To the editor:

Bill Pierce’s estimate (The Rangeley Highlander August 16, 2024) that the 1903 price of $50 for a 1.2 acre Decker lot with 100 foot of water frontage on the West Shore of Rangeley Lake would equal about $1,870 in today ‘s dollars for a lot and $227,000 for a house and lot is fairly accurate.   Recently nearly 2 miles from Oquossoc several original west shore Decker lots with houses sold for between $250,000 and $351,000. Thus if purchased in 1903 a decker lot would have nearly paced inflation but would have been a very poor financial investment. $1870 invested in the S&P 500 in 1903 would have outpaced inflation by $4,400,000 by 2024. (https://www.officialdata.org/us/stocks/s-p-500/1903?amount=1870&endYear=2024)

Stuart P. Adler
Westshore