N&W in 1909--Big Stony

[NW Mailing List]

I don't know the location of the Graham furnace, but I am attaching two items from Google Books on it.  Because the furnace incorporated a foundry, I thought it might have been on the location of the present-day Thistle foundry, but I found a item that the Thistle Foundry and Machine Company was founded in 1899 with that name whereas the furnace was founded in 1890 and named Graham Iron Furnace.  So, the furnace appears to have been separate from the Thistle foundry.  Incidentally, the same item reveals that the Thistle foundry was founded by J. P. Cameron, who hailed from Aberdeen, Scotland.  Considering that the national flower of Scotland is the thistle, the unusual name of the foundry is understandable.

Gordon Hamilton
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: NW Mailing List 
  To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:54 AM
  Subject: Re: N&W in 1909--Big Stony


  I lived in Bluefield, VA (as Graham became known, of course....) growing up but never heard of an iron furnace.  Where was it located?

  Thanks,

  Dave Phelps

  In a message dated 4/14/2009 9:13:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:
    Bluefield Daily Telegraph
    July 22, 1909

    THE GRAHAM DAILY NEWS
    ------
    Iron Furnace May Resume
        The article in yesterday's Telegraph to the effect that the Big Stony Railroad was nearing completion, was read with considerable interest by the people of Graham, for it is believed that the penetrating of the Potts Creek ore beds means the putting into blast of the Graham iron furnace just as soon as the ore from that region is available.  The furnace property is owned by the Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company, and it is known that the owners have refused to consider offers to lease or sell the property during the past year, which is taken to mean that they expect to operate it themselves as soon as the Potts Creek ore can be gotten.  In years past, while the furnace was in blast, the ore came from the Toledo Lakes and it is said the freight rates were so high from that point to Graham that it was found impossible to run the furnace at a profit, hence its operation was abandoned.  The Graham furnace when in full blast employs close to 200 men and its operation means a good deal to the town in an industrial way.

    [The previous posting on "Big Stony" should have mentioned that additional information on the interesting Potts Valley branch line can be found in John Joseph's article in the July/August 2002 issue of The Arrow.]
    -----

    Crowd Will Go to Roanoke
        Quite a crowd from Graham will take advantage of the low rate offered by the Norfolk and Western and go to Roanoke today to see the baseball game and other good things to be seen there.
    ------
    Gordon Hamilton


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