In the spring of 1904, Commission restrictions on the sale of townsite lots were removed. The Department of the Interior trustees of land held by American Indians paid the Fixicos $50 an acre for their land, and gave legal deeds to the purchasers who claimed title. In the town's first week, the following stores were established: four general merchandise, two hardware, one 5 & 10 cent store, three drugstores, four groceries, three wagon yards, four lumberyards, three cafes, one bakery, two millineries, four livery barns, three blacksmiths, two dairies, two cotton gins and two weekly newspapers. Eight doctors settled there, four lawyers, two walnut log buyers, and one Chinese laundryman.
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In 1799, a new seal was created for the city. Poughkeepsie was a major center for whale rendering, and the industry flourished during the 19th century through shipping, millineries, paper mills, and several breweries along the Hudson River, including some owned by Matthew Vassar, founder of Vassar College. Families built palatial weekend homes nearby, such as the Astors, Rogers, and Vanderbilts, due to the area's natural beauty and proximity to New York City. The Vanderbilt Mansion is located several miles up the Hudson from Poughkeepsie in the town of Hyde Park and is registered as a national historic site; it is considered to be a sterling example of the mansions built by American industrialists during the late 19th century.
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As the district was the main business section of Iron Mountain for over a century, the business in it have varied across a wide spectrum. In the late 19th century, as the city was first built, the business district's buildings contained general stores, grocery and dry-goods stores, clothing and shoe stores, millineries, fruit and confectionery stores, jewelers, drug stores, hardware and lumber stores, furniture stores, butchers, bakeries, and blacksmiths. Businesses also included undertakers, livery stables, banks, barber shops, photographers, hotels, restaurants, saloons, and billiard parlors. in the early 20th century, different types of stores emerged, including department stores, book and stationery stores, sporting goods stores, paint and decorating stores, carpet stores, appliance stores, plumbing and heating businesses, laundries, auto garages and dealerships, gas stations, auto parts stores, movie houses, bowling alleys, and dance halls.
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