Please join me Steemit on a tour of the historic James J. Hill Center in St. Paul, MN [Original Content | Tours | 5 Minute Read]

dogguy (54)in #travel • 9 years ago (edited)

(photo courtesy of jjhill.org)
Greeting Steemit community! Thank you for taking the time to check out my latest post. I wanted to do something a little different tonight and thought I would take the time to share with the world a hidden gem within St. Paul, Minnesota which is the James J. Hill Center.

James J. Hill Center's History

(photo courtesy of wikimedia.org)
The James J. Hill Center, formally known as the James J. Hill Reference Library, is a privately funded research library located in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota founded in 1921. Although the library is not a publicly-funded, their resources are available for free and open to the general public daily. In addition to their reference library, the James J. Hill Center hosts a variety of business, weddings, and social events in their historic reading room. As early as 1887 the iconic entrepreneur James J. Hill had a vision to provide the people of Minnesota with a Reference Library to support and grow cultural and economic development in the state.

Who is James J. Hill?

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James J. Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railroad executive best known for helping transform the American Northwest by opening it to a widespread settlement, farming and commercial development. As the CEO of Great Northern Railroad, James J. Hill became one of the wealthiest men of the Gilded Age, amassing a fortune estimated at $63 million dollars.

Hill was an advocate of the free markets and particularly critical of government involvement. In a 1910 speech to the National Conservation Congress in St. Paul Hill was on record stating;

Shall we abandon everything to centralized authority, going the way of every lost and ruined government in the history of the world, or meet our personal duty by personal labor through the organs of local self-government, not yet wholly atrophied by disuse. . . ? Shall we permit the continued increase of public expenditure and public debt until capital and credit have suffered in the same conflict that overthrew prosperous and happy nations in the past, or insist upon a return to honest and practical economy?

Hill was remarkable because he developed an area that most people thought never could be developed. His railroads made Minnesota and the Dakotas major destinations for huge waves of immigrants. In 1907, at the age of 69, Hill turned over leadership of the Great Northern to his son, Louis W. Hill. But he remained active in running his railroads and went to his office in St. Paul every day. He has rightly earned a place as one of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history.

Events At the James J. Hill Center

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Aside from the reference library itself, the James J. Hill Center is best known for their events - both private and public. Weddings, social events, business networking and fund raisers are a few of the many activities that are a regular part of the James J. Hill Center. Each year, The James J. Hill Center helps celebrate over 70 couples embarking on the beginning of their new life together.

(photo courtesy of jjhill.org)

Helping Inspire the Future of Minnesota Entrepreneurs

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True to the dream of James J. Hill himself, the reference library is best a resource for entrepreneurs through their library, classes and business networking events. The reference library itself includes library cataloging, database lists and research guides for entrepreneurs all provided for free. Business At The Hill, 1 Million Cups and Minnesota Startups are three weekly events also provided to the public for free that are designed to educate, connect, and highlight Minnesota's vibrant startup community.

A Hidden Gem of Minnesota

(photo courtesy of jjhill.org)
Well steemit, we're at the end of the tour here and I want to thank you for taking the time to learn about a place that has been very good to my home state of Minnesota. If you are ever passing by, I would encourage you to not only visit the James J. Hill Center but also the James J. Hill home, located only blocks away. James J. Hill played an important part in both Minnesota's and America's history and although next year celebrates the 100 year anniversary of his passing, his impact on the economy and culture still resonate across Minnesota to this day.