 30 per cent was much greater than toward the head of the

valley or the mouth of the river, where the values declined to 10 to

20 per cent tenant-operated.

Outside the pale of industrialisation, the Kanawha River bottoms

were still devoted to truck farming and dairying, interspereod with

areas of general farsdng, while slopes with good air drainage were planted in orchards.^ The crops grown then were mainly potatoes, toma­

toes, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, turnips, beets, spinach, radishes, squash, cucumbers, beans, peas, sweet corn, lettuce, anions, strawber­

ries, raspberries, blackberries, cantaloupes, and watermelons. At

about this tine, some attention came bo be paid to caring for the

-a S tatistical Atlas. U.S. Department of Commerce, 1914, Washington, D.C., Plate 239.

%rebs and Teets, op. cifc.. pp. 611-614. 84 continued produotivity of the soil through crop rotation, fallow, and

the application of manure and/or conmsrcial fertiliser. Where general farming was practiced the principal crops were com, what, oats, tiraothy, dower, barley, and buckwheat. Minor field crops

were sorghums, cowpeas, soybeans, redtop, m illet, and Irish or sweet

potatoes. The chief orchard fruits were apples, peaches, and pears, and grapes from the vineyards.

The valley farms were broken up after the first large holdings into successively smaller parcels and tracts, until an average farm ran some­

thing lees than 65 acres by the start of World War I. About fifty per cent of this acreage could be classified as unimproved. There were ex­

ceptions, such as the mineral

By 1920 a major portion of the central Kanawha Valley farm lands had increased in average value to $50 to $100 per acre, while lands on either extremity were half that amount. The percentage of farms oper­ ated by tenants averaged 12.5 to 25 per cent for the valley as a whole; 20 to 30 per oent in Putnam; 30 to 40 per cent in Kanawha; and 20 to 30 per cent in Fayette counties.'*

Evolution of Communication and Transportation

Water

In the days of the early pioneers, the only medium of transporta­ tion was by means of rivers and their tributaries, as no highways or

^Statistical Atlas nt of Covnmo 2*co^ Washington, D.Ce, 1 9 2 4 . 85 railways were in existence. There Is little doubt that the Indians made first use of the Kanawha River as a means of getting from one locality to another in the shortest possible time. After settlers e s ta b lid ie d some manner of permanency on th e r a lle y scene, commerce was £ carried on in keelbaats, rafts, and mnall hand-propelled barges.

A resolution was passed by both houses of the State of Virginia in

1£1A to determine whether it would be feasible to promote vmterway fa­ cilities from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ohio River. This resolution provided for an exploratory trip down New River to examine Its poten­ tialities far navigation.

The lower course of the New River is described as being in a much worse condition, so that the Assembly was adequately warned not to attempt in any manner to use the New River as a connecting link from

7 tidewater t o the Ohio River. The Kanawha and its tributaries were early used in transporting salt, coal, timber, and lumber. The salt and coal were taken into more southern markets, while the logs were floated to accessible mills along river banks. Large pirogues or canoes were used at first to carry cargoes up and downstream, and many rafts of logs and crossties were floated out of the Elk, Gauley and Coal rivers. In fact, at one time, several booms had to be constructed and a restraining dam built in order to keep the logs from floating out of Coal River into the Kanawha.

^U.S. Congress, Document No. 91, P* 30.

?L* Williams, op. c it.. pp. 21-23. 86

Boats ssrs first built at ths aouth of Kelly's Crssk and latsr at

Hansford's and other plaoss. After ths salt businsss was enlarged, transportation was principally by salt boats. Thsse were generally

60-100 fset in length and 15-25 feet wide with sides 5-7 feet high, built on gunwales with heavy stout planks for the bottom and sides, with a roof and oars. Some were made with ooafortabls rooms. With the advent of the steamboat, passengers abandoned the flat boat but the salt shippers used the flat boats as long as salt was produced in quan- g tity. Same of the salt boats held as ouch as 2,000 barrels. Coal was mined and shipped out by water transportation some forty years before the ooadng of the railways. The Coal River Navigation

Company (1849-1882) spent $368,000 during the years 1849 to 1847 on eigit small wooden locks and dams to make the river capable of slack water navigation for a distance of 34 miles. Thus, this private inter­ ests once had the channel of Coal River open to navigation as far as

Peytons, whs re oazmel coal was mined. However, with the advent of the railroads in the seventies, supervisory negligence on the part of the

Navigation Company caused the locks and dams to deteriorate and resulted o in their destruction by floods.

Thj Qauley mid New rivers had soar open channel improvement from

1878 to 1902 and, although the Elk River was never ths recipient of a

3et of locks and dams, the channel was dredged and kept suitable for scam coonerce until ths final cessation of river traffic. In times of high w ater, many r a f t s at logs were floated cut to Charleston, and at

8 Laidlsy, op. cit.. p. 192.

9 James M. Calahan, History of West Virginia, (semi-centennial), Semi-Centennial Commission of West Virginia, 1913* p. 54. 87 low water there was some push boat traffic.

The rivers and highways continued to be the main arteries of commerce until the advent of the railway in the early seventies. The first steam­ boat on the Kanawha* according to one h isto rian ,^ the "Robert Thompson," ascended as far as Red House in 1819 but, because of her draft, had to relinquish further plans for a trip up on the river. One year later, the "Albert Donnally" ascended as far os the capital city of Charleston.

The "Eliza" made its appearance on the Kanawha River in 1623 and took on a $35,000 cargo of salt at the Kanawha Salines bound for an up-river station on the Ohio. After the cargo reached the mouth of the Kanawha, the "Eliza" could not make headway against the swift Ohio current, and the shame-faced crew was forced to have her taken to Cincinnati and re­ modeled, changing the name to "Virginia." Steam was supplied from the 11 fuel afforded by dry fence rails*

Thereafter, in rapid succession, came the "Fairy Queen" in l82h, and the ill-fated "Paul Pry" in 1826, which was to explode two years 12 later at Chiyandotte and k ill both engineers. The "Kanawha" appeared in 1828 and the "0. H. Perry" in company with the first tcwboat on the

Kanawha, "Enterprise," in 1830. The "Tiskelwaugh" began operations in

1832, and a multitude of others followed after that date .^3 The great steamboat era had blossomed into fu ll prominence by the year 1835.

^Ibid., p. 5U. (There are conflicting accounts.)

^■Laidley, op. c it., p. 196.

^Ibid., p. 197.

l^U.S. Congress, House Document Mo. 91, p* 30. 88

There is some doubt as to the first boat to ascend to Kanawha Falls, approximately one hundred miles above the mouth of the river and forty- two miles above Charleston . ^ 1 When the "Virginia Home" was assembled and new machinery installed in 1858 * she was a stemwheeler with just about the right dimensions for going to the head of the river, for her hull was but four feet deep, signifying that she could be floated in about three feet of water. She was twenty-eight feet wide.

Afterward, steamboat trips to the falls became commonplace, espe­ cially with the beginning of Civil War activity In the valley. With river pilots in great demand, Captain Gregory in 1863 was called upon to pilot the "Moses McClelland" to Camp P iatt, the Federal encampment eleven miles above Charleston. Nonetheless, the "Mose McClelland" car­ ried 1,200 tons on thi 3 trip for the government at fifty cents per hundredweight. The Captain himself received 3100 far the round trip back to G allipolis. With the war’s termination, hundreds of packets and towboats ran regularly between Charleston and Montgomery, aiding greatly in the development of the valley.

From the time of the first settlement in 177U until nearly a century later, the Kanawha was used for navigation in an uninproved state

Sometime between 1858 and 1859, the James River and Kanawha Company made open-channel improvements under the charter which they held from the

State of Virginia. Then, prior to the admission of West Virginia into

lhJim Wallen, "Reviewing the River," The Herald-Advertiser, Huntington, West Virginia, Sunday, July 22, 195i» Section U, p. 3.

Congress, House Document No. 91, p. 35* 89

statehood (June 20, 1863), the jurisdiction of navigation on the river

was transferred to a state organization known as the Kanawha Board.

This board appropriated small s u i t s of money for open-channel improve­

ment due to the growing traffic, and the United States also granted

$50*000 during the years l 873 - 7h .

The United States took over in 1875* abolishing the Board, and

adopted a project for slack-watering the Kanawha River from its mouth

to a point about 90 miles above• This project was subsequently modi­ fied but, in the main, it consisted of a series of ten locks and dams which provided a navigable depth of six feet. Construction was under­

ta k e n in i 860 and the dams were finally completed in 1898 .

From the original plans, the engineers had to choose between sta­ tionary dams, movable dams, or a combination. The first fixed dam was to be built at Paint Creek, and the Chanoine wicket movable dam was recommended from there to the mouth of the river. The plan was later

changed to eight movable and two fixed dams, because this combination seemed capable of caring for the volume of flow.I*-*

This gave the Kanawha River the firs t movable dams in America.

Five men were employed during the suraner and were supplied comfortable houses and garden spot. The average dam could be raised in 9 hours by four or five men and lowered in 2 hours. The in itial cost of six dams above the city of Charleston and four below had been approximately

$U#295*000. Over the whole river up to June 30, 1932, these locks and

^■^Earl Dorsey, Jr., Commerce on the Great Kanawha River, (unpub­ lished Master's thesis, Marshall College, l95<3» p. 3b.) 90 dams had cost $U,635,373*77. Expenditures for maintenance alone was

$U,U39,93u*13.17

When the level of the river was high enough* the wicket dams pro­ vided for reasonable open-channel navigation; and when low water pre­ vailed* they provided for slack water navigation. The present system of four dam rollers enables boats to use the locks regardless of the water level, (Figure 3* p. 309)

With the increase in river traffic the short distance between dams meant that when the dams were up, there were too frequent lockings and loss of time. Then, with the appearance of the larger Ohio River barge^

the four upper locks were incapable of passing them through their narrow

50 foot width and 27 U foot length* The six lower locks were somewhat larger, with dimensions of 55 feet by 313 feet*^®

In spite of the necessity for a nine foot channel depth, a prelim­ inary investigation in 1913 was reportedly unfavorable to the Idea of improvement. Illustrating how slowly the hands of Government work, we might recall that this investigation took place sixteen years prior to 19 the canalization of the Ohio to a nine foot depth*

There was much dissatisfaction expressed over the wicket dams and, since many of these reports came from the engineers themselves, the 20 proper authorities took action*

1®U.S* Congress, House Document No, 91, p* 36

•^Dorsey, op* c lt., p. 35*

20u.s. Congress, House Document No. 91, p. 36. 91

The wooden barges of early navigation days have almost entirely been replaced by barges built of steel. In addition to their larger capacity, they also have facilities for loading and unloading with ma­ chinery. The river traffic of today is made of three general types of barges* deck-load, hold-load, and tank barge. Sand and gravel are usually transported in the open deck-load barges because these items are normally wet-loaded, and any weather resistant bulk commodities are easier handled. Machinery, crated goods, or other items needing protec­ tion from the weather can be advantageously carried in the covered-deck barge. Covered units of the open-hold type barge are readily adaptable for the shipment of dry goods and perishables, while the open-hold barge is much preferred for transporting coal and sulphur. For cargoes which do not require the addition of heat to aid pumping procedures, the single­ skin tank design barge is recommended. With the double-skin tank, heat

(steam or hot air) can be applied to lessen the viscosity. The last popular barge is the liquid cargo barge with independent cylindrical cargo tanks. These are designed usually for special cargoes such as 21 corrosive liquids, caustic soda or acids.

Upon examining the coal tonnage graph for the Kanawha (p.3lU ), it is readily seen that the open-hold type of barge is more widely used because of the bulk products transported. Before the deepening of the channel from six to nine feet aid the concomitant enlargement of the locks, the Kanawha barges were relatively small, generally having dimen­ sions of 26 feet in width by 13$ feet in length and a capacity of $00 tons. At the same time, barges on the Ohio River were constructed with

>rsey, op. c i t . , p. 18 92

a 1000 ton capacity and with dimensions of 26 feet in width and 175 feet

in length. The Kanawha barge was adaptable to the six foot navigation

depth then prevailing, while the Ohio barges drew nine feet. Therefore,

Ohio barge transport was negligible on the Kanawha because they could

only enter when the dams were down and the locks were rendered non-

essential. In addition, the Ohio barges could only be loaded to about

50 per cent of capacity. After the channel improvements were made,

transportation companies adopted the larger Ohio type barge, which now

does yeoman service on both rivers.

The size of the tow is determined by the capacity of locks to be negotiated. Barges are manipulated by towboats either powered by steam

(coal and oil burners) or by motor vessels (gas, electric or diesel).

The present Monongahela River tow consists of two barges abreast (2 x 26

o r $2 feet wide) and three fore and aft (3 r. 175 o r 525 feet long), with

the towboat bringing up the rear. This tow can pass through twin locks

in two sections simultaneously. 22 The Kanawha tow is patterned simi­

larly. On the other hand, the Ohio River tow consists of ten barges

arranged with four abreast (i^ x 26 o r 10li feet wide) and three fore and

a f t (3 x 175 o r 525 feet long), with a "duck pond" or gap in the rear for the towboat* Locks on the Ohio can easily accommodate such a tow with their 110 foot width and their 600 foot length.^

22 Dorsey, op. c it., p# 30.

23 The towboat "Andrews" once took out 28 barges or 1*20,000 bushels, which would f ill 81*0 cars, require 8 miles of track. The average rate on coal handled by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1899 was 2.7U mills per ton — considered among the lowest rate for U.S. Railroads, but water transport to Louisville was half that or 1.21 mills per ton mile, and to New Orleans about \ cent per ton mile, and there were cheeper rates. Laidley, op. cit., p. 206. 93

T rails, Hoads, and Highways

Pioneer movement into the Kanawha Valley across the gaps of the

Middle Appalachians was comparatively slow when reckoned with the flow

of settlers who had crossed the Mohawk-Genesee plain to the north and

Cumberland Gap to the south, primarily because of the hindrance offered

by the highly dissected western edge of the Allegheny Plateau. Immi­

grants traveling in wagons were prevented from coming into the valley from the south by the deep and rugged gorge of the New River Canyon.

Another deterrent to rapid settlement in the valley, although it had been

surveyed in part about 1770 for George Washington, was the maddening slow- 2k ness with which the Federal Government had granted land transfers.

Good roads were more highly appreciated in the early history o f th e valley than now. These changes in conditions were brought about first

by the exchange of the stagecoach for steamboats, railroads, and trolley

cars. The second great change was effected with the advent of the auto­

mobile era, which demanded better roads and highways for swifter trans­ p o r t .

The Sandusky-Richmond Indian tra il passed along the north bank of

the Kanawha and served as an important branch of the Scioto tra il, which was the principal "war and trade path" of the Shawnee country. Indians

discovered a short route via Paint Creek to New River gorge and bestowed

that name through the use of an ocherous clay to blaze tra ils.

Another buffalo trail used by the Indians and by the settlers until

1786 passed up Kelly’s Creek from the banks of the Kanawha and down

J Cook, op. cit., p, 53. Twenty Mile Creek to Its mouth (now Belva), then it meandered up Gauley

River around Gauley Mountain and through present day Ansted to a tribu­ tary of the Greenbrier,

The James River and Kanawha Turnpike was constructed across the

Allegheny Mountains from James River, entering the Kanawha Bais over the divide separating the James from the Greenbrier River. It passed through

White Sulphur Springs and Lewisburg, thence swept across Sewell Mountain to Ansted, then paralleled the crest of Gauley Mountain to Gauley Bridge.

After crossing the Gauley River it extended along the north bank of the

Kanawha River to Charleston. This turnpike was completed from Charleston to the steamboat terminus on the Ohio River at Guyandot (part of Hunting­ ton, West Virginia) in 1831. The tidewater terminus at Richmond,

Virginia meanwhile had been opened to some traffic prior to 1828. There­ fore, the completion of this vital middle link of the turnpike during the years 181*0 to l8£>0 was a signal occasion. For many, many years this turnpike was the most important post road between Virginia seaboard transportation and the west.

The projection of this overland route as a connection between the eastern and western portions of country was one of the first considera- 25 tions of the government of Virginia after the close of the Revolution.

George Washington brought it to the attention of the legislature and in

1785 authorization for a "state road for wagons" was passed, and it was conpleted to the navigable waters of the Kanawha by 1790. Primary sup­ port for the construction of the turnpike or road as it was then desig­ nated was to make it more convenient for the export of salt and the importation of hemp. The proposed road was to be 30 feet in width from 95

Lewisburg to Kanawha Falls, but it is doubtful that such a width was

ever achieved when one looks at the narrowness of the present d^r high­

ways. In the early days of its use, it became known as the "Old State

Road." Up until 1791, the overland terminal westward to Kentucky and points on the Ohio was on the Great Kanawha, some 20 miles above the Elk

at Kelly's Creek. This landing in itself was an early center of boat building, since the traveler could wait to have a boat built if none was to be had by ready purchase. In 1787, new acts were passed for c o lla t­

ing a road to the banks of the Ohio, which project may have been com­ pleted around 1800. One ferry was established at Charleston in 179k and

another one fifteen years later. Stephen Teays opened ferry service at

Coalsmouth in 1800 and provided inn service for travelers journeying to

Point Pleasant and Gallipolis. Fortnightly mail service started soon

after from Lewisburg to Kanawha by horseback and in 1807 was extended to Chillicothe, Ohio. By 1808 the road was widely used by drivers who patronized the Kanawha route seeking markets for hogs and other live­ stock. Almost all of the surplus grain along the route was used by the travelers aid their flocks, a number of which were destroyed by wolves o r b e a r s .

Tolls were authorized on the road in 1809, from which the proceed.® were to be applied for maintenance. Tolls were levied according to damage caused by the load on the roadbed:

Wagon, team , and d r iv e r ...... 25 c e n ts Four-wheeled riding carriage ...... 20 c e n ts Cart or two-wheeled riding carriage 12k c e n ts Man and horse ...... 6T c e n ts Cattle per head ...... 5 c e n t Sheep or hogs, per score ...... 3 c e n ts 96

The road east from the salt works of the Kanawha was in such a ter­ rible condition in 18U* that travelers from Virginia commenced to cross the New River by ferry to Fayetteville, thence down to Kanawha Falls, continuing on the south side of the river to the west. Two years later,

Virginia had to ask the aid of the Federal Government. Finally, in 1620 the charter of the James River Company was modified, which authorized construction of a road from the Janes to the Great Falls of the Kanawha, and also to improve the existing road to the Ohio.

The right banks of both the New and Kanawha rivers were chosen, because they presented less of an engineering problem in the way of grading and lessened the number of bridges to be constructed. Covered bridges were completed over the Greenbrier and the Gauley in 1822 at a cost of .$18,000 each.

Tolls were collected with difficulty and, although the to ll was but five cents per person in 1825 , anyone who lived within four miles of the gate was exempted. Many complaints were made of those enjoying free tolls that they aided others to evade paying tolls. Actually, some gates were situated so that roads could be made around them, and in one particular case, the comity court held open a road for oublic use which paralleled the toll road. Private roads were also opened, and numerous acts were passed exerrpting persons going to m ill or returning from m ill; bridges were occasionally burned by irate ferrymen. Annual maintenance from Lewisburg westward cost $1,000 per year; the to ll collectors re­ ceived nine per cent of all collected.

Stage lines were established between Lewisburg and Charleston by

1827, with a fare of $7.00. The line was extended through the Teays 97

Valley directly to the mouth of Big Sandy after the road was constructed, but enterprising people at Guyandotte soon ran an intersecting road to

Barbouraville to pick off anyone who was desirous of steamboating to

Cincinnati. With this connection, Guyandotte by 1835 become the most important port of steamboat embarkation in western Virginia, with the ex- 26 ception of Wheeling. This was the dawn of the era when fast expresses, or "Shakeguts," rambled through the countryside passing wagons of all descriptions. Speed had improved so by 1831 that the passenger stages covered the distance between Richmond and Guyandotte in four and one- h a l f d a y s: 27

Mail Routes - 1850 M iles Times Weekly

Lewisburg-Kanawha C.H. 10U 3 Kanawha C.H. -Guyandotte L8 3 Kanawha C.H.-Pt. Pleasant 55 3 Kanawha C.H.-Glenvllie 76 1 Kanawha C.H.-Logan C.H. 6)4 1

Emigrating fam ilies by the hundred wended their way westward over this famous thoroughfare in search of more fertile lands and new homes.

As facilities were increased for driving hogs to market, the demand grew greater for corn along the route; and, in 1826, some 6 0 ,0 0 0 hogs were estimated to have passed through the valley on their way to eastern

O f t Virginia.*- This movement continued until the Civil War, stimulating the farmers to grow more corn. The soil of the Teay's Valley was re­ putedly exhausted by farmers growing com bo keep up with the hog traf­ f i c .

2^Calahan, op. c it., p. 97.

27Ibid., p. 312. 2QIbid., p. 101. 98

A state road, which war constructed from Logan in 18£0 through

Boone and into Charleston, carried a lot of traffic prior to the comple­ tion of the Norfolk and V/estem Railway in 1891. About the some time, a turnpike was completed from Gauley Bridge to Weston, where it made con­ nections with the Northwestern turnpike in West. Virginia.

The James River and Kanawha Turnpike uas finally abandoned as a to ll road in 1875> shortly after the completion of the Chesapeake and

Ohio Railway into the valley. With its abandonment, it was turned over to public domain and today still acts as a part of an old roadbed for the Midland Trail.

In 18U8, the Giles, layette, and Kanawha Turnpike left the valley at Kanawha Falls and by way of Fayettesville and Oak H ill touched at

Beckley, crossed through Mercer County, to finally terminate in Giles

County, Virginia. From Kanawha Falls, the turnpike extended on the south side of the Kanawha River to Charleston. The Charleston and Point

Pleasant Turnpike, which followed the east bank of the Kanawha River between the present capital and the Ohio River, was constructed in 1338.

The Charles ton and Ravenswood Turnpike was completed from Charleston by way of Sissonvllle, Kenr.a, and Ripley, running into Ravenswood on the

Ohio River, during the years 1856 to 1361.

One of the most important of the early turnpikes was the Guyandot and Charleston extending from Charleston on the south side of the

Kanawha River by way of St. Albans, thence through the Teay's Valley to

Guyandot on the Ohio River. Construction was completed in 185U.

As the turnpikes made connections with the more remote valleys, settlements sprang up because of increased accessibility. The string- town appearance of many Kanawha Valley villages attest the early 99

Importance of such overland trails* Little by little , the number of coimodities increased from the treasured salt and tobacco of that early day to the bulk loads of coal and highly valued chemicals of 20th Cent­ ury Kanawha. The economic future of the valley received its first notice of perpetuity through the growth and development of improved high­ way transportation.

R ailw ays

Chesapeake and Ohio

George Washington was given credit for the establishment of the

James River Company, original predecessor of the Chesapeake and Ohio

Railway in 1785, when the General Assembly of Virginia voted to open and extend navigation on the James River; but it was some eighty years later, in August of 1868, that a contract was finally negotiated between the

Covington and Ohio and the Virginia C entral.^ The latter undertook the construction of tracks from Covington to the Ohio River. Under this agreement, both systems amalgamated with the name Chesapeake and Ohio

Railroad Conpany, (Map III,, p» 310)

From 1869 to 1873 the engineering corps and contractors were vigo­ rously pushing construction westward to Huntington. Materials were brought down the Greenbrier River in bateaux or routed overland in huge wagons.^ The principal source of manpower was colored laborers from

Virginia, and for many years the majority of the railway employees were also from Virginia*

^Unpublished mimeographed m aterial from Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

^Calahan, op. clt*, p* 92. 1 0 0

The new system found itself unable to meet its bonded indebtedness

and, in July of 1878 , C. P. Huntington et rl were incorporated under the

name of the present day system -- The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Com­

pany. ^ The railway prospered and subsequent growth by means of acqui­

sition and consolidation with already operating railroads increased the

total trackage to over 3 ,0 0 0 miles by 19d5, serving some of the richest

coal territories on earth as well as hundreds of thriving industrial

establishments. The main double track of the C & 0 passes through the

Kanawha Valley, thence into the valley of the Teays, a few miles below

St. Albans, West Virginia.

Under new management, many branch lines were pushed into coal

fields and up the narrow tributaries of the Kanawha and New rivers.

These included branches from Cabin Creek to Ksyford, Gauley to Green-

dale, the Loup Creek branch, and a line from Guyandotte to Logan. The

road was modernized with heavier rails and the single trackage was re­

duced to a minimum. In order to reduce accidents, they purchased the best in equipment, reduced the grades and curves, and finally inaugu­

rated the block system . ^

In the nineteen years from 1890 to 1909, the mileage increased from

215 to 600, the number of locomotives from 237 to 672, the number of freight cars from 9,907 to 35,000 of larger capacity, and the total of passenger cars from 155 to 300. The annual tonnage had increased from

3,760,577 to 18,511,362, and the annual shipment of coal to the seaboard

■^Chesapeake and Ohio, op. c it., p. 7.

^Automatic block displays red danger signal if another train is in next mile of track. 1 0 1 from 682,551 tons to U,800,000 tons. The total coal tonnage had In­ creased from l,U5ii,856 to 12,795,786 (Including coke), and the total revenue from better than seven m illion to twenty-six and one-half million dollars . ^3

The influence of the railroad was reflected in the early incorpo­ rations of the towns through which it passed. Among these was Montgom­ ery, incorporated in 1890, which acted as a shipping center in the latter part of the nineteenth century for twenty-six different coal operations. Montgomery grew rapidly after 1895, its growth augmented by the construction of the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad on the opposite side of the river, by the completion of a new bridge across the river, and by the connection the Virginian Railroad had made with the Chesapeake and O hio.

Hie Coal River Branch contracts were first let for construction in

1900, and the line was to be known as the Kanawha, Pocahontas, and Coal

River Railway. The charter was first granted and construction undertaken in 1896 by local capital.

The road leaves the main line of the C ^ 0 at St. Albans, runs to

Sproul, where it branches with one prong to Seth and the other to

Clothier, where it branches again. Construction was taken over by the

C & 0 in 1905, and the road was extended through Kanawha County for 22 miles to Bull Creek. The line was extended into Boone and Lincoln counties during 1905-07. The branch continues to be a great freight and coal carrying road within the Coal River basin, but the amount of timber hauled has been vastly reduced.

33calahan, op. c it., p. 195. 1 0 2

Cabin Creek Branch

From Cabin Creek Junction, this line leaves the main tracks of the

C 4 0 to extend up Cabin Creek and its tributaries, through the mountains to Seng Creek, which is a branch of the Coal River, This was Another road started by private capital in 109U> but after reaching Acme in

1902, was also absorbed by the C £ 0 interests. It was later extended to the head of various branches and to Coal River. A heavy freight carrier and a principal outlet for the coal fields of Cabin Creek as well as coal fields of Coal River, this branch line and its tributaries extend in Kanawha County alone for more than twenty-five miles.

Paint Creek Branch

From the junction at Paint Creek with the C 4 0, this line extends up the tributary to Kingston across the Fayette-Kanawha border. The trackage extends for 1U miles in Kanawha County alone. The road was leased to the C St 0 in 190U and is still operated by same.

Other Branches

The Kanawha and West V irginia Railroad, (now the Kanawha Central), was a short line railway connecting with the Kanawha and Michigan Rail­ way at Charleston and extending up the north bank of the Elk River, 132 miles to the mouth of Blue Creek, where it crossed Elk River and the

Coal and Coke Railroad and proceeded up Blue Creek toward the Gauley

River. It was conpleted to Blakely (33j miles) in 1907 and was eventu­ ally projected to Curtin on the Richwood branch of the B 4 0. It was formerly an important cog in the development of coal and timber interests and later in the Blue Creek oil field. 103

The Kanawha and Coal River Railroad extended from Hrownland on the

Coal River Division of the C * 0 Railway to Dungriff mines and was fo r­ merly used as a coal and timber road. With the suspension of the Black

Band mines in 1909, the road was virtually abandoned. Eleven miles of its extent passed through Kanawha County.

Among the various branch lines which headed in the valley tributa­ ries are the Kanawha Central, the West Virginia Southern (coal traffic now carried by trucks), The Campbell's Creek, the Kelly's Creek, and the

Kelly's Creek and Northwestern Railroads

Name Penetrated Length Purpose

Kanawha Central Coal River-Dungriff 5 m i. Freight and p a sse n g e rs West Virginia South­ Lens Creek-Marine t- U n i . Freight and e rn Hemshaw p a sse n g e rs W in ifred e Field's Creek 7 mi. Freight and p a sse n g e rs Kelly Creek Kelly Creek to Mammoth 7 ml. Co&l and tim b e r Kelly Creek & N.W. South Side Creek to 7 mi. Coal Mammoth

The Kanawha and Michigan Railroad (now operated by New York Central).

The company under this name was incorporated in 1890 but, prior to that time, the railway had appeared under many different names. It was first chartered by an act of legislature in 1872 as the Guyandotte and

Ohio River Railroad and Mineral Company. However, this cognomen may have been too much for the good of the system, as its name changed in 1881 to the Atlantic and Northwestern Railroad Company. The story of the railvoad

•^Laidley, op. c it., p. 212. loll

in Ohio is similar - a seri€3 of foreclosures, name changings, receiv­

erships, and in general just plain failures* In 1862 the uhio Central

Railroad went into the hands of receivers just after the line had been

extended across the Ohio River at Pojnt Pleasant and on into Charleston.

After more dickering, in which the bridge across the uhio was considered

a separate entity, the two ends of the railroads were consolidated

under the name of the Kanawha and Ohio Railway Conpany in 1889, only to

go into receivership once again. As the Kanawha and Michigan Railway

Company in 1890, it purchased the Charleston and Oauley Railway from

Charleston to Dickinson, which was later extended to a connection with

the Chesapeake and Ohio at Cauley Bridge in 1893.

The Kanawha and Michigan Railway is operated today by the Ohio Cen­

tral Division of the New York Central Railway. The Toledo and Ohio

Central Railway, which constitutes the main line of the Ohio Central

Division, extends from Stanley Yards immediately south of Toledo through

the entire length of the state of Ohio to KobBon on the Ohio River, where it crosses a few miles south of point Pleasant, .ifter crossing

the river the line ascends the Kanawha Valley to Gauley Bridge, thence

up the valley of the Oauley to Swiss. Total distance from the yards

in Ohio to Swiss is 375 miles

Connection is made at Swiss with the main line of the Nicholas,

Fayette and Greenbrier, which extends an additional 67.2 miles to

Meadow Creek. The operations of -this U5 miles of main and branch line railroad is jointly controlled in alternating years by the New York Cen­

tral and the Chesapeake and Ohio railroads who share the maintenance costs.

3^New York Central Railway, Central Headlight, Vol. VI, No. U , November 19U5, pp» 7-8, 105

Most of the Ohio Central's 700 miles of line is single tracked throughout; the total amount of second track is only 21*7 miles. Gen­ erally speaking, the northern segment of this railroad passes through comparatively level country; but the southern end on the Nicholas,

Fayette end Greenbrier is a typical mountain railroad, with curvature up to 18 degrees and grades up to 3.5 pen cent, and this section of line is at greater height than any other part of the New York Central System.

Between the gorges of Gauley and New rivers, the elevation reaches 2,U00 feet above sea level.

From Swiss to the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, a distance of 10h miles, the line follows the Gauley aid Kanawha rivers in the direction of their flow and, therefore, the alignment is generally satisfactory with few grades of consequence* The three-quarters of a mile steel bridge crossing the Ohio at Point Pleasant is subject to occasional flooding because of insufficient elevation.

Of the eleven freight yards which are required to handle the flow of traffic on this line, the third largest is at Dickinson in the valley.

Dickinson is a mining and industrial assembly yard with a capacity for

1,183 cars.37 The yard at Charleston is much smaller. Roundhouse fa­ cilities, as well as car repair forces, are also located at Dickinson; and the enginehouse services Virginian Railroad locomotives as well as

New York Central. The Charleston enginehouse services both Baltimore &

Ohio and Virginian locomotives in addition to the New York Central.

36Ibid., p. 7.

37Ibid., p. 8. 106

Charleston is the second largest industrial city on the division,

ranking after Columbus, Ohio. From its many industrial establishments,

cars of the New York Central are filled with brick and tile , chemicals,

gas and gasoline, glassware, iron and steel, lumber, mattresses, flour,

paper products, cement and brooms. In 1951, N.Y.C. hauled out 32,138

cars of coal plus another 25,000 cars received at interchange points.

The Ohio Central Division is primarily a freight line serving ex­

tensive coal fields and industrial areas. Coal accounts for more than

half of the freight traffic with major industries contributing in order

of importance: chemical, iron and steel, glassware, machinery, sand and

cement, synthetic rubber, rayon and textile.

As an indication of the traffic density over this single-tracked

railroad, in one representative month, more than 3,925 trains were handled. This was in addition to passenger service and the Virginian freight and passenger trains, which ply between Deepwater and Charleston.

This also excluded the 25 trains per day which are in operation on the

Nicholas, Fayette and Greenbrier.^®

In this great coal producing area, the Toledo & Ohio Central serves

16 West Virginia mines, while the N F & G serves 18.

The Coal and Coke Railway

This railway was first built from Charleston to Clendenin by private interests and was known as the "Black-Jack" railroad. Sponsored by local

capital, very little had been done on it when it went into the hands of the Charleston-Clendenin and Sutton Railroad Company in 1890-190U to

*8 ibid. 107 become the Coal and Coke Railway.

The Coal and Coke Railway was incorporated and completed by 1906

under management of Senators Davis and Elkins in cooperation with the

Wabash interests. The railroad extends about 183 miles to the neighbor­ hood of Elkins or Roaring Creek. With an authorized capital of

#10,000,000 this road was conceived as a spur for development of vast

coal and timber properties; and fortunately did become an important con­ necting link between trunk lines when it came into possession of the established terminal adjacent to those of the Kanawha and Michigan at

Charleston.

Nonetheless, the road is favored by its geographical position and

has good connections with both eastern and western markets for coal and its products produced along the line. On the south, it reaches the middle and western states via facilities of the Kanawha and Michigan and

the Chesapeake and Ohio lines. On the north, it is connected with the lakes and eastern seaboard by the Western Maryland (Wabash) and B alti­ more and Ohio. As the railway winds through the countryside, it tra­

verses rich coal and petroleum fields. From Charleston to Porter, some

28 miles of the road bed is in Kanawha County. This line, as well as

the Coal River branch of the C & was once very important to the timber i n t e r e s t s •

Chief among the towns of the Elk served by the railway is Clendenin which gained its greatest stimulus from oil operations. The Baltimore

and Ohio interests, which now control the facilities of the old Coal and

Coke Railway, inform me that the B & 0 now hauls only a little coal,

some lumber and produce from the Charleston section. Farther up the 1 0 8 valley of the Elk the B 4 0 begins to pick up a heavy coal traffic; however, most of this is across the Kanawha-Clay boundary.

The research library of the Baltimore and Ohio stated that the bulk of business of the Kanawha Valley (coal, oil, chemicals, etc.) is han­ dled directly by two other railroads: The New York Central, which para­ llels the river on the north; and the Chesapeake and Ohio, which para- 39 lieIs it for about two-thirds of its length on the south.

Jfhe B 'Sc 0 Railroad, receiving Kanawha D istrict coal from the New

York Central and the Chesapeake and Ohio (particularly the latter), acts as an intermediatory and delivering carrier. Most of this tannage goes to the Great Lakes. The railroad has no mines of its own in the Kanawha

Valley, although it has rich captive mines located in the Gauley region.^

The Gauley region coal fields of the B & 0 represent a big investment at the extreme southern tip of the railroad’s activity in West Virginia, which is also considerably north of the Kanawha Valley D istrict. In

195>1, the Gauley field produced 3,^00,000 tons of coal.

The Virginian Railway

Construction of the Virginian Railway was begun in 189U under Mr.

H. H. Rogers and his associates. The first part of this project con­ sisted of a five mile road south from Deepwater on the Kanawha into the heart of a thriving lumber industry. In 1902, as the line was extended

^Personal communication.

^0"Captiven in this sense refers to vertically integrated ownership of raw m aterials. In West Virginia, captive mines make up 13 per cent of total mine operations; this ratio may be greater for the Kanawha V a lle y . 109

toward the coal fields, plans were more painstakingly laid out to provide

for better alignment and lighter grades.^- By 1907, the plan to open

the extensive coal fields to tidewater became a reality with the merger

of the Deepwater Railway of Host, Virginia and the Tidewater Railway of

V irginia, under the name Virginian Railway*

From the very first, this raiIway was planned with an eye to the

fixture. The main objectives were to penetrate the heart of the riqh

coal fields vrhich were not served by existing roads and, at the same

time, to secure facilities for unloading coal at the tidewater terminal*

Engineers were given a free hand in the selection of the most economical

routes and, before the final selection, more than six thousand miles of

field surveys had been made. Despite the fact that nothing was spared

in the way of cost, economy from the standpoint of operation was effected

and the easy grades and slight curves of the present day road attest

these early considerations* The road is noted for its succession of

heavy cuts and fills and the many tunnels and high steel viaducts. With

an eye to the heavier freight traffic to the east, easy grades were

selected in that direction.

The main assembling yard of the Virginian is located at Princeton, where huge Mallet engines "hump" trainload after trainload of heavy

freight cars* The road was in operation throughout its entirety on

July 1, 1909.

A bridge was originally planned across the Kanawha and Michigan at

Deepwater in order to secure additional facilities for shipping coal.

^Calahan, op. cit., p. 221. 1 1 0

In the past, there were also railroads In the valley which used electricity for traction purposes. The Charleston Traction Conqpany was sold In 1896 at a sheriff's auction. At that time, the six cars belong­ ing to the company were plying several streets in Charleston with only one man, the motorman, in charge of each car. The name was changed to the Kanawha Valley Traction Company in 1900, and the management placed several new cars on the tracks. In 190b, the ownership changed hands again and an additional eighteen cars were pressed into service. By this time the lines had been extended to the outskirts of Charleston.

About 1910, the Charleston Interurban Railroad Company was formed, leasing the lines within the city from Kanawha Valley Traction with intent to push the road to St. Albans in one direction and to Montgomery in the other. This line was finally extended one mile below the mouth of Elk River, then across the Kanawha on the south side of the river to

St. Albans.^

^Laidley, op. cit., p. 21b. I l l

Ante cedent a of Manufaoturlng

S a lt B rine

The Kanawha salt "licks" conumnee abcut three niles above Charles­

ton and continue several miles on either side of the river. It was a

natural that salt manufacturing received an early impetus, which has

lasted in part to the present day .(Diagram. II#, p. 311)

The pioneers of the Kanawha area depended upon the se licks for

their meagre supply of salt, and many pounds came to be rendered as

residue in the bottom of wash-kettles. There are many reports of salt

brim being ladled into canoes which, after filling, were transported

to safer locations fcr final evaporation into the solid product.

The brine solution was drawn up by a dipper arrangeimnt through a

series of hollow tree trunks called "gums." Mo effort was made to refine

the salt or separate out traces of carbonste of lime, which gave a red­

dish tinge to the salt; and the Kanawha salt was renowned fcr being

both "strong" and "red."

By 1808, the Ruffners had succeeded in cutting down 53 feet below

a surface, which included 40 feet of rock stratum, and had constructed

a wooden tube to draw the stronger brine solution up to bailing level.

By this time also they had elaborated on the Elisha Brook furnace by making one on a larger scale. Their undertakings marked the first

solid establishment of salt manufacturing in the Kanawha Valley.

Or. either side of the rivsr, Ruffner neighbors who had been eagerly

awaiting the outcome of proceedings began to institute borings on their

own, so that ty 1819 well3 from 50-100 feet in depth supplied some 1 1 2 thirty furnaces and aggregated 700,000 bun he la of salt annually.

Providently, this year also marked the revolutionary effect of coal a* a fuel in salt manufacture, since the hi 11sidea contiguous to the industry had been denuded of timber far mi lea around. Iiuffherfs furn­ ace was first in the field to be coal fired and their concerted efforts aided in establishing the principle of the grate.

With the use of coal came improvements in drilling methods, extrac­ tion, and evaporation. Tubes (casings) were fashioned out of metal by tinsm iths, sealing was accomplished by means of swedges, and the "horse ndll" pump gave way to the steam engine in 1828. The original "slips" or "Jars" known to drillers of today owe their origin to William "Billy”

Morris, about the year 1831. The Jars enabled a drilling stem to become

Jarred loose when crumbling rock strata sought to impede percussion action. Morris never received a patent for his invention, but the re­ sults of his creative genius were immediately reflected in increased depths of drilling for more concentrated brines.

Many of the early wells showed traces of petroleum, which at the time were drained away as a nuisance. In fact, so much of this greasy liquid was once drained into the Kanawha that the stream was dubbed

"Old Greasy."

Natural gas was reported in tha famous "burning spring" area above the site of Charleston in 1775 but was considered more of a phenomenon incidental to boring for salt brine than a source of heat or light.

Credit for its first utilJzation as a fuel fcr evaporation is given to

William Tompkins, who struck a large flow of gas while drilling for salt brine and had It piped to his furnace. Some operators were fortu­ nate in that the gas pressure was sufficient to lift the salt brine and 1 1 3

force it through pipes to a distance quite removed from the original

drilling. The actual first flc** of gas in a well drilled solely for that purpose occurred in 1815.

In 1835, * patert steam furnace devised by George H. Patrick in sti­ gated a major revolution in the salt industry. His assembly consisted of aeetions of pans an i griiners which could be tiered together so that double-effect heating could be employed. Salt output jumped accordingly and from 2,000 or 3,000 or 4,000 bushels per month, the quantity in­ creased tenfold.

One of the earliest trusts in the country was that formed in 1817 by salt manufacturers in the valley to protect their n a r k e t s . T his a l­ lia n ce , c a lle d the Kanawha S a lt Company, was in e x iste n c e some s ix ty years during the course of thich it was re-organized nine different times. Annual production was pro-rated among its members and selling rates were establitfied by a board of directors, but the company eventu­ ally disintegrated because of its dead-renting policies. In order to satisfy their own avarice, they dead-rented their furnaces over a period of six months to a scheming group cf New York salt manufacturers who duped them out of the salt market. After the first six months had elapsed and the Kanawha manufacturers were eagerly expecting their next advance, they suddenly realized thrt their competitor's market had far outdistanced that of their own. With this handicap came the added burden of repair and replacement in their own plants where machinery was in a run-down condition. Adding insult to injury, their competi-

JO bor's product also had better savor and taste. J

43Ruth Woods Dayton, Pioneers and Their Homes on Upper Kanawha. Charleston, 1947, p, 125. 1 1 4 Most of the plants were abandoned and left to deteriorate, with

only one surviving. This salt plant may owe its survival to the fact that it never allied itself with the Kanawha cooperatives, although it was dead-rented from 1070-1875. The depression of 1 3 7 6 -1 8 8 3 heralded a final diutdown of the remaining plants.^ In summary, the turn of the 19th century saw salt manufacturing

begiming to play a major role ir. the econooqr of the Kanawha Valley.

The numerous brines were readily adapted to evaporation, leaving salt as the residue* The first years were the hard ones, primarily because

new methods had to be devised for drilling deep into the substratum for

the stronger concentrations, and a new system had to be developed for

lifting the solution to the storage vats. Mu oh of their labor was re­ warded in part, but many innovations went by unnoticed and the inventors

reoeived aught for their ideas.^

Thus, as early as 1876, it was predicted that the most promising development in the manufacture of salt in the Kanawha Valley was the use

of salt in producing alkalies and other chemicals. At that time, there was nob one soda ash operation actively working in the United States.^

44parsonal communication with J. 0. Dickinson, a sixth generation descendant of William Di ok ins on, an early salt manufacturer at Malden.

^Personal interview with J. 0. Dickinson at Malden, July, 1951*

^Garnett L. Eskew, Salt - The Fifth Element, Chicago, 1948, p. 90. 115

Lumbering

Practically in step with the salt manufacturing of the early days, timbor and wood products soon came to be used in ever increasing quanti­ ties. Iron was in short supply, and anything that could be constructed of wood such as cabins, boats, corrals, fences, bridges, mill wheels, wagons, was taken from the forest. With the increase in salt manufac­ turing and the following period of industrial expansion which took place along the Ohio and the midwest, heavy timber cutting began to take its U7 toll In full measure by i860.

A great deal of the timber which floated down from the headwaters of the Kanawha was in rafts consigned for certain market points along the

Ohio River. These shipments made serious inroads on the great forest cover from which it never recuperated. Eventually, increasing demands for lumber in the form of flat boats, ship timber, tan-bark, barrel and pipe staves, loop-poles, building materials (shingles and siding), car stock, railroad crosuties, and poles used for telegraph and telephone, drove the sawmillers beyond the exhausted virgin tracts to begin work on what they had previously considered as marginal timber. Until the

Ohio Valley salt industry subordinated the Kanawha industry, large quan­ tities of barrel staves were used locally. Some staves were even shipped | Q to European markets. As late as 1880, more than three-quarter million loop-poles were cut valued at $li|6,000.^ *'9

k^Calahan, op. c it., p. 322. U8Davisj op. c it., p. 258.

^Calahan, op. cit,, p. 227. 116

One of the best measures of the development of the forest and

timber industries was the evolution of devices to manufacture lumber.

Forerunners of the whip saw and the old-fashioned water saw mills were

the adz, broad axe, and frow, with which the puncheons and boards were

shaped for the first log houses. The whip saw, operated by hand, was

U3ed in the very early days because it could be easily carried. This

saw was about the length of the saw U3ed in water m ills, with a handle

in each end transversely attached to it. Timber to be sawed was first

squared with a broad axe and raised on a scaffold six or seven feet high.

Then, two men took hold of the saw, one standing on top of the log and

the other under it. This labor was excessively fatiguing, and about one

hundred feet of plank or scantling was considered a good day's work for

two hands. Whip saw m aterial, straight grained yellow poplars and white pine, as well as other soft and durable wood was easily found.

Whip sawing was replaced in lumber manufacturing by water-powered

saw m ills. These were of two types. One consisted of a straight band

of steel properly toothed and strained taut over a frame or sash, into which it was fitted (known as the sash saw m ill). The frame was pulled

down by a water wheel., which supplied the motive power, and was pulled

back in some cases by an elastic pole. The other, or muley saw, which

came into use a little later, was less cumbersome and more adaptable for rapid work.

There is no known date for the first water saw mill in the Kanawha

Valley, but some of the first things to be hauled through the wilderness as the roads were cut through were the iron parts of the saw m ills. It might be reasonable to suggest that the dates of settlement coincide 117

fairly close with the beginnings of the water saw rill industry, because

the mills traveled with the settlers.

The next progressive step in the procession of sawing devices was

the steam-powered rotary sash m ills, which could be moved without too

much difficulty. Thi3 type of mill was used very extensively until the

internal combustion engine came into vogue. Steam mills multiplied more

rapidly after the coming of the railroads because towns growing up be­

side the tracks needed a great amount of rough lumber in the construc­

tion of hastily built houses. As the old water mills were contemporary

with the advances of the early towns, so were the steam mills as the

railroads advanced.

After 1800, or thereabouts, the band saw mill practically revolu­

tionized the lumber industry; but probably the first saw mill in West

Virginia and certainly in the Kanawha Valley was that of the Deveraux

Company, built in 1881. In 1883, J. R. Huffman, who invented the band

saw, built two large mills at Charleston.

The area of original forest decreased proportionately with the in­

crease in capacity and number of sawmills. However, in 1880, even in

the Kanawha Valley where vast quantities of wood had been used as a

fuel for the salt furnaces, there were still extensive areas of un­

touched timber reserves. These reserves were rapidly diminished though with the coming of the railroad and the advent of larger m ills.

Ship timbers were sent out from the valley after the turn of the

^°Mr. Fred Savage, of the Charleston Lumber 4 Supply Conpany, states that they had to abandon their band sawing of logs because too many saw blades were being ruined by the number of nails in the logs. 118

19th century, but lumbering activities have in reality been on the decline since 1916, Most of the commercial stocks had been virtually eradicated by 1925.^ There are some timber tracts left, but these are mainly in inaccessible spots or in preserves, where cutting is regulated by a con­ servation commission. It is safe to say that the good timber is gone from the valley, possibly forever, unless extensive reforestation is practiced over many years. Sawmills can s till be seen in the more re­ mote sections, and it is not uncommon to notice a locally filled gondola tiered with mine props. It is still true that,when a farmer with a h ill­ side farm decides he needs a little cash, he uses h i3 axe, saw and adz and fashions a few crossties or mine props. All in all, however, the demand has long since exceeded the supply, and a large amount of lumber is being imported from other states.

The forest industries not only brought capital into the valley and afforded employment to hundreds but furnished the means for establishing social centers and customs as well. Many small villages and towns stand along the Kanawha and tributaries where there was formerly a flourishing lumber camp.

Coal Mining

Practically all the early manufacturing in the valley was centered around the extractive industries. Coal was first discovered by John

Peter Salley on an exploratory trip into the Kanawha Valley in 17U2,

^D atis, op. cit,, p. 258. 119

Salt manufacturing led to an early depletion of firewood within easy hauling range of the steaming salt evaporators and set the proprietors seeking another source of cheap fuel. As early as 1815, one prophetic salt manufacturer stated that firewood would become scarce in the course of time but that stone coal could be used in place of it, and that the supply was apparently inexhaustible, Laidley states that a Mr, Turner was responsible for opening up the valley to coal mining after his 1817 attempt to supply the salt manufacturers with suitable fuel from a mine near Malden. As in other lines of endeavor, Mr, Turner soon found him­ self surrounded by competitors. In any event, the Patrick steam evapo­ rator is credited as the main instigator of a booming coal industry which, by l8U0, had blossomed into a five million bushel volume sales to the valley salt manufacturers.-^

As salt became a "vanishing industry" the mining of cannel coal came into prominence, largely through the investment of outside capi­ tal, which was attended by the reports of the exploration of Kanawha coal deposits by Professor V/. P. Rogers of the University of Virginia from 1839 to 181a.*3

First actual shipment of coal to an area outside the valley has been attributed to Alva Hansford, who transported a boatload from his own 5k mine to Cincinnati, where he sold it for seven cents a bushel.

^ Directory of West Virginia Business and Industry, West Virginia Department of Labor, Charles Sattier Commissioner, Charleston, West Virginia, 1950, p. 11,

^Calahan, op. cit., p. 86.

-^Gertrude B. Slutzky, U tilization of Mineral Resources in Kanawha County, Unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Chicago, 19h5» p. 82. 120

In l61i8 a Mr. Burnett, who was employed by Colonel Aaron Stockton to operate a sawmill back of the present town of Smithers, discovered a seam of cannel coal, which was later transported to barges on the river by means of an incline. Some of the output from these nines ultimately reached consumers as far away as New Orleans.

The Union Coal and Oil Company began operations in 1052 after seve­ ral new interests had amalgamated and began the distillation of cannel coal. This was a source of coal oil used almost, universally for illumi­ nation until the advent of kerosene. The term cannel nay have originated from the sim ilarity of flames produced by burning candles and coal oil.

Coal distillation was a forerunner of the by-product oven, since it sub­ jected coal to destructive distillation in cast iron retorts. In the period from 1855 to 1868, six mines and four refineries were in opera­ tion throughout the valley.

In 1857 the Kanawha Cannel Coal Mining and Manufacturing Company erected buildings at Charleston for use in the manufaeturc of cannel c o al o i l . In 1858 th e Corwin Cannel Coal Company e re c te d b u ild in g s a t

Mill Creek, sevon miles up Elk River. These various companies adver­ tised for all classes of laborers in 1859 and were in a prosperous condition by i860.

There were at least three of these cannel oil manuf actoxd.es: the

Cannelton Oil Factory near the Kanawha-Fayette line, the Mill Creek

Cannel Coal and O il Company, and th e Staunton B ro th ers O il Company on

Mill Creek in Kanawha County. Good oil from these mills sold in

Philadelphia for seventy cents a gallon and could be purchased in

Charleston for fifty. The oil was transported from the mines in one 121 instance on the Elk River by wagons, then it was taken by flat boats down to the mouth of the Elk from whence it was carried away by steamboats.

The Cannelton works was perhaps the most extensive of all , and its output was shipped to MaysvilDe, Kentucky on the Chio River for further breakdown into oil, parafine, candles, etc. There were operations fur­ ther up the river about the mouth of Armstrong and Paint creeks, where a considerable amount of money was spent in preparations to make oil from coal. There was cannel coal found in other places throughout the valley, but the manufacturing had not developed so extensively that it could exist along with the easier produced petroleum distillates from Pennsyl­ vania after the Civil War, and the industry was forced to expire in the face of such severe competition. However, cannel coal could always find purchasers in the eastern cities and it was shipped as a fuel after­ wards. It was also used in making gas but this, too, was shortlived due to the competition from natural gas.

After the coal oil decline, an eastern concern assumed control of the field, built an extensive incline, and commenced moving coal via steam barge across the Kanawha to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which completed a link between the midwest and the seaboard in 1873.

The industrial development of the Kanawha Valley may in truth have begun about the time this railroad was constructed and put into operation. At that time, only three collieries were in operation in the southern part of the state, or more particularly in the Kanawha and New river valleys. These were the Kanawha and Ohio Coal Company's mines at

Coalburg, the Campbells Creek Coal Company at Campbells Creek, and the

Raymond C ity 's Coal Company mines a t Raymond C ity in Putnam County. Up 122 to this time, each of these companies had been shipping coal exclusively by boats and barges on the Kanawha River, before the United States Gov­ ernment improved it by a system of locks and dams.^

A short way from Montgomery, long rcws of old "beehive ovens” used for making coal and dating back to 1870 are s till in use on a marginal basis by the Harewood Colliery of Semet-Solvay Division, Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. Their flames may add pic+uresquoness to an evening sunset on the Kanawha, but their obsolescence is quite in evidence as the waste gases curl up to stench the atmosphere and add to the haze of the valley.

Contemporary with the construction of the locks and dams along the

Kanawha system, each succeeding roster of mines added new names to a rapidly growing lis t. The addition continued until in 1891* the col­ lieries in the Kanawha and New River valley numbered more than 70, with new mines being opened. At that time there were 9,000 men employed in mining coal in the valleys; and the production of coal and coke amounted to 3>758,732 tons for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1693.^

Prices paid at the Eagle and Powellton mines in 1892 averaged about

50 cents per ton, with mines removed from Kanawha transportation facil­ ities selling at half that price. Bituminous coal receipts in the 57 Cincinnati markets showed over a 17-year span: (1) That in l87l*-5

Kanawha coal receipts in Cincinnati were about one-fifth of the P itts­ burgh coal receipts, and that in 1890-1, Kanawha coal receipts had

&S. G« Crouch, Charleston Illustrated, Charleston, West Virginia, 1891*. 56i b i d .

5 7 lb id . 123 increased to almost half of Pittsburgh receipts. (2) That in 187U—5>

Kanawha coal receipts were about one-fourth less than all bituminous

coal receipts other than Pittsburgh, and in 1890-1 Kanawha coal re­

ceipts were over twice as much, (3) That in 187U-5 Kanawha coal re­

ceipts equalled one-eighth of all bituminous coal received in Cincinnati markets, and in 1890-1, Kanawha coal receipts had grcwn to be one-fourth of the total, and in an increasing market, (h) That in 17 years, Kanawha coal had gained on Pittsburgh coal3 26 per cent; gained on all other bituminous coals lUO per cent, and on an increasing market Hi per cent.

Coal mining followed in the wake of lumbering operations on Cabin

Creek, utilizing a standard gauge railroad which was built through the wilderness to serve the lumber coirpanies of the middle i860’s. A few mines were opened locally prior to 1900, but large operations began in earnest some time in the decade following the turn of the century.

Cabin Creek is a thread-like tributary of the Kanawha, which is fash­ ioned from three dendritic feeder streams which penetrate back into the rich coal of Kanawha d istrict some twenty miles. Well-kept gardens sprang up along its meager bed to claim the level land and stream; railway and roadway were hard put to squeeze through the precipitous slopes lining either side.

It was in such a setting that the town of Kayford grew from its inception in 1902, when the Kay and Ford Coal Company started mining operations. 3y 1908, close to 300 houses had been built and the Cabin

Creek Consolidated Coal Company had been formed by a merger of interests.

In 1900, coal production started six miles up from the present town of Marmet on Lens Creek when a Cincinnati coal and transportation firm 12 U named Marmet opened mines at Hernshaw. In the coarse of time, operations employed 700 men throughout the period to 1927.

Coal mining to this point seems to have no particular niche in valley history; rather, these early operations may have set the stage for full scale mining which took place later. All mineral development in the valley was an interlacing of patterns in coal, natural gas, petroleum, and salt manufacturing. These resources, considered in time, were developed almost simultaneously; and, as a result, are linked in­ extricably with one another.

Natural las Extraction

The history of natural gas in the Kanawha Valley probably dates to the Indians, who applied an oily substance to their skins to make them rougher and less susceptible to insect bites. Their source of supply was the oily froth which accumulated in the saline waters brought to the surface by natural gas. (See Appendix A)

Mr. I. C. White gives this account of the Burning Springs:'*®

"....B urning Springs nine miles above Charleston near the crest of Brownstown anticline in 1775. General Washington pre-emptied it along with other lands given to him for m ilitary services for the State of Virginia. In his w ill, he dedicated this natural gas wonder, along with one square acre of surrounding ground, and deeded it to the public forever. Reference to its ac­ quisition is recorded: ’the tract of which the 123 acres is a moiety was taken up by General Andrew Lewis and myself for, and on account of, a bituminous spring, which it contains, of so inflammable a nature as to hurst forth as freely as spirits and is nearly as dif­ ficult to extinguish."

c;« ^ I. C. White, Petroleum and Natural Gas - Precise Levels, Morgantown, 190U, p. 2. 125

According to a narrative ascribed to the year 1773* on® of the

pioneer Van Bibbers discovered a spring just to the west of present day

Belle, which gave off gas bubbles. Another curious explorer found that

the gas would ignite and burn freely until a strong wind would blow it

out, and so from this recognition came the name "Burning Springs," which was later applied to the community.

In 181*3, natural gas was struck in the vicinity of Burning Springs

in the process of drilling for salt brine, but the first actual drilling

for gas per se took place within the present city limits of Charleston

in 1815. 59 The first actual use of natural gas in industry has been mentioned under early salt manufacture as being accredited to '.Villiam

Tompkins, a local salt manufacturer, who adapted the gas from his brine well to evaporate salt.

After coal, gas is second in importance in the econorry of the

Kanawha Valley and appears in the natural state throughout the entire

area covered by this dissertation. After the first application as a fuel for their brine furnaces, gas gained great prominence in the realm

of illumination. In many parts of the valley today, remnants of the

old system of lighting streets by means of gas can still be seen; and, in the outlying districts, gas lighting has yet to be replaced.

One of the prime reasons that Confederate soldiers were sent into the Kanawha Valley was to destroy oil and gas wells and to cut off the supply of coal; withstanding thi3 destruction, the city of Charleston was first lighted by gas in May of 1871.

59 ^ J. N. Compton, "Die Chemical Industry of the Great Kanawha Valley," Transactions of American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York, June 25, 1938, p. 202. 126

Miscellaneous Developments^

Manufacturing in the Kanawha Valley got off to a slow start and, if the extant records are any indication, quite sporadically. By 1008 there was a tannery and tub mill in operation. Several taverns were open and a brick courthouse had been built in 1617, just two years before the appearance of the first newspaper, The Spectator. About this time also, Colonel Alexander Quarrier ran a wheelright and car­ riage factory on the south aide of the river when he wasn't engaged with his ferrying service. In 1820, the price per gallon for whiskey and peach brandy was i2.00

Just below Charleston on Two Mile Creek, there were three sawmills as early as 1615, with two of them operating com cracker attachments.

The ingenious Ruffners were funning a flour m ill and sawmills with steam power in 1632.

After coal was introduced into the manufacture of salt, it more or less acted as a starter toward other economic trends. It was reported even in 1827 that the coal miners had commenced to manufacture bricks from the clay which they found wedged between the coal and rock layers of their mines.

About 1858, the first sawmill was built at the mouth of Coal River, which proved to be the progenitor of a great lumber manuf acturing busi­ ness which grew up as navigation improved on the Coal. An even earlier impetus had been given to the lumber business through manufacture of planking for the flatboat builders along the Kanawha, and the Coal River

^Much of this section has been taken from W, S. Laidley's History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens, dhicago, 1 9 1 1 . 127 traffic stimulated the industry.

0. A. and 'W. T. Thayer first established a concern known as the

South Side foundry and Machine dorks at Malden in 1367, which was moved to C harleston in 1870. In 1899, the company was in corp orated , with a capital stock of 8100,000. This foundry turned out to be one of the most successful manuf acturing enterprises to take root in the valley and turned out a long line of products such as equipment for coal mines and coke plants, incline drums, monitors, stationary and shaker coal screens, chutes, coal lorries, mine ventilating fans, mine cars, sheet iron work of all descriptions, smoke stacks, weigh baskets, revolving sc re en s, dumping ch u tes, h o is tin g and hauling en g in ers, and patented specialities. The concern carried in stock wire rope and fittings, brass goods, bar iron, steel bolts and rivets, and larger accoutrements such as boilers, engines, logging trucks, locomotives, wheels and axles.

The plant's capacity was such that it could produce heavier articles which could not be manufactured nearer than Cincinnati or Pittsburgh.

The p la n t was lo ca te d on the south bank of the Kanawha River and faced the C & 0 Railroad a short distance west of the passenger station. This concern added much to the prestige of the Kanawha Valley as a manufac­ turing center since its products were shipped to all parts of the country . V-J-61

An a r t i f i c i a l gas company was sta r te d in 1871, the same year

Charleston was lighted by gas. In 1872 the Charles Ward Engineering

Works was established by the gentleman of the same name and was finally incorporated in 1907. The first boiler for the steamer "Wild Coose"

^Laidley, op. cit.., Chapter VII. 1?8

owned by Dr. J. P. Hale was made at Kanawha and Goshorn streets, but the

plant eventually located in several different places within the city.

A second boiler was nade for the steamer "Katydid" which plied between

Charleston and G allipolis. For a while, the boilers were used in the

construction of yachts, with a New York party contracting for the entire

output. After a series of teats conducted by the U.S. Naval Engineers

in 1835, the Ward Company was Invited to demonstrate its boiler product

along with other competitors. The exhibition resulted in the Ward

waterproof boiler being chosen for adaptation to the coastal defense

vessel "Monterey" -- the first instance of watemroof boilers being in­

stalled on warships in the United States. Tins type of boiler was also

adopted by the United States Department of Revenue; and in 1693 the

first light draft tunnel steamer built in America for the United States

Engineers was equipped with Word boilers and machinery. The Ward equip­ ment enabled the 61 foot boat to establish a record speed of 13 miles per hou r.

This concern designed and built the first twin-screw tunnel tow

boat in America fo r the government — th e "James Rumsey" — which em­ bodied all the economical principles of ocean-going steamers. Later, the "A. M. Scott," about double in size and power, proved so successful that the U.S. Engineers appointed the Ward Company to a board which was to experiment with different type tow boats for service on the western r iv e r s .

The Charleston Woolen Mills bad its inception about i860 and was located on Clendenin Street. It received better management under the same Major Appleton who had interests in the cancel coal business on 12?

M ill Creek and was a v e ry busy place f o r a number of years. Probably

the most trying obstacle to this woolen 71111 and its contemporaries was

the tariff which had beer imposed on wool.

Another pioneer manufacturing plant in Charleston was the Kanawha

Woolen Mills located on the corner of Virginia and Clendenin Streets, which dated back to 1875. The buildings were erected in June of 1875 and had a capital stock of v50,000 with 75 employees. Yarns, flannels, and

jeans were manufactured until the manufacture of blankets was undertaken

for countrywide distribution. Principal control of the company was exer­

cised by the same men who were running the Charleston Woolen M ills.

The National Veneer Company of Charleston (now True Temper Corpora­ tion), was established in 1875 and can still boast of being the largest concern of its kind in the world. Its founder was W. C. Kelly, who was induced to bring the plant, from the home of its origin in Indiana through the efforts of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce. For many years, this plant was the largest in Charleston and has proved invaluable as a con­ tributor to the growth of this great industrial city. As the Kelly Axe

Manufacturing Company it was incorporated after the turn of the l?th century, with capital stock of ^2,051,000 and a labor roster of 1,200 errployees. The site occupied 25 acres on which axes, scythes, hatchets, and handles were manufactured. The plant was first located in Charles­ ton in the year 1905.

The Diamond Ic e and Coal Company was organ ized in 1883 f o r th e pur­ pose of manufacturing ice and running a cold storage plant; coal was

62I b id . 130 later added to bo scld at retail. 'Jnder its original design, the two components located in different sections of Charleston co’ild manufacture one hundred tons and fifty tons, respectively. The company was reputed to be one o f the oldest establishments engaged in the manufacturc of artificial ice in the 'Jnited Stator. The first rated capacity of the p la n t was only two tons d a ily .

In IS8 I1, a oily vratervrcrks was started to supply one million gal- longs every twenty-four hours; and the Kanawha Electric Company was organised to supply electric light to the town in 1887. By l^O^, the artificial pas company, the waterworks, and the electric light company had merged as th e C harleston das and E le c t r ic Company.

The Kanawha Brick Company s ta r te d op eratio n s e a s t of the Chesapeake and uhic Hallway Station in 1697 for the purpose of manufacturing build­ ing and paving brick, with an annual capacity of 8,000,000.

The Tanners' and fyers1 Extract Company began business in Charleston as a closed corporation in 1691 for the purpose of manufacturing refined tanning extracts and other products from wood and bark; but after a short time confined its operations to a single high-grade tanning ex­ tract made from oak, chestnut, and hemlock bark. The product was turned out by a secret procesj which supposedly rendered it superior to a great many other of like nature and was in great demand in foreign c o u n tr ie s . The p la n t was lo c a te d on the south bank o f "the Kanawha River and employed a varying number of men ranging from 50 to 250, whose labor supplied three-fourths of the value added to the product.

In spite of burning to the ground in 1896 and again in IS 9 8 , the plant continued to average a weekly payroll of C.5,000. The production 131 increased from 100 to 700 barrels per week, produced on modem machinery and supplied with coal, gas, and waste material as fuel.

The C harleston Lumber Company was organ ized in 1895, w ith a c a p it a l stock under 150,000 to engage in r.anufacture of all grades of building material . The volume of business ran from £250,000 to £300,000 annually and gave employment to 75 or 100 men when the sawmill was in operation.

The combined output was one million feet per month. The plant has the same location tc this day at the corner of Elk and Bullitt streets, on the east bank of Elk River.

Crouch states that there were between 12 and 15 wholesale and job­ bing houses in Charleston in 189^4 and that in the five years previous, the wholesale and jobbing trade of Charleston had increased from

5500,000 to considerably over a million for the year 1893* He lists among the industries of Charleston! 7 lumber manufacturing plants, employing 700 to 900 men; a cart and buggy works, employing 300 to I 4OO men; five foundries and machine shops, employing 350 men; two large flour m ills, employing about kO men; one woolen fa c to r y , em ploying nearly 100 persons; an ice factory, 30 to I4O men; five brick making plants, employing 500 to 600 men. There were also cigar factories, candy factories, bottling works, pork packing houses, and a large number of other establishments enploying 800 to 1,200 men. At this tine, wages were 51.25 hourly for common labor, and £ 2 .5 0 for skilled workers.^ For the valley as a whole, he describes the lumber industry as second in importance to coal, with 12,000 to 15,000 persons engaged in

^Crouch, op. cit. 132

cutting timber and manufacturing it into lumber for building and other

purposes. He believed that the lumber industry was in its infancy due

to the new railheads which were being pushed into the untouched forests

of hardwood to make them accessible to market. In this prohecy he was

correct, since the business grew rapidly until its decline about 1925.

The Ohio Volley Furniture Company was organized in 1900, with a

capital of 4500,000, to engage in the manufacture of chamber and dining

room furniture. The Charleston plant erected in 1891 had two sister plants operating in Gallipolis, Ohio, which were built in 1868. The

value of products turned out at Charleston reached v200,000, associated with an interstate market.

The Kanawha P lan in g M ill Comp any was organized in 1901, with a capi­

tal stock of if50,000, on Fourth Avenue and Stockton Street. 'Hie greater part of its output, principally yellow ponlar, was sold in the Middle

West. The average shipments were two cars daily, which helped to aug­ ment an annual output of 6,000,000 feet of rough stock. The plant was lo c a te d in West C harleston along the Kanawha and Michigan R ailroad on

a site covering acres.

The Kanawha Mine Car Company was organized in 1902 fo r the manufac­ ture of mine cars, lumbermen's supplies, all kinds of repair work, general machinist's work and foundry castings. The plan\ enjoyed steady progress with volume production being up l|00 per cent ten years after it was initiated. About 95 per cent of the mine wheels turned out by the factory were patented by the owner. Total number of employees numbered 55* 133

In the sane year of 1902, the Charleston Manufacturing Company was established for the purpose of making work shirts, overalls, and pants*

It employed 125 people, who occupied three floors of an up-to-date factory at 91-93 Charleston Street. The principal market was in the south and west.

Another enterprise which dates from 1902 was the Charleston M ill­ ing and Produce Company, which manufactured 500 barrels of flour daily.

In addition, they handled 150 cars of feed and 25 tons of meal. The plant also dealt in grains, hay, potatoes, cabbage, onions, apples, oranges, and lemons. The concern employed 60 men who ran the heating and lighting plants, blacksmith and woodworking shops, and manufactured barrels in the cooperage shop.

Among the oldest machine shops in the valley was the Vulcan Iron

Vj'orks, which became known under th at name in 1900 and which engaged in job repair work of all descriptions, from boiler, machine, foundry, and forge work to just general repair. It was located on the west bank of the Elk at the corner of Virginia Street and Columbia Avenue.

Hie Yellow Pine Lumber CoiTpany was a very successful concern from its beginning in 1903 and dealt in both wholesale and retail trade.

They turned out lumber and building materials of all grades for inter­ ior and exterior work: doors, sash, windows, blinds, mantles, tiling, grates; in fact, everything except hardwood materials. Employees numbered 25.

The Oill Manufacturing Company was another furniture factory, or­ ganised in 1902 for the production of dressers, tables, kitchen cabinets, and other articles of household furniture. This was a small concern 1 3 U with only 2$ employees, but it started on a sound basis and was quite successful.

Glass manufacturing was first introduced to the Kanawha Valley in

1906, when the Dunkirk Window G lass Company movacl i t s o p e r a tio n s from

Indiana. The primary reasons for coming to South Charleston were the source of cheap gas and the excellent shipping facilities. The output exceeded 100,000 boxes of i.indcr.j glass annually, which was shipped throughout the United States. The plant enployed 200 men, with an an­ nual payroll of +a5,ooo.

The Standard Brick Company, organized in 1906 with a capital stock of +100,000 to manufacture building, paving, and fire brick but later included the manufacture of tile . By 1910, the plant was using +8,000 worth of gas annually.

The Banner Window G lass Company o f South C h arleston was in c o r p o r ­ ated in December of 1907 and enjoyed a very prosperous existence. It, too, was moved in from another locality in Indiana, where it had been in operation since I 8 9 8 . The same reasons were given for locating in South

Charleston as those for the Dunkirk Company. It was operated as a co­ operative with the skilled workmen owning a principal share of the stock with but few exceptions. About 100 employees were engaged in turning out its principal product.

The South Charleston Crusher Company purchased a tract of land of about 20 acres just below Spring Hill and became a corporation in 1907.

The stone crusher was set up to mangle the valuable deposit, of sandstone on that acreage with an output of 500 yards per day. The production went largely to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad who used it as ballast. lyj

The y e a r 1907 d a te s tne b egin n in g of the Kanawha brewing Company, which has a daily bottling canacitv of 150 barrels and a yearly output of 50,000 barrels.

In the sane ye,or, the Klk Milling Company located along the tracts o f th e Kanawha and M ichigan on P u l l i t t S tr e e t and ccnrienced w h o lesa le manufacture of flour, gra^n, hay, and enjoyed in the nroduce business.

Its capacity was 1,000 one hundred pound bags daily.

In 1910, the Charleston Window Class Company set up operations along the line of the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad where it had convenient shipping facilities. A cheap source of natural gas is again given as the reason for locating in the Kanawha Valley.

F. Long and Son% incorporated in 1Q10 to ~unufacturo oak mouldings and trim m ings fo r b u ild in g s , lo c a te d alonu the Kanawha and Ttich ig a n

Railroad. It employed 18 men and the major portion of its output was shipped to New York.

’.Then th e Morgan Lumber and M anufacturing Company was organ ized in

1910 it was the most un-to-date concern of its kind in "the state. The concern engaged in manufacturing specialties such as desks, stone fronts, stair casings and office furnishings. Many of the local display cases were turned out here in a plant which covered two and one-half acres, most of which consisted of buildings ani stock sheds.

The business grew very rapidly and soon had a volume of g200,000 annually with seven salaried men and 55 laborers , The plant even went so fa r of to send out three sawmill crews into timbered areas to augment its supply of lumber. Thus, as late as 1910, this one company server to 136 e:ir>h arise jurh how clonely the e c onory war allied with lumber :ird kindred

nr1 cducts ,

The Dunbor Clans Company started operations in 11?1, just a decade prior to the tcvr1 s incorporation rjrl ^lained title to the first indus­ try to bo located there.

The y e a r s 1900 to l l l l t are known in th e Kanawha V a lle y as th e "gas and glass age,” and "war years" from 191U to 1120; and from 1920 to the present as the "synthetic age." At any rate, the Rollin Chemical Com­ pany established in South Charleston in lilt and war rum by a group of

Englishmen. As defense orders came rolling in, the plant, expanded rapidly and was well on its way when the Armistice caught them with now equipm ent and canceled contracts.

About the sane tim e th e R o llin Company war g e ttin g s ta r t e d , the

Kanawha Chemical Fire Engine Company went in ti business to make fire extinguisher"; and, although the idea seemed sound enough, the company failed and the building it had constructed was +akon over by the Warner- riinstcin Company, predecessor tiresent day 'bostvaco.

The motive behind th e oi ty of Nitre- WdS single purpose — the production of explosives for the guns of the Allied Powers during world

War I. Perhaps its story is a necessary one but, at the same time, extremely costly to the American taxpayer. Joverunent experts selected a 1,800 acre site at a bend in the Kanawha fourteen miles northwest of

Charleston, where formerly there had been only open land and a sawmill, growth of this boom city was so rapid that in the space of five months

1,721* houses had been shipped, assembled and occupied. The site was known us Explosive Bant 11C" and was almost completed by November of 1918,. 137 when the fii,ri powder was produced. Only one shipment of nowder war sent ou1 — mod jsi* on cessej vr the Ar'aisttc°. Within a week, sore than half of •t he 13*000 workers employed had nul.1 ed up shakes and the commuter trains runr.ir.p h twcm Charleston and ’Jitro were caroelled*

Mi tro assumed +ne appearance of a ;;hos I town.

Strunce as it nay seen now, 'Jii.ro, at one time in the year l°l-3, had a larger population than the city of Charleston, with more than

3^,000 inhabitants. The Government had spent G?^,000,00° after* bold­ ine on to the town and plant for the short period of a year, sold it to the Charleston Industrial Corporatior.. CHAPTER VI DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE "GLASS AGE"

AND THE "WAR TEARS" TO THE TWENTIES

Agriculture

Agricultural practices within that portion of the Kanawha Valley under discussion continued to be largely devoted to general faming and stock raising until about the year 1935- Since that tine, dairying and truck faming have become very important industries, especially in the vicinity of Charleston, St. Albans, and Winfield.

In many sections tobacco is s till grown as the main cash crop while small fruits often help constitute the principal money crop on many farms. In the more remote sections, certain general faming is prac­ ticed, but it rarely offers more than a bare existence far families who depend solely upon the farm for a living. Part-time farming has become the generality rather than the excep­ tion to the rule, and more than ilnety-five per oent of the Kanawha Valley farms have augmented income from other sources * In many instances, this outside Income is from oil and gas rights; but, in the main, it w ill be found that the supplement is provided from wages earned by soma member o r members of the fam ily in in d u stry . Kanawha County has 173,000 acres used for agriculture, which is split up into 3>500 small farms averaging under fifty acres.1

^Progrsmof the Capital Soil Conservation D istrict, February, 19U6, C harleston, 53 pp.

138 1 3 9

Qood hards of baef cattls llstad on sans farms as the main tnter- prlsa are mostly’ operated by suoh persons who consider their living as cooing from other sources and their beef hards as an avocation or side­ line. The da aline of the sheep industry as previously described, has continued unabated until now they are only raised on a few farms. The

KoisMha V alley mllkshed provides over one m illio n and a h a lf gallons of milk whioh is distributed locally. The growth of chicken plants for both meat and eggs has been l^>ortant.

The noticeable sheet and gully erosion which takes plaoe on most of the slope farms has been a decisive factor in the very definite de­ cline of average crop yields during recent years. One hundred bushels of corn per acre occurs on only the very best farms, while the average for the valley as a whole is less than thirty.

Kanawha fanners have been derelict in their responsibility for fer­ tilising the soil and have allowed fertility to diminish as the soils were washed and leaahed. Top soil, onoe removed, could not be retrieved but they did little to improve what subsoil remained.

With little thought for soil erosion and water run-off, farmers in the past have plowed entire fields from bottom to top and allowed such fields to remain bare during winter months. Some land, whioh was cleared and planted into crops, should never have been used for any­ thing but forest. By overgrasing, many permanent pastures have been permanently damaged. Continued cropping without rotation has made deep inroads on permanent soil fertility. It is only very recently that lime and commercial fertiliser additions have been spiled to combat the acidic and nutrient depleted soils. A most recent and ^>parently lilO e f f e c t I t* Method of combating the aerlous decline of Kanawha Valley ferae has been undertaken by the Capitol Conservation D istrict, which entails the whole of Kanawha County and is applicable to 1*3 miles of the Kanawha 2 Valley as well as tributary valleys.

Southeast of Charleston from Manet to Montgomery, agriculture is not highly developed. Farming may be classed as general, with a limited amount in fru it and truck crops. This area, however, as well as others scattered throughout the valley, has a patchwork of small gardens where vegetables are grown. When general farming is practiced, the principal crops are corn, wheat, oats, timothy, clover, and barley. Minor field crops may be sorghum, cowpeas, soybeans, redtop, m illet, and Irish or sweet potatoes. Elsewhere, truck farming is on the increase for the growing market around Charleston and South Charleston.

The increasing number of dairies are obliged to bring in a part of their livestock feed from outside sources. This, in turn, causes a higher overhead which is reflected in the price of milk commodities to the consumer. In the main, moreover, the local milk shed is inadequate to supply the demand for the valley and its hinterland; and, as a result, dairy products are imported from the Point Pleasant - Ohio

Valley area and southward to New River.^

Hogs are common to most farms and even to small villages where enough level or even sloping land remains to build a sty. Despite the large amount of land suitable for sheep pasturage, they are rare In the

^ I b id . , p . 2 .

3Leslie M. Davis, "Economic Development of the Great Kanawha V alley,11 Economic Geography. Vol. 22, No. 1*, October, 191*6, pp. 260-262. 114 upper reaches of the Talley, while those fartherdown are of the mutton v arie ty .

The sise of fares increases from the head of the river toward the mouth, but large holdings are more and more coming under the ownership of major industrial concerns. An example of this is the purchase of an

1,800 acre s i t e below W infield, where Diamond A lkali w ishes to promote a manufacturing establishment in the near future.^ Farther down aid across the river, in some of the best bottom land available, Carbide and

Carbon Chemicals have also taken over several hundred acres for future development.

In engineering the purchase of this 1,800 acre tract, the Diamond

Company has taken control of one of the last remaining uncontami­ nated clear water streams of the region. With very little effort,

Buffalo Creek could be barricaded with an earthen dam and converted into a delightful recreation park. Thus it is, however, that industrialisa­ tion pushes the faimer to the periphery and the fields are replaced by the gray and dinglneaa of manufacture.

Farm labor has became attracted to this industrial center through the centripetal force exerted by high wages. It is exceedingly diffi­ cult for a farmer to hire workmen In competition with the prices paid by industry. The fact that more machinery is being used on the farm where practicable mjy be another reflection of this wage differential.

wells indicate a strong workable solution for alkalies l i |2

Changes in Population

A major portion of the largo population oonoentrationo within the

Kanawha Valley are still where original white settlement started in the ▼alleys — mainly rirer Talleys* Not all of the early advantages of

▼alley location have been exhausted, and those that lasted over the years have in most instances been enhanced by later economic develop­ ment*

Kanawha Valley towns were, for the most part, established at breaks in transportation routes and at river Junctions* It is noteworthy that most of the towns remained small in coatpariaon with the densities of the state as a whole due, no doubt, to the corporation lim its having been set during tines of small population concentrations* Even within the limited region of the Kanawha Valley, a large percentage of the present industrial activity is just outside corporation limits* Thus it is quite common, according to local definition, that the name of the d ty with the ward "area” attached indicates a much broader amplification than that entailed solely within a corporate lim it.^ Industry was almost destined to follow the same pattern of concen­ tration on the valley bottoms, and its extensive growth has helped in large measure to push inhabitants to the head of the valleys or in suc­ cessive stages up the steep slopes of the mountainside* One predominant c h a ra c te ris tic of the Kanawha area i s th e ech elo n -lik e arrangement of dwellings along the steep sides of the valley*

^Robert L* Britton, "Population Distribution in West Virginia," Economic Geography* Vol. XI, 19l*li, pp. 31-36* 11*3 The salt Industry was one of the first in a series of natural resource developments which caused an early focus of population at Malden, which at one time exceeded the number of inhabitants of Charles­

ton . Fortunately, this resource is still In active demand as one of the chief raw materials in a thriving chemical industry, although the popu­ lation of Malden has long since dwindled.

Oas contributed indirectly to the swelling population because of its ideal adaptation as a fuel in the glass, chemical, metallurgical,

and brick industries, and other industries whioh in time attracted a g reat many more w orkers. The oil industry also drew in many hundreds of enqployees during its heyday and, although production has dropped to a fraction of the former output, a large number of ei^loyees are still retained in the re­ fining end where local crude supply is being augmented by oil from western pipelines. Probably from one-half to two-thirds of the inhabitants residing within the valley owe their support directly or indirectly to coal, either through its mining, transporting, use as a fuel, or adaptation as an industrial raw material. New housing projects within the already settled areas of dense popu­ lation are mostly in the form of slum clearance projects. If the project tends to be on a large scale, the trend is to move to the outskirts as much as possible. One of the newest of these is the extensive develop­ ment constructed in the vicinity of St. Albans on one of the few large remaining areas of flat land within reasonable distance of the heavily Indus tried areas of South Charleston. On the opposite side of the river, although in a somewhat smaller area of level land, several 3i*U developments are being readied for occupancy. These unite w ill be in

close proximity to the new industrialization taking place on the lover

end of carbide property at Sattea. In the upper reaches of the valley the Electro Metallurgical plant

at Alley has done a great deal for their workmen. Workers at their plants, both at Alloy and at Glen Farris, have been able to purchase exceptionally nice hones from their employer at very nominal rates. Individual home purchase has been encouraged and employees wishing to purchase homes have been ab le to make t h e ir own term s. The se c tio n of Boomer owned by E lectrom et i s in sharp c o n tra s t to th e rem aining se c ­

tions of the little city. Care of the homes has been encouraged by the coup any, while the houses of the other residents have dealined. The out­ standing work of this oampany has not been confined to one particular

area. Several adjacent communities formerly owned by the coop any ere now owned by the workers at the plant, who continue to take pride in

t h e i r new c iv ic u n d ertak in g .

There are contrasts also. Scattered Intermittently from one end

of the valley to the other are the mining oomnunities, which are in the main owned and maintained by the mining companies. Many are well-kept

and orderly, but many more are the extreme opposite, squalid, dirty, unpainted, and ill-kept. Another trend in the right direction was the housing project planned

by Mrs. F. D. Roosevelt during the depression years of the 1930's at Eleanor, Just below Winfield and an the opposite side of the river. This was intended to be a cooperative effort but eventually failed in

the endeavor. In 1951 the caranunity was hard hit because the rayon mill 11*5 closed and most or the tom 's residents were out of work. In 195k> howeverf a brassiere factor acquired the plant and started operations once again. A few years ago, the town was offered for sale to renter occupants and most of the citizens took advantage of the opportunity.

It is Interesting to note that the entire project, Including a city waterworks, rayon m ill, and several hundred houses sold for only

♦ 750,000.6 The community is well planned with wide thorougbf ares, neat rows of houses, and a conmunity doctor, who was Induced to moving here through the opportunity to buy one of the early Washington estates for a nominal 7 fee provided he remain at practice at this location. As better roads and highways are being built in the Kanawha Valley, more and more residences are being built along side them. The pattern is s till strictly strlngtown in appearance along the main stem of the Kanawha, but even more so in the tributary valleys. Fortunately, new housing developments are helping to eradicate this very pronounced cul­ tural feature. Prior mention has been given to the press which Industry has placed upon residential and farming land but, at this time, it may be well to note that most of the remaining undeveloped level land an the banks of the Kanawha lies between Winfield and St. Albans on the south side of the river. Looking ahead, the C & 0 Railroad and Diamond Aiv*n (1000 acres at Eleanor) have already purchased large tracts for future develop­ ment; and Union Carbide & Carbon has purchased a 900 acre section along

^Personal conversation with Mr. Duncan of Redhouse.

^Personal conversation with Dr. Mosher of Eleanor. 1U6 the north bank of the Kanairha near Buffalo. At the present, this land is Mainly devoted to agricultural and dairy pursuits and one private airfield, whioh is now lagging in activity.

a h of this land has Increased greatly in value over the past few years. Huge industrial concerns have purchased on the opposite banks of the river, and one day this land now devoted to agriculture may becone residential; especially so if the bridge contemplated across the Kanawha at Winfield M aterialises. Based on figures released by the Bureau of Census for 1950, the

Charleston Chamber of Commerce estimates the population of the inte­ grated Charleston community to be 118,219 persons within a 15-minute Q radius of Capitol Street as a hubs

C harleston ...... 73,501 South Charleston 16,686 Dunbar ...... 8,032 Total 9b,2l$

Outside this area, the Chamber estimates another 20,000 population in the immediate residential unincorporated communities such as Fort

H ill, Bownemont, Loudon H eights, Kanawha E sta te s, Snow H ill, Malden,

Shadowlawn, Ruffnsr Hollow, and Elk River areas, thus effecting an over­ all consolidation of 118,219. As they point out also, much of this unincorporated area i s more re a d ily accessib le to downtown C harleston than soma p a rta of the incorporated te r r i t o r y . The housing p ro je c ts a t

Orchard Manor in North Charleston consists of 500 units and was opened in August of 195U. Several developments of this type could go a long

^Kmawha Commerce, Vol. lii, May 1951, C harleston Chamber of Com­ merce,""Charleston, West Virginia, pp. 1-10. U 7 way toward relieving the housing shortage.

Actually, if the combined 90,187 population of Charleston and South

Charleston could be accepted as one municipality, it would then be the largest community in the state. Oddly enough, however, South Charleston has almost the same geographical relationship to the center of Charles­ ton as does Kanawha City, which is within the city lim its of Charleston proper. (Tim* IV, p. 312)

In spite of this urban concentration, the Charleston area has only a very small section which falls in the U00 per square mile population density, partially because it is a relatively new industrial region which has a "strlngtown" existence along the Kanawha and Elk rivers.

Nevertheless, the area bordering on the heavier concentration is devel­ oping rapidly and is also expected to reach the UOO level in the near f u tu r e .

In the course of the ten years between 191*0 and 1950, the popula­ tion of Kanawha County (virtually all within the Kanawha Valley) in­ creased 22.5 per cent, which at the same time was 1*2.5 per cent of the entire overall increase for the state as a whole. Putnam and Fayette counties both showed an Increase of less than 10 per cent.

The dominant factor in this concentration is, of course, the chemical industry which is recognised as one of the largest in the

United States. Other factors which add considerably to this urban scene are* coal by-products from nearby coke ovens, salt from long- worked as well as newly-drilled brine wells, easy access to Gulf Coast

9lbld., p. 3 l i l d sulphur, an abundanoe of inexpensive natural gas and coal for fuel, ade­ quate supplies of industrial and denes tic water, sufficient labor, and rail and water transportation.^

Rapid Growth of Cosmunl c a tio n and T ran sp o rtatio n

W ater

Until the canalisation of the Ohio River in 1929, the increase of

commerce on the Kanawha was hindered because of an insufficient depth a large part of the tine on the Ohio. Evan after the improvement of the

Ohio, the cownerce along the Kanawha was s till handicapped with its smaller locks and smaller barges.^ When the 1930's brought improve­ ments to the Kanawha — larger and fewer dams with more adequate locks and a navigable depth of nine feet — the resulting increase in coal traffic was immediately reflected (Fagm 313)«

Coal is easily the chief cocsaodity in the traffic make-up along the Kanawha. Coke, an the contrary, plays sn unimportant role since the average inbound tonnage for the years 19U5, 19U6, and 19 U7 averaged but a mere 37,000 tons. For the state as a whole, coke production during the same years averaged 228,700 tons. That coal composes the bulk of Kanmrha traffic probably stems from the availability of nearly three billion tons which underlie the many

^°Britton, op. d t„ p. 3$.

^."Kanawha River, West Virginia, from Lock No. 5 to its Mouth," House of Representatives Document Mo. 31. 73rd Congress, 1st Session, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1933, p. 16.

^ J . Howard Myers, West Virginia Blue Book, 1951, Charleston, 1951. p. 805. ------11*9 fingers of the Kan nr he. watershed* According to Mr* Krebs, of the West

Virginia Geological Surrey, there are at least eight wiles of the Kanawha

Riser within Fayette County underlain by coal of Merchantable thickness, thirty-seven miles within Kanawha County and seven alias within Putnam

County. In addition to coal underlying the Kanawha, Che tributary streaaw flow through coal areas to meet the Kanawha from either side. Many of these areas are reached via short branch-line railroads. In presenting an overall estimate of the Kanawha and New river coal fields at a one eighteen billion tens of high-grade bituminous coal, Mr* Krebs appor­ tioned available tonnage as follows along the Kanawha watershed:^ Fayette County ...... 2,000,000,000 tons Kanawha County 5,780,11*6,01*1* tons Boone County 8,126,328,711 tons Logan County ...... 1*50,000,000 tons Lincoln County ...... 500,000,000 tans Raleigh County ...... 1,611,000,000 tons Putnam County ...... 1*00,000,000 tons 17,961*,016,739 tons

As the ch ief tr a f f i c commodity of the Kanawha, fig u re s from 1921* through 1953 are given in Table I for total coal tonnage as well as the total freight figures for comparison purposes. CBtqph 1/ presents the data graphically.

Much of the coal moving by river in the Kanwha Valley is consumed in the lo c a l m arket. Thus Table I on page 311* shows th a t in 1953, 385,01*1* tons of coal was up-bound while 1,821,392 tons was down-bound*

Therefore, a total of 2,206,1*36 tons of coal moved within the confines of the valley out of a total of 5,1*28,205 tons of coal for all traffic.

^Houae of R epresentatives Docmaant No* 190, 70th Congress, l e t Session, Washington, D.C., Covemmeni Printing Office, 1928, p. 11*. ISO

Almost s third of the coal then is used locally fay power plants, chemi­ cal plants, and by-product coke ovens* Coal that does leave the valley by river finds a ready market in Cincinnati or Intermediate points between that city and the mouth of the Kanawha at Point Pleasant. Severe coaq>etition is offered for these markets, however, by coal from the Logan fields, which is shipped by rail and transferred to river barge at

Huntington.

Coal is an easily handled bulk commodity for river traffic> since it can generally be loaded by gravity from tipples and various unload­ ing devices are available for economical unloading. It is not affected by the weather and is readily adaptable to the open barges In any seaso n . The average le n g th o f coal movement on th e Kanawha I s approxi­ mately fifty-five miles, according to figures of the Corps of Engi­ neers.^* It is apparent from Table I that most of the coal traffic movement is downstream.

Sand and gravel constitute an iaqportant part of the traffic tan­ nage reported on the Kanawha. In 1953 the sand and gravel tonnage in-bound from the Ohio River was 500,139 tens. In the two preceding years, 1952 and 1951, the tannage was ii39,3&7 and ijOO,235, respectively. All this traffic is in-bound sinoe proper sand and gravel deposits do not exist on the Kanawha* Most of these construction materials are marketed in Charleston, and the demand varies seasonally to cause the greatest inflow of traffic during the summer season. Sand and gravel

^**Kanawha River Tonnage Report - Tear 1953," Huntington D istrict, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, October, 195U. 1 5 1 are not competitive from the outside due to their low value per wtight, which gives preference to river handling. Flush deck barges are used in order that superfluous water w ill drain away rapidly after dredging.^* Both M aterials are quite readily handled fay Machinery and g rav ity to effect a very low terminal cost.

Petroleum and associated products are important from Cabin Creek to the mouth of the Kanawha, and ths volume picks up noticeably in the vicinity of Charleston. According to the Kanawha River Tonnage Report —

1953, the ton miles was 39,626,0l*9 and the average haul 6U.1 m iles.

Inbound crude petroleum declined 100,000 tons from 19U5 to 19U7 and dropped to sero fay 19531 but during the sane period outbound shipments increased from sero to 12,236 tons. This increase is possibly due to

Elk Refining operations since at the present Pure Oil has shut down its

Cabin Creek operations due to economical reasons. Qaaoline and petro­ leum products are also well adapted to river handling since both unload­ ing and loading is accomplished at a very low operating cost fay means of terminal equipment such as pipe lines, puaps, and storage tanks.

Chemical traffic tonnage on the Kanawha is not outstanding despite the high degree of development in the Kanawha Valley. Table 1 on page 3ill shows that most of the tabulated products are moving in-bound from the Ohio River. These iaqports are, of course, raw materials for the industries of the valley but from the table it can be seen that very little tonnage is shipped from the valley chemical plants via the river. Under the classification of miscellaneous tonnage, sulphur is

1%)arl F. Brown, "The Commerce of the Ohio River Traffic Artery," (unpublished Master's thesis, University of Chicago, 1933), p. 62. 1 5 2

listed as 69,639 tons in 1953, coning in by Mans of the Mississippi

and Ohio rivers. Furnace slag is brought in frost the Ohio, amounting

to 78,968 tons in 1953; and many other items such as steel products and

contracting equipment enter into the traffic tonnage to a minor degree.

The newest interest to Kanawha shipping was proposed in 1950 by the

Commercial Barge Lines, operating on the Mississippi and as far east as

Cincinnati on the Ohio. Their application to the Interstate Commerce

Commission states that they wish to extend their operating authority to

include cozmnerclal freight service on Kanawha River and its navigable

headwaters. At the same time, it wishes to extend the area of its au­

thority to Pittsburgh on the Ohio and all the navigable tributaries.

The company proposed to enlarge the a u th o rity of i t s c e r tif ic a te

by transporting general commodities fay self-propelled and nan-self- propelled barges to provide a dock-to-dock barge-load service,

generally observing the minimum weight of other barge lines and, if the

load is less than the minima, to transfer these quantities in trailer

loads only by barge, and give storedoor pick-up and delivery by the

cosy?any a t p o rts of o rig in and d e s tin a tio n .

This is a new concept in the field of general freight service by water and through its adoption all handling of freight could be elimi­ nated except at point of origin and at the address of the consignee.

In addition, the company has announced that it w ill operate a fleet of

750 to 1,000 truck trailers at the various ports of service for the movement of f r e ig h t from the co n sig n o r's door to the loading docks.

The trailers w ill then be deposited on the barges and moved to the port of destination, where tractors w ill again move them to the door of the 1 5 3 consignee from the barge* The convenor w ill also handle barge-load serrice of heavy comnodltles such as ooal. To accomodate this move­ ment, the eoaqpany w ill provide a fleet composed of twenty-two high­ speed tow barges, four self-propelled cargo carrying clipper barges and 1 6 sixteen wharf and dock barges* is night be expected, a number of oonqpeting barge lines, railways and ovsr-the-road trucking co^anies intervened to oppose such action by Commercial Barge* The opposition was so stiff that the Kanawha

Chamber of Commerce had to override a negative vote of eight to six by the Board of Directors on the grounds that it was the manifest duty, and in the best interests of all concerned, to support in a general manner

»n efforts to develop and expand transportation facilities in the

Kanawha Valley area. It was recommended that the competing carriers take their opposition before the certifying authority where, presumably,

Commercial Barge would be denied the application for such service if it were found duplicating or otherwise harmful to the public interest* As of the beginning of 1955, however, no positive action had been taken.

Roads and Highways Shortly after the end of World War II, the West Virginia Road Com­ mission cans to the conclusion that the most urgent demands for better quality highways arose from Intolerable bottlenecks and scrambled traf­ fic conditions. The Kanawha Valley *as a paramount objective since it was highly populated and a source of motoring nightmares to those who

^"Chamber Board Approves Effort to Improve Waterway Shipping," Kanawha Commerce, Charleston Chamber of Commerce, Vol. 1J, No* 5* ffiy; l* 5 a , pV i£U piled the narrow Talley* roads. Adequate relief of whatever drastic nature was needed because of the Coenlssion's inability to keep up with a modem and up-to-date improvement program. 17

Although it was considered that the cost of eliminating these major bottlenecks would be exceptionally high due to their congested nature, careful analysis of the proposed expenditures dwarfed that cost into a mere fraction of what actually should be spent, slnoe the very economic existence of Kanawha Valley as well as the rest of West Vir­ ginia hangs on its highway transportation system. Indeed, the state as a unit can only advance as its transportation facilities permit.

Among the inclusions in the overall slate for a primary ixprovement program were new bridges, relocations, railroad overheads and under­ passes, aid extensive road widening. In adopting this list, it was pointed out that automobiles which used to leisurely cruise the high­ ways at thirty miles per hour were now doing sixty or better, and that 18 the volume of truck traffic operating on primary mads had tripled.

Soon after these goals were announced as foremost in the acceler­ ated road building and improvement program, fuel was added to the fire by a rumor that the state of West Virginia would soon have a pay-as- you-go turnpike constructed with a terminal end near Charleston, in the

Kanawha Valley* The West Virginia Turnpike act was passed by the Legislature to

^Annual Report 19k9-19$0» West Virginia State Road Commission. Charleston",- T531, pp. 1-6. ------

1&Ibid., p. 5. 155 fad litate vehicular traffic by constructing, maintaining, and operating turnpike projects, A Turnpike Comnisaion was defined In powers and duties for financing the huge construction through the issuance of turn­ pike revenue bands, which are to be repaid solely through the collecting of tolls. In fact, everything connected with the turnpike is to be paid for out of the tolls collected and nothing pertaining thereto will be deemed as constituting a debt to the state.^

Considerable capital was expended to consultant engineering fires over a sixteen months period to determine if the project was practical and what would be the best method of putting the plan into operation.

After extensive surveys, it was found that the heaviest volume of traf­ fic moved between the capital city of Charleston and Princeton in

Meroer County. Unfortunately, the originally visualised version of a superhighway with multiple lanes in each direction had to be discarded when it was found that estimated traffic failed to warrant more than two lanes. With this setback, it was decided to build the four lanes in stages and to provide for extra wide cuts and excessive fills to accommodate the next two lanes when the time became opportune. As in most major undertakings, the turnpike raised problems in litigation, additional revenue, and almost insurmountable engineering problems.

Much credits must be given to the in itial group of commissioners who saw the first segment of a very ambitious turnpike from the drafting board to fruition. Further extensions are also planned northward to connect with the Ohio and Pennsylvania turnpikes and southward to the

^Weat Virginia Turnpike Dedication Program. West Virginia Turn­ pike Commission, Charleston, 19 5U. 156 Virginia line which w ill be coordinated with construction of the Vir­ ginia Turnpike. One day soon, turnpikes may divide the state into quarters, with Charleston as the hub, to considerably enhance the status of the Kanawha Valley in regard to market accessibility. With the opening of this vital link in the transportation and oonuunication system between the Kanawha Valley and southern West Vir­ ginia, the Road Commission has accaag>lished the firs t of its major missions in trying to eliminate bottlenecks of time and space as they have existed in the traffic problems of the past. In this respect, the eighty-eight miles of highway between Princeton and Charleston has short­ ened th e r u n n in g time by one hour and forty-seven minutes and shortened the distance traveled by twenty-two miles. These savings do not reflect what is gained in safety by the elimination of hazardous turns, sharp dips, and steep slopes. Despite the fact that this highway is termed "two-lane" the mean­ ing is slightly distorted, according to popular conception, since this roadbed consists of two twelve foot sections of Portland concrete flanked by a nine foot heavy asphalt lane to give an overall width of forty-two feet from Charleston to Princeton. In addition, there are paved twelve foot "creeper" lanes of Portland concrete which allow the slower moving traffic to move out of the way of cars traveling at an established rate of speed. The road has no grade intersections, no traffic lights, and no left turns

20Ibid., p. U. X57

The top layer of Portland concrete is nine inches in depth without mechanical joints to eliminate the annoying btuqping oomon to sim ilar roadways. The base beneath the concrete consists of fourteen inches of crushed rock, capped by an inch cushion of sand upon which the nine- inch concrete is poured. According to the consulting engineers, this type of roadbed w ill be unyielding.

Bridge crossings are thirty feet wide from curb to curb, suffi­ cient for two lanes of traffic even with one car stalled an the berm.

The maximum grades are five per cent, but they exceed three per cent in only a few stretches; and the sharpest curves have a radius of at least one thousand feet. Only right-hand turns are permitted, so that oncoming vehicles from either direction do not have to reduce speed.

Safety has been the paramount aim of the engineers, and the Turn­ pike has not been designed as a speedway. Sixty miles an hour speed w ill be maintained by the Turnpike Police detachment of the West

Virginia State Police, who w ill also double by rendering aid to those having automobile breakdown. A raised hood w ill signify that the motor­ ist needs assistance.

Future dualisation of the Turnpike has been foremost in the minds of the engineers at all times and, whenever waste material was avail­ able, it has been pushed into widened embankments to facilitate addi­ tional road lanes. Everything has been done toward minimising traffic disruption and excessive costs when the time comes for dualisation.

Almost 99 per cent of the real estate has been obtained for this final phase of operations.

Bespeaking the dissected nature of the area, some seventy-six 158 bridges ere distributed throughout the Turnpike's eighty-eight miles, an average of almost one bridge per mile. A 45,000,000 tunnel connects two le ft bank tributaries of the Kanawha between Cabin Creek and Kings­ ton on Paint Creek as the road leaves Charleston at an elevation of 600 feet and climbs an average of 1*3 feet per mile to 3,1*00 feet atop Plat

Top Mountain. It then descends to 2,100 feet at Princeton. 21 It has been estimated that 1*0 per cent of the vehicles using the

Turnpike will be trucks, which w ill provide 80 per cent of the revenue.

Although the $6.50 for a tractor-trailer seems quite steep, it is be­ lieved that many of the truckers who by-passed the state before because of the slow speeds of mountain driving and constant gear shifting will be glad to pay high tariffs to cover the distance in half the time. If the plans work as anticipated, the economic end of the program w ill be taken care of and local traffic conditions w ill be improved all the way around. Certainly anyone who has followed tractor-trailers through the ins and outs of the Kanawha Valley and tributaries can appreciate what a welcome relief this Turnpike and a few others like it w ill give. Away from the Turnpike, the Road Commission has had other troubles. Pressing weather and unprecedented pounding from overloaded vehicles is continuing to cost untold millions of dollars. In an effort to combat overloading, test stations have been established on both primary and secondary roads, where portable loadometers make daily truck checks.

The state code lim its a maximum of 16,000 pounds while other truck limits are governed by the class license issued. This program w ill be in progress until the truck weight limits are adhered to.

^Ibjd., p. 6. 1 $ 9

A new e ra of road b u ild in g has dawned f o r th e Kanawha T alley area and tributaries — an era in which the highway pattern begins to digress from the dendritic pattern of years gone by to a pattern in which the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Some roads will appear to reluctantly stick to the clefts in the valley walls for a long tine to come which is, of course, natural in a region where nature has stumped all but the most modern methods of roadbullding.

Others will fall into disuse and be ravaged by tine, vegetation, and landslides. But it is the new and inconceivable scalloping of the gi­ gan tic e a rth movers which i s a lte rin g the face of the Kanawha V alley until it is almost beyond recognition. New bridges, deep furrows along the majestic mountainsides, bright yellow talus trickling from the scars of tremendous etchings — all these have combined to make the present 22 picture of the Kanawha Valley almost surrealistic in scope and vista.

Railways and Motor Transport

Despite recent iaq>rovementa, railways appear to have been the least progressive of all forms of transportation over the past forty years if the heavy traffic of the World Wars is excepted. During these two periods and even during the cold war of the Korean oany sign, traffic was kept almost at peak capacity. Although many of the major lines are now double-tracked and equipped with automatic blocks and adequate warning systems at major cross-overs, the uphill battle against the

>art» Charleston - South Charleston, Planning tate Road Com&iasion, Charleston, 1 9 5 1 . 1 6 0

rapidly increasing amount of freight hauled by motor truck transport

and increased passenger traffic of airlines and buses have been about

all the railroads could handle. Railroad iaprovements have been made.

Virtually all the coal burning locomotives, except through and hot-

shot manifests9 have been replaced by the more economical diesels.

This conversion has taken place not only on the main lines but the

switchyards as well. Luxurious passenger trains made of aluminum and stainless steel are now able to maintain crack schedules. The under­

carriages of these through trains are now supported on roller bearings

aid longitudinal springs. Newer and better hopper and gondola cars have

been constructed for the coal traffic.

Cfci many branch lines the decline in passenger and freight traffic has been serious, one train each Way is the rule. This is especially true of the C & 0, which in some years reoeives $0 per cent of its total revenue from coal haulage. Coal burners were replaced gradually by dropping first one passenger oar then another and finally substituting

a combination diesel car, which is self-propelled and is adequate to

oare for the decreased passenger and freight traffic as well as serving as a mall oar. Late in 195k, coal operators were voicing their dis­ pleasure at the railroads for not using steam locomotives to haul their coal output, which resulted In a temporary set-back for the diesels.

Over the y e a rs , the ra ilro a d s of the Kanafeha V alley and elsew here have been in almost constant litigation with motor trade transport and both have harassed the Interstate Commerce Cowtission about freight rates until all parties concerned were worn thin. Than, late in 195k, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted an increase in rates to the 1 6 1

railroads over the protests of the trucking industry* A few days later, the New Karen Railroad by court order was granted the privilege of hauling truck trailers for transshipment at other points along their system, is a result of these two decisions, the steel market, as well

as rails, began to rise* A new day may hare dawned for the lagging railroad industry* Chair­ man Fairless of U.S. Steel, in a speech before the Alabama State Chamber of Coasserce in 19 5h, cited the railroads as an arable of how the rising demand for steel tends to generate an even higher demand. For every million tons of finished steel producted, five million tons of freight must be shipped to and from the steel m ills. Rising steel production obviously means more railroad traffic and this In turn w ill furnish the needed money for the railroads to catch on deferred purchases of rails, freight ears, and other equipment.^

In the same speech, Hr. Fairless finds that the American highway system is the most overcrowded and underbuilt segment of our entire economy• He believes that during the next few years more than 9,000 miles of turnpikes, nearly Sight times the mileage actually now in use w ill be built* Vest Virginia and the Kanawha Valley w ill have their share of that mileage. Inroads made by motor truck transport on the freight revenue derived by railroads in the Kanawha Valley has been considerable and most major trucking interests are represented at one of the two

Charleston terminals, one of which -- the Union Terminal is in North

^Edson Smith, "The Investor," The Boston Herald, Thursday, November 16, 195 k, p« 2U. 1 6 2

Charleston — and the Belle Terminal In Kanawha City. At least thirty interstate and intrastate trucking firms operate out of the Kanawha

Valley area. Among the motor freight lines operating out of Charleston are the

Accelerated Transport-Pony Express, Allegheny Freight Lines, Bell Lines

(serving the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Charlotte, and West

Virginia area), C & D Motor Delivery (serving the same general areas as

Bell Lines plus Kentucky), Charieston-Logan Motor Freight, Charieston-

Richwood Express, Cook Motor Lines (serving northeastern Ohio), Elk

Valley Motor Express, Grubb Motor Freight, Merchants Dispatch (serving as f a r away as M issouri and M ichigan), Miami T ran sp o rtatio n , O.K. Truck­ ing, Rise Truck Lines (with wide aoverage), Service Incorporated (serv­ ing from Kentucky to the New York area), and Staith's Transfer (serving th e e a s t) .

In addition, many inter-regional trucking concerns operate through­ out the valley to increase the traffic snarls aid multiply the general confusion. The author has seen a t various tin s s along the Kanawha

Valley highway systems at Is ast three dozen other trucking systems tdiich are not listed.

Charleston is the birthplace of the Greyhound Bus Lines since the

Atlantic Greyhound started here in 1926. It 1s still the main source of transportation but Is bolstered by a few intermediary lines. While service is generally of the very best, this area was in the throes of a paralyzing bus strike during a two months' period in the spring of

1955. 163

Pip* Lines

The Kanawha Vallay Is traversed by a variegated assembly of pipe

lines* Constructionally there is copper, stainless steel, iron, galva­

nised, cast iron, transit, plastic, concrete, aluminum, glass and a

horde of different tubing which may be threaded, welded, sweated, and

flanged. The Kanawha Valley has a multitude of pipe lines running from

1/8 inch and smaller through culvert tiling of five foot diameter or

more. These lines carry oil, natural gas, water, acids, manufactured

gas, chlorine, conpressed air, alkalies, or just about everything con­

ceivable in the fluid chemical field. Moat pipelines are for natural

gas lin e s . While most of these gas suppliers are sole owners of the pipe

lines under their jurisdiction as well as the right-of-way, many are

content to lease the privilege of running gas through other mains.

Same of the gas companies may be both producers and marketers of

natural gas, while others may be solely producers or marketers. Others

may be neither producer nor marketer but common carriers of natural

gas products on a rental basis. S till others may carry gas on order

as a reciprocal agreement between coapanies. A few, as exemplified

by Owens-Libbey-Owens, are independent organisations which have their own drilling outfits, wells, compressor stations and pipe lines. Owens-

Libbey-Owens supplies billions of cubic feet of natural gas per year

to Owens-Illinois and Libbey-Owens-Ford glass companies.

Ninety-five per cent of the natural gas activities of the Kanawha Valley are handled by the Ajax Pipe Line, Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc.,

Columbia Carbon, Eureka Pipe Line, Hope Natural Gas, Owens-Libbey- Owens 161* Gas Co^p miles, aid United Puel & Gas* Their aphere of operation encom­ passes all phases of gaa handling from production through pipe line tra n s p o rt .^ The Ajax Line Coapmay has Its own veils In the Sisaonville area but they also buy from producers in Kanawha and adjacent counties*

Ajax transports as veil as produces and most of its output goes Into the chemical, £ass, and metal industries (Fletcher Enamel for one) of the Kansaiha Valley* Godfrey L. Cabot, In a, acts as producers and marketers of natural gas, and they sell to both the domestic and Industrial market, of vhieh the chief consumers are the Naval Or dn mice Plant end Weatvaco, located in South Charleston* As a courtesy of trade (reciprocity), Godfrey L*

Cabot takes the responsibility of carrying natural gas in its lines for other companies; but this favor does not by any means place the o asp any in the category of a ooonan carrier. This conqpany is veil fortified in gas producing veils vith a string of operations running from their carbon black veils in Texas eastward to the Siasonville field northwest of Charleston, northward to Calhoun and Wirt counties, and south to

McDowell County* As a result of this extensive system, officials of the oaaqpsny feel that, in the event of natural gas exhaustion in the

Kanawha area, they auy bring in quantities from their Texas fields or they Buy resort to local manufacturing of gas from coal. The Sisson- ville field is their principal operation within the Kanawha area and their paring sand is Qriskany. (See Appendix)

^^Gertrude B* Slutsky, U tilisation of Mineral Resources in Kanawha County* West Virginia, unpublished Master's thesis, The University of Chicago, 19L5, pp* 115-1*7. Columbia Carbon has dona oonaldarabla drilling throughout tha

Kanawha area In tha past, but they hare been haz*d put to finance d rill­

ing operations in the faoe of the low selling prices set by the Federal

Power Coenission for natural gas* They do have sons pipe lines and

most of their selling has been in wholesale quantities to utility and

industrial consumers, the chief one being Carbide and Carbon* Outside

of West Virginia, Columbia Carbon has holdings in Texas, Louisiana and

Kansas. Much of their Texas production goes into the manufacture of carbon black for the paint and rubber industries* Carbon black is not

manufactured in the Kanawha Valley area because natural gas is more

valuable when used for other purposes. United Carbon also has offices

in Charleston, but they are used only as headquarters for the coup any

and are of no ijportance locally* Columbia Carbon feels that they

could move to another location in West Virginia in the event of gas ex­ haustion here.

While the Hope Natural Gas Company is headquartered in Clarksburg and does no local drilling, it is concerned with pipe line activities within the Kanawha Valley. Hope is a fair-sited operator, since they bring in close to one hundred million cubic feet of natural gas from

Texas and some ninety million feet from Tennessee each year* The Tenn­ essee gas is merely shuttled through West Virginia via pipe line to the

Pennsylvania market and none is marketed locally* They do sell gas in the northern part of the state and in the tri-state area formed by

West Virginia, Pennsylvania, mid Ohio* One of their largest ooapressor stations, the John J. Cromwell, is maintained just outside Clendenin on the Elk River, but their nearest active gas fields are located much 166 farther to the south In Boone end Wyoming counties. A field of floe of the coapany is located in Charleston because it is a focus for oil and gas personnel of the eastern United States, as well as a central spot in their southern division.

A subsidiary of the two giant glass conpaniea at Kanawha City, Owen3-Libbey-Owens Gas Company supplies their giant glass tanks with upward of ten billion cubic feet of natural gas yearly. A part of this staggering production has been described under the glass industries, wherein six hundred wells push gas through thousands of wiles of pipe lines to feed the tank furnaces. The subsidiary has paid off consist­ ently in terns of a steady and constant flow of gas to the furnaces of the two glass companies.

Among the largest of the producers, United Fuel also has extensive holdings in the Sisson villa area where they lease or purchase the gas outright. A portion of their output is sold to smaller companies who, in turn, act as distributors for outlying areas. United Fuel sells outside the state to domestic users and at the same time supplies *11 the gas used domestically in the Charleston vicinity. The Naval Ord­ nance Plant has been mentioned as a prime Industrial u s e r . The Columbia Gas Company, which acts as a parent company of United Fuel, is a billion dollar concern with operations extending over seven states.

2 < "We of L-O-F Had Greatest Tear in 1950," News and Views, Libbey- Owens -Ford Glass Coapany, April, 1951, p. k. 167

Transmission Lines

The greatest percentage of transmission lines in the Kanawha Valley

belong to the Appalachian Electric Power Company, which uses then for

the distribution of power to commercial. Industrial, and domestic users.

Transmission lines are also varied in size, shape, and purpose. There

are high and low voltage lines for power transmission, telephone lines for voice transmission, md telegraph lines for transmission of the

Horse code. Certain larger industries within the valley have their own trans­ mission systems, such as the direct feed from Hawk's Nest dam to Alloy; but even these are supplemented by lines of the AEPCO. There are trans­ mission lines from the various power dams below Hawk's Nest as at Winfield, which act as feeds to augment the local needs within the

Kanawha Valley. A large share of AEPCO's 55,000 miles of low voltage wiring is strung hither and yon throughout the breadth and length of the Kanawha and a goodly portion of their kilowatt output is consumed as it passes through.26

A passing era may be noted in the city of Charleston, where trans­ mission lines are being put underground by the AEPCO at a cost of two

and one-half million dollars* The streets are beginning to lose their cluttered and congested look, and the coapany states that underground wiring w ill give better service to downtown buildings where increased

consumption of electricity has resulted from air conditioning.

26 "Power Enough For A ll," AEPCO, American Oas and Electric Com­ pany System, Roanoke, 1?1 j9, p . 3* 1 6 8

A irlines

the mein commercial port of the Kanawha Valley is the $8-million Kanawha Airport, which has been carved from the hilltops some 1*00 feet

above the surrounding water levels and which is but twelve minutes from

the central business district* This port, embossed rather than engraved an the face of Nature, says the Kanawha Chember of Commerce, was one of

the largest and most unusual construction projects in the history of

commercial aviation in this country. In its first year of operation, 19 U8, the port was awarded the Haire Trophy of the National Aeronautics

Association as the outstanding commercial airport of the year* Citl-

sans of the Kanawha Valley recently floated a #200,000 bond issue to provide for an elaborate public park with recreational facilities around

the lower reaches of the Kanawha Airport* Air service is only four miles from the center of the city.

Passenger service was f i r s t inaugurated in December of 191x7 and, shortly thereafter, the service was extended to include air mail, air express, and air freight. An around-the-clock service of approximately fifty daily flights is provided by American, Capital, Eastern, and Piedmont airlines.

There is a definite air future for the valley as the close of 195U marks the sixth fu ll year of operatic!} for at that time more than

one million passengers w ill have boarded and landed at the Kanawha Air­ port. From a total of 98,733 in 19U8, passenger traffic increased to

a total of 217 * 61*9 in 1953. The figures have more than doubled in the five-year period. Air mail total in pounds Increased from 139# 1*17 in 169

19U8 to 2142,727 in 1950* Air express in pounds lnorssssd fro* 169,191

in 19U8 to 1*61,li*3 in 1950. Similarly, air freight in pounds incrsassd

during the sens two y ea rs, 191*6-1950, fro * l*3i*,000 to 990,000. Fro*

these data there appears to be a definite market for trunk line opera­

tion and service within the Kanawha area. There are also three pri­

vately owned airfields, with one each at Winfield, South Charleston,

and Riverside.

Exhaustion or Changes in the Extractive Industries

Coal The ooal industry, including the Kanawha Valley, was in sad condi­

tion in 1951*. Not that there wasn't enough ooal — there was plenty. Sons blamed coal's plight on the Industrial ohange-over to fuel oil,

but this wasn't the answer either. Oil imports are rather an effect

and not a cause of the present dilemma, since there is neither tangible

evidence pointing to larger quantities of foreign oil available for importation into the United States not correspondingly higher prices

than have existed for several years. According to the Kanasrha Chamber

of CoBnerce, it was Just a moire logically advantageous time for the 27 foreign oil producers to invade the coal markets. Fuel o ils have become a serio u s menace to coal m arkets. West

Virginia, as the first state in production of ooal, cannot minimise the

seriousness of this threat} although in 1953 the residual oil imports were only 126 million barrels. In terms of fuel equivalent, that is

2 7 "Coal Industry Problems are Cngilex," Kanawha Commerce, Charleston Chamber of Commerce, Vol. 17, No. U, April, 195b, p. 9. 170

30 ■ill!on tons of ooal or slightly hot * than seven par oant of tha national coal production. West Virginia's fuel equivalent as a pro­ ducer of oca-fourth tha national tonnage would be about 7*5 million tone; the Kanawha Valley producing 30 par cant of the state's total would be represented by 2*7 million tons. Nevertheless, it appears to be sxtremsly doubtful if either industry or the public would know if tha coal Industry suddenly became fortunate enough to retrieve this lost market in residual oils. The main factor in the break between industxy and coal came about due to John L. Lewis acting as head of the voracious miners' union or­ ganisation. From July 1, 19 U9 until March, 1950, ooal production was disrupted to 60 per cent of capacity and entirely suspended for two months of that period. While Mr. Lewis alone received credit for this retardation, it must be remembered that several hundred thousand miners backed him to the lim it. During this most prolonged and serious inter­ ruption, millions of dollars in lost wages accrued to the detriment of the miners, and untold losses and unemployment costs were levied upon industrial consumers and their workers in interrupted, curtailed and suspended operations. All in all, there were fifteen strikes dating from 191*1. As a result of this major strike, the cost of coal was hiked another 35 cents per tan to increase the miner's pay (already the high­ est basic wage of any industry in the nation) and to Increase the wel­ fare fund royalties. Thus it is a small wonder that oil and other ooal substitutes fell naturally in line as attractive competitors to the coal In d u stry . The Kanawha Chamber of Commerce f e e ls th a t Mr. Lewis' interference in coal production was the final breach of a hitherto restrained economic dike, which lone held the foreign fuel oil at bay as a serious ooaq^etitor of ooal.

Those who now cry for legislation against the foreign fuel oil im­ ports are the sane people who apparently stood silently by during the rape of the Kanawha Valley miners. Aggressiveness and vociferousness at this tine slight have helped to protect the industry; it seems a little late in the day, since even legislation itself will be no nore than a stopgap Measure. If necessary, Mr. Lewis can s till impose fur­ ther burdensome costs on the production of coal. The cycle would indeed become even more vicious with additional legislation until the avowed reason for curbing would have been lost.

Most of the problems of the coal industry are older, larger, and more cosy lex than residual oil. Among these are production facilities existing far beyond the normal market requirements, free cospetitive nature of the producing companies, the pricing of coal out of m my f u e l markets as a result of rising wage scales (60 per cent of total coal cost), rising transportation costa, and, lastly, the resultant pressure for increased mechanization to replace the high cost factor of human la b o r.26

Due to the fact that the nation over the past two decades has been under the influence of abnormal demand, associated with defense and war economies, the inevitable decline of the coal industry was hidden in obscurity. The present movement toward normal conditions in the ooal market is something which would have taken place twenty years ago had

28Ib id ., p . 11. 172

not the war economies taken over when they did. The suddenness of this

chmge was augmented even more because of the noticeable shift of in­

dustry from coal to lower cost fuels orer the past nine years* While

these troubles may be new to the inexperienced business man of this

generation, they are in truth fam iliar troubles In disguise.

Coal futures in the long range program look bright but the outlook

for eaployment In the coal Industry is quite bleak because the eventual

mechanisation to the last degree is Just around the corner.The

Kanawha Chamber doubts that ever again w ill the Kanawha Valley area see

as many persons eaployed In the coal production process as in the past*

Early mechanisation was forced In part because, even before there was a pressing need for Increased production, production costs were High, with particularly heavy emphasis on human labor.

As a solution to this enigmas the Chamber advocates all efforts toward absorbing the loss In coal production employment by bringing In new industries to process the coal at or near the source which would at least eliminate transportation costs. They do not believe this to be an easy way out, but they do believe it is the prime formula for s u c c e s s •

Coal has undergone many changes in methods of extraction over the years as we recall the era of sky hooking (page 30) and the not too ancient years of stripping when coal operators would spend over two

2^Hydrogenation, or the production of liquid fuels and chemicals from coal, appears to be the one bright spot in coal futures. This process must take place at or near the point of coal production to eliminate high transportation costs, and the Kanawha Valley thus shows excellent prospects with its abundant water, transport, electric energy and other factors for favorable operation. As the nation's largest base chemical manufacturer, the valley may well became the radial pbint for this production. 173 million dollars for a gigantic shovel to uncovar the black d ia m o n d s .

Many an acre of scarred countryside bears witness to this boon in the coal industry. It seems that despite the huge shovels and other earth- moving machinery there was coal which this process failed to remove.

Today, many of these remnant banks or h ills, which were uneconomical to mine by the stripping process, are being worked over by tremendous augers mounted on a mobile platform which act much in the manner of a brace-and-bit to make holes in wood. The augers are capable of boring a 52-inch hole directly into a coal seam and literally mining tons of coal per minute. The augers are manufactured in sections and, as soon as one section has penetrated the coal bed, another section is added for even further penetration. These machines are naturally very expen­ sive, but they can be operated by three or four men to produce tons upon tons of coal over and above what was considered a normal day's output in the cannon drift mine. The whole process is mechanical, with the coal being loaded into trucks by conveyor belts in just a few min­ utes. There is more than one version of this machine and Carbide at

Institute seems to have fashioned one for its own use in obtaining coal utilised in their hydrogenation process at the down-river plant. Low, continuous, coal-loaders costing thousands of dollars are also being brought in to stimulate the coal industry. The lower the machine, the more shallow beds of coal the mine owners figure can be mined economically. In 1955, a new German loader increased efficiency by six to eight per cent.

At the American Mining Congress in Kay of the same year, coal oper­ ators and miners, as well as other interested purchasers, were treated 171* to the newest in continuous mining machinery which were prioetagged as much as $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 each. Among these innovations was the "^ydra-MIner," developed by the industry-financed Bituminous Coal Research, which can extend six rotor arms to mine coal 52 inches in height in a swath 17 feet wide. Other models slam the face of the coal seams or shear it out in large sixes. The Joy Manufacturing Company's "Twin-Borer" cuts into seams at Ui feet per minute § and is capable of driving forward at a tap speed of feet per minute. At this speed, eight ton of coal can be cut and loaded per minute. Other machines can mine seams up to 7 feet thick mid load it simultaneously. As a result of this unprecedented mechanisation, the vast number of miners once required for full-scale production w ill never again return to the pits. With machines capable of cutting and loading in a 8ingle minute, more than the former eight hours' output by one miner manually, the reason for unemployment becomes quite clear. Fresh thinking must be incorporated into the changing coal picture if jobs are to be provided for the thousands of displaced miners.

Coal is winning its struggle for survival in 1955 due to rises in steel production, automotive fields, cement manufacturing, electric power consumption, and the demand from overseas coal markets. In re­ gard to the overseas market, the Foreign Operations Administration purchased over a million long tons of coal for the benefit of the depressed coal industry in this country under the auspices of the De­ partment of Defense. Part of this export coal went to Korea but the majority of the Kanawha Talley coals went to Yugoslavia, Spain, Greece and France. West Virginia coal operators point out that in any free 1 7 5

or normal commercial channel purchases for export the Kanawha Valley coals, because of their superiority and accessibility to the tidewater facilities at Newport News and Norfolk, gives than the bulk of such

patronage.^0

Natural Gas Secondary only to coal in the Kanawha Valley, natural gas seems

to be holding its own fairly well. Many old wells have bean rejuve­ nated through acidlzatlon, which decomposes the binding rock structure.

Although the demand has increased by leaps and bounds, there is enough

to keep most domestic and industrial units going except under very adverse weather conditions. In such instances, the indue trial users

are understandably curtailed in favor of the domestic market. The United Fuel Gas Company announced that it w ill spend $625>000 in d rill­ ing twenty-six test wells in 195U-55 on undeveloped acreage in West

Virginia and two adjaoent states* The consensus appears to be that, in the event of gas exhaustion in the valley, the gas industry could resort to bringing in supplies via pipe lines from other sections of the country, or they could manufacture gas from the many seams of coal which are too shallow to mine economi­ cally. With the press of necessity, the author feels that several new and potent natural gas fields w ill be discovered in the rugged and mountainous terrlan, which to date has not been explored. During their explorative phases theymay uncover sources of energy that w ill

^W allace E. Knight, "Mining Marvels," The Charleston Gazette, Magazine Section, May 29, 1955, P- 9M. 176 make tbs use of gas obsolescent* A new sIsTen-story, $6,700,000 o f f ic e building has reoently been contracted for by United Fuel & Gas and five affiliated coaqpanles which w ill be the state*s largest and which Indi­ cates their faith in the future of natural gas.

Among the more reoent changes In practice, natural gas has been used in the production of natural gasoline, then returned to the lines minus but a few of its original Btu’s. Such practices have aided the ailing oil and refining Industries no end and the quantity of gasoline produced in this manner is Increasing.

Petroleum

Oil has about seen its day in the Kanawha Valley, unless a modern miracle uncovers a new supply. The story at Pure Oil was secondary recovery which ended its final phase with a plant shutdown In late

195U. The natural gas which abounded in this field was used for natural gasoline to supplement oil brought In by barge and pipe line. Elk

Refining has been mentioned as utilising the carrying facilities of

Eureka Pipe Lines In order to meet production quotas, but Elk at least appears to be flourishing.

The l a s t f l u r r y of excitem en t in o i l o ccu rred in 193U when a w e ll drilled Into the Oriskany sand in Elk D istrict uncovered an in itial flow of 1*>0 barrels. The joy was short-lived, however, since little of note has been discovered since that time.

Scientists say that even with the best seismographlc equipment and other divining paraphernalia prospecting for oil is hasardous and 177

unreliable. Greatest advantage of this scientific gear is that it

serves to take a little guesswork out of guessing. There have been

several instances in the Kanawha area where old wells drilled deeper paid off better than the original. Many of the old gas wells have

literally burst open when drilled a few hundred feet further, but

there's no way of ascertaining positively.

Rapid Expansionism in Manufacturing

The story of growth in the Kanwha Valley is a close parallel to

the story of American industry's growing knowledge of how to use the

vast storehouse of our natural resources to fashion and fabricate better products for modern living. Since chemicals dominate economic activity within the valley, a close tab of their development over the past

thirty-five years will also tell the story of expansion in other indus­

t r i e s a t the same tin e . The earliest growth of the .industry was fostered during and imme­

diately after World War I, whan some U,500 German patents were seised by our alien property custodian who, in turn, gave them to the new-born chemical industries of the United States.^ Most of these patents

covering organic dyestuffs were sold and licensed by Chemical Founda­

tion, Inc. to American msnufacturers• American know-how was insuffi­ cient to develop these patents in some instances and German chemical

engineers were brought over to assist in the commercial exploitation of

the confiscated property.

“ l. B. Alderfer and H. E. Mi chi, Economics of American Industry, New York, 19U2, p. 218. 178

The American industry from the very first was protected by an em­ bargo and later by a wary high tariff. The Koiawha Valley plants rode the flood tide. With the industrial know-how acquired during the war, plus several hundred proven formulas to work on, the budding young plants continued to grow steadily between two wars. Most of these con­ cerns are so well balanced in terms of producing basic chemicals that continued growth and new construction went on without a hitch during the depression years of the thirties. World War II brought another period of rapid expansion and many new plants were built which, as in the first war, were taken over generally by the operating plait at a frac­ tion of what the government originally paid for their construction. Over the last ten years, the industry in the Kanawha Valley appears to be entering a new period of steady expansion.

Entered in this vast program were all plants which produce (1) basic chemicals such as acids, alkalies, salts, and organic chemicals;

(2) chemical products to be used in further manufacture such as syn­ thetic fibers, plastic materials, and color pigmentsj and (3) finished chemical products to be used for ultimate consumption, such as drugs, paints, fertilisers, and explosives. Other industries, such as petroleum refining, the smelting and refining of non-ferrous metals or the manufacturing of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys by electrometal­ lurgical processes were also flourishing; but while closely allied to the chemical manufacturers, they are placed in a separate category according to the latest standard industrial classification.

32 Ibid., p. 217. 179 Of the three general types of chemical products mentioned, the great majority of Kanawha Valley plants, and all of the larger ones, produce chemicals of the first two classes* In other words, most of th e Kanawha V alley chemical in d u stry i s engaged in th e production of basic industrial chemicals, which are sent to other manufacturers to be made into finished consuter goods* Employment in this industry has been a steady upward trend frost

1930, with the exception of one period just after the close of the war when several plants had shut down and others were converting to peace­ time operations. Employment in this industry is now approximately three times what it was in 1930 and twice what it was in 19liO* Such a phenomenal growth has taken place in an area 25 miles long In a narrow river valley to become what is believed to be the greatest con­ centration of industrial chemical manufacturing in the United States*

Other areas which lay claim to being important chemical centers are either spread over a more extensive geographic territory or have much larger populations • Probably it is only in the Kanawha Valley that two out of every three industrial workers are employed by a chemical con­ cern. About f if te e n per cent of the to ta l Kanawha V alley population have jobs in the chemical industry. Close to ten per cent of all the persons employed in the chemical industries of the United States are working in the Kanawha V alley. CHAPTER VII

THE EXPANDING CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES

The chemical induetrlea of the Kanawha Valley have located here for one or more important offeringst 1. An unlimited supply of cheap fairer and fuel; 2. An unlimited supply of raw materials;

3* An a^jle supply of capable and cooperative laborers and technicians; 1*. Convenient railroad, water, and highway

transportation ; 5* A location central to potential chemical markets; and 6. Closeness of related industries which permits an exchange of processed and finished products as well as raw materials* This integration gives immediate savings in materials, search for markets, and cost of transportation. These were the main reasons for the huge development of the chemi­ cal industry in the valley, but there have been less obvious reasons as w ell*

That the remains of decadent enterprises and indeed some going concerns — the forerunners of present day chemicals in the valley — were engulfed as it were, may have been coincidental, at least on the surface. Upon closer scrutiny, however, the sequence

180 181

o f growth i n t h i B industry seems t o have been directed as early as the

t w e n t i e s .

Perhaps also, it was coincidental thet the German chemical

patents became available after World War I and at the beginning of the

early twenties. Whatever the truth, the combination of all theBe

fa c to r s in th e Kanahwa V a lle y has g iv en r is e t o one o f th e g r e a t e s t

industrial growths in the Appalachian Plateau.

Carbide and Carbon Chemicals

Carbide was born o f ch em ical resea rch o u tsid e th e Kanawha V a lle y , at the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh. Two research fellowships sup­ plied the basic ideas which were later combined into the company. One of these research programs, under the watchful eye of the Prest-O-Lite

Company, Inc. was attempting to find an economical way of manufactur­

ing acetylene gas without using calcium carbide as a raw material. It

was during the course of their research that another chemical raw material--ethylene, with essentiall. the same properties as acetylene

—was discovered. They found, too, that ethylene could be produced

not only economically from available sources but in almost unlimited

quantities.

The second research fellowship established by Union Carbide Com­

pany was successful in seeking useful chemical products from

aoetylene. This search also, oddly enough, ended with ethylene when

it was found that the latter could produce certain chemicals more economically than when acetylene was used as a starting point. With 182

such a common ground, the research interests of both programs

c o a le s c e d .

On November 1, 1917, Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation was formed by the consolidation of the Linde Air Products Company,

Union Carbide Company, National Carbon Company, Inc., The Prest-O-

Lite Company, Inc., and Electro Metallurgical Company. Thus with the merger, the two research programs were brought together in one corporation. The Linde Company, assigned the important task of mass producing ethylene raw material from natural gas, reached their objective about the end of 1919 and several chemical pro­ cesses were ready for trial in a small plant

A survey of natural gas resources showed West Virginia gas to be highly suitable for the manufacture of these new chemicals*

Furthermore, there were other advantages: plenty of cheap coal as well as gas, convenient railroad and water transportation, location central to potential chemical markets, and an ample supply of capable and friendly labor. Thus, the quest for a natural gas rich in hydrocarbons ended early in 1920 with the purchase of a five- acre site at Clendenin, on a tributary of the Kanawha, Elk River.

Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation's primary reason then, f o r coming t o th e Kanawha V a lle y was n a tu r a l g a s . I t i s from t h i s same natural gas that Carbide built and retains its chemical em p ire.

The small compressor station for natural gas at Clendenin was

m " H T storical Summary” , Union Carbide and Carbon C orp oration , New York, I960, pp. 1-6. 183

transformed into a combined ethylene and chemicals plant and incor­

porated as Carbide and Chemicals Corporation. Carbide had little

interest in the corrugated-metal building which housed the com­

pressor and an even smaller interest in the five acres of rough land

surrounding the building, but all handB were soon keyed to fever

pitch over the supply of hydrocarbons which abounded in the rich

natural gas•

Thus, the first efforts of Carbide were spent on the site of

the Clendenin Gasoline Company some twenty miles up the main right

bank tributary of Kanawha River. Four years and some hundred-odd

explosions later, the uneconomic Clendenin plant's production w&s

converted into larger scale operations on the leased eleven-acre

site belonging to the idle Rollins Chemical Company on the south

shore of the Kanawha at South Charleston. Although the prospects

looked anything but favorable for such an extensive project in 1925,

by 1930 Carbide had expanded to eighty-eight-acre Blaine Island in the middle of the Kanawha in order to find room for new chemical u n its

While most of the products turned out at the first plant were

commercial curiosities, theebhylene, propylene, diethyl sulphate, ethylene dichloride, ethylene glycol, lsopropanol, ethylene chlorhy-

drin, ethylene oxide, and propane are easily recognizable today as

automobile anti-freese, rubbing aloohol, gas for cooking, fumigants

2. "'beginnings and History", About Carbide, Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation, 1948, p. 3-6. 184 and laoquer thinners. Out of the series of mysterious explosions and creative ingenuity of Dr. Curme and others, these chemical "firsts" have become industrial necessities of today and were the basic com­ ponents of countless items which enter our daily commerce.*

U tilisation of Natural Resources

Carbide and Carbon obtains a large portion of its natural gas at wholesale price from the Columbia Carbon Company which has done a great deal of drilling in and around the Kanawha watershed. While this company owns several pipelines throughout West Virginia, their holdings extend also to Texas, Louisiana, and Kansas with operations in some seven states and assets of almost a billion dollars.

As early as 1914, Roessler and Hasslaoher Company of South

Charleston chlorinated natural gas to make chloroform and methyl chloride. Carbide and Carbon followed a similar pattern after their move from Clendenin, when they fashioned a growing list of chemical by-products from natural gas idiich now number in the hundreds.

In 1929, Carbide employees at Hastings started turning out

"Pyrofax" gas and the heavier constituents of natural gas for use as raw materials at South Charleston, and a year later, at Diamond on the right bank of the Kanawha, another raw materials plant was set in production. Basio components of this plant are associated with products produced at the Cabin Creek petroleum refineries. Certain elements remain in petroleum residue after gasoline is refined from it and these remaining fractions are sold to the ohemical industries

3. Union Carbide and Carbon, op. c it., p. 3. 185

of the valley* Thus Pure Oil at Cabin Creek has been nore or less

integrated with Carbide and Carbon in this interchange of products*

During the year 1948, idiich may be higher than an average, 1,790 tons of coal or thirty 60-ton gondola railroad cars were burned at the South Charleston plant of Carbide per day* Of this amount, 1,459 tons (81*5 per oent) were burned in a twenty-four-hour period as pul­ verised fuel, and the remaining 331 tons (18*5 per cent) were burned

in stokers. At any one time, however, the quantity of ooal being

consumed fluctuates considerably due to load requirements. The

giant pulverised coal-fired boiler on Blaine Island consumes more than eighty per cent of the total in manufacturing steam and the 4 stoker-fired boiler on the mainland burns the rest*

It is in these boiler houses that the heartbeat of the entire

chemical installation pounds steadily* Within their walls the enor­ mous heat, pressure, and electricity is generated for power to

compound the myriad of solids and liquids of the three hundred plus

C arbide pr oduct s •

One of the chief reasons Carbide located in the valley was the

accessibility of coal* But even a company as large as Carbide felt

the press of wartime demand for peak production and therefore could

not be too choosy in the quality of coal supplied them*

Under the roof in the tower-like boiler house on Blaine Island,

the coal moves continuously along conveyor belts and plummets into

the hungry maw of the metal funnels where bite by bite it is

4^ Armsntiout, op. p it., pp. 1-2* 186

pulverized in the massive machines below. Then, the fine, almost

volatile coal is blasted under pressure of air into one of the many

white-hot, roaring furnaces beneath the boilers.

The great impetus on the use of pulverized coal came in the

thirties when combustion engineers perfected the pulverized coal-

fired boilers. Cheaper and lower grades of coal could be burned with efficiency for the first time. This same low cost coal pro­

duced enough heat to fire boilers and generate electricity-making

stea m .

A great new market was opened for the cheaper coals and where- tofore the more expensive lump coal was required in stoker burning, the factories and chemical plants got the same amount of power at a much lower cost. Pulverized coal meant that in the face of rising prices, savings could be passed on to the oonsumer.

In 1942, the facilities and engineering abilities of Carbide were contracted for by Defense Plant Corporation to erect a pilot

plant for synthetic rubber production at Institute, just west of

Charleston. United States Rubber Company was commissioned at the same time to erect an adjacent processing plant in order to utilize the rubber output rapidly and efficiently. A rtificial rubber was

produced from both styrene and butadiene — the former product de- g rived from coal tar. Upon completion the plant was successful to the point that Carbide was asked to construct and engineer other synthetio rubber installations.

Butadiene can be made from either crude oil or from grains (corn, molasses, wheat, barley, rye, potatoes, eto.). 187

Recently, Carbide and Carbon unveiled what it has been doing the last two decades in an entirely new realm of research and development.

Although the term is not exactly new, it is called hydrogenation of coal. Among the several hydrogenation projects in this country is the siphoning off of gas for fuel when coal is burned in its natural under­ ground state.®

Carbide's chemists turned to coal when their development of the aliphatic chemicals from natural gas and oil was at its height. The chemists were not interested in the oil or gas which the coal might contain but the many constituent parts which made up a lump of coal.

With these constituents, the dwindling chemical storehouse could be replenished with new compounds or new properties could be discovered which might be useful to mankind. This tremendous feat was accom­ plished in Carbide's laboratories in slightly less than twenty years.

The original pilot plant of the hydrogenation unit converts bituminous coal into its component liquids and gases at the rate of

300 tons a day. Many of these substances have not ^een Identified and there are no known uses for many of the others, but Carbide re­ fuses to be perturbed. In fact. Carbide expects that larger plants w ill treat thousands of tons of coal per day to give the country the same pre-eminence in the field of aromatic chemicals that it now 7 possesses in petro-chemicals.

Wl "Carbide Activates New Unit at Institute", Kanawha Commerce, January, 1951, Charleston Chamber of Commerce, p. 1 0 ,Vol. 14, No. 1 .

7. Ibid, p. 11. 188

Some grades of coal are more susceptible to Carbide's hydrogena­ tion process than others, but suitable grades are found throughout the country exclusive of the least suitable hard coal or anthracite.

The continuous production process wherein the converters do not cake and the valves refuse to wear out is a closely guarded secret.

Ordinarily, coal with its ash and grit wears out both valves and piping as well as forming thick deposits in the converters. The basio treatment given coal in the new hydrogenation process con­ sists of grinding to a powdery dust, mixing in oil, and subjecting 8 the resultant paste to tremendous heat and pressure.

Nothing is observable to the eye as the ooal is broken up into the myriad properties which were sealed by nature ages ago, but vast containers, converters, aikl huge pipes draw off certain properties by means of panel board controls which register temperatures, pressures, and simultaneously chart quality and quantity.

Already more than 100 of these properties have been catalogued among which is toulene used in Buch consumer products as finishes for autos and furniture. Napthalene iB another compound used for such simple household products as the mothball, hundreds of chemical properties for dyes, perfumes, medicines, synthetic fabrics, and many other purposes have oeen extracted from these black diamonds.

Through combinations and other refinements, the chemists of

Carbide expect to fill their chemical storehouse with additional hundreds of substances stored in coal. Purposes and markets w ill no

8. "New Process Found For Exploiting Coal Through Chemistry", The Charleston Gasette, June 5, 1951, p. 8* 189 doubt develop for these unknown and unnamed chemicals in a similar manner to those first products of the twenties#

The main raw material continues to be gas. Some fifteen million cubic feet of mixed gases pour into this gigantic hub via a myriad network of pipelines each day. The gas not only comes from surround­ ing wells, from du Pont's coke ovens at Belle, from the Pure Oil

Refinery and a small oil cracking unit on Carbide's own property, but from three raw-material plants scattered around the countryside.

These substations sift out the heavier gas fractions from natural- gas-company lines for Carbide's special use and then return the bulk 9 of the gas back to the mains. Carbide pays for this gas on the basis of B.T.U.'s recovered from the original gas stream. While the

South Charleston plant uses 60 to 70 per cent natural gas, there are three gases intermixed in its main gas line. These mixed gases are cracked and separated into usable forms in the huge cracking units known as "pipefitters dreams" and after sorting they are then passed into production units for conversion into chem icals.^

9. "Carbide and Carbon Chemicals", Fortune, Vol. XX.IV, No. 3, September, 1941, p. 59.

10. Carbide's plant at Diamond on the Kanawha River has supplied propane in especially designed tank cars for years to the main plant at South Charleston. These cars are capable of hauling 80,000 pounds of gas at a pressure of 500 pounds per square inch. The tank itself is of l^inch welded steel plate over which is a layer of compressed cork for insulative purposes. The cork is held in place by l/8-inoh steel which forms a corset. 190

Products and Processes

Most of the success story of Carbide bas been linked with the works and ambitions of its Dr. George Oliver Curme and his associates in the field of aliphatic organic chemistry. The field of aliphatic chemistry is distinguished from the aromatic, or benzine-ring coal- tar field by the carbon atoms which are set up in open-chain mole­ c u le s .

Dr. Curiae had discovered a process for getting acetylene by cracking it out of oil with an electric arc. Coincident with this finding, however, the merger of Carbide and Pr#St-0-Lite brought cheap and ample supplies of calcium carbide into the corporation and

Dr. Curme's experiments, at least with acetylene, was curtailed.

Meanwhile, during the course of his work with oil and acetylene, the chemist hed uncovered as by-products, ethylene, propylene, and buty­ lene — a series of unsaturated hydrocarbon gases, highly unstable, and ready to Join any basic element through their two free and hungry bonds. Work with these by-products proved so favorable that acetylene was forgotten.

Linde soon devised a method for separating the gases into pure fractions and before 1920 the way was opened for the mass production of ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, ethylene dichloride, diethyl sulphate, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and even vinyl plastic.

The discovery that olefins or unsaturated hydrocarbons could be pro­ duced in unbelievable quantities from oil, gas, and coal was the key

ll. Carbide and Carbon Chemicals", loo, oit., p. 61. 191 t o a chem ical r e v o lu tio n . An alm ost l i m i t l e s s number o f compounds 12 could be produced by merely varying order and process*

In the past Carbide has employed at least seventeen basic chem­ ic a l p r o c esses in i t s work, a t tim es em ploying h a lf t h is number to formulate Just one complex compound. One compound leads to another.

Isopropyl alcohol, for instance, is made from propylene plus sulphuric acid plus water; through catalytic action two hydrogen atoms can be removed from isopropyl aloohol and acetone (a solvent) is formed; acetone with a molecule of methane removed w ill react to form acetic anhydride when mild acetic acid is added and the com­ pounded anhydride becomes an important ingredient of rayon manufac­ t u r e .

The keystone of Carbide's chemical domain has been the simplest of the olefins -- the ethylene molecule composed of two carbon and four carbon atoms. The molecule is so ready for marriage that it w ill link up with whatever elements are near it and so is never found free in nature. It was in this field of molecule building that Car­ bide obtained an early lead as an explorer in creating plastics, s y n th e tic rubb ers, and f ib e r s t o pave th e way fo r many new products 13 unknown to nature.

In all of Carbide's chemical processes, the keynote is purity in any mixture of ingredients. With pure ethylene added to chlorine and water the reaction gives ethylene chlorhydrin from which it is but another short step to ethylene oxide — a primary starting point for

127 TTTid, p. 6 2 .

13. Ibid, p. 63. 192

numerous solvents* Of these the greatest was ethylene glycol formed

from ethylene-oxide plus hot water. This colorless, almost odorless

liquid has tho property of lowering the freezing point of water to

-62° Fahrenheit, while raising its boiling point to 231° Fahrenheit.

The antifreeze formula was carefully worked out in the Carbide

laboratories where small amounts of antifoaming, antileak, and rust

inhibitors were added to ethylene glycol to make an almost perfect

c o o la n t t h a t d id n ot b o i l o f f a t maximum e n g in e te m p e r a tu r e s. P res­

tone was handled through the Eveready flashlight-and-battery sales

department of Carbide's National Carbon division where the mass-dis­

tributing organization and sales technique is just right for market­

ing a consumer product like Prestone. Prestone fills soma fifty per

cent of the radiators using antifreeze on U.S. roads

Carbide's original patent has been encroached upon, but they have

outdistanced their competitors by developing a new and cheaper prooess

for ethylene oxide directly from ethylene by oxidation. This elimina­

tion of chlorine from the process was a strategio point during the war when Carbide was dependent on ffestvaco for its vast chlorine needs due

to the great military' demand. Carbide now has capacity for satisfying

fifty per cent of its ethylene oxide requirements in new oxidation

units which could out its need for Westvaoo chlorine in half.

One of the layman's greatest curiosities is that ethyl alcohol

can be made synthetically from natural gas or crude oil. Spirits de­

rived from this source are even more pure than that which comes from

1"4. TEid, p. 64. 193 the distillation of fermented grain. In this process Carbide leads ethylene through sulphuric acid and water to become ethyl alcohol. For over one hundred years this was merely a laboratory stunt until the engineers of Carbide's great chemical company designed a plant that wouldn't fall apart under the great quantities of sulphuric acid which had to be handled. This feat was accomplished through the resources and know-how of its own alloy plant a few miles farther up the valley.

Production details were later worked out idiich enables the plant to operate at 100 per cent efficiency, but this concerned mainly with keeping tar formation at a minimum. Such details are still Carbide's secret in all probability since they are the only producer of syn­ thetic alcohol in the world with very little, if any, patent protec­ tion. Almost all of the ethyl alcohol produced — something over twenty-five million gallons -- is used in other chemicals or is de­ natured for wide industrial use in smokeless powder, plastics, solvents, and cheaper antifreeses. Carbide holds almost 20 per oent of the world's market for industrial ethyl alcohol, most of which is

IB made from th e fe r m en ta tio n o f m o la s s e s .

"Wood" alcohol, or methanol is manufactured at South Charleston by passing carbon monoxide and hydrogen into giant gunlike converters under pressure of 4,600 pounds per square inoh in the presence of catalysts at a temperature of 400° Centigrade. Production is in the ten-million-gallon class yearly. These gases are taken from the main gas stream, in contrast to the carbon monoxide being led direotly

T5T~TSid . 194 from the Carbide furnaces at Niagara which ia a much smaller unit, wiethanol is used for oheap antifreezes, solvents, and superexplosives, but its major importance is in its conversion to formaldehyde for the heavy-tonnage phenol-formaldehyde plastics such as Bakelite* Almost 16 four-fifths of Carbide's methanol goes into plastics production.

Vinylite plastics were developed about 1925 in the hectic search for a synthetic tung oil, and since then have been used for virtually everything from oeer can linings to baby pants. The tung oil syn­ thetic was never found but Carbide's research group did come up with vinyl chloride from Dr. Curme's notes. Vinyl chloride also has a tendency to link molecules (polymerize) to form plastics, but it is a tough combination, hard to work, and with little resistance to heat and light. Not to be offset by this hard-to-manage material, the researchers mixed another plastic with just the opposite properties.

While the l.ybrid product left much to be desired, with its hard-to- control molecular constituents, a suitable plastic known as Vinylite was worked out later at considerable expense and effort in a vinyl 17 pilot plant.

Vinylite's variables are now under control and some of its new virtues are that it w ill dissolve tough paper coatings and lacquers, or it may oe rolled and pressed into transparent sheets; plasticized into ruobery, transparent belts, braces, wire insulation, shoes or shower curtains. Others as we know them have a multitude of colors,

16. “inTid, p . 6 5 ,

17, Ibid, p. 66. 195 great strength and a great resistance to oils, alcohol, and most of all, to water*

Vinylite when dissolved in acetone can be spun into hosiery yarn called Vinyon, and American Viscose has been licensed to manu­ facture Vinyon hosiery* Nylon had preceded its discovery, however, and Carbide has not seen need for pressing the issue. Vinylite-X has been used since 1938 for the self-binding plastic in the safety- glass of our automobiles, thanks not only to Carbide but to Pitts­ burgh Plate Glass*

In 1939, Carbide bouj^ht out Bakelite Corporation since it had already become its major supplier of raw materials and the Bakelite know-how could be used to advantage in pushing the new Vinylite plastics* By 1941, South Charleston had added a big unit to its

Vinylite raw-materials plant to double its capaoity and had put up a two-million-dollar processing plant at Bound Brook, New Jersey*

This full-scale production plant has been turned over to the produc­ tion of new markets in hosiery, shoes, and hats, and the Vinylite- over-fabric upholstery material which can be seen on the seats of present day cars*

While foresight and luck are synonymous with the word Carbide, not all of the chemical discoveries have burst forth to enlighten the world* Among these is diethyl sulphate, ethyl ether, which was

stockpiled before finding an outlet in smokeless powder; and a by­

product ethylene dlchloride, which was crammed into all available

storage tanks to the tune of 17 million pounds in 1932 until a mar­

ketable use was discovered in cry-cleaning fluids, as a solvent in 196 tetraethyl-lead fluid for high-test gasoline, and as an ingredient in the new synthetic rubbers*

Tfhile a lot may be attributed to foresight, much more may be laid to the dogged determination of Carbide to find markets for its products. Thus we find its Cellusolve used as a sealing agent for moisture-proof cellophane wrappers, its diethylene glycol as a moistening factor in many cigarettes, and isopropyl ether as a de- niootinizer in some brands. The standard yardstick for the oil industry is normal heptane because it is zero octane, and provides a starting point from which all motor fuels can be rated from zero to 100 octane. This ten thousand gallon a year business represents some $250,000 income to the Carbide Company. A bility to promote the fine chemicals from the drum and gallon class promotes a steady flow of items. Among those which have moved up are octyl alcohol as an antifoaming agent in dipping photographic film , coating papers, nnri printing textiles. Another was dichlorethyl formal which boomed as a new type of Thlokol for bulletproof gasoline tanks and fuel hose. Carbowax can be polymerized from ethylene oxide into synthe­ tic wax with the anomalous ability to dissolve in water and has found a growing market in cosmetics, shaving creams, etc. Then the tergitols are complex branched-chain molecules with eight to seven­ teen carbon atoms each, which as a group are powerful, new pene­ trants and wetting agents for cleaning and dyeing of faeries, leather, paper, metal and other materials. Other chemicals go into explosives, or into the synthesis of medicinals, or act as bases 197 for other chemicals and pharmaceuticals• 18

Growth and Significance

The construction of Carbide's chemical business has been almost as fabulous and continuous as the chain building of Dr. Curme's molecules. In fact. Carbide moved into South Charleston in 1925 largely on the strength of contracts with dynamite makers for three million poundB of ethylene glycol per annum. About the same time

Atlas Powder granted a three-year contract for the production of the expeditious new solvents for nitrocellulose from ethylene oxide de­ rivatives and two years later (1927) ethylene glycol cornered the vast automobile market for antifreeze. Shortly, other new compounds came into production and ethyl alcohol, butyl alcohol and acetic anhydride became realistio blossoms on a fast budding chemical tree.

Acetone was used within the plant to stabilize acetylene into safe and economical storage cylinders, and by 1940, ethyl glycol, acetic anhydride, methyl, ethyl, and butyl alcohols, acetone, ethylene dichloride, the Cellosolves, and vinyl compounds had reached the millions-of-pounds-a-month class. Other chemicals have passed be­ yond the tank car quantities such as a dozen different alcohols, over a half-dozen glycols, many ethers and oxides, numerous esters

(alcohol reaotlons from an acid), amines (organic alkalis), and in lesser quantities but just as important those chemical b w hich are produced in drums classified under the "fine” label which number about 150.19

IfH TEid, p . 6 7 .

19. Carbide and Carbon Chemicals, About Carbide, op. cit*, ^26. 198

Under the sales policy of the Carbide management, the "fine” chemicals move up the ladder rapidly to the tank-car group. To effectively unload some of the newer chemicals. Carbide drops prices drastically and further lubricates the process by lowering prices as consumption increases. Thus, spectacular drops in prices have been made over the years in such products as isopropyl alcohol from $5.50 to 25 cents a gallon, trlethanolamine from $3.50 a pound to 18 cents, ethylene glycol from 30 to 13 cents, and many other were halved in p r i c e •

But it is largely to ethylene glycol, or Prestone, that the

Carbide realm can point to as a consistent profit maker which enabled them to realize their continuous expansion program through the years. At one time in Carbide's history, at least before their

17 year patent expired on Prestone, almost 10 million gallons an­ nually went directly into the production of antifreeze.

The insistent and lucrative growth of Carbide is attested to by the fact that the South Charleston KK>rks alone have expanded seventy times its original capacity. It is here that the big central operating laboratories and the research and development laboratories keep up the never ending hunt for new compounds. There has been no letup in Carbide 4 Carbon Chemicals' growth. From its early incep­ tion at Clondenin down through the years of a major depression the institution has prospered. When war comes, chemicals boom and Car­ bide reaps a bonanza. Chemicals feed direotly into explosives, battleships, and aircraft, and indirectly, into all industry. 199

South Charleston makes all of the more than 300 commercial

chemicals, both fine and bulk, and the plants at Whiting, Indiana and Texas City are but mass-production plants where only a half- dozen of the bulk products made at South Charleston are expanded.

Among these products are acetone and acetic anhydride and ethylene glycol although the last named in produced at Texas City. Whiting does use over four million cubic feet of refinery gases daily piped from Standard Oil of Indiana next door.

Some 30 to 40 per cent of Carbide's chemical production goes to other big chemical companies, vfriLle the rest is scattered among smaller industries and innumerable smaller users and so is assimilated

into the fabric of U. S. life.

The South Charleston plant has expanded until today it occupies more th an 198 a cres and employs more th an 7 ,0 0 0 men and women w ith a 20 variety of working assignments.

Significance

The nature of Carbide's business baffles almost everyone idio attempts to analyze this large process company built upon a few basic techniques. The range of products is seemingly unlimited from metals of great atomic w ight to crystal-clear liquids and even gases which can be neither seen, smelled, nor tasted. In the academic sense it is in the broad field of physical chemistry that Carbide works with greatest fam iliarity. All of the many processes pivot from the

20. Wallace K. Knight, "Towers of Industry Shade South Charle­ ston, Called 'America's Ruhr' and 'Chemical Center of the World’", The Charleston Gazette, June 10, 1951, p. 13. 200 extreme of 6,65Q°F found in its electric-arc furnaces to the sub­ arctic temperature of -325° F achieved for the fractional d istilla­ tion of liquid air. Between these antipodal extremes the processes 21 at Carbide run the gamut.

In order to understand the full significance of the Carbide realm p ysical geography must have its say. Thus, we find most of

Carbide's plants clustered around natural wonders of the worldt under the falls of Niagara and the Soo (Sault Ste. Marie), the sharply dropping mountain streams of Norway, the Bonneville Dam, or strung along the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia where coal and hydroelectric power combine. Carbide is probably second only to the Aluminum Company of America as the biggest corporate user of electric power in the country.

The natural gas of West Virginia, petroleum gases from Standard

Oil at Whiting, Indiana, and Texas City, Texas, tungsten in the

Sierras, vanadium in Colorado, and ores or other materials from Rho­ desia, New Caledonia, the Gold Coast, and South America; most of the world, in fact, all have attracted Carbide's processing talents.

But it is in the ability of Carbide to control the hazardous extremes of heat and cold economically that has enabled her to dominate the f i e l d . I t b oxyacotylene gas flame is the hottest in the world; the coldest commercial substance in the world is her liquid oxygen at

-297° F, and next to the sun, Carbide's high-intensity carbon arc g iv es the most in ten se lig h t known to man.

2l. "TTnion Carbide, The Corporation," Fortune, Vol. XIIV, No. 6, June, 1941, p. 66. 201

In the summer of 1941, Carbide startled a first-line conference

in Washington by announcing that it would ou.ld butadiene from its all powerful ethylene molecule -- an important point, since the oil companies making butadiene heretofore had cracked it from butylene and butane, both of n^iich are also important to high octane aviation fuel, and it looked as if there j..i,,ht not De enough gases in case of all-out war for both aviation and synthetic rubber.

Carbide's empire reaches everyone in the United States, directly or indirectly. Its far-flung enterprises are large enough and suffi­ ciently diversified to give considerable stability no matter what the crisis in history. This has been mentioned with reference to the depression when Carbide was well able to weather the storm on its basic bulk chemicals which had created a continuing demand in new markets. There has been no year in almost thirty that Carbide has not been building a new plnnt4 The chemical business is progressive and dynamic. Carbide is but at the portals of a great new world of molecular wonders through which w ill be uncovered Fin infinite number of new materials des gned to specificFitions. Organic chemicals will revolutionize the chemical industries and Carbide's chemical divi­ sion may foster a large share of the innovations. It is still the youngest and fastest-growing frontier of the corporation.

The chemical business of Carbide in South Charleston is a prime example of integration — both vertical and horizontal. This is illustrated in the use of refinery gas from Pure Oil and the sepa­ ration of hydrocarbons from the huge cross-country natural gas mains. 202

Integration is reflected in the sh praent of bulk products or basic raw noterialt, into distant states for procesing and furth'.. r treat­ ment, in the pipeline leading chlorine directly fron Westvaco into

Carbide's South Charleston retorts, and in the every day give and take of the chemical realm.

E. 1 . Du Font d e Nemours ^ Company

Location Factors

The site of the belle plant, just elr ven miles oast of Charle­ sto n b e sid e the Kanawha L iv e r , was chosen in part because i t was in the heart of the great bituminous coal district of West Virginia and all the essential raw materials needed for manufacturing were rapidly available.

In a d d itio n to c o a l, du Font came to t i e Kanawha V a lle y b e­ cause of the Kanawha Liver, the ample supply of local labor to operate the plant, end the availability of transportation facilities.

An interesting sidelight to their final decision to locate in the valley was that the co, pany had searched all ever the CO' ntry to find a suitable source for the very scarce coke oven gas. It was th e n th a t th e du Pont e n g in eers looked in to th e Kanawha V a lle y .

That was three decades ago.

Virtually the only raw material to be delivered at the plant site is coal, which is drawn up to the river siding by barge next to the coke plant. Water comes in through the river pump houses, and the air through blowers at the genorator house. It is through a 203

chemical combination of these three -- coal, air, anc water that du

Font is able to continue the slogan of "Better Things for Better

Living.” Many of these products and chemicals are manufactured at

the Belle plant of this company.

When Lazote, Inc., aliaa du Pont, first came to the strip of

level land which it now occupies there was nothing but orchard, cornfield, and swamp* Eleven months after the first construction

in May 1925, production at the Belle plant was underway* Now, many of the location factors listed in the introduction to the Chemical

Industries would also be applicable to du Pont* Among these would be integration with or closeness to related industries, closeness of actual and potential markets, and no doubt above all, the vested 22 capital represented in her mile-long Belle works.

Utilization of Natural Resources

The Belle works of the E. I* du Pont de Nemours and Company uses so much coal and coke that at intervals bulldozers must be used to level off the land which "grows" through the accumulation of fly ash and "coke breeze” -- mainly the latter*

A great variety of synthetics are manufactured at Belle, among which is the world-renowned nylon* Thus low-cost soft coal which first attracted Du Pont to the Kanawha Valley is still a basic raw material in the manufacture of this much sought after fabric*

The Belle plant used an average of approximately 2,950 tons of

22. Wallace E. Knight, "Belle, Sister Communities 15 Times Long as Widej L ittle Seen by Passerby", The Charleston Gazette, July 29, 1951, p* 35* 204 coal per day during the year ending September 1, 1949. About fifty

per cent of this was burned under the boilers and the other fifty 23 per cent was made into coke for use in their gas generation process*

Although there was some curtailment in the use of fuel of all kinds and less than capacity operating production due to economic 24 conditions in 1948-1949, the plant used an average of 1,470 tons of coke per day* Four hundred tons of this amount were purchased and the remainder was made in thoir own ovens*

The coal and coke is hauled up to the Belle plant on 2,000 ton barges where two giant steel cranes scoop it up into the plant grounds and deposit in huge stacks* At the down-river or west end of the plant is a battery of steel ovens where, dally, 1,000 or more tons of coal are hoated and transformed into coke* From these ovens, the coke is carried to the 18 units of the large gas generating house where it is rendered volatile through the application of heat. When it has been converted to the gaseous state it is ready for use in one of the many Du Pont chemical processes*

Products and Processes

The original purpose and still the main product of the plant at

Belle was the production of ammonia and, timely enough, a short while before the works were constructed in 1925, the Horth American rights

23• Xrmentrout, op* c it*, p. 2*

24* Largely attributable to the efforts of John L. Lewis whose coal tie-ups not only cause a price increase, but make less ton­ nage available* Slackening of operation after the war effort was also normal. 205 to the Claude process were purchased by du Pont* This method was developed by George Claude of France for liquefying the carbon mono­ xide of water gas and applying the separated hydrogen under high temperatures and extremely high pressures to synthesize ammonia*

The process was put into operation at the belle plant, and commer­ cial synthesis under high pressures became a new American industry*

Essentially, most of the operations at the Belle works can be defined as synthesis at "hyper" pressures. Even the plant paper is dubbed the "Hyper News." Coke, idiich is derived from coal, is acted upon by air and steam to yield four gases: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen. All the Belle products are pro­ duced directly or indirectly by subjecting these four gases to vary­ ing dosages of elevated temperatures and ultra high pressures in the 26 presence of different catalysts.

The coal, water, and air consumption at Belle is of staggering proportions. The pumping capacity of this plant is sufficient to supply water to a city of two and a half m illion population, and the daily coal consumption would heat 300 to 400 large homes for an en­ tire year. As far as trving to visualize the scale of operation and the extensive equipment required, one has to but glance at the maze of twenty-inch pipes which follow the slope adjacent to the plant.

These pipes are commonly believed to be there for hydroelectric pur­ poses, but they are merely part of a gigantic mountain power recovery sy stem .

£5. "Better Things for Better Living", Employment Review, West Virginia Department of Employment Security, Vol. II, Wo. 11, December, 1948, Charleston, pp. 5-16. 206

Ordinarily a gas at standard pressures and temperatures, ammonia

is very so lu b le in w ater and is marketed both as liq u id ammonia and

as an aqueous solution. It is the principal source of nitrogen in

military and other explosives outside the nuolear realm. It has a

multitudinous use in refrigerants and ice manufacture, as fertiliser,

for nitrading steel, as corrosion preventive in oil refineries, and

in the chlorification of water. Ammonia is used in the manufacture

of glue, rayon, paper and pulp, blue print paper, pharmaceuticals,

and solvents.

In 1932 the first comnn rcial urea plant in the United States be­

gan operations at Belle. The urea capacity of this plant is large enough to supply all the urea and related products manufactured by the du Pont Company. This substance is a white crystalline substance which is highly soluble in both water and alcohol. It enjoys wide distribution as a fertiliser in solution "UAL", and as "Uramon", a compounded fertilizer containing 42 per cent nitrogen. A stock feed,

"Two-Sixty-Two", is also compounded and manufactured at the urea plant. Urea has an important use in the production of synthetic

resins of the urea-formaldehyde type. Such resins are presently seen

in automobile hardware, cutlery handles, kitchen ware, and molded cabinets. Other uses are in crease-proof and wrinkle-proof fabrics,

in preparation of finishes and stains, pharmaceuticals, and as a 26 healing agent for infected wounds.

26. "the Du Pont Plant at Belle, West Virginia", E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, unpublished material presented by Manager F. A. Otto on August 13, 1951, p. 3. 207

First manufactured at Jelle in 1937, "Incite", a clear plastic methyl methacrylate monomer, is still produced as a raw material and the resin is shipped to finishing; plants in Arlington, Now Jersey, and Parkersburg, West Virginia. Tough, strong, odorless, and more transparent than glass, Lucite can be molded by heat and pressure.

It is probably best remembered as the plastic used in the manufacture of canopies for fighter planes and for bomber noses during the war.

Range of use is from automobiles through brush backs to costume Jewel- 27 ry and table lamps.

ifethanol was first produced synthetically in 1927 and production has miltiplied many times. Du Font's primary uses for this liquid is in formaldehydes, antifreezes, and dye manufacture. Formaldehyde is a primary constituent of both phenol and urea resins.

Formaldehyde is produced in great auantities at the Belle plant of du Pont. Overall production in the U.S. rose from 26 million pounds in 1929 to 839 million pounds in 1949. The production for

1950 was estimated to be between 750 and 900 m illion pounds with only thret companies out of a possible fourteen publishing data.

Formaldehyde is an organic chemical with a boiling point of

19° C. and is a gas at ordinary pressures and temperatures. It has a pungent, poisonous odor, and is water soluble. Commercial formalde­ hyde, also called formalin, is an aqueous solution containing a minimum of 37 per cent by weight of formaldehyde gas* The solution usually contains around 10 per cent methanol which acts as a

27. fl/est Virginia Department of Employment Security, ^£. c it., p . 11. 208

Btabilizer to prevent polymerization with the forming of paraformal- 28 dehyde, a white powder. The specific gravity is 1.09 at 18 C.

An increasing amount of more concentrated formaldehyde has oeen sold in recent years. These special solutions have a very low metha­ nol content and the precentage of formaldehyde ranges from 37 to 50, depending on the needs of the consumer. This involves suitable temperature control of the product from the producing to the consum­ ing u n its .

Formaldehyde solution is sold by weight in tank cars, tank trucks,

55 gallon drums (stainless steel or lined), wax-lined wooden barrels, glass carboys, and smaller containers. Although the Interstate Com­ merce Commission does not require special labels, the irritating and poisonous nature of the item makes it advisable that detailed informa­ tion regarding properties, precautions, eto., be placed on each con tain er.

Paraformaldehyde, the white powder contain ing 91 to 95 per cent or more formaldehyde in the various commercial grades, is growing in importance. Although more expensive than formaldehyde in aqueous solution, it has many uses where the presence of a high precentage of water is undesirable.

Formaldehyde has numerous uses. The resin industry, including the phenolics, ureas and melajnines, is the largest consumer. Another heavy user is the chemical industry for the synthesis of such important products as pentaerythritol, hexamethylenetetramine, and various

fes. wSurvey on Formaldehyde", Chemical Division! National Pro­ duction Authority, Washington, i95l. 209 rubber compounding agents. It w ill be noted that one use of the pentaerythritol is in the manufacture of the explosive pentaerythri- toltetranitrate (PSTN). Textiles and leather, dyeB and intermediates, drugs and pharmaceuticals, also use substantial quantities. Consi­ derable amounts are used as embalming fluids, fungicides, germicides, disinfectants.

The most important method of manufacturing formaldehyde is by catalytic oxidation of methanol* A second method uses natural gas as the raw material or specific, lower hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum or natural gas. Butane is especially desirable for this purpose. In the first process, methanol is pumped from the storage tanks and fed to the vaporiser as needed. Dust-free air from which the carbon and sulphur compounds have been removed is pre-heated be­ fore mixing with the vaporised methanol. Caustic soda continually circulating in a purifying tower w ill remove the carbon and Bulphur gases from the air which otherwise would deactivate the catalyst.

Approximately equal volumes of air and methanol are used with precautions taken to prevent the methanol percentage dropping near the upper limit of 36^ per cent, the critical percentage as specified by the Underwriter’s Laboratories. The methanol-air mixture at about

75 to 85° C and relatively low pressure, is passed through a filter to the burners or converters. These burners hold the catalyst, usually silver, with or without suitable support.

The reaction in the converters produces a temperature which is maintained as nearly as possible at aoout 630°C - 635°C. The vapors from the converter are passed immediately into the liquor of 210 the first or primary absorber tower. To prevent the hot formalde­ hyde from decomposing, the absorbing liquor is kept as cool as possi­ ble and recirculated rapidly. This liquor is an aqueous solution of about 30 per cent formaldehyde and 20 per cent methanol when entering the top of the vertical absorbing tower. Aportion of the recirculat­ ing liquor (formaldehyde-methanol) is continuously removed to the storage tanks for fractionating. The unabsorbed vapors from the top of the absorber are further cooled and pass through a secondary absorber into which distilled water is pumped. The liquor from the bottom of this secondary absorber is pumped into the stream of the 29 circulating liquor of the primary absorber.

The FM liquor from the storage tanks is pumped into the frac­ tionating tower to d istill off the methanol. This is done under vacuum and the methanol vapors from the top of the tower travel to the condenser. Host of this condensed methanol is returned to the top of the fractionating column for reflux. A smaller percentage is returned to the vaporizer as recycle methanol where it mixes with the original intake of methanol.

The methanol vapors leaving the fractionating tower are nearly pure, about 99 per cent. As a result of the removal of methanol, the formaldehyde concentration in the liquor remaining in the bottom of the fractionating tower increases considerably. This liquor is withdrawn, passed through coolers and run to mixing and storage tanks. Sufficient water is added to reduce the percentage of

29. Ibid, p. 3 211

formaldehyde to the customary 37 or 37# per cent. (Various other

operatinr details as practiced in a single, specific plant can be

found in the January 1950 copy of "Chemical Enginjuring.")

When it is manufactured from the hydrocarbons of natural gas, the liquid constituents are first removed as in the customary gasoline plants. The dry gas containing a high percentage of methane is then oxidised. Air, in quantities less than the theoretical amount needed, is added to the gas. This is fed into the reaction chambers containing a suitable catalyst. Pre-heating is neoessary to initiate the reaction which then becomes self-sustaining.

Various catalysts can be used for this process, some as oxides of metals, others as gases. The metallic catalysts are usually deposited on an inert carrier.

The air-gas mixture is recycled rapidly a number of times, re­ maining in contact with the catalyst for only an instant each time.

Small additional quantities of air are aided as the reaction pro­ gresses and the percentage of formaldehyde and other products increases. When the maximum practical yield is obtained, the re­ sulting liquor is fractionated in the usual manner. The principal products are formaldehyde and methanol, with smaller yields es­ pecially of acetaldehyde. These chemicals are refined and the methanol is separately oxidised to formaldehyde by tho conventional p r o c e s s e s •

When butane is used as a raw material, similar reactions occur although a greater variety of products is produced. This necessi­ tates more complex methods of separation and refining of the end 212 products* In this process, either butane or propane, or a mixture of the two can be used. These hydrocarbons under suitable pressures and temperatures, together with the desired volume of air, are run into a reactor. The resulting oxidation produces various aliphatics, in­ cluding formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, methanol, butanols and the normal iaopropanols. The acetaldehyde is used to produce acetic acid. The above products pass from the reactor to an absorber and thence to a separator, where the aqueous solution of formaldehyde is separated from the other products. The formaldehyde is a dilute 30 solution which must be concentrated to 37 per cent or more.

Methanol is the outstandingly important raw material needed in th e manufacture of form aldehyde. The amount of c a u s tic Boda re­ quired for purification of the necessary air is very small in compari­ son to the total production of caustic soda.

itethanol produced in the destructive distillation of hardwood amounts to less than 5 per cent of the synthetic production. It is very largely needed for the denaturing of industrial alcohol. For these reasons, natural methanol can be disregarded as a raw material in formaldehyde production in the U. S.

Synthetic methanol production has increased immensely during the past twelve years. In 1938, the output of the U. S. was less than 200 million pounds. In recent year3 it has amounted to almost

1,000 m illions. Since methanol is produced from carbon monoxide

80 . Aid, p. 12. 213

and hydrogen, the availability of methanol depends primarily on the

materials from which the carbon monoxide and hydrogen are obtained,

providing manufacturing capacity is available. Until recently, theso

gases were produced by the water gas method from coke and steam. At

present, the trend is toward natural gas and steam to produce a

carbon monoxide-hydrogen mixture from these materials. It followa that the supply of such raw materials is entirely adequate.

The s y n th e s is o f e it h e r methanol or ammonia can be accom plished

in the same plant. Conversion from one to the other involves only moderate and relatively inexpensive changes in apparatus. Conse­

quently, the synthetic production of methanol depends upon the

balance allowed between these two products during those periods when

all available apparatus is in continuous use. For this reason the

quantity of methanol available for the manufacture of formaldehyde

can be determined only after considering the requirements for am­

monia as well as the need for methanol by industries other than for­

maldehyde.

Available reserves or Btocks of methanol vary to some ex te n t w ith

the seasons because of the demands from distributors of antifreeze.

One of the few direct consumer products manufactured at Belle is

"Zerone" which is the du Pont anti-rust anti-freeze and the most

important factor in the increased prcduction of methanol. The

"Zerone" plant was constructed in 1930, and makes all the "Zerone"

turned out by the company. "Zerex" is another permanent du Pont

anti-freete which is made from ethylene glycol. Uethanol is used by 214 industry in ink manufacture, chemicals, stains, nitrocellulose plas­ tics, mirrors, and fuels.

Retention of freshness is a desirable feature in pastries and bread products brought about by "Itycoban” 'which was manufactured at

Belle and which retards mold and rope in bread. Developed from the calcium salt of propionic acid, five ounces of this material per

100 pounds of flour is sufficient to maintain bread free from mold for at least seven days.

In 1939, the manufacture of Nylon raw material came to be one of the most important products at belle ; and, until 1947, all the ny­ lon produced in the western hemisphere had its beginning at this p la n t. The nylon raw is a s a lt compound which lea v es the p la n t in liquid form, is shipped to other du Pont yarn or plastic plants, and 31 the process is completed*

Nylon is well-known for its many uses as a plastic and fabric*

In the latter, the chief qualities are lightness, quiok-drying, tough­ ness, wearability, and elasticity. When nylon was first produced, there was almost a new industry created overnight, especially for the manufacture of nylon hosiery. Nearly all the production during World

War II was turned over to the armed forces for parachutes, life jackets, flak suits, and other items needing nylon's versatility. Outside the clothing field, nylon is now used in automobile tire manufacture, tumblers, industrial equipment, and many other articles.

Polyethylene plastics were started during the war under the

3Y. "The Du Pont Plant at belle. West Virginia”, Unpublished material presented by Manager F. A. Otto on August 13, 1951. 215 direction of the United States Wavy and the plant was later purchased by du Pont. It is noted for a broad combination of excellent proper­ ties including durability, flexibility, and stability under normal weather conditions. Various combinations of these properties are evidenced in such products as shower curtains, baby pants, tumblers, and ice cube trays. The Bemi-processed polyethylene leaves the plant in the form of a molding powder which may be converted into sheets, rods, tubes, filaments and tapes by du Pont plastic plants.

Growth and S ig n ific a n c e

Du Font's Belle works grew from the corn stubble fields and scraggly orchard flats which represented part of the old Slack farm over three decades ago. There was some contemplation among the offi­ cials who were concerned with early conceptions of construction as to just how much acreage would be sufficient to hold the future plant.

Twenty acres was decided upon as a minimum for consideration when one of those rendering the decision took issue to the effect — 'What in the world would 2'rou need that much land for?' In the intervening period the plant has cone to occupy over 150 acres and stretches over a mile along Route CO.

Actual construction of ti e plant started in i-av 1925 and approxi­ mately one year later the units were in operation. In laarch of 1926, there were a few relatively small buildings still trying to support the 25-tons-per-day ammonia plant. If the plant was fortunate enough to run the entire day -- twenty-five tons were turned out, but the early days were fraught with troubles similar to Carbide's beginning 216

on Elk Liver. In the original 2ft-tons-per-day plr.nt, there were two

gas holders -- one for water gas, end tho second for hydrogen# The

operators often wondered how the holders had done throughout the night,

there was never a sound conviction that even one pound of ammonia

would be generated. Faced with such uncertainty, the management was

always doubtful about signing contracts for ammonia delivery lest 32 th ere be no ammonia to d e liv e r .

There were many other obstacles to the young company's growth,

such as catalyst failure and the trouble which developed when they were starting up tie original small urea synthesis converters. The production force of 95 in the middle twenties has increased to more than 4,000 and tne number of products from one to about one hundred

and f i f t y .

The du Font Company's decision to enter the field of ammonia manufacturing some thirty years ago has vitally affected all of our lives. At that time there was a pressing need for a dependable source

of nitrates, since Chile had been our main supply and there was grow­

ing fear that the Panama Canal might be closed during war and the nitrate fleet bottled up,

"liile the Germans had the only successful method for ammonia

synthesis at the end of World War I, American industry, along with du

Pont, became interested. Since du Pont had an excellent process for producing n itr a te s from ammonia, our independence and se c u r ity was

5ITI "Production Anniversary* 1926-1951", Hyper News, Vol.XIX, E .I . Du Pont de Uemours L Company, April, 1951, pp. S-14. 217 pronoted when ammonia was synthesized from air and water. The Claude process was obtained in 1924 and the Casale, or Italian process, was utilized later. The du Pont company invested over $27,000,000 during a ten-year period before a profit was shown.

The f i r s t tank car o f ammonia l e f t th e B e lle works in 1926 when there were 95 employees on the payroll. In 1930, methanol became the second major product and filled the needs of the chemical and automotive industries for solvents and antifreezes. Two years later, the first commercially-manufactured synthetic urea was produced at

Belle and was to find extensive use in fertilizers and plasticB. In another two years, 1934, du Pont began to turn out hydrogenated products used in detergents and in synthetic rubber manufacture.

Methyl methacrylate monomer, or the raw material for "Lucite" came in

1937. Nylon intermediates were in full-scale production by 1939 and the next year, 1940, ethylene glycol was produced as permanent anti­ freeze with most of the production going to the armed services. Poly­ thene was turned out under the direction of the Navy in 1944 for radar insulation, and a score of other products since then. The Belle

Works, as one director has said, is beyond description in size, com- 33 plexity, and variety of equipment, processes and products.

uVestvaco

Location Factors

Among several factors which caused Westvaco to locate at South

Charleston in the Kanawha Valley was the natural brine wells for use

SS. Tfcid, p. 4. 218

in their electrolytic operations for t ‘e production of caustic soda*

An abundant supply of coal and the proximity of the Kanawha River

assured that steam would be available for power and cooling purposes,

and water transportation. The labor supply from the surrounding

hills, transportation by rail, water, and highway to the chemical markets, and natural gas have also playud major roles in the success­ ful growth of this company.

■Ln 1910 an extensive plant was built in South Charleston to produce chlorine, caustic soda, and carbon tetrachloride. 1'hiB in­ stallation was erected on land of the Kanawha Chemical i’ire Engine

Company which had failed in the business of making fire extinguish­ ers. The new organization went under the name of the Warner-

Klipstein Company which represented the merging of interests of Dr.

Lucien C. Warner who had founded the Warner Chemical Company in New

Jersey in 1886, and of E. C, Klipstein who later branched out into dye manufacturing. With Dr. Warner’s death in 1925, this company and various other interests consolidated under the name Westvaco Chlorine 34 Products Corporation.

To increase the already large-scale chlorine facilities at the

South Charleston works, over 3000 Vorce cells were installed in 1927 and in subsequent enlargem ents, many more have been added. Today, the electrolytic operations are the largest in the United States.

Over the years since Westvaco first built the South Charleston plant, many industries have benefited from its extensive development of the

34. Knight, op. cit., p. 13. Reference in footnote no. 22. 219

Kanawha V a lle y 's raw m a te r ia ls — b r in e , c h a r c o a l, c o a l and n a tu ra l g a s .

And, in 1944, to help supply the needs of the armed forces, Westvaco developed a process and built a plant for large scale production of 36 chloral — an intermediate in the manufacture of DDT.

Utilization of Natural Resources

Westvaco's share in the chemical industry of the Kanawha Valley dates back to approximately 1915 and like most of the plants, chemical, industrial or otherwise, the main body of the establishment grew up around the powerhouse. The powerhouse at Westvaco is jammed into a c o m e r o f the grounds idiere a terrific congestion of boilers, pipe, and equipment are massed together* In addition to the maze of pipe­ work, four huge stacks ranging from 215 to 285 feet tower skyward.

The engineers at tiestvaco say that the average coal consumption in their plant fluctuates due to the variation in steam and power re­ quirements and as to the availability of other fuels which, during the war years, is not dependable. While they burned an average of

1,000 tons per day in 1947, the average for the following year dropped to 865 tons dailyj this could be partially explained by a drop from 36 the wartime production load.

Of the nine boilers in the powerhouse, five are stoker-fired, which were installed sometime prior to 1930, and the remaining four are pulverized fuel boilers two of which were installed in 1935 and

35. h istory of Westvaco Chemical Division, Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation”, Employment Review, Vol. 2 - No. 12, Febru­ a ry , 1949, West V ir g in ia Depar'fcment o f Employment S e c u r ity , p . 1 1 -1 4 .

36. Armentrout, o£. clt., p* 4. 220 one each in 1936 and 1937. The ratio of fuel consumption is approxi­ mately 56 per cent burned in the pulverised fuel boilers and 46 per cent in the stoker fired. here too, the fuel is ground to powder consistency before being fed to the furnaces*

From the daily consumption of approximately 850 tons of coal, some 32,000 kilowatts of power are generated at 2300 volts. It is transformed to a lower voltage for cell room use and is in turn con­ verted to direct current by rotary converters and mercury arc rectifiers. A new anhydrous ammonia unit w ill be completed in 1955 at a cost of #2,500,000 which w ill produce 60 tons of ammonia daily*

The output will be used mainly for agricultural products from the by-product hydrogen from electrolysis of chlorine caustic soda opera­ tions. (,Charts V- and TI, .pp. 315-316)

Salt brine is obtained from some twenty wells which are tapped from both banks of the Kanawha at an approximate depth of 1800 feet

in Big Injun sand strata. The average life of a well is about five years. Brine flows from the centrifugal pumps at some forty gallons per minute per well at about 1*093 density. 37 An analytic breakdown of the Big Injun brine shows*

NaCl ...... 8.95 CaCIn...... *.*2.22 MgCl2 ...... 0 .6 6 BaCl2 ...... 0 .0 6 Br2...... 0 .0 3 4 Iron ...... 0 .0 3 7

Process and Production

The chief product at Westvaco is chlorine gas and their normal

57^ Hoskins, ojj>. c it., p. 2. 221 working bank of 5,500 electrolytic cells produce over three hundred tons or 3,000,000 cubic feet of the gas each day. The entire output for the most part is shipped directly by pipeline under thirty pounds pressure to the neighboring Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation.

Chlorine is a yellowish-green gas which is a prime essential in making war gases and its odor is suffocating. Small amounts are liqudfied and shipped as liquid in tank cars or by cylinders in truck transport, and the hydrogen produced in the process is used as a sup­ plementary fuel by the plant. Chlorine is used as a water purifier, bleaching agent, ore separator, or in the preparation of medicinals.

The almost completely automatic process of making chlorine is housed in three low-roofed and odorless buildings. Row on row of double-barreled steel tanks with cables, control valves, and glass tubing operate around the clook. Electricity from the steam turbines and brine from the salt wells react within these cells to emit chlo­ rine, hydrogen, and caustic soda. As the direct current passes through this purified solution of sodium chloride, electrified ions jump from the positive anode to the negative cathode and the salt solution decomposes into the aforementioned products. Chlorine and hydrogen are released in a gaseous state and the caustic soda as a liquid. Each product ends up in a specially designed compartment of th e c e l l .

Before the salt solution is subjected to the electric current, it is first concentrated in a purified state through the effects of a quintuple vaouum pan system using steam heat. After reaching the 222 point of depositing salt crystals it is transferred to a double effect vacuum pan system where the Balt crystals are deposited* The crystals pass Swanson and Darroco rotary salt filters and are then redissolved and purified. It then roes to the electrolytic cells as a pure salt solution.^®

Besides the main by-product of caustic soda, calcium and mag­ nesium chlorides are made from the bittern of the second evaporation plant. Among the many additional products are* bromine, ethylene dibromide, carbon tetrachloride, carbon bisulphide, acetylene tetra­ chloride, trichlorethylene, and sulphur chloride. (Charts TT and IT I,;

Most of the ranufacturing processes do not seem to be complicated as, for example, carbon bisulphide is juade very simply by placing burning carbon and sulphur in individual retorts. An attendant shovels in piles of bright yellow sulphur from the floor and the car­ bon is placed through the top. The mixture necessarily is processed in an all-metal open building.

Since some discussion has already been given to the uses of products derived from salt brine, it may suffice to list the current offerings of Westvaco's South Charleston works:

ALKALIS: Caustic soda solid, caustic soda flake. Caustic potash solid, caustic potash flake, caustic potash 45 per cent liquid, caustic soda 50 per cent liquid, caustic soda 70-73 per cent l i q u i d ,

SOLVENTS: Carbon tetrachloride, ethylene dibromide, carbon bisulphide, sulphur monochloride,

AGRICULTURALS: Westvaco grain and m ill fumigants, soilfume 60-40, soilfume 80-20, soilfume 85, trivet 'T', methyl bromide, fosvex, tetraethyl pyrophosphate,

38. "Carrots to Chlorine", Fortune, June 1951, pp. 105-166. 223

MISCELLANEOUS: Bromine, aluminum bromide, hydrobromic acid -- 48 per cent, hydrogen bromide, chlorine, chloral,

SPECIALTIES: F ire e x tin g u is h e r f l u i d , normal h ep ta n e, Kam — bottle washing compound, magnesol.

The last of the special items, Magnesol is manufactured at

W estvaco in a s p e c ia l b u ild in g where some e f f o r t is made t o keep th e

magnesium silicate dust under control. The product is trnde-marked

under the same name and is an important ingredient in the manufac- ture of dentrifices and pharmaceuticals. 39

American ^iscose Corporation

Location Factors

American Viscose Corporation is located about 14 miles west of

C h a rlesto n on the r ig h t hand bank o f th e Kanawha R iver a t W itro,

West Virginia. Nei(;hboring plants are the Monsanto and General

Chemical Companies. The actual plant site is part of the Govern­ ment's attempt in 1918 to manufacture Nitro-Cellulose for making explosives. Until World War I, present-day Nitro was just an 1,800 acre farm along the Kanawha, but with its selection as a site for

Explosive Plant "C", a city of 35,000 inhabitants shot up almost over night. With all the influx of population, there was very little in the way of housing facilities although a scant five months later over 1,700 houses had been built and occupied. The main part of this fiasco has been mentioned in a previous chapter where a $76,000,000 explosive plant was shut down after the first train load had been

$ 9. Westvaco Chemicals, Food, Machinery, and Chemical Corpora- tio n , tfew York^ 1951. " 224 sh ip p e^ d •40

Viscose bought some of the Nitro buildings in 1921 and began to manufacture cotton textile pulp. In 1937, new buildings and machin­ ery were added and American viscose started the production of rayon s t a p l e •

Viscose probably came into the Kanawha Valley because of soft- water, coal, cheap labor supply and natural gas. Westvaco had lo­ cated up the riversome six years earlier and their output of caustic soda could have been an additional attraction. There is no doubt, also, that any company dealing in cotton textiles has an interest in cheap land and low taxes.

American Viscose has been a leader in the new industries to in­ vade Witro after the first Vforld War and now occupies approximately

110 ac res of the original 1800 purchased by the government in 1916.

The plant employs about 1,600 people who work in shifts around the clock. The Nitro works of Viscose is the only one of seven plants that produces rayon staple exclusively and it turns out more than one-third of all the rayon staple produced in the United States.

U tilization of Natural Resources

American ^iscose uses a big boilerhouse, part of which was con­ structed back in World War I days for the use of the government.

Coal is the primary fuel and is also used in some of their manufac­ turing processes. The boilerhouse now has six boilers in operation and the last three installed use pulverized fuel.

40." Wallace £. Knight, "Nitro, 'Ghost Town* After War I, Now on Solid Footing", The Uharleston Gazette, May 20, 1951, p, 35. 225

The normal fuel consumption at Avisco averages about 414 tons daily. Of this amount, one hundred and seventy-four tons is stoker fired and 240 tons are ground up in the pulverizers and burned. Un­

fortunately, in the discussion of Rayon manufacture through chemical treatment, and in fact, in the discussion of any of the valley's marmfacturing processes, whatever the company, some discretion w ill

have to be used because of the highly Becret nature of raanufacture.

Competition is very keen and all technical and manufacturing skills

are (guarded accordingly. It must be said in all fairness to the

companies though, that the majority did have published and unpub­

lished mimeograp ed materials for public edification. It so happened

that American Vi<:C080 appeared reluctant at the time of ray v isit to

give out any information other than that in their standard publica-

t4-4 i o n s . 4 1

Cellulose for the production of Viscose rayon comes from spruce,

pine, and hemlock woods and cotton linters which are the short fibers

left on cotton seeds after ginning. 1'his raw stock, in the form of

wood chips or cotton linters is cooked by the action of chemicals and

live steam into a pulp. The pulp is in turn pushed over screens and

passed between heavy rollers which squeeze out the water and press the

pulp into sheets of cellulose the thickness of blotting paper.

Two other raw materials of tremendous importance in the produc­

tion of rayon staple fiber, sulphuric acid and caustic soda are stored

in glass lined tanks next to the processing buildings. These bulky

4 l. jCrinentrout, op. eft., p. 5. 226

raw materials are available in quantity from neighboring chemical

industries•

Process and Production

The primary process of this plant is to combine wood pulp,

chemicals, and ingenious know how to make rayon -- the textile of a thousand uses* The tremendous nuantities of electrical energy re­

quired by this plant to change the wood pulp into rayon is generated by steam turbines.

The process for turning these thin sheets of wood pulp into gleaming white rayon fiber has been pioneered by this manufacturer and the process for developing the fabulous textile calls for ex­ treme care in handling caustic soda, carbon disulphide, and other a c id s .

While 66 per cent of all rayon in the country is made by the viscose process, about 32 per cent is made by the acetate process, and another 2 per cent by the ouprammonium process. We are primari­ ly interested in the first named since the Witro Avisco works turn out some 60,000,000 pounds per year by this method. To begin with, the three processes are based on a fundamental principle -- that cellulose, a solid, is dissolved, then hardened into a solid, in the form of filaments, which are textile fibers. The process is far 42 from simple and involves intricate, technical, and chemioal steps.

After the wood chips have been turned into cellulose sheets, they are placed in presses and steeped in a solution of caustic soda. Here,

42• "How Rayon is Made", Consumer Service Section, Wo. 700, American Viscose Corporation^ New York, June^ 1947, p. iff.”' 227

certain impurities are extracted and the sheets change chemically into

"alkali cellulose." After a controlled period of aging the sheets are

again squeezed by a hydraulic ram to remove any excess liquid but the

pressure of squeezing is regulated so that the remaining liquid w ill

undergo proper chemical reaction.

The soft, damp sheets of alkali cellulose are next dropped into the "pfleiderers" or crumbling machines, where revolving blades tear the sheets into small fluffy particles known as "alkali cellulose crumbs." The crumbs are again aged under chemicals in control cham­ bers, and after a certain period they are placed in revolving churns with liquid carbon disulphide. This reduced the crumb to a stage of d issolvem en t and th e orange product i s now known as " c e llu lo s e xanthate." In the next operation, cellulose x&nthate crumb is mixed with a weak solution of caustic soda and mixed thoroughly by revolv­ ing blades until it becomes a liquid known as "viscose solution."

The viscose solution looks much like golden honey, or molasses and the original word stem came from "viscuous" meaning glue-like or s t ic k y .

To ascertain the correct consistency of the solution, a steel ball is allowed to fall through a small glass cylinder and the rate of fall determines the viscosity* At this point, dulling agents may be added to change the lustre of the rayon or it may be left as is with the original brilliant sheen intact* Anyway, there is more aging and filtering of the viscose solution before it is extruded

48. "Special Nitro Pocket Edition", Aviaco News, American Viscose Corporation, Nitro, 1947. 228 through a tiny platinum spinnerette into an acid bath. As the alka­

line viscose solution is passed through a number of fine boles from two to five one-thousandths of an inch in diameter into the acid, it hardens into filaments, incidentally, Viscose still doesn't know quite how these various processes lead to the production of a tex­ tile yarn. The oompany claims that the magic lies in the small holes of the spinnerette through which the streams of viscose solution are pumped into the acid. If the filaments from one spinnerette are com­ bined they form rayon yarn, thus the long, unbroken strands of yarn are known as continuous filament rayon. From the acid bath all the filaments from the spinnerette are drawn up over a revolving wheel then down into a rapidly spinning box whose action uniformly twists the many filaments Into a single rayon yarn. Yarn coming from the spinning box is called a "cake." Another bath in filtered water follows to remove any trace of acid, thon the yarn is placed on con­ tinuous carriers which move through automatic tunnel driers, .cayon comes in bobbins, skeins, cones, beams, or other forms required by textile manufacturers.

The Viscose ra ,ron staple which is produced at iiitro is one of the most versatile and useful of all modern textile fibers. Consist­ ing of rayon fibers ranging from 1 tc iC 'inches in length, the staple can be spun on their customer's mills in any standard spinning system.

These may be either the cotton, wool, worsted, spun silk, and flax or linen spinning systems. In contrast, cotton can only be spun on cotton system machinery, wool under normal conditions only on the wool or worsted system equipmentj rayon staple meets each system's demands. 229

Kavon staple that is to be spun on cotton spinning machinery is

out atNitro into lengt>s of one to two inches, which corresponds to

the length of cotton fibers, kost of that at ^itro is being cut for

cotton spinning and is one and nine-3ixteenths inches. If it is for

use on other spinning machinery, it is cut to various lengths to

correspond to those of the natural fibers which the machinery was 44 built to handle.

A recent development of the Viscose company has been a varied

staple length fiber whichsimulates the different lengths in natural

wool. This blend of fiber lengths complements those found in wool

to produce a more evenly spun worsted yarn. Avisco has also turned

out what they ca ll the ".Viracle Fiber", a very fine 1.0 denier rayon

staple of the extra-strength type. They consider this as the finest

rayon fiber ever made since it takes over 2,500 miles of i t to make

just one pound.

Kayon staple has versatility and endless possibilities. Its uses

in clothing, rugs and carpets, automobile tir e s has just about run the gamut. The men at Nitro give it v e rsa tility because they can make it bright or dull in luster, ofcoarse or fine denier, long or short, of varied lengthstaple, with d ifferent degrees of strength and different colors. The spun rayon yarns of rayon staple are of special value in adding quality to blended fabrics which cannot be duplicated in the use of single fiber alone.

44. ¥he Story of Rayon Staple, American Viscose Corporation, N itro, frest V irgin ia, pp.' 1 - 8 . 230

Growth and Significance

The growth of American viscose Corporation has paralleled the in­ creasing consumption of rayon staple in the United States. From

365,000 pounds in 1928 the poundage has increased to approximately

300,000,000 at this writing. American Viscose is by fe.r the largest producer with an annual output of better than 60 per cent of the total. Its rayon staple is sold under the trade name of "Fibro.”

The Nitro plant, which is allied with a plant at Parkersburg,

West Virginia, and the plant at Front Royal, Virginia, is one of the most important factors in making rayon staple and spun rayon fabrics available to the American public. It is one of seven plants making rayon staple exclusively and has the largest single output of any rayon staple plant in the United States.

Operations first started at Nitro in September of 1937, when twelve spinning machines were installed. Two years later, in 1939, fu ll plant production was achieved when twenty-four machines were put in operation. During the twelve months which followed initial opening of the plant, approximately 7,500,000 pounds of rayon staple were manufactured. Today that production runs into figures which closely approach the 100,000,000 pound mark.

The importance of Nitro*s American Viscose Corporation is re­ flected in the windows of New York's Fifth Avenue as well as in the small towns, U. S. A. As one peers through the plate glass windows, thousands of dresses, suits, and overcoats either partially or in their entirety of spun rayon, owe their being to a processing plant 231 on the Kanawha River at Nitro* Men's and boy's suits, socks, shirts, and pajamas are comprised wholly or in part from spun rayon. Prac­ tically all of the rayon staple used in these garments and in other household items such as rayon tablecloths comes from Nitro, since it is the largest producer of rayon staple in the United States*^

Barium R eduction Company

The South C h arleston works o f the 3arlum red u ctio n Company i s one of the olde& chemical industries in the Kanawha Valley. Since the manufacturing; processes at Barium are largely the result of ingenuity on the part of its own chemical engineers and research specialists, and since in this highly competitive field, the methods and means of turning out pure barium products are closely guarded secrets, the author had some little difficulty in obtaining any information whatso­ ever. Mr. Huffman, the Secretary-Treasurer was so reluctant to talk th a t I went t o see Thomas Jackson in th e to p o f th e Kanawha B u ild in g who heads the concern. Mr. Jackson appeared quite busy but did promise to talk to Mr. Huffman to see if they could part with at least some information. Unfortunately, that is the last I have heard from either of them.

Anyway, the Barium industry at South Charleston makes its own power by burning coal. The boilerhouse is quite small when compared to other giant power installations of the valley, and the plant itself is almost smothered on the w ell-utilised six acres of land between

45. T b'id, p. 8 . 232 overshadowing chemical plants* One black stack attests the location of a factory that is very prominent in the production of the nation's total output of barium compounds*

Barium still uses lump coal and the boiler furnaces are fed by stokers. While this means less steam power efficiency, it does give fairly good control over firing and smoke emission. Veteran workmen are used to fire the boilers*

In the manufacture of barium sulphide which is the basic product to be made before the chemical plant can manufacture other important barium compounds and salts, four tons of yellow, gray-flecked barite ore from the hills of Georgia are dumped into a rotary cylinder of steel* Almost a ton of coal is added, and as the big fire-brick- lined cylinder begins to turn, a continuous stream of natural gas flame is shot beneath* The mass of ore and coal is mixed as it turns in the heat* Two lesser stacks now attest the presence of barium 46 reduction processes along Route 60*

The big reducing furnaces at Barium are px. shed to almost white heat since they are often subjected to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit*

Several of these furnaces may be heated simultaneously to help com­ plete the line of basic barium chemicals and by-products turned out by th e p l a n t •

Barium chloride is one of the most versatile products turned out by Barium. It is approximately 99 per cent pure is a relatively cheap and readily available source of barium. Various chemicals may also be produced from its basic formula. Large quantities are used

46. Srmentrout, jj£* c it., p* 8. 233 in the manufacture of pigjnents for color in the lithographic ink industries and in the production of high-grade barium sulphate

(blano fixe) for the coating of photographic, book and mall papers

Barium chloride finds considerable use in the metal industry

•where i t i s u sed a s e hardening agent, in salt brine purification, and in water treatment. It is used in textile dyeing, tanning, sugar purification, and even rat poisons. Other uses are as laboratory reagents and in medicine, as a cardiac stimulant. 47 Principal products produced at the South Charleston plant are:

Barium Sulphide (BaS) - Black A-sh Strontium Oxide (SrO)

Barium Carbonate (BaCo^-Precipitated Strontium Peroxide (SrOg)

Barium Chloride (BaClgSHgO) Sodium Sulphide (Na 2S)

Barium Sulphate (BaSo^ - Sodium Sulphydrate (NahS)

Barium Oxide (BaO) Hydrogen Sulphide Gas (HgS)

Barium Peroxide (BaO,,) Ammonium S u lp h id e (N H ^^S

Barium Hydrate BaCOH)^ Carbon Bisulphide

B a r i-C id e

Ohio - Apex

(A Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation Subsidiary)

Ohlo-Apex first located at Nitro in 1929 with about 18 employ­ ees which were recruited locally. They state that their primary

reason for locating here was the fact that the buildings were still

standing from the site of the old World War I powder plant. They

4 7 . B arium Chloride, Barium deduction Corporation, South Charleston, p. 4. 234 ere occupying the original site* Other factors were the close proxi­ mity to coth raw material supply and product consumers, and a bounti­ ful labor supply.

This chemical cor pany is engaged in the production of plastici-

zers and industrial chemicals. Its rudimentary processes are esteri- fications, distillations, and chlorinations, and over the years the general types of commodities produced have not changed. Their products reach a wide portion of the nation via the New York Central

Railroad and numerous outlets through the valley's trucking firms.

Raw materials are obtained by both truck and rail and are a com­ bination of local and foreign origin. The company has mutual industri­ al linkage with other firms in the valley in that it both receives from and supplies raw materials to other local concerns. Since the entire output is used by other industrial concerns as raw material, it takes a place among the other valley producers of basic chemicals. Gas generated steam and electric power are used and both the natural gaB and electricity is supplied by u tility companies within the valley.

Coal and gas are also used in the manufacture of certain chemical

com pounds•

Ohio-Apex, Inc. ranks as one of the largest chemical manufactur­ ers in the world whose major production is chemical plasticizers•

Production is based mainly on the fact that most synthetic resins are 48 by nature hard, horny, brittle, and non-extensible substances. The

4&. "Flasticizers", Employment Review, Vol. 2 - Ro. 12, February 1949, West Virginia Deportment of Employment Security, p. 23. 235

addition of a relatively large amount of plasticizer makes the resins

suitable for casting, m illing, calendering, molding, or extruding into

permanently flexible, tough, and usable finished articles. Since

resins usually possess oetter properties in most respects with the

plasticizer, a great deal of care must be used to select a plasticizer

which will impart the desired properties most, while affecting the natural properties of the resin least. Some of the natural properties of resins affected by the addition of plasticizers are hardness, brittleness, light and heat stability, electrical resistivity, elasticity, extensibility, low temperature flexibility, color, flam- mability, and resistance to change when in contact with air, oils, solvents, chemicals, or water*

The field of plasticizers is divided into two groups the first of which is called primary or those that are solvents for the resins, and the secondary plasticizers or non-solvents. Various mixtures and combinations of these two classes are used to convert the resins into basic products* Generally a heat stabilizer is added to complete the p r o c e s s •

The finished product must have compatability, stability and volatility. The finished article must also merit consideration as to heat stability, light stability, flammability, odor, toxicity, color, low temperature, flexib ility, hardness, migration, electrical proper­ ties, extraction by air, oil or water. As an example of the electrical properties, the common blood plasma tubing made of plastic often causes reactions in transfusion patients because small plastic 236

particles adhere to the inside of the tube and violently resist any

washin procedure due to the electrical attraction for the parent materiel. iJuch research has boon done along these lines to find a

good economical way to wash the plastic remnants from the tubes be- 49 fore they are used for transfusions.

Ohio-Apex, while not one of the largest chemical firms in the valley is still important in that it is tied up with the chemical family. From the original 18 employees the number has grown to al- « 50 most 400. In the spring of 1951, the company became a subsidiary

in the same corporation as Westvaco, that of Food Machinery and

Chemical Corporation of San Jose, I'alifom ia.

Ohio-Apex manufactures a wide variety of plasticizers including phthalate, phosphate, adipate and fatty acid type plasticizers. It is therefore possible for compounders of synthetic resin plastics to use their plasticizers in order to meet practically all ordinary, and most special requirements of finished products which are contributed by the plasticizers. Many of the most important applications of these resins would not be possible without the effect of plasticizers which changes them into soft, pliable, elastic materials. Properties are also added »foich greatly facilitate the processing and forming of plastic compounds into useful articles.

Briefly, some of the various methods of processing and applica­ tion of plasticized synthetic resin compounds are*

49. Plasticizers and Chemicals, Ohio-Apex, Inc., Nitro, 1949, pp. 4 - 7 . 50. Annual Report, thio-Apex, Inc., ^itro, 1950, p. 6. 51. Ibid, pp. 8-63. 237

1. Flexible Sheet (unsupported, or solid plastic sheet). Pro­ duced as transparent, translucent, and opaque; in a wide range of colors, or colorless; with a smooth, polished, embossed, or printed surface. Fashioned into such articles as belts, book-bindings, con­ veyor belting, floor mats, floor tile, furniture upholstery material, handbags, inflatable items, various carrying cases, shoe \ippers, shoe soles, suspenders, pouch-type containers, wall covering and luggage.

2. Flexible Supported Sheet (fabric backed plastic sheet). Light sheeting is used in book cloth, garment bags, hospital sheeting, protective clothing, rain wear, shoe linings, and other low cost products. Heavy sheeting is used for bus and truck upholstery, stan­ dard automotive upholstery, automobile tops, awnings, and furniture upholstery.

3. Flexible Film (unsupported or solid plastic). It is pro­ duced in the same colors as the Flexible Sheet, but may be over­ printed in many bright and attractive patterns, Many items are fashioned from this flexible film such as bowl and appliance covers, draperies, window curtains, electrical tape, garment and hat bags, inflated toys, aprons, plastic inner-layer for safety glass, lamp shades, pillow and mattress covers, rainwear, shower curtains, table covers, umbrellas, window shades and many otherB.

4. Extrusions (either solid plastic; or wire, rope, cord, etc., sheathed in plastio). Can be produced in myriad shapes dependent upon the ability to produce the proper shape die; in transparent or opaque; clear, or in many colors. The most important items produced by ex­ trusion are insulated electric cable and wire.

5. Molding (flexible or semi-rigid). Moldings can be produced in many shapes, and in any desirable hardness or flexibility. Some commonly molded items are bumpers, electric plugs, gaskets, grommets, appliance parts, phonograph records, and many automotive parts.

6. Surface Coatings (other than textiles). Coatings of plas­ tics, particularly vinyl compositions, can be used with a wide vari­ ety of other raw materials such as paner, fo il, wire products, leather, wood, and the like.

7. Adhesives (flexible bonding media). These materials are generally prepared in the form of emulsions, solutions, or dispersions• • They are especially superior for cohesive bandage, padding cement, laminating of various materials, heat sealing, metallic inks, leather finishes, shoe cements, etc.

ft. Synthetic Rubber Molded Goods. The butadiene-acrylonitrile and polymerised ohloroprene types of synthetic rubbers are generally plasticised. These rubbers are often superior to natural rubber because of their resistance to oil and swelling. 238

9. Other chemicals manufactured at Ohio-Apex are anhydrous aluminum chloride, phosphorus trichloride, phosphorus oxychloride, methyl benzyl chloride, dimethyl benzyl chloride, o-dimethyl benzyl chloride, ethyl benzyl chloride, and methyl benzyl alcohol.

General Chemical Division

(Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation, Nitro, West Virginia)

General Chemical at Nitro is but a relatively small link in a long chain of units ■which manufacture chemicals under the supervision of Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. While the General Chemical company was incorporated as far back as 1899, it was re incorporated along with several other companies in. 1921 under the present name of

A llie d Chemical & Dye Corporation when i t su b seq u en tly became a division of the amalgamated company.

The Nitro works is located here primarily to supply heavy inor­ ganic chemicals to other industries. Since the company moved in quite recently, 1947, most of the location factors applicable to the major chemical concerns of the valley would hold true here also. They state that their labor supply is drawn from local sources, that they employ m ostly men, and th a t the number v a r ie s from tim e t o tim e dependent upon changing conditions.

The principal contribution to the basic chemical industry of

General Chemical at Nitro appears to be the production of sulphuric acid from brimstone (commercial sulfur) by the contact method. About

50 per cent of their output is used locally by American Viscose, luon- santo, and Carbide and Carbon. General Chemical was the pioneer in the development of the contaot process in the United States and was 239 the first to supply oleum (fuming sulfuric acid) to industry in the early 1900’s. Today they have established producing facilities from coast to coast and large stocks of acids are stored at key locations throughout the country.

After it 8 founding in 1899, General Chemical undertook the development of a contact process to supply growing industrial needs for pure, high strength acid. Research paid off and after three years the company pointed to the first successful plant in America producing sulfuric acid by the contact process. Even today a large proportion of the sulfuric acid produced in the United States is 52 manufactured by this process.

The process itself involves passing a mixture of sulfur dioxide and air over a suitable catalyst ahich causes the sulfur dioxide to combine rapidly and almost completely with oxygen to form sulfur anhydride (SOg). The anhydride is then absorbed in a 99 per cent strength solution of sulfuric acid. Unlike the older chamber pro­ cess, the contact process makes sulfuric acid available in any de­ sired strength, even to the fuming acids (oleum), and weaker acids are made quite easily simply by dilution. .Many of these acids are at 53 least 99.5 per cent pure.

The basic raw material, brimstone, is mined in Texas, Louisiana, and other Gulf Coast areas and is shipped by barge to the Nitro site.

Many other concerns in the valley use this sulfur which also comes in

5 2 . Products of General Ghemlcal uivision. Allied Chemical and Dye C o rp o ra tio n , tfew Vork, 1949, p. 26.

53. Ibid, p. 21. 240 by rail. The main source of energy at General Chemical is from electricity*

The Nitro works do not constitute a great cherical industry, but the basic chemicals which are produced there are important to other chemical concerns in the Kanawha Valley.

Monsanto Chemical Company

Rubber Service laboratories of Akron, Ohio first moved into Nitro in 1921 because of the cheap land, nearness to raw materials, plenti­ ful supply of cheap gas, and a good labor supply. However, the main interest of this plant was the old process of vulcanization discovered in 1839. Rubber S ervice came to the Kanawha V alley sh o rtly a fte r

World War I because someone almost one hundred years earlier had dis­ covered that ruboer heated with sulfur eradicated stickiness and resulted in a product of elasticity and high tensile strength. While this process opened up the field for rubber chemicals and made it possible for the ruboer industry to develop into one of the few billion dollar industries, it was the next important discovery by a

B. F. Goodrich employee at Akron in 1912 that really started the ball rolling. He demonstrated that organic bases were more powerful as vulcanization agents than the inorganic pure sulfur. These agents 54 became known as a c c e le r a to r s.

The old sulfur method was prohibitive because of the time necessary to accomplish the desired results. The accelerators, under

54^ "A Billion Dollar Industry1*, Employment Review, Vol. 2, No. 11, December, 1948, West Virginia Department of Employment Security, p. 14. 241 controlled conditions, give desired results more quickly, and make it possible to produce thousands of rubber articles common to the present day economy at a reasonable cost*

As a result of the newly developed accelerators, a group of four em ployees o f th e Goodyear T ire and Rubber Company composed o f a rubber compounder, a chemical engineer, an analyst, and a research director incorporated the Rubber Service Laboratories at Nitro for the purpose of supplying specialty chemicals to rubber companies*

Realizing that the sale of these unfamiliar compounds would have to be governed by laboratory demonstrations, they set up tests de­ signed to show the usefulness of their products, and the means of em­ ploying them. That their idea was successful is evidenced in that competitors at home and abroad were forced to emulate this practice*

Monsanto at present maintains a laboratory at Akron, Ohio, which is operated solely for their many customers without charge or obligation for service. Here, various plant problems are solved and rubber stocks are developed to meet the various specifications required.

Ruboer Service grew so rapidly that in 1927 they purchased and absorbed the Southern Dyestuffs Company at Hitro. By 1929 the Mon­ santo Chemical Company of St. Louis had heard of the flourishing

Nitro concern and they soon consummated a purchase which they have 55 managed up to the present time, employing approximately a thousand.

Monsanto originally manufactured chemicals for ruboer manufacturing but they have branched out into other fields such as detergents used

TtTld, p. 15. 242 in Tide and vel, vrecd killers, flotation agents, used in copper mining, and cjeidcals to r1 gulnte tho viscosity of oil at all temperatures,

..onsanto's power for the lent at i.itro is derived fror.i a cor.i- binatio.; of as, coal, electricity, and 3team and some coal acts as raw matt, rial for their finished product. The main business at the plant is the manufacture of or anic chemicals through the processes of alkylation, chlorin&tiou, sulfcnaiior, and almost the ganwt of chemi­ cal processes. The thirty-five or forty accelerators produced at the plant are shipped to the eastern, central, and western United States where sor.e may eventually end up in another of l.onsanto's two dozen plants. The company enjoys a preferred shipping rate on full cars, tanks, and trailers through volume shipping. The ratio of products shipped from Monsanto is about fifty-fifty for raw materials and 56 finished products.

The products produced at Jionsanto are commercially employed in very small proportions ranging from 0.1 per cent to a little more than

1 .5 per cent of the total product marketed by the customer. The vari­ ous products manufactured at h'itro are considered catalysts capable of either positive or negative action. The positive compounds are capable of producing certain desired effects while the negative com­ pounds act as preventives to ward o ff harmful e ffe c ts or to act as a deterrent for deleterious conditions which may be set up. Over the past twenty years it has been the tendency of the rubber industry to vulcanize rubber for a shorter period of time at lower teiriperatures

£6. T.lbnsanto Chem icals fo r th e Rubber In d u stry , lions ant o Chemi­ c a l Company, tfiir o , pp. 4 -5 3 . 243 which necessitated faster acting accelerators than were formerly u sed , 'rfith t h is change in requirem ents, s p e c ia lt y chem icals fo r the rubber industry are constantly in a state of flux. Thus, the com­ mercial life of any one product is usually quite short.

Sume three doEen positive catalysts are now being manufactured in the plant which are the result of numerous rubber compounder require­ ments. Another group of fast acting accelerators known as the ultra are being produced along with the normal vulcanising accelerators which are especially designed for use with rubber latex. Since vul­ canization takes place at lower temperatures, the latex accelerators must be exceedingly rapid in action.

In the negative or anti-catalystB class, Ibnsanto produces what are known as anit-oxidants which are used to materially retard the deterioration of rubber articles in service regardless of the impair­ ing agent. Other specialty products for use in the rubber industry are softeners for pigment dispersal and to lessen rubber milling cost, tack plasticizers for improving adhesive qualities, and wetting agents for facilitating the impregnation of tire cording fabric in latex s o lu t io n s .

The Monsanto plant at Nitro is still primarily a producer of rubber chemicals but other products are rapidly added to the list from several different fields. Inhibitors for the steel industry are being produced in quantity and new ones are being added with more effective results. One product from this plant is being used as an anti-oxidant to prevent discoloration and rancidity in several of the better known toilet soaps on today's market. 244

Belle Alkali Company

This chemical company which started about 1920 has been somewhat intermittent in its operating schedule in recent years. At the time the author was doing field work in the Kanawha Valley it was in operation but since then has been shut down at least once. Also, the latest word is that the plant has been purchased by the Diamond

Alkali Company which has other holdings in the valley. It can be assumed though, that whatever the management, the processes and know­ how of this relatively small chemical plant still add much to the prosperity as a whole. Approximately 100 men are employed.

The plant was originally set up at the Belle site because of the accessibility of raw materials and markets for the finished products.

In the first operating years, a small plant waB installed for making salt from salt brines using steam heated evaporating pans. Below the evaporating pans were a pair of salt boxes or chests for the removal of crystallised salt. Brine waB drawn from nearby wells for salt making, but the plant management soon came to consider this methodas obsolescent and decided to purchase a pure grade of refined salt for their chemical processing.

Coal is the chief fuel used at the plant and the 130 tons per day provides some 3000 kilowatts of generated electricity for use on the spot. Natural gas is also purchased locally but it is used chiefly in various processes and not as a source of power. Chlorine is also brought to the plant Bite by Kanawha Kiver barges which are usually filled farther down river at Westvaco. Although the source may have changed, the first grades of pure salt were obtained from 245 th e Wadsworth S a lt Company o f Wadsworth, O hio.

Chlorine and caustic soda were the first products to ce pro­ duced here from the natural salt brine deposits and, after the change to processing pure grades of salt, continued to be the chief in­ terests for several years. With the pure grade of salt as a starting raw material, it is dissolved in water to form a pi re brine and is then subjected to electrolysis for transformation into chlorine, hydrogen, and caustic soda. Formerly, the caustic soda was concen­ trated by evaporation to 50 per cent strength and sold as a 50 per cent solution in carload lots. The chlorine was also liquefied and shipped in tank cars and small 100 pound containers. Overall daily production was relatively small being on the order of 14 tons of chlorine and 16 tons of caustic soda per day.

Belle Alkali informed me during the course of field investiga­ tions that the chief products now manufactured at the plant were chlorinated hydrocarbons. This is a secret prooess derived from the chlorination of natural gas which gives off by-products of methylene chloride and methol chloride. Methol chloride is used as a refriger­ ant and the methylene chloride as a penetrating oil which makes it of great value to termite exterminators.

Hydrochloric acid is another by-product of the methol and methylene chloride operations. It is absorbed directly in water and sold as a strong aqueous solution, mostly in tank car lots. The various minor products, including chloroform, are made mostly in connection with the methol and methylene ohloride processing.

During the time when the plant was running steadily and without 246

interruption, the normal annual production of ccmmodities other than

chlorine and caustic soda ran approximately according to the follow­

ing figures:57

Product Rate of Production

Methyl chloride* ...... 313,000 pounds Methylene chloride 121,000 pounds Hydrochloric acid ...... 1,379,000 pounds Minor products, including chloroform*. 282,000 pounds

Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Division

(Institute Plant)

Carbide's seoond plant in the Charleston area, Institute, was under construction in 1940 and by March 1941 had shipped the first

railroad tank car of butadiene for synthetic rubber in the United

States* Carbide was chosen to build a synthetic rubber plant at Insti­ tute because the company had had previous experience in producing the two basic raw materials, namely, butadiene and styrene* Butadiene as

discussed previously, is made from ethyl grain alcohol and styrene from a combination of benzine from coal and ethylene from coal or petroleum gas* Since it had been produced for the plastics industry

for a number of years, it was only natural that the Government should

turn to Carbide for construction of plants to expand the production of

butadiene and styrene•

Immediately adjacent to the Carbide plant at Institute, buildings were e r e c te d under th e s u p e r v is io n o f The U nited S t a te s Rubber Company

for the conversion of Carbide's output of butadiene and styrene into

57* Personal communication with plant manager• 247

synthetic rubber. As a result, the huge plants operated as one unit

and while alcohol rolled in at one end of the plant, synthetic rubber

came from the other. At capacity, approximately 1500 men were

fashioning 90,000 pounds of synthetic rubber per year. With the war's 58 ending, production of synthetic rubber at Institute terminated.

From 1947 until November, 1950, the rubber manufacturing part of

the Diant was in stand-by capacity until the 8. F. Goodrioh Chemical

Company took over operations to restore the original output. It is

estimated that the rubber output for thiH plant in one day i*> suffi­

cient to make 63,000 passenger car tires. Manager Thomas B. Nantz

states that the factory was reactivated in 1951 with two hundred em*

ployees and two companies acting as agents for the Government. It was lo c a te d here by Government d e c isio n and could probably be moved to another location and function equally well. He states the ad­ vantages as water, power, and labor supply which is recruited local­

ly, although the engineers came from all over the United States. A

distinct disadvantage, of course, is the distance from raw materials,

since butadiene and styrene are now shipped in by rail where they formerly were made next door. For power, Mr. Nantz says that they utilize water, steam, electricity, and gas. The major bulk of the

products is in raw materials.

The main process in the manufacture of synthetic rubber is poly­ merization which has been slightly varied from time to time to improve the qualities of the rubber. The entire output is shipped to Ohio

5ffi Bet ram B. Fowler, "Magic Valley", The Saturday Evening Host, October 1943, pp. 26-27. 246

and eastern states via highway motor transport and railroads.

While the annual coat of raw materials is not available, Mr.

Nantz estimates the value added by manufacturing to be approximately

>7,600,000 and the total value of the finished products to approxi­

mately $60,000,000. He says there is definite industrial linkage

with other valley industries; this was particularly true with Car­

bide producing the raw materials side by side with U. S. Rubber.

Goodrich is given a preferred shipping rate due to the volume of

shipping. Late in 1954, after closing in 1953, the fate of this

potentially great ruboer plant hangs in the balance.

Although Mr. C. K. Atwood, Superintendent of the Carbide In­

stitute Flant says that it was started in 1943, the author worked there from October of 1942 to April of 1943. Most of the location

factors which apply to the parent plant at South Charleston fit for

this plant also, namely availability of raw materials, utilities, and manpower. At the present, some 1400 men are employed in making syn­

thetic organic chemicals and have been since the plant was turned over to Carbide at the end of the war. At that time some 950 men were

employed in a tremendous expansion program which moved the property

lines ever nearer Nitro.

The physical layout of the plant now covers some 125 acres and

over two dozen bulk chemicals, or the so-called "building blocks" of

industry are produced here which enter into the manufacture of literal­

ly hundreds of consumer items. Actually, in scanning the list, there

seem to be very few products mentioned that have not or are not being

manufactured in the plant at South Charleston. Raw materials are 249 listed as -as, alkalies, and phthalic anhydride brought in by a combination of railway, water, and pipe line* CHAPTER VIII

THE ?ETAL INDUSTRIES

E le c tr o M e ta llu r g ic a l Company

The largest ferro-alloy plant in the world had a very humble beginning on the right bank of the Kanawha River at Glen Ferris in

1098* An old saw-mill site operated by water power v/as purchased by a group o f e n te r p r is in g men from th e W illso n Aluminum Company o f

Holcomb Rock, Virginia* These men had foreseen a potential market for ferrochrome in the new "Iron Navy* which was springing to life, the curiosity known as an automobile, and the chromium plated armor plate which was made in this country from imported chromium in 1896*

While chromium had been discovered by the French chemist Vauquelin in 1797 and so named because o f th e many c o lo r s , th e f i r s t p r a c t ic a l use for the metal was in 1821 when it was used as an alloy for im­ parting hardness to steel* The Germans first used it commercially

in the manufacture of projectiles and armor plate for battleships.^

The predecessor of the great ferro-alloy company at Alloy con­ tinues to be a very important segment of the Alloys and Metals

TI “Fiftieth Anniversary", Bmco News, Electro M etallurgical Company, Alloy, May, 1951, p* 1*

250 251

Division of the Union Carbide and Carbon Uorporation. With the pur­ chase of the -water rights at the Glen Ferris site, hydro-electric facilities were installed along with furnaces suitable for smelting chrome ores* At that time in 1901, labor was paid 10 cents an hour for a sixty hour week and furnace men were paid $1*25 for a 12 hour seven day week* From this seedling business of ferroohrome manufac­ ture, the present plant produces over 20 different grades of ferro- chrome alone and some fifty different alloys of manganese, silicon, tungsten, vanadium, zirconium, calcium, columbium, tantalum, titan i­ um, barium, and boron. The small plant at Glen Ferris continued to expand with its ups - as the day it shipped a record six cars of ferroohrome and its downs - as in March, 1911 when all but one build­ ing was gutted by fire* A new series of buildings was begun immedi­ ately and a new mixing and crushing plant was operating by dune 1st of th e same year*

While plans for the construction of Hawk's Nest dam, tunnel, and hydro-electrio stations were made in 1912 and 1915, Major d. T« More- head, one of Sleotromet's founders had conceived the idea prior to the purchase of the Glen Ferris site. In 1913, all was in readiness to start actual construction on the dam but conditions during World

War I caused the project to be dropped until 1925. The flood of 1913 forced the plant to shut down several days while the water was over the nearby county road* California chrome ore was first processed in

1916 after a 21 day trip across country and the first shipment of

Brasilian chrome ore arrived in March of 1918. 252

As a result of this study the following factors decided that the lands at Boncar (now Alloy) were best suited for a new plant: avail­ able land, accessibility of three railroads, navigable water, near­ ness to Hawk's Nest, and proximity to a supply of coal.

Twenty-five years later, Mr. William J. Priestly, Vice-President of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, in an address to the 25-Year

Club of Electromet modified the original location factors by saying that the 1929 construction was started at Alloy because large blocks of electric power are required for smelting ores and it was highly desirable to locate where low-cost hydro-electric power oould be generated since it was planned to generate this power at the site of operations; it was desirable to be close to a supply of coal for pro­ ducing power in a steam-electric plant; Alloy is in a good geographi­ cal location in respect to the steel mills to which most of our ferro-alloys are shipped; the Kanawha River affords a reliable supply of water essential in ferro-alloy operations; and, furthermore, the natives of the Kanawha Valley were considered satisfactory for employ­ m ent.^

The present supply of chrome ore is obtained principally from

Rhodesia, the Transvaal, Turkey, Greece, and Hew Caledonia since the

United States has very little of this valuable raw material. There was a time in the recent past when the plant at Alloy received both chrome and manganese ore from Russia but that is all over now. ifanganese ore is now mined principally in the Gold Coast of Africa, 6 2• "'Fifty Years of Progress in the Kanawha Valley", Emco News, V o l. XVII, Number 6 , June, 1 9 5 1 , pp. 4 - 9 . 253

India, South Africa, and Brazil. The ore is very rare in the United

States, Silicon alloys are made from quartzite obtained from Canada or the United States and ferrovanadium is nmnufactured from captive vanadium mines in Colorado. Tungsten alloys which are made in another plant, are from a oaptive source in California but China was formerly the world's principal supplier of tungsten ore. Columbium is made from ores of Nigeria or the Belgian Congo of Africa. Zirconium comes from Brazil and Australia. Other raw materials such as coke, coal, gravel, and woodohips are not so hard to come by in the bountiful

Kanawha V alley.

All of the nearly two dozen furnaces at Electromet are electric and most are at least twenty feet in diameter lined with refractory fire brick. Carbon or graphite electrodes are suspended in the cen­ ter and some electrodes are as long as six feet and forty inches in diameter. It requires a tremendously high electric current to counter­ act the resistance of the "charge" of banked raw materials around the sides of the furnace and the flashing arc between the electrodes which produces the heat. The charge consists of continuously banked crushed ores, wood chips, coke, steel, and scrap and various fluxing materials. The wood chips or splinters are shavings and discarded fragments from lumber m ills and their role in the mix is to furnish carbon and to create areaways or aereation passages for the releases gases to move from one ore to another.

Since most of the mixing is done manually, laborers must work behind heavy screens to protect them from the intense heat of the 254 furnaces which may at times reach 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit* The long handled stirrers are manipulated through small vertical slots in the protecting screen. The heat from these furnaces, especially those charged with ferrosilicon, iB unbearable. Uncovered skin up to twen­ ty feet away can be burned by the heat rays from these furnaces in a manner akin to torrid sunshine. All workers are dark-goggled since mixes are added according to the appearance of the furnace and stok­ ing is done manually. Periodically, the molten alloy is drawn off from a tap hole at the bottom of the furnace and allowed to cool in slabs or other preferred shapes. It i s then cleaned and crushed to various sizes. The furnaces are in continuous operation twenty-four hours out of the day, and most delays are momentary to replace one of the three electrodes in each furnace. Some types of electrodes 3 must be replaced every 90 to 120 hours.

Prior to the war, the requests for medium carbon ferromanganese were so small that the entire production at Alloy was carried out in a furnace of only ten-foot diameter. The government's war effort necessitated a sharp step up in this product and a new furnace of twice the diameter was rushed to completion. Electromet was able to furnish the badly needed medium-carbon manganese in record time.

Similarly, Electromet had converted an electric furnace to the production of calcium carbide in 1942 but the ferroalloy situation became so critical that the furnace was reconverted to the produc­ tion of alloy steels. Carbide has not been manufactured there since

Wallace E. Anight, "Valley Vital to World of Steel*, The Charleston Uazette, July 28, 1951, p.28. 255 4 th a t tim e*

Probably the moat familiar and most important of the alloy steels is stainless steel which is seen everywhere in pots and pans used in the kitchen, boat hardware, hunting and fishing equipment, farm equip­ ment and all sorts of things for the home. Streamlined trains, cargo trailers, and scenic buses are but a few of the larger uses to whioh stainless is readily adaptable. Stainless steel was unknown when

Eleotromet had its inception in 1900 but the versatile metal of which ferroohrome is the principal ingredient has increased productionwise to nearly one billion pounds yearly.

True Temper Corporation

(K e lly Works — C h arleston )

The American Fork and Hoe Company which purchased the Kelly works from Mr. W. C. Kelly in 1930 was itself founded in 1902. The pur­ chasing company was an amalgamation or combine of 17 small plants making various agricultural implements. The oldest of these plants was founded by Lyman Batcheller at Vfallingford, Vermont in 1835. The original plant of W. C. Kelly started operations with less than a dozen employees at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1874 but the plant's con­ tinuing search for an adequate natural gas supply brought it to the banks o f th e Kanawha a t C h arleston in 1905 a f t e r a tem porary sto p o v er 5 in Alexandria, Indiana.

4• IlatTonal Production Authority, op. c it., p. 28.

5. George »f. Summers, "Pages From the Past", The Charleston Journal, 1935, p. 23. 256

As a matter of interest it was William Kelly, the father of N. C.

Kelly, who revolutionized the American steel industry through develop­ ments of the Bessemer Process, and relieved this country of dependence upon Sheffield and Swedish steels to Manufacture its better products#

It was thus fortunate that the father's knowledge of st*?ol making waB passed to his son#

After the merger of Kelly with American Fork and Hoe in 1930, the name was changed to True Temper Corporation on July 1, 1949. The

Kelly Works supplies jobbers throughout the United States with an average of six million hatchets, hammers, weed cutters, scythes, eye hoes, and miscellaneous tools each year. The original dozen employees has now grown to 750 of whom less than one hundred are women. The females are employed in the office or in the Finishing Department where tools are hand painted and labeled.

While there is no particular expansion program at the plant, the

Evansville Works was closed down in 1948 and the products manufactured there were transferred to this plant. Through this transfer, some additional volume was picked up in hammers and new tools such as

picks, mattocks, and sledges which were added to the line.

Factors which first caused the plant to be located in the

Kanawha area have not changed, i.e ., availability of steel from Pitts­ burgh, hickory handles from Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, and

Bowling ^reen, Kentucky, satisfactory location with regard to distri­

bution of product, and an adequate supply of native labor.

Raw materials are principally bar steel which is shipped in via

rail and hickory handles which may come by either truck or ra il. In 257 addition, there are a multitude of supplies such as paint, grinding wheels, packing materials, cartons, etc., which ere received from all parts of the country via rail and truck transport. Oddly enough, although it is situated on the river bank, Kanawha River barges do not enter the picture at True Temper.

Products are completely processed at the time they leave the plant except for a few partially completed items going to other plants of the Company for completion. In this connection are the pruning shears for the Akron *Jorks and some axes, scythes, etc., for their Canadian subsidiaries. They do not receive a preferred ship­ ping rate due to volume of shipping.

The principal source of power at True Temper is electricity purchased from Appalachian Power Company. in the past the plant generated its own steam for heating and the operation of steam forg­ ing hammers as well as for producing their own power, ^y 1948 the generation of power within the plant became uneconomical and the steam plant along with the power generators were shut down. Natural gas is now used to heat the plant buildings and also to heat the bar steel in their Forging Shop. Gas is used as well for tempering tools in various stages of manufacture.

West Virginia Steel Corporation

The West virginia Steel Gorporation started operations Aiay 1st,

1934, at Charleston with five employees and 800 feet of floor space t primarily because of the adequate supply of workmen. Since that time the plant was moved to 900 brooks Street to take advantage of the 268

la r g e r Bite 'which now has 7 4,300 square feet of floor space. The

management considers a location near the center of the city of g Charleston as particularly important.

West Virginia Steel fabricates metal products by cutting, punch­

ing, and welding and riveting. Other than the KHnawha area their

main market is in West Virginia and their products are shipped via

the Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and ^hio, and New York Central

railways. Raw materials for manufacturing consists of steel pur­

chased from the larger steel concerns and transported into the Kanaw­

ha Valley via Doth truck and rail.

There are now 125 men employed by the concern on Brooks Street

and the main source of power is electricity. Oxygen and acetylene

are used in the cutting and Durning operations and compressed air in

punching and riveting. Most of the welding is by electric arc. Com­

petition for this metal fabricator is both local and national in

scope and any strike affecting steel mill output iB felt by this

plant locally in reduced or otherwise altered working conditions.

As a sub-contractor during World Ytar II, Y»est Virginia Steel

helped build 218 LST's which included completely fabricated sections

sent to ship yards and assembled with other sections made elsewhere.

Among the diversified work performed by the company are fractionating

columns for chemical companies, structural steel for buildings,

pressure tanks, chemical receptacles, truck bodies, Quonset huts,

6^ Hi story, "West Virginia Steel Corporation, A Resume of Plant Facilities? Charleston, 1951. 259 bridges, water storage plants, coal shakers, tubing, floating docks, smoke pipe, stacks, sludge tanks, and complete coal tipples.

G ravely Motor Pl ow & C u ltiv a to r Company

The Gravely tractor was offered to the world as a novel and practical time-saving invention in 1922. The manufacturing plant was located at Dunbar because the local organizers found both capital and labor. There is no particular advantage at present for the company being where it is, and the management feels it could function equally well at another looation.

Basic operations at the plant involve machine work and assemb­ lage of the tractor units and attachments. Both motor and attachments are manufactured at the plant and each machine is turned out as a complete unit. The finished products of Gravely are shipped all over the world with the first leg of the journey via the New York Central

R ailw ay.

Raw naterials consisting of metals and automotive components are brought in from outside the valley by railroad and motor transport.

Approximately three hundred men are now on the Gravely payroll produc­ ing these small tractor units. According to plant management, elec­ tricity end gas are utilized in manufacturing and the production of pow er.

Gravely has no industrial linkage with other valley concerns and their competition is national in scope. Their production quota has been variously affeoted from time to time through strikes, and de­ pressions • 260

Kanawha Manufacturin g Company

The Kanawha ,‘lanuf acturing Company was started in 1902, according to Assistant Chief G, K. Best, with about 40 employees* It is still located on the original site where the advantages of market proximity continue to the present day* Kanawha Manufacturing is seriously ham­ pered at this location since there is no room for further expansion of the plant's physical facilities.

The main type of product manufactured at the plant is heavy ma­ chinery for the coal industry which is processed in their iron foundry, steel fabricating shops and machine shops. This type of product has been manufactured since earliest operation of the plant for the coal industries of West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and eastern Kentucky.

Kanawha Manufacturing obtains its raw inaterials of rolled merchant steel and pig iron by railroad shipment from steel mills and blast fur­ naces. The major bulk of their processed materials, of course, is in the finished products which do not merit preferred shipping rates due to lack of volume. Natural gas and electricity are used for fuel and power in the various manufacturing processes at the plant.

The number o f employees at the s t e e l p lan t has in creased from the original woricing force of orty in 1902 to over 250 male employees in

1954. Some sixty to eighty families owe their livelihood to this small but important industry, and they too feel the impact of unrest in the soft coal industry or in big steel similarly to the large pro­ ducers. Mr. Best says that competition is both local and national and that the company has no industrial linkage with other Kanawha Va Hey f in n s . 261

Evans Lead Division

(N ation al Lead Company)

Sam Marshall Evans, formerly Vice-President of Eagle Picher

Lead Company of St* Louis, and .Villiam li. nowley, an puthority on lead oxide manufacturi ng, first visited the plant site of t-vans Lead on November 2, 1922. The ground was cluttered with tan.:s, vats, and rusting machinery from the old Tanners and Dyers Company which had operated a aye p lan t on the same spot durint: World War I* Evans and iiowley had an order to !'ill under contract with the l:SL Battery

Company (now th e E le c t r ic A u to-L ite Company) t o d e liv e r storage cattery oxides in February, and out of the rubble of an old dye 7 plant the feat was accomplished on time.

The lead company prospered and with continued growth the nlant oegan to consider branching out; in 1928 it merged with lead and zinc mine interests in southwest Missouri and Oklahoma. The following year, 1929, the merged company built a large zinc smelter in East St.

Louia, only to be caught in the throes of depression. The firm sold its Charleston plant to the National Lead Company and became an a f f i l i a t e •

The first days of the company on the south bank of the Kanawha near the Patrick Street bridge were work-filled because the atomizer process of reducing lead to a mist was just being developed. The first Aamirtg furnaces were crude contraptions and the atomizers were subject to clogging at just the wrong moment.

7. Wallace E. Knight, "Lead Plant Plays Major Role Without Fan­ fare", The Charleston Gazette, Magazine Seotion, June 8, 1952, p . lm. 262

The transition of pig lead into oxides for dozens of America's industries starts with the unloading of 90 tons of pig lead per day.

When the lead leaves the railroad car it is moved into the fume fur­ nace which is the heart of the division's operation. This same fume furnace haB been the key to Evan's success. Its development here in th e Kanawha Veil le y has aid ed in r e v o lu tio n iz in g th e le a d oxid e manu­ facturing process. In the furnace the lead is broken up into vola­ tile s or mist by atomizing it in a stream of live flame. Before the atomizer, the lead were merely melted and the process was extremely slo w .

The giant stacks above the plant come into play immediately after the fuming process when the oxidized metal must be cooled. These so- called atmospheric coolers lower the temperature of the gases and furnace air before the oxide comes off to the collectors. This first oxidation step gives off one finished product — about 35 per cent of the lead oxide can be packed and shipped — but 13 other inter­ mediant products are also given off by the stacks which need further refining in furnaces and milling machines. The last processing is practically automatic and the intermediates are hauled to the second battery of furnaces in strong metal-legged containers for further Q purification, grading, and milling to an even consistency.

Basically, Evan's Lead makes two quite versatile lead oxides —

Litharge and red lead. On closer examination, however, it is noted that 27 different grades of litharge are produced, and the red lead

5^ Ibid, p . lm. 263

oan also ba had in several grades for different uses. These different

grades are turned out exactly to manufacturer's specifications but

each order may prosent a new and s p e c ia l problem. The Evans workmen

have the experience and equipment to perform all manner of modern al­

chemy. The finished products are shipped in paper sacks, boxes, or

ChesapeeLke and Ohio hopper cars to th e u ltim a te u s e r s . During World

War II, Evans Lead received and filled an order for enough red lead to paint the entire British Navy.

Litharge is a brownish-yellow powder used in such varied works as glass and glased ware manufacturing, storage battery making, rubDer, insecticides, and oil refining. While Evans employees are termed lead oxide specialists, their silicate department touches other products too. The glass industry uses lead momosilicate while

lead bisilicate is a superior glazing material.

United States Naval Ordnance Plant

Prior to the authorization of this plant by Congress on August

29th, 1916, one short-lived firm known as the Kenton Iron and Steel

Works was located on the South Charleston site. Out of the wartime

growth on the south bank of th e Kanawha, th e ground-breaking c e r e ­ monies for the first plant at ^aval Ordnance climaxed them a ll. On

August 30, 1917 Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Wavy, did the honors for the first naval base located away from seaboard areas.

Armor plate, gun forgings, and projectiles were manufactured during the remainder of Morld War I and up until February, 1922, when world peaoe conferences effected a shutdown. At this time, the new 264

limiting pacts on the five-power Navies lessened the strength of the

naval powers and the United States in compliance kept the Naval Ord­

nance Plant closed until it was reactivated in 1939*

Naval Ordnance at South Charleston is considered one of the

g rea t in d u s t r ia l i n s t a l l a t i o n s o f th e Kanawha V a lle y . C on sid erab le

housing is available on the ordnance grounds. This plant in con­

junction with the great base chemicals manufacturers of the valley

combined to make the area one of the nation's most vital centers of

war production during World War II. Statistically, more armor plate

was produced at the ordnance plant here than in all the other steel

mills of the United States combined, together with 131,000 naval

gun barrels, large rockets, air flasks for torpedo tubes and other 9 material essential to victory.

When the plant is active, the Godfrey L. Uabot Company, Inc.,

and th e U nited Fuel Gas Company s e l l tremendous q u a n tit ie s o f n a tu ra l

gas to Naval Ordnance. A large share of this gas must be used in melting and forging armor plating and gun barrels and in heating the

huge oil tempering tanks which reach skyward six or seven stories at

the eastern edge of the main building. Since It has been mentioned

in the discussion of ferro-alloys and other products of the Llectro

iletallurgical Company that chromium and other specifics are added to

armor plating and projectiles, it is apparent that there is industrial

linkage between the two plants.

Across U. S. Route 60, Naval Ordnance has another group of

9. Fowler, op. cit., p. 2 7. 265 buildings which swine into operation simultaneously with operation of the navy plant itself. These buildings and the operating force are commonly known as General Machinery and the author recalls that aft th e

.Naval Ordnance Plant was being reactivated back in 1939, similar activities were taking place on the General Machinery side. While there is little pertinent data at hand, it can be said that ammuni­ tion shells and other war products were turned out in large quantities.

Actually, war heads or the propulsion mechanisms for torpedos may have been manufactured here also. CHAPTER IX

THE GLASS INDUSTRIES

The three major glass plants of the Kanawha Valley represent the three main glass markets: (1) the container field, where glass Is used to bottle foods, beverages, medicines, and toilet preparations, is exemplified by Owens-Illinois; (2) the construction field, where it is used for windows in buildings and automobiles, is represented by Libbey- Owens-Ford; (3) household glass for table and kitchen wares and miscel­ laneous industrial articles are mads at the Dunbar Glass Corporation.

All glass manufacturing, regardless of the type of product, must go through the processes of mixing raw materials, melting, feeding, shap­ ing, and cooling* Raw materials are sand, soda ash, lime, salt cake, and broken or scrap glass.^

Owens-Illinois Glass Coup any

(Kanawha City) Natural gas is cited as the principal reason for Owens-Illinois lo c a tin g in th e Kanawha V alley J u s t so u th e a st of C harleston a t Kanawha

City, while its giant neighbor Just across MacCorkle Avenue, Libbey- Owens-Ford, places natural gas second to labor supply as the prime pre­ requisite • Availability of other raw materials and transportation facil­ ities were also sparkling Inducements* The plant first began production in 1918.

^Alderfer and Midi, op. olt., pp. 202ff.

266 267

Qbe of the largest producers in the country in the field of glass bottles or containers, Owens-Illinois at Kanawha City manufactures approximately 1,500,000 bottles daily* Mr* R. H* Pogh, manager of the plant, states that their major production is in narrow neck bottles*

They turn out liquor and beer booties, soft drink bottles, bottles for bleaches and patent medicines in all sorts, shapes, and sises for that particular market. Immense amounts of silica sand, soda ash, lime, and salt cake are carefully mixed and blended to be fired in one of the plant's five furnaces and, upon melting, the tapping process draws off 2 the red and golden molten glass. As the glass is withdrawn, the greatest function of the plant is acheired as huge automatic bottle blowing machines revolve rapidly to take off blobs of the glass, catch them in molds, and inject air into them* The injected air presses the soft glass against the sides of the mold and forms a bottle fay the time the huge machine has made one revo­ lution* Up to 115 bottles per minute per machine is not unusual*

The very intricate bottle machine was designed fay the son of a

Nason County, West Virginia coal miner, who traveled to Wheeling at the age of ten and gained renown in the glass industry. Hr* Michael J.

Owens was granted forty-five patents dealing with glass manufacturing*

In his machine, Mr* Owens enployed the suction principle to at­ tract the molten glass from the tank into the forming molds* The main essentials were arms from six to fifteen in number, which radiate like spokes from the hub of a horizontal wheel* Placed at the discharge end

2Itdd., p. 211. 266 of a continuous furnace, the wheel rotates and m arm moves into posi­ tion above the furnace opening; a plunger descends n d co^ressed air suction draws up a fixed amount of molten glass* The forming operations take over at this point and the blob of glass is expanded by compressing air into the molds until it is successively farmed and ejected onto the moving conveyor belt which moves it on to the lehr or tempering oven*

There is little need to say that these movements are timed to conclude just before the arm moves again over the molten glass to begin a new cycle* With each of the other arms doing precisely the same thing, the result is a continuous flow of bottles onto the belt in a ceaseless stream* The Owens machine is so completely automatic and continuous that its large output of 75*000 bottles per day plus its high cost of

6150,000 has limited its use to large-volume, long-run work. It is used to turn out approximately one-third of the industry's output*

The Owens machine had a dear run of the field from its invention in 1903 to 1912, when a new machine controlled by Hartf ord-Empire

Company enployed an extruding or pushing action to separate the blobs by means of a plunger * Five years later, the newer method had gotten a foothold throughout the industry because it was leas intricate, was less expensive, did not require as fine adjustments, and was adaptable to smaller orders* The automation of machines created a play in sta­ tistics* In 1899, one billion containers were produced, in 1939, seven billion; but the number of employees decreased from 26,000 to 26,000 during the same period. Production had increased, however, from 269 3 1*0,000 containers per man in 1900 to 245*000 containers by 1939*

Owens-Illinois fe lt sharp conpetition in the new method and from

1917 to 1924 there was strong conflict and patent litigation between the two conpanies. The peace terms involved cross-licensing, and since 1924 the two companies have worked together. Neither of these companies sells its equipment outright to manufacturers. Owens-Illinois restricts the use of its machine to its own plants, and the Hartford-Empire merely licenses the use of its machinery. The Owens-Illinois plant at Kanawha City does more than make bot­ tles. It also makes corrugated boxes, which serve as final shipping containers for the bottles they manufacture. The long building that flanks MacCorkle Avenue is devoted almost exclusively to this end of th e work and, a t f u l l c a p a c ity , some 80,000 boxes can be made d a ily . ^

Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Company

(Kanawha City) The Libbey-Owens-Ford (LQF) glass factory was set up in 1916 to apply machine methods to the manufacture of window glass. It is his­ torically important because it ushered in part of the mechanioal revolution of glassmaking in America by being the first to put into commercial operation the new Colburn or Libbey-Owens method of drawing window and sheet glass in a continuous sheet from a large melting fur­ nace . After the introduction of the new method, the factory at Kanawha City rapidly became the largest window glass plant in the world.

3Ibid., p. 211.

W allace E. Knight, "Kanawha City Planning Was Begun Before Turn of Century in London," The Charleston Qasette, November 18. 1951* p. 43* 270

Chief factors for locating the plant in the Kanawha Valley, ac­ cording to Mr. Hibbert, Press Relations Manager, was the nearness to an

abundant supply of natural gas, good transportation, raw materials, and anqple labor. The main disadvantage is that the plant is farther from

larger eastern markets than some competitors. The labor supply of

2,000 eiq>loyees, most of whom are men, comes from Kanawha V alley towns and a few specialists are from Ohio.

Raw materials of silica sand, soda ash, limestone, saltcake, and lumber are shipped in mostly by rail, although there is some local pro­

duction. Mr. Hibbert cites the plant as receiving ii,678 carloads of

raw materials in a typical year. Boxing is a large sideline at LQF since it is not uncommon for the company to rise 1,000,000 board feet of lumber and 3,000,000 square feet of plywood per month for shipping boxes. Railway and highway facilities are utilized in shipping their finished and semi-finished products to the eastern and north-central states. In a typical year, it,02It carloads and 1,161 truckloads of

finished products were shipped outbound. There is no water movement

and airlines are used only for emergency shipments and for transporting personnel. Some of the processed units from Kanawha City are reworked enroute to the consumer, such as the thin plate glass blanks ground and

polished at Charleston, laminated at Toledo, to eventually wind up in

the assembly lines in Pontiac, Detroit, Flint, and other auto manufac­ turing centers. Window glass is processed by distributors into mirrors,

*Ibid. 271 safety glass, noveltiesj some goes directly to industries for shelving, clock faces, and similar uses; sane is used for laminating into safety sheet glass by other LQF plants. The raw materials of soda ash, salt- cake, etc., are received in bulk form and the finished product also is very contact so that there is not much loss of weight by manufacturing. Indeed, the small weight loss is reflected in the typical year's receipt of U,678 carloads of raw materials and the output of 5,275 carloads of finished products. The differential of 607 carloads could easily re­ present stuffing m aterials, pqper, and lumber which want into the packaging and crating of the finished products. Due to the large volume, direct route, and packing methods, rough plate glass blanks from the Kanawha Valley to Toledo move on a commodity freight rate which is relatively low.

LQF and their neighbor just across MaoCorkle Avenue in Kanawha

City, Owens-Illinois which manufactures mainly container glass, have a huge joint gas facility. Natural gas was so essential to these giants of industry that they formed a joint corporation, which brought some gas properties outright and leased many others. Reserves are considered ample for future needs of both Charleston plants for many years, and new production is being brought in each year to replace depleted wells. This operation in 1955 delivered gas from over six hundred producing wells through a 500-mile pipeline system. A normal year's supply of natural gas for the LQF coop any alone runs over 5 billion cubic feet.

Natural gas is used to generate electricity for running LQF as well as for use in melting glass.

The Kanawha plant of LCF is but one of several owned by the 272

c o m p a n y throughout the eastern United States. The Shreveport, Louisi­

ana, plant takes care of the western market, and other specialty divi­ sions are located In Toledo and Rossfard, Ohio; Ottawa, Illinois; Parkersburg, West Virginia; and Breckenridge, Pennsylvania. An overall expansion program far these branches has cost the coop any about $30,000,000 since the end of World War II. The window glass division at Charleston has undergone an extensive change which has improved its

batch-handling system with resultant economies of operation, accurate control of raw m aterials, and consequent enhancement of quality. Thermopane, the dual glass Insulator, has a growing market for the

plant at Charleston. The new look In automobiles, which has Increased the glass area tremendously, plus the Increased output of new cars, w ill also add to the market for rough plate glass banks made at Charleston. All glass of the window variety is today made on a continuing basis. The process as developed by LOP during World War I is compara­ tively sjjqale. An iron bar averaging eight feet in length is inserted horisontally into a shallow bath of molten glass to which the sticky glass adheres tenaciously. As the bar is withdrawn, a thin sheet from seven to nine feet in width flows after it at the rate of four or five feet per minute. Continuous flow in an endless flat ribbon is accom­ plished due to an equal amount of glass being melted as the quantity is withdrawn. The tank type of regenerative furnace is used for melting glass at LOP. This is essentially an open-hearth or combustion chamber lined with a refractory material and divided into three compartments • In the 27 3 first, or oielting coopartment, fusion of the rev materials takes place; in the second, or refining cooqpartment, impurities are burned out; and in the third, or working conpartment, a uniform working temperature keeps the product molten* This type furnaoe permits rsw materials to be charged and melted glass to be withdrawn continuously and simul­ taneously* According to Mr* Hibbert, these glass melting tanks have to be rebuilt about every three years so that operating conditions are affected somewhat; but careful planning and well scheduled operations in recent years have minimised this effect on the working force and total product!on.

Conqpetition for LOT is represented by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass

Company and th e American Window G lass Company, w ith p la n ts s c a tte r e d , for the most part, in the western Pennsylvania-West Virginia-Ohio area*

The bulky nature of window glass causes transportation to be 20 to 35 per cent of factory cost; and, insofar as fuel costs make it possible, plants are located near markets, which in turn is related to population, centers* Mr* Hibbert says that Oklahoma and Indiana are also competi­ tive, as well as the growing volume of imported glass landed on either coast under lowered tariffs resulting from reciprocal trade agreements.

Europe an glass is produced, of course, under low wage conditions in comparison with American standards* He believes also, that locally in the Kanawha Valley, some $1,300,000 of this cheaper product was pur­ chased in a reoent typical year.

In addition to the competition from other glass conpanies, severe cuts in automobile production also may affect LOP at Charleston if long sustained* When industry converts to war production, it is not possible 2 7 h to turn this particular glassmaking machinery over to producing any

other product. Therefore, war operations are restricted to scanty

civilian and military construction needs. Strikes, too, hare taken

their toll, especially when it resulted from soma industry-wide situa­

tion. There was one 13-week strike shutdown which ended about mid-

January, 19 U6. Labor relations since that tine, however, have been

considered fairly well secure and satisfactory.

Dunbar Glass Corporation

This glass company, the largest of its kind in the United States,

is located in Dunbar about seven miles west and below the city of

C harleston on the Kanawha R iv e r. The f i r s t fa c to ry , known as th e

Dunbar Flint 01 ass Company, was started in 1911 in a small building

only UO by 80 feet.^ Flint glass lamp chimneys were the sole products

turned out by the conqaany in 1911] but other items were soon added, such

as tumblers, vases, and novelty ware. As the demand for these increased,

expansion of the factory and its production facilities followed. In­

expensive gas is cited as the chief reason far locating in the Kanawha

Valley by Hr. Henry K. Payne, President of Dunbar Glass. Gas was, no

doubt, the chief reason for the five former glass plants adjoining the

site. An early metamorphosis was brought about by the purchase of the

idle buildings and properties belonging to the former glass makers^ along

with the addition of new buildings and equipment. In 1921, the name was changed to the Dunbar Flint Glass Corporation] and, in 1930, the

conpany was again reorganised under its present title .

^Unpublished mimeographed m aterial presented by Mr. Payne. 275

Raw materials are shipped In mainly by rail — sand from Illinois and other materials from Ohio. While no estimate was given on the cost of raw materials, fir. Payne said that approximately 65 per cent was added by manufacturing. None of the products produced at Dunbar Glass

Is processed further enroute to market, and they are shipped either by rail or truck. Dunbar's output goes to almost every city in the United

States and some to South America.

In 1927* Dunbar Glass began to manufacture pressed glassware.

With the addition of their new production facilities, Dunbar blossomed into the industrial market with a diversified line of products far the manufacturer. Along with pressed glassware, Dunbar soon became well known for its blown novelty and tableware. Dunbar is recognised as outstanding in the field of out and decorated novelty and tableware and is generally hard-pressed to meet the demand for these articles. ^

In such an association, it is vital that the closest of coopera­ tion be maintained between the designer and producer. At Dunbar, the designing firm makes dozens of rough sketches while always keeping market trends and production problems in mind. After the best three or four are selected by the designers and rendered into finished draw­ ings, they are then sent to the staff at Dunbar for a check into produc­ tion feasibility or suggested alterations. Once approved, the design firm makes a contour drawing showing several views and cross-sections, specified radii, and critical dimensions.

7 " D u n b a r Glass Specializes in V ersatility," Ceramic Industry, March, 1950. ------276

Commonly, the d esig n er w ill a lso make a model of the Item from wood, transparent plastic, or modeler's clay, which not only shows up flaws but Is of value to the mold maker*

Acting as a wholesaler and Jobber, the conqpany sells its own glass cylinders to Industry; other marketing mediums are the facilities of a national sales representative, special agents, and an intensive direct mail and advertising campaign to promote tableware and novelty glass­ ware . Floral glassware is distributed nationally to florists through normal wholesalers and supply houses* CHAPTER I THE REFINING INDUSTRIES

Pure Oil Refining Company

The Cabin Creek field, twenty miles southeast of Charleston, was the first oil field of the Ohio Cities Gas Con^any, the name of which was changed to Pure Oil after the initial discovery of oil in quantity in 191h. The field itself is eleven miles long and one-half mile wide, with the longer axis in a northeast-southwest direction* The producing formation is the Berea sandstone, which is found at varying depths be­ tween 2,300 and 3,300 feet* The rugged nature of the terrain, coupled with the earth-shaking upheavals of eons ago, cause differences of as much as UOO feet in the elevation of producing strata in wells which at the surface lie only 600 or 700 feet apart. Over the years these fac­ tors in a heavily wooded countryside, which is everywhere underlain by numerous coal seams, have served to create development problems much different than those encountered elsewhere. Mr* Douglas Campbell, Director of Public Relations for Pure Oil, states that the refinery was started in 1917 with about one hundred employees from the surrounding neighborhood. The original location factor was, of course, the dose proximity of raw materials but, since this supply has declined, the present advantages are that the refinery is near marketing areas and transportation media* Raw materials are brought in over the local barge and pipeline systems and they are both of local and outside extraction* The major bulk of their processed products is in the finished product, which is consumed principally in

277 the Kanawha Valley. There la some industrial linkage with other con­ cerns in the valley, mainly those which supply energy facilities such as the Appalachian Power Company. The basic manufacturing process of thermal cracking at Cabin Creek is devoted to the production of petroleum products. Some three hundred men use the powerful forces of gas, coal, electricity, aid steam to convert raw materials into finished products. The plant runs around the clock and has had very few interruptions of any sort. Competition is both sectional and national in scope.

The discovery of high grade oil In the Cabin Creek field in 1914 was sufficient for the parent oonpany to change direction from a gas utility to an integrated oil conpany. To date, the field has produced approximately 20,000,000 barrels of Pennsylvania-grade petroleum and a large amount of gas. Secondary recovery methods by gas-injected opera­ tions were started in this field in April, 1935 and continued through the end of 1944*^ At that time (in Project 4 alone) there were sixty- four wells producing oil and eleven which had been gas-injected. Gas-injection into the Cabin Creek field retarded the decline of oil production which had started in 1921 and Increased the average daily output. Although the gas-injection program ended in 194U, the high oil saturation and low water saturation in the oil producing for­ mation led to the adoption of a water-injaction program.

^Natural gas under pressure is forced into oil producing strata through the medium of old wells which are non-producers• These wells are lined with casing inserts and sealed with concrete to prevent the escape of gas. As the inserted gas builds up rock pressure in the producing state, oil is forced into the wells which are still producing to a level high enough to be reached by the punping mechanism. 279

With the dell/ average down to less than 500 barrels per month in

191*8, the new secondary recovery method was a tremendous rejuvenation, since the field at Cabin Creek produced 3,502 barrels daily in November,

1953* This was 613 b a rre ls more per tw enty-four hour period than had been produced before at any period in the history of the area. As of

January of 195U, the water flooding method had resulted in the produc­ tion of more than 2,000,000 barrels of oil that otherwise would not have been recovered.

The story now at Cabin Creek is secondary recovery by water-injec- tion. The manner of water-injection differs but little from the gas- injection process; but different producing formations are susceptible to different methods and the Cabin Creek field is more susceptible to water-flooding because it is a solution gas drive field. While a large part of the oil seams to flow with the initial tapping of the isppies- tic layer and much more is apparent with pumping, the truth is that such primary recovery methods will produce no more than 30 per cent of the oil in the deposit. A time comes when further operation of the field is not economically feasible by the primary method, although there may be more than twice the amount of oil left in the rock as has been re­ moved. Water-flooding is supposed to bring a substantial amount of the 2 remaining oil to the surface — at a profit.

2 "Secondary Recovery Gives Cabin Creek New Life," The Pure Oil News, Vol. XXXVI, A pril, 19$k, The Pure Oil Conpany, p .~Sl 280

Other Refining Operations

Smaller refineries are scattered throughout the Kanawha Valley* Over the past fifteen years, the production of natural gas gasoline has been definitely added to the overall picture of refining operations. Thus, the Columbia Oil and Gas Company has fourteen plants with a total capacity of 130,000 gallons daily in 1955* Most of these plants are located in the abundant gas-producing area between the Kanawha River an the south and the Ilk River on the west* Other companies with pro­ duction activities similar to those of Columbia Oil and Gas are: 1. Falling Rock Cannel Coal 2,$00 barrels daily Company at Clendenin on th e Elk 2* H^jgood Company at Cedar 3,500 barrels daily Grove

3* Henaglen and Harlon, Inc. at West Union $0 barrels daily

h. Carbide and Carbon Chemi- 2,000 barrels daily cals, South Charleston In addition, there are the following marketers of petroleum pro­ ducts in the Kanawha Valley area: American Oil Coup any (AMOCO), Stand­ ard Oil of New Jersey (ESSO), Texas Oil Coup any (TEXACO), Oulf Re­ fin e ry (GULF), S in c la ir O il Company, Elk R efinery (KEYSTONE), and le s s e r brands such as KAYO, EAGLE, INDEPENDENT, RED HEAD, and perhaps a h a lf doxen more. By-products from both oil and gas refineries of the Kanawha area are sold to the chemical industries of the valley, arriving by tank car lots or piped overland from such units as Carbide's Hastings plant 281 and the Diamond plant on Kanawha River. Both of these units supply the parent plant at South Charleston with gas in conoentrated form and rich in particular hydrocarbons. CHAPTER I I

MISCELLANEOUS DEVELOPMENTS

Charleston Brick Induetrlefl

There are th re e main companies making b rick in the Kanawha a re a . The West V irg in ia Brick Company, w ith i t s p la n t on Elk R iver, was o r­ ganized in 1921 with thirty employees which have since increased in number to seventy-five. Primary location factors were the sources of exceptionally high quality fire clay and a good supply of inexpensive natural gas. Standard Brick and Supply started in 1909 and, although associated with West Virginia Brick, has its own plant on a ten-acre site at North Charleston* The Charleston Clay Products also operates a mine and plant at Elk Two Mile.

The three local firms turn out thousands of bricks per day ranging in color from buff to rich red, depending upon orders and with a wide variety of shapes and finishes.

Clay deposits are mined according to the original nature of depo­ sition. Thus, the drift system of mining is enployed to follow a seam of clay through a hillside Just as a coal miner digs for coal. At the

Charleston Clay Products Mine, workmen tap the Baker seam of fireclay, blast the extremely hard clay from the mine "face,11 hand load it into low cars and haul it to a central collecting point by means of "mule- power." The cars are then pulled up a slope and out of the mine.^

^Wallace E. Knight, "Brick Makers Use Ancient Craft," The Charlesten Gazette, Magazine Section, May 18, 1952, p. 1M. 282 283 In 1951, Standard Brick aid Supply abandoned their mine system at

North Charleston and converted to a giant shale planer to extract the raw materials* The planer is in operation on Martin'3 Branch because a

good ahale bank was easily available* Such a machine is capable of cut­

ting a shale bank UO feet high with its series of continuous blades mounted on a chain* As the cut shale drops it is carried by conveyor

belt to a storage bin where a similar belt lifts it to a waiting dump

truck* At the plant the raw material is dumped into a granulator — a

large tank with a steel screw conveyor at the bottom — and, as the

screw revolves, the clay lumps are cut into smaller pieces and further

conveyed to the grinding and screening machines* This final pulveriz­

ing action reduces the dqy to a fine powder with a consistency similar

to t a l c . The powdered clay then goes to the "pug m ill1' where a chamber

fitted with shaft studded gleaming blades churns the clay and water ad­

mixture for plasticity* The amorphous mass is now subjected to a vacuum

chamber, where the air is sucked from the clay whence it is finally

extruded under high pressure through a die to form a continuous column.

Depending on specifications, holes can be extruded in the same action

through auxiliary dies.

Next, the clay column is led into a drum-shaped device strung with

piano wire and, as the drum revolves, the wires cut the clay into brick

sifte. The bricks now lack only the essential of hardness, which is

acquired in either of two types of kilns. In the continuous kiln, the

brick buggies move from the molding stage to the final unloading* The 28U

kiln follows the heating process of the "beehive ovens" with the excep­

tion that the time is reduced to two or three days, and the stacking

and unloading steps are eliminated*

In the beehive ovens where final burning takes place after a pre­

liminary heat to rid the clay of excess moisture, the brick is hand-

stacked in the kilns and silica sand is sprinkled between layers to prevent sticking* Then, after the kiln is sealed, natural gas jets feeding into fire pockets around the inside of the structure gradually push the temperature up to between 1,900 and 1,9$0°F. Hie gradual temperature rise drives off all remaining moisture in the bricks and 2 bums out all combustible matter.

After eight or ten days, test samples are taken from the kiln and, if cured, the beehive is allowed to cool off for a couple of days. The bricks are then removed for shipment to consumers*

Face briok is made for neat and attractive finish work, common brick for general construction, and structural facing tiles for special­ ised purposes. West Virginia Brick specializes in facing and facing tile, which is shipped as far west as Minneapolis, there being very little traffic beyond the Mississippi. Facing tile is manufactured under the trade name of "U tility Flexbox," while the Charleston Clay

Products turns out "Vitricitta" tile and pavers. Cinder block makers offer the biggest conpetitive market locally* Natural gas is purchased from the Godfrey L, Cabot Coop any, Inc* a t commodity r a te s . Fuel o il can be used as handily as gas however*

2I b id CHAPTER I I I PROBLEMS

Water Pollution

The water courses of the Kanawha are more or less veritable drain­ age channels fo r the sewage of a th ird of i t s in h a b ita n ts. Sewage facilities are available for approximately 20 per cent of the area's population, but only about 50 per cent of that is treated. Besides human waste, the streams must carry over a billion gallons of indus­ trial wastes daily. Very little of this industrial waste is being treated before discharge The June 8, 1950 edition of the Charleston Qaaette ran a story which was t i t l e d , "STREAM POLLUTION HERE HELD MENACE TO HEALTH." The a r tic le went on to say th a t the S tate Water Commission had asked the city of Charleston why it should not be required to stop polluting the

Kanawha and Elk riv e ra . In substm ice, the Commission believes th a t a critical stream pollution situation exists in the Elk and Kanawha rivers, in and below the city of Charleston, by reason of the discharge each day of the city's untreated sewage. The streams are "grossly pol­ luted," causing direct and indirect peril to the health of the populace and such degradation of streams as to make them unsuitable sources of water supply. Proper and adequate facilities for the safe and satis­ factory treatment or disposal of such sewages should be provided by the city. The report notes that the State Health Department and the Water Commission have exhausted every cooperative effort to get

^Kanawha Basin Zoning Report, West Virginia State Water Commis­ sion, Charleston, p. l2. 285 266

Charleston to improve stream conditions by the provisions of sewage treatment* Plans and specifloations far a $10,500,000 sewage treatment f a c i l i t y were consisted in 19U8 according to the Commission*

The city of Charleston reacted vigorously to the plan and, in turn, suggested that a unified overall Kanawha Talley project, rather than the city of Charleston alone, account for the cost of the project. The city was also reluctant to comply with the Commission's order to start on the program immediately without first obtaining public support.

In a personal conmunication to the author one year later, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Rocheleau reiterated:

Briefly, the overall condition of the Kanawha River has not changed materially from 191*7 •»• the industrial plants have made many in-plant process changes and modifications, but to date, a waste treatment plant, as such, has not been built... industries have a formidable task ahead of them — the size, number and complexity of their operations necessitate much study before definite accomplish­ ments can be registered. As far the municipalities — several of these have completed plans for sewage treatment plants. None have yet progressed to the construction stage. The city of Charleston being the key to the municipal problem in the valley, has been ordered to provide treatment by the Water Commis­ sion and has, in turn, appealed to the court to have our order set aside. The court has not taken action slnoe it is awaiting the outcome of a „ similar case (Huntington) now before the courts.

Further, at present the city of Chsrleston has been dmqping garb­ age along the banks of the Elk and burying it with a bulldozer because the incinerator is out of repair.

2 Personal conmunication with West Virginia State Water Commission. 287

Public water supplies downstream from Charleston, located at Nitro, Dunbar, South Charleston, St. Albans, Winfield, and even to Huntington on the Ohio River, have experienced the evil effects of certain organic wastes from industry, resulting in nauseating tastes and odors during times of critical low flow of the Kanawha..• ...This experience indicates the ever present danger that same accident may precipitate a serious epidemic among the millions who drink these heavily polluted waters of the Ohio River Basin. In the light of the above discussion, it may be impractical to

consider the Kanawha Valley as a site or a potential site for indus­ trial plmits; but the fact that there has been a great concentration of plants along the main stem in the Charleston vicinity attests the value placed upon the stream by present industry. Plans for expanding exist­

ing industrial facilities as well as the actual construction now under way indicate that it still has a great value in determining industrial

location. The quantity and quality of the water has always been one of

the prime factors for consideration. The importance of these factors, to the future industrial life of the valley, confirms the urgency of the Water Commission's effort to define the general limits of zones of ser­

ious pollution in order to promote remedial action on the parts of industry and m unicipalitiesT o date, some sixty cities and towns have built or are planning to build sewage treatment facilities as a result of this six-year drive by the State Water Coomission.

Statement of Water Resources Committee of the W. Va. State Water Commission, op. c it.f £. 23. ^West Virginia State Water Commission, op. o it », p . 13. 288

As Intimated by Mr. Rocheleau, industry itself seems to be setting the better example of housekeeping principles with their inauguration of improvement programs immediately after the war. Most of the major chemical companies and the Pure Oil Coup any at Cabin Creek have formed laboratories and assigned personnel to the problem of waste disposal*

Among the conclusions drawn by the Water Commission were:-*

1* That the industries on the lower Kanawha contri­ bute much more to its pollution than the municipalities, but the corrective action is expected from both types of offender simultaneously*

2. That the Elk and Coal rivers are seriously pol­ lu te d and th a t p o llu tio n conditions w ill become s te a d ily worse unless offenders begin a concerted program of waste improvement* The Commission plans some additional defi­ nition work on these streams with particular reference to coal washing wastes.”

3* That the seriously polluted sections of the Qauley Basin can be improved by waste treatment work on the part of a minimum number of offenders*

k» That the waters of the New are for the most part in good condition, and can be kept thus, if pollution care is exercised in all activities of the basin*

5* That the matter of preserving and improving the surface waters of the state is of great importance to municipality, industry, and private citizen and that each of these has a function and responsibility in the improve­ ment program*

6* That the WaterCommission has organized a program to preserve and improve a valuable natural resource, the surface waters of the state, and to this end, enlists the aid of everyone interested in the welfare of West V irginia*

^Ibid*, p. 6*

^Air sealing of abandoned mines has resulted in a reduction of approximately 15 per cent from the original daily acid load of 1^7,300 pounds* 28?

Water-Overrated Capacity

Mr. J. A. Mooney of Westvaco In South Charleston stated he believed th e p re se n t expansion of m anufacturing along th e Kanawha may have to be curtailed due to the rapid exhaustion of the stream's capacity as a coolerant in various raanufacturing processes. Citing that Westvaco uses almost 100,000 gallons per minute in various operations, including the enormous quantity used in the vacuum evaporation processes, he went on to add that in the relatively short time his plant has been there, the temperature of the water in the main stream has gone up from a maximum of around 86° F, in summer to a high of 92°F. In addition, he states that according to preliminary figures released on the new Appalachian

Power plant to be erected at Glasgow some twenty miles above South

Charleston, the overall tenperature of the water in the Kanawha at his

Westvaco plant inlet will have been raised 2°F. when the new plant assumes full production.

Mr. Robert F. Rocheleau, cf the West Virginia State Water Commis­ sion, said in regard to mty questioning on the water tenperature:

The Water Commission oannot legally conoem itself with the effects of the new steam electric plant at Glasgow. We are concerned, however, and have attenpted to point out to Appalachian and other officials, the seriousness of the resulting tenperature problem which confronts us. While I am not at liberty to divulge information as to what has transpired or is scheduled in this matter, I do wish to point out for your infor­ mation that the tenperature rise of water passed through this plant w ill be 12°-13°F. 290

Water-Flooding

The Konatrha River end its tributaries are subject to destructive floods,7 The Kanawha is not only subject to floods which originate within its ow basin but to those which stem from flooding on the Ohio.

The great flood of 1913 reached with cumulative backwater effects to the foot of Kanawha Falls, some ninety-five miles above its mouth.

During this period of inundation, the Kanawha proper was only in moder­

ate flood stage*

The fact that no major floods have occurred on the Kanawha for forty years causes the populace to have little appreciation of the im­ portance of flood control. However, the location of valuable property on the floodplain, especially at and near Charleston, makes the possi­ bility of serious flood damage very real. Local flash floods may occur at almost any time of the year and create considerable local damage with possible loss of life. A flood equal to the 1861 flood-flow which reached U6.9 feet might, with the present day encroachments on the floodway, be in an even higher stage. Without the barricades imposed by the reservoirs already completed, or now under construction, a flood of such nature would put many large industrial plants under 5 to 15 feet of water, even flooding the lobby of the Daniel Bocne Hotel. Loss of life might be severe due to the physical characteristics of the valley.®

7-Plan for Improvement of Kanawha River,11 Committee on Rivers and Harbors, U.S. Congress, Washington, 1935, p. 62. ®Water Resources Committee, op. c it., p. 23. 291 Proposed re connendat ions for flood control in the Talley and in

its tributaries hare been concerned mainly with a series of reservoir

dams to control flood in headwater tributaries. Physical difficulties seem to preclude an economic solution of the flood problem by levee or

channel improvements •

Since flooding rarely occurs simultaneously in both the Ohio and

the Kanawha* it is natural to expect more frequent flooding in the

lower valley than the upper; and* as indicated by the Point Pleasant

gauge* a t the mouth of th e Kanawha* th e r iv e r has been a t o r above

flood stage forty-six times since 1861. The flood of 1913 — greatest

at the mouth of the river -- was exceeded in height at Charleston by o fifteen other floods. In September of 1861, the greatest flood on record in the valley

came as a result of heavy rainfall on the southern arms of the Kanawha w atersh ed : Because the rainfall was large and concentrated in a short period of time* the rise of the Kanawha River was a rapid one and is said to have amounted to 3 or U feet an hour during part of the time* It is claimed that the current out of the Kanawha was so strong that the Ohio River ran upstream as far as Let art. It is also claimed that houses floating out of the Kanawha River struck the north bank of the Ohio with such force that they were broken up and carried upstream where they* together with drift* haystacks* and fodder shocks* formed a d rift pile that reached from shore to shore of the Ohio River. It is further claimed that the rise carried an un­ usual amount of uprooted trees of large size with their roots attached* indicating heavy precipitation with a resulting rise and swift current. ^

^Committee on Rivers and Harbors, U.S. Congress* op. c it.* p. 63. 1QIbid.* p. 6U. 292

The aggregate damage considered in the light of present day indus­ trialization would be hard to estimate. At that time there were no rail­ roads, telegraph or telephone lines, electric lights, or waterworks in the valley. The coal fields were merely wilderness with few towns of importance. Charleston possibly had 1,200 inhabitants with one or two sawmills and a like number of primitive flour m ills. Probably the fanners suffered most.

Floods on tributaries are caused by local rains of great intensity, which cause the waters to rise to damaging heights in the narrow con­ fines of the V-shaped valley.

It may be significant that the great expansion in industry has taken place during an interval of time in which no flood of magnitude has occurred. However, from 1861 to 1900 there was a great frequency of high waters. Although there is some evidence of a flood which crested ten feet higher than the flood of 1361, information is incon­ clusive. Suffice to say that a frequency study of the Kanawha Valley floods would substantiate the possibilities of such heights at some future date. A flood frequency curve formulated in 193$ by the U. S. D istrict Engineers for the Kanawha River gave these conclusions:^

1. The river may be expected to equal or exceed the flood stage in height on an average of once every 1.9U y e a rs .

2. Floods of ten feet or more in excess of flood stage may be expected on an average of about once every 1$ years.

3* A great flood as that of 1861 may be expected to occur on an average of once every 127.5 years.

n ib id ., p. 66. Flooding along the Kanawha fron the years i860 to 1910 shoved an

83 per cent increase; and, at the same time, low water periods in the

Kanawha showed a 36 per cent increase. This trend, fortunately, has not extended to the present largely because of reservoir construction along the New River and the newly adopted series of dams along the

Kanawha* Rainfall dependability, as formulated for the Kanawha Valley in the vicinity of Charleston, shows that precipitation can be relied upon

65 per cent of the time* This percentage of reliability means that industry can build dams for power and at the same time that the facto­ ries will run very little risk of a water shortage, even during excep­ tionally dry seasons* Reservoirs damning have aided in preserving a relatively high water table. The precipitation dependability of the valley is further augmented by the vast amount of territory over which the Kanawha River Basin drains* Twelve thousand and th ree hundred square miles is a lot of watershed, where there is a chance for some precipitation even during the driest of seasons* CHAPTER X III

CONCLUSION

The Kanawha V alley area continues to be the p rin c ip a l c e n te r of base chemical manufacture for the United States* This statement is based on estim ates of S ales Management f o r those 100 counties of the

United States with 77 per cent of the 1953 employment in and 81 per cent of the net ralue of the chemical industry.*1' Provided employment figures and manufacturing value for pharmaceuticals and certain minor chemical products are excluded, no other chemical manufacturing center of the nation compares even remotely with the Kanawha Valley area.

While Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New Jersey about the New

York area are among the larger cities of chemical manufacture, the establishments in these cities produce consumer chemicals rather than basic organic and inorganic compounds. Eighteen chem ical p la n ts in the Kanawha V alley have a combined employment of 15,000 persons and an estimated #228 million of value added by manufacturing. The only other part of West Virginia to be mentioned in this survey was the area around Parkersburg in Wood County, where figures for 1953 show chemical plant employment to ap­ proach 3,200 persons in three plants and #53 million as the value added by manufacturing processes.

^-"Base Chem icals," Kanawha Coroneroe, Kanawha Chamber of Commerce, May, 195U, C harleston, West V irg in ia , p . 6 .

29U 295

While thousands of people are employed in the units of large cor­ porations such as Carbide and Carbon and du Pont in the Kanawha Valley, there is a continuing undercurrent of resentment against outside owner­ ship or obscured ownership due to the confusion of subsidiaries and the series of interlocking directorships inherent to businesses of such magnitude. Much has been said and a great deal more thinking done on the subject of exploitation of the valley's natural resources by absen­ tee owners. Pine libraries and school systems of large metropolitan areas are credited as having grown on taxes levied on profits derived from Kanawha Valley properties. Far better it is to have big develop­ ments of Carbide and du Pont stature than leave the scene impoverished and dependent upon a subsistence economy, half starving between hillside farming and two-man coal tip p le s . There are even more im portant reasons for allowing bigness in business to ravage the field of natural resources.

It appears that this chemical linkage of one industrial function with another, or the ability of one member of the Kanawha Valley indus­ trial econony to utilise the products of other members, is the key to the valley's uniqueness. Like the grasping tentacles of an octopus, the long arms of industry stretch within the Kanawha intra-regionally to utilise the organic minerals of the valley or to borrow some basic product manufactured locally. Inter-regionally, those same arms reach across country to other areas as Carbide to the Hastings plant, where additional sustenance is obtained. Similar in many respects to the octopus, it is almost unlikely that the overall industrial pattern of the valley would be disrupted seriously even though the oil and gas deposits are completely exhausted. Capital investment is so great in 296

Kanawha Valley industry, and the fad 11 ties of transport so improved, that It appears to be much more feasible to pipe in or ship in raw ma­ terials or fuels or both if the situation warrants. Likewise, the ability of products produced by the mineral and industrial functions of the valley w ill be able to compete favorably in distant markets because of the economy afforded by mutual interchange of semi-finished or basic products produced inter-regionally. Location within the valley is no longer predicated on the accessibility of any one particular resource. The extractive Industries have long been noted for the tremendous quantities of coal, oil, and gas taken from the bowels of the Kanawha area. Other potentials have been heavily drawn upon also, such as tim­ ber and salt brines. It was from the preponderance of production in co a l, o i l , and g as, however, th a t Kanawha drew th e cognomen of nCog County" -- symbolic of fuel's big three. As far as we have seen in this study, the term "Cog Valley4* would be more applicable.

Pure Oil has seen f it to withdraw from the Kanawha Valley an the premise that operations at Cabin Creek were no longer economical. The author feels that this withdrawal may be temporary, or it may be a wise move on the part of Pure Oil to dispose of their holdings to interested parties. Whatever the reason, and we do know that oil has had its day on Cabin Creek, there is apparently enough gas in the vicinity to uti­ lise at least part of the buildings and equipment in the manufacture of natural gasoline

Regardless of the exhaustive status of either oil or gas , Mr.

Price, the State Geologist, feels that coal appears to be ample in every respect for taking over when these old stand-bys fall. He feels 297 that coal offers a bountiful source of replacement of the steadily wan­ ing supplies of natural gas and petroleum. Oil was at its peak about

1900 and gas supplies hare dwindled since 1917, if the so-called new strikes are excepted such as the one at Sissonville in the mid-thirties.

The Federal Trade Commission has ju s t authorized the building of an

860 -mile pipe line from Louisiana to service United Fuel in the Kanawha area, and certainly the lines are there if mare gas is brought in from the outside. The pattern would seem to allow this gas to supplement the Kanawha Valley area in ever increasing quantities as the local supply diminishes until either the prohibitive costs of natural gas or studies in coal research put coal within reach as a substitute for natural gas.

Even now, good oil and gas are being produced by the hydrogena­ tion process elaborated upon by Carbide and large additional gas re­ serves may be forthcoming from coal distillation processes. Most of the valley industries dependent upon natural gas and petroleum for raw materials, heat, or power need anticipate no interruption from the inevitable but should even look forward to continued expansion and de­ velopment. Is there need to say that West Virginia ranks first in the production of bituminous coal and eighth in the value of by-products and that the Kanawha Valley is accredited with contributing seventy- five per cent of the state's total?

For some time, especially in the chemical industries, coal has come more and more to be considered In the light of a raw material for the preparation of by-products than as a mineral fuel. The primary by-products are the well known coke, coke-oven gas, tar, light oil, 2 98 and ammonia, which are in turn converted into hundreds of diverse com­ pounds and substances in successively higher stages of processing and refinement. While the total estimated reserves of this fabulous re­ source are not known exactly, the Kanawha Valley area has an appreciable part of the fifty billion ton known reserves. Some of these reserves are not extractable by ordinary means as known to us now but, one day in the future, the economy will allow for extraction of these sixty minable seams down through 5,000 feet of sedimentary rock. If the visards of the chemical magic who have blazoned the heavens over

Kanawha Valley continue their pace, new methods of extraction, prepa­ ration, and utilization of King Coal will continue to develop and each particular type of coal will fill its niche in Mankind's struggle to exist. Any such strides toward greater conservation of the known re­ serves will result in an upward estimate of total reserves because of the minor seams of coal which were not considered in the original minable stores.

As an anti-climax, since there appears to be no climax in the fore­ seeable future of the valley, certain rare minerals are proving to be present in economic quantity in this black wonder known as coal.

Strange as it may seem, almost two-thirds of all the basic elements have been found recoverable and in quantity. Germanium is one of those found in sufficient quantity to warrant potential and economic recovery from certain particular coale. So, by the time we are able to retrieve from those ancient beds lying a mile beneath the surface, we may be using coal as a nuclear reagent and, if we do, the supply would seem inexhaustible • 299

It Is quite evident that the overall pattern of economic activity in the Kanawha Valley w ill be dominated by mining and Indus tria l func­

tions* As far as the mineral resources of the area are concerned, it

is reasonable to assume that progress will continue to be made in the

intelligent manner in which past activity has bolstered the industrial

might of this great valley* Raw materials for almost every purpose are

still available for Han's disposal* The labor supply of the Kanawha Valley is currently in surplus

quantity; and, although the number of manufacturing workers per thous­

and people increased over 25 per cent between 19U3 and 1953> the valley's working force is still capable of furnishing large numbers of people for new industrial operations* A guaranteed labor supply plus

the increasing technological changes of the valley's basic industries, as well as other factors, virtually assure a steady supply of dependable

labor for expanding production. The number of men workers to female is about three to one in the

Kanawha area, which creates a more than adequate labor supply for firms

requiring large numbers of women workers. Indeed, in the last few years, concerns of this type have been moving into the valley at an

increased rate. A prime example of this type is the brassiere manufac­ turing company which recently moved into Eleanor* Smaller units of the same concern are being set up throughout Kanawha and contiguous areas*

Employment in the Kanawha Valley has surpassed the traditional 33 per cent of the population comprising the labor force to approximately 37 per cent, and this trend is expected to continue. The national aver­ age runs almost five per cent higher, which indicates that provided the 300 opportunity more persons would actively seek to join the labor force*

Mining enployment and employment In the chemical industries appear to have stabilized; agriculture population has, of course, declined stead­ ily since 19U1. As industries become diversified, more and more women will enter the labor market. It is also a recognized fact that the trend of out-migration of young workers and their families is detri­ mental to the Kanofha Talley and should be stopped. Very little has been done to date to make this source of workers available to Kanawha

Valley enterprise because, the author believes, of the application forms which are filed away by most conpanies for future reference with­ out being suitably weighed in processing the applicant.

The valley's employment remains fairly steady throughout the years even during the depression of the thirties and the recessions of the

1937*38 era* T ran sien t la b o r i s a t a minimum sin ce most of th e in d u s­ tries require a labor force of technologists and craftsmen, who reach the top of their particular craft only after years of tenure. These factors have contributed much to the economic and social stability of the Kanawha area* Labor has been one of the main attractions for many of the indus­ tries seeking to locate in the valley. By the time heavy industrialisa­ tion began to obtain a secure foothold, a substantial and dependable

American-bom labor supply was available. There were few foreign born elements which had not already assimilated into the American way of doing things and the few that remained were vastly outnumbered by the migrants from the British Isles. Therefore, many of the problems asso­ ciated with racial groups or foreign-born elements never made their 301 appearanc« in the valley and anti•foreign resentment never developed*

It is indeed fortunate that isolated groups of foreigners have never existed in the Kanawha as in other sections of the United States* Such factions as "little Italy" and "little Poland" were not created here, and what newcomers there were were accepted passively and allowed to lose their identity in the general populace* Due to the high wage scales, living conditions are considerably higher in the Kanawha Valley than in many sections of the United States and, on the whole, for most of the state of West Virginia* Earned In­ come per family is almost one thousand dollars above the national average, which accounts for the maze of household appliances found in the average valley home, some sort of private transportation, and home ownership. Hie citizens appear to be as well dressed as those in

Boston or New York and may save more per capita on income spent for clothing, since they rarely have to be as pretentious*

The physical endowment afforded by Nature has been both beneficial and detrimental* The Kanawha Valley has been blessed with a bonanza of natural resources in coal, oil, gas, water, salt brine, and other ele­ ments which play highly important supporting roles. The dendritic drainage pattern, which first retarded Man's progress across the Trans-

Alleghenies because of the dissected nature of the terrain, also con­ tributed in a large way to the success of the valley as we know it todfly. Navigation facilities, hydro-electric power, exposed mineral deposits, surface and underground water supplies owe their development to the deep gouging fingers of the Kanawha watershed. In a negative manner, serious floods have not hampered industrial operations for a 302 half century; but man-made barriers, such as the Bluestone and Hawk1 s

Nest dams, have done much to alleviate this danger. First settlement took place on the level land near the Kanawha and its tributaries} and industry was destined to follow the combination, which has been both good and bad. Industry and settlement^ so to speak, literally cluttered up their own paths and made it difficult for present day generations to move through the valley confines with any reasonable degree of facility.

As a result, both settlement and industries have had to alter the pat­ tern of growth to accommodate this latter day advance. Despite these drawbacks, the cultural development, which gives the valley extensive transportation facilities to all points of the compass, has served to put the local industries within a 500-mile radius of over half the nation's population.

The scarcity of level land has created an environment in which a majority of foodstuffs must be brought in from the outside and this, in turn, is reflected in higher than ordinary prices. The valley, th en , s im ila r to many o th e r w alle d -in com munities, i s known as a high priced neighborhood to live in. Because of the exposed nature of bed­ rock along the valley walls and its proximity to the surface along the valley floors, road engineers and well drillers find such materials decidedly disadvantageous when pursuing their vocations. Bedrock also poses severe problems for pipeline workers, where the pipe must lie so many feet beneath the surface. Local relief adds trouble to these same pipe workers when level land is not available, and huge ditches must be cut in a direct line regardless of the obstacles. Bedrock though has made many worthwhile contributions to the valley's economy, 303

among which was the pressure and heat offered in the metamorphoses of

organic material into coal, oil, and gas formations. Today, the same

bedrock affords ample support for mining operations in the aged coal

beds it originally formed in nature.

C lim a tic a lly , the Kanawha V alley appears to be endowed w ith a re s ­ pectful and invigorating atmosphere the year around. Atmospheric pol­

lution has been retarded and, while it never will be entirely eliminated,

most harmful effects can be sufficiently curbed. As discussed under

climate, the weather is rarely severe, is mostly mild and conducive to

outdoor work, although most of the valley employees are comfortably housed indoors all year. Indeed, climate is another factor in the future of the valley which can be looked forward to with relish rather

than disdain.

In general the outlook for the Kanawha Valley area is extremely favorable, with perhaps the darkest clouds on the horizon in the shape

of competition along the Ohio Valley and the diminishing returns which may accrue if the industrial giants continue to expand. The next foreseeable area of extensive growth appears to be south of St. Albans

to W infield and below on both sid e s of the Kanawha R iver. Extensive purchases have already been made in this area by Diamond Alkali, West- vaco, Carbide and Carbon, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and others.

The to ll bridge at Winfield is an outgrowth of this expansion and will play a major role in the future economic development of the lower

Kanawha Valley, which in time w ill no doubt reach to Point Pleasant on the Ohio River. APPENDIX A

MAPS, CHARTS, TABI£S, GRAPHS, AN:> DIAGRAMS

30U CHART I 3 0 5 PROFILE CHART

ELEVATIONS IN FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL T ST 1 S•n ’ 8* | PT PLEASANT. MILE O HENDERSON . MiLt 0 3

AMBROSIA . MILE S 5

LEON MILE 12 O UJto

ARBUCklE . mile 6 0 to BurTALO MILE 21 8

WINFIELD LOCKS A DAM MILE 31.08 WINFIELD . MILE 32 3 PLYMOUTH . MILE 35 9

RAYMOND CITY. MILE 39 0

NITRO MILE 43 6

ST AlBANS MILE A62

SOUTH CHARLESTON . MILE 54 9

CHARLESTON . MILE 584

REED MILE 63 7

MARMET LOCKSADAM MILE 67 75 MARMET . MILE 684

CEDAR GROVE. MILE 77 5

LONDON LOCKS A DAM NAVIGABLE STATUS AS OF MILE 8276 t/V JANUARY I, 1956 MONTGOMERY. MILE 856 NAVIGATION NOTICE NO 56

BOOMER . MILE 887 COBBS Or ENGINEERS U & ABUT

HEAO OF NAV.MILE 90 57 HUNTINGTON DlSTHlCT 3 0 6

CHARTII

Survey of Natural Gas of West Virginia

MAGISTERIAL ISO­ BUTANE T a t r a HORIZON DISTRICT COUNTY COMPANY METHANE ■THANE PROPANE BUTANE N- MKTHA

• a l t S an d Big Sandy Kanawha UFO 8 a . 91 * 6.1*9 2 .8 2 .2 6 .8 6 .' 1

Max to n Sand Bla Kanawha UPG 8 5 .8 7 9 .o b 2 . 8 6 .1 9 .81*

BIS Lim a ■ la K anawha UFO 8 2 . 11* 9 .8 8 U .9 5 . 1*6 1 . 1*1* . 0

laanar Sand Mai dan K anaw ha OLC a i .8 0 1 1 . ? u 5.1*1* .9 0 .6 0 . 0

B is I n j u n S an d M ald en K anawha OLC 8 0 .8 9 1 0 .2 6 5 .7 7 l . o b .8 9

Squaw Sand ■la Kanawha UFO 8 0 .7 5 1 1 . 7U 1* . 60 .2 7 1 .5 8 .0 • a i r S an d Cabin Craaa Kanawha GLC 8 5 .9 0 9 .o u 5 . bO 1 .0 6 .6 0

B a re a S an d Cabin Craaa Kanawha GLC 8 5 .7 1 8 .7 7 2 . 1 6 1 .1 1 S h a la U n io n Kanawha GLC 8 5 .2 8 I 0 .0 9 1* .0 8 . 21* 1 .0 9

O r ia k a n y S a n d Malaen Kanawha GLC 8 5 . 5U 7 *89 2 .5 7 .8 2 .6 6

Oriaaany Sana Loudon Kanawha UFO 8 5 .3 5 6 . 21* 2 .0 0 .2 5 .6 1 • o'

O r ia a a n y S a n a L oudon Kanawha CCC 8 5 . o3 6 .ttu 2 . 2 0 .1 0 .8 1 .ot

O r ia a a n y S an d M ald en Kanawha CCC 8 c . fat* 7-85 2.8U .15 .9 2

Oriaaany Sand ■ ia Kanawha CCC 8 7 . Y g 7 .5 8 2 .2 6 .1 2 .8 5

Oriaaany Sand M ald en K anaw ha GLC 8 1 .5 9 7-U 9 2 .7 5 •Ot* 1.12

O r ia a a n y Sana ■la Kanawha BAT 8 5 . 8 1 0 . 8 I 5 .7 o .17 1.11 BAT - Benadum ana Treat CCC - Columbian Carbon Company OLC - Goafraj L. Cabot, inc. UFO - Uni tad Pual Gaa Company

• * modification of eharti taken from Survey of Natural Gaa of >eet V irginia, Seat Virginia Gao: • 1 * T U R A L 0 ASA MALY 5 E S A R R AM O E D BY H0 R I Z0 M 1 DIISO- ISO­ PKNTANE DIMETHYL HEXANE ISO - HEPTANE DET. UHK PROPYL PEN TANE ■- PROPTLMETHAHE N- HEPTANE N- OCTANES NITROGEN C02 Bfcu

.0 5 .1 7 .10 .0 3 .0 2 .Ol .oU .'a5 . 01) .11 112U a i .ole .2 0 .19 .0 2 •u6 .Ol* .0 3 .02 .52 .00 11U0

.07 .ol .26 .2 6 .0 7 .12 .O x .02 .02 .27 • OO 1206 ,oo • OO .OO 1 . 0 6 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .OO .00 1195 1 .03 2.38 .00 1175 ,u« .08 •25 .22 .02 .03 .09 .02 .51 .00 1202 1 . 51* .50 .00 1195 6.2S .00 I090

.06 .19 .18 .Ol .o^ .02 • ol .03 .67 .00 1167 .97 1.10 5.US llou

o 7 .ol .07 .15 .07 .07 . oU .03 .00 5.0U I067 ou .u2 .07 .2U .10 .lo .05 .08 .00 U .55 lo 82

.02 .12 .25 .06 .11 .03 .oU .ou .87 U.7o lo76 00 .02 .11 .2 6 • 07 .09 .O l .02 .02 • .00 1112

.02 .20 .15 .08 .09 .oU .ou .02 6.S8 .uo l l o l

.OU .15 .50 .O l .15 • oU • OS .OU .00 .00 1172

dom ical Survey, June Jo, 1956, pp. U8-52 lnclualva. SC* NATURAL GAS ~ ^ = r = r OX 10 ATI ON I PYROLYSIS CHLORINATION

HYDROGEN AMMONIA j m e t h y l CHLORIDE General Reduction Refrigerant Bose WATER GAS ACETALDEHYDE ACETYLENE 1 Refrigerant Use (I) Fuel (2) Synthesis of j i Use (1) Silvering Mirrors Cutting ond Processes Hydro­ for Fertilizer Methyl Alcohol, Motor Fuels, ’ | (2) Medicmals Welding genation of Vege­ ond Ammonia ; L tables B Mineral oils Ammonia Syn- METHYLENE c h l o r id e fhesis______Solvent ETHYL ALCOHOL Solvent Organic Intermediate c h l o r o f o r m HYDROGEN I ETHYLENE Artificial ripening thylene chloride Anesthesia Use Sam e as for Hydrogen ^ 1 Solvent Organic Intermediate BUTADIENE of fruit Anastheso under Pyrohs Solvent RUBBER Synthetic Rubber Lacquer Manufacture, ^

e t h y l e n e g ly c o l CHART I I I Anti- Freeze I Locqucr Bose J CARBON TETRACHLORIDE Solvent METHYL ALCOHOL PROPYLENE PROPYL ALCOHOL Fire Extinguishers Propyl Alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol) Use (I) Lacquer Solvent Medicmals (2)Denaturant {3)Orgamc IRESORCINAL BENZINE Anesthesia Solvent intermediate 1 Dyestuffs Anti-knock Fuel Synthetic Dyes P e r­ I Medicmals 1 BUTYL ALCOHOL fumes, Explosives ! BUTYLENE T Butyl Alcohol Sec on dory Butyl Alcohol) Solvent ACETONE Use (I) Solvent (2) Synthesis of Explosives and Tear Gas SACCHARIN TOLUENE Sugar Sub­ Anti- Knock Fuel stitute Synthetic Dyes.T NT L ANTHRACENE ALIZARIN Alizarin Dyes Dye FORMALDEHYDE XYLENE Use (I) Synthesis of Resins Rubber Solvent (2) Antiseptic Synthetic Dyes

NAPTHALENE INDIGO Insecticide Dyes CARBON BLACK (Moth Balls) —i Pigment for Paint and indigo Dyes INK BAKELITE Ink Compounding Use (I) Insulator (2) Rodio Rubber Panels, Diois, etc Possible utilization of Natural Gos for the manufacture of Chemical Products after West Virginia Geological Survey, 1938 p 35 5

■C »[!■•(■ »4» CHART I H 300 GEOLOGIC CHART

GENERALIZED GEOLOGIC COLUMN OF KANAWHA VALLEY

I tents T M C R N C t t ROCK COLUMN ECONOMIC PRODUCT* TLORA AND FAUNA

■UkH 4BtHKF>OH 04 tO— HUMMiU MtOMtW

M W H 0 4 AS— I A *

|A4ClA|l|AtlOti 04 0»0fftll

MCI— 04 ( AS AO— IIO W 41004 4000 10H itMii*** <(■! f1«f Aa<<4>*l 4400 M M IM 4«0*A »«l (■>* ■ >** t«»S«iana plati i*«4 lltl* 0 <0*4 M40K*t AS— A4M AHO

MHH4T1V1 SftA fM lt SOVOM tOfOO*AM44

» O M tO « b<-a« |

QtAfl— 10— • «•< |

— Aft O f AWCMH* W A H 1 O U A I K I t *'■ «*(<•«( AOVAHCI 04 OOW«ntH

iOMOM lo ro o ttm

(•»»*.H CWmmf AIM 04 — Mft4HI A— tMAMAlH VAOi4 rO»OO00f*4T — M 04 IA— SlAMft MlftMlHl iuMO (iMt

H«l4*.A*rS

I ___

A H 0 S f a — K n|0i|M *iM

M fOtOM 0SAO— OI COOAtft •00044 4 OSOOiAAHT 1 ( 4 — 4.mm i(|M ( AM At » .« , M .D *

♦S1I W 4IAIAM I 04

Ail 0044— vISMMAfll IMMI ■•*•< A*»k «•**•*«■ (os Ait Moiiutct osspfotirat iTjTr::: t' t" t; j : : -: ' i 11 s1 : i J i; i • i: i: i;;;!; i: i; ■lb>wt WAilt* TW OM tM r 111 iI > 1 ■11 1 11 ! • I ■ >; » ; A— AMt M A S— IAUHA iMoiim

M404* Mttlft ASMNCI 04 4I004SHH4I tW ■ 0 4 1

100040 (OfOMAMT

— ■ ••*«! 411 UO« 0»0O4 MOUHTAIM

M a SS w S (A h W V * O m A a *** W *»fT * 4 0 MAP I I 309 OHIO GALLIPOLI*

POINT PLEASANT

BEECH HILL

LEON UCKLC

WINFIELD LOCKS 8. CAM

u o n o

BA NCRO FT BLACK BET ST RATMOMO CITY

WEST VIRGINIA CHARLESTON

KANAWHA CITY

MARMET LOCKS a. DAM

CABIN CR JCT MONARCH

CEDAR GROVE CROWN s H HR AT

HANOLCY LONDON LOCKS L D A M

CANNELTON s t a . LONGACRE HE AO OF NAVIGATION KANAWHA RIVER MILE SO. ST BOONCR NAVIGABLE STATUS AS OF

GAULEY BRIOGC JANUARY I, 1955 g *VlFv f> NAVIGATION NOTICE NO. 55 KANAWHA FALLS C O U P S OF ENG IN EER S U S ARMY

HUNTINGTON DISTRICT sew 310

MAP III

FIRST TO THIRD MORNING DELIVERY ZONES

FROM A CENTRAL POINT IN THE KANAWHA VALLEY

j m a >Ht 1

Minnesota NORTH OA k QTJ

DAKOTASOUTH

VOW

rTU ’-TUi

mn^err^nmE0C2 ^ • frsnsao •. f i r s t day DELIVERY

[»-7D IL1.U DALLAS SECOND DAT DELIVERY

Th i r d day FW ORLtA DELIVERY

C t O HA i l ROAO NhAMI DXAGtUil X -- 311

S o d i u m S o d i u m Ftrrocwnid* Sulfocyonido

S o d i u m Sodium NitHte n n n r r S u l f i d e C y o n l d e S o d i u m S o d i u m S i l i c a t e x * N i t r o t e

Sodium Acid I C a l c i u m S o d i u m [ S i l i c a I S u l f o t e 1 C h l o r i d e C o r b o n o t o L A m m o n i u m Hydrochloric acid S o d i u m C h l o r i d e 6 'Sodium Sulfate Bicarbonate

ISolvoy Procooil

Ammonia and Sulfuric Acid or Carbon Dioxide Sodium Nitrota I Chomicol Proceexee I

SALT

Electrolytic Procoet |

F m e d S o 111

ISodium Hydroxide] (Caustic Soda)

| H y d r o g e n S o d i u m S o d i u m S o d i u m P e r o x i d e L e a d A l l o y O l e a t e L _ | Hydrochloric Chloride S d i u m o f L i m eSo C h l o r a t e

S o d i u m C o l i c u m S o d i u m T e t r a e t h y l A l u m i n a t e H yprochlorite P e r b o o t e L e o d

1 S o d i u m [ A l u m i n a ] H yprochlorite H y d r o g e n C h l o r i d e

v i n y l Ethyl Chloride Form aldehyde Carbon Tetrochloride C h l o r i d e s Dichlorethone C h l o r o f o r m I M ethyl Chloride | A cetylene l£Ap IV

4 ► 1 A

I HALF OF NATION S POPULATION

W l I M I N «WX> M i l K.N Ol KANAWHA VALLl V

Sc«‘«

(PO ^U l *T»ON C t N U » b OF Ovf H 7 0 0 , 0 0 0 AM!

S. c w MILLIONS OF TONS 2 4 3 5 6 7 978 9 0 1 2 3 4 3 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 64 4 9 0 1 2 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 33 34 33 32 31 30 29 192728 AAH RVR RFI 1927-1953 TRAFFIC RIVER KANAWHA QRAFH I S R A E Y C I F F A R ■ T C I L F A F O A C R T L L A

313 TABLE I

KANAWHA RIVER COAL TRAFFIC 1924-1953*

T otal a l l T o tal a l l Inbound Outbound Upbound Downbound Year tr a f f i c coal coal coal coal coal TONS

1924 901,173 703,603 5,248 648,000 200 50,155 1925 984,640 823,744 13,000 671,440 — 139,304 1926 1,360109 1,027,330 - 765,490 — 261,840 1927 1,420,776 1,152,894 - 838,560 - 314,334 - *

192S 1,595,846 1,272,168$ 310,621

H 961,547 CM 1929 1,532,264 a* ** - 859,595 — 354,268 1930 1,722,351 1,297,471 — 790,804 — 506,667 1931 1,867,335 1, 350,865 - 855,313 - 495,552 1932 1,482,132 1 , 224,402 366 902,219 1,444 320,373 1933 1,858,638 1,483,294 - 1,054,760 3,697 424,837 1934 1,786,4© 1,243,357 - 847,887 402 395,068 1935 2,204,770 1,896,495 417 1,242,227 — 653,851 1936 2,440,586 1,975,503 - 1,194,922 50 780,531 1937 3,176,319 2,786,097 - 1,698,632 - 1,087,465 1938 3,332,777 2,897,622 - 2,018,371 - 879,251 1939 4,049,136 3,349,948 - 2,247,503 1,174 1,101,271 1940 4,499,454 3,714,793 - 2,355,415 - 1,359,378 1941 5,667,771 4,454,903 - 2,872,932 16,011 1,565,960 1942 5,855,079 4,741,353 - 3,109,659 121,610 1,510,084 1943 5,045,496 4,128,736 - 2,479,267 103,544 1,545,925 1944 4,844;051 4,011,945 - 2,222,005 140,842 1,649,098 1945 4,499,191 3,606,965 - 1,942,820 104,074 1,560,071 1946 4,524,369 3,456,843 - 2*117,350 77,206 1,262,287 1947 5,367,384 4,328,818 80,741 2,594,422 105,715 1,547,940 1948 5,911,233 4,491,113 163,776 2,497,805 173,731 1,655,801 1949 4,956,439 3,551,942 91,604 1,909,631 132,709 1,417,998 1950 6,387,513 4,703,456 173,456 2,589,587 151,948 1,788,462 1951 7,092,172 5,197,683 63,900 3,076,432 179,345 1,878,006 1952 6,900,378 5,061,832 3,069,931 212,896 1,779,005 1953 7,422,416 5,428,205 3,221,769 385,044 1,821,392

♦Source*: 1924 - 1931 Houa* of Represe^ atives Document No. 31, 73rd Congress, 1st Session, Washington; D.C., Government Printing Office, 1933, pp. 51-52. 1932 - 1953 Report of Chidf of Engineers, U.S. Amy, part 2, Annual Reports 1933-1953, Washington, D.C., Governnnnt Printing Office. Data is compiled from Kanawha River Statistics of each annual report far the years noted.

CARBON steam) DISULPHIDE

« POWER SALT> SULPHUR

c h lo r id e. WKSTVACO CHEMICAL DIVISION

carbon CHLORINE •> / CAUSTIC YDROGEN tetrachloride \ SODA

ACETYLENE ACETYLENE CALCIUM TETRACHLORIDE CHLORIDE

trichlorethylene) MAGNESIUM SILICA CHLORIDE V

perchlorethylene) MAGNESOL

e t h y l e n e) ------— <(b r o m in e — hexachlorethane) ETHYLENE Dl BROMIDE \a> WESTVACO CHEMICAL DIVISION £ FOOD, MACHINERY, AND CHEMICAL CORPORATION RAW MATERIALS TO FINISHED PRODUCTS SC V C -lO t JANUAItV 1955 316

CHJRT VI

WESTVACO CHEMICAL DIVISE ON

ct . j o o i o o a—> T ai

<3

u< 1 > O' o 1 T

T 3

I O' a c'j UJ 1 I 5 > O o .5 CT v C31 UJ a; •■J [I *3 7

OUJ Or o

I i *4 I or 1 i ui rt UJ K oa a i J a: IMi*- O _ > fl ’ 1 a > a uj a O thickness of intervals i e t v c e * coal seams 9-lo Ft loo *90- 190— OOO F l OO- 1*0 F OO- I II I J FI O II-I0 — 0 Ft T94 t < Ft 0 4 - 0 * 90 F | FI 0 -9 0 4 90 F | FI 0 -9 0 * { FI 0 -1 0 1 0- I / FI 0 -9 90 ( f OMRIL OL EM I TE AAH VALLEY KANAWHA THE IN SEAMS COALCOMMERCIAL [ ca e l t t i l F 7''-* >F< CITN 1-4 CHILTON I UfE FV OOK IF» • - OtOCKNUMftER FIVE ^ - ^imimiimn -J' '- S D:7C <«£'&''' TrTr&rr-tAv ;. ;rr. " - f " - OKAii ' i i A h y ^ ; y ! t r , > y * i/'i. * ,■& ‘ ,l ' ‘‘ Iff i'/T ^v4'\*vx« ;1 v’ ! !>'■ !>'■ ('V.vl .

SMTI SOU ON ISOMETRICA ACS AREAS SCAM ' " ^ F P LO AS T T I 0 W . C . S 317 APPENDIX B

PHOTOGRAPHS

(Industrial Facilities)

3 1 8 F.gareX Electro Metallurgical Works at Glen Ferris £ VOH %

0 * ft ft I

Figure jTT Carbide and Carbon ifydrocarbon Plant a t Diamond u> N F,9‘ire “ Electro Metallurgloel it Alloy 322 J. Q. dddaoQ Salt Brine Evaporators at Malden Appalachian E le c tric Power Conpany a t Cabin Creek Carbide's Linde Air Division at South Charleston Figure y*tj J. Q. Dickison Salt Manufacturing Equipment Vintage 1870 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alderfer, E. B. and H. E. Mi chi, Economics of American In dug try , McGraw-Hill Book Coop any, In c., New York, 19U2

Alder son, Major J. C., A Handbook of Southern West Virginia, Charleston, Aiderson Land and development Company, 19 0 )•

Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation, Products of General Chemical Division, New York, 191*9.

Ambler, Charles Henry, History of West Virginia, Prentice Hall, Inc., New York, 1933. , West Virginia Stories and Biographies, Rand McNally & Company, liew York, l9U2.

A Study of People of West Virginia, West Virginia State Planning Board, diarieston, 1937.

Analysis of West Virginia Coals, Technical Paper No. 626, U. S. Depart- mant of Interior, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1 9 I42 .

Annual Report, Libbey-Ovens-Ford Glass Company, 1950.

Armentrout, Charles R., "This Air We Breathe," The Charleston Gazette, Special Section, Charleston, July, 191*9.

Arnold R., and W. J. Kemnitaer, Petroleum in the United States and Possessions, Harper Brothers, New York, i93l, pp. l5U-178.

Atkins, Q. W., "History of West Virginia," West Virginia Journal, Charleston, 1876, pp. 211-2L9.

Atmospheric P o llu tio n in th e G reat Kanawha R iver V alley In d u s tr ia l Area, West Virginia Department of Health, Bureau of1 Industrial Hiygiene, Charleston, 1952, 168 pp.

Atwood, W. W., ThePhysiographic Provinces o f North America, Ginn and Company, New Y o rk , 191*0.

A viation 1 Present Facilities and Future Requirements in West Virginia, Parks College" of' Aeronautical Technology, St. Louis University Press, St. Louis, Mo., 1951.

B & 0 Coals, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Stoneman Press, Columbus, — imr Bateman, A. M., Economic Mineral Deposits, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Sew York, 191*2, p p . 62 i*-61*8.

327 328

"Beginnings and History," About Carbide, Carbide and Chemical Corpora­ tion, New York, 19U5, pp. 3-11.

"Better ftiings for Better Living," Employment Review, Vol. II, No, 11, West Virginia Department of Employment Security, December, 19 U8, Charleston, pp. 5-16.

Branson, E, B., and W. A. Tarr, Introduction to Geology, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 19L1.

Britton, R. L., "Population Distribution in West Virginia," Economic Geography, Vol. XX, 19U1*, pp. 31-36.

Brooks, A. B., Forestry and Wood Industries, Vol. V., West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, W. Va., 1911.

Brown, Earl F., The Commerce of the Ohio River Traffic Artery, (Unpub­ lished M aster's Thesis, The University o?'tihicago, 1933.)

Cabin, James Morton, History of West Virginia (Semicentennial), Semi­ centennial Commission of West Virginia, 1913.

Canqpbell, M. R., "Huntington Folio," United States Geological Survey, Atlas 69, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1900.

______, "Charleston Folio," United States Geological Survey, Atlas 72, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1901.

, "Hypothesis to Account for the Extra-Glacial Abandoned Valleys o7 the Ohio Basin," Bulletin Geological Society of America, Vol. XII, 1900, p. U62.

, "H istorical Review of Theories Advanced by American Geologists to Account for the Origin and Accumulation of Oil," Economic Geology, Vol. VI, Number U, 1911, pp. 362-286.

Campbell, M. R., and W. C. Mendenhall, "Geological Section along the New and Kanawha Rivers in West V irginia," Seventeenth Annual Report, United States Geological Survey, 1895-6, pp. L79-509.

"Carbide and Carbon Chemicals," Fortune, Vol. XXIV, No. 3 (Sept. 19lil), p . 57.

"Cause and Elf feet in the Coal Industry," Kanawha Commerce, Charleston Chamber of Commerce, Vol. XXIII, Charleston, May, 1950, p. 9.

"Chamber Watches Outlook for Rubber Plant," Kanawha Commerce, Vol. XXVII, Charleston, March, 195k, pp. 3-U. 329

"Charleston Air Traffic to Get Discounts," Kanawha Commerce, Vol. XXVII, Sept., 195U, Charleston, pp.

"Coal Industry Problems are Couples," Kanawha Commerce, Vol. XXVII, A pril 195k, Charleston, pp. 9-11. "Coal Mining Section," Annual Reports, West Virginia State Department of Mines, Charleston, 19l*9, 1953.

Climate and Man, Yearbook of Agriculture, U. S. Department of Agricul- ture, Government Printing Office, Washington, 191*1, pp. 1182-1192.

Coup ton, J. N., "The Chemical Industry of the Great Kanawha Valley," Transactions of American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Vol. XX^CIV, (June 25, 1938), Philadelphia, pp. 199-^12.

Cook, Roy B ird, The Annals of F ort Lee, West V irginia Review P ress, Charleston, 19 3 5 .

, Washington's Western Lands, Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., Strasburg, Virginia, 1930.

Cornell, F. D., Trends in West Virginia Agriculture, West Virginia Uni­ versity, Experimental Station of the College of Agriculture, B u lletin No. 271, Morgantown, 1936.

Crawford, E. T., "Salt, Pioneer Chemical Industry of Kanawha Valley," Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. XXVII, No. 12 Ta*cT7TO5), p/TLS?: ------Crouch, S. 0., Charleston Illustrated, M. W. Donnally, Charleston, 1891*.

Curtis, Hal L«, "History Flows with the Kanawha," West Virginia Review, Vol. XVI, 1939, pp. 330-31, 31*8.

Davis, Joseph D., Carbonizing Properties: West Virginia Coals, Bulle­ tin 1*93, United States Bureau of Mines, Washington, 1950, 3$ pp.

Davis, Leslie M., "Economic Development of the Great Kanawha Valley," Economic Geography, Vol. XXII, 191*6, pp. 255-267.

Davis, W. M., "Hie Geological Dates of Origin of Certain Topographic Forms on the Atlantic Slope of the U. S.," Bulletin Geological Society America, Vol. II, 1891, pp. 51*5-581.

Dayton, Ruth Woods, Pioneers and Their Homes on Upper Kanawha, West Virginia Publishing Coup any, Charleston, West Virginia, 191*7.

Directory of West Virginia Business and Industry, West Virginia Depart- went of Labor, Jarrett Printing Company, Cnarleston, 1950, l*ll* pp. 330

"Dunbar Glass Specialises in V ersatility," Ceramic Industry, March 1950 (Special Reprint).

Eevenson, H. N., The F irst Century and a Quarter of American Coal Indus­ try, Pittsburgh, Privately printed, 191*2, Chapter XXX.

Eakew, Garnett Laidlaw, Salt - the Fifth Element, J. 0. Ferguson and Associates, 191*8.

"Factories Built for Manufacturers Increase Demand fcr Oils, "Rational Petroleum News, Vol* XXIII, 1931, pp. 77-78. fasts About Coal, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1950, 26pp.

"Facts aid Figures: 191*8 Edition," Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal Institute, Washington, 191*8, pp. 10-1U3• "Fifty Years of Progress in West Virginia," Emco News, Electro Metal­ lurgical Conpany, May, 1951, A lloy, pp. 6-23.

Fine Chemicals, Carbide and Carbon Chemical Corporation, New York, 1939.

Feeneman, Nevin M., Physlographyof Eastern United States, McGraw-Hill Book Co., I n c ., New ¥ork, 1938, pp. 290-301*.

Fontaine, W. M., "The Great Conglomerate on New River, W. Va.," Ameri­ can Journal Science, 3d ser.j Vol. VII, 1871*, pp. 1*59-1*65, 57B-79*

Fowler, Bertram B., "Magic Valley," The Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 2, 191*3, p p . 26-27. Fridley, H. M. and Nolting, J. P., Jr., "Peneplains on the Appalachian Plateau," Journal Geology, Vol. XXXIX, 1931, p p. 71*9-753.

Fuller, M., "Appalachian Oil Field," Geological Society of America B u lle tin , S*pp.t 1917, pp. 617-65l*. Gibbons, J .A ., The Kanawha V alley: I t s Resources and Developments, Gibbons-Atkinson & Co., Charleston, 1&7&. "Glass and Steel," Employment Review, West Virginia Department of Employment Security, Vol. V., No, 26, 1951, Charleston, pp. 25-27. Grover, N. C. e t a l, "Surface W ater Supply of the New-Kanawha River Basin," Water Supply Paper 536, United States Geological Survey,

Gruse, W. A., p*e Chemical Technology of Petroleum, McGraw-Hill Book Company, I n c ., New York, 1$1*£. 3 3 1

Hale, J. P., History of the Great Kanawha Valley, Brant, Fuller & Co., Madison, IB95.' ------

______, History and Mystery of the Kanawha Valley, Butler, Charles- ion, 1Q97: , Trans-Allegheny P io n eers, Kanawha V alley P u b lishing Co., Charleston, 1931• Happ, Stafford, "Drainage History of Southeastern Ohio and Adjacent West Virginia," Journal Geology, Vol, XLII, 193h, pp. 255-9U.

Hardesty, A*, H istorical and Geographic Encyclopedia, Hardesty and Company, Chicago, 1083* pp* 315-328.

Hayes, C. W., "The Southern Appalachians," National Geographic Society Monogram, Vol. I , l89f>.

Hayes, C. W. and M. R. Campbell, "Geology of the Southern Appalachians," National Geographic Magazine, Vol, VI, 1895» pp. 66-126.

Headlee, A. J. and L. C, Swing, "Natural Gas Surrey," Public Service Coamisslan of West Virginia, 1936.

Headlee, A. J. and J. P. Nolting, Characteristics of Mineable Coals of West Virginia, West Virginia Geological Surrey, Vol. XIII, l9h0, Morgantown, W. Va., Chapters I, III, VI, VII, and XI.

Headlee, A. J. and J. L. Hall, "Orlskany Natural Gas Coiqposition and Properties," Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, April 19U*.

"Heavy Volume of Freight Handled on Busy Ohio Central Division," Central Headlight, New York Central System, Vol. VI, 19h5, pp. l6-lTI Herman, Ray V. and D. D. Teets, Jr., "Fayette County," County Reports, West Virginia Geological Surrey, Morgantown, 1919.

"H istorical Summary," Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, New York, 1950, pp. 1-6,

Hodges, C., Editorial Brief of Charleston, West Virginia, Prepared for C harleston Chamber of Cosnerce, l9hU.

Hoskins, Homer A., Analyses of West Virginia Salt Brines, Report of Investigation Ho. 1, Geological ana Economic Surrey, Morgantown, m 7rpp’ i-22. — "How Rayon is Made, " Consumer Service Section, No. 700, American Vis­ cose Corporation, New York, June l^ltf* 332

"Huntington," Strategic Map Series, (13895), U. S. Corps of Engineers, Engineer Reproduction Plant,The Army War College, Washington, 191 *0 . Illing, V. C., Science of Petroleum, Oxford University Press, London, 1938» PP• 32-^8. Industry's Next Great Expansion Area: The Chessie Corridor, Industrial Development Service, Chesapeake and Ohio Lines, Huntington, 191*1.

"Integrated Charleston Population Estimated at lid , 219>w Kanawha Com­ merce, Charleston Chamber of Conrierce, Vol. XXIV, 1951, Charleston, pp. 1-10.

Johnson, D. W., "Appalachian Studies I I , " Bulletin Geological Society America, Vol. XL, 1931, p* 132. Jonas, A. I., "Structure of the Metamorphic Belts of the Southern Appa­ lachians," American Journal Sciences, 5th ser., Vol. XXIV, 1932, pp. 228-1*3* Kanawha Basin Zoning Report, West V irg in ia S tate Water Commission, Charleston, 1950.

Keith, Arthur, "Some Stages of Appalachian Erosion," Bulletin Geologi­ cal Society America, Vol. VII, 1895, pp* 519-21*. Knirk, Carl F., "Industrial Geography: Its Meaning, Scope and Con­ tent," Journal of Geography, Vol. IX, 1910, pp. ll*2-ll*6.

Knight, Wallace E«, "Valley Vital to World of Steel," Assignment: West Virginia, Charleston Gasette, July 29, 1951, p* 15* "Belle, Sister Cosnunities 15 Times Long as Wide; Little Seen by Passer­ by," The Charleston Gasette, June 3, 1951, p* 35.

K rebs, C. E ., "Jackson, Mason and Putnam Counties," County Reports, West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1911. Krebs, C. E. and D. D. T ests, "Kanawha County," County R eports, West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 191HZ

la Blache, Paul Vidal de et L. Gallois, Geographic Universelle, Tome X I II , Paris, 1930.

Lfefferty, R. C., "Large Area of West Virginia Underlain by Oriskany," Oil and Gas Journal, Vol. XXXVI, 1937, 17-20.

Laidley, W, S., History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and Representative Citizens, Richmond-Amold Publisnlng Company, Chicago, 1911. 333

Lee, James A., Materials of Construction for Chemical Process Indus­ tries, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York,' 1950.

Lemert, Ben F.f "The Rayon Industry in the United States," Journal of Geography, Vol. XXIII, 1933, pp. ii5-55.

Lewis, V. A., History and Government of West Virginia, American Book Company, C in cin n a ti, 1913. Ley, H. A., "Geology of Natural Gas," American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Vol, XXIX, 1935, Part 2,989-995.

Lilley, E. R., Economic Geology of Mineral Deposits, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1936, pp. 218-335* "Locks and Dams," Bulletin U02-C, Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, 19h7, 55 pp. "Log Wells and Field Data," Oil and Gas Journal, Vol. LXL, 19Ul, pp. 5k- 55. Longwell, C. R., A. Knapp, and R. F. Flint, "Physical Geology," Part I , A Textbook of Geology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1939, pp. I466-I467.

M a rie tta , Ohio, Worth Looking In to , M arietta Chamber of Commerce, Richardson Printing Corporation, Marietta, 195U.

Martens, H. C., Petrography and Correlation of Deep-Well Sections of West Virginia, Morgantown, West Virginia Geological Purvey, 1939.

Maxwell, J. B., Data Book on Hydrocarbons, D. Van Nostrand Company, New York, 1950.

McLaughlin, J. B., West Virginia Agricultural Statistics, Bulletin No. N.S. 37, West Virginia Department of Agriculture, 19h3, pp. 9-70.

M iller, W. J., An Introduction to Geology, D. Van Nostrand Company, New York, p.' 290.

Minerals Yearbook, U. S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines, Gov- eminent Pointing Office, Washington, 1951, 1952.

Monthly Petroleum Statem ent No. 37B, January, 195U, U. S. Department of Mines, Washington, 195R, pp.^1-21.

"Notice to Navigation Interests - 55*0," U. S. Corps of Engineers, Huntington D istrict, 1955* Preliminary unpublished information obtained at Huntington office, December 195U. 33i*

"Oil and Oas Section," Annual Reports, 1951-52, West Virginia State Department of Mines, C harleston, 1953*

Parkins, A. £., "A Comparison of Trans-Appalachian Railroads," Journal of Geography, Vol. IX, 1912.

Paul, C. H., Inventory of Water Resources of Mississippi Drainage Area, A Report Prepared by the National Resources Planning Board, Govern- ment P rin tin g O ffice, Washington, 1935* Perry, £. S., "Some Extraordinary Drainage Features of Southeastern Ohio," Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Department of Geology and Paleontology, University of Chicago, 1927* "Philip Sporn Plant," Electrical World, June $, 1950. K illlips, Charles John, Get Acquainted with Glass: Material, Industry, Uses, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York, 1950, 235 pp*

Plasticlaers and Chemicals, Qhio-Apex Inc., Nitro, West Virginia, 191+9* "Point Pleasant Bridge Dedicated," B & 0 Magazine, Baltimore and Ohio R ailroad, Vol. XXXIII, 19U7, pp. 1, 61.

Price, P. H., The Future of Natural Fuels of West Virginia, A Report Prepared for the May Meeting of the Appalachian Association of Geology, C harleston, 19U0.

Price, P. H. and C. E. Hare, Salt Brines of West Virginia, Vol* VIII» West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1937, pp. 5-2U, 1+7-68, 72-78, 125-150. Price, P. H., "Natural Resources of West Virginia," Supplement to Vol. X, Price, et al., 1938, P*a Natural Resources of West Virginia, Morgantown, July, 1952, 18 pp* Price, P. H. and A. J, Headlee, Physical and Chemical Properties of Natural Gas of West Virginia, West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, 1937* ______, Survey of Natural Gas of West Virginia, A Report Prepared for the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, 1936.

Price, P. H. and R. C. Tucker, Geology and Natural Resources of West Virginia, Vol. X, West Virginia Geological Survey; ‘'organtown,

Priestly, W. J., "50 Years of Progress in the Kanawha Valley," Em00 News, June 1951, A lloy, W. V a., pp. i+, 5, 8 , and 9* 3 3 5

"Production Anniversary: 1926-1951,w Hyper News, Vol. XIX, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, A p ril, 1951, PP* l-ll* . Program of the Capitol Soil Conservation D istrict, February, 191*6, C harleston, 33 pp *

"Report of Chief of Engineers," Annual Reports, Department of the Array, Government Printing Office, Washington, T932-1951*. Research, Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, New York, 1951. "Roller Gate Dams far West Virginia," Engineer’s News Record, Vol. Ill, 1933, p p . 337-31*2. Salt Resources of the United States, Bulletin 660, United Stated Depart- raent of Interior, Ooverhment Printing Qfi'ice, Washington, 1919. Sanders, T. P., "Hope Natural Gas Company Lays Ninety-five Mile Paral­ lel Line in Southern West Virginia," Oil and Gas Journal, Vol. XXXV, 1936, p. 59.

"Secondary Recovery Gives Cabin Creek New Life," The Pure Oil News, Pure O il Company, Vol. XXXVI, 1951*, pp. U-7• "Section 73, Southern West Virginia," Climatic Summary of the United S ta te s , U. S. Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1933. Seventy-Second Annual Report, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, New York, I55o Segoe, L., Stud ...... " *t Prepared for the M unicipal West Virginia, 1939 Shaw, E. W., "Ages of Appalachian Peneplains," Bulletin Geological Society America, Vol. XXIX, 1916, pp. 575-36.

Slutzky, Gerteude B., Utilization of Mineral Resources in Kanawha County, West Virginia, unpublished Master's thesis, the University of Chicago, 191*5, 138 pp. Snyder, F . G., Symposium on M ineral Resources of the S outheastern Ifriited States, University of Tennessee, 1950.

"Special Nitro Pocket Edition," Avisco News, American Viscose Corpora­ tion, Nitro, 191*7. Stout, Wilbur and Downs Schaaf, "Minford Silts of Southern Ohio," Bulletin Geological Society America, Vol. XLII, 1931, pp. 663-6/2. 336

Strother, D.H., "The Capitol of West Virginia and Great Kanawha Valley," Charleston Journal, Charleston, 1672.

Sullivan, J. V., West Virginia, Eyly History, Resources, and Devel­ opment, West Virginia Stain Blue Book, Charleston, 19

"Survey on Calcium Carbide," Chemical Division: National Production Authority, Washington, 1950, pp. 17-18.

"Survey on Formaldehyde," Chemical Division: National Production Authority, Washington, 1951* Technology in Salt Making, Bulletin 11*6, U. S. Department of Inter- io r, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1917*

"Die Business of Putting Nature's Materials at Man's Disposal, Employ­ ment Review, West Virginia Department of Employment Security, Vol. II, No. 12, February, 191*9, Charleston, pp. 5-11*.

"The du Pont Plant at Bella, West Virginia," E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Coup any, Unpublished Material Presented by Manager F. A. Otto on Augusut 13, 1951. The Marietta Story, Marietta, Ohio, Chamber of Connerce, Marietta, 1951.

"The Metal with the Brilliance of a Star," Products and Processes, Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, New fork, 1951 > pp. 5-7. Tight, W. G., "Drainage Modifications in Southeastern Ohio and Adjacent West Virginia and Kentucky," Professional Paper 13, U. S. Geologi­ cal Survey, 1903. Thornthw&ite, C. W ., "C lim atic Charts f a r th e Kanawha V alley," Unpub­ lished Photostated Material Received from the Johns Hopkins Uni­ versity, Laboratory of Climatology, Seabrook, New Jersey, Nov. 2, 1951. Traffic Survey Report: Charleston-South Charleston, Planning Division, West Virginia State froad Commission, 1950, Charleston, 1951.

"Transportation on the Ohio River System," U. S. Corps of Engineers, Department of the Amy and the U. S. Shipping Board, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1937. Tucker, R. C., "Oil and Gas Developments in West Virginia in 1953," Bulletin of the Association of Petroleum Geologists, Vol. 38, No. 6',' I9'5urp'p.' x<*3^1556'. ------—

Tucker, R. C. and EH. Price, Summarised Records ofDeep Wells, Vol. XVI, West Virginia Geological Survey, Morgantown, l9l*3. 337

Twenhofel, W, H., P rin c ip le s of Sedim entation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., Hew Tork, I£jk9.

"Union Carbide, The Corporation," Fortune, Vol. XXIII, No. 6, 191*1, p . 61.

"Union Carbide II, Alloys, Gases, and Carbon," Fortune, Vol. XXIV, No. 1, 191*1, p . 1*9. Unpublished Materials presented by Mr. H. Payne of Dunbar Glass Corpor­ ation in July, 1951.

Unpublished Mimeographed Material Presented in 1951 ("George Washington's Railroad") by the Publicity Department of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

Unpublished Information Supplied by C. £• Law a l l, Assistant Vice-Presi­ dent of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in November, 1951.

Unpublished Information Concerning Stream Conditions in the Charleston Area and Water Supply Sources in th e Kanawha V alley, P resented by Mr. Robert F. Rocheleau, Executive Secretary Engineer of the S ta te Water Commissior) on October 18, 1951*

Unpublished Typed Material Presented in December, 195U, by Mr. H. J. Barton, Petroleum and Natural Gas Economics Coordinator, U. S. Bureau of Mines.

U. S. Congress, Committee on Rivers and Harbors, Hearings Before the Committee of Rivera and Harbors on May 26 and~May 27, l£33, 73rd Congress, Government Printing Office, Washington,

, Petroleum Investigations, Hearings Before the Sub- Cowidttee on I n te r s ta te Commerce and Foreign A ffa irs , 73rd Con­ gress, G.P.O., Washington, 193U.

, Production of Gasoline from Coal and Other Products, 73rd Congress, G.P.O., Washington, 191*2.

______, Document No. 190, 70th Congress, 1st Session, G.P.O., Washington, 19^8, 1*3 pp.

, Document No. 31, 73rd Congress, 1st Session, G.P.O., Washington, 1933,85 pp.

______, Document No. 91, 7Uth Congress, 1st Session, G.P.O., Washington, 1935, 123 pp. 338

U. S . Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, S t a t i s t i c a l A tla se s, G.P.O., Washington, 1903, 1911*, 1921*.

______, Biennial Census of Manufacturers, G.P.O., Washington, l£3?-l951._

______, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1£1*0, Agriculture, Vol. I, 6.P.O., Washington, 191*2, pp. 220-287.

______, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 191*0, Population, Vol, II, G.P.O., Washington, 191*2, pp. 1*81-61*1*.

______, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1£56, Agriculture, V o l I and Population, Vol. I I , G .P.O ., Washington, 1952 • ______, Weather Bureau, "Local Climatological Summary for Charlesion, West Virginia," Chattanooga, 1950-1951*.

Tan W oorst , J , , The Ohio and K anaka V alley, Ihe Coal Basins of Kanawha, London, Pastern as ter How, l8£l*, pp. 2£5-2?6.

Ver Steeg, Karl, "Warping of the Appalachian Peneplain," Journal Geol­ ogy, Vol. XXXH, 1931, pp. 93-102, 387-393. ______, "The Teays River," Ohio Journal Science, Vol. XLVI, 191*6, pp ." 29?-307. "Water-Borne Commerce of the United States, Calendar Tear 1953," Part 2, Waterways md Harbors* Gulf Coast, Mississippi River System and Antilles, U. S. Corps of Engineers. Department, of the Army, Vicksburg, M ississippi, 1951*. "We of L-O-F Had Greatest Tear in 1950," News and Views, Libbey-Owens- Ford G lass Company, AprX\ 1951, p. 1*. Westvaco Chemicals, Food Machinery, and Chemical Corporation. New Tork. I9 3 T ------

"West Virginia, A Guide to the Mountain State," West Virginia State Planning Board, American Guide Series, Compiled by the Works of W riter's Program of W.P.A., Oxford University Press, New Tork, 191*1. "West Virginia - Markets, Materials, and Manpower," Bulletin, West Virginia Industrial and Publicity Commission, Charleston, 195U, 20 pp. West Virginia Bluebook, Vols. XXXV, XXXIX, Jarrett Printing Comoany. SKarXes^on ,“ 193L-1955. 3 3 9

West Virginia Turnpike Dedication Program, West Virginia Turnpike Com- mission, Rose City Press, Charleston, 195U*

Wasson, T., and A. B. Wasson, Structural Theory of American Oil Fields, A Report Prepared for the American Association of Geologists at a Symposium h e ld in 1929 a t T u ls a , Oklahoma, p p . 1*62-1*75.

White, I. C., "Stratigraphy of the Bituminous Coal Fields of Pennsyl­ vania, Ohio and West V irginia," United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 65, 1891, pp. 136-195.

White, I* C., "Oil and Gas Resources," American Geologists, Vol. VII, 1891, pp. 3 0 2 -3 0 5 . ~ 'Williams, L., "Physiography of the .New-Kanawha River," Unpublished M aster's Thesis, Department of Geology, the University of Chicago, 1935.

Wilson and W ells, "Coal, Coke, and Coal Chemicals," Chemical Engineer­ ing Series, Mellon Institute, McGraw-Hill Book Company^ Inc., "" tfew T o rk , 191*6.

"Your E lectricity in the Making, as Seen in the Cabin Creek Plant," Back of the Plug, Appalachian E lectric Power Coup any, Roanoke, l£ 5 l.

Petroleum and Natural Gas - Precise Levels, Vol. IV, The New Dominion Publishing Company, Morgantown, 1909# AUTOBIOGRAFHT

I, Selva Carter Wiley, was bom in Huntington, West Virginia,

June 16, 1917* I received ny secondary school education in the public schools of Lincoln County, West Virginia. Undergraduate train­ ing was at Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia, where I received the degree Bachelor of Arts in 1938 and West Virginia Second­ ary School Certification in 191*7• I was conmissioned as a Naval Reserve officer at Northwestern University in 191*1*. Prom the Univer­ sity of Nebraska, I received the degree Master of Arts in 191*6. I have held student assistantships at Marshall College and graduate aasistantships at both the University of Nebraska and The Ohio State

University. I have been on leave of absence from The Department of the Army at various times since 1950 in order to complete the require­ ments for the degree Doctor of Philosophy.

31*0