While raising his family, Campbell ventured into real estate with purchases of extensive parcels of land. One of his most controversial purchases was of flat, arid and barren 41,000 acres (166 km²) in the Ewa District of Oahu. Other businessmen criticized Campbell for making what appeared to be such a wasteful, unproductive investment and called him insane. In 1879 Campbell hired James Ashley of California to drill the first artesian well in Hawaii to use to irrigate his lands with fresh water. Campbell cultivated the land for sugarcane production and generated great profits from this property. Campbell continued to purchase underestimated plots of real estate and transformed them into productive agricultural districts.