Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-12-19

the increasing p}osperityaf ISadyile nc:
urally gave birth to aci7e SPECULATION.
During Decembs r and January merchants
commanding large capital; III tf1en eager
ness to secure eligible loeatiohS,v paid'
large prices for lots on upper, Ghesnut
street and Harrison avenue. This gave
impulse to a realestate mania which soon 500,
affected the whole camp. Lots held at
only $50 to 800 last fall, suddenly
jumped to 81 900, 81, 600 and even "a 900
each. Many were mad at these figures.
Real estate throughout the town felt the
influence, and buying and selling. was the
order Of the day. Real estate agents are
now almost as numerous as'lawYers, Lot
jumping, or more properly, lot suuattinp.
outside the placer claim limits, became I
regular occupation, with i MANY small
operators. Long streets of foundations
and skeleton frames sprang up in night.
The whole slope lying between upper
Chestnut street and Fryer hill is now
covered with foundations, frames and
buildings in all stages OF growth. 1t be-
came tacitly understood that the actual
construction of a building should give an
undisputed title to lot. This gave i'm
petus to bin-building, and log houses
sprang up like Jonah's gourd. As fast
as completed they were sold or rented At
most remunerative figures. Meantime,
the utmost building activity prevailed in:
every other direction. The only limit
was the supply of lumber, which, as the,
demand intensified, jumped from $25 to
$50, thence to- $40, and finally to $50 per
thousand. As a necessity, hewn logs
were substituted for boards in the walls
Of many pretentious buildings, even on
business streets, East. west and north
the town spread like prairie fire. S..
At present Leadvllle is fully equipped
with all the social; educational and re.
ligious advantages that can be found
anywhere in town of its size. It has
three daily newspapers, one good school
building, two church edifces, Methodist,
Presbyterian, Baptist; Episcopal and
Catholic organizations, city hall and
jail, a f1e company, two theatres, four
teen hotels, ten restaurants, five general
merchants, four dry goods, tea clothing,
eleven grocery, three drug, four jewelry,
six boot and shoe, one commission, three
fruit and confectionery; two furniture
five feed and grain; two hardware and
two book and stationery merchants, twelve
meat markets, three sign painters, two
lighthouses, six barber shops, three bak-
cries, ten blacksmith shops, one machine
shop, three wagon shops, one auction
house, one harness shop, thirty two
lawyers, twelve physicians, two dentists,
one photographer, three banks, one
knitting factory, six steam sawmills, !
one planning mill; one single and lath
mill, five smelting-werks Qncluding one
each at Malta and Adelaide), and three
works. There is the usual mum
Der of saloons and gambling hells, and
even dance-houses, to rob tho unwary |
money and health and honor. The simple |
enumeration Of business houses conveys
buta faint idea Of the volume of business
Many of the merchants car
ry stocks which would be considered pre-
posterously large in towns of similar
size at the East.
And Leadvilles future progress prom
iscs to be as brilliant as its past. Be-
fore long 1t will enjoy the luxuries of
pure water and gas. The water-works |
are so tar completed that the mains have
been laid, the hydrants put IN place
along several streets, and the water let in.
Gas has been authorized by nearly
vote of the citizens, and an
efficient fire department, with one hook
and ladder and two hose companies, has
been organized. Leadville's present tele-
graph facilities are to be doubled by the
use of duplex machine. A twO.wir |
line from Pueblo is in process of con-
struction, and was to have been COM
pleted by the first of June. The growth
of the postofice IS an index Of the rapid |
progress of the town. One year ago the !
Leadvllle postothce occupied seven-by-
nine corner in small building on Chest |
nut street. In the single delivery win
cow stood call-bell, at whose warning |
some clerk would enter from an adioin-
ing store to wait on the expectant |
citizen. There was no money order de-
partlnent. To-day the Office occupies
one of the largest rooms in the city, and
requires the unremitting attention of
ten clerks. 1t has its separated ladies'
stamp and money-order departments
Long lines of men may be seen at all
hours Of the day standing at the four
general delivery windows impatiently
"waiting their turn" And all this has
been accomplished within two years. AS
one of the citizens Of Leadville writes
It is simply magical, this creation of a
city In the heart of the Rocky mountains,
two miles above the sea, in a twelve
month.-Harper' Weekly.