Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-01-31
WHAT BUILDS A CITY.
not NATURAL ADVANTAGES NOR
REAL ESTATE BOOMERS.
Resources Must BE Developed and the
Wheels of Industry set In M"tion-How
Superior, Wis, Grew From Nothing to a
Great City In Four Years.


Superior, Wis, Grew From Nothing to
Great City In Four Years.
The real estate boomer came to Su-
perior. Wis, to locate Il city when the
500" canal was projected i'll 1893, and
he revived his colored plats and enlarg-
ed them when the Northern Pacific rail
road was to be built, but the village of
Superior, established i'll 1893, slept on,
waiting for something more than am
ricnt history, old romance and prophecy
to give it the life that would make it u
great city.
The census figures tell this part of
tho story very we'll. In 1888 there were
$50 people i'll Douglas county, which
was created in lS54. I'm 't'''S popu-
laton had increased to - re-
tlUced to E532, iii 1870 again III, rv.,sed to
1,l22. in ISL again decreased to1ll, in
1880 further decreased 10 6.1:,, i'll 1883
increased :, ZOO, in 1880 to l3, 4Gs, and
in 1893 school census showed 30, 600
! i'll the city of Superior.
All attempts To bnild u city her on
merely natural Advantages We're flat
failures. The great thing lacking was
! labor, diversified industry 10 develop
| the natural advantages There was raw
material i'll great abundance. and it
needed industrial enterprise 10 develop.
There was !, land company as early AS
| 1854, but the forest was so dense that
the only place they could locate streets
and corner lots WAS ON paper. In lSS5
the ancient history of the city records
IL wooden Shanties whore the coiored
plats of the West superior Land com
pany showed city With hundreds of
town lots. In lSS6 Il coal dock aud
grain elevator Were located on ST. Louis
bay. The railroads came i'll 1851. 1883
and in 1885, but they did not make Il
city. a street car line WAS begun in
1884. hut there We're no cars because
there We're no passengers lmtil 1889 ~
flour mill, with Il capacity of 200 bar
rels Il day, was started III $50, hut 1t
soom failed, and ,hcright hig flour mills
now located here, With capacity of
1000, 600 barrels - year, did not come
until 1891. There was - bank III 1852,
but it surrendered its charter three Years
later. Neither IL -four mill nor "a bank
could make a city any more than could
real estate boomers. missionaries, eX-
plorcrs and Indians
The city of Superior came with the
manufacturing between 1855 and 1893.
The first great boom in manufactures
was when the American Steel Barge
, works began the building of whalcback
steamers.
The West Superior Iron and Steel
works, with i, capital of So, 900. 900,
rapidly followed.
The miners took outtlie ore and load
ed it upon the cars. the railroad mel
took charge of the train and run 1T tt
the blast furnaces. the labor there con
vcrted it into pig iron. other labor con
verted this into steel, and other labo1
; rolled it into the plates and bent it into
frames for the whalebaclis. Then tho
: labor i'll the barge works took it ant
= rivetcd the plates to the ribs of steel
' the boiler builders and engineers put il
the motive power, the grain elevators
and the flour mills loaded the whale
back with food products, and the sailors
~ guided the whale of industrial ciyillza
= tion ont into Lake Superior to stean
u away To the east or to Europe With
Jonah that would he welcome i'll an.
port or any shore. An immense dry
= dock followed Then came other irol
70 industries, charcoal furnaces, ston
) works, steel range works, malleablc iro
. works. until in less than one admins
y tration at Washington Superior becam
" great iron and steel manufacturin
center.
, :, These iron industries brought Goa
=" docks and large shipments of coal frol
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois. The
~ came tho big flour mills. one of thel
" with capacity of 5000 barrels a day
~ tho wagon works and long line {
= manufacturing establishments, until {;
tho beginning of 1893 there We're {
" different manufacturing plants, wit
~ s. 76 wage Carners, not counting thos
- who were engaged as clerks, employee
= of contractors, carpenters hotels, laul
w dries, liyeries and other common lines
. business.
. These wage carners in the bare
y. works, steel mills, flour mills and otht
!" shops and OH tho docks received 50, 600
900 in wages i'll 1892. This indusiri;
army turned out nearly $50. 600, 900 {
Of q product, and that was responsible IL
in tho city of Superior With a populatic
r. of 35, 600 people i'll 1892; buildings III
te Improvements valued at SG, S4l, 124,
\, banking capital of ST, $50, 600, an a
90 sessed valuation of $25, 972, SAG, real e
" tate transfers amounting to SIS, 5sS, 60
le Lake commerce valued at $54, 0tG 90
,e grain shipped amounting to 10, ss3, a
l. bushels. -four shipped 2,l1S, 2G4 ba
1t rels, 1899, 224 tons OF coal received, ;
l., elevator capacity of 10, 900, 900 bushel
10 industrial plants, school buildil
property valued at $34l, 500 and $3.50
900 appropriated last year for scho
ed purposes, 81 miles of paved streets til
IL have cost So, 725. .553. 1t was this como
lb ton that made Superior city III TO
H. years after tho forest had been cut awi
c. and gave it handsome business house
as fine hotels, beautiful residences, All o
- p 4