Hill, James J.

Hill, James J. (1838–1916), businessman and railroad promoter.As the creator of the railroad network that dominated the late nineteenth‐century economic expansion in the Northwest, from the prairies of western Minnesota to Seattle, Washington, James J. Hill embodied the canny foresight, organizational brilliance, and ruthless drive that characterized his generation of capitalist leaders.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Hill moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, two decades later and worked as a shipping clerk for a steamship line. In 1867, using his extensive knowledge of freight rates, he formed his own shipping company and contracted to furnish the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad with fuel. When the railroad fell into receivership in the 1870s, Hill and Canadian financier friends bought it and extended it first to Manitoba, then westward through the Dakotas and Montana to Great Falls (1887), and finally over the Cascades to the Pacific in 1893. In 1890, he consolidated separate lines into the Great Northern Railroad Company.

Mastering every detail of the railroad's organization and operation while retaining a vision of long‐term goals, Hill drove his workers hard, fired anyone he disliked, and fought off hostile acquisition attempts. His personal fortune swelled as he invested in iron and copper mines, and he built an imposing mansion in St. Paul. His 1901 attempt to control his empire through the Northern Securities holding company was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1904, but until his death Hill retained a reputation as the empire builder of the Northwest.
See also Gilded Age; Northern Securities Case; Railroads.

Bibliography

Albro Martin , James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest, 1976.
Michael P. Malone , James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest, 1996.

Clifford E. Clark Jr.