The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-09
ART OF MAKING new
TOWNS TO ORDER
Laid Out by Railroads of the
Northwest
NORTH DAKOTA THE CENTER
Day Of the Speculative Town Site lie
Now PassIne-Each New Line
Locates Villages as It
PIeases.

/ MlDneaDOIlSs 011nu.-11 lhO I'LL ASGAOA
which was once the northwest-the upper
valley OF the Mississippi river-the trail
| of civilization has been blazed by two
agencies, the rallroad and the town site
man.
Sometimes tho railroad In the abstract
form of a preliminary survey, precedes the
town site man; in other cases the survey
ing party may march into camp at night
to find the town site man awaiting it. In
the early days of trans-continental lines
the town site man appeared as a specula-
tor pure and simple. The speculative town
site man was prominent figure in the
development of California. 1t was his
business to go ahead of the line, lay out
his towns, sell his lots at auction. take
what he could get for those not salable
at fancy figures, pocket his profits and
depart for new fields.
The modern town is not built in that
way and it is because the creative town
site man has replaced the Speculative"
that new sections suffer no blight from
the creation of hasty and Ill advised CEN
tiers of population.
When railroad decides upon entering
a new territory there naturally arises the
question: Where shall we place the sta
tions?" Although it is the general belief
| that a railroad builds between different
centers of settlement, this Is very fire.
quently not the case especially in the
western country. In fact many little viii
lagos have already learned to their sor-
row that the railroad is bigger than the
village councils. While an inland town
| may be located entirely to its own sat
isfaction that location does not always oc-
cord either with the general plans of the
railroad magnates or the judgment of the
men In charge of the survey, and the
inland village is passed by.
Town Site Departments.
nearly all of the big railroad systems in
the west have a regularly organized and
operated town site department." which
| is consulted as to the location of stations
| as soon as the general direction of the
new line is determined upon. The rail-
roads town site man travels over the
proposed right of way, making a care
full study OF the topography of the land
and of its natural resources.
AS a general proposition new towns are
located about ten miles apart, especially
along lines which penetrate such territory
as that found In North Dakota, now the
most fruitful field for the town site men.
After the matter of distance Is settled
there remains to be considered the ques-
ton of grade, for 1t costs money to stop
and start a train, and, If possible, sta
ton should be built on straight stretch
of level track.
| The location is so much of interest to
| prospective citizens that in many cases
| the town site man finds in the neighbor-
hood of the city whose foundations he is
about to lay a full grown village, with
banks and store all ready to hustle to the
Immediate vicinity of the railroad station
when they learn where that is to be.
1t is usually only few days between
the departure of the railroad surveying
party and the arrival of the town site
surveying crew. Having found where the
switches are to be, the sites for the sta
ton, the grain elevator and the lumber
yard are located-for grain Is the big pro-
duct of the new northwest and lumber Is
the first essential in building q town.
The preliminaries out of the way, the
town site surveying party proceeds to lay
out the city along certain fixed lines. In
the modern town site plan there IS a
plaza, rarely larger than an ordinary
block, about which the business houses
are to be built Sometimes there are two
OF these open spaces. The first is usually
within a quarter of a mile of the rail-
road station, while the second Is an
other quarter of a mile away. Nearly all
of the new towns in this northern country
are laid out north of the railroad track, 80
that they may constitute snow sheds and
protection to the railroad from the winter
storm.
After having made plat of the town
and properly staked 1t out a date Is fixed
for the sale of town lots according to
schedule of prices announced In the city
dailies and in a score or more of country
papers in the territory tributary to the
location.
seIf-Advertising Venture.
A new town is great self advertising
institution, however. Weeks before the
date of sale the little village of squatters,
which may have been established miles
from the site ultimately to be chosen, gets
wind of what is going on. The business
houses have been hastily placed on wheels
or skids, forty horse teams or big
threshing machine engines have been
fastened to them and the procession
across the prairie has begun. At such
| Al.