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Dusting Off the Old Ones

The City "Eyes" Lansing Flat

In two previous issues, we told you readers where Lansing Flat was, how it was sold to some promoters, was platted into lots and blocks, with streets and avenues, and a park called "Lansing Park." The promotion of North Miles City did not stop with the filing of the plat, for immediately afterward, there started coming into the county clerk's office, deeds covering lots in North Miles City. The most fertile field for the sale of the lots seems to have been in the coal fields of Wyoming, as the addresses of the purchasers in these deeds were given as such towns in Wyoming as Carneyville, Sheridan, Superior, Cambria, Clearmont, Kooi, Dietz, Acme and Westby, all near some Wyoming coal mine. Other addresses were in North and South Dakota, Michigan, Montana, and even as far away as Biloxi, Mississippi. According to the deeds filed, the consideration for the lots ranged from $30 to $60 each. There is only one record of where local people from Miles City purchased any of these lots. Some of the descendants of that purchaser still reside here with us and will recognize the mention of this sale. It is evident that these purchasers from other states made the investigation as to the worth of their investments after they had plunked down the money instead of before, as some of the lots went delinquent for taxes in 1914. In a few years the major portion of the number of lots were on the delinquent tax rolls, and along about 1919 the Calvin Investment Co. began taking assignments of the tax sales certificates from the county. In 1920, Calvins made application to the county and received tax deeds to a goodly number of the lots. This continued for a number of years, and until about 1928, when the City of Miles City became very much interested in obtaining title to this well situated tract of level land, ready made for an airport.