Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/westpointvirginiOOrich • I : l I ; WEST-POINT • • • yiRGlNIK • # • # i&KING WILLIAM m m H B COUNTY M li $k iiafe ^ i^ ^? 1 ^& ^!4 ^ f *-l •Jj** «*tf* -w Everett Waddey. Stationer and Printer, 1112 Main St., Richmond, Va. ^A^k^^-^CTCTcaia^gE^gCTCTcgCTCTGiiCTCTCTgSQcagg HON. B. WILKINSON. Mayor, WEST POINT. VA. E have die pleasure to hand you herewith a I land Book oi the town of \\<-st Point, giv- ■ ~\ ' y^fi "ing a briel history <>\ its business and its ' growth. Appended to this is a short article on King William County. H. I. Lbwis, ISAAi I)k;«.s, T. P. Baglev, Committee. October ioth, 1888. jgy|M»6^^ ^^ .•^•^•^•^tesiES's / IS) West* Point, >/ VIRGINIA, AND KING WILLIAM COUNTY. 1888. RICHMOND: EVERETT WADDEY, STATIONER AND PRINTER, 1888. fo< &<4/\ West Point, Virginia. EST POINT is situated at the head of York river on the Peninsula formed by the Pamunkey and Mattaponi; and is destined to become a large and important city, because of its many advantages of location for commercial and manu- facturing purposes. The town site is a beautiful level plateau, sufficiently ele- vated to secure proper drainage, and the surrounding view cannot be surpassed. Standing on the point, may be seen five coun- ties bordering on the York, while this river presents its. splendid sheet of water free from rocks and shoals and without a bend as far as the eye can reach. This smooth body of water seems to gracefully kiss the shores of West Point and then divide in twain and form the Mattaponi and Pamunkey. Nature has provided along the shores of these three rivers all the ele- ments for happy homes — a soil producing great varieties of fruits, vege- tables, and the standard cereals. The rivers also furnish cheap food and remunerative employment for hundreds of fisherman and oyster- men. In winter season the rock-fish is caught in large numbers, and the famous York river oyster figures largely in our markets. In spring and summer, crabs, both., hard and soft-shell, come in abundance to our shores, and along •with, them shad, spotts, trout, and other fish. Thus it will be seen that the water furnishes abundant sup- plies for food and for shipment to other markets. As a hunting locality, this section of the country is equal to any. The plump partridge can be found in all the surrounding counties, the rivers swarm with ducks and geese, and in September and October the marshes of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey are alive with that mysterious bird, the jora. Wild deer also roam in large numbers in our woods. THE CLIMATE. West Point is too far north for yellow fever, too far south for diph- theria and typhoid, and too near salt water for malarial fever. This is found to be true from experience, and therefore no place presents a better health record. The winters are mild, and free from blizzards. For this reason, together with the fact that this river is straight and wide, this harbor is always free of ice. HARBOR ALWAYS OPEN. It is no unusual sight in winter for the wharves to be crowded with ships from other ports, driven here by necessity. In 1875, an ^ during several winters since that time, all the harbors north of the Potomac were closed by ice, while the York river was entirely free. The climatic advantages also render the surrounding country spe- cially adapted to early vegetables. The soil is light, and only needs proper cultivation to cause it to blossom like the rose. The summers are pleasant, and the sea-breeze renders this quite a resort at that season. The splendid beach brings hundreds to our shores to enjoy the invigorating salt-water bath. The nights are spe- cially cool and pleasant, and on account of the overflow of the sur- rounding marshes at high tide with salt water, there is no danger of sickness from that source. Taking all things into consideration, West Point, as regards scenery, climate and healthfulness, cannot be surpassed as a place at which to live, and as regards its future, presents every advantage for safe and remunerative investments. ARTESIAN WATER. * • Among the many advantages *-6f West Point must be mentioned her plentiful supply of artesian water. Pure water for drinking purposes is a blessing which all appreciate. These wells can be obtained at a cost of about $50, and will furnish an abundant supply of water for an indefinite time. Indeed, there is no reason why they should not last for hundreds of years. The upward pressure of the water is such that it can be carried from house to house by means of piping, thus supply- ing many families from one well. The flow from each well, with one and a half inch pipe, is about 40 gallons per minute. But the main feature in this water is its health-giving qualities. It is especially adapted to those who suffer from dyspepsia, many cases hav- ing been entirely cured by its constant use. This water is clear, and free from smell or taste. MANUFACTORIES. The artesian water at this place should be a great inducement to the establishment of an ice factory here. This would render the ice clear as crystal, and also render it the more salable on account of its medici- nal qualities. To the manufacturer peculiar advantages exist here, to which their attention should be called. Connected by steamship with Europe, New York, Boston, and other cities, and by railroad with all the Atlantic and Gulf States, cotton, tobacco, wheat, corn, cattle, timber and coal can be obtained here as cheap as at any port in the country. Here is the cheapest and best entre port for the coffee of Brazil, the sugar of the West Indies, and the products of Europe. Here the manufacturer will find inexhaustible supplies of cheap land, cheap fuel, cheap food, cheap labor, and ready markets for his produc- tion. The products of the South and of the West can meet here with the capital of the North at the lowest cost of transportation. The town and surrounding country is being rapidly filled by a splen- did class of citizens from the North and West, drawn hither by cheap land and the mild and health-giving climate. This increase of population gives a splendid opening for canneries. The cheap lands would furnish cheap vegetables, and the rivers would famish in winter oysters for such an enterprise. TAXES FREE. Our Town Council always shows a disposition to aid manufacturing enterprises. They will release from taxation any infant industry which may chance to be established in our midst, and give other advantages, if necessary. 6 SEAPORT. This port, for convenience, safety and depth of water cannot be sur- passed on the coast. With a small appropriation from Congress, there is twenty-three feet at low water on the only bar in the river, known as Goff 's bar. There are no rocks, shoals, or other obstructions, and the river is straight from here to the Bay. It is only twenty-eight miles from here to Yorktown, and only sixty- three miles from here to Cape Henry. The following table of distances shows the short rail-line advantages of West Point : FROM NEW ORLEANS. To Boston 1 ,535 miles. " New York I ,3°3 " " Philadelphia 1,213 " " Baltimore 1, 1*5' " " West Point 994 " FROM MEMPHIS. To Boston !)459 miles. " New York 1,227 " " Philadelphia 1, 137 " " Baltimore I >°39 " " West Point 918 " FROM MOBILE. To Boston J >394 miles. ".New York 1,162 " " Philadelphia 1,072 " " Baltimore . 974 " " West Point 853 " FROM WASHINGTON. To West Point 132 miles. FROM ST. LOUIS. To Boston. . . ; 1 > 2 95 miles. " New York 1,063 " " Philadelphia 973 " " Baltimore 929 " '■ West Point 904 " FROM CHICAGO. To New York 913 miles. " Philadelphia . . . 823 " " Baltimore 809 " " West Point 878 " FROM CINCINNATI. To New York 757 miles. " Philadelphia 667 " " Baltimore 589 " " West Point 584 " FROM LOUISVILLE. To New York 864 miles. " Philadelphia 774 " " Baltimore . . ,..•••. 699 " " West Point. . . . . 651 " FROM PITTSBURG. To New York 444 miles " West Point 432 " [Extracts from Report Made by Lieut. M. F. Maury, U. S. N.] At a meeting of the stockholders of the Richmond and York River Railroad Company, held in the city of Richmond on the 18th and 19th days of January, 1855, convened by order of the Board of Public Works for the purpose of selecting the route and eastern terminus of their railroad. According to the request made and promise given, I proceeded in the last days of December to Richmond, and thence to York River, for the purpose of examining as to the most suitable point on its waters for the terminus of the Richmond and York River Railroad. YORK THE NOBLEST. Many fine arms of the sea branch off from the Chesapeake Bay and embellish Eastern Virginia with noble sheets of water; and, commer- cially speaking, York river is the noblest of them all. Formed by the junction of the Pamunkey and Mattaponi at West Point, it continues thence S. E. to the Bay, and that by a course so singularly straight and direct as to give it the appearance of a canal with boundless capacities. York river differs in one respect, and that a very important one, 8 from all the other principal feeders of the Chesapeake Bay. The Potomac, the Rappahannock, and the James rivers meet tide-water at their lowest falls. Before they pass these they have received the waters with the mud and silt of all their principal tributaries. As soon as the turbid waters of these streams — and in times of flood they are very, very muddy — leaps the falls and meets the tide, this mud and silt com- mences to settle, and the consequence is that all three of these rivers are raising up their beds and obstructing their channels, particularly near the head of tide, with bars. This is the case with the Potomac near Georgetown and Washington, and the Rapahannock at Fredericks- burg. There are places in front of these cities where large sea-going craft used to lie, but where now the lightest skiff can scarcely pass, so much mud have these rivers brought down and deposited in the way of navigation. As soon as the turbid waters of the rivers meet the tide from the sea, the rapidity of their flood is checked, and the deposit of sediment com- mences. Hence the most rapid filling up of channels takes place at and near the head of tide-water. Where the rnnning streams from the land meet the flow of tide from the sea, there is always a conflict, and in this conflict of waters a deposit of sediment is made and bars are formed. This is a law of nature. WITHOUT FALLS. On the other hand, the York riveris without falls, and it is formed by two tidal streams in which the conflict of waters has already taken place and heavy deposit of sediment been made long before they came together. Moreover, these streams themselves receive no large tribu- taries. The tide runs far up both of them, and the mud which their head waters, when in a swollen state, bring down to them, is generally deposited before they join to form the York. After the heaviest rains, and when the Mattaponi and Pamunkey are at their highest stage, the mud with which their upper waters are charged is, for the most part, deposited before it gets to York river, for it takes this mud several days after it meets tide-water, and begins to ebb and flow, to reach West Point. Consequently the Pamunkey and Mattaponi are filling up their beds some 60 or 80 miles above West Point, and the volume of water discharged by these two streams is so small in comparison with that discharged by the Potomac, the Rappahannock and the James rivers, that the York river, alternately emptying and filling its two confluents with the tide, is more like an arm of the sea than an inland stream. It is to these two rivers what the Chesapeake Bay is to the streams which empty into it— and the sediment which these bring down are filling the Bay up about as fast as the sediment of the Pamunkey and its fellow is filling up the York. Consequently the York, which is now navigable for ships of the largest class, will probably remain so for ages yet to come. The navigation of the York river therefore is invested with the characteristics of permanence, and this feature imparts great conse- quence and value to the enterprise which you have in hand. The object of your railway is, I take it, to afford the produce which is brought to Richmond on its way to market a cheaper and more speedy conveyance thence to the sea than that which the James river affords.' From Richmond down to City Point, the head of ship navi- gation, the distance by the river is counted 50 miles. At City Point the sea-going ships are loaded from lighters alongside, which convey produce and merchandise to- and from the wharves of the city at from 75 to 100 cents the ton, or from x% to 2 cents per ton per mile, aver- aging i# cents. From City Point to the mouth of the river, the distance is 78 miles, and the average rate of freight may be taken at half a cent per ton per mile. At least this is the rate of North river freight, and that by the James will scarcely be less. From Richmond to York river the distance is from 32 to 42 miles according to the point finally to be determined on as the terminus of the road, and the distance thence to the mouth of the river is from 45 to 35 mlles - YORK RIVER ROUTE THE SHORTEST. Now, the problem proposed is to find a route by railroad and York river by which produce and merchandise may be conveyed between Richmond and the Bay both cheaper and quicker than it can be con- veyed between Richmond and the Bay by ships and lighters up and down James river. Every route by the York is quicker than that by the James, and, therefore, that route alone will best fulfill the conditions of the prob- lem which will afford the cheapest transportation of them all, not pro- portionally the cheapest, so far as the railroad alone is concerned, but 10 really and absolutely the cheapest when both rail and river transpor- tation and all expenses are taken into the account. THE BEST PORT. From West Point there is water enough to pass right out to sea any merchant ship in the country except the Great Republic. Two or three miles below the point is a bar of soft mud with 18^ feet at low water.* It is estimated that a vessel with the force of the wind alone may easily plough through this mud to the depth of twelve or eighteen inches; suppose we say fifteen. This will make a draft of 20 feet available under canvas dead low water with a rise of three feet in the tide. The keel of a large ship is from 20 to 23 inches deep, by 15 thick, all of which no doubt can be dragged with steam straight over the bar, which gives it for large clippers a practical tug capacity of at least 21 feet at low and 25 at high water. The effect of the requisite wharves for the accommodation of the shipping would be to scour out this bar; and of ships plowing through it, the effect would be to wear it away. So I consider it capable of passing any vessel that the business of commerce shall require of it. But 18^ feet at low water is four feet more than the Mississippi admits to New Orleans without plowing, and two feet more than can be dragged through the mud on its bars. It is more by two feet at least than Baltimore, and practically as much as Philadelphia can boast of. It will admit vessels that can- not go to Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, or Galveston, or any other place of trade south of Virginia, either along our Atlantic or Gulf coast. At low water but eleven feet can be carried into Liver- pool, and but seven up to London Docks. At the two last named ports the rise of the tide is from 12 to 20 feet, but at a mean your West Point beats them both, and with its soft mud is superior to the 21 feet of the Sandy Hook bar with its hard sand and heave of the sea. The difficulties on this score with the dangers of thumping served at times both to delay and damage vessels trading to New York before the discovery, by Lieut. Gedney, some 20 years ago, of a channel with deeper water. All these cities have flourished and grown great with less practical draft for ships at low water than that afforded at the ter- minus of this road. The depth of water on Goff's bar, the softness of *At present 23 feet at low tide. 11 the mud upon it, and the smoothness of the water in York river, even in the roughest times, all combine to make West Point the most acces- sible of ports. Owing to this combination of advantages, it will be found, whenever the question comes to be tested by experience, that in the long run vessels will, so far as Goff's bar is concerned, have less difficulty in passing to and fro between West Point and the Bay than they have in clearing the Capes of Virginia on account of gales. It is not uncommon to see a fleet of vessels lying weather-bound in Hamp- ton Roads or Lynn Haven Bay, and waiting for days before the wind will let them loose. West Point being between the two rivers which form the York, has also the rare advantage of double wharfage. On the Mattaponi side there is ample water and perfect shelter for coasters, steamers, and all light craft ; while on the other there are good accommodations for the largest Indiamen. Observe the advantages thus afforded: vessels of light draft will not occupy the room in deep water which may be required for large vessels. Where the small craft will lie, there the water is the right deptn for them, the wharves of easy construction, and the wharfage fees will be light. On the deep side the water is not deeper than the large ships require it to be, consequently in building wharves there your engineer will not have to go to the expense of piling or filling a single foot in the waste spaces of deep water. This double water front of West Point being so treated, your road, terminus, and route, will afford all the conveniences for ingress and egress, loading and unloading, receiving, warehousing, and discharging, that can be desired. In selecting this point regard was also had not only to the present but to the future wants of trade with and through Virginia. And in this respect as well as in others, West Point is superior to all of its com- petitors, and very commanding, for it has capacities for wharfage suf- ficient for the accommodation of any amount of shipping. Let men say what they will, but the day will come when the James River and Kanawha Canal will be extended to the Ohio in the shape of some sort of improvement which will afford cheap transportation. When that is done, millions of produce will start up from the West and come to the call of the Virginia steam-whistles, searching through her borders for the cheapest and the best ways to the sea. 12 When that day comes it will bring with it for Virginia the boon which her sons for the last generation at least have coveted with exceeding eagerness. Being in the category of extensive producers and bountiful consumers, they have regarded the establishment of direct trade as an achievement essentially necessary to the perfect development of the power, the resources and influence for good which lie slumbering in the bosom of their State. When the day of cheap portage to the Ohio comes, then your State will have a back country- man Empire in the West"— to fetch and carry for, to call for and sup- port a direct trade worth having, and thus, through the influence which the relations of commerce and constant intercourse will give her with the people of the Great West, she will regain that ascendancy and that moral power among her sister States which once she had, and which made her in days gone by altogether lovely in the eyes of her sons and exceedingly comely to the world. West Point and York river have powers of expansion sufficient to satisfy all the demands that the commerce of Virginia and the enter- prise of her citizens can make upon them even in that day. And no other point by the York river route has such capacities unless vast sums be first expended in piling and wharfing. In having an eye to the day of cheap portage through Virginia to the West— and no other but cheap portage can enable your State to recover herself and regain her lost charms— the laws which govern the movements of produce in its march to the sea must not be forgotten, for in these are reasons for the preference which I give to West Point. Wherever the inland transportation ends and the sea transportation begins, there is generally to be found the principal entrepot of the region of country which is the basis of the trade carried on. In obedi- ence to this law we see a city built up at the head both of the Chesa- peake and Delaware Bays, not at their mouth. Where they are nature requires a change in the means and appliances which may be used in the inland transportation of the produce which forms the basis of their commerce. There must, therefore, be a trans-shipment, and the ves- sels which are required to fetch and carry between the entrepot and the mouth of the bay will serve also for the sea transportation. The advantages gained by treating bay transportation on the Chesapeake and Delaware as sea transportation and not as a connecting link 13 between the land and the sea, have, with their back country, built up the two great cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia and made them what they are. In obedience to this law in the movement of tonnage, New York is at the mouth of the North river, not at its head of tide-water, nor at Staten Island, for the Hudson, straighter than the James, is but a continuation of the Erie Canal, and it was more convenient for the river and inland craft to come down than for sea-going ships to go up. The shipping might have stopped at Staten Island, but then the bay is oftentimes too rough, and the craft that can fetch down to New York could not always continue their voyage to the mouth of the bay. In other words, it was more convenient for the sea-craft to go up to the head of the harbor than for the inland craft to come down to its mouth, and consequently a middle ground was selected in obedience to this great law j and in consequence of that obedience, commerce effected the great achievement which nothing short of the splendors of the "Empire City" can express. I submit no estimate as to the actual amount of business anticipated for this route. But it would be a blunder not to plan its termini with an eye to the accommodation of all the business that time, improve- ments and enterprise shall call forth between Richmond and the sea, between Richmond and the West. If one ton of merchandise, on arriving at Richmond from the interior, shall take this route on account of cheaper transportation and easier access to the sea, I do not see why it would not be cheaper and easier for every other ton of produce to do the same, and, consequently, I perceive no reason why every other ton of merchandise bound seaward from Richmond should not take the same route. In this point of view, West Point, with its accommoda- tions and capacities, stands, in the language of your engineer, "pre- eminent," and it would be a singular oversight to ignore those capa- bilities of meeting all of the emergencies which its own success and the business of trade may call for. THE NAME. West Point derives its name from the original owner of the site, a gentleman whose name was West (West's Point) by use and for con- venience the possessive case was dropped and left simply West Point. 14 THE TAYLOR FARM. The town of West Point is situated on a part of the old Taylor farm, which was formerly owned by Wm. P. Taylor, Esq. Twenty-five years ago what is now a town of no mean importance was a field of growing corn. The negro quarters of the Taylor farm were situated at this place. CORN, WHEAT AND CLOVER. It is within the memory of a number of citizens — men of middle age — that West Point was in cultivation with wheat, corn and clover. The soil was fertile and excellent crops were raised from the land. MR. WM. Z. PENNY, a resident of King William county, near Churchville, was the superin- tendent of the farm and the manager of the negro quarters located here. He tells of many amusing incidents which occurred here while he was in authority. Chiefly among them are hunting and fishing adventures. "YE OLDEN TIME." In colonial days West Point was the seat for the collection of revenue for the Crown of Great Britian, when taxes were paid in tobacco. Remnants of the old tobacco warehouses are to be seen now near the "Point" where the King's revenue in the shape of the narcotic weed was stored. PAMUNKEY INDIANS. This tribe of the wild Red Men of the forest had their seat of gov- ernment in West Point. Their shouts and war-whoops have frequently gone up from this place, now a growing town advanced in civilization, and of a moral tone not excelled in Virginia. OPACANOUGH, the chief of this tribe, held his wigwam of authority in this selected place and administered the rules and regulations of his tribe from his throne, while occasionally he was visited by POWHATAN, the chief of all the tribes of Indians that roamed through the Virginia forest. A number of curiosities in the way of Indian relics, such as 15 tomahawks, arrow-heads and other divices used by them are seen strewn promiscuously about the town, or have been taken up and pre- served by the curious. STONE FORT. The foundations of an old stone fort can be seen near the beach. This structure is supposed to have been erected during the colonial davs. It overlooks the approach from the bay up the York river. TOMBSTONE. In the yard where the Baptist church now stands there is an old burying ground. Some very ancient 'tombstones are to be seen here. Most of them have crumbled and given away to the action of the weather and the ravages of time. A few dates can be discovered, how- ever. One early in 1700, and another in the sixteenth century. On this stone there is a peculiar inscription, from which we infer that it was erected to the memory of a seafaring man. The following is the epitaph : " Though Boreas blast and Neptune waves Have tossed me to and fro, In spite of all, by God's decree We anchor here below. Now here do we at anchor lie With many of our fleet Yet once again we must set sail Our Saviour Christ to meet." SPRING OF REMAINING. There is a spring in our town called the West Point spring. There is a tradition which says that every person who drinks from this spring will make his permanent home in the town. This spring has become quite famous. Our people are proud of it. They take visitors to look at it. If the visitor is handsome and rich, they urge him to drink of the refreshing drafts and "live forever" — in West Point. WEST POINT, NO I. It is said that at one time in the distant past West Point was a town as large as it is at present. There is nothing authentic however to show this state of facts. On 7th street, where there has been some grading, 16 a number of stones which seem to have been at one time placed in the ground, have been unearthed and exposed to view. Some of our citi- zens contend that this place was an enormous burying ground at one time, and that these stones represent graves, as it was the custom at one time to brick up or stone up graves. FERRY. There is a ferry from West Point to King and Queen county, across the Mattaponi, another from West Point to New Kent county, across the Pamunkey river, and still another from King and Queen county to New Kent county, across the York river. These ferries were chartered quite a number of years ago. The original charter can be found in Henning's Statutes At Large. When West Point was a mere village these ferry accommodations, which are conducted with row boats, were sufficient to accommodate the travelling public. But now, since it has become a town, and a trade centre for a large back country — being in sight of five counties — and the shipping port of a number of persons who have to cross these rivers to get to West Point, the present ferry accommodations are not what they should be, and there is sad need of better facilities. If some enterprising gentleman would establish a STEAM FERRY, the charter for which has already been procured, the West Point peo- ple and the travelling public would "rise up and call him blessed." GROVE HOTEL. This is the oldest house in West Point. It is a large two-story frame building about 70x25 feet, situated in the centre of the town, in a grove of locust and aspen trees. It was originally built as a barn and was afterwards used to shelter cattle and sheep, but about 1856 it was repaired and refitted into a hotel, and has been successfully run as such ever since. It has changed hands since that time about as many times as there have been years, for nearly every year brought a new pro- prietor to the Grove Hotel. "endurin' of the war." Confederate troops were stationed in West Point in 1861, under the charge of Maj. H. B. Tomlin, of King William county (now Colonel 17 Harry Tomlin). His corps consisted of the following companies : The Taylor Greys, Capt. Aylett (now Colonel Wm. R. Aylett, of King William, who has so recently distinguished himself by the oration at Gettysburg at the reunion of Pickett's division, and also as a lecturer on the subject of the Blue and Grey); Barhamsville Greys, Capt. Rich- ardson (now dead) ; Aylett's Company, Capt. Pollard (now , dead) ; Cumberland Company, Capt. Timberlake. There was no active ser- vice rendered by these troops while they were stationed here, but they were, mustered and drilled for service. FEDERAL TROOPS. In 1863 gunboats landed Federal troops in West Point. These troops threw up fortifications, which are still to be seen. Some of them are near the "Point " and others are about a mile above West Point, on the road leading to King William Courthouse. These ditches extend nearly from one river to the other, and are very steep and high. "The Boys in Blue" were for saving themselves when they threw up these breastworks. WEST POINT LAND CO. This company was chartered in the year 1855, and purchased from Wm. P. Taylor, Esq., the present site of the town of West Point. They had the town divided into lots and laid off into streets. James M. Daniel, Esq., was the engineer who performed this work. Alexan- der Dudley, Esq., a prominent lawyer of King and Queen county, was prominent in getting up this company and was its first president. RICHMOND AND YORK RIVER RAILROAD. This railroad ran its line to West Point in 1859, locating its depot on the Mattaponi river, just opposite Dudley's Ferry. When the late war was declared, however, the bridge across the Pamunkey river, at White House, was destroyed and the trains stopped at that place. The track was not reestablished to West Point, till 1868, when the depot was established on the Pamunkey river at the present site. YORK RIVER LINE OF STEAMERS. In 1867 this line of steamers was established from Baltimore. The boats, the Kennebec and the Admiral, used to run up the Pamunkey 9 18 river to White House till the railroad track was completed to West Point. This company still runs a daily line to West Point, and has some beautiful boats — the Danville, Baltimore, and Havanna. The amount of freight shipped over this line is enormous, and it is fast becoming a popular passenger route. '•the mvstic." In 1867 there was a line established from Norfolk. The Mystic, a moderate sized steamer, was used to accommodate the shippers and the traveling public. This boat ran to White House also till the railroad was completed, but favored West Point in passing by stopping at her wharf. WEST POINT BECOMES A TOWN. On the nth day of July, 1870, the Legislature of Virginia granted a charter of incorporation to the town of West Point, giving the peo- ple of this place the full rights and privileges of a town. E. W. Massie, a resident of the town, and at that time a member of the Vir- ginia Senate, was instrumental in getting the charter granted. Under this charter, on the 3d day of September, 1870, an election was held for municipal officers in which there were about FORTY VOTES cast, which resulted in the election of the following officers : Mayor — John Whitbeck. Councilmen — E. W. Massie (now dead), Wm. E. Hort (now dead), Bolivar Stark, C. T. Whiting, and A. T. Covan (now dead). Hansford Anderson was duly appointed Sergeant by the Council at the first meeting. COLORED POLICE. The first police force that West Point could boast of consisted of one man — George Massie — as black as the ace of spades in an old-fashioned pack of cards, and as ugly as the picture of a demon. He was noted and prominent for driving two jackasses on the streets to a wagon, and proved a terror to all evil doers, both black and white. For George was proud of his honorable trust and would always defend the dignity of his proud office. He held it to be an undeniable truth "that pub- 19 lie office is a public trust," and zealously did he perform the duties of his office. He took pleasure in being found in the " thickest of the fray." George was patriotic to a fault. His salary was the meagre sum of $i for every offender he arrested ; but he served his town with as much zeal as if it were equivalent to the salary of the President. George tackled a lot of rampant excursionists on one occasion, who had come down from Richmond, and undertook to arrest one of the number for some offence. Whereupon, the crowd set upon him and began to break pop bottles over his head But George's head being of that thickness characteristic of the negro's, the bottles made but little ]mpression, and he captured his victim and brought him out safely. Our police force at present has improved in color, at any rate. The following are the officers of the town from time to time : 1872. Mayor — John Whitbeck. Councilmen — Hansford Anderson, Haley Cole, E. W. Massie (dead), Beverly Allen (colored), Geo. Washington (colored). Sergeant — D. S. Treat. Number of votes, 72. 1874. Mayor — A. Robinson. Councilmen — R. H. Monut (dead), E. Wilkinson, E. W. Massie (dead), B. Starke, A. T. Covan (dead),. Sergeant — D. S. Treat. Number of votes, 81. 1876. Mayor — John S. De Farges. Councilmen — John B. Slaughter, James S. Briant, Fritz Shroeter, R. H. Monut (dead), W. C. Fleet. Sergeant — L. M. Robinson. Number of votes, 102. 1878. Mayor — E. Wilkinson. Councilmen — John S. De Farges, Walter E. Lipscomb, James S. Briant, David S. Treat, Wm. D. Pollard. Sergeant — Wm. D. Lacy. 20 i88o. Mayor— Wm. D. Pollard. Councilraen — C. T. Whiting, J. S. Briant, J. B. Jennings, J. S. De Farges, R. C. Wright. , Sergeant — W. D. Lacy. 1882. Mayor — E. Wilkinson. Councilmen — Hansford Anderson, John S. De Farges, L. M. Robin- son, Albert Robinson, Morgan Treat. Sergeant — W. D. Lacy. 1884. Mayor — E. Wilkinson. Councilmen — Richmond Bland, A. W. Eastwood, J. B. Jennings, B. N. Robinson, J. C. Trice. Sergeant — A. G. Ware. Number of votes cast, 276. 1886. An election was held, but the parties receiving certificates were declared not duly elected, and the former Council held over until December of 1887. Number of votes, 345. 1887. Mayor — E. Wilkinson. Councilmen— Ro. S. Dudley, W. T. Chalkley, A. W. Eastwood, R. J. Palmer, B. N. Robinson, A. Robinson, C. P. Thornton. Sergeant — A. G. Ware. Treasurer — B. W. Hefferron. Town Attorney — Thomas P. Bagby. Town Clerk — Isaac Diggs. Number of votes, 237. MARINE RAILWAY. In 1856, Captain Glass had a marine railway established on Glass Island, which was in successful operation for a number of years, till it was destroyed by the Federal soldiers during the late war. The foun- dation is still there and experts say that it is as good as it was when it 21 was put there. It might be worth the while for some enterprising citi- zen to establish a marine railway on this old foundation. POPULATION. In 1870, when the town was incorporated, the population was about seventy-five person's. In 1880, by the census, it was 650. In 1885, it was 2,000; and in 1888, it is 3,500. JjL will thus be seen that the most rapid growth has been from 1 880 to 1888. This can be accounted for from the fact that the RICHMOND AND DANVILLE RAILROAD purchased the old York River line out about that time and made West Point its deep-water terminus for all of its system of roads. And all the large shipments of flour, cotton, and general merchandise which passes over this great trunk line is transferred here at our wharves. The handling of this enormous amount of freight for both home and foreign ports requires a number of employees. Hence the rapid increase in the population. VALUE OF PROPERTY. The following table will show the value of real and personal estate for the last ten years and the gradual increase since 1878 : 1878. Assessed value of real estate, - - - . - - - $89,845 Assessed value of personal estate, - - - - - 20,720 # IIO >5 6 5 1879. Assessed value of real estate, - - - - - - $9 5 > 735 Assessed value of personal estate, - - - - - 20,183 $115,9*8 1880. Assessed value of real estate, - - - - - $125,140 Assessed value of personal estate, - 20,452 $U5>59 2 22 1884. Assessed value of real estate, ------ $255,850 Assessed value of personal estate, ----- 76,167 $33 2 > OI 7 1888. Assessed value of real estate, ------ 1,266,116 Assessed value of personal estate, ----- 89,377 #i>355»493 Note. — In 1888 the amount of real estate exempt from taxation, belonging to churches and new industries, including the terminal pro- perty of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, was $601,015. It will be seen that from 1880 to 1888 the value of real estate has been enormous. From 1880 till 1884 it more than doubled in value. Personal estate advanced more than three fold. From 1884 till 1888 real estate increased six fold, and personal estate increased one-sixth. Real estate is assessed every fourth year. CHURCHES. There are four white churches (of different denominations) in town and one colored. METHODIST. About the year 1869 a church was built by the citizens of the town which was attended as a Free Church. In 1870, however, the Metho- dists organized a church here and bought the church building and now have a prosperous church with a membership of one hundred and fifty. The present pastor is Rev. W. T. Williams, of Sussex county, Virginia. BAPTIST. The Baptist church was organized in 1875 wlt ^ a membership of twelve, consisting of one male member and eleven ladies. Rev. Alfred Bagby, of King and Queen county, was the pastor of this small flock, and it was mainly through his untiring efforts that in 1876 the present church building was erected. The membership of this church now numbers one hundred and sixty members, with Rev. T. L. West, of Louisa county, as pastor. 23 EPISCOPAL. This church was built in 1882. The house is a neat structure, and some of the wealthy and influential citizens of the town are among the parishioners. The present membership is sixty, and their rector is Rev. Pendleton Brooke, of Richmond county. DISCIPLES. In 1884 this denomination formed an organized body and held ser- vices at different places till 1886, when they built a very neat and attractive house of worship. The present membership is about seventy- five. Rev. A. S. Morrison, of Canton, Pa., is their present pastor. COLORED (BAPTIST). This church, known as the Mount Nebo Colored Baptist Church, was built in 1876, and was then a small structure on B street. A few years later they moved their church to C street. In 1887 they built a new house, which is the largest church in West Point. The present membership is one hundred and fifty members. Rev. Mr. Howard, a graduate of the Richmond Colored Seminary, is the pastor. He is a man of fine sense, good morals, popular with his flock, and calculated to do good among his race. SCHOOLS. The public schools of West Point compare favorably with the schools of any other place of its size in the State. In the white school there are four competent teachers. A Master of Arts of Richmond College is the principal. He is assisted in the various departments by three accomplished and refined lady teachers. The colored school has two teachers, a male and a female teacher. These teachers seem to give satisfaction to their patrons. WEST POINT FEMALE SEMINARY. In 1886 this school, with Mrs. W. R. Broaddus as principal, opened its first session. It has recently opened its third session under very promising circumstances. In the last year it was necessary to enlarge the school building for the accommodation of scholars. The number of scholars this year more than trebles the number last year. 24 VIRGINIA FEMALE SEMINARY. This school was opened in 1887 with a fair number of pupils for the first year. The buildings are very handsome and add very much to the looks of the town. No pains have been spared by the proprietors to make the school a success. Rev. John Brandt, pastor of the Dis- ciples church, was the first principal. Rev. A. S. Morrison is the present principal. The second session of this school opened on Sept. 19th, with a num- ber of bright faces making their appearance. TIDE-WATER COMMERCIAL COLLEGE. Prof. D. M. Knauf, of Ohio, has opened a commercial school for young men and boys with fine prospects of success. WEST POINT STAR. This paper has been published weekly here since 1873. It has quite a large circulation in Tide- water Virginia. HOTELS. There are four large hotels in operation. Bland House, Grove Hotel, Garrett's Hotel, and Terminal Hotel. The latter is a very large and elegant structure built in 1887, arranged to accomodate two hun- dred guests. ENTERPRISES. The Richmond & Danville Railroad has its terminus here and gives employment to about 400 hands. There are two very large cotton compresses here— one operated by George McFadden & Bro., of Phil- adelphia, with E. Wilkinson, Esq., as superintendent, and the other by Reynolds Bros., of Norfolk, with A. H. Kelley, Esq. as superin- tendent. These two establishments employ about 50 or 60 hands each. Oyster-packing houses, a lumber mill, hosiery factory, bakeries, wood- yards, brick-yards, shops, electric light works, and very soon there will be a large fertilizing factory for the purpose of handling and manipu- lating the celebrated green sand marl from the Pamunkey river. 25 PUBLIC SQUARE. The town owns a block of lots between D and E streets which they propose to beautify and lay out in a handsome park. All of the public buildings will be erected on this square. The white school building at the corner of D and 9th streets will be moved to this square. The West Point Land and Improvement Company have donated thirty-five acres of land to the town for a public park. LODGES. Masonic, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, American Legion of Honor, have lodges here, with good memberships. BUILDING ASSOCIATIONS. There are two Building Associations in the town. One, the West Point Loan and Building Fund Association, was established in 1881, and has proved a signal benefit to our citizens in aiding them to secure comfortable homes. The West Point Loan and Savings Company was organized in 1888, and is doing well, having applications for about $1 2,000 to be loaned on approved security. MASONIC HALL. All of the above named Lodges and Associations hold their meetings in the Masonic Hall, which is a large brick building at the corner of Fifth and D streets. This hall was built in 1884 by the Masonic Hall Association. It is three stories high. The first story is a store, the second is reserved for a public hall, and on the third floor there are two lodge-rooms for the accommodation of secret societies. CHARTER AMENDED. On the 2d day of May, 1887, the charter of the town was amended by the Legislature, giving the Council additional powers and enlarging the privileges of the town authorities. It increases the number of coun- cilmen from five to seven, creates the offices of Town Treasurer, Town Attorney, and Town Clerk. It gives the Sergeant the right to sell real estate for delinquent corporation taxes with instructions from the Coun- 26 cil, and makes provision for enlarging and improving the public schools. GROWTH AND BUSINESS. The writer can never forget the first time he came to West Point to hve. There were about three stores here, and about five hundred inhabitants, the houses were far apart and ill kept, and the streets, for such the people delighted to call them, were grown up with weeds except just in the middle of the street, where there was a roadway jus't wide enough for a cart or buggy to pass. The sidewalk in front of the house which he was to occupy was grown up with weeds about as high as his head, and there was no little trouble in getting to the house. He walked down first to the shore of the deep and rapid Pamunkey to' the wharf to get some furniture that had come from Richmond by train the day before. There was then, in the way of terminal facilities, a small wharf about one hundred feet wide, and at the shore end of the dock there was a small warehouse where local freight was stored The writer walked all over the wharf and could find no one. All was silent and deserted. The warehouse was locked, and subsequent enquiry revealed the fact that the one agent, as was his custom, had locked up soon after an early breakfast, when the labors of the day were over, and had gone hunting. Late in the evening the agent came, and then and there trouble arose in the shape of the need of a dray. Enquiry revealed the fact that nothing that could be called a dray was to be found, but an old man called George Massie, now gathered to his lathers, but once an institution in West Point, would, "for a consider- ation, ' with Jus two bony horses and his two donkeys to a wood wagon haul up the things." We went in search for this old man and found him driving one of his donkeys to a plow in a - tater patch, ' ' and soon difficulties were surmounted and the house furnished Such was West Point in 1876. Today a very different tale can be told. THE POPULATION is now three thousand and constantly increasing. At least one thous- and of these marks the growth for the past year. THE MERCANTILE BUSINESS in West Point is large and steadily growing. The town is the centre of a section of country having from sixty to seventy thousand of popula- 27 tion, and is the largest town accessible to all these people. It has a repu- tation also as being a place where merchandise can be bought very cheap, and the people in all our back country do their shopping here. THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. Lying at the head of that magnificent sheet of water, York river, and being singularly blessed with frequent and speedy transportation facilities to all large eastern cities, it is not at all strange that West Point should be a fine shipping point for oysters. There are three large packing houses here, besides a number of smaller establishments, where oysters are prepared for market and shipped to all points. Thous- ands of bushels and gallons are handled every year. LUMEER. We have here a saw-mill fully equipped with all the modern improve- * ments for manufacturing lumber of all grades and kinds. There is, besides this, a large lumber-yard. But the country around West Point is noted for its magnificent timber, and its capacities in this direction are almost inexhaustible. HOSIERY FACTORY. About eighteen months ago a hosiery factory was started in our town. It gives employment to a large number of hands, and is a real blessing to the community. It is daily demonstrating the fact that this is unsur- passed as a place where factories of all kinds can be successfully run. Labor is cheap and abundant, room is plenty, the people are anxious for just such enterprises, and they will be met by very liberal induce- ments. Already the town council has, unsolicited, offered to relieve from taxation for ten years any manufacturing establishment that may be started in our town. TERMINAL FACILITIES. But the great feature of West Point is its magnificent terminal facil- ities, and the tremendous amount of shipping that is done here. The place is the terminus of the Piedmont Air-Line, a system of roads con- trolled by the Richmond and West Point Terminal Railway and Ware- house Company and the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company. This system of roads extends from Atlanta to West Point and permeates 28 every section of the South and Southwest. It pours into the lap of West Point an immense amount of cotton and miscellaneous freight, that is handled and reshipped here for northern and foreign ports. Nobody coming to West Point can fail to be impressed with the magnificent WHARVES, DOCKS AND SHEDS which this company has built here for the handling of its freight. In the place of the little wharf, silent and deserted, which the writer found here twelve years ago, we now have wharves almost defying descrip- tion. Certainly no company in the United States has any to surpass them. There are six large wharves, all covered in, extending up the Pamunkey river. These sheds average not less than four hundred feet square. Besides these, there is connected with each shed, and sepa- rated from them only by a railroad shed, platforms along the shore equally as large as the docks themselves, used for storing and handling freight. The largest ships that float the seas can come without trouble to these docks and lie alongside. Beside this, the company's increasing busi- ness demands more room, and they are yearly adding more docks. The company has recently bought the entire town frontage on the Pamun- key side, extending a mile and a half up the river. All along this frontage, but a short distance from the shore, there is from thirty to forty feet of water. GREAT INCREASE in the business done here, and in the amount of freight handled here, will appear from the following comparative statement of tonnage : Baltimore. New York. Providence. Philadelphia. Foreign. 1881 . . . 1887 . . . 22,769 233,680 148,402 282,100 141,608 232,876 Nothing. ^,499 7,240 22,892 In 1876 we had steamers every other day from Baltimore, and no other water transportation. Now we have a daily line of magnificent steam- ers to Baltimore, tri-weekly lines to New York and Providence, while one or more foreign ships are constantly loading at our docks. 29 COTTON. West Point's principal article of commerce is cotton. Great quanti- ties of it are handled here every year. Last year the two cotton com- presses here handled not less than 120,000 bales, valued at $8,000,000. Over four hundred thousand bales were handled here, making this place the fifth cotton port in the United States, being surpassed only by New Orleans, Galveston, Savannah, and Norfolk. This year there is every prospect that we shall pass Norfolk, that port only surpassing us last year by some 20,000 bales, and come out fourth in the race. As has been said, there are two cotton compresses here, as fine as any to be found in the county. One of these was erected last year at a cost of over fifty thousand dollars, and has hardly gotten well under way. It is leased by Reynolds Bros. , of Norfolk. The other is leased by Messrs. Geo. H. McFadden & Bro., the well- known cotton merchants of Philadelphia, and has been in successful operation since 1881. It gives employment to a large number of hands. The following comparative statement will give some idea of the business done : 30 < W o a - - - - » m (S u-> M - O N CT\ li-> O O^ W C\T C^> -*" w-ivO f^ w u w as 8N NJlfl O N m i/"% ^j- O *^ >-• ^t O 00 00 Q Tj- u-ivo 00 C\ Ov i/-i <-T if w I O O < W 0) 2 i 60 §8 So OB, R 5 5 X it 5* 0) M * M 4 ON ON t-^. ro N 1-^ N o (SI ts> — « 8 $ N NN 4vr ON ON NO O nO_ *£ 8 in o O 00 00 00 00 0C 00 00 O0 I ' I I I I 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0C 00 00 00 I 5 £ .c o NO VO I vO < 00~^ g S a in O in ro ■* o i en in rn NO $: 00 On On t^OC 00 00 O r» OO 00 00 00 oo r- 00 00 r~.NO 00 00 00 00 c 1. i 3 3 ; 00 SQ I 00 00 c a I -- 4) •3 1 c u G u a. 3 d as CO c 05 u (3 c CO m m CD u a 6 (1) .J -J •■> 1 It is difficult to give any idea of the number of men employed at the docks. Certainly tour hundred is within bounds. Thousands of dol- lars are paid out every week. Beside the trade already mentioned, there is a large business done. With West Point as headquarters, along the three riven? centreing here, the Pamunkey. the Mattaponi. and the York, it is hard to estimate, but large. There are sail vessels engaged in handling wood, oysters, and produce of all kinds. The Elm City, a neat and fast little steamer, plies twice per week up and down the Mattaponi river, between Walk- erton and West Point, and brings no little business here. ELECTRIC LIGHTS. West Point is fortunate in having a splendid system of electric lights. The West Point Water. Light and Power Company owns the plant, and the system is the Thompson-Houston incandescent lights. The railroad company also lights its wharves and sheds with arc lights. A company has recently been incorporated to build a TELFEHOXF I INK, extending from Gloucester Point, via Gloucester Courthouse, to West Point, from Mathews Courthouse to Gloucester Courthouse, and from Saluda. Middlesex county, to West Point, thus bringing West Point into closer communication with the surrounding country and largely increasing its trade. KING WILLIAM COUNTY. This county, in which the town of West Point is situated, is a narrow peninsula, extending from the Caroline border to the point where the Mattaponi and Pamunkey unite and form the York. The Mattaponi river is its eastern boundary, separating it from King and Queen, and the Pamunkey is its western boundary, separating it from New Kent and Planover. Its average width is about eight miles, while from the Caroline line to West Point is about forty-five miles. SITUATION. It is hard to imagine a better situation than that of which this county can boast. In the southern end of the county is the growing town of West Point, which furnishes a market for a large quantity of produce. The Richmond and Danville Railroad runs through the county for about fifteen miles, giving easy and quick transportation to Richmond, or via West Point, to Baltimore, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, or any Southern or Northern market. Within three or four miles of' the upper part of the county the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad passes. The Pamunkey on one side, and the Mattaponi on the other, are navi- gable for good size vessels almost the entire length of the county. A steamer, the Elm City, makes two weekly trips up the Mattaponi some twenty-five miles, while to add to these conveniences of transportation another railroad, the. Richmond and Chesapeake, to pass through the upper part of the county, is projected, with every prospect of comple- tion at an early day. LANDS. It can readily be believed, from what has been said of the situation of the county, that its lands are of the best to be found in this State, 3 34 or even in the country. The bottom lands upon both the Mattaponi and Pamunkey are very fine and produce magnificent crops. It is true that some of the land upon the ridge, or back-bone, between the two rivers, is exhausted by much cultivation and little improvement, but even these yield readily to treatment, and may soon be brought back to their wonted fertility. Along the Pamunkey river, especially, are lands known far and wide for their magnificent yield, and that amply repay the tiller's toil. POPULATION. The population of the county was in 1880 8,751, but it has increased very rapidly since then, and the census of 1890 will show it to be at least 12,000. In the last few years a large number of settlers from sev- eral Northern States have moved to the county, and are doing well. They find here a hearty welcome, and every opportunity for making a good living. The people are noted for their sociability and hospitality. Within her borders are the homes of some of the best families of Vir- ginia — bearing names well known in the annals of the State and coun- try — such as Gregory, Braxton, Carter, Robinson, Aylett, Lewis, Crox- ton, Lipscomb, Johnston, Taylor, Winston, Hill, Robbins, Lee, Gwathmey, Neale, Edwards, and a great many others that might be mentioned. Here, too, are some of the historic homes of the State — such as the Romancoke estate — once owned by General Washington — afterwards by General Lee, and now owned and occupied by General Lee's youngest son, Robert E. Lee, Jr.; Chelsea, the home of the Rob- insons ; Huntington, where Washington and Lafayette are said to have sported in "Auld Lang Syne;" Sweet Hall; Canton; Elsam Green — the home of the Gregorys, and Piping Tree — the home of another branch of the same family; Old Town; Pampatike; Fontainbleau, one of the most magnificent homes in the State, now owned and occupied by a Northern gentleman of wealth, intelligence, and worth; Horn Quarter, and a host of others. AREA. The area of the county is 169,073 acres, assessed at'^922,715. This does not include lots in the town of West Point, whose assessed value is given elsewhere. The land lies well for cultivation. Large quanti- 35 ties of corn, wheat, tobacco, oats and potatoes are raised. The people are also beginning to raise trucks successfully. Grass of all varieties is also grown successfully. HEALTH. The health of the county will compare very favorably with that of any section of Virginia. Serious diseases, that play dreadful havoc with the people elsewhere, are here almost entirely unknown. CLIMATE. The climate also is all that could be desired. The heat of the sum- mer is tempered by pleasant breezes, and the cold of winter is never sufficiently severe to make one long for the balmy air of a further Southern clime. The children and parents of the county are fortunate in having a skillful and energetic Superintendent of Public Schools of the county, and these schools have been brought to a degree of efficiency here not always realized elsewhere. The following statistics will show the condition of affairs in this respect : School population : White . 1,271 Colored 2,633 Total 3,904 Schools in operation 1887-8 36 Number school houses belonging to county 33 Valued at #6,760 00 White male teachers employed 3, with' an average pay of $26.00; white female teachers employed 18, with an average pay of $29. 70 ; col- ored male teachers employed 8, with an average pay of $26.00; colored female teachers employed 9, with an average pay of $29.70; number children attending school, 1,711 ; total amount paid teachers, $7,205.69; total amount received from State and county, $8,940.01. This does not include the town of West Point, which has a school population of white, 276; colored, 218; total, 494. Number of teachers, 6. 36 MARLS. If there be one special feature of which King William county is justly- proud and which adds greatly to its wealth, it is its abundant and inex- haustible supply of marl. This land improver of" every variety may be found within its borders, but that which is most used and best known is the " green sand marl." This marl is found along the banks of the Pamunkey river. Great beds of it may be found at almost any point, and it extends to a depth not yet fathomed. We cannot undertake to give here an analysis of this useful fertilizer, but we can only say that it abounds in just those properties that land of every variety of soil needs. For a great many years past land-owners along* the banks of the Pamunkey have been using this marl — each farmer having his own pit — and it never fails to make the land rich and keep it so. To this, in a very large measure, is due the high state of fertility of which the Pamunkey bottom lands can boast. Many a farm can be pointed out in this county once poor and almost worthless and now rich by the use of this fertilizer. The farmers themselves know this and use, because they need, no other fertilizer. Nature has provided her own specific for our worn out, and work-impoverished land. But of late years this marl has begun to be known to people outside of this county. Its fame has gone abroad. A company has recently been formed with ample capital to mine and handle this marl, and the day is not far distant when its utility will be generally recognized and itself in great demand. INVITATION. Before the war, as was largely the case elsewhere in the South, the land was divided into large plantations, and a great many of these estates are not yet sufficiently divided. There is not sufficient popula- tion to take possession of and v cut up these large tracts of land. The need of the county is to have these farms cut up into small farms and occupied by industrious and thrifty husbandmen. Here is room, here is good land, and here is a hearty welcome to all. Town of west point SALE EXTRAORDINARY. A limited number of Cheap Lots in this growing and Prosperous Sea Port. THE TERMINUS OF THE RICHMOND & DANVILLE AND- AST TENNESSEE, VIRGINIA & GEORGIA SYSTEMS, Lots of 50 feet front from $50.00 up to $1,000.00 each. Buy a lot and double your money in Twelve months. West Point has doubled its business in twelve months just past, and has doubled its population in little more than two years. HPPLY TO THOS. B. HENLEY, JAMES H. DOOLEY, Agent at West Point. 1103 E. Main St., Richmond, Va. [37] Attorney at LiflW, W ^st Point, ^ ERBERT I. LEWIS, Attorney at LiaLU, WEST POIflT, Vfl. Thos. P. Bagby, ATTORNEY • AT • LAW, WEST POINT, VA. Special Attention to Collections. [38] FOR SHLE We Offer for Sale our Stock of Dry Goods I NOTIONS Boots, Shoes and Millinery, At WEST POINT, VA. AND • LEASE . OF • STORE • ON • REASONABLE TERMS • Good Reasons Given for Selling. ADDRESS Lock Box 44. WEST [39] POINT, VA CHEAP LOTS o- rFOR-SHLE- o Town of West Point THE RICHMOND AND WEST POINT LAND COMPANY Offers FOR SALE in the Growing Town of WEST POINT 400 Lots, 50 ft. front, at the extraordinarily low price of $50 00 each 50 Lots, 50 ft. front . 60 00 !00 "' 50 " " QO 00 300 " 50 " " 100 00 W " 50 '" ." 125 00 IOO " 50 "' " 225 00 THOS. B. HENLEY, Agent, West Point. JAMES H. DOOLEY, President, 1 103 E. Main Street, Richmond, Va. [40] AGRICULTURAL ANCE • COMPANY Largest Residence Insurance Company in me World. ASSETS, 1887, : : : ". $1,828,012.00 Geo. D. Pleasants & Sons, GENERAL AGENTS, i 104^ Main Street, ■ RICHMOND, VA THOS. P. BAGBY, ; [41] kGENT, West Point, Va. Jno. Stewart & Co. §HIP • (HANDLERS, • Hnd # ^Deck and Engine Stores, etc«~ CORNER • B • AND . FIFTH . STREETS WEST POINT, VA. SHIP LETTERS Addressed *° our care PROMPTLY DELIVERED — ** \* or FORWARDED. \* %* [42] W. 0. MOORE, Contractor and Builder, WEST POINT, VA. PLANS FURNISHED ON APPPLICATION. THOS. W. MOTLEY, DEALER IN (Groceries "4 meats, WEST POINT, VA. ♦ > » < * Tea, Coffee, Lard, Sugar, Pork, Beef, Syrups, Green Groceries, &c. [43] #£ •W W. C. DHVIS, GARPENTER BUILDER, West Point, Mts. WO^K NEflTliV A^t> P^OMPTliV DONE. TERMS REASONABLE. R. H. SPENCER & CO. DEALERS IN Dry Goods, Notions, Boots & Shoes HATS AND CAPS, GROCERIES, etc. Under Masonic Hall, WEST POINT, VA. ALSO KEEPS A ■First-class Livery Stablef§- HORSES, BUGGIES AND CARRIAGES FOR HIRE [44] "fc.« ^A. G. WARE,^ MEST POINT, iZK., AGENT FOR — W i s lrflnia-rire-ano-fflanne INSURANCE COMPANY. ORGANIZED 1832 HOME OFFICE: B> THIS OLD VIRGINIA INSTITUTION Has paid Hundreds of Thousands in losses in this State, and nearly Three Millions in all parts of the Country. The Company issues a short and comprehensive Policy, free of petty restrictions, and liberal in its terms and conditions. All descriptions of property in County or Town, private or public, insured at fair rates, and on accommodating terms. Agencies in every County or City. OIRECTORS. W V L. COWARDIN, President E. O. NOLTING, E.B.ADDISON, THOMAS POTTS, G. W. ALLEN, D. O. DAVIS, Dr. FRANCIS T. WILLIS. WM.H. MCCARTHY, Secretary. W. L. COWARDIN, President. S. McG. FISHER, Assistant Secretary. CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. [45] VIRGINIA S female Se^i^ary* ■^^^' LOCATED AT WEST POINT, VA. &lk w Classical, Scientific, Musical and Art Departments-^ Beautiful and Healthy Location. Able and Competent Corps of Instructors. Rooms- Nicely Furnished. Fine and Attractive Building. A First-class Institution. Lowest Possible Terms. Rev. A. S. MORRISON, Principal. T. B. HENLEY, Sec'y. [46] GENERAL AGENT FOR THE RICHMOND, WEST POINT LSemel, F)er5i<2retfir) ~. Children's Hair Gutting a Specialty. BATH ROOMS ATTACHED. D Street, next Door to Bowderis Drug Store, WEST POINT, VA. [49] PHILLIPS raos., tOBST l^OINT, UA. DEALERS IN * B**ffi SILVER PLATED WARE, CUTLERY, FURNITURE, WOODEN WARE, AND GENERAL HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS. SHIP CHANDLERY, BUILDING MATERIAL, PAINTS, OILS. AND GLASS. Guns, Pistols, Ammunition, and all Sporting Goods, HAY, GRAIN, AND SEEDS OF ALL KIND. [50] WEST POINT R. E. COLGIN, Managing Owner. Towing Done with Dispatch. Orders Received. P. O." Box 22. West Point, Va. B. W. SPENCER JUSTIGE OF PEAGE, NOTARY PUBLI6 * AND * BALLAST MASTER, E Street, between ioth and nth, West Point, Va. [51] KMliPitill WEST POINT, VA. "VIr$. W. f^. Broad T^TT^TIh'T? A T Q attended in City or Country. Calls ±. V answered at any hour of the day or night Special attention given to Preserving Bodies. W. T. CHALKLEY, FUNERAL DIRECTOR, (Graduate of Clarke's School of Embalming. [52] $. J. PPLLiPER, »WHO!iESALE DEALER IN FINEST BRANDS OP* YORK RIYER OYSTERS. ALSO DEALER IN •COKL' MMD- WOO.D + F Street, Corner of 3d, WEST POINT, VA. [53] J, s *§ g ^ >** • 1 ER M I H A Li * ir — CjUest Poi^t, Va. A Delightful Summer and Winter Resort O : : on York River near the :,': : : Chesapeake Bay. i ■ PRICES, $2 50 TO $3.50 PER DAY. $9.00 TO $12 00 PER WEEK. Hnn'rifT JVnnClf inn Round Tri P Tickets at $2.50. including Supper, Lodging umuig iiAt;u5iuui? and Hreakfast- Train leaves R and D Depot 4 . 30 p M Returning, arrives at 9:20 A. m: No time lost for people attending the Exposition.' For further information, address HANSFORD ANDERSON, Prop'r. THE TERMINAL, West Point, Va. R. W. GROOM, Cashier.