The age-herald., 1900-04-22
PROGRESSIVE ENSLEY, ALABAMES YOUNGEST
 CITY, THE INDUSTRIAL WONDER OF THE WORLD


 see Coal Iron and Railroad company car ries out it's work of building houses for its men through the Ensley Land company. The terms fixed by this latter named com pany enables every man making a.5O per day to acquire home. It is a remarkable fact that 3S per cent of the purchasers or land since July last have built upon their property The Ensley Land company of- ficers devote more time to the mechanic than they do to the investors and specuiat- ors who want large plots. Thus we see building on sure foundation town whose people are mostly land owners whose people will be good permanent ciu zens whose people will insist upon soou government and a wise and ecohoHicai administration of public affairs.
 The Present status
 Tn Julv of last year the Tennessee com many maid off all of the indebtedness of the Ensley Land company. The Real Estate Management company of New York, the successor to the real estate management business of the Title, Guarantee and Trust company of New York, an institution which handles much New York property and it's expert force were employed as the general agent of the Ensley Land com ,1any Since this organization took charge it has built some fifty or sixty modei houses, and has assisted others to pullo, some 200 houses having been thus erected in the last six months. These houses nave been built with special reference to the demands of the incoming population-east- ern mechanics, who prefer not to sleep on tho frst floor Wherever possible the com pany has made it's houses two stories In height with all bedrooms on the second foo. ~rd by an inexpensive device vent- lates the roofs and insulates thoroughly against roof heat. It is a noticeable fact that southern people prefer a one-story house on a wide lot, and the company will meet this demand. If family desires still more ground room and the beneht or producing fruits and vegetables. the com pany will provide small houses on ten ere lots for those who will fence, clear ~d farm the lands.
 The management of the Ensley Land company is practically building here city Of course it has many co-workers largely interested. whose push and energy is manifest but the bulk of work is be- ing performed at the expense of this land company. Tho construction of a large num- Der of houses. and the clearing. ditching, bridge work and general improvements of the property has been done at the cost of labor and material under its supervision. It's road machines stump-pullers and other machinery are fast giving the town of Ensley the appearance of city. Instead of narrow streets, we now see broad aven- ues, and the resulting fire protection
 The Town P-op:r
 The town of Ensley at present has only a crude charter, granted under the gen. eral law with extremely limited powers, yet enough to preserve order within her limits. Her government consists of Mayor and board of aldermen, and three policemen are the guardians of the large population-thus showing that present ln- habitants are law-abiding. There is not licensed bar-room here. There is a thriving public school and white Methodist, Pres byterian, Episcopal and Catholic churches. The town owes not dollar.
 The probability is that a modern up-to- date charter will be granted the city by the next egislature-one exactly in ac- cordance with the wishes of the tax-payers and inhabitants of Ensley, and one which will give the people the right to go for ward in the commendable work they have begun in making here city of commercial importance and of homes, as well as of manufacturing enterprises. The opportunity is now present with them, and judging from the general appearance of this cit izenship, their characteristic industry, push, vim and public spirit, great things are surely in store for Ensley.
 Not Boom iowa
 Nothing appears here to indicate that d and greatness confronts her. The people have only to grasp the opportunities pre- sented. True it is that there is not va | cant store house in the town, and that there are a half-dozen applicants for each | of the dozen or more now in course of erec- | tion; and then there are no vacant resi- dences Even this does not mean a "boom. | It simply means business demands, urgent i necessity for keeping up with the process sion.
 1 Another inviting point highly favorable | to Ensley is that the price of real estate here is not based upon prospective spec ulative value, but upon present productive 1 values. If prices seem high in town so l young, investigation of payrolls and the 1 volume of business possible now to be l done will explain a basis for present prices. 1 The Ensley Land company practically owns 90 per cent of all the property within one and one-quarter miles of the steel plant and rod mill This company will dic- tate the prices for real estate fer some years to come, and your correspondent Is assured by the officers of the company i that they have sympathy with any l movement that would encourage what is commonly called a 'boom,' and they would deem it a suicidal policy to permit any hindrance to the natural growth and development of Ensley They. confidently ] expect prices to advance greatly above
 
 | justify the rise.
 | The Real Center
 The most desirable residence and business | property of Ensley is yet owned by the company, and has never yet been placed | upon the market Open Hearth Hill, that | beautiful eminence which appears upon the right of the Birmingham railway and Electric railroad just after you cross Vil- lage creek, is destined to become the choice residence center. It contains about 160 beautiful lots, with frontage of 50 to 75 feet and running back 175 feet. This is an | ideal spot for homes and to its natural beauty the land company will add greatly by an application of money and artistic skill. They propose to make perfect park place of "Open Hearth Hill'' They already l have the services of one of the most ex- pert and artistic landscape gardners known. He is native Scotchman trained in the east, and once had charge of one of the great landed estates of the old coun-