Birmingham state herald., 1896-03-01
THE NODE OF BIRMINGHAM
An Account of the EIyton Land Company" A
 Corporation With aSouI."

Herald would be incomplete if the post of honor were not given to the Elyton Land company, the Niobe of Birming- ham, an organization that has been apt ly termed "a corporation with soul"
 The history of the company is the his tory of the city it has brought into ex- istence, the city it has nourished and sustained in infancy, encouraged in youth, and yet remains the guardian of the destinies of the offspring in which it feels a pardonable pride Given the knowledge of vast mineral wealth and the accessibility that invites railroad communication, and enterprise will pio- neer it's way and lay the foundations for the future. When the railroad surveys were being made through the locality on which the city of Birmingham now stand a company of gentlemen more or less interested in the North and South railroad, organized a company to estab- fish the site of the future great city, Mr. Josiah Morris of Montgomery having al- ready puchased 4150 acres of land em- bracing the point of crossing of the North and South with the Alabama and Chattanooga railroad. The name of the company was chosen from the small town of Elyton, near the site, and James R. Powell, historic character and en- thusiastic promoter was selected as president. It's organization was effected January 26, 1871, and the name chosen for Ine cOnlpHpldIeu ClIy was Ine cnOicp OI MT. Morris.
 Among these original incorporators are the names of men who have been prom inently identified with the early history of the city, some of whom have passed to their reward. while yet others are here and active in the promotion of the wei fare of the city in which they feel an abiding interest.
 President Powell established an office near where the union passenger sta ton now stands, and the work of pro- noting the city began in earnest. The first lot was sold to Maj A. Marre the corner of First avenue and Ninete enth street, at the price of $100 It is now worth perhaps 300 times as much Upon the appeal of President Powell to the stockholders for per cent assessment to build hotel, the response was prompt and the Relay house. with thirty rooms, was built on the railroad reservation on Nineteenth street It was opened in De- cember. 1871, by MT. William Kntchum and remained the principal hostelrv for the city until it was torn down in 1886 to make room for the erection of the Union Passenger station.
 The next move of the enthusiastic pres ident was to persuade the company to build water works. The resolution of the stockholders authorizing the building of a plant was passed on the 25th of Sep tember, 1872, and in the following May the water was turned on.
 AS an aQNeft1Sef PreS1uenI POWelI was a brilliant success. He knew the value of printers ink judiciously applied and one of his primary moves was to enlist the attention of the civilized world to city without place on the map and without a hotel to accommodate her guests, in an invitation to the Alabama and the New York Press associations to meet in Birmingham. This audacity won because of its novelty and it was not long before the world knew of the vast and undeveloped resources surrounding the Magic City. To this move of the en- terprising and far-sighted president, Bir- mingham owes more than to any other influence in her history. The city began to grow and flourish, and at the begin ming of 1873 had population of 1000 peo- pie.
 The panic of 1873 stopped the growth. The population dwindled. Property was discounted. Everything was below par. Gloom was omnipresent and despair rampant The Elyton Land company was blamed for the condition. and feeling ran high Such is the irony of fate.
 In March, 1875, MT. Powell resigned the office of president and pr. H. M. Cald- well, one of the original stockholders, was elected in his stead. The company was $70000 in debt, had no credit no money nothing but land and water. There was no demand for the land, and the demand for water was so small that the water works were turned over to the
  ings as his pay.
 The next move was the issuance or sSO 900 in bonds to liquidate the indebted ness of the company. In 1873 the con- pany donated twenty acres of land TOT the erection of blast furnace. This was the dawn of a new day. The following year work was begun on the Alice fur- mace and confidence began to revive. Tn 1880 the Birmingham Rolling mills were commenced At the end of 1882 the baJ uyns1 itG bonded debt of $S0. .O00, added $25 900 in improvements to it's water works, and its stock had risen from 20 cents on the dollar to 4Vo cents In 1883 the company paid US stockholders a dividend of 100 per cent upon the capital stock, or S2Oo 900 in cash: The following year the Grant x Ward failure precipita ted another financial de- pression from which the country did not recover until the latter part Of lSSb. lhe EIvton Land company, however, con tinued to spend the money it had made in improy ements, thus tiding over the Wofk- ing man, who otherwise would have suf- fered The dividends in 1884 were 9o per cent and in 1885 were 40 per cent
 In the fall of S5 the company were m strumental in securing the electric ught plant afterward selling to the gas com pany New industries were coming III as a result of the effective work Of the com papy, confidence was increasing, buiuihg vas going on real estate was increasing in value and the future was full Of hope. EarIy'in 1886 the real estate market pe- came extraordinarily active and Tor SIX months there was scene or e%cNement rarely equaed in the history of the coun- try. Millionaires were made ana un- made in a day, Speculation was ram pant Property made dozen men for- tunes without leaving the hands Of the agent The most conservative citizens shook their wise old heads untIl prop erty reached a fictitious value from three to four hundred per cent in excess of US actual value, then they rushed in ana loaded up in the general scramble, ana when the balloon was punctured they were the ones who were left to hold the bag. .
 In the spring of 1887 the boom suo- sided and the inflated ideas of property owners subslded with it. Every one who had pulled the market wanted to unload and they wanted to unload quick. With Characteristic perversity they blamed tne company again for the cause or the spec ulatjon. They sought to shift the respon- siblity where it did not belong. Alter waiting for fourteen years for returns up- on their investment after spending over