John Hood

Background

Hood was born in Howard County, Maryland, near Sykesville, on April 5, 1843.

Education

He studied civil engineering and worked as an engineer on construction projects for several railroads in the mid-Atlantic region, including the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad, where he was appointed Superintendent and Chief Engineer.

Career

Hood was President of the (WM) from 1874 to 1901. In 1901 he became President of, a streetcar company in Baltimore, 1899-1935 (succeeded by Baltimore Transit Company to 1968). Hood joined the as Vice President and General Manager in 1874, and later that year he became President of the company.

During his career at the WM he led the company in its transformation from a local to a major regional railroad, The WM built 270 miles (430 km) of new rail lines and the extent of its territory expanded from its initial Baltimore-to-Hagerstown, Maryland route to include new lines in Pennsylvania and an important new connection with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

He oversaw a major improvement in the railway"s financial condition. During his tenure the company"s annual gross earnings increased from about $218,000 in 1874 to $2.1 million in 1902.

Hood joined United Railways, the merged new streetcar system in Baltimore, in 1901. At that time the company"s infrastructure was significantly deteriorated, and Hood oversaw extensive renovations as well as expansions of the system.

He managed a rebuilding of the system and its newly constructed Pratt Street Power Plant located on "The Basin" (now called the Inner Harbor) after the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.

The fire had destroyed over 1,500 buildings and devastated most of central downtown Baltimore in the third worst conflagration to hit an American city (the others were Chicago in 1871 and San Francisco in 1906).

Connections

Friend:

Hopkins Place