[3] At 12 years old,[3] Lawson ran away from home to become a clerk in a Boston bank and soon began speculating in stocks.

Lawson specialized in shares of copper-mining companies, which were then a staple of the Boston stock market, and became a multimillionaire during the copper boom of the late 1890s.

He was a principal mover in the promotion of companies trying to establish the small town of Grand Rivers, Kentucky, as a major steel-producing city.

It was a square, overstuffed sofa on a generous scale with loose seat cushions and pillows.

The structure is a water tower with a shingled outer shell and observatory which offers views of the area from an observation deck.