At the time, the Schuylkill Valley was a hotly contested territory, with constant conflicts over titles, some dating to before the American Revolution and British colonial rule, and rights. Had any of their competitors became aware of what Tower and Munson were up to, they may well have bought up the land the pair were after, and charged exorbitant prices for it, or worse, refused to sell it at all. The partners operated secretly to protect their interests. Tower would make the purchases, and convey the titles to legal dummies to hide the ownership of the land. By 1858 Tower and Munson had acquired eleven thousand acres (45 km2). By now, Munson and Tower's plan was well out of the bag, and anyone who had even a partial claim to any of the lands began to litigate. Only Tower's considerable skill as a lawyer kept the whole enterprise from falling apart.