He introduced beef cattle and hogs to the bunchgrass prairies his rails snaked through and encouraged ranchers to use scientific breeding procedures to improve the herds. As the eldest surviving son, James was compelled to leave school and find work clerking in various small stores in order to support his mother, sister, and younger brother. He was very bright. When railroad tycoon James J. Hill eyed the vast iron ore deposits of northern Minnesota in 1906, he knew his Great Northern Railway was barred from owning the mines directly. The master woodcarver made as much as $1.00 an hour. In 1907, James J. Hill (L) began turning over the management of the Great Northern Railway to his son Louis W. Hill. Those mineral holdings were put into a trust, to be called the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties. Through 1892 the line pushed steadily across Washington, arriving at tidewater in Everett before heading south. The Minnesota Historical Society also hosts a great 1.5 mile walking tour starting at the James J. Hill house. Michael P. Malone's James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest (1996) is shorter and also very good. Last portrait of James J. Hill taken in 1916 fronm "James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest," by Albro Martin. Early Years. His wife of 41 years is the former Beverly Mahoney. The moment provided a reminder of a distant era in Minnesota history, shaped by railroad barons and trust-busting reformers, by the great riches of the Mesabi Range and the hard realities of the industrial age. He would accept what the terms are, then ask, So what would be the next best thing? . In 1925, four Hill daughters donated the Summit Avenue mansion to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul. J.P. Morgan became one of the wealthiest and most powerful businessmen in the world through his founding of private banks and industrial consolidation in the late 1800s. To sea as a clerk for a few years CA 1918-1922 1826 in Broadoak, Cornwall, ;. Houge said the amendments now allow the company to build a total of 673 housing units most of which have been built and about 15 acres of commercial development that has already been completed. Thirteen bathrooms featured state-of-the-art plumbing, with hot and cold running water. He had also populated the region of the Pacific Northwest with thriving communities, many of them Scandinavian immigrants who had availed themselves of Hill's $10 transportation policy, to help settle the area and expand the region's economic development. It was a fortuitous investment for them. With the end of the iron ore trust, any royalties that flow from the mines will now head in another direction. Favorite activities included fishing and swimming at . He was born Nov. 30, 1914, in Caldwell, a son of William and Philomena Ruppel Hill. POLARIZING FIGURE JAMES HILL OBITUARY. In 1867, Mary Theresa Mehegan, the daughter of Irish immigrants, wed James Jerome Hill, a Canadian immigrant who went on to achieve incredible success. James J. Hill died in 1916, but his trust would run nearly a century longer. Leaning into the mic, U.S. Captain Ben Crenshaw had a determined look. William Wetherald, a Quaker who directed the Rockwood Academy in nearby Guelph where Hill was enrolled from about age 10, was a particularly strong influence to Hill's intellectual development. Louis W. Hill, Jr. was born in St. Paul on May 19, 1902, the son of the president of the Great Northern Railway and the grandson of its founder, James J. Hill. Unfortunately, this did not play out in the long term as many farmers blamed Hill for their failures during the disastrous time around 1919 when drought, wire worms and grasshoppers decimated crops. On 16 September 1838, James J. Hill was born to Anne Dunbar Hill and James Hill. James J. Hill House That led Hill and 18 partners to create the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties Trust, which was a separate legal entity from Hills railroad, although deeply interconnected. Hill frequently compared the Great Northern western terminus in Seattle to the head of a rake. ( 60 ) $3.99. He spoke frequently at fairs and gatherings throughout his Empire, including delivering the keynote speech at the opening ceremonies of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle on June 1, 1909. 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. Death was the only thing that could slow him down. In 1901 Hill added the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to his collection. Sitting on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and the city of St. Paul, the 36,500-square-foot, forty-two-room James J. Hill House stands as a monument to the man who built the Great Northern Railway. Hill's railroads were built (or sometimes re-built, as was the case with some sections of Northern Pacific track) upon three principles: low grades to ease the work of hauling, heavy locomotive power, and freight cars with large capacity. James Jerome Hill. Samuel Hill was born to Quakers, an abolitionist physician and his wife, in North Carolina in 1857. The rivalry ultimately caused a stock market panic in 1901, and the two joined forces, but the alliance was dissolved a few years later, prompted by President Theodore Roosevelt and the Sherman Antitrust Act. Mindy J. J. Robert Oppenheimer is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for leading the Manhattan Project, the program that developed the first nuclear weapon during World War II. Buzzers under the dining room tables allowed Mary Hill to discreetly summon waitresses during a meal. "Empire Builder" was a fitting title, even though he remained a polarizing figure, vacillating between ruthless businessman and someone who provided countless opportunities. In 1862 the Homestead Act offered 160 acres of free land to those who improved it within five years. People Photos Purpose. The family would always entertain guests at the farm in the weeks surrounding Independence Day. But with an eye firmly focused on cost-effectiveness, Hill's land surveys located the Marias Pass, the lowest crossing of the Rockies in the area, and the railroad was constructed without building a tunnel. On January 3, 1900, Hill signed a contract transferring this land to timber industry leader Frederick Weyerhaeuser for $6 per acre. James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 - May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railroad executive. The profit Hill made from selling coal funded his next business venture: railroads. 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. Two years later, Hill wrote a $2 million personal check - half the purchase price - for 25,000 acres of logged-off land, which had a small rail line to Hibbing for carrying logs. Although Hill stepped back to allow Louis to take the lead, he didn't officially retire until 1912 at the age of 73, yet he remained busy by starting several banks and frequently speaking at events. The Hill Family. The iron ore trust isnt the best-known venture of a business titan who was nicknamed the Empire Builder for his railroad network to the Pacific. The 36,000-square-foot James J. Hill mansion that sits on three acres on historic Summit Ave in St. Paul, Minn. and kitty-corner from the Cathedral of St. Paul took three years and 300 workers to build. James J. Hill was born on September 16, 1838 in Eramosa Township, Ontario, Upper Canada, American, is Canadian-American railroad executive, Businessman. Now, the trusts small 10-person staff will spend its time winding down its affairs, as the assets pass to an affiliate of oil company ConocoPhillips. James Hill was married to Connie F. (Hughes) Hill on May 7, 1974 in Harris County, Texas. Joe was born on March 7, 1924 in St. Mary's County, MD, to the late James Thomas Hill and Annie Grace Harris. The line ran along the north bank of the Columbia River gorge. And it didn't take long for the Great Northern to incorporate it as their slogan. In 1900, Hill formed the Great Northern Steamship Company to ship goods between Seattle and Yokohama and Hong Kong. And he built the iron ore docks, which made it possible to ship ore to distant cities like Cleveland; Gary, Ind. James Joseph (Joe) Hill Sr., 98, of Hendersonville, TN passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family and 2 little canine companions, Ali and Bo on August 20, 2022. James J. Hill was one of the titanic figures of America's turbulent Gilded Age - a man whose railroad empire transformed the Northwest and became the . Charlotte Hill Slade, Clara Hill Lindley, Gertrude Hill Gavin, James N. Hill, Katherine, Louis W. Hill, Mary Hill Hill, Rachel Hill Boeckmann, Ruth Hill Beard, Walter Jerome Hill Universities Rockwood Academy (1852) The trust also included a curious wrinkle: It would terminate 20 years after the death of the last founding partner. Our reporters are only able to do their work thanks to support at all levels. In 1978, the Archdiocese transferred the mansion to the Minnesota Historical Society, which preserved the building and developed educational activities. Will you help us keep it this way by supporting our nonprofit newsroom with a tax-deductible donation today? Johnson City, Tennessee Obituary Archive Search. So instead, he and his partners set up a trust, with headquarters in St. Paul, allowing them to own Iron Range property and collect royalties until some distant date, 20 years after the last trustee died. James J. Hill is back in the news this month, but not for his famous railroad. Under Louis Hill's watch the Great Northern adopted the iconic mountain goat logo and the slogan "See America First" and contributed significantly to the development and promotion of Montana's Glacier National Park. Through Hill's encouragement, the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad and later the Milwaukee Railroad made the switch from wood to coal. The denial also belies a previous North Oaks City Council's preliminary approval of Gate Hill in November 2020. Beginning in the spring of 1887, 8,000 men graded the route, and hundreds of track layers and timber workers laid the rails at a feverish pace. Browse the directory of real estate professionals at realtor.com. It was also where his family would spend summers in . Each year, the mansion is decorated for a Victorian Christmas throughout the month of December. Sam Hill named his model community on the banks of the Columbia River Maryhill after his wife and their daughter, Mary Mendenhall Hill.). After the war, Hill realized the Northwest was ripe for expansion by rail, and he was eager to supply its needs for the economic advantage of the whole community and surrounding areas. ", Using untreated ties, cheap steel rails, and impractical, winding routes, failure was almost guaranteed. 45 reviews of James J. Hill House "I would give the place 4 1/2 if I could. Hill passed the business on to his son in 1907, but reported to work every day until a week before he died. Thank you for visiting james j hill family tree page. Hill rode the rail line frequently in his private railcar, the Manitoba, managing mainly by direct oversight rather than by delegating. James' Obituary. The scene was the 1999 Ryder Cup Saturday night press conference. He graduated from South High School in 1935 and worked for Gates Rubber Company fo Instead of depending upon the government for free land and payments, he developed industries along the route to support his expanding empire. There were already railroads, but Hill believed he could make them better. Along with the Northern Pacific, Hill got what remained of the massive (68,750 square miles) federal land grant the Northern Pacific had received in the 1870s and early 1880s as an incentive to build. Four of the Hills daughters were married in the large drawing room. Senator from Minnesota became a key player in a Nazi plot, Program supporting Black mothers through pregnancy adds cultural component to maternal care, With or without court ruling, Minnesota lawmakers seek to restore ex-offender voting rights, D.C. James J. Hill remained chairman of the board, retiring from that position in 1912. The death of his father when he was 14 meant Hill had to leave school to work while his mother ran an inn. Research genealogy for James J Hill of St Marys, Maryland, United States, as well as other members of the Hill family, on Ancestry. Its last trading day was April 6, 2015. William Wetherald, who taught Hill mathematics and English. Unlike most neighboring homes, the Hills house featured finished facades on both its front and back. In time, Hill had gained control of the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and the Burlington railroads. In 1889 the St. Paul & Pacific was renamed the Great Northern Railway. After 1883 the family also maintained a country home and experimental farm in North Oaks, Minnesota. October 17, 1929 - October 19, 2022. An elaborate ventilation system, which included twenty-two fireplaces, ensured that air moved freely throughout the house. During 1893 the Northern Pacific Railroad (the rival railroad to the Great Northern in the Pacific Northwest), the Union Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe all went bankrupt, leaving the Great Northern the only solvent transcontinental line. Thomas Burke had been Hill's attorney in the Pacific Northwest for many years. 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. At the end of his life, Hill was asked by a newspaper reporter to reveal the secret of his . Its one of the last planned neighborhoods in North Oaks before the posh community is considered built out. Collecting the royalties required very little investment, beyond the initial price. For decades, much of Minnesotas Mesabi Range was owned by a St. Paul-based trust that Hill and his partners created in 1906. A reception was held on September 5, 1895, for Monsignor Francesco Satolli, the first Apostolic delegate to the United States from the Vatican. In 1907 Hill turned the company over to his son, Louis Hill, who shared his father's hands-on approach. The St. Paul Cathedral, in use for services but still under construction at the time of Hill's death, is located about a block away from the James J. Hill mansion. At 18, he moved to America, eventually . When President William McKinley visited in 1899, Mary Hill remarked in her journal that the evening was pleasant and quiet. James Joseph (Joe) Hill Sr., 98, of Hendersonville, TN passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family and 2 little canine companions, Ali and Bo on August 20, 2022. "Hill thought the builder of the Northern Pacific picked the wrong spot," says Weston. The Hill foundations that exist today, none of them have the Hill name on them, McCormack said. 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.) Following their initial land purchases, Hill and his sons bought even more Iron Range land, raising the total to 67,000 acres. "'Let's built this as cheaply as possible and longer than we need it.' Honorary Pallbearers are: Johnny McCall, Donnie Dickerson, Buddy Tayman, Steve Smith, Roland Lee, Denny Schaeffer, Johnny Scott, Todd Eastburn and Todd Rutland. Great Northern Railway president James J. Hill (center) and J. H. Carroll (left), 1911, Courtesy US Library of Congress (2016863502), James J. Hill statue in front of Swedish Building, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909, Photo by Frank H. Nowell, Courtesy UW Special Collections (AYP153), King Street Station (Great Northern Depot), Seattle, ca. Born 1911 and died 1972. He was preceded in death by two brothers, George "Butch" Hill and Paul Hill. He was interested in a sustainable business that would grow more profitable because it was a good idea," not because the government was writing a check to do so. James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 May 29, 1916), was a CanadianAmerican railroad executive. Named for Henry Hobson Richardson, it was characterized by balanced asymmetry, imposing facades of rough-hewn stone, and rounded arches. Modern obituaries include treasured memories, funny stories and important details that showcase the joys and moments of a life lived. James J. Hill died in 1916, but his trust would run nearly a century longer. It's a rare public airing of grievances for this wealthy and private enclave of 5,300 where the roads and open spaces are private, and uninvited visitors can be charged with trespassing. After 109 years in business, the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties Trust officially terminated Monday and its stock stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The trust's holdings include . Dr. Eric Colleary is a public historian with focuses in histories of American and British theatre and American foodways. After completion of this monumental task of building the section in record time, Hill set his sights on reaching the West Coast. 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