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<DIV>Alex,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks again for clearing matters up. When I searched for Gordon, WV,
I came up with the modern community of Gordon in Boone County and noticed a
Clear Fork south of there, so I assumed these were the two names that you
referred to. I knew of Gordon Tunnel on the N&W main line near Clear
Fork junction, but failed to associate these two names with your
description.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Gordon Hamilton</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW
Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, October 05, 2009 4:46
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Lumber company in BS&C
territory in 1910</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>C.L. Ritter, who was W.M. Ritter's cousin, had
the milll at Gordon which was across the Tug River from the mouth of Clear
Fork in McDowell County. This was located between Roderfield and
Wilmore. To add to the confusion, C.L. Ritter established the
community of Ritter on the south side of the Tug Fork at the mouth of the
Clear Fork. Gordon siding was located opposite Ritter on the north side
of the Tug Fork.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>W.M. Ritter established one of his saw mills at
Ritter on the Dry Fork which empties into the Tug Fork at Iaeger.
However Ritter on the Dry Fork could not have a post office named Ritter,
because C.L. Ritter already had one named Ritter at the mouth of the Clear
Fork. So the post office at Ritter on the Dry Fork was named Avondale,
even though everyone called the location Ritter. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>C.L. Ritter bought the 40,000 acres the Flat Top
Land Association had in Wyoming/Boone/Raleigh County that was not contiguous
with their other propertties, which is why he probably reopened the Sandy Huff
mill. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Mary
Bowman wrote in her book on Wyoming County, “From 1922 to 1927, The C.L.
Ritter Lumber Company operated a band mill at Sandy Huff to manufacture lumber
from timber cut over the same 5,000 acres which R.E. Wood removed timber from
1898 to 1908, employing 100 to 150 men.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Two-thirds of them worked at the mill and in the yards, the remainder
in the woods.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Logs were
transported across the mountain from Huffs Creek in Wyoming County with a
35-ton Shay Locomotive and a 20-ton Climax locomotive on steel rails … Total
cut at this set, 60,000,000 feet.” R.E. Wood had cut nearly 72,000,000
feet from the same property from 1898 through 1908.</SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial>C.L. Ritter is probably remembered more for his hardware
sales in WV, rather than for his lumber business. C.L. Ritter also had
extensive lumbering in Virginia.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial>There was aslo a large saw mill at Ada on the East River run
by W.M. Ritter (I think). I would have to look up which Ritter operated
which mill.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial>One of the confusing things are the multiple rivers with the
same names in the same county as well as different counties. As an
example the Greenbrier Coal and Coke Co on North Fork Branch was named after
the Greenbrier Branch (creek) that emptied into the North Fork of Elkhorn
Creek. However there is a Greenbrier Branch that runs into Panther Creek
that was more famous for timbering.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial>I won't tell you how many times I have been confused about
where some place was or which river or creek was actually being talked
about.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><FONT
size=2 face=Arial>Alex Schust</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN> </P></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW
Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, October 05, 2009 3:20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Lumber company in BS&C
territory in 1910</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Alex,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks for the additional info, but I need some clarification. In
order to familiarize myself with somewhat unfamiliar territory I have tried
to follow your descriptions on a map, but I have trouble understanding how
the C. L. Ritter Lumber Co. mill at Gordon on the Clear Fork that flows
south into the Guyandotte River upstream of Bailey Reservoir relates to a
different Clear Fork a lot farther south which flows north into
Tug Fork between Roderfield and Wilmore. It was this latter Clear
Fork which was followed by the N&W Clear Fork Branch.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Incidentally, in a online biography of C. L. Ritter it states that he
relocated from Pennsylvania, "...and in 1889 came to West Virginia and
entered the lumber business at Oakvale on East River." So, it looks as
though the N&W probably got his first business.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Gordon Hamilton</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, October 05, 2009 9:07
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Lumber company in
BS&C territory in 1910</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The R.E. Wood Lumber Co had 27 miles of
wooden track from Wyoming County down Buffalo Creek and then down to Sandy
Huff where the the N&W connection was made. My new book,
"Billion Dollar Coalfield", will have a picture of Climax on wooden rails
on that particular railroad. C. L. Ritter took over that
property in the 1920s and kept the mill going at Sandy Huff through the
1920s. C.L. Ritter also had the first mill at Gordon and timbered
along the Cleak Fork. He probably had a lumber railroad running down
the Clear Fork which formed the basis of George L Carter's West Virgina
Southwestern Railway that eventually became the Clear Fork
Branch.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Alex Schust</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">NW Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org
href="mailto:nw-mailing-list@nwhs.org">3N&W Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 04, 2009
10:06 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Lumber company in BS&C
territory in 1910</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Tunga>Bluefield Daily Telegraph<BR>March 16,
1910</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=4>STEEL RAILS</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=center><STRONG>Replacing Wooden Ones on Track of Lumber
Company</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV align=left> The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company,
Inc., is rushing work on its Virginia plant and is replacing as fast as
possible all the wooden track which it inherited from the Yellow Poplar
Lumber Company, which it recently bought out. The old company had
Fifty-four miles of wooden rails and it is the intention of the new
company to replace this track as rapidly as circumstances demand with
steel rails. The company will also go down Dismal about seventeen
miles to reach a large tract of timber. The company's offices are
at Huntington, W. Va., while its working plant is now located at
Whitewood, Va. The C. L. Ritter Lumber Company, the Rockcastle
Lumber Company and the Tug River Lumber Company have joint offices in
Huntington.</DIV>
<DIV align=center>------</DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV align=left>[<EM>I have seen old pictures of wooden track lumber
railroads, but I never had any idea that there would be 54 miles of such
track in one operation. The attached picture of a C. L. Ritter
Climax locomotive at Whitewood is from the collection of C. T. Stoner,
and is presented here by courtesy of climaxlocomotives.com.
It appears to be on wooden rails. Whitewood is in Buchanan County,
Virginia, on Dismal Creek in an area that was remote in 1910, so it
would be interesting to know how the lumber from that plant got to
market. According to Blackstock and Wilson's article in the
July/August issue of <U>The Arrow</U>, W. M. Ritter's Big Sandy and
Cumberland narrow gauge railroad reached Matney on Slate Creek in 1910,
and Matney would be only three to four miles north of the C. L. Ritter
line down Dismal Creek. Could there have been a connection over
the divide between Dismal and Slate creeks for C. L. Ritter lumber to go
out on the BS&C? Incidentally, the C. L. Ritter Lumber
Co. is still in existence in Huntington according to the websites such
as <A href="http://www.manta.com">www.manta.com</A>. </EM>]</DIV>
<DIV align=left> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=6 face=Script>Gordon Hamilton</FONT></DIV>
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