Samuel Hill
Encyclopedia
Samuel Hill usually known as Sam Hill, was a businessman, lawyer
, railroad executive and advocate of good roads in the Pacific Northwest
. He substantially influenced the region's economic development in the early 20th century.
His projects include the Peace Arch
, a monument to 100 years of peace between the United States
and Canada
, on the border between Blaine
, Washington and Surrey
, British Columbia
; the Maryhill Museum of Art
, a building originally conceived as a residence; and Maryhill Stonehenge
, a replica of Stonehenge in Maryhill, Washington, a memorial to fallen World War I
soldiers from Klickitat County, Washington.
Sam Hill was born into a Quaker family in Deep River, North Carolina. Displaced by the American Civil War
, he grew up after the war in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. After graduating from Haverford College
in 1878 and Harvard University
in 1879, he returned to Minneapolis, where he practiced law. A number of successful lawsuit
s against the Great Northern Railway attracted the attention of the railway's general manager
James J. Hill
, who hired him to represent the railway. They also became family in 1888, when Sam Hill married J. J. Hill's eldest daughter Mary.
For over a decade, Hill played an important role in his father-in-law's enterprises, both at the Great Northern and as president of the Minneapolis Trust Company. However, around 1900 they had some type of falling out, the nature and degree of which is not clear. Indeed, it is not even clear whether the falling out was primarily over business matters, over some possible early symptoms of the manic
tendencies Sam would show late in life, or over Sam and Mary's apparently increasingly fractious marriage. In any event, the break was not a sharp one: the two men continued a friendly correspondence in business matters.
After a 1901 journey across Russia
on the then not-quite-completed Trans-Siberian Railway
, Hill settled in 1902 in Seattle, Washington
, where he had major interests in the Seattle Gas and Electric Company, which was focused mainly in the coal gas
business. Hill had already announced his intention to settle in Seattle in December 1900. His wife Mary did not take well to the Northwest, and moved back to Minneapolis with their two children without him after six months. Hill stayed in Seattle, and embarked on a number of ventures in the Northwest.
Much of Hill's attention was devoted to advocating good roads in Washington and Oregon
. He also advocated the use of convict labor to build roads. He created the Washington State Good Roads Association in September 1899, which persuaded the Washington State Legislature
to create a state highway department
in 1905. Hill persuaded the University of Washington
to establish the United States' first chair in Highway engineering
in 1907. After failing to convince Washington State to build a highway on the north bank of the Columbia River
, he convinced Oregon officials to build the scenic Columbia River Highway, which linked coastal Astoria, Oregon
and The Dalles, Oregon
. He was also a strong advocate of better roads for Japan
and of Japanese-American friendship, which earned him the Third Class Order of the Sacred Treasure
in 1922.
Starting in 1907, Hill bought land in Klickitat County, Washington near the Columbia River
, envisioning a new community in the Inland Empire
. He bought up most of what had been a small settlement known as "Columbia" or "Columbus" and named the parcel Maryhill, after his wife and his daughter Mary (who never actually lived there). His original plan was to develop it as a community of Quaker farmer
s, but he was the only Quaker to ever reside there. The land proved useful for his transportation advocacy. Between 1909 and 1913 he built, at his own $100,000 expense, the first macadam
asphalt
-paved road in the Pacific Northwest, experimenting over its 10 miles (16.1 km) length with seven different paving techniques. Part of this road (now called the Maryhill Loops Road) is still open to pedestrians and bicyclists. As part of Hill's advocacy for good roads, Oregon governor
Oswald West
and the Oregon Legislative Assembly
visited Maryhill in 1913. Hill also began to build a mansion at Maryhill, but the project was not completed in his lifetime, due to a combination of financial reversals and his frustration at the State of Washington's failure to build a road on the north bank of the Columbia or to otherwise make the area readily accessible. He eventually decided—at the urging of his friend Loie Fuller
—to convert the building into an art museum. The museum was dedicated by Queen Marie
of Romania
in 1926, but did not open to the public until 1940, nine years after Hill's death.
Hill constructed two notable monuments. The replica of Stonehenge
, at Maryhill, commemorates the dead of World War I
, while the Peace Arch, where today's Interstate 5 highway crosses the U.S.–Canada border, celebrates peaceful relations and the open border between the two nations.
Hill died in 1931 from natural causes, diagnosed as "an abscess
of the lesser peritoneal cavity which had ruptured into the stomach, producing 'fatal terminal hemorrhages'." At the time he became acutely ill with the disease, he was on his way to address the Oregon state legislature on the subject of the need to regulate trucks in order to protect the condition of highways, and was hoping to follow this with a similar address to the Washington legislature.
The Sam Hill Memorial Bridge
, which carries U.S. Route 97 across the Columbia River near Maryhill, is named for him.
pioneered rotary dial
telephones in the region, but ultimately this independent telephone company
lost out to the better-integrated Bell System
. Its stockholders were wiped out, and bondholders—Hill himself was the largest of these—ultimately received 70 cents on the dollar. Another business failure of his was the Deep Water Coal and Iron Company in Alabama
. At the end of his life, the shares in this last enterprise were worthless, due in part to the Great Depression
.
A more successful, if more modest, undertaking was a golf course
and a large but simple restaurant—basically, an early entry into fast food
—at Semiahmoo
just north of the U.S.-Canada border and his Peace Arch. It did not hurt that, being on the Canadian side, the restaurant could serve alcoholic beverages during Prohibition in the United States
.
Taken as a whole, the attempt to create Maryhill was one of Hill's least successful ventures. Involving an investment of at least US$600,000
, it never paid back in any significant measure.
She never returned to Seattle; he continued to visit her in the Midwest or East at least twice a year until 1907 and even bought an estate at Stockbridge, Massachusetts
, where he hoped they would occasionally stay together, but their relationship became increasingly chilly. Furthermore, Mary increasingly withdrew from the world. By 1921 she was described by the St. Paul Pioneer Press as "virtually an invalid," although she lived until 1947.
Because Mary was a Catholic, divorce was out of the question and the possibility may never even have been discussed. It is not clear whether Sam had been unfaithful to his wife before they drifted apart, but he certainly did not remain faithful afterward: he had at least three children by other women, and he provided for them by setting up trusts in their names, insurance policies etc. One of these is identified by Hill biographer John E. Tuhy, writing in 1983, only as a "son who lives in British Columbia
". Another was Elizabeth Ehrens, born December 27, 1914, to Annie Laurie Whelan, Sam's secretary at Home Telephone Company. Elizabeth was legitimized
by her mother's marriage of convenience to a German Swiss man named Henry Ehrens; he soon went back permanently to Europe, and a divorce was granted in 1918. Finally, there was Sam B. Hill, born August 1928, his son by the flamboyant reporter Mona Bell
, a former bareback rider who may have appeared in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show
. Some time before they had a child together, Sam bought Mona 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) on the Columbia River and built her a 22-room house (eventually lost to the construction of the Bonneville Dam
). Sam arranged a marriage of convenience for Mona Bell to his cousin Edgar Hill, again allowing his child to be raised as legitimate.
As for his legitimate children, Mary suffered all of her life from emotional and mental problems, and was institutionalized much of her life. James lived the life of a wealthy man, but never made any particular mark on the world.
(also his father's alma mater) in 1878 and attended Harvard University
for a year to receive a second bachelor's degree
in 1879. At Haverford he studied Latin, Greek
, French
and German
as well as math, science, English literature, logic, rhetoric, and political science. At Harvard he continued his Latin and history ("Colonial History of America" under Henry Cabot Lodge
) and studied forensics and philosophy ("German Philosophy of the Present Day" and "Advanced Political Economy"). Despite attending only one year, he became an extremely active Harvard alumnus, joining (and, at times, leading) Harvard Clubs in several cities both in the U.S. and participating for several years in the Board of Overseers even though it necessitated several transcontinental trips each year to attend meetings.
Hill was fluent in German, French, and Italian
. He also learned at least a moderate amount of Russian
. In the early 20th century, he was the only American member of the Geographic Society of Germany.
Hill served for a time as vice president of the Minneapolis Athenaeum, and recruited George Putnam
as its librarian in 1884. In 1907, he gave them a collection of Chinese prints. He eventually acquired all the stock of the Athenaeum Company, which he donated to the Minneapolis Foundation.
From 1902 to 1914, Hill repeatedly commissioned, and gave as gifts, high-quality globe
s of German manufacture. He continually gathered harbor soundings (depths) and information about ocean temperatures in order to map ocean currents; he had this information added to custom-made globes.
, who made him a Commander of the Crown and Honorary Belgian Consul for Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and Queen Marie of Romania, whose 1926 visit to the United States was largely at his behest, and who granted him the Order of the Crown
in the Degree of the Grand Cross; and Marshall Joseph Joffre
, whom Hill took on a trip around the world in 1922.
was a disastrous choice for president to the point that he openly backed William Jennings Bryan
in 1908 and Woodrow Wilson
in 1912 and 1916, though he eventually came to oppose Wilson some time after the end of World War I
. He was generally ill-disposed toward labor unions.
and sees strong signs of a manic, or at least hypomanic
, state in his many, often abortive projects, in the 1920s and possibly of paranoia
in his belief that the Soviet Union
was out to harm him. He raises the possibility that some early aspect of this "instability" might have played a part in Hill's parting of ways in business from J.J. Hill. A 1901 letter from Sam to the elder Hill suggests that he believed his father-in-law was at least in some degree disappointed in him: he refers to having "often been an embarrassment to you," although the historical record gives no indication of any important business errors on the younger Hill's part during his association with his father-in-law.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, railroad executive and advocate of good roads in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. He substantially influenced the region's economic development in the early 20th century.
His projects include the Peace Arch
Peace Arch
The Peace Arch is a monument situated on the Canada – United States border between the communities of Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia. The Peace Arch, which stands...
, a monument to 100 years of peace between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, on the border between Blaine
Blaine, Washington
Blaine is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The city's northern boundary is the Canadian border. Blaine is the shared home of the Peace Arch international monument...
, Washington and Surrey
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
; the Maryhill Museum of Art
Maryhill Museum of Art
The Maryhill Museum of Art is a small museum with an eclectic collection, located near Maryhill in the U.S. state of Washington.The structure was built as a mansion by entrepreneur Samuel Hill...
, a building originally conceived as a residence; and Maryhill Stonehenge
Maryhill Stonehenge
The Maryhill Stonehenge is a full-size, astronomically-aligned replica of Stonehenge located in Maryhill, Washington. It was commissioned in the early 20th century by businessman Samuel Hill and dedicated on July 4, 1918 as a memorial to those that died in World War I...
, a replica of Stonehenge in Maryhill, Washington, a memorial to fallen World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
soldiers from Klickitat County, Washington.
Biography
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he grew up after the war in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. After graduating from Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
in 1878 and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1879, he returned to Minneapolis, where he practiced law. A number of successful lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s against the Great Northern Railway attracted the attention of the railway's general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
James J. Hill
James J. Hill
James Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
, who hired him to represent the railway. They also became family in 1888, when Sam Hill married J. J. Hill's eldest daughter Mary.
For over a decade, Hill played an important role in his father-in-law's enterprises, both at the Great Northern and as president of the Minneapolis Trust Company. However, around 1900 they had some type of falling out, the nature and degree of which is not clear. Indeed, it is not even clear whether the falling out was primarily over business matters, over some possible early symptoms of the manic
Manic
Manić is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Barajevo.Manić developed on the eastern slopes of the Kosmaj mountain...
tendencies Sam would show late in life, or over Sam and Mary's apparently increasingly fractious marriage. In any event, the break was not a sharp one: the two men continued a friendly correspondence in business matters.
After a 1901 journey across Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on the then not-quite-completed Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
, Hill settled in 1902 in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, where he had major interests in the Seattle Gas and Electric Company, which was focused mainly in the coal gas
Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
business. Hill had already announced his intention to settle in Seattle in December 1900. His wife Mary did not take well to the Northwest, and moved back to Minneapolis with their two children without him after six months. Hill stayed in Seattle, and embarked on a number of ventures in the Northwest.
Much of Hill's attention was devoted to advocating good roads in Washington and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. He also advocated the use of convict labor to build roads. He created the Washington State Good Roads Association in September 1899, which persuaded the Washington State Legislature
Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bipartisan, bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators.The State Legislature...
to create a state highway department
Washington State Department of Transportation
The Washington State Department of Transportation , was established in 1905. The agency, led by a Secretary and overseen by the Governor, is a Washington governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of the state's transportation infrastructure...
in 1905. Hill persuaded the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
to establish the United States' first chair in Highway engineering
Highway engineering
Highway engineering is an engineering discipline branching from civil engineering which involves the design, construction and maintenance of Highway Systems. Highway Engineering become prominent towards the latter half of the 20th Century after World War 2. Standards of highway engineering are...
in 1907. After failing to convince Washington State to build a highway on the north bank of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, he convinced Oregon officials to build the scenic Columbia River Highway, which linked coastal Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
and The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
. He was also a strong advocate of better roads for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and of Japanese-American friendship, which earned him the Third Class Order of the Sacred Treasure
Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
in 1922.
Starting in 1907, Hill bought land in Klickitat County, Washington near the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, envisioning a new community in the Inland Empire
Inland Empire (Pacific Northwest)
thumb|The Inland Empire regionThe Inland Northwest, or Inland Empire, is a region in the Pacific Northwest centered on Spokane, Washington, including the surrounding Columbia River basin and all of North Idaho....
. He bought up most of what had been a small settlement known as "Columbia" or "Columbus" and named the parcel Maryhill, after his wife and his daughter Mary (who never actually lived there). His original plan was to develop it as a community of Quaker farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s, but he was the only Quaker to ever reside there. The land proved useful for his transportation advocacy. Between 1909 and 1913 he built, at his own $100,000 expense, the first macadam
Macadam
Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820. The method simplified what had been considered state-of-the-art at that point...
asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
-paved road in the Pacific Northwest, experimenting over its 10 miles (16.1 km) length with seven different paving techniques. Part of this road (now called the Maryhill Loops Road) is still open to pedestrians and bicyclists. As part of Hill's advocacy for good roads, Oregon governor
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
Oswald West
Oswald West
Oswald West was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had."- Early life and career :West was born in Ontario, Canada...
and the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
visited Maryhill in 1913. Hill also began to build a mansion at Maryhill, but the project was not completed in his lifetime, due to a combination of financial reversals and his frustration at the State of Washington's failure to build a road on the north bank of the Columbia or to otherwise make the area readily accessible. He eventually decided—at the urging of his friend Loie Fuller
Loie Fuller
Loie Fuller Loie Fuller Loie Fuller (also Loïe Fuller; (January 15, 1862 – January 1, 1928) was a pioneer of both modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques.-Career:...
—to convert the building into an art museum. The museum was dedicated by Queen Marie
Marie of Edinburgh
Marie of Romania was Queen consort of Romania from 1914 to 1927, as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania.-Early life:...
of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in 1926, but did not open to the public until 1940, nine years after Hill's death.
Hill constructed two notable monuments. The replica of Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
, at Maryhill, commemorates the dead of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, while the Peace Arch, where today's Interstate 5 highway crosses the U.S.–Canada border, celebrates peaceful relations and the open border between the two nations.
Hill died in 1931 from natural causes, diagnosed as "an abscess
Abscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue in which the pus resides due to an infectious process or other foreign materials...
of the lesser peritoneal cavity which had ruptured into the stomach, producing 'fatal terminal hemorrhages'." At the time he became acutely ill with the disease, he was on his way to address the Oregon state legislature on the subject of the need to regulate trucks in order to protect the condition of highways, and was hoping to follow this with a similar address to the Washington legislature.
The Sam Hill Memorial Bridge
Sam Hill Memorial Bridge
The Sam Hill Memorial Bridge, also known as the Biggs Rapids Bridge, is a steel truss bridge that carries U.S. Highway 97 across the Columbia River between Biggs Junction, Oregon in Sherman County and Maryhill, Washington in Klickitat County...
, which carries U.S. Route 97 across the Columbia River near Maryhill, is named for him.
Enterprises
After leaving the employ of his father-in-law J.J. Hill, Sam Hill undertook a variety of business ventures and other projects, with varied results. His Seattle Gas and Electric Company was continually in hard-fought rivalry with other utilities, most notably head-on competition with the Citizens' Light and Power Company, whose leadership included several defectors from Hill's company. Ultimately, after a price war, he was able to sell the company's gas facilities to the consolidated Seattle Lighting Company in 1904 on favorable terms. Another venture into utilities was less successful: the Home Telephone Company of Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
pioneered rotary dial
Rotary dial
The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. Almon Brown Strowger filed the first patent...
telephones in the region, but ultimately this independent telephone company
Independent telephone company
An Independent telephone company in the United States was a telephone company providing local service that was not part of the Bell System group of companies, "Ma Bell", before the 1984 Bell System divestiture or breakup of the Bell system...
lost out to the better-integrated Bell System
Bell System
The Bell System was the American Bell Telephone Company and then, subsequently, AT&T led system which provided telephone services to much of the United States and Canada from 1877 to 1984, at various times as a monopoly. In 1984, the company was broken up into separate companies, by a U.S...
. Its stockholders were wiped out, and bondholders—Hill himself was the largest of these—ultimately received 70 cents on the dollar. Another business failure of his was the Deep Water Coal and Iron Company in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. At the end of his life, the shares in this last enterprise were worthless, due in part to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
A more successful, if more modest, undertaking was a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
and a large but simple restaurant—basically, an early entry into fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
—at Semiahmoo
Semiahmoo Bay
Semiahmoo Bay is the southeastern section of Boundary Bay on the Pacific coast of North America. The name "Semiahmoo" is a Coast Salish word for "half moon".From the north to south, the following communities and places are located on its shore:...
just north of the U.S.-Canada border and his Peace Arch. It did not hurt that, being on the Canadian side, the restaurant could serve alcoholic beverages during Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
.
Taken as a whole, the attempt to create Maryhill was one of Hill's least successful ventures. Involving an investment of at least US$600,000
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
, it never paid back in any significant measure.
Personal and family life
Hill married Marie Francis Hill (also known as Mamie Hill and, after their marriage, as Mary Hill Hill) on September 6, 1888. Sam Hill was a Quaker, Mary a Catholic. He agreed that their children—Mary Mendenhall Hill, born July 3, 1889 and James Nathan Branson Hill, born August 23, 1893—would be raised Catholic, and over the next decade or two Sam Hill retained excellent relations, sometimes even close friendships, with various Catholic clergymen. A generous wedding gift from her father placed them immediately into the ranks of the wealthy. However, their marriage was never a love match, and by the time Sam had decided to settle in Seattle, the marriage was coming apart. Mary moved back to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and eventually to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
She never returned to Seattle; he continued to visit her in the Midwest or East at least twice a year until 1907 and even bought an estate at Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
, where he hoped they would occasionally stay together, but their relationship became increasingly chilly. Furthermore, Mary increasingly withdrew from the world. By 1921 she was described by the St. Paul Pioneer Press as "virtually an invalid," although she lived until 1947.
Because Mary was a Catholic, divorce was out of the question and the possibility may never even have been discussed. It is not clear whether Sam had been unfaithful to his wife before they drifted apart, but he certainly did not remain faithful afterward: he had at least three children by other women, and he provided for them by setting up trusts in their names, insurance policies etc. One of these is identified by Hill biographer John E. Tuhy, writing in 1983, only as a "son who lives in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
". Another was Elizabeth Ehrens, born December 27, 1914, to Annie Laurie Whelan, Sam's secretary at Home Telephone Company. Elizabeth was legitimized
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
by her mother's marriage of convenience to a German Swiss man named Henry Ehrens; he soon went back permanently to Europe, and a divorce was granted in 1918. Finally, there was Sam B. Hill, born August 1928, his son by the flamboyant reporter Mona Bell
Mona Bell
Mona Bell was an American rodeo rider, newspaper reporter, and the mistress of entrepreneur Samuel Hill.Born in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, she went for one year to the University of North Dakota across the state line in Grand Forks, North Dakota; she apparently stood out there for her skills at...
, a former bareback rider who may have appeared in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show
Wild West Shows
Wild West Shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe. The first and prototypical wild west show was Buffalo Bill's, formed in 1883 and lasting until 1913...
. Some time before they had a child together, Sam bought Mona 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) on the Columbia River and built her a 22-room house (eventually lost to the construction of the Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Dam
Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of...
). Sam arranged a marriage of convenience for Mona Bell to his cousin Edgar Hill, again allowing his child to be raised as legitimate.
As for his legitimate children, Mary suffered all of her life from emotional and mental problems, and was institutionalized much of her life. James lived the life of a wealthy man, but never made any particular mark on the world.
Scholarly pursuits
Hill graduated from Haverford CollegeHaverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
(also his father's alma mater) in 1878 and attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
for a year to receive a second bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1879. At Haverford he studied Latin, Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as well as math, science, English literature, logic, rhetoric, and political science. At Harvard he continued his Latin and history ("Colonial History of America" under Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...
) and studied forensics and philosophy ("German Philosophy of the Present Day" and "Advanced Political Economy"). Despite attending only one year, he became an extremely active Harvard alumnus, joining (and, at times, leading) Harvard Clubs in several cities both in the U.S. and participating for several years in the Board of Overseers even though it necessitated several transcontinental trips each year to attend meetings.
Hill was fluent in German, French, and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. He also learned at least a moderate amount of Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. In the early 20th century, he was the only American member of the Geographic Society of Germany.
Hill served for a time as vice president of the Minneapolis Athenaeum, and recruited George Putnam
George Putnam
George Putnam may refer to:*George Putnam , Los Angeles, California, television newsman*George D. Putnam , screenwriter*George F. Putnam, American historian...
as its librarian in 1884. In 1907, he gave them a collection of Chinese prints. He eventually acquired all the stock of the Athenaeum Company, which he donated to the Minneapolis Foundation.
From 1902 to 1914, Hill repeatedly commissioned, and gave as gifts, high-quality globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
s of German manufacture. He continually gathered harbor soundings (depths) and information about ocean temperatures in order to map ocean currents; he had this information added to custom-made globes.
Travels
An "inveterate globetrotter," Hill visited Japan nine times between 1897 and 1922 and made at least fifty separate trips to Europe in the course of his lifetime, all of this in an era when travel was entirely by surface transportation. Among the friends he made in his travels were King Albert I of BelgiumAlbert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
, who made him a Commander of the Crown and Honorary Belgian Consul for Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and Queen Marie of Romania, whose 1926 visit to the United States was largely at his behest, and who granted him the Order of the Crown
Order of the Crown (Romania)
The Order of the Crown is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania...
in the Degree of the Grand Cross; and Marshall Joseph Joffre
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre OM was a French general during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914. His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.-Biography:Joffre was born in...
, whom Hill took on a trip around the world in 1922.
Politics
Hill identified as a Republican and was, at times, active in the party, but he disliked Teddy Roosevelt's trust-busting, thought William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
was a disastrous choice for president to the point that he openly backed William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
in 1908 and Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
in 1912 and 1916, though he eventually came to oppose Wilson some time after the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He was generally ill-disposed toward labor unions.
Character and mental health
Hill's biographer John E. Tuhy (Sam Hill: The Prince of Castle Nowhere, 1983) occasionally questions aspects of Hill's own account of his life and doings or finds contradictions in anecdotes told at various times. He believes that Hill was at least somewhat manic-depressiveBipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
and sees strong signs of a manic, or at least hypomanic
Hypomania
Hypomania is a mood state characterized by persistent and pervasive elevated or irritable mood, as well as thoughts and behaviors that are consistent with such a mood state...
, state in his many, often abortive projects, in the 1920s and possibly of paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
in his belief that the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was out to harm him. He raises the possibility that some early aspect of this "instability" might have played a part in Hill's parting of ways in business from J.J. Hill. A 1901 letter from Sam to the elder Hill suggests that he believed his father-in-law was at least in some degree disappointed in him: he refers to having "often been an embarrassment to you," although the historical record gives no indication of any important business errors on the younger Hill's part during his association with his father-in-law.