Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-03-29
Reminder Sent in by Foley
Of the Days When Town
Lots Went as Hot Cakes.
$4,000 Worth Sold in
IS Months by Steele and
Jewell, the 1OWnsite Pro.
prietOrs.

James w. Foley, Sr., OF Medora,
sends the editor of the Bismarck
Tribune, copy of his agreement
with the Steele Townsite Co., wv.
F. Steel and M. H. Jewell) dated
August %, 1881, for the purchase
of lots 10 and 20 in block 10, orig
inal plot, consideration, Sos. MIR. Fol-
ey wants his document framed and
hung up in the editorial rooms of the
Tribune as a reminder of the SUI
| preme raise of the Tribune editor
back in those days. Mr.. Foley's wisl
will be complied with. And this re
| minds us that in the period of eigh-
| teen months after the laying out a
the town of Steele in 1880, over $23
600 worth of lots were sold by Mes
Sis. Steele and Jewell, mostly on
contract with deferred payments and
for couple of years Steele was one
of the liveliest towns on the North
ern Pacific and one of the best adj
vertised communities on earth. Peo-
pie from all over the world became
purchasers of lots in the great me-
tropolis "to be- In those days all
the townsite agents had to do was
board the train-slows train once
day each way-at jamestown or
Bismarck, with bundle of plats,
and contracts, and do business. The
N. P. train crews were "wise" as
to the proposition and arriving at
Steele the train would usually halt
: long enough for Steele or Jewell or
their trusted agents to appear with
5 samples of grains and vegetable.
grown in the vicinity-more 1itera
ture on prospective north and south
< railroad projects, summer resor
e pleasures at the famous Lake Eft;
3 hotel, water works ant
r sewerage propositions and all othe
attributes of great metropolis.
Following this boost it was n,
; trouble to interest purchasers and ;
bundle of contracts properly signet
up with goodly bunch of none,
representing the first payments OF
the contracts came into headquarter.
$ every day. But somehow the none,
l disappeared as rapidly as it came in
l The expense accounts of the town
/ site promoters were considerable
Old timers will never forget the ban
5 quet entertainments, the lavish
spreads of good things to eat and
2 drink, at the old Steele mansion, at
! one time the only house in that part
r OF the country, and still standing
a reminder of good days, good feI-
l lowship and the rendezvous of the
: finest bunch of rainbow chasers that
ever congregated.
/ Overlooked, built up beyond the
, development of the surrounding
country, Steele for many years lam
/ guished, and many good people left
for other parts; but some staid with
1t and now the country having been
settled up with a good, thrifty class
t OF people, Steele is a good substan-
tlal trade center, the county seat of
f a good county and a safe place for
investment, and a pleasant place to
live
: AS a constant reminder of early
days in Kidder county's METROPOLIS
5 the document sent in by Mr.. Foley
Will do very we'll, but in the vault of
the Bismarck Tribune there is a.
package of over 800 Steele town
site contracts, that have passed thru
; TWO fires, but are still intact, the
: first payment made in all, the seq
ond and third payments in many,
and the fourth and last payment
made in some of them. There is al
so and yeIIou,
left-a deed for a half interest To
Jewell from Steele of the townsite
: of Steele for $4,000. The town was
originally laid out on a single and
5 a comprehensive park system was
the feature of the first plats of the
| towncito