The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-12-19
MAY ERECT BIG REPAIR SHOPS
Company Has Approached Several
Farmers Holding Large Farms near
Berryville and it is Claimed That
Deals May be Closed in Near Future.

That the Chicago and Northwestern
Railroad company is endeavoring tc
purchase about 400 acres Of land II
the vicinity of Berryville, was the
announcement made today by several
prominent farm owners of that section
of the county, with whom negotiations
have been begun by the railroad com
pany for the acquiring of their prop
erty. It is said chat options have
been secured on large number OF
acres of land and that several deals
have already been completed for the
purchase Of the property.
X 1t is said that during the past three
months, representatives of the North
western company have visited numer.
GUS farmers owning property neal
Bcuyville and are said to have at
tempted to complete the deals for &C
curing of the property at as early a
date as possible. Special efforts, it
Is said, are being made to purchase
all of the land lying between the Ber-
ryville church and the railroad bridge
or about 400 acres.
No deals have been completed up to
the present time, but aside from the
options which have been secured, it
is said that considerable land has al
ready been offered for sale to the com
pany. Several of the owners of prop
erty in the vicinity of Berryville
when interviewed today stated that
attempts had been made by officials
of the road to purchase their land,
but said that as yet no deals were
completed.
a. /. Curtis, who owns farm near
Berryville, stated that he had been
visited several times during the past
three months by officials of the road
who have asked him to fix price on
his property. Asked regarding the
purpose of the company in securing
the land, MIR. Curtis said that like
the others with whom the company
had been negotiating he had no idea
of the object. He had heard rumors
he said, TO the effect that the North
western planned the erection of a
round house and repair shops, but he
had never been able to learn any
thing definite about it.
Representatives of the Hansche ia
mily, who own large tracts of land
near Berryville, were also interviewed
and they further confirmed the reports
regarding the attempted purchases.
They, like other farmers, had no idea
of what object the company had in
view in the acquiring of the property.
Whether or not the railroad com
pany is endeavoring to obtain pos
session of the property with the OBJ
ject of placing large repair shops
there is the question which now con
fronts local business men. Accord
ing to rumors, the railroad company
has been seeking for some time to
find desirable location where it
could combine the repair shops Of Chi.
cago and Milwaukee, and it is thought
that the Berryville site may have been
the one selected for this purpose
1t has been further rumored that
the company proposes by placing shops
in Berryville to begin the movement
for the purpose of uniting Milwaukee
and Chicago with continuous line
of manufacturing institutions and
thereby assist in making this section
OF southern Wisconsin and northern
Illinois the commercial and manufac.
turing center of the United States. if
not of the world.
While reports of the uniting of the
two great cities of the middle west
have been circulated for some time
past, they have been regarded more OF
less as idle\gosSip, but it is said that
the proposition of the Northwestern
company tends to give more strength
to the reports. No official conGrma
ton of the attempted purchases has
been received as yet from the officials
Of the Northwestern system, but it is
probable that some information viii
be received from them within a short
slime.