The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-08-30
The Metropolitan
Destiny Of Hamilton

Some persons and places are born
great;
Some achieve greatness:
And some have greatness thrust upon
them. - Shakespeare.
The immortal British bard Of the
sixteenth century little dreamed OF the
indelible eloquence OF his prophetic
soliloquy as applicable to modern In
stances o. brilliant destiny in general
and that Of the early nineteenth-cen-
tury-born tiny Hamilton, Illinois, in
particular. OF the American Hamil-
tons, the Illinois one was one of the
very first, its humble advent far an
tedating the great state of It's site and
occupancy. A Lippincot gazetteer OF
over q half a century ago denoted it
as follows:
IA post village Of Hancock county.
Illinois, on the Mississippi river, oppo-
site Keokuk, a few miles above War
saw. 1t Is at the foot OF the lower
rapids, destined to afford great mo-
tive power. and on the Toledo, Peoria
& Warsaw and the Keokuk branch OF
the Wabash railroads. An iron rail-
road bridge connects it with heokuk.
1t has four churches. graded schooh
and manufactures Of plows, stoves and
baskets. Population, fifteen hundred. "
For well toward century Of its
own the Illinois Hamilton has dwelt
humbly, reposefully and prosperously
in It's beautiful and commanding wood
ed hills and dales, quietly overlooking
the sweeping Mississippi river valley,
that is now about to present the popu-
lous nation commercial evolution.
Despite its unostentacity and reserve,
Hamilton has bequeathed the state
and country many notable men and
women, its pioneers have left hand
some estates and fortunes to their
progeny. who live in palatial abodes,
maintain luxurious autos, and are
world-traveled and polished. The coun-
ty Hancock is typographical para
disc of undulating forests, mann
moth nature rug of rich agricultural
plains, and picturesque mosaic VAL
legs, like that of enchanting Nauvoo,
ribboned with green-fringed white
highways and bejeweled with enrap-
turing country homes. Hamilton oc-
cupies the eminence and commands
the environs for tho manufacturing and
metropolitan destiny that the giant
power dam OF the world Is about to
Ivouchsafe her. The site for a great
city from Broadway summit north,
east and south, is as boundless as that
of Chicago north, south and west
while the Hamilton foothills, valley
and glens abound with from between
twenty-five hundred and three thou
sand available acres for the ordained
manufacturing establishments, large
and small, all directly accessible tt
the railroads and the new lake ane
port.
Already the electrifying precipita
ton of vast power and fame has stir
red Hamilton to Herculean and extra
ordinary municipal strides and patri
otto assumptions, preparatory to thu
sudden Transformation from village t.
city and its requisites. To begin with
approximately 100000 was voted TO-
the nucleus of metropolitan water
works and sewer systems, including
a reservoir tower The next step wa
the installation of the latest word II
arc electric light street illumination
bringing Hamilton into tenth ranl
among American cities in this enter
prise. A $4,000 new high-school build
ling is nearing completion for 1912
The new I. o. o. f. temple and busi
ness block with equipment, represent
another investment of $4,000. With
out waiting for the inaugural OF tn
great dam, the Hamilton Clay Manu-
featuring Company has established tn
j premier factory plant at an expend
1 ture of 100000, and already foresee
1.-THE necessity of enlargement. TIL
Hamilton Lumber and Mill Compan
and the Taber Lumber Company hay
each $4,000 premises in fourishin
operation and find their markets raj
idly outgrowing the Hancock empire
The street railway, that links Hami
ton with Keokuk and Warsaw, has al
propriated $4,000 for Hamilton extel
sions and improvements, and Hami
ton is designated as the Mississippi
river terminal of the new interurba
system that is to intimately link Han
ilton with Carthage, Nauvoo and F
Madison, the initial stock of $4,000
having been oversubscribed. The c
men block and garment factories fin
it necessary to double their premise
and products, and the growth of tt
telephone company list is significan
1t is estimated that between $4,000
and 100000 are being invetsed
fine new Hamilton residences. tt
latest enterprise is a new hotel COZ
ing thousands Of dollars.
Hamilton Sure to Grow.