The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-10-13
VIRGINIA BOOM TOWNS
AFTERMATH OF ovERsPEcULATIoN
IN A SOUTHERN NEIGHBoRHooD.
n Work OF the Professional Boomer
ExempIihed I'm the soufhern End
OF the Shenandoah Valley.

AT the southern extremity Of the Shen-
andoah Valley branch of the Norfolk a
Western railroad may be seen the more or
less melancholy effects OF a great boom
a>boom characterized by the usual amount
Of insanity. The symptoms are large no
tells. which looked as IL they might have
strayed away from Chicago lake front ana
found themselves guestless and forlorn In
a Virginia field: business houses four, Eve.
eight stories high in the same sad plight.
With the same distinct air OF belonging
elsewhere; most OF them wholly or partly
unoccupied; sidewalks in the embryonic
stage OF development. pavements scattered
here and there in a ftful way, alternating
with little paths through the grass; groups
of apartment houses with strangely urban
airs; rows OF small cottages exactly alike,
built for the laborers who were going. 10
work In the big factories which never
came-or came but for a day-which were
going 70 be operated by capital which new
er materialized-or was quickly Withdrawn.
A boom town whose aspirations have seen
checked is an anomaly. something neither
city. nor country. nor village. nor like
anything known TO the genius OF man, but
il the symptoms mentioned are present
and the air a solemn stiffness holds you
may safely diagnose the case OF a boom
town. The unsuspecting traveller, though.
could only look through the car window
and wonder insthe name OF common sense
what ever struck such a locality.
From 1887 toffSs2 there was much talk
about the New South, its new-formed
emancipation. IT'S awakening. its vast un-
developed resources. its commercial and
industrial future. All this agitation was
of great and permanent benefit TO the
country, but one OF it's attendant evils
was the tendency to land speculation
which it aroused. There dawned a day OF
great expectations for little towns. With
the assistance of the professional boomer
many a village became infused with the
idea that II could build a seventy-hve-
thousand-dollar boulevard about itself and
some fine day awake a metropolis. Some
capital was really invested, some manu-
featuring interests started. and the move
ment, once begun, swept certain localities
like fire.
THE ROANOKE BUBBLE.
About 1891 the car shops of the Norfolk
a. Western railroad were located at Roam
oke, Va. This industry gave employment
to several hundred men. Other Northern
capital was invested in several smaller en-
terprises. Result: A tremendous boom. in
which the towns in a radius OF twenty
five miles Joined. / have before me a map
of Roanoke. not the real Roanoke. but
Roanoke glorihed and sublimated. On, this
map are all kinds of building Sites"
manufacturing Sites" proposed" boule-
wards, terraces and circles. proposed no.
tel sites. a proposed" hospital. and land
companies innumerable. with the prettiest
names. Avenuesi Their name is legion:
they were named after the States OF the
Union, the great men OF the Old Domin-
ion, and after these had given out they
fell back on the old English county names
of Virginia Whole farms were laid out
in this way, and the city-on the map
locked as If IL would soon just cover the
earth. That's the sort OF thing men do
when they are booming a town. In spite
of all this, however, Roanoke has lived"
The little city is now on a somewhat solid
footing, and, having put away the mad
ness of town lots and unreal values and
come down to making pig iron and build
ing freight cars. bid fair TO become
prosperous and permanently growthful. II
has some fine natural advantages. arong
which Is a splendid water supply. A great,
generous spring gushes out at the foot
of u mountain spur just without the city
limits. throwing up hundreds OF gallons or
the purest water every minute. Engines
pump it up to a reservoir above, AM tho
place has a water supply that is perpetual
and inexhaustible. Aside from the car
shops of the Norfolk & Western company
the most important industry is the manu-
facture of pig iron, carried on by the Cro-
zier furnaces. The ore is found IN the
mountain close by in great quantities.
Two very fine hotels are the pride OF
R~oanoke-the Ponce de Leon and Hotel
Roanoke. They are well equipped and
have every modern appointment. They
were built, of course. in boom times, but
their patronage is still sufficient 10 war
rant their operation. A fine rolling mill
was also built in those palmy days OF
talk. but never operated. but they tell me
that the wheels are expected 10 go round
very soon, now that the hard times have
relaxed a little.
Business men rather enjoy talking about
the boom. Those lays Of feverish excite
ment, paper towns. big deals and beautiful
bubbles are recalled like the past battles
of old soldiers. Their conversation Is
spiced with the slang peculiar 10 booms.
Every day the papers have not less than
a full page OF advertised auction sales OF
lands and town lots. The notices are. fun
OF references 10 the aforesaid mortgage
and other legal terms. which doubtless
strike terror 10 the nearI OF some one
who, as they say. was left Sin the suds."
HOW RESIDENTS SEE 1T.
YES" said a man who made some deals
in those days. 'the population OF this town
is about 14.Oo0-engaged principally now in
lighting negotiable notes. I'll tell you
what's been the curse OF this p~lace-bufld-
ing and loan associations. There are az
present not less than six or seven million
dollars worth OF mortgages held on prop
erty here by those affairs But then no
newspaper would publish that, for they
believe in EN-"
All of which Is one way OF looking az II.
;, Another man said: I'll tell you. the
worst thing for this town were those pro-
fessional boomers. They came from no.
body knows where. put up at the best
hotelenne teams, diamonds and all that
and bought and sold lots without any mon
ey, and<taiked."
There are two lots IN Roanoke which In
those days were sold one day for $1,000
and the next for 2.0o0. Now you could
them. and have them quick. for 81
900.
Who were the principal investors IN
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