Basic City: A Planned Industrial Power

The area at the foot of the western slope of the Blue Ridge was ripe for development in 1889.  First, mining speculator Richard N. Pool chartered the area as Ingalls City.  He was quickly outmaneuvered by Jacob Resse a Pittsburg industrial who saw the area as the next steel capital.  He bought up the land and the famous Lithia Spring and laid out the plan for Basic City.  With great hopes and vision the newly incorporated town set out to create the future.

Paul Sanders, a native of Waynesboro, will trace the rise and fall of Basic City at WTA’s Gateway on Thursday, June 20.  His research into the records of what was hoped to be an industrial giant demonstrates the impact railroads, economic pressures, and legal wrangling has on the best intended enterprises.  Sanders spent his career with DuPont as a computer specialist.  He returned to his Shenandoah roots and has become involved in the community.  A founding member of the Classic Cinema Club and board member of the Wayne Theatre Alliance, he finds himself connected to the next wave of development at the foot of the Blue Ridge.

The monthly history lectures are a joint project of the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation and the Wayne Theatre Alliance.  There is no admission fee but donations of at least $5 are suggested.