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By the same deal that makes James I. Hill the richest man in the United States, with the exception of Rockefeller, J. M. Longyear of Brookline becomes the holder of the greatest amount of wealth in Massachusetts. Hill, as president of the Great North ern, ‘insists that although the deal is ‘closed, whereby the railroad gets $400, 000,000,‘ for 750,000,000 tons of are sold to United, States, Steel ,Company, the agreoes, ‘to the stockholders’’—but Hifig when asked if‘he is not the main stockholder, He, does make an exception of Mr.’ Longyear, whom, he says, became the“Possessor of an addi tional ‘fortune: Of: $24,000,000. by, the con summation of the ore transaction, How. It Feels to Be “Rich _ Mr. Longyear is away ,out in Mar quette,Mich., so, could not be seen last evening to be asked what were the feel ings that came to one made suddenly a State’s richest man, but a correspondent found Mr. Hill and questioned him, “How does it feel, Mr. Hill, to be one of the richest men in the world? What are you going to do with all that money? A yearly income,after 10 years, of $14, 930,000. Or don’t you care for money? I have been told that your*only realiza tion is developing *the Northwest.” _“Nog,.I don’t.care for.money, I have ad all I ‘want for a great’ many years. here is. something a great deal better than, money.’’ “And that?” _ “Credit. Plenty of credit. It is a great thing to have. I am glad to have plenty of credit.”’ “How did you come to be a railroad man? “T was forced into the railroad busi ness. You know_I bought a wreck. Then I added some more wrecks.” . “And you got that $400,000,000 “worth of iron ore along with those wrecks?” “Yes, the mineral land was part of the property.”’ “How much did it ‘actually cost you? One dollar an acre or something like that?” Mr. Hill would not answer definitely. He merely left the impression that the land was acquired cheaply and the Great Northern made it valuable. Who Mr. Longyear is John M. Longyear, who so suddenly became a power in the money world, was already a rich man before adding this last little $24,000,000 to his funds. He was born in 1872 and went into the Sag inaw woods as a ‘“‘land-looker.”’ Some time later he went into the woods of the upper peninsula of Michigan in the same capacity. After much effort he succeeded in interesting capitalists in in vestments in large tracts of land in that region. In a few years he became one of the largest land owners and most wealthy men in Michigan. Mr. Longyear is a member of the board of control of the Michigan College of Mines at Hough ton, in the upper part of Michigan, gen erally known as the “copper country.” When Mr. Longyear’s house was built near Marquette on a hill overlooking Lake Superior, it was one of the finest ever put up in that part of the country. The body of the house was of Marquette “raindrop” sandstone, so- called because of its peculiar markings. The brownstone trimmings were counted well-nigh price less, for the quarry from which they were taken was exhausted in the con struction of the Longyear residence. About four years ago a railroad com pany secured the right to lay its tracks along the front of the estate upon which this beautiful residence stood. The Mayor of Marquette appealed to the courts and a long legal contest be tween the railroad company and the mil lonaire followed, at the end of which the railroad company won. The right of way was condemned and Mr. Longyear was awarded $2551 damages. Then the big residence was offered for sale. But those who wished to buy reasoned that the wealthy owner would be obliged to sell cheaply when the railroad was to be put through. It was believed that the house would be sold at a great sacrifice and a number of offers were made for the property which were all at less than a fourth of ‘its value’ The owner, dis gusted by his rebuff in the courts, and further angered by the apparent belief which seemed to prevail that he was at the mercy of possible buyers of his prop erty, determined upon a step that would both serve his own purpose and at the same time would revenge himself upon the’ would-be shrewd real estate’ dealers. He announced that he would carry his house across the country to Brookline, Mass. Every stone in the beautiful house should be taken down and transported by rail to the East. The wealthy Mayor came to Brookline and purchased one of the finest sites in the town. It was located at the top of Fisher Hill, where there is no danger that the exclusiveness of the rebuilt house will ever be disturbed by the toot ing of a railroad whistle or the clang of a car bell. And that is why Mr. Longyear is now a Massachusetts man.
Newspaper Details
Boston Post
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Mon, Oct 08, 1906
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Daniel L.
USA 26 May 2026
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