American railroad promoter and financier (18381916), The Northern Pacific and the "short squeeze" of 1901, The Hill Lines survive the trust-busting era, Claire Strom, "Among Friends: The Power of Ethnicity in the Great Northern Railway Corporation,", Don L. Hofsommer, "Ore Docks and Trains: The Great Northern Railway and the Mesabi Range,", Frank Leonard, "Railroading a Renegade: Great Northern Ousts John Hendry in Vancouver,", Webvideo:James J. Hill and the Building of the Stone Arch Bridge, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, James J. Hill and the Building of His Railroad Empire, Harry Elmer Barnes: The World War of 19141918, Great Northern Lofts - Condo and Loft Directory, "James Hill legacy a wealth of information", "James J. Hill; An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society", Northern Pacific Railway Corporate Records, Mary Theresa Mehegan Hill in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia, James J. Hill in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia, The Destruction of a Wealth and Jobs Creator by Parasitical-Elites, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_J._Hill&oldid=1127524764, 19th-century American railroad executives, 20th-century American railroad executives, Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople, Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad people, Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada), Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the Encyclopedia Americana with a Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW, Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW with an wstitle parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mary Francis Hill Hill (18691947), who married, Clara Anne Hill Lindley (18731947), who married, Katherine Theresa Hill (18751876) (died in infancy), Charlotte Elizabeth Hill Slade (18771923), who married, Rachel Hill Boeckmann (18811967), who married. The James J. Hill House in St. Paul, Minnesota is a National Historic Landmark. It was immediately challenged in court by Governor Samuel Van Sant. He was within 40,000 shares of control when Hill learned of Harriman's activities and quickly contacted J. P. Morgan, who ordered his men to buy everything they could get their hands on. We do not care enough for Rocky Mountains scenery to spend a large sum of money developing it." Asked about the trusts public profile there, historian Brunfelt laughed and replied, None.. (Canadian-American railroad executive, Businessman) James Jerome Hill, a Canadian-American railroad executive and the greatest pioneer in the field of transcontinental railroads, was a visionary who transcended the dreams of a common man and went on to become 'The Empire Builder.'. (Ironically, the Burlington Route, Northern Pacific, and Great Northern would later merge in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railroad.) The duo acquired the three rails and formed the Northern Securities Company. After working as a clerk in Kentucky (during which he learned bookkeeping), Hill decided to permanently move to the United States and settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the age of 18. That handoff has been the subject of a dispute in Ramsey County District Court, mostly about the timing of the handover. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. Northern Pacific stock was forced up to $1,000 per share. Map | Directions and Parking. With the end of the iron ore trust, any royalties that flow from the mines will now head in another direction. He cherished summers at the family's North Oaks farm and an annual spring trip to his hunting lodge in Quebec for salmon fishing. By 1889, Hill decided that his future lay in expanding into a transcontinental railroad. The Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific tried to merge four times, in 1896, 1901, 1927, and 1955. For three years, Hill researched the StP&P and finally concluded that it would be possible to make a good deal of money off the StP&P, provided that the initial capital could be found. In 1873, he entered the steamboat business and by 1879 he had a local monopoly by merging (with Norman Kittson). From 1886 to 1905, American exports to Japan leapt from $7.7 million a year (equal to $232,226,296 today) to $51.7 million, equal to $1,559,233,704 today. Guides lead tours that help you imagine family and servant life in the Gilded Age mansion, the setting of the public and private lives of the Hill family. Together they not only bought the railroad, they also vastly expanded it by bargaining for trackage rights with the Northern Pacific Railway. Cook St. Paul is no more. He was eyed as a great competitor by the successful and dominant E.H Harriman, who owned Union Pacific Railway. As with his business dealings, Hill supervised the construction and design himself, hiring and firing several architects in the process. By 1889, Hill decided that his future lay in expanding into a transcontinental railroad. Paul. James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 - May 29, 1916), was a Canadian-American railroad executive. Hill responded with characteristic bluntness: "Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work. Geni requires JavaScript! james j hill descendants todaycraftsman tool box lock rod james j hill descendants today. Hill was known to be blunt with occasional humour. Hill and Debs agreed to arbitration by other business owners led by Charles Alfred Pillsbury. They were married for 49 years and had 10 children. Most people didnt know anything about it, unless they were investors themselves and worked for investment companies. In 1880, its net worth was $728,000; in 1885 it was $25,000,000. Hill was intimately involved in the planning and construction (19141916) of a new company headquarters in St. Paul (to be known as the Great Northern Office Building), which was to house the corporate staffs of the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific and Hill's banking enterprises. In 1867, Mary Theresa Mehegan, the daughter of Irish immigrants, wed James Jerome Hill, a Canadian immigrant who went on to achieve incredible success. New and used Descendants Dolls for sale in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Facebook Marketplace. During this period, Hill began to work for himself for the first time. 4241 Jutland Dr #202, San Diego, CA 92117. He never really explained that the (railroads) major stockholders were the founding partners and their families so it really didnt cause them any harm financially., (But it did allow Hill in 1907 to testify, somewhat disingenuously, that he hadnt made the value of a postage stamp, directly or indirectly, out of the transaction. A truer account came in 1912, when Hill told a congressional committee that the land hed bought for $4 million would yield $750 million in iron ore.). The New York Times described Mr. Hill, in his obituary, as "gifted with fine tastes and a keen artistic sense of beauty of form and color, and his collections of art and jewels were among the finest in the country.". Brother of Mary Elizabeth Hill uis Warren Hill, Clara Anne Lindley (born Hill), Katherine Theresa Hill, Charlotte Elizabeth Slade (born Hill), Ruth Beard Heidsieck Lori James Jerome Hill, Anne Ann Hill (born Dunbar), James Hill, Mary Elizabeth Brooks (born Hill), Alexander Samuel Dunbar Hill, Louis Warren Hill. People commented on his piercing gaze and said he held their attention with his quick, animated speech, gesturing expansively and jabbing the air with a hand or finger to make his point. Because of the size of this region and the economic dominance exerted by the Hill lines, Hill became known during his lifetime as "The Empire Builder". Experience Christmas, 1910both upstairs and downstairsin the sumptuous Gilded Age mansion of railroad titan James J. Hill. Because Hill created a property-holding trust, it had to follow laws insuring that property is controlled by the living, not the dead. The trust never did any mining itself; it only collected royalties. Hill saved money by repeatedly cutting wages, made possible by a time of deflation when prices were falling generally. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. Hill was a member of the Jekyll Island Club (aka The Millionaires Club) on Jekyll Island, Georgia, along with J. P. Morgan and William Rockefeller. The reading room at the James J. Hill Center is seen from the second-floor balcony inside the nearly 100-year-old building on Thursday. ", White, W. Thomas. The theory was that if a fire broke out and the ceiling caved in, the sand would drop and retard or suppress the fire. He was a voracious reader of nonfiction, although there are references to Hill lustily singing ballads based on the poems of Robert Burns. James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 May 29, 1916), was a Canadian-American railroad executive. Early in 1901 he joined with J. P. Morgan to buy control of the Northern Pacific Railroad control contested by E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific in an epic stock market battle in May 1901. Constantly updated. harlotte Elizabeth Slade (nacida Hill), Ruth Heidsieck (nacida Hill), Rachel Boeckmann (nacida Hill), Gertrude T Gavin (nacida Hill), Kat James Dunbar, Mary Elizabeth Brooks (born Hill), Alexander Samuel Dunbar Hill. It was a bitter blow to Hill, and the decision marked the role the federal government would often take in breaking up corporate monopolies in the 20th century. He began his career in transportation in 1856 as a 17-year-old clerk on the St. Paul levee. The winners of that truce were Hill and Morgan, who immediately formed the Northern Securities Company with the aim of tying together their three major rail lines. Seizing this opportunity, he collaborated with Norman Kittson, Donald Smith, George Stephen and John Stewart Kennedy, and bought off St. Not for the first time in Hill's career, competitors became partners. By the time he had finished, he was adept at algebra, geometry, land surveying, and English. At the peak of his success he met with the disapproval of President Theodore Roosevelt for his railway monopoly. Upon completion of the Summit Avenue residence, Hill had the family's old house, which he had constructed in 1878, razed. ", 240 Summit Ave. [9], In 1898 Hill purchased control of large parts of the Mesabi Range iron mining district in Minnesota, along with its rail lines. Born into an impoverished family, he reshaped his own destiny with sheer dedication and foresight. Those mineral holdings were put into a trust, to be called the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties. When she met James Belton, a descendant of Prospect Hill slaves who had chosen not to emigrate, they both encountered someone whose life represented what their own might have been, had their. Nearing the century mark, downtown St. Paul's James J. Hill Center to close in July. The Hill family has shared some of that wealth with St. Paul and the region, through foundations that continue to this day. During the winter months when the Mississippi River was frozen and steamboats could not run, Hill started bidding on other contracts and won quite a few. In September 1915, the first public loan, the $500,000,000 Anglo-French loan, was floated. Over the next two decades, he worked relentlessly to push the line north to Canada and then west across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. He even sold wood to farmers in order to encourage them to buy his wheat. In 1929, the Great Northern Railway named its flagship passenger train the Empire Builder in his honor. Wars " below / Copyright Privacy Information Policy Ticketing Policy. The couple tied the knot in 1867, their marriage brought ten children into the world, of which one (Katherine) died in infancy. As he bought smaller lines, his wealth and power expanded greatly. Neither side could win a distinct advantage, and the parties soon realized that a truce would have to be called. But he isnt front and center.. A daughter, Katie, died in infancy (1876). "A Gilded Age Businessman in Politics: James J. Hill, the Northwest, and the American Presidency, 1884-1912,", This page was last edited on 15 December 2022, at 06:08. To promote settlement and revenue for his rail business, Hill experimented with agriculture and worked to hybridize Russian wheat for Dakota soil and weather conditions. cameron mcinnes salary; May 21, 2022; Hill noted that the secret to success was, "Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work.". They lived at 366 Summit Avenue in a home that is still standing. The 14-story building cost $14 million to construct. Hills Great Northern, McCormack added, profited on all sides, from the ore itself, and the transporting of it by rail to Duluth, and then by ship because it went on Hills ships. Hill avoided this by investing a large portion of the railroad's profit back into the railroad itselfand charged those investments to operating expense. Just one grandparent can lead you to many The most famous home of the first construction boom was the James J. Hill House, built in 1891 in Richardsonian Romanesque style on the site of the original Edward Duffield Neill home.Owned by James. Hill sent Mary to finishing school in Milwaukee before their marriage in 1867 to prepare her for the impending change of stature in her life. It only had 10 employees. James Jerome Hill was a Canadian-American railroad director. [13] Hill's leadership became a case study in the successful management of a capital-intensive business during the economic downturn. The pass had initially been described by Lewis and Clark in 1805, but no one since had been able to find it so Hill hired Santiago Jameson to search it out. In order to generate business for his railroad, Hill encouraged European immigrants to settle along his line, often paying for Russian and Scandinavian settlers to travel from Europe. The Great Northern bought its lands from the federal governmentit received no land grantsand resold them to farmers at cheap prices. Hill's heirs established the James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul,[26] which is considered by the Small Business Administration the premier source for publicly accessible practical business information in the United States, and many SBA programs rely on the Hill Library's HillSearch service to provide business information resources to small businesses nationwide. Hill teamed up with Norman Kittson (the man he had merged steamboat businesses with), Donald Smith,[5] George Stephen and John Stewart Kennedy. James Jerome Hill, a Canadian-American railroad executive and the greatest pioneer in the field of transcontinental railroads, was a visionary who transcended the dreams of a common man and went on to become The Empire Builder. It was his relentless hard work and business prowess that led to further railroad development in Northwest America. She received education at St. Marys Institute of Notre Dame. The move was politically unpopular and in clear violation of Minnesota statutes. Holidays on the Hill Tour. (Peter Hill Beard is his great-grandson.) In St. Paul, the city's main library building and the adjoining Hill Business Library were funded by him. Residential Links: www.montereycountyweekly.com, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org By: jdubble07 Advertisement Around the World Mailing List Advertisement He was quick witted and had an animated way of speaking. The Great Northern was the first transcontinental built without public money and just a few land grants, and was one of the few transcontinental railroads not to go bankrupt. Workers went on strike that year. His ability to ride out the depression garnered him fame and admiration. He wanted people settling along his rail lines, so he sold homesteads to immigrants and then imported them to their new homes (on his rail lines, of course). Ownership of the Iron Range mines will now pass to energy company Conoco-Phillips. In an interview during his last few years, he was questioned on what led him to rule the railway empire, to which he diligently replied, Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work. Certainly, nothing came easy for him; he overcame the toughest challenges life could fling at him and yet went on to establish the Great Northern Railroad. His life is the perfect example of a journey from obscurity to fame. Mary Theresa Mehegan was born in New York City on July 1, 1846. Map | Directions and Parking. The 1887 building was converted between 2000 and 2004 to a 53 unit condo in the Historic Lowertown District of St. As a result, one feature Hill integrated into the construction of the 1887 company headquarters (the Great Northern General Office Building) was barrel vaulted ceilings constructed of brick and railroad steel rails that held up a layer of sand several inches deep. They frequently entertained Rachel's parents at their home and Rachel and her daughters lived at 240 Summit for a few years ca 1918-1922. - Eramosa Township, Ontario, Canada, May 29 1916 - Saint Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, USA. The key to the Great Northern line was Hill's use of the previously unmapped Marias Pass. The Hills' children included: Mary Francis, known as "Mamie" (Mrs. Samuel Hill, 1868-); James Norman Hill (1870-1932); Louis Warren Hill (1872-1948); Clara Anne, or Anna (Mrs. Erasmus C. Lindley, 1873-1947); Charlotte (Mrs. George T. Slade, [ca.1876]-1923); Ruth (Mrs. Anson Beard, 1879-); Rachel (Mrs. Egil Boeckmann, [ca.1882]-1967); Gertrude (Mrs. Michael Gavin, [ca.1884]-1961); and Walter J. Hill (1885-1944). He didnt seem to have a large interest in getting land along the railroad, or (investing) in any of the speculation or the business activities along the railroad.. [8][9][10], Six months after the railroad reached Seattle came the deep nationwide depression called the Panic of 1893. Thus, the knowledge he amassed in the academy was put to use in order to establish his business later in life. He fell in love with a waitress, Mary Theresa Mehegan, at Merchants Hotel, where he often dined. In addition, he donated to numerous schools, including the Saint Paul Seminary. Part of Hill's success during the depression also was due to repeatedly cutting his employees' wages, although this was during a time of deflation when prices were falling generally. Roosevelt sent his Justice Department to sue the Northern Securities Company in 1902. on the lake,. The James J. Hill House in St. Paul, is a National Historic Landmark.[24]. Four of the daughters were married in the mansion, and five children later had homes on Summit Avenue. 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