A CITY BUILT BY ONE MAN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 191, 9 December 1874, Page 4

A CITY BUILT BY ONE MAN.

t-^. (From the Scientific American.) '_ - History affords nqmeroaa instances ; of the.foondatioQ of cities by single individuals, and the beautification' and snlargement of portions of the same through the munificeaee of others; bot \ nowhere, as we believe, is it recorded J that any one man from bis private forfone has ever attempted the actual constr action of a complete town. All the more .remarkable, 'therefore, is the '>..> Enterprise which for some five yeare ■;:. past bus been quietly pursued by Mr , A. T. Stewart, a gentleman of whose - immenae wealth no accurate ioformatioQ haaever been made public. The *< high rates of taxation and the conaequent exorbitant rents incident to ownership and occupation pf dwellings . in New York city have been the means .of virtually Vanishing a large number ' . of persoos doing business therein, whose moderate incomes forbid the necessary expenditure to the adjacent snrburban districts. Hence arose a, great demand for cheap homes; and as a result village after village has sprung into existence in Kong Island, New Jersey, and in fact at every point within a radius of forty miles of the metropolis. Mr Stewart, in view of thia constant exodus of the population, conceived the 'unique idea of building a snrburban city, where comfortable homes, provuj««fr with all modern improvemeots, cpuld be obtained for a moderate outlay. .Accordingly he purchased a plot of ground, 10,000 acres in extent, and embracing that portion of Long Island known as Hempatead Plains. This is in a compact tract of about ten miles in length by one mile in widtb, and nearly a perfect parallelogram in shape. Surveying and staking out the new city followed close upon the acquisition of the ground, and the first work taken in hand was the making of streets and avenues, with pavements, sewers, culverts, and conduits, for blocks of buildings yet to be erected. Simultaneous ■ with laying the foundations of the bouses was the commencement of gas and waterworks, and of a railroad connecting the city with New York. Unlike the usual course adopted in projecting new towns in the vicinity of the metropolis, no lots were advertised; oor has any attempt been made to dispose of the property, as it is the intention to treat the city as a single house, finishing it first, and selling it subsequently. The New York Sun aptly describes the, enterprise as a new dty springing up, with no mayor or council, no assessments for street improvements, no taxes for water and gas, no entangling alliances or issuing of bonds to secure railroad tronsportatioo, no scrambling or grumbling to secure immigrants. An admirably kept hotel, situated in the middle of a fine garden plot, together with some 40 houses, are thus far complete. The latter are located in lots of 200 ft x 200 ft and provided with outhouses and handsomely laid out grounds. They rent fos from 250 dole, to 800 dots, per year on -three year leases, and contain every convenience found in the best cite, dwellings. Work upon this remajHfable town, to which- the name of harden City has been given, is rapidly progressing,* and we understand that the advantages offered are meeting with a wide popular appreciation.