Newspaper-Real Estate Schemes of the 1920s: Pell Lake and Other Vacation Colonies for Working Class Subscribers

by Margaret B. Barker

Overview

In the 1920s, newspapers and real estate developers colluded in a scheme to sell tiny vacation lots to subscribers. A zealous advertising campaign spawned a land-buying frenzy that sprouted dozens of waterfront summer colonies across the country. The resulting legal, social and environmental mayhem caused some of these communities to disappear or be drastically altered in character, while others managed to survive more or less intact.

Drawing on newspaper accounts of the day, this book explores how the scheme eluded accusations of fraud, creating an assembly line for middle class resorts through a lucrative merger of real estate and journalism. Pell Lake, Wisconsin, serves as a case study that yields the best evidence for determining if it was all a scam. Told here for the first time, the story of this unusual alliance and the communities it created offers lessons for today's entrepreneurs, journalists, advertisers, real estate developers, environmentalists and anyone who has ever lived in a resort community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476641799
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	01/14/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	245
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Margaret B. Barker is a retired attorney living in Madison, Wisconsin. She has written for legal publications and, with a strong interest in family history, has had several articles published in genealogical journals.
Margaret B. Barker is a retired attorney living in Madison, Wisconsin. She has written for legal publications and, with a strong interest in family history, has had several articles published in genealogical journals.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
1. The Lake, the Farmer and the Dentist
2. Creating a Newspaper Colony
3. The Genesis of the Scheme
4. Closing In on the Deal
5. The Early Colonies and the Promotional Articles
6. The Later Colonies and the Display Ads
7. The Economic Aftermath
8. Hybrids and Clones
9. William Randolph Hearst
10. Environmental Factors
11. Legal Aspects
12. Racial Issues
13. Social Considerations
14. Pell Lake in Context and Comparison
Conclusion
Appendix: Resort Locator
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index