Opportunity Knocks

The next owner of record is Stephen W. Tower, who paid just $650 and owned the land from 1874 until he sold the property to Alec McDonald the day after Christmas, 1892. It turned out to be a pretty poor investment for Tower, who had held the property for 18 years. He received only $225 from McDonald. 

Tower probably realized he was lucky to have gotten anything for the land given where the nation’s economy was headed. In 1893, the nation faced the worst economic crisis to hit the nation in its history to that point. Banks, railroads, and steel mills fell into bankruptcy – over fifteen thousand businesses closed and five hundred banks failed during the Panic of 1893. Unemployment rates soared to twenty-five percent and homelessness skyrocketed as workers were laid off and could not pay their rent or mortgages.

Denver Post July 19, 1893

It took until 1896 for the economy to begin to recover. Even though Alec McDonald may have sold the property a bit early, he made a handsome profit on his purchase. On September 20, 1895, Alec McDonald sold his property to Benjamin Nelson for $300. I know, it doesn’t sound like much but it did represent a 33% return on his investment! Alec S. McDonald would go on to become a County Commissioner from 1907 – 1913.