The $1 Million Syndicate: How Three Men Bet Big on Tumwater’s Water Power
A wealthy trio from Kansas City arrives in Olympia with a million-dollar plan to build mills and a cable railway, signaling a massive shift in the territory's economic future.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Three men of capital are now in town having the erection of wood and paper mills at Tumwater. These three gentlemen represent a syndicate of Kansas City capitalists totaling about $1,000,000, who are anxious to invest it in real estate. The gentlemen state that they have found Tumwater water power the best and most available west of the Cascade mountains, and they will report it for the benefit of sale. As an evidence of their faith in the action of their company and on their report, each of the gentlemen has invested in Olympia realty. They state that if the syndicate acts on their recommendation, one of their first objects after locating here will be to build a cable railway from this city to Tumwater.
Outside parties from all parts of the territory and East are daily arriving and showing their faith in the future of the city by investing hundreds of dollars in realty. They are confiding their interest in local enterprise. The total amount of investments for January was only 40, and during January, full time ran a rise by this that the activity of transactions here is remarkable, and compared with best times here to imply having more than tripled during the last two months.
In 1893, Olympia was betting its entire economic survival on industrial infrastructure—specifically water power and rail links to Seattle. This mirrors modern debates over regional connectivity and whether rural towns can leverage natural resources to attract outside capital, or if they remain dependent on the whims of distant investors.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.