Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-07-26
DEATHS OF A DAY.
Charlemaxue Tower,

PHILADELPHIA, July ga private dispatch
from Waterville, N. Y, announces the death at
his summer residence there Of Charlemagne
Tower, of this city. MIR. Tower was in his eighty
first year, and his death was due to paralysis. He
leaves fonr daughters and q son and an enormous
fortune. Mr.. Tower was born in Oneida county,
N. Y. He graduated from Harvard University in
1880 He studied law in New York City, where he
practiced his profession for some time. Some legal
questions that arose in connection with his prac-
tice took him to Pennsylvania IN 1s4e for the ex-
animation Of the title to large bodies Of mineral
land lying chiefly in the county of schuylkill.
to the Munson and Williams estate, in Schuyikif1
litigation in regard to which he carried along for
more than 25 years. Hemastered and perfected the
the Philadeiphis and Reading Coal and Iron Com
pany, and his footsteps may be traced through
ties of Pennsylvania.
He became the owner of large bodies Of coal
He was actively Interested in the construction
and management Of the Northern Pscihc Road,
eral years. The greatest and most successful un-
dertaking perhaps, Of Mr Towers long business
of Minnesota, now well known to the world as the
NerTillion range; It was about Is years ago that
deposits near Vermillion Lake, body of water 90
miles northwest Of Duluth. The country was
paths, and exploration matter OF great difficulty.
An expert was, however, soon sent out by Mr..
Tower In 1876 to make q thorough examination,
and the report was SO favorable that he de-
termined to buy some land and build a railroad to
bring the ore to market. He accordingly pur-
chased about 20 600 acres of mineral land near the
lake.. Years were required to get things into
shape and 1t was not until 1883 that MIR. Tower had
things in readiness for the construction of the
railroad. He laid out line Of road from the lake
west of Duluth, called Two Harbors. Here Mr.
Tower bought property, constructed docks and
acquired terminal facilities. The mines were
opened and q force of men set at work digging
ore. Meanwhile the railroad was being built. Ali
through the winter of lSS3-A force of !. 500 men
were laboring in the mines, telling trees grading
and laying ties. The expense was enormous, but
MIR. Tower equal to the demands upon his re-
sources. Hundreds of thousands OF dollars were
expended and not cent was coming in. Through
and late in July the road was completed. On July
81 1854 the first train load of ore passed from Ver
million lake to Lake Superior, whence it was
shipped on barges to Cleveland Before the close
of the year, S. 90 tons of ore had been shipped
from the mines and BY 1887 the annual output had
On June 5. 1887 MIR. Tower disposed of his large
interests in the Vermillion range to q syndicate
which proposed to extend the railroad and de-
velop the mineral resources of the district to the
east and northeast of the property which he had
developed. On that day in this city Mr. Tower
of the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad and the
time deeds to some 20 900 acres OF land and re-
ceived in return certified checks banks and
financial Institutions to the amount of over
s6, 0oo o0o The syndicate to which Mr.. Tower dis
posed Of bis property vas ;,, composed Of General
pany; j. @. Morse, of the Union Steel Company,
of Chicago; Marshall Field. Of Chicago; d. D.
Mills, of New York; j. D. Rockefeller Of, the
Standard on Company. and q number Of others.