William Barstow Strong served as president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from 1881 to 1889.
Background
William was born on May 16, 1837 at Brownington, Orleans County, Vermont, United States. He was the son of Elijah Gridley Strong and Sarah Ashley (Partridge) Strong, and a brother of James Woodward Strong. He was a descendant of John Strong who was in Massachusetts in 1630 and settled first at Dorchester, later at Northampton.
Education
He attended public schools at Beloit, Wisconsin, and graduated in 1855 from Bell's Business College of Chicago, Illinois.
Career
Strong began railroad work as a station agent and telegraph operator at Milton, Wisconsin, in March 1855. During the next twelve years he was employed by the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad (later the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul) or by roads which became part of the St. Paul system.
In 1867 he left the St. Paul to serve as general western agent of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway with headquarters at Council Bluffs, Iowa. He served as assistant general superintendent of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Burlington, Iowa (1870 - 72), was assistant general superintendent of the enlarged Burlington system, which later included the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Iowa (1872), and became general superintendent of the Michigan Central Railroad (1874).
In 1875 he returned to the Burlington as general superintendent. In 1877 he was invited to take active direction of the extension program of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad as vice-president and general manager, and his reputation depends, in the main, upon his success in transforming this small western railroad into a system of importance.
The Santa Fe, when he took charge of the property, operated 786 miles of line, nearly all in Kansas; in 1889 when he resigned the presidency, which he had held since 1881, the mileage of the system was about 6, 960 miles, and the Santa Fe ranked as one of the country's largest lines. The systematic expansion which he directed consisted of construction through Kansas to Colorado, connection with the Pacific coast by construction, lease, or traffic agreements, connection with the Gulf coast, and connection with Chicago.
The Santa Fe was unsuccessful, however, in an attempted development in Colorado, and built competitive lines in Kansas which were probably ill-advised. Public opinion was tremendously impressed by the resources that Strong commanded during the period of his presidency, and by the energy and skill with which he directed Santa Fe affairs. This high regard for his capacity is shared by later students of Western railroad history, although the heavy cost of the new construction which he carried through, joined with the recession in general business that occurred in 1887 and 1888, compelled his company to reorganize in 1889.
At that time, although he was reelected president, the arrangements did not prove satisfactory, and he presently resigned. After he left the Santa Fe he took up his residence on a farm near Beloit and did not again return to railroad work, although at Beloit he was for a time president of a local bank and took some part in other business enterprises.
At the time of his death, which occurred at Los Angeles, California.
Achievements
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
Comment at the Railway Age characterized him as an "honest, honorable, large hearted man, a born leader, an executive whose field is large affairs, and a practical railway manager of the highest ability" .
Connections
He married Abby Jane Moore of Beloit on October 2, 1859.