FRANK HUGHES COLLEGE
Some very fine mineral and timber property in the vicinity of Clifton is owned by Mr. I. G. Russ. This land is now on the market. It consists of 5,000 acres known as the Old Shannonville or Bob Property; 2,000 acres known as the Walker Furnace property; and 1,200 acres known as the Carrollville or Glen Kirk property. Part of these lands are now under option and every indication points to a rapid development of these and other similar properties in the near future.
The Bob property is situated on the east side of the Tennessee river, six miles below Clifton. The land lies in the big bend of the river and is two miles wide at the narrowest point, while it is sixteen miles around by water. The elevation is high, making it one of the healthiest points in the state. Regular lines of steamboats from St. Louis and Paducah, making connections with all the railroad points from Cairo, Ill., on the Ohio river, to Florence, Ala., on the Tennessee, pass this property at all seasons of the year. The summers are delightful, the winters are mild. The erosion of limestone and iron has given this land a strong soil and fitted it well for grains, fruits, grasses, etc. A more suitable piece of property for colonization purposes cannot be found in the United States. For this purpose it has been subdivided into tracts of about one hundred acres each.
There are 560 acres of bottom land, 1,507 acres of flat land, and 3,376 acres of hill land. There is enough red and white oak and pine to make 500,000 cross-ties. It is estimated that there are about two million feet of hickory, one-half million feet of ash, two hundred thousand feet each of elm and gum, and three to five hundred thousand feet of saw oak, poplar and pine. There is also a large amount of cedar and a vigorous growth of young hickory.
RUSS HOTEL
The Walker Furnace property comprises 2,000 acres, and lies between Clifton and Hardin’s Creek. It is finely timbered and contains phosphates and iron ore. In addition to its other timbers it has a fine body of chestnut, estimated to cut between eight and ten thousand telegraph poles.
The Carrollville or Glenkirk property consists of 1,200 acres. It is historic ground, as once upon a time the old town of Carrollville came within one vote of being made the capital of the state. It embraces the site of Glenkirk, one of the best shipping points on the river. The land has a phosphate deposit that fertilizes and enriches it to such a degree that it annually produces a heavy yield of cotton, corn, fruit, grain and grass. It also contains inexhaustible deposits of cement and marble of a superior grade.
Overland, Clifton is twenty-five miles from Maury, the nearest railway point. Direct by water it is eighty-five miles from Johnsonville. A splendid line of packets plies the Tennessee, operated by the St. Louis & Tennessee River Packet Company, with headquarters in St. Louis. The steamers include the Clyde, Kentucky, Shiloh, Memphis, Savannah and Saltillo. Recently the Chattanooga, an independent boat, has been put in commission by the enterprising citizens of that city. Clifton is served by all of these boats, thus giving a magnificent service. The Shiloh is a mail packet, and makes three round trips a week between Danville and Savannah. It is the fastest boat on the river, and because of the regularity of its schedule enjoys a large passenger traffic.