The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-23
NEWS OF GENERAL CITY
LAKE AND PARK BEING DIS
 CUssED BY CITIZENS.
l2rany witnesses Summoned to Tes- testify at Preliminary of White
 Hen Accused of Murdering an old Negro.
Advertiser Bureau. 2

lE
 The sr iject of suburban lake or park. located four or five miles from the city { n again being agitated, and now that the zhutUrban and street railway has been <honded in the sum of s125.0C0, 1t is hoped
 hat some of the money thus gotten into Ekhe treasury will be used in building such D resort. Valley Creek. which Is about , mile and a half from the eno or the xstrcet car terminus at Elkdale Park, has &been suggested as the most suitble place flor such a lake and park There are sew Nexal , beautiful sites for lake not Tar Ahove sKenan's Mill, where the blum on both sideepof the creek are high and the Nuisance between them narrow, making the work of throwing a big dam from one to the other comparatively cheap. There is said to be one place in particu- 3 lar, with a wooded plateau overlooking E the place. This land could be bought clearly and a large profit made by divid- frk 1t up into acre lots and selling them to people who live 1 nthe city for subur- ban, homes It is thought that enough $ lots could be sold to pay for the extension and to build the lake and put up the nec- eesary Improvements. If that. is a fact and from one to two thousand people < could be induced to go there and build handsome cottages, the street car com pany would derive handsome revenue from the investment in the matter or tlnAuNnK
 burban resort If the street cars made rerular trips on schedule time, a great many would build permanent homes there.
 Others suggest that 1t would be more economical for tho street car people to throw a dam across Valley Creek near Its mouth and make g lake there. 6Ihe blum on the Featherstone or western side 4 sof the creek is very high all the way up above the Estelle Cotton Mills. but there is enough low land on this side. between Live Oak Cemetery and the creek to fur r,isf room for a beautiful body of water. The lake would not be very wide. but 1t would be mile or more long and row boats and naptha launches could go away up the creek beyond the railroad bridges xvrhA land that would be covered by water is almost valueless for agricultural pur- SxosAs. and if the consent of those who ,vvn the land could be gotten to such an arrangement, it Is thought that the place n perfectly feasible from the standpoint of engineering. It is true that the Ala bama River would back up over IL a. very high water, but that would not do the dam any harm as it would not rush over 1t in a current, the sluiceway tha, lets the surplus water from the lake out furnishing access to the river water tc come in when it gets that high. A gooo many think this the most feasible plan as the handsome 5000 dancing pavilion Is
 
 yards from the mouth of the creek
 Of course the matter of the health ol the western part of the city will have /tc be taken into consideration in the con struction of such a lake. There are many who contend that lake of the magnitude of that would become stagnant and woulc breed malaria. while others hold that the great volume of water that would constantly be poured into it from Val ley Creek would keep 1t pure and fresh Some 20 so far as to suggest that tht sIopy, marshy places along the proposed course of the lake on tho east side Of tht creek would be covered with water, fresf and pure, and that it would not be neal so apt to breed malaria as it would in it' present condition. with the hot. sun pour
 ing down on the seapy. wet, marsh ground Everybody Is hoping that Colo mel Abbott will take the matter up ant will give the citizens of Selma subur ban resort several miles out or bull
 the lake at the mouth of Valley Creek The people would prefer the park an
 lake being built farther from the cit
 than the mouth of Valley Creek. Tn
 long ride of three or four miles on hot xuItry afternoons and evenings would b a great boon to those who swelter in tn
 hot city through the long summer days and would be an especial blessing to littl
 children. who could be sent out wit
 their nurses almost every afternoon.