1810 - Sophara Grows

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Entry posted by nedal2001 · April 18, 2015

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Desten experienced unprecedented growth in the past ten years, with the population more than doubling to nearly 10,000 citizens from just 4,000 in 1800. To put that in perspective, if Sophara was part of the USA, it would have been the 10th largest city by population in the country in 1810. Along with the growth in population also came unprecedented growth in wealth, as well. Trade and agriculture, most of the time hand-in-hand, where the primary reason for the development of wealth, and by the end of the first decade of the 19th century, the Desten Pier was extremely overwhelmed in respect to handling ship traffic. Sophara had relied on trade to grow its wealth since it was found, and it was under that premise that the Sophara Council ruled to expand the pier, giving birth to the Sophara Docks in 1807.

The Sophara Docks was perhaps the council’s biggest and most ambitious initiative to date, and much of the surplus the local government was turning was put into the construction of the docks. This was by no means a small endeavor – in fact, the Sophara Docks were to be built in many phases. The current pier, renamed the Old Pier, was to stay on as the town’ main unloading bay during the construction period, but by 1810, the town had two piers to receive ships from – the Old Pier and Pier One.

Desten Boulevard was the showcase of the quickly developing town, always full of life regardless of whether it was day or night. The Deschamps Hotel was the place to be seen by the local elite, while the Guerin Building was home to the watch and jewelry making House of Guerin, a fast rising name in both the New and Old Worlds. The most expensive, and fanciest, homes were located on Desten Boulevard, as Sophara’s richest families had chosen their addresses to be located next to one another on the city’s most famous road.

Looking towards the future and the expected continued expansion of Sophara, the council began work on what is named the Melborne Avenue, named after the member of council who came up with and made the idea come to life. Located just north of the town, Barring Avenue becomes Sophara’s first double-lane road. The first construction phase saw begin on its intersection with Desten Boulevard and go east to the most eastern border of the last farm in the Sophara municipal area. The second phase would see Melborne Avenue extend west all the way to the river. An extensive road network was already drawn up to help support development eastward from the center of town, away from the river and more into the open space of the east.

The 1800s also brought with it the discovery that the Desten soil makes for great pastures, and as such, the quality of the Desten meat is soon to be thought to be amongst the best in the world. Big pasture farms are opened up by the Hemming family to the north of Sophara, and in just a few years, those pasture farms were feeding the population of Desten beef of incredible quality.

Note: I don’t know how to remove the cars, so please ignore those. I know they don’t match the times!