James Jerome Hill (1838-1916) - Find a Grave Memorial

Railroad Pioneer. Born in Ontario, Canada, he was the chief railroad executive responsible for establishing the Great Northern Railway Lines that served the Upper Midwest, the Northern Great Plains, and the Pacific Northwest of America. In 1873, as a steamboat shipping businessman in Minnesota, he saw the need to expand railways to the western territories. Between 1883 and 1889, he built his Great Northern Railway Lines all the way across North America, the Great Plains, and the Rockies to Seattle, Washington. Under his management, he helped homesteads to immigrants by importing grains, farm equipment, building materials, and general products, bringing the industry to Western America. At the time of his death, he held the monopoly of the railroad business in the U.S. with the Great Northern Railway having lines in Texas, Colorado, California, and Washington at a worth of more than $53 million.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith