Update 3, logging and farming.
A few years have passed, and there has been quite a bit of new development at Quynneth.
First of all, Gonway Mining co. together with $im National Bank have found a large logging company prepared to settle in the region; Simcoast Lumber co.
Simcoast Lumber co. already owns 5 large sawmills in surrounding regions, and is one of the biggest players on the lumber market. Since Quynneth is a heavy forested area, with large amounts of development predicted, Simcoast Lumber co. has shown heavy interest in building a sawmill in the region.
With $im National Bank offering cheap loans for farmers willing to settle in the region, large patches of land need to be cleared of trees, next to the areas suitable for mining of course. Any additional development only ads to the equation. This promises good profitability for a new sawmill, provided it is built in the right location.
After thorough research by Simcoast Lumber co. a sawmill location has been planned just east of Landing, on the northside of a river. To the north and northeast lots of fertile land is to be found, very suitable for farming, while to the east the mining operations need regular clearing of moderately forested areas.
Logs from the north will be transported directly to the sawmill, while logs from the northeast and east will be dropped into the river at drop off points, enabling the logs to float downstream to the mill, causing a considerable saving on transport costs.
The location for the sawmill needs quite a bit of work. A large section of ground near the riverbed needs lowering for the sawmill to sit as close to the river as possible. The river itself needs widening at the mill location to create a mill pond where logs floating to the mill can be collected and sorted in the water.
Just downstream of the mill a bridge needs to be constructed, which needs a construction below it to prevent any logs from floating past the mill, where they could be a danger to shipping. The bridge will also provide an alternative drop off point for logs that can't be directly delivered at the mill. Plans are soon made and submitted for approval;
The plans are approved, and work started on preparing the sawmill location. Luckily Gonway Mining co. has enough groundmoving equipment to spare to make quick work of the preparations. Within a matter of months the new sawmill is built and operational.
Traditionally constructed out of wood, with the typical red paintjob, and providing hundreds of jobs, the mill has grown to be one of the industrial icons of the region. With thousands of acres of wood ready to be cut, the sawmill provides a huge boost to the regions economy, and quickly is becoming the favored source of employment, even surpassing Gonway Mining co. The sawmill itself even has become a favorite under local artists, as this artistic impression of the sawmill shows;
With logging operations at full strength, developments to the northern fertile regions are now just a matter of time, while the regular deforestation at the mining sites continue as usual. Acre after acre of land is cleared of trees, and the produced lumber is a welcomed and cheap building material in these first stages of Quynneth's development.
However, in this region of miners and loggers, farmers are hard to find. This is why $im National Bank is offering cheap, low interest loans to any farmer willing to set up operations in the region. Together with Gonway Mining co. they have set up a widespread advertising campaign in order to lure farmers to the region. This of course all being part of the grand scheme of lowering costs for Gonway Mining co. and Simcoast Lumber co., since the local production of food will stimulate their workers to settle in the area, instead of the companies having to pay for them to travel to and from the area by ship on a weekly or daily basis.
With the advertising campaign in full motion, fertile lands being precleared and ready for development, and cheap loans for farmers that want to take the big step, it doesn't take long for the area north of Gonway Mines to turn into a serene combo of a river, farmlands and local streams. On the left of this particular picture you can also see one of the log drop off points, allowing logging trucks to unload straight into the river.
With word spreading fast about the 'promised lands' of Quynneth, an even larger area of farms is created north of the sawmill, and soon the need for advertising is diminishing. Farmers are flocking to Quynneth in large numbers.
With so many new people settling at Quynneth, there's not only growth of the existing settlements. Several new rural villages have popped up; 'Marish', 'Hammond' and 'Flint'. Next to that a workers village has developed north of the sawmill, appropriately called 'Sawdust'.
With the explosive growth of the past few years, many realize there is some need for guidance other then just CE-O's of large companies deciding on the regions future. After several meetings of the important, the wealthy and the influential amongst the inhabitants of Quynneth, a decision is made about the creation of municipalities.
Each municipality will have some form of self government, while decisions of regional importance will be agreed on by a municipality collective. The current developed areas have been divided into the following municipalities;
- Innit Landing (Landing, Fishenflies, Sawdust, including Innit industrial)
- Gonway Mines (The sheds, including Gonway mining co.'s surface mining operations)
- Hammond (Hammond, including surrounding farmlands)
- Flint (Flint, including surrounding farmlands)
- Marish Valley (Marish, including surrounding farmlands)
As you might be able to tell from the graph, there's still quite a few workers that have to come in by ship, so there's still a lot more growth to be expected. And with more people coming in, more shops and businesses are needed, more farmers to feed them, which will need more people yet again.
However, this is still in the future, for now I'll leave you with an overview of the area featured in this update.
I hope you've enjoyed it, see you at the next update!
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