Home > Travel & Tourism > Nagpur in 1911

The city is 1125 ft. above the sea; Pop. (1901) 127,734. The town is well laid out, with several parks and artificial lakes, and has numerous Hindu temples. The prettily wooded suburb of Sitabaldi contains the chief government buildings, the houses of Europeans, the railway station and the cantonments, with fort and arsenal. In the centre stands Sitabaldi Hill, crowned with the fort.

Beyond the station lies the broad sheet of water known as the Jama Talao, and farther east is the city, completely hidden in a mass of foliage.

Handsome tanks and gardens, constructed by the Maratha princes, lie outside the city. The palace, built of black basalt and profusely ornamented with wood carving, was burnt down in 1864, and only the great gateway remains. The garrison consists of detachments of European and Indian infantry from Kampti. Nagpur is the headquarters of two corps of rifle volunteers.

It is the junction of two important railway systems, the Great Indian Peninsula to Bombay and the Bengal-Nagpur to Calcutta.

The large weaving population maintain their reputation for producing fine fabrics. There are steam cotton mills and machinery for ginning and pressing cotton. The gaol contains an important printing establishment.

Education is provided by two aided colleges, the Hislop and the Morris, called after a missionary and a former chief commissioner; four high schools; a law school; an agricultural school, with a class for the scientific training of teachers; a normal school; a zenana mission for the management of girls schools; an Anglican and two Catholic schools for Europeans. There are several libraries and reading rooms.