136 



CITIES, AMERICAN. (BELLEVILLE, BISMARCK, CHAMPAIGN, CHESTER.) 



the Cairo Short Line, the Louisville, Evansville 

 and St. Louis, and the Belleville and East Ca- 

 rondelet. In 1880 it had a population of 10,683, 

 which increased to 15,361 in 1890. The water 

 works were erected in 1885 at a cost of $175,000, 

 and since 1890 $35,000 have been spent in im- 

 proving the plant. Three large storage reser- 

 voirs or lakes, with a combined capacity of 230,- 

 000,000 gallons, are connected by cast-iron pipes 

 with the basin at the pump house. Two Worth- 

 ington compound duplex pumps, with a capacity 

 of 2,500,000 gallons daily, force the supply, after 

 it has passed through 4 Hyatt niters, to a 

 standpipe 45 feet in circumference and 120 feet 

 high on a hill higher than the highest point in 

 the city. The streets and driveways of Belle- 

 ville are well paved, and away from the princi- 

 pal business thoroughfares they are lined with 

 handsome shade trees. Brick is used almost 

 exclusively for the houses, and there are many 

 beautiful 'lawns and gardens in the residence 

 portion of the city. There are efficient fire and 

 police departments, and gas and electric lighting 

 are in use. There are 4 miles of street railway, 

 an opera house, and 2 banks, one of which is 

 national, with a capital of $150,000, and the 

 other is a savings institution. Three daily news- 

 papers are published 1 in English and 2 in 

 German and there are 4 weeklies. The city 

 has a hospital, and a public library contained in 

 the fine city hall. The various religious denom- 

 inations are represented, and there is a Catholic 

 cathedral and a handsome bishop's residence. 

 In 1889 there were 6 public-school buildings, 

 and 49 teachers were employed, while 2,440 pu- 

 pils were enrolled. In 1892 an addition costing 

 $40,000 was built in the rear of the old court- 

 house. Belleville claims to be the most impor- 

 tant nail-manufacturing center west of Wheel- 

 ing, W. Va. Two nail works gave employment 

 to 1,100 men and boys in 1893, and produced 

 2,100 kegs of nails daily in addition to the out- 

 put of an older establishment. There are brass 

 works, large foundries, several stove works, 3 

 brickyards, 1 of which employs 60 men and 

 manufactures 60,000 bricks daily, while the out- 

 put of the 2 other firms is 12,000,000 yearly each ; 

 pump and skein works turning out all kinds of 

 machinery and implements for mining; castor- 

 oil works, with a capacity of 20 barrels a day ; 

 glass works, employing 250 men; a creamery, 

 lumber yards, marble works, and a keg factory. 

 The city has an altitude of 527 feet above the 

 sea. 



Bismarck, a city of North Dakota, capital of 

 the State, and county seat of Burleigh Cotinty, 

 on the east bank of Missouri river, surrounded 

 on the south and east by meadow and on the 

 north by rolling prairie. It was incorporated in 

 January, 1875, and was named after the great 

 chancellor of the empire when the bankers of 

 Germany made extensive investments in the 

 Northern Pacific Railroad. The capital was 

 located here in the summer of 1883. The Capi- 

 tol building stands on high receding land north 

 of the city, and commands a view of many miles. 

 Gen. Grant and Sitting Bull participated in 

 the laying of the corner stone. The State Peni- 

 tentiary is about a mile and a half to the east. 

 There is also an excellent brick courthouse and 

 jail, as well as the Governor's residence, a city 



hall, and a high-school building near the center 

 of the city, a United States signal station, a land 

 office, and a surveyor-general's office. The United 

 States district court holds its spring term here. 

 Bismarck is on the line of the Northern Pacific 

 Railroad, 450 miles west of Duluth. There are 

 now only 3 steamers on the river, where before 

 1880 there were 35, the river traffic having been 

 taken by railroads. The population is about 

 3,000; in 1880 it was 1,758, and in 1890 2,186. 

 The inhabitants consist of Americans, Irish, 

 Germans, Scandinavians, and a few French and 

 Russians. The native American element pre- 

 dominates. The water supply is drawn from 

 Missouri river and pumped to a reservoir. There 

 are 44 hydrants, each having sufficient pressure 

 to throw a stream over the largest building. 

 Two national banks have a capital of $100,000 

 and $50,000, respectively, while a private bank is 

 capitalized at $30,000. The assessed valuation of 

 property is $1,514,471, and the tax levy 9i I mills. 

 The bonded debt of the city is $34,000. The 6 

 churches belong to the Catholic, Methodist, Epis- 

 copal, Swedish Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Bap- 

 tist denominations. There are* 2 public schools 

 and 1 parochial. A flour mill has a capacity of 

 1,000 barrels, and there are 2 grain elevators. 

 The climate is fine, the atmosphere being light 

 and dry, rendering the extremes of heat and 

 cold easier of endurance. 



Champaign, a city of Illinois, in Champaign 

 County, of which it is the principal business 

 city, lies in the center of the great corn belt of 

 the State. It had a population of 5,839 in 1890. 

 and is divided from its twin city, Urbana, by the 

 corporate limit of a street only.' These munici- 

 palities are connected by a thoroughly equipped 

 system of electric railroad. In all, there are 8^ 

 miles in the city of horse and electric street car 

 lines. Champaign is 128 miles from Chicago, 48 

 from Bloomington. and 33 from Danville. Three 

 lines of railroad pass through it the Illinois 

 Central, the Big Four, and the Wabash. There 

 are 30 miles of sidewalks, all of brick except in 

 the business portion, where stone is used. There 

 are 4 parks, 1 of 15 acres. Gas and electricity 

 are employed in lighting, and water is supplied 

 from driven wells at a depth of 165 feet. The 

 fire department is contained within the city 

 building, which cost $15,000, and in which is 

 also located the city library of 5,000 volumes. 

 The Presbyterians, ' Methodists, Episcopalians, 

 Congregationalists, Baptists, Disciples. German 

 Methodists, Catholics, and other denominations 

 have handsome churches. The public schools 

 are of a high order, and the high school prepares 

 students for the University of Illinois, which is 

 near the city. There are 1 private and 2 national 

 banks. One daily and 4 weekly newspapers are 

 published. 



Chester, a city of Pennsylvania, the oldest 

 town in the State, in Delaware County, on the 

 west bank of Delaware river, 15 miles below 

 Philadelphia by the old Philadelphia and Balti- 

 more post road, 12 miles by rail and 18 by river. 

 It is 14 miles northeast of Wilmington, and is 

 separated by a small stream Lamokin Run 

 from the borough of South Chester, while imme- 

 diately adjoining on the northwest lies the manu- 

 facturing suburb of Upland. In 1880 the popu- 

 lation of the city was 14,997, and in 1890 it was 



