The following information was entered in the Nov. 16, 1973 edition of The Ledger Independent:
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Springdale will be no more…
Springdale soon will no longer exist.
Once a bustling community with its own depot, post office, Pleasant Hill School and general store, the town one by one has lost all of its little privileges until today it is little more than a cluster of houses. These are expected to be razed or moved to other sites, the properly owners there are saying.
Mrs. Edith Bevard, postmaster at Springdale until it was closed in 1964, said she has been in negotiations with Ernest K. Lehmann and Associates of Minneapolis, Minn. for the purchase of her house. She has not yet sold and neither have the Vernon Burtons, although they have disposed of some rental property now occupied by James Dodson. Other properties sought are those of Walter Soister and Mr. Mrs. Emmitt Soister.
Reason for the desire to acquire these properties is that the village soon will not be a desirable place in which to live.
Back in 1962 Alpha Portland acquired title to 1305 acres of land along the Ohio River but has never developed the site.
For several months now the villagers have been watching bulldozers “digging out the mountainside” and laying roadways for access. Extensive drilling equipment has been placed there.
According to Mrs. Brevard, the new industry to locate there has been drilling for limestone. Presumably it is for burnt lime which is said to mix well with cement.
Some of the stories of the stories are as yet speculative but among the more valid ones is that the firm will erect three silos for storage of the lime which be shipped by barge.
Burned lime is that which has substantial magnesium in it and it is assumed that the area has a deposit of dolomite lime.
“We have had a geologist up here for weeks” said Mrs. Brevard. The supposition is that “they” have found what they are looking for.
Dead Fall actually is the name by which Springdale is known in the Lewis County history written by Rev. O.G. Ragan. The settlement was known as Dead Fall in 1859 and was greatly used as a stopping place before going on to the springs in Lewis County.
As for Dead Fall itself, Mes. Bevard explained it as a term used by trappers in having set up a primitive type of trap to catch game such as rabbit or opossum.
Lehmann and Associates have set up temporary offices at Duke Warehouses said Mrs. Bevard.
Springdale is located 7 miles east along the C&O railroad by the road the distance is as much as 12 miles.
The legend of how Springdale got its name is attributed to an unknown lady who once climbed a hill in this near Cabin Creek area and was heard to remark, “Why here’s a spring and down there is the dale.” This is the version Ben Otto has supplied neighbors.
The Everett Tracketts were the last folks to operate a general store at Springdale. The store closed in 1963 said Mr. Burton.
Ben Otto, well into his 80s, lives on land in which he has a lifetime interest but which has been sold to Alpha Portland. Other residents there are the Forrest Williams family, Reginald Martin, Charles Hunn, Wade Simpson. Some of the occupants reside in what is known as the John Blythe estate.
Since there has been no formal announcement by the company locating here; it is unknown whether Lehmann and Associates are acting as agents for an as yet unidentified firm to which Alpha Portland will lease its holdings, or whether the tract will be sold.
