Railroad Tycoon James J. Hill built the largest residence in the state of Minnesota. The James J. Hill House is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, near the Cathedral of St. Paul on Summit Avenue. Built by railroad tycoon and founder of the Great Northern Railway, James J. Hill, the house was completed in 1891 and [...]

James J. Hill was born in 1838 in the small town of Eramosa Township in what-is-now Ontario. Due to a accident in his youth with an arrow, he was blinded in the right eye. While he had only nine years of formal schooling, he attended Rockwood Academy with much success. However, following the death of his father in 1852, he left school to begin working as a bookkeeper in Kentucky. After moving to St. Paul, Minnesota, Hill obtained work as a bookkeeper for a wholesale grocer. Eventually, he struck out on his own, providing wood to fuel Fort Snelling.

Created by railroad tycoon James J. Hill, the Great Northern Railway runs more than 1,700 miles (about 2,736 km) runs from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington. It was developed by the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in the 19th century in an effort to expand a transcontinental railroad into the Pacific Northwest. Hill was able to construct the entire railway with only private funds and without taking any land grants. Unlike other railroads, it was also able to avoid bankruptcy in the Panic of 1893.