Summary Information
John Henry Hammond Papers
1864-1893
- Hammond, John Henry, 1833-1890
Superior Mss R
0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)
UW-Superior Jim Dan Hill Library / Superior Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Business papers, mainly 1880-1893, of a Civil War general, railroad organizer, and founder of West Superior, Wisconsin. Included are letters, notes, minutes, by-laws, prospectuses, plat maps, articles of incorporation, title abstracts, deeds and other records of real estate transactions documenting Hammond's activities as founding member and manager of the Land and River Improvement Company, a land development company incorporated in 1883; and the Superior Terminal and Transfer Railway Company, chartered in 1882. A few fragmentary records reflect Hammond's involvement in several other railroads including the Northern Pacific; Chillicothe and Brunswick; and the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic which he formed in 1888. Half the papers concern the administration of John H. Hammond's estate. These consist primarily of letters, contracts, and rent statements, 1890-1893, received by his son Ogden and H. Knox Taylor, who managed the estate's extensive property holdings and controlled other development and construction projects in West Superior. The collection also contains a small amount of personal material including a short autobiography, an account book (1864-1874), obituaries, and a group portrait depicting Hammond as a general on W.T. Sherman's staff.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-sup000r ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
John Henry Hammond, a civil engineer, railroad organizer, and land speculator, was the first person to purchase, clear and plat land in the area later known as West Superior, Wisconsin, and the single most influential individual in its development as an urban commercial center. The son of Henry and Rachel Orr Hammond, John Henry Hammond was born in 1833 in New York City. At a young age his father died, and the family moved to Campbell County, Kentucky. Hammond was educated in Bethany, Virginia. From approximately 1847 to 1851 he attended Jesuit College in Cincinnati where he studied civil engineering. Hammond travelled extensively after leaving college at the age of eighteen. He worked in New York for two years, returned to the family farm for another year, then went to Clinton, Iowa from October of 1854 to 1857. That year he went to Europe intending to work for a number of wine growers and to complete his education but returned after a year due to the death of his mother. From there he travelled west to California. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Hammond returned to Kentucky to enlist. By Decmber of 1861 he achieved the rank of adjutant general and chief of staff to General W.T. Sherman. In 1864 Hammond married Sophia Wolfe of Louisville, Kentucky.
At the close of the war, Hammond settled at Chillicothe, Missouri, where he became president of the Chillicothe 8 Brunswick Railroad. Soon after he organized the St. Louis, Council Bluff, 8 Omaha Railroad. Hammond remained president of the two companies until 1874 when ill health induced him to seek a northern climate. From 1875 to 1882 he lived in Evanston, Illinois, becoming president of a bank and an inspector for the Department of the Interior. Official duties frequently took Hammond through the Upper Midwest and North Dakota, prompting him to conclude that the area around Duluth-Superior, at the head of the Great Lakes, was ripe for settlement and economic growth.
With this potential for development in mind, in 1879 Hammond began to purchase substantial quantities of land across the bay from Duluth and two miles west of Old Superior, a territory later known as West Superior. In 1882 Hammond moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. From there he persuaded nine other investors to join him in a plan to purchase 100,000 dollars worth of additional land. To place the venture on more solid footing and to expand operations, Hammond decided to form a company to purchase, clear, plat, improve and promote a new townsite. One year later the Land and River Improvement Company (LRIC), the area's largest real estate, investment and development firm, was incorporated under the laws of New Jersey. Robert Belknap served as president with Hammond as general manager. Belknap was later succeeded by Roland Wemyss. By 1884 the company had obtained over 4,000 acres of land and devised a plan for West Superior's streets. The first town plat was officially filed in February 1885. Hammond was authorized to donate residential lots to settlers willing to build homes on them. From the late 1880s to the depression of 1893, the Improvement Company floated numerous large-scale investment and construction projects which were critical to the establishment of West Superior as a commercial and industrial center. Hammond's efforts to attract railroads to West Superior also played a key role in its economic development. In 1883 he formed the Lake Superior Terminal and Transit Railway Company which constructed a beltline around the city with spur connections to all the properties along the harbor. Every railroad which entered the city gained access to lakefront industries at the same time that businesses were assured of rail service regardless of their location. The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, which Hammond formed in 1888, furnished a direct route to eastern markets, avoiding both Chicago and the problem of lake shipping during wintertime.
Hammond died in St. Paul of a heart ailment on April 30, 1890.
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains three series: Biographical\personal Information, Business Papers, and Hammond Estate Papers, primarily documenting John H. Hammond's land speculating, real estate, and commercial development activities in West Superior, Wisconsin, from 1879 until his death in 1890. Also documented is the management from 1890 to 1893 of Hammond's properties by his son Ogden Hammond and H. Knox Taylor, and Ogden's own real estate investments in West Superior.
Most significant of the BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL material is Hammond's autobiography which describes his early life, military career, extensive travels, and railroad, real estate, and development ventures up to 1885. It provides a vivid account of his efforts to convert timber and swamp lands into the townsite of West Superior. Hammond's obituary and a memorial tribute provide additional biographical information. Also important is an account book of John H. and Sophia Hammond. Initiated on the date of their marriage in 1864, the ledger contains detailed information on family income, assets, household and travel expenses, investments, and real estate transactions in both Chillicothe, Missouri and Clinton, Iowa where Hammond engaged in speculative activities. Entries end in 1872. Other personal material includes a group photograph showing General Hammond in uniform, numerous railroad passes, and an 1889 passport giving a physical description. A few copies of outgoing letters, circa 1876-1877 reflect Hammond's efforts to obtain the governorship of the Territory of Huron.
BUSINESS PAPERS, many of which are undated, primarily concern various railroads and the Land and River Improvement Company. Although he organized and directed a number of different railroads in the Midwest and South, the file here is incomplete and suggests rather than documents Hammond's activities. The exception are minutes of the Lake Superior Terminal and Transit Railway, circa 1882, which document Hammond's role in planning and organizing the company. Also of interest is a prospectus for the Duluth, South Shore, and Atlantic, a line Hammond formed around 1879; by-laws of the Lake Superior and Southwestern which he organized in the late 1880s and handwritten articles of incorporation for the Wisconsin and Minnesota Railroad listing Hammond as a director. A few items pertain to the Northern Pacific Railway, including a lengthy inventory of the company's properties in West Superior and their values.
Papers related to the Land and River Improvement Company, 1879-1890, undated, include draft prospectuses, title abstracts, deeds, lists of property values, sectional maps, and scattered letters primarily regarding lots purchased, sold, or donated by Hammond or the company. Fragmentary evidence of one of the company's commercial developments, most likely the West Superior Hotel completed in 1889, is contained in building estimates and contracts. Draft petitions reflect the company's interest in improving streets by bringing in water and sewer lines. Several maps of West Superior, (1887-1894), printed by the Land and River Improvement Company and showing lots sold, are available in the Archives Reading Room.
HAMMOND ESTATE files consist mainly of letters to Ogden Hammond and H. Knox Taylor, managers of the estate based in St. Paul Minnesota. Topics include the collection of rents and mortgage payments, property insurance, sale of lots owned by the estate, and construction of the Hammond Block in 1891. Frequent correspondents include Carl Wirth, prominent Superior architect; John L. Lewis, head of the City Improvement Company; F. Baylis, a New York real estate and investment agent; Moulton, Moran 8 Company, a West Superior real estate, loan and investment company; and the Superior Loan and Debenture Company, a firm which collected rents and mortgage payments, managed properties, and made improvements.
Related Material
The Hagley Museum and Library in Greenville, Delaware, holds the papers of Robert L. Belknap, president of the Land and River Improvement Company. Among other subjects, the collection documents his activities in West Superior from 1892 to 1895.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Louis Starr, Far Hills, New Jersey, 1993.
This collection was previously held by the Minnesota State Historical Society. Accession Number: M93-068
Processed by Cindy Knight, 1993.
Contents List
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Biographical\Personal, 1864-1890, undated
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Business Papers
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Railroads, ca. 1871-1884, undated
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Box
1
Folder
3-4
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Land and River Improvement Company, 1879-1889, undated
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Box
2
Folder
1-5
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Hammond Estate, 1890-1893
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