The daily gazette., 1880-01-01

Tor many years resided In the south
western suburbs of the city. John Con-
nell once had quite q protracted suit
WIN the Union bank, In regard TO the
payment Of q note on which the great
Daniei webster was an endorser. The
pahk oD'ained judgment, under which
the estate was subsequently, sold.
runher TO the west, on the brow of
the hill, was the well-known Col. Davis
estate, with the imposing residence of
.ne OH Colonel, where the famous Mrs.
myra Clark Gaines, spent her eirlhood
DAYS, and from which place she fed one
niBht 10 The building at the northwest
corner OF Third and Shipley streets,
Then the postofiice Of the Borough. Nick
Wiiiiamsen was then postmaster, and he
neIped her to run off and get married to
her ilrst husband, Mr.. Whitney. After
wards she became q widow and subse-
quently married Gen. Gaines.
During the past ten or fifteen years,
the Davis estate has been sold TO various
parties, among them being Hon. L. f.
Bayard, VIM. Seidel, VIM Bush, James
horrow ami John Il. McLear. Mr.. Bay
ard purchased the DAVIS mansion, and
mas enlarged and improved IL into
handsome residence for himself. Most
OF The other purchasers improved heir
property by the erection OF tasteful
dwellings, this location furnishing some
OF the most eligible sites for building
purposes I'm the city.
Another real estate transaction that
resulted In rapid improvement, was the
purchase, by j. T. Heald, for $0, 900, of
ABOUT twenty acres from The Simpson
Estate comprising the squares between
Second, Fourth, Monroe and Van Buren,
streets. On this properly were located
The two old stone houses which still
stand back from the street on jackson.
above Second. Within q year MIR. Heald
sold this tract to the late Aaron Conrad,
Tor $ll l,5O0, and by improving 1t, aud
selling II in building lots, Mr.. Conrad,
IL Is SAID, made about $40, 900 on his pur-
chase. This tract Is closely built upon.
Inc Norris property, on eighth st.
hill," was another tract that demonstia a.
ted the rapid increase in value of prop
erty In this city. This property origi-
naily comprised about ninety acres, and
IL Is stated that thlrty-one years ago the
entire tract was offered by the then own
er, Mr.. Cox, of Philadelphia, to Mr..
John Is. Lewis, for the latters property
at The Southeast corner of Seventh and
Market streets. The trade, however,
was not consummated. Afterwards the
tract was purchased by Mr.. John IL.
frlce, and he and his s0n-in-law, DIR.
Pepper Norris, improved IL considerably.
Last year the Norris property was sold
al pubic sale, and the square bounded
by Seventh, Eighth, Broone and Frank
I'm stree.s, comprising two and one hall
acres brought about $4,000, the man
SION house being purchased by Alex
mart. During bis ownership DIR. Nor
ris II Is said, made about $l50, 900 by the
sale, IN sections, OF a large portion of
the ninety acres he originally owned.
The Howland property, at Eighth and
broome streets, was bought by Mr.. Chas.
Rowland from the John Platt estate,
twenty-five years ago, for 1000. The
purchase comprised about 90 acres. Mr..
Howlsnd sold great deal of this prop
erty, but siill-Tetains a gOod--sized plot,
on which his handsome Stone mansion
is erected. To-day the 90 acres he par
chased for $l2,O00 are said to be worth
100000.
THE LOWERING PROPERTY.
The most noticeable improvement of
late years has been ON the Lowering pro-
perty which extended fromD Delaware ave
nue to the Brandywine and from Adams |
street TO the western city limits, COM
prising about ITO acress. In 1861 |
this u act was offered for $50, 900, and at |
the time $4,000 were offered aud re- |
fused. Between 1861 and 1870 the pro- |
perty was all sold by sections, and the |
prices realized aggregated $4,000 In |
loI2the property, owing to the rapid man.
ner In which 1t had been improved by |
the erection Of costly dwellings, was
worth halt a million dollars. Della
ware avenue, with many of its msgniti-
cent residennes, was part ofthe original
Lowering estate.
A great impetus TO the building up of
this section of the city was the construc-
tion OF the Wilmington City Passenger
Hallway, which was opened to travel In
June, 1864. The little hamlet known as
"Forty Acres" In the northwestern part
OF the Seventh Ward, was greatly ac-
CELEBRATED, il not actually established by
this railway, rs 1t enabled men to build
small homes in this locality and obtain
reasonably quick transit TO and from
their work. The "Forty Acres" is also
part Of the Lowering property, and in
1858 IL did not contain a single dwelling;
hOW ~ kooOo1So - PORuihtiOu vi NJ itdbb
1000, and II is said that about fifty new
houses will be erected there during the
coming spring and summer. A number
OF the employees of the st. Augustine
paper mills, on the north side of the
Brandywine, propose locating at the
"Forty Acres" now that the stream is
conveniently bridged in this neighbor-
hood.
THE NINTH WARD.
The Ninth ward, formerly known as
"Brandywine village" was taken within
the corporate limits Of the city by ali act
of Legislature, passed during the session
of 1860. Since then the ward has in
creased slowly but steadily, and the
building of the bridge over the Brandy
wine at Eleventh street, in 1868, has
caused quite little hamlet to spring up
around the upper end of the bridge,
which was dubbed "Pickelville," from
the fact that that number of the en-
ployes of Messrs. Pickels IL Bros iron
and stove factory made their residences
here.
THE NoRTHEAsTEkN SECTION
of the city formerly contained many va
cant lots, which of late years have been
built np with wonderful rapidity. Some
of the lots are still vacant, but the work
is going on; and the indications are