On This Date In Twin Cities History - May 29, 1916

On this date in 1916, James J. Hill dies in St. Paul at the age of 77.  A native of Ontario, Canada, Hill moved to St. Paul in 1856 and began work in the shipping business.  During his lifetime, he would go on to assemble a rail network that stretched from Duluth to Seattle across the north, and from Chicago south to St. Louis and then west to Denver. The ‘Empire Builder’ as he would come to be known was one of the most successful railroad magnates of his time. In addition to his railraod interests, Hill helped develop the Iron Range and pushed for the modernization of farming techniques in the Northwest.