Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-31
Over Twenty-Six Miles Of New Side
walks the Current Season.
THE WATER WORKS SUPPLY.
A Plant Of Over Half Million Dollars
and Plans for Supplying Mil
lion People.
A RECORD PLAINLY SHOWING
That st. Paul is Being Rapidly Trans.
formed into a City With All
the Modern Improvements.

Among the 75,O0O or $4,000 people that
to-day comprise the population of st. Paul
there are a number who can scarcely be
classed as middle aged, who remember
when the present site of the city was what
might be termed a barren waste. Here
and there was q log shanty inhabited by
the few white men who had ventured to
the head-waters of the Mississippi river in
search of adventure or gain, but by far the
bulk of the population was represented by
the uctutcred savage, whose tepees and
wigwams occupied the hills and valleys
that now constitutes the city of st. Paul.
Since that time Il generation has not pass
ed away, and behold what even man hath
wrought. The writer, who still claims to
be young man, crdtCIed into the embryo
city in 1853, being landed at the lower
levee, near what is now the foot of Jackson
street. The only means then provided for
getting into the city proper was number
of steps cat into the bluff, the top of which
then would enable person to step into the
third story window of the present st. Paul
Fire and Marine Insurance building on the
corner of Third and Jackson streets. Ar
irving at the top of the bluff, few feet
distant was a log hotel story and half
high, which was then and is now known as
the Merchants hotel. A little further up
at the present crossing Of Fourth and Jack
son streets was a rude bridge which
spanned ravine some twenty five or thirty
feet deep, through which during certain
seasons OF the year a rushing torrent of
water found lis way to an outlet in the1
Mississippi river near Dayton's bluff. This
stream had its rise and and was the outlet
of what was then lake or marsh at the
foot of st. Anthony hill, upon the bosom
OF which II was not an unusual sight to see
all kinds of water fowl, and there are per-
sons still living in ST. 2 aul who have shot
wild geese and ducks there. At that time
during the season of high water steam
boats of the largest size would enter the
outlet of this stream near Dayton's bluff
and land within few hundred feet of the
Merchants hotel, sailing over the space
that is now occupied by solid stone and
brick blocks, in which at present almost
the entire wholesale business of St. Paul
is now conducted. The rushing torrent
has & ven place to paved streets and the
lake, with fifteen to twenty feet depth of
water. is now covered with four and five
story business blocks OF buildings. It is
within the memory Of the comparatively
new corners to st. Paul, when a travelling
circus company spread its canvas upon
Baptist hill fully twenty feet above the
highest chimney of John Wann's sub
stantial block on the corner of Fourth and
Sibley streets. Third street was but sort
of struggling highway. The locality now
occupied by Stees' fine block and Kings
Horse exchange running from Thru to
Fourth street on Minnesota street, was the
burial place Of the dead. The old capitol
building which was destroyed by fire some
two elrs ago WAS then II course of erection
and to get there the pedestrian had to
wade through mnd nearly knee deep with
out ii sign OF a sidewalk or any attempt at
street grading. st. Paul proper,as it is now
designated upon the maps, was about all
there was OF any attempts made towards
laying out even a village, and it is amusing
to examine the first deeds placed upon
record covering some of the most valuable
portions of the city at the present day.
The following is a specimen description on
record:
David Faribault sold to 4. L. Larpenteur
the following described land for So so.
"a piece twenty two yards fronting on the
back of JachsOn's fence and adjoining
La Roche on the north and D. Faribault
on the south, running back to the middle
of the ravine fronting Hartshorn's claim,
being twenty-five yards front and twenty
one yards back, containing one acre be the
same more or less
1t would be difficult at the present day to
learn where Jackson's fence was or where
the middle of the ravine was located. The
fence has returned TO dust and the ravine
is filled up and covered with a block of
buildings. Yet singular as it may seem
with all this vague and uncertain descrip-
ton there was little If any litigation in re-
gard to titles IN those primitive days, in
striking contrast with TIE present where
the location and ownership of even single
foot of land is now frequently the subject
of long and costly legal investigation.
As a further Illustration of the crude
manner of doing things 8 few years ago
it is only necessary to refer to that Jog in
Jackson street between Third and Fourth
streets about which SO much has been said.
but about which SO little is known. The
facts are as follows: When what is now
designated as st. Paul proper was being
laid out, there was a small one-story log
building worth probably $50 standing
upon the corner opposite the Merchants
hotel. If the street had been produced of
equal width it would require the removal
of this. building. as it stood about three
feet on the proposed street. In order 10
obviate this the line was changed from
Third to Fourth street III aking that portion
of the street four feet narrower than the
balance. This little accommodation to
save that $50 shanty of thirty years ago
will!cost the city many thousand dollars in
condemning that four feet which has al
ready been done in order to make the street
of uniform width.
The GLOBE alludes to the above histori
cal facts in order to show in brief manner
the changes that have taken place within
the past thirty years. From struggling