Louis Warren Hill (May 19, 1872- April 27, 1948), was an American railroad executive. Hill noted that the secret to his success was "work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work."[4]. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest. Today Hills house has been preserved as a museum. Hill and his men worked in spite of all obstaclesincluding a presidential veto of a bill that would have allowed Hill legally to build through American Indian territory (the law preventing Hill from laying track across Indian territories was later repealed under President Grover Cleveland, who like Hill was a Bourbon Democrat). Though a protestant by faith he made generous donations to St. Paul Seminary. (Pioneer Press file photo: Joe Odin). ", White, W. Thomas. Paul. 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. In May 1879, the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railway Co. (StPM&M) formedwith James J. Hill as general manager. Thus, the knowledge he amassed in the academy was put to use in order to establish his business later in life. Politically, Hill was a Bourbon Democrat. Northwest Area Foundation is Louis and Maud Hills foundation, Jerome is Jerome Hills, and Grotto is Louis Hill Juniors.. It just sat there, in offices at the First National Bank building, and no one paid a lot of attention to it., That was true even on the Iron Range. It was designed by James Brodie, who also built the Hill's house on Summit Avenue. She died on November 22, 1921. With these friendly relations established, Hill managed to secure the industrializing Japanese order for 15,000 tons of rails against competition from England and Belgium. But in a nod to the unique situation, she wrote, This is truly uncharted territory; there is no map the trustees can consult.. In 1958, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[29]. Geni requires JavaScript! (photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society), Louis W. Hill, Jr., the grandson of James J. Hill, was the last living founder of the Great Northern Iron Ore Trust in St. Paul. He invested a considerable amount of profit back into the business, further expanding and upgrading the business, earning his position as president of the company. Together they not only bought the railroad, they also vastly expanded it by bargaining for trackage rights with the Northern Pacific Railway. Hill was represented by, among others, the law firm headed by Frank B. Kellogg. Juche, a Korean-influenced dinner spot, takes its place. They had ten children: By early 1916 Hill began pouring more attention into philanthropy, donating thousands of dollars to various institutions as he privately struggled with a variety of increasingly painful ailments. In 1867, Mary Theresa Mehegan, the daughter of Irish immigrants, wed James Jerome Hill, a Canadian immigrant who went on to achieve incredible success. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest. He was the first major donor to the Marquette University School of Medicine. Together they not only bought the railroad, they also vastly expanded it by bargaining for trackage rights with Northern Pacific Railway. Paul and Pacific Railroad encountered huge losses and was bankrupt. He was the president and board chairman of the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest . In 1887, the Great Northern's first company headquarters building was constructed in St. Paul. In 1860 he was already managing cargo transfers by railway and steamboats for wholesale grocers. Drawing on his experience in the development of Minnesota's Iron Range, Hill was, during 19111912, in close contact with Gaspard Farrer of Baring Brothers & Company of London regarding the formation of the Brazilian Iron Ore Company to tap that nation's rich mineral deposits. 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. Six months after the railroad reached Seattle came the depression called the Panic of 1893. And it began with Hills hunger to build a rail line across northern Minnesota in the 1890s, to haul grain more directly from the Red River Valley to Lake Superior. During this same period, Hill also entered into banking and quickly managed to become member of several major banks' boards of directors. He was forced to leave school in 1852 due to the death of his father. His first goal was to expand and upgrade even more. When there was not enough industry in the areas Hill was building, Hill brought the industry in, often by buying out a company and placing plants along his railroad lines. The theory was that if a fire broke out and the ceiling caved in, the sand would drop and retard or suppress the fire. Hill also wanted control of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad because of its Midwestern lines and access to Chicago. using former Great Northern tracks west of St. Paul. Brunfelt gave one example: The Hull-Rust-Mahoning (mine) complex provided 25 percent of the ore during World War II that the nation consumed and Hill owned a big part of it.. Quietly, Harriman began buying stock in Northern Pacific with the intention of gaining control of Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. In 1867, Hill entered the coal business, and by 1879 it had expanded five times over, giving Hill a local monopoly in the anthracite coal business. (Ironically, the Burlington Route, Northern Pacific, and Great Northern would later merge in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railroad.) During the winter months when the Mississippi River was frozen and steamboats could not run, Hill started bidding on other contracts and won several. Hill responded with characteristic bluntness: "Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work. Many speculators, who had sold Northern Pacific "short" in the anticipation of a drop in the railroad's price, faced ruin. In 1864 Hill met a waitress who was working at the Merchants Hotel in St. Paul, where he often ate. In St. Paul, the city's main library building and the adjoining Hill Business Library were funded by him. 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. During this same period, Hill also entered into banking and quickly managed to become member of several major banks' boards of directors. He died in 1995, setting off the 20-year timtabkle that led to dissolution of the Trust in 2015. That, and his hard micromanaging practices, eventually led to a railway-wide strike and the workers' unionization under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs. With the return of prosperity and the wave of trust-building and consolidation in the late 1890s, Hills problem became one of how to retain control of his vast railroad holdings. In 1870, he and his partners started the Red River Transportation Company, which offered steam boat transportation between St. Paul and Winnipeg. For decades, much of Minnesotas Mesabi Range was owned by a St. Paul-based trust that Hill and his partners created in 1906. In September 1915, the first public loan, the $500,000,000 Anglo-French loan, was floated. 4241 Jutland Dr #202, San Diego, CA 92117. During the Panic of 1873, St. Sep 16 1838 - Eramosa Township, Upper Canada, British North America, May 29 1916 - Saint Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States, James Jerome Hill, Ann Hill (born Dunbar), Sep 16 1838? "When we are all dead and gone," he said, "the sun will still shine, the rain will fall, and this railroad will run as usual.". At Hills insistence, the case was tried in St. Paul at the Federal Courts Building (now Landmark Center). To that end, Hill was a major figure in the effort launched by J.P. Morgan to float the Anglo-French Bond drive of 1915, which allowed the Allies to purchase much-needed foodstuffs and other supplies. In St. Paul, the city's main library building and the adjoining Hill Business Library were funded by him. Born in Virginia in 1825, Hill was a career military officer and graduate of West Point who served in the Mexican-American and Seminole Wars before leading Confederate troops in a series of key. Ownership of the Iron Range mines will now pass to energy company Conoco-Phillips. Politically, Hill was a conservative Bourbon Democrat. It was immediately challenged in court by Governor Samuel Van Sant. Through this work, he learned all aspects of the freight and transportation business. Even with treatment from the best of doctors, he found no relief. He bought out plenty of bankrupt businesses during this time, reformed them and sold them off at great profit. After the death of Hill's wife in 1921, the house was donated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. This ended Hill's ability to maintain competitive rates in Asian countries and in the subsequent two years American trade with Japan and China dropped 40% (or $41 million). On November 1, 1901, Hill, Morgan, and Harriman announced the formation of the Northern Securities Company, a holding company formed to control the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and the Burlington lines. Because of these measures, Hill not only stayed in business, but also increased the net worth of his railroad by nearly $10 million. (photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society), A colorized 1910 postcard from the Mahoning iron ore mine, a decade after James J. Hill had purchased the land. Meanwhile, nearly every other transcontinental railroad went bankrupt. The threat of a real economic panic loomed. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/james-j-hill-138.php. His pains turned unbearable and his health deteriorated. On March 14, the Northern Securities Company was ordered to be dissolved under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Jameson discovered the pass 1889 and it shortened the Great Northern's route by almost one hundred miles. 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. He ousted its president John Hendry, thereby worsening the problems, prolonging the delays, and adding to the costs of taking over the VW&Y. Northern Pacific stock was forced up to $1,000 per share. James J. Hill's son and grandson, Louis Hill and Louis Hill Jr., photographed in 1917. In 1870 he partnered with a few acquaintances and began his own Red River Transportation Company, which offered steamboat freight shipping between St. Paul and Winnipeg. In rare moments away from work, Hill devoted himself to amassing an impressive collection of French landscape painting showcased in the two-story art gallery of his Summit Avenue mansion. J. Hill, a wildly successful railroad tycoon known appropriately as the "Empire Builder", the 36,000-square-foot property at 240 Summit Avenue spans three lots and touts arguably the most . He went on to become a prominent businessman in St. Paul, a state legislator for 14 years, and a philanthropist who helped disburse some of the familys fortune. Over the next 18 years they had 10 children: Mary, James, Louis, Clara, Katherine (who died in infancy), Charlotte, Ruth, Rachel, Gertrude, and Walter. He was the only businessman to make a hefty profit even during the time of depression. In a way, they kind of fell into the biggest, most valuable property on the Range, said Pam Brunfelt, an Iron Range historian. Hill noted that the secret to success was, "Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work.". James Jerome Hill (1838 - 1916) James Jerome Hill Born 16 Sep 1838 in Eramosa Township, Upper Canada, British North America Son of James Hill Sr. and Ann (Dunbar) Hill [sibling (s) unknown] Husband of Mary Theresa (Mehegan) Hill married 19 Aug 1867 in Saint Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States Descendants Learn about the life and legacy of this railroad executive who was a pivotal force in the transformation of the Northwest, earning the name The Empire Builder.. In 1929, the Great Northern Railway named its flagship passenger train the Empire Builder in his honor. Under his management, StPM&M prospered. The Hill Family In 1867, Mary Theresa Mehegan, the daughter of Irish immigrants, wed James Jerome Hill, a Canadian immigrant who went on to achieve incredible success. His condition deteriorated quickly in mid-May, but even with the help of many respected doctors he was beyond saving. Folks already knew the region had iron ore. But unlike his legendary Great Northern Railway, which was wrestled into being by Hills iron will, his iron ore holdings were something of an accident. The threat of a real economic panic loomed. Still, historians agree that the Hills role on the Iron Range was definitely not a matter of just cashing royalty checks. The Hills maintained close ties with Archbishop John Ireland, and Hill was a major contributor to the Saint Paul Seminary, Macalester College, Hamline University, the University of St. Thomas, Carleton College, and other educational, religious and charitable organizations. james j hill descendants todaycraftsman tool box lock rod james j hill descendants today. So the legacy of the Empire Builder is still around and goes far beyond what is now known as the BNSF Railway, or Hills most personal emblem, the massive stone mansion on St. Pauls Summit Avenue. [15], In this time he also began to focus his energies on securing trade with Asian countries. Give me Swedes, snuff and whiskey, and I'll build a railroad through hell. During the late 1880s,he aimed to build a rail route through the Rockies to the Pacific. Hill pursued a broad range of other business interests: coal and iron ore mining, Great Lakes and Pacific Ocean shipping, banking and finance, agriculture, and milling. The pass had been discovered by John Frank Stevens, principal engineer of the Great Northern Railway, in December 1889, and offered an easier route across the Rockies than that taken by the Northern Pacific. In 1891, after three years of building, construction was completed on a new Hill family home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. By all accounts, Hill was a hands-on, detail-obsessed manager. University leaders admit to misstep in Islamophobia controversy as adjunct professor files lawsuit, Winter storm warning issued for metro Denver, northeast plains ahead of significant storm, The Embrace Martin Luther King Jr. Boston memorial causes a stir, Duluth Boy Scout has slept outside for 1,000 days and counting, NYPD captain forced out after collecting about $60K for hours he never worked, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. From the start, the iron ore trust had its headquarters in St. Paul, as did Hills more famous Great Northern Railway. Four of the daughters were married in the mansion, and five children later had homes on Summit Avenue. Because of his previous experiences in shipping and fuel supply, Hill was able to enter both the coal and steamboat businesses. Mary Hill Hill, who married Samuel Hill of Washington D.C. & Seattle. Therefore, Hill turned to his confidant and esteemed financer J.P Morgan. We do not care enough for Rocky Mountains scenery to spend a large sum of money developing it. Hill's historic home is located next to the Cathedral, largely due to the special relationship Hill's wife, a practicing Catholic, had with the Diocese. Copyright Privacy Information Policy Ticketing Policy. Hill took drastic cost-saving measures to keep the Great Northern operating, but the pay cuts to railroad workers proved too much to bear. But as the decades pass, the legacy has become harder to see. Over 400 workers labored on the project. 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. In addition, he donated to numerous schools, including the Saint Paul Seminary. After the first punishing year of World War I, the Allied Powers desperately needed financial support to continue the war effort. In 1959, Hill High in St. Paul, Minnesota, was established as a school from the funds set aside from Hill's wife for education. He was named a founder of the Trust at age 4. Though a Protestant, Hill maintained a strong philanthropic relationship with the Catholic Church in St. Paul and throughout the northwest. The case was carried to the US Supreme Court, and Northern Securities was declared to be in restraint of trade in a 5-4 decision in March 1904. The train continues as Amtrak's daily Empire Builder, which uses former Great Northern tracks west of St. Paul, Minnesota. It was obtained by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1978 and today is operated as a museum and gallery. (Peter Hill Beard is his great-grandson.) After Louis Jr.s death, the 20-year clock began ticking for the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties trust, even as its stock continued to trade under the GNI symbol. Those mineral holdings were put into a trust, to be called the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties. James Jerome Hill Mary Theresa Mehegan Hill Mary Frances (Mamie) James Norman (Jimmy) Louis Warren Clara Ann Though a Protestant, Hill maintained a strong philanthropic relationship with the Catholic Church in St. Paul and through the northwest. We do not care enough for Rocky Mountains scenery to spend a large sum of money developing it." 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. The center, which opened in 1921 . The 14-story building cost $14 million to construct. It was there that he studied algebra, mathematics, geometry, land surveying and English. Near the end of his life, Hill played what a recent biographer, Albro Martin, called his "last and greatest role." They were married for 49 years and had 10 children. A portrait of James J. Hill is now hung in the library in his home. Paul and Pacific Railroad to the Great Northern Railway Company. Neither side could win a distinct advantage, and the parties soon realized that a truce would have to be called. Northern Pacific stock was forced up to $1,000 per share. Near the end of his life, Hill played what a recent biographer, Albro Martin, called his "last and greatest role." The last survivor turned out to be James J. Hills grandson, Louis Hill Jr., who died April 6, 1995. All his success left Hill with an estimated net worth of $63 million and over $200 million in related assets upon his death on May 29, 1916. Mary Theresa Mehegan, born in 1846 in New York City, was the child of Irish immigrants who settled in the frontier town of St. Paul in 1850. "James J. Hill and the Trade with the Orient. His massive success kindled envy in many people as his story was a real-life rags-to-riches fairy tale. The Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific tried to merge four times, in 1896, 1901, 1927, and 1955. James is 18 degrees from Margaret Atwood, 19 degrees from Jim Carrey, 20 degrees from Elsie Knott, 21 degrees from Gordon Lightfoot, 23 degrees from Alton Parker, 19 degrees from Beatrice Tillman, 17 degrees from Jenny Trout, 20 degrees from Justin Trudeau, 23 degrees from Edwin Boyd, 18 degrees from Barbara Hanley, 27 degrees from Fanny Rosenfeld and 20 degrees from Cathryn Hondros on our single family tree. Hill was born in Eramosa Township, Wellington County, Upper Canada (now Ontario). He also took strong measures to economizein just one year, Hill cut the railway's expense of carrying a ton of freight by thirteen percent. Rachel Hill married physician Egil Boeckmann in 1913 at the Hill House at 240 Summit. For a brief period of time, he hired Italian and Greek laborers, but company officials were not satisfied with their performance. 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. James J. Hill, in full James Jerome Hill, (born September 16, 1838, near Guelph, Ontario, Canadadied May 29, 1916, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.), American financier and railroad builder who helped expand rail networks in the northwestern United States. The move was politically unpopular and in clear violation of Minnesota statutes. The 1887 building was converted between 2000 and 2004 to a 53 unit condo in the Historic Lowertown District of St. Paul. In 1887, the Great Northern's first company headquarters building was constructed in St. Paul. It is just amazing that one mine complex produced as much ore as it has., The mines have been lucrative for a very long time. James J. Hill is back in the news this month but not for his famous railroad. James J. Hill, nicknamed the Empire Builder, embodied the archetypal American story of success, rising from poor dock clerk to multimillionaire railroad magnate. Call us at (858) 263-7716. James J. Hill House Rugged stone, massive scale, fine detail and ingenious mechanical systems recall the powerful presence of James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railway. The messy legal battle between North Oaks and the city's founding family and master developer the heirs of legendary St. Paul railroad magnate James J. Hill is finally over. A daughter, Katie, died in infancy (1876). A New Mexico man is charged with killing and decapitating a 51-year-old man at a local park Sunday then kicking the severed head around, according to a report . Louis Jr. was just 4 years old when the trust was created. A truce had to be called between the warring teams following which Hill and Morgan joined hands to stabilise the share market. Hill and his railway are mentioned in the Harry McClintock song "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum.". hillhouse@mnhs.org In honour of his legacy, his heirs founded the James J. Hill Reference Library, which provides practical business information to businesses in the entire nation. In 1867, James J. Hill married Mary Theresa Mehegan, born in 1846 in New York City. Hill saved money by repeatedly cutting wages, made possible by a time of deflation when prices were falling generally. In 1897, Hill grudgingly bought the small Duluth, Superior & Winnipeg Railroad, which came with 10,000 acres of Mesabi Range land. [8][9][10], Six months after the railroad reached Seattle came the deep nationwide depression called the Panic of 1893. In 1867, Hill entered the coal business, and by 1879 it had expanded five times over, giving Hill a local monopoly in the anthracite coal business. ) Hill, James Norman Hill, Louis W. Hill, Clara Anne Lindley (born Hill), Katherine Theresa Hill, Charlotte Elizabeth Slade (born Hill), Sep 16 1838 - Eramosa Township, Ontario, Canada, Mary Elizabeth Hill, Alexander Samuel Dunbar Hill. In 1890 the railroad became the Great Northern Railway Company, with Hill as president (1890-1907) and later chairman of the board (1907-1912). It was at this point that Hill went from general manager to the official president of StPM&M, and thereafter decided to expand the rail lines. 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. During this period, Hill began to work for himself for the first time. J. J. Hill Dead In St. Paul Home At The Age of 77. Hill was a supporter of free trade and was one of the few supporters of free trade with Canada. Copyright Privacy Information Policy Ticketing Policy, James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest, Harriman vs. Hill: Wall Street's Great Railroad War, James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest. "[7] Hill got what he wanted, and in January 1893 his Great Northern Railway, running from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington a distance of more than 1,700 miles (2,700km) was completed. The $400-million merger consolidated all major rail lines in the northwest quarter of the nation. Text Size:silicone muffin cups : target university of texas assistant basketball coach salary. This last attempt lasted from 1955 until final Supreme Court approval and merger in March 1970, which created the Burlington Northern Railroad. James Hill was only fourteen years old when this demise occurred. uis Warren Hill, Clara Anne Lindley (born Hill), Katherine Theresa Katie Hill, Charlotte Elizabeth Slade (born Hill), Ruth Beard Heidsiec Sep 16 1838 - Eramosa Township Wellington County Ontario, May 29 1916 - St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States, May 29 1916 - Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA, cw, Source: https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10925230, Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States, Railroad Transportation in the United States, St.tsar-NikolayII/St.Alexandra-Hesse-Darmstadt Web Site, Gladys Ryman and Herbert Wilson Sporbeck Web Site, James J (Jerome), Railroad Executive Hill, Saint Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States. The Democratic Party's continued enchantment with the populist William Jennings Bryan led Hill to support Republican presidential candidates William McKinley (1896 and 1900), Theodore Roosevelt (1904), and William Howard Taft (1908 and 1912). 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. James J. Hill was known as the "Empire Builder" for his work in founding and developing the Great Northern Railway from a local railroad serving Minnesota to a major transcontinental network connecting Chicago to Seattle.[1][2]. Hills son Louis persuaded him to buy it, Brunfelt said. [9], In 1898 Hill purchased control of large parts of the Mesabi Range iron mining district in Minnesota, along with its rail lines. Hill's leadership became a case study in the successful management of a capital-intensive business during the economic downturn. Login to find your connection. It was his relentless hard work and business prowess that led to further railroad development in Northwest America. It operated agencies in Germany and Scandinavia that promoted its lands, and brought families over at low cost. Hill was a supporter of free trade and was one of the few supporters of free trade with Canada. In 1850 she came with her family to St. Paul. Funding provided by the State of Minnesota, the Legacy Amendment through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008, and our generous donors and members. 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). Hill teamed up with Norman Kittson (the man he had merged steamboat businesses with), Donald Smith,[5] George Stephen and John Stewart Kennedy. james j hill descendants today. Built at a cost of $930,000 and with 36,000 square feet (3,300 m2), the James J. Hill House was among the city's largest. 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. A dispute over one of the last-remaining parcels of undeveloped land in a private St. Paul suburb established by the heirs of railroad magnate James J. Hill has the local community scrambling for answers just a week before the election. The couple tied the knot in 1867, their marriage brought ten children into the world, of which one (Katherine) died in infancy.

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