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William Butler Ogden | |
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 | |
| 1st Mayor of Chicago | |
| In office May 1837 – March 1838 | |
| Preceded by | John H. Kinzie (president of town Board of Trustees) |
| Succeeded by | Buckner Stith Morris |
| Member of theNew York State Assembly | |
| In office January 1, 1835 – December 31, 1835 | |
| Constituency | Delaware County, New York |
| Chicago Alderman[1] | |
| In office 1847–1848 Serving with Michael McDonald | |
| Preceded by | constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Samuel McKay |
| Constituency | 9th ward |
| In office 1840–1841 Serving with R.J. Hamilton | |
| Preceded by | John H. Kinzie/ Buckner Stith Morris |
| Succeeded by | George F. Foster/ James J.H. Howe |
| Constituency | 6th ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1805-06-15)June 15, 1805 Walton, New York |
| Died | August 3, 1877(1877-08-03) (aged 72) New York City |
| Political party | Democratic(Before 1860) |
| Other political affiliations | Republican(Beginning in 1860) |
| Spouse | Marianna Tuttle Arnot |
| Education | New York University Law School |
| Occupation | Real Estate Developer |
William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 – August 3, 1877) was an American politician and railroad executive who served as the firstMayor of Chicago.[2] He was referred to as "theAstor of Chicago."[2] He was, at one time, the city's richest citizen.[3]He brought the Galena & Chicago Union RR out of insolvency and was its first president in 1847.He created the Chicago & North Western Railway from the failed remains of the Chicago, St.Paul, Fond du Lac and was its first president in 1859.He spearheaded the 1st transcontinental railroad as the Union Pacific and was its first president in 1862 [although he relinquished that position due to health.][4][5]
Ogden was born on June 15, 1805, inWalton, New York. He was the son of Abraham Ogden (1771–1825) and Abigail (née Weed) Ogden (1788–1850).[6][7]
When still a teenager, his father died and Ogden took over the familyreal estate business. He assisted Charles Butler, his brother-in-law, with business matters related to opening a new building forNew York University, attending thelaw school for a brief period himself.
The first political position Ogden held was asPostmaster of Walton, New York, having been appointed by PresidentAndrew Jackson to the position.[8]
He was a member of theNew York State Assembly (Delaware Co.) in1835.[9]
During his career in New York politics, Ogden was aJacksonian Democrat.[8] However, Ogden was also an advocate of government funding for infrastructural improvements, aspiring to see the federal government financially back the construction of a railroad from New York to Chicago.[8] He told colleagues that such a railroad would be "the most splendid system of internal communication ever yet devised by man."[8] He had been elected to the New York Senate on a platform supporting state funding for the construction of theNew York and Erie Railroad.[8] The bill he backed to accomplish this was passed.[8]
One of Ogden's brothers-in-law purchased a tract of land in Chicago for $100,000 in 1834. Ogden went to survey this area in 1835, and wrote back that his relative had "been guilty of the grossest folly" as the land held no value due to being boggy and swampy. However, he sold 1/3 of the land for more than the entire tract been purchased for after the muddy environment dried up in summer. Ogden chose to stay in Chicago rather than return to New York.[9]
While Ogden's initial concern in Chicago was based in his land interests there, he believed that he could not afford to stay out of the politics of the city, as he believed growing western towns such as Chicago were dependent on government assistance.[8]
Shortly after moving to Chicago in 1836, Ogden joined the committee responsible for drafting the city charter to be submitted to the state legislature.[8]
In 1837, he was elected the first mayor ofChicago, serving a single one-year term.[2][1] From 1840 through 1841, he served on theChicago Common Council as an alderman from the 6th Ward.[1] From 1847 through 1848, he served as an alderman from the 9th Ward.[1]
Ogden was abooster of Chicago both during and after his tenures in elected office.[8] At the time he came to Chicago, its buildings were largely wood cabins, it lackedsidewalks and decentbridges, it had no paved roads, and it lackedwater supply infrastructure.[8] As a politician he advocated for the city to raise tax revenue for new roads, plank sidewalks, and bridges (which he presented designs of his own for).[8] He also used his own wealth to fund improvements to the city's infrastructure.[8]
Ogden was a leading promoter and investor in theIllinois and Michigan Canal, then switched his loyalty to railroads. Throughout his later life, Ogden was heavily involved in the building of severalrailroads.
"In 1847, Ogden announced a plan to build a railway out of Chicago, but no capital was forthcoming. Eastern investors were wary of Chicago's reputation for irrationalboosterism, and Chicagoans did not want to divert traffic from their profitable canal works. So Ogden and his partner J. Young Scammon solicited subscriptions from the farmers and small businessmen whose land lay adjacent to the proposed rail. Farmer's wives used the money they earned from selling eggs to buy shares of stock on a monthly payment plan. By 1848, Ogden and Scammon had raised $350,000[a]—enough to begin laying track. TheGalena and Chicago Union Railroad was profitable from the start and eventually extended out to Wisconsin, bringing grain from the Great Plains into the city. As president ofUnion Pacific, Ogden extended the reach of Chicago's rail lines to the West coast."[11]
In 1853, the Chicago Land Company, of which Ogden was a trustee, purchased land at a bend in theChicago River and began to cut a channel, formally known as North Branch Canal, but also referred to as Ogden's Canal.[12] The resulting island is now known asGoose Island.
In 1857, Ogden created theChicago Dock and Canal Company.[13] Ogden designed the firstswing bridge in Chicago[14] and donated the land for Rush Medical Center. Ogden was also a founder of theChicago Board of Trade.[15]
Ogden served on the board of theMississippi and Missouri Railroad andlobbied with many others for congressional approval and funding of thetranscontinental railroad. After the 1862Pacific Railroad Act, Ogden was named as the first president of theUnion Pacific Railroad. Ogden was a good choice for the first president, but his railroad experience was most likely not the primary reason he was chosen; Ogden was a clever man who had many political connections. When Ogden came to lead the Union Pacific, the railroad was not fully funded and had not yet laid a single mile of track. The railroad existed largely on paper created by an act of Congress. As part of the 1862Pacific Railroad Act,Congress named several existing railroad companies to complete portions of the project. Several key areas needed to link the East (Chicago) to the West had none, and hence the Union Pacific was formed by Congress.[16]
During the early days of railroading Ogden had begun building Northwestern railroads connecting Chicago with cities like Janesville, Fond du Lac and St. Paul/St. Anthony. In 1856 this was the Chicago, St. Anthony and Fond du Lac Railroad[17] but the financial panic beginning in 1857 caused the collapse of this project. Fortunately Ogden's long time personal reputation and character helped him get many supporters putting together resources to reorganize as theChicago & North Western Railway the following year of which he was president from 1859 to 1868.[18][19]
While his failing health precluded as active a participation as in his earlier years, his Vice President, Perry Smith and Supt.George L Dunlap carried over from the Fond du Lac era, kept things progressing until 1864 when a Grand Consolidation took place with the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad.[20] This new C&NW was able to cross Iowa to the Missouri River at Council Bluffs and join with Ogden's other project, the Union Pacific Transcontinental railroad in Omaha. By 1867 he could see his beloved Chicago connected by rail with California.
Ogden was a fierce supporter of the transcontinental railroad at a time of great unrest for the country and was quoted as saying:
This project must be carried through by even-handed wise consideration and a patriotic course of policy which shall inspire capitalists of the country with confidence. Speculation is as fatal to it assecession is to the Union. Whoever speculates will damn this project.[citation needed]
As history now shows, eventually Ogden and many others got their wish.
On October 8, 1871, Ogden lost most of his prized possessions in theGreat Chicago Fire. He also owned a lumber company inPeshtigo, Wisconsin, whichburned the same day.
He married Marianna Tuttle Arnot (1825–1904).[6] Marianna was the daughter of Scottish born John Arnot and Harriet (née Tuttle) Arnot.[6] In New York, he named his home in theHighbridge, Bronx (named after the bridge now called Aqueduct Bridge over the Harlem River connecting Manhattan and the Bronx) Villa Boscobel.[2]
Ogden died at his home in the Bronx on Friday, August 3, 1877.[2] The funeral was held August 6, 1877, with several prominent pallbearers including,Gouverneur Morris III, William A. Booth,Parke Godwin,Oswald Ottendorfer, William C. Sheldon, Martin Zborowski, andAndrew H. Green.[21] He was interred atWoodlawn Cemetery, Bronx.[21]
Ogden, who had no children, left behind an estate valued at $10 million[b] in 1877.[13] Some of the money was used to fund a graduate school of science at theOld University of Chicago.[13] Much was left to hisniece Eleanor Wheeler, who marriedAlexander C. McClurg.[13][22]
Namesakes of William B. Ogden include a stretch ofU.S. Highway 34, called Ogden Avenue in Chicago and its suburbs, Ogden International School of Chicago, which is located on Walton Street in Chicago, andOgden Slip, a man-made harbor near the mouth of theChicago River. Ogden Avenue inThe Bronx is also named after him, as is Ogden, Iowa.[23] The Arnot-Odgen Memorial Hospital, founded by his wife Mariana, also bears his namesake. Following his death, William B. Ogden left money to his hometown of Walton, New York, which was used for the construction of a library, completed in 1897, which bears his name, the William B. Ogden Free Library, and is still in use today.
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