108 



CITIES* AMERICAN. (BURLINGTON, IA., BURLINGTON, VT.) 



and boys are employed, and the yearly product 

 is $300,000. Window glass was first manufac- 

 tured here in 1879. In addition to the great 

 output of this article and of all sorts of hollow 

 ware, 2 potteries are also in operation ; 2 ma- 

 chine works, 1 with plant valued at $80,000 ; 

 funnel works valued at $30,000, with product of 

 3,000 funnels daily ; a bottle-mold factory ; a 

 paper mill, valuing its plant at $50,000 ; a woolen 

 mill with capital of $300,000, and employing 100 

 hands ; a factory of enameled and rubber cloth 

 and carriage goods ; knitting mills ; 4 large lum- 

 ber yards with saw and planing mills; a foun- 

 dry ; a tannery ; brickyards ; 3 carriage factories ; 



1 shipyard : 2 flour mills. Factories of shirts, 

 boots and shoes, soap, fertilizers, and cigars, with 



2 limekilns, and an oil refinery complete the list 

 of manufacturing establishments, with the ex- 

 ception of 6 canning factories, an industry which 

 has grown rapidly within the past few years. A 

 million boxes of strawberries are shipped during 

 the season from the region surrounding Bridge- 

 ton, which is also a fine peach country. The 

 Bridgeton Opera House is a four-story brick 

 edifice, costing $40,000, and its Young Men's 

 Christian Association is the oldest in the State. 

 The customhouse was erected when the city was 

 made a port of entry immediately after the adop- 

 tion of the Federal Constitution. The total 

 number of vessels enrolled at the port in 1889 

 was 460, with a tonnage of 15,000 tons. Nearly 

 half the boats enrolled are coasting vessels, the 

 others being engaged in the oyster business. 



Burlington, the fifth city in size of Iowa, 

 county seat of Des Moines County, on the right 

 bank of the Mississippi, in the southeastern 

 part of the State, 45 miles above Keokuk and 

 82 miles below Davenport, 206 miles southwest 

 of Chicago, 300 from Omaha, and 200 from St. 

 Louis. In 1870 it was the third city of the State 

 in population and commercial importance, hav- 

 ing 14,930 inhabitants ; in 1880 it had 19,450, and 

 in 1890 22,565. The city was laid out in 1834, 

 and in 1837-'40 was the capital of the State. It 

 has an elevation of from 435 to 533 feet above 

 sea level, and the view of the river, here broad 

 and beautiful, is fine. The residence portion 

 stands on limestone bluffs, the streets are regu- 

 larly laid out, and there are 10 miles of brick, 

 granite, and macadam paving. Ninety per cent. 

 of the houses are owned by the people. Water 

 works of the Holly system are in use, with 18 

 miles of mains ; the fire department has an elec- 

 tric-alarm system ; 4 lines of electric street rail- 

 way, with 12 miles of track, operate a ten-minute 

 service, and there are 2 electric-light plants in ad- 

 dition to gas. In 1888-'89, the assessed valuation 

 of property was $5,000,000, on a basis of $16,- 

 666,670. In 1890 the internal- revenue receipts 

 were $292,417.85, and the post-office receipts 

 $45,340.69 ; 3,776,572 pieces of mail matter were 

 handled. The Board of Trade, recently changed 

 to a Citizens' Association, has 260 members. Ten 

 lines of railroad afford transportation facilities 

 in addition to the river, and the principal shops 

 of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 

 are here. The river traffic has nearly doubled 

 since 1888, and in 1892 it exceeded that of any 

 other town between St. Louis and St. Paul. The 

 wharves are commodious and substantially paved, 

 and deep-dredged waters afford room and easy 



landing to all sizes of craft. A new railroad and 

 wagon bridge has been chartered, and a company 

 is organized to build it. The boathouse of the 

 Boating Association of the city is a handsome 

 building abutting on the river, and two hunting 

 and fishing clubs own more than 3,000 acres op- 

 posite the city. The cascades, one mile south of 

 the city, are a summer resort. The public-school 

 property is valued at $150,000, and in addition 

 to the 16 public-school buildings there are 7 de- 

 nominational schools, 2 especially for Germans, 

 and a business college. The churches number 

 30, belonging to 26 religious organizations. There 

 is a fine opera house, a free public library, a 

 Young Men's Christian Association building with 

 commodious rooms and gymnasium, a hospital, a 

 Masonic temple and an Odd-Fellows' building, 

 while $125,000 have been appropriated by Con- 

 gress for a Federal building. Five banks, 3 of 

 which are national and 2 savings, have yearly 

 aggregate deposits of nearly $3,500,000; and 

 there is a safe-deposit company as well as a loan 

 association. Three daily and 4 weekly news- 

 papers are published. The customary telephone 

 and express facilities are afforded, the last by 4 

 companies. There are 400 coal mines near the 

 city. An electric-power company also supplies 

 factories, and there is a steam-heating works. 

 The manufacturing establishments number 194, 

 and include the largest iron works and machine 

 shops in the State, employing 200 men ; 3 large 

 carriage and 2 large wagon factories, also road- 

 grader works ; 3 furniture factories, one making a 

 specialty of office desks and employing 150 men, 

 another of school furniture, employing 175: 1 

 nail and 1 wire mill ; 1 barb-wire and 1 carriage- 

 wheel factory ; the only rolling mill in the State, 

 with works covering 22 acres, and a monthly pay 

 roll of $6,000, turning out 120 tons daily; 1 

 paving-brick and 3 brick works ; 2 wire-mattress, 

 1 broom. 1 boot and shoe, 1 box and basket, 1 

 wooden ware, 1 bookcase, 1 cigar-box, 1 overall, 

 1 egg-case, 1 soap, 1 axle-grease, 1 cracker, and 3 

 candy factories ; 1 flouring mill, 3 grain elevators, 

 a stove foundry, boiler works, a chemical com- 

 pany, linseed-oil, canning, and vinegar and pickle 

 works, 3 leather and harness manufactories, 3 

 saw mills employing 200 men, and other smaller 

 industries. 



Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, 

 county seat of Chittenden County, on Lake 

 Champlain, 40 miles from Montpelier and 80 

 from Whitehall. Winooski river forms the 

 northern boundary. In 1880 the population was 

 11,365, and in 1890 14,590. The site is remarka- 

 bly beautiful. The hill on whose gentle slope 

 the town is situated rises gradually from the 

 lake front until its highest point is reached, 268 

 feet above sea level. From this eminence a mag- 

 nificent view is obtained of the lake and of the 

 Adirondack mountains. Burlington is a port of 

 entry, and has a fine harbor protected by a 

 breakwater built by the United States Govern- 

 ment. There are several miles of excellent dock- 

 age. On Juniper island, in the lake, there is a 

 lighthouse. The original charter of the town 

 was granted on June 7, 1763. In 1791 it had 

 332 inhabitants, and in 1800 was the eighty-third 

 town in size in the State. In 1830 it was second 

 only to Bennington, and two years later it at- 

 tained the place it has since retained in size and 



