St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-07
ST. PAUL REAL ESTATE.
The Purchasing Of Acre Property Still Con
tinues in All Directions and Much
is Being Picked Up.
Col. Hewitt's Opinion as to the Relative
Value of Property in the East
and West.
The Midway District Always Re-
earded the Most Valuable as an
Object of Interest.
Sales Keep Up In a Wonderful Man
ner and show No Indications
of Becoming Less.

ner and snow NO ln01cdLlOuS
of Becoming Less.
The real estate market still continues TO
astonish all parties and no one more than
the real estate men themselves. Nothing
approaching it has ever been known TO ap-
proximate the present trading, Here Is
the past week, the first week or the great
ice palace carnival. when the minds OF all
our citizens are filled full of the amusements
and entertainments connected with The car
nival. and when no one cares to be both
cred very much with business. that foots up
sales of real estate amounting 10 S271,606.
In connection with this fact, it must be
borne in mind that as matter OF fact this
amount does not epresent half the amount
sold during the week. 1t rs a
fact that is well known that but small
proportion Of the transfers are maCSs prolic.
The past week is little peculiar IN this re-
spect. 1t has been a significant week in
this particular respect. 1t is an uDquestion-
able fact that there has been an amount OF
property sold and kept from the public that
IS larger in amount than that which Is given
TO the public.
THE SALE OF LARGE TRACTS
is one of the remarkable features OF the
season. and one that has been kept up all
fall and winter with very great vigor. This
work of picking up acres has been carried
on very quietly, but at the same time with
just as much activity as was consistent with
secrecy. To get all these acres that were
desired great deal of secrecy
had to be practiced and the purchases had
to be made by third parties, while the real
purchasers kept out out OF sight. The rea-
son for this was obvious. If the real party
desiring to purchase had been known the
price would have been doubled and quad
ruplcd. The usual and successful way OF
accomplishing the object in view by the
purchaser has been to get some farmer liv-
ing in the vicinity Of the farm sought to be
purchased to negotiate for it apparently for
his own use. In this way all suspicion that
any wealthy Spectator. who could afford
to pay three or four times as much as the
plain, unsuspecting farmer expected TO get,
wanted it, was wholly kept out of the farm
er's mind, and thinking he was getting a
big price when he received 500 or $500
per acre. he would let it go. In this way
very considerable part Of
THE REAL ESTATE
lying outside Of and near St. Paul has
passed into the hands of moneyed men,
who, in observing the gradual and solid in
crease in this city from year to year, have
come to the settled conclusion that it was
long ago preordained that St. Paul should
be a very large city into the hands Of men
who know that in the immediate future of
this city this very same acre property that
now costs but 500 or $500 per acre will be
worth many thousands of dollars. Seeing
this, these shrewd, far-seeing and observing
men have made up their minds that they
could not pick up these acres any too fast.
Upon the north, the south, the
east and the west these men have
put down their stakes. Some
have gone out little further than others
have, but all have got in as close as pos
Sible to the city, and as fast as they regard
it as judicious they will plat it and sell as
wanted. The result is that the town is
surrounded with acre property that is
anxiously awaiting to be dignified into sub
urbs. This picking up of acre property
commenced number of years ago, and
had its most striking illustration in what's
known as
THE MIDWAY DISTRICT.
The late Col. Hewitt, who had about as
exalted an idea of the future greatness of
st. Paul as any gentleman ever had. fully
justified the reaSonableness and solidity If
He hardly ever touched any real
estate except in the west and east
of the city. Occasionally he touched a lit
tie on the north of the city, but what he
bought in any other than the west and east
of the town was of very small consequence
indeed. His first choice was between the
two cities, and he invested heavily, as any
one can easily determine by examining any
of the old maps upon which the name of
Girart Hewitt will be found very frequently
indeed. All along Hamline stretching out
beyond the transfer. quarter section after
quarter section will be found labeled with
his name. There was no possibility Of shak
ing his judgment on this proposition of the
real value and importance of this acre
property. 1t is very doubtful if any man in
st. Paul fifteen years ago had as much con-
fdence in the growth Of st. Paul
as did Col. Hewitt. He had pc
cularly Oracular way of expressing
himself which conveyed the idea that there
was good deal of dissatisfaction in CIV
ing his opinion. This rather detracted
from the force and value his opinion of
property. His second choice was Dayton's
bluff, and he bought quite freely over there
and would probably have bought more but
for the trouble about titles caused by long
his mother and the administrator, Parker
Paine. Suits
BETWEEN THESE PARTIES
were continuous in the district and probate
courts. In spite of everything the colonel
kept his confidence strong and Wig
orOus about all that property and he
bought number of blocks on the
bluff. All he bought there, however, was
but secondary to him in importance to the
acres on St. Anthony hill. These were al
ways highest in his estimation, and no hard
times or misfortunes of any description
could induce him to waver in his conf
dence. The idea had taken possession of
his mind that the two cities were coming
together, and he was most vigorous and
stalwart champion of that idea. His
opinion of the value of these two parts of
the city where he bought has been fully
sustained by results. Other parts of town,
like West st. Paul, have surpassed all ex-
pectations, but the increase in value of
these other points in the city have been
caused largely by circumstances that could
not be anticipated at the time Col. Hewett
lived.
RESERVE TOWN.
Several weeks ago we mentioned the fact
that a great deal of acre property was
changing hands in Reserve town. This
matter of buying and selling acres there
is something remarkable, and great effort
has been made to keep these purchases very
secret. but little by little they come to light,
and the farmers out in that vicinity have got
their eyes opened as to the value of their
property. Altogether, the week has been a
very heavy one.
The Record.