Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-02-21
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
THE STORY OF A CORNER.

THE STORY OF A CORNER.
At various times between 1907 and
1914 jean Baptiste Churles Lucas ac-
Quired the property which is now en-
braced between the following streets
In the city of st. Loris: Fourth street,
jefferson avenue (Which is now Tywen-
ty-fourth street,, Market street and st.
Charles. This bit of ground is twenty
blocks long and five wide. 1t is the
heart of st. Louis. Mr.. Lucas paid for
it 81 1854 in ''hard money of the United
Statcs.'' Up to the time of his Pur-
chases, shaved deerskins at two and
one-half pounds to the dollar had been
the medium of exchange. "Hard
money was preferred and was not
plentiful. The purchasing power Of q
s.hard dollar is difficult of comparison
eith the money of to-day; but it was
probably worth il st. Louis from forty
to fifty per cent. more than the dollar
of 1890. Accepting the latter, Mr.. Luz
cas's land cost So, ,O46.
In 1916 Mr.. Lucas added by deed a
strip of ground, five by five block, to the
town, but it was some years before the
| limits of the town extended to include
| this addition. think it was about 1926
| when the western limit was moved from
| Fourth street to Seventh street, and
about 1S43 when it went west to Twelfth
street. If I am right shout the last
date, and 1 think 1 an, the southeast
corner of block 1873, which is bounded
on one side by Chestnut street and on
another by Seventh street, was not
within the city limits when, in 1885,
James Brotherton bought it from J. b.
C. Lucas for S1,596 hard money of the
United States.
This little bit of ground was just 1-400
of the ground Mr.. Lucas had bought be-
tween nineteen and twenty-eight years
before for S1,364
| Mr.. Brotherton conveyed this quarter
block to his sister, Mrs. Matilda Settle,
for S., in 1874, and her husband several
years later built upon it a row of five
brick houses fronting on Chestnut street
and two frame houses fronting on Sew
cnth street. In 1874 the two frames
were renting for 5000 per year. The
corner brick house (used as a saloon)
returned 81 200 per year, und the other
four houses in the row returned 5000
| per year each. That was not less than
| twenty-five years after the houses had
been built. They had deteriorated
| through age and use, but the loss in
these directions had been made up by
the growth of the city about them.
How many wears they had been earning
ST. 400 do not know, but it is reasona-
bic to suppose they never earned much
less.
In 1866 the quarter block, with all of
its improvements, was assessed for tax
alton at S26. .23O. and paid State, county,
school and military tax amounting to
S419.6S.
George T. Settle inherited this prop
erty from his parents, and in 1870, when
a commission was looking for site for
a custom house in st. Louis. he offered
this for $50, 900. The commission agreed
to buy, but changed it's decision and
bought block two blocks away. In
1874 Mr. Settle sold the property to
Henry Corwith of Chicago for 100000.
1t was assessed that year at $50, $50, the
taxes amount to S7OO.11, and the income
was, as have said, 81, 400 per year.
Mr. Corwith spent little for repairs,
but the city required s162.s3 in special
taxes 1or the improvement of the two
adjoining alleys, and 81, BAH for the
paving of the streets on two sides of the
property with granite blocks. The as
sessInent fell off to ss3S, O5O in 1881 from
$50, $50 in 1874; but the tax rate had been
increased and while in the earlier year
the amount was S700, it was now nearly
81 900. In 1854 the assessment had ad
vanced to $50, 400. and the taxes to 81 ,
2S5.2O. In 1856 the assessment fell S40C
and the taxes $500.
Jay Gould bought the property in 1881
for SS3. 900. The buildings on it were
very poor. but were still renting for be-
tween 81. 900 and So, 900. Mr.. Gould was
then asking favors of the municipal as
sembly for his railroads, and to concili
ate st. Louisans he caused AT announce
ment to be made that he intended tc
build ten-story structure on this
ground. To give color to this he causeo
the old, unsightly buildings to be re
moved.
In 1888. when the assessment was
made. the quarter block was bare, save
for some worthless foundation stone
and had no more value, apart from Its
nearness to large numbers of men ant
to centerS of trade. than it had wher
Pierre and Joseph Bccquette, Loui:
Ride, Rene kierceraH, Louis BiSSone'
f"and Joseph Gamachc cultivated tha'
and adjacent land in the fear of Indians
and sight of the fort. However. tn,
assessors. probably taking into consid
Grafton the fact that Mr.. Gould hac
paid SS3. 600 for the property, assessc,
it at $50. .OSO, and the tax bill that yea,
was 1.3SO.69. The land yielded Mr.
| Gould nothing. He would have pait
the same amount OF tax in 1889. but be
fore the taxes for that year became
due he sold the property to Daniel Cat
lin for 500. 900. He had held the prop
erty seventeen months and had gros
profit of $1,000 out of it. If You charg'
against that the 81, ,3so.69 taxes you leave
S5.6l9.31. which is equal to seven pc
cent on Mr.. Gould's investment.
Mr.. Catlin did even better. He pait
the tax bills of $50 and 1S90-the latte
amounting to 1,535. 16 on an assessmen
of 500, ,TSO-though on May 20. 1890, h
had sold the property to Mrs. Catherine
d. wainwright for S12T, 400. He had ;
gross profit of s3T,4oO, and a next prof
y Al L.. La. 4