Background
James Jerome Hill was born in Eramosa Township, Wellington County, Upper Canada (now Ontario). He was the second son and third child of James and Anne (Dunbar) Hill.
Hill circa 1856
Hill circa 1890
Hill's home at 240 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota
Portrait of Hill now hung in the library of his former home.
Hill and Carl Raymond Gray circa 1913
(This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1375608495/?tag=2022091-20
1910
James Jerome Hill was born in Eramosa Township, Wellington County, Upper Canada (now Ontario). He was the second son and third child of James and Anne (Dunbar) Hill.
He had nine years of formal schooling. He attended the Rockwood Academy for a short while, where the head gave him free tuition. He was forced to leave school in 1852 due to the death of his father. By the time he had finished, he was adept at algebra, geometry, land surveying, and English. His particular talents for English and mathematics would be critical later in his life.
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. His first job in St. Paul was with a steamboat company, where he worked as a bookkeeper. By 1860, he was working for wholesale grocers, for whom he handled freight transfers, especially dealing with railroads and steamboats. Through this work, he learned all aspects of the freight and transportation business. During this period, Hill began to work for himself for the first time. 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.
After settling in St. Paul, Minnesota, about 1870, he established transportation lines on the Mississippi and Red rivers and arranged a traffic interchange with the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. On that line’s failure in 1873, Hill interested Canadian capitalists and reorganized it as the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railway Company, becoming its president in 1882.
After the Great Northern Railway absorbed the St. Paul line in 1890, Hill became its president (1893-1907) and chairman of its board of directors (1907-1912). The Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroads also came under Hill’s control.
He was active in banking as president of the Northern Securities Company (which in 1904 was declared in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act). In 1912 he took control of the First and Second National Banks of St. Paul and effected a merger. His Highways of Progress was published in 1910.
James Jerome Hill is often referred to as the "Empire Builder" because of his great role in the development of the Northwest. Hill's entrepreneurship is a striking example of the building of a western railroad empire without land grants and with little government aid. His success lay in his vigorous administration, ability at finance, and persuasiveness as a negotiator. Aware that his system could prosper only with the growth of the country, he promoted colonization and campaigned for better farming and improved breeds of livestock. He was also an active conservationist.
(This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)
1910The 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), William Howard Taft (1908 and 1912).
In politics Hill was a Democrat and a personal friend of Grover Cleveland.
Physical Characteristics: A childhood accident with a bow and arrow blinded him in the right eye.
In 1867, James J. Hill married Mary Theresa Mehegan, born in 1846 in New York City. They had ten children.
Mary Francis Hill Hill (1869–1947), who married Samuel Hill of Washington D.C. and Seattle. Samuel Hill was an executive at the Great Northern Railway when he married Mary Hill.
(1870–1932)
Louis Warren Hill (May 19, 1872– April 27, 1948), was an American railroad executive. 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.
Clara Anne Hill Lindley (1873–1947), who married E. C Lindley of St. Paul, Minnesota, who was Vice President, Counsel General, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Great Northern Railway.
(1875–1876)
Charlotte Elizabeth Hill Slade (1877–1923), who married George T. Slade of New York City and St. Paul, Minnesota. George T. Slade was an executive at The Great Northern Railway and Yale classmate of Louis W. Hill.
Ruth Hill Beard (1879–1959), who married Anson McCook Beard of New York City.
Rachel Hill Boeckmann (1881–1967), who married Egil Boeckmann of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Gertrude Hill Gavin (1883–1961), who married Michael Gavin of New York City.
Walter Jerome Hill (1885–1944) of St. Paul, Minnesota. Walthill, Nebraska, was named for Walter.
