The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-16
tContlhued from Page Four,

lore built an electric trolley road from the extreme West End of Montgomery and leading down the Washington Fer ry pike to Bell Street and on into the heart of the. city. This was bought by the Mobile and Ohio as was some valuable real estate on the corner of Bell and Catoma Streets and about one quarter of a block bounded by Moulton, Tallapoosa and Lee Streets. On this property the Mobile and Ohio after wards put up the handsome pressed brick and stone freight warehouse and office building with bulk tracks and freight platforms adjoining.
 In the western limits of the city the Mobile and Ohio bought a big lot of real estate which was converted into terminals and yards. The Plant Sys- tate it could get. They had bought the old shops of the original Alabama and Florida Road in West Montgomery, then owned by the Louisville and Nash vile and used by the Mobile and Mont gomery and South and North divisions, the Louisville and Nashville building shops on property of It's own in North Montgomery. Then the Plant System bought a lot of property on the east side of Bell Street and built hospitals for the local branch of the Plant Sys- tenn Relief Department.
 Standing far back from Tallapoosa Street between Bell and Water Streets. on the corner of the latter street, was magnificent -bellum home, the old Cowles place. then owned by Cap tain Graves. This also fell into the capacious nlaw of the Plant System and to this day it is used as the gen eral offices in Montgomery, Across Water Street from the Graves home was what is known as the Mobile I@vrtI N,,g occupied by the Louisville and Nash vile as the offices of General Freight Agent and other offices. Just below the ofice buildings, several feet down and facing the big cut, was the local freight warehouse of the Louisville and Nashville which was torn down to make room for the present Water Street yards of the Louisville and Nashville when the handsome freight depot of the Louisville and Nashville was built at the foot of Lee Street.
 The Louisville and Nashville had commenced the erection of the present magnificent union depot then and the Mobile Gardens" and buildings were torn down and the land graded to a level with the big cut. The Plant Sys- tenn about this time was building a line of tracks from its shops in West Montgomery to connect with extensive railroad improvements being made on TailapooSa street. The road was Styl- ed the Montgomery Belt Line Com pany' and ran over the hill coming down into Tallapoosa Street right by the eastern fence of the old Cowles home. Both the Louisville and Nash vile and the Plant System claimed Water Street. between the Cowles man sion and the old Mobile Gardens. and some interesting times were had be- tween Major Dunham of the Plant Sys- tem and Superintendent j. I. McKin- ney of the Mobile and Montgomery. Tracks were put down on the disputed territory in a night The matter got into the courts and for long time was unsettled.
 steam shovels were making dirt fly now by both the Louisville and Nash ville and Plant System and gradually the hills to the east of and in front of ths Cowles place melted away.
 In front of the old Cowles place was