Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-10-31
HOW GUNCOTTON BUILDS
NEW TOWN OVERNIGHT
Correspondent of New York Times
Gives Graphic Account Of
Visit to HOpewcll.
PEOPLE FULL OF CONFIDENCE;
In March Only One House on Far
Side Of Railroad; Now Thousands
Of WOrkmen Are Erecting Houses
and Can't Supply the Demand.

staff correspondent OF the New
York Times made visit TO liopcwcll
early in September. Here are few
OF the Impressions he gathered as told
I'm an illustrated story printed a few
days ago under the heading. Cur
cotton Builds a Boom Town Overnight"
The principal streets. he says. are
more crowded than Broadway or Fifth
Avenue In New York
When l walked into the little ton
serial parlor'' next door to the hotel in
Petersburg. Va. I found the barber fair
& ly gloating over the front page of n
Richmond paper. Elation WAS writ
ten all over him; he so pleased
with what he SAW that he didn't even
notice my entrance.
Well what makes you so happy" !
asked. not being one of those refined
persons who discourage conversation in
BARRIERS. un fact. like it,
He held out the paper before me and
pointed to the headline:
GREAT ARTILLERY DUEL rs
FRANCE-ALLIES LAVISH
WITH AMMCNITION
didn't see anything In this 10 make
Petersburg barber particularly happy.
But IT was all explained In Il moment.
He had four lots only half a mile froin
tho I)I Pcnt Euncotton plants at Hope
well He had bought them three days
before at s15 apiece. The hotel propric-
tor had offered him 500 for them yes
tcrday. and he figured they'd be worth
Sl50 tomorrow.
And II these artillery duels kept
up!
That is the sort OF thing YOU hear on
every corner in Petersburg to-day
This little town--indc ed all this sec
ton OF NirEin!a-is IIopewcll-ru;td
Everybody there has had his irnagina-
hat ig
ways, the most remarkable IN tho mis-
tory OF this booming. ast-living nation
FULL OF CONFIDENCE Is
FUTURE OF HOPEwILI.
In hotel corridors and along the
street one finds little knots OF men with
their heads close together talking ex-
citodiy and looking at hlucprints
marked off INTO squares and str.e,s
If one crowds close enough he IS AN,
to hear sna;chcs of talk such as build. .
ing eight more units "Du Ponrs go
ing 20 buy 1000 acres along III. rail
ROAD. Russia put in an order for
tho.ooo.00o worth OF guncotton." troll
ley line going to operate before Christ
mas" and on. Some of these men
arc poor and hope TO be rich; some are
rich and hope To be richer All Of
them are fun OF confidence tha, Hone
Wei Is not q mere mushroom growth
that IL is eoins: TO last.
TO" long tn" prosperity w!ll endure
nobody can tell, but ;hei. is no doub,
that fabulous profits have been made
ny me lucky ones. An: business man
IN Petersburg can tell you OF sevora!
ciy"n-Hps THAI sounds like the stories
of The FoTty-nincrs
IN" most eloquent bare fact is that
!'rt FEBRUARY tn" land tha, is now
inc settlement O: liopewel WAS not,
worth on the market more than 10000
NOW the market value OF it Is rated a,
nHwhere between sl.0GG.0G0 and {,
'ou "p' ana this docs not include the
o"'lNine portions that are being cut
up into suburban lots
ONLY ONE HOUSE on
TRACT LAST MARCH
In March there WAS only one hous.
on the opposite side OF the tract from,
the pu Pont plant, where the heart of
the settlement now is. There were no
puiIdIngs anywhere around except
those put up by the company down at
CITY Point. on the angle of land formed
pS TWO rivers. Nobody thought that