James Jerome Hill

Born near Rockwood, Upper Canada, Hill moved to Minnesota in 1856 settling at St. Paul. Having organized the Red River Transportation Company which provided effective transportation between St. Paul and Winnipeg, he had begun, by 1878, to build his vast railway empire. A member of the Board of the CPR (1880-3) he subsequently became its greatest competitor and by 1889 had organized the Great Northern System. As President of that System ( 1893-9) and Chairman of the Board (1907-12) he built numerous feeder lines reaching to the Canadian border.

Jerome Hill, né près de Rockwood (Haut-Canada) s’établit à St. Paul au Minnesota en 1856. il fonda la Red River Transportation Company, qui assurait le transport entre St. Paul et Winnipeg. Dès 1878, il avait commencé d’établir son vaste empire ferroviaire. Membre du conseil d’administration du Canada Pacifique de 1880 à 1883, il en devint le principal concurrent et créa le Great Northern System en 1889. A titre de président (1893-1899), puis de directeur général (1907-1912) de ce réseau, il fit construire aux État-Unis plusieurs embranchements menant vers la frontière canadienne.