Evening star., 1933-09-03
SHOALS LAND BOOM
is SEEN AS PASSING
Investors Urged to Use Cau-
ton as Promoters Seek
to Sell Property.
Continued From First Page0

Niagara Of power in the center OF
region of mineral wealth, next door
to the contrys center Of population.
1t had been neglected for generations
Ford had done stupendous things at
Detroit Under his leadership almost
anything could develop at Muscle
Shoals, and the talk of a city Is miles
long seemed an understatement in
those days.
A short while later Ford made his
offer to the Government. He said ne
would locate 81 industries in the Mus
Gle Shoals area, some near the dam,
others parceled out among nearby
towns and villages.
His offer threw the Muscle Shoals
issue back into Congress. Other Of
fers were made. In every one the most
extravagant promises were given for
the districts development. so that re-
gardless who got the properties It
seemed certain a great city would be
built there.
The publicity the Muscle Shoals con-
troversy created forced Congress to ap-
propriate money to finish the Wilson
dam. From that time on, around 1922,
until 1926. when the dam was finished.
the Government had 10000 men on its
pay roll and distributed 100000 a week
in the area in wages.
Like the Florida Boom.
The result was land boom equaled
in recent times only in Florida. Specu-
lators poured in from every part OF
the country Land in the vicinity of
the dam, which had been selling around
S25 an acre, about its value for farm
ing. jumped as high as ST 900 an acre,
with certain tracts far exceeding that
Then. when this land was cut into lots,
it was sold to the public at prices as
high as 100000 an acre
In Colbert County Immediately south
of Wilson dam. are 337 subdivisions
of record In Lauderdale County,
north of the dam, there are 70. This
does not consider the many develop
ments in adjoining counties or farms
bought with the idea of cutting them
into lots, but which have never been
officially recorded as subdivisions
The bulk of this land was actually
sold One large developer is said to
have sold more than S1,500,000 in
lots on tract he is still promoting
Two developers from Detriot are said
to have cleared S250,0O0 each on a
comparatively small tract near the
dam They reinvested the money in
a still larger tract mile or so far
ther away, cut it into lots and sold
them to investors Fortunes from
100000 to $500,000 were common IN
the boom days, and just as spectators
in the stock market reinvested their
profits in securities, so much OF this
money was put back into additional
subdivisions.
The greater part of this land went
to small investors. many of whom had
only the haZiest idea of what they were
buying Most of them never even
from blue prints hanging in some real
estate Office which indicated always
that the lots were lin the vicinity Of
the great dam. The lots may have
been in a swamp, on land subject to
overflow. in the middle of a distant
cotton field, on a barren hillside with
one end of the lot from so to 100 feet
higher than the other, or in some
woodland so dense one could hardly cut
ones way through with an axe.
Fortunately, many Of these subdi-
visions are on comparatively high, well
drained fiat lands adjacent to the river.
Mary of them were cleared and today
have rudimentary improvements, such
as streets and sidewalks. Most of them,
however, are still without sewerage or
water mains, and only recently has an
attempt been made to supply some sub
divisions with electric light.
Bought for Speculation.
Very few bought property at Muscle
Shoals with any idea except specula-
tion They bought in the hope they
would be able to sell their holdings at
a profit Those who intended to hold
were mostly people who expected the
enterprise of settlers at Muscle Shoals
to give them nice share of unearned
increment. There is no better evidence
of this than the present condition of
most of these subdivisions. On the
thousands of acres cut into lots one
rarely sees a building, unless farm
buildings there before the boom. The
few new structures are usually those
the original developers erected for
speculative purposes
Take the case of two Kentuckians
who, having bought property they were
told was In the vicinity of Muscle
Shoals, went to Florence. Ala, to To-
cate it. Their lots were near the Louis
vile g. Nashville cut, a railroad grading
through rough and virtually sterile hills
near the Tennessee line, and about 20
miles from the Wilson Dam.
Are you satisfied with what you
beught?" one of them was asked.
Amt kickin'. got stuck with them
eight lots, I know. but I just bought
20 acres Of the same land at SIS al