USA > Georgia > Fulton County > Atlanta > History of Atlanta, Georgia : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 27
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While his numerous railroad schemes were progressing encouragingly, the great Chicago fire of 1871 took place, and created such a financial crisis throughout the country that public enterprises of every character were crippled. Chicago capitalists were largely interested in Mr. Kimball's railroad enter- prises, and from this source of obtaining funds being suddenly cut off, added to the political revulsions and unstable financial condition of affairs in Geor- gia, made it necessary for Mr. Kimball to abandon his railroad plans. To im- mediately surrender such vast enterprises, which had he been able to carry out would have greatly aided the public, and to be defeated in his well-laid plans, was a tremendous strain upon his mental and physical faculties, and for many
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months it was a serious question whether he would survive it. His splendid constitution, never having been drained by excesses of any kind, was remark- able, and he rallied from the effects of the strain, although for two years he was unable to do much business.
He had always insisted that the climate and location of Atlanta gave it pe- culiar advantages as a manufacturing center, and a number of years before he had procured a charter for the erection of a cotton factory to be run by steani, and upon regaining his health he now took hold of this project with renewed interest, organized a company, of which he was made president, and after raising by subscription, a sufficient sum, the work of building was begun and prosecuted with energy until the factory was completed and put in operation. This manufacturing plant, known as the Atlanta Cotton Factory, has since been in successful operation, and has had a wide influence in demonstrating what may be done here in the line of spinning and weaving the great staple of the South.
In 1880 Mr. Edward Atkinson, of Boston, wrote a letter which was pub- lished in the New York Herald, suggesting the holding of an exposition some- where in the South, for the specific purpose of showing the best methods of growing and working cotton. The idea immediately suggested itself to Mr. Kimball as a good one, and he determined that Atlanta was the place for such an exhibit. Acting upon this idea he invited Mr. Atkinson to come to Atlanta and address the people. At this time Mr. Atkinson had been very pronounced in his public expressions in regard to the South, and was not re- garded with any degree of favor by the people of this section, yet Mr. Kim- ball entertained him at his home and invited a number of the most prominent citizens of the city to meet with him. At their request Mr. Atkinson deliv- ered an address in the Senate chamber, in which he proposed the holding of an international cotton exposition in 1881. Mr. Kimball was foremost in its ad- vocacy, and entered into the project with all the enthusiasm of his nature. Other gentlemen here co-operated with him, and in an incredibly short time plans were formulated and laid before the public of this and other cities and sections, and everywhere they were received with favor. The details of the incipient stages of the work were almost innumerable, but Mr. Kimball was found equal to every emergency as its chief executive officer, under the title Director-General. He visited every city of importance throughout the coun- try, made addresses before boards of trade and other commercial boards, secured subscriptions to the stock of the company, and without State, city or national aid carried through one of the most important expositions ever held in this country.
It has often been said that Mr. Kimball scored one of his greatest triumphs in the admirable way in which he managed this great industrial and agricul- tural exhibition, and certain it is that no enterprise with which he has ever been
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connected was more fruitful of good results. During the three months through which the exposition continued he remained as the chief executive officer, and in that position displayed a wonderful capacity for management, the exhibi- tors especially according to him the highest order of business generalship.
The influence and effects of this exposition cannot be over-estimated. It was a grand school of instruction, in which hundreds of thousands of people from all sections of the country were enlightened as to the progress made in the useful arts and sciences all over the United States, and brought together in a spirit of mutual friendship and just appreciation of each other. It's power for good has been recognized in a variety of results which have added popula- tion and wealth not only to Atlanta, but to the Southern States, and for long years to come its influence will be most beneficially felt.
On the night of August 12, 1883 (being in Chicago), he was aroused from his sleep to receive a telegram announcing the burning of The H. I. Kimball House. He immediately returned to Atlanta, organized a stock company, raised the necessary capital, and on the 12th of November, with the plans per- fected, the corner stone was laid and the work of rebuilding The H. I. Kimball House was commenced, and on the 30th of April, 1885, it was completely fin- ished, being much larger and finer than the old, and turned over to the lessees. This magnificent hostelry stands to-day as a monument to his powers of con- ception and execution, the most commodious and elegant structure of its kind in the South.
About the time of the completion of the hotel, the chamber of commerce was completed and dedicated, and during the ceremonies Mr. Henry W. Grady, one of Mr. Kimball's most intimate friends, proposed the holding of a great international commercial convention in Atlanta, within sixty days from that date. The suggestion met with immediate favor, and it was publicly an- nounced that if Mr. Kimball would take charge of the enterprise, the citizens would give it a cordial backing. A committee, composed of the leading citi- zens of Atlanta, was appointed, and they elected Mr. Kimball chairman, and he again took the field in behalf of Atlanta. Fully appreciating the efforts of the press, he succeeded in securing its co-operation in the enterprise. Many people spoke of the audacity of such an undertaking. They ridiculed the idea of a small inland city calling upon the commercial boards of all the country to send delegates and representatives to discuss the great national questions con- cerning the commercial advancement of the country. Mr. Kimball's influence in securing a large gathering was a potent factor, and delegates stated upon the floor of the convention that it was because of his name being signed to the call that brought them here.
The result of his efforts was that over five hundred delegates, representing the most important commercial boards in thirty-three States of the union, met in De Gives Opera House on April 19, 1885, and held three sessions a day for
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three days. The gathering was a grand success in every way. Men of brains and large experience read papers, delivered addresses, and discussed the com- mercial, manufacturing and agricultural interests of the country in a full and masterful manner, and the influence of their good work will be felt for years to come.
For some years Mr. Kimball had been impressed with the value and im- portance to the city of securing several hundred acres of land, near or within the city limits, which could be laid out in streets and parks under the best en- gineering skill, for the purpose of private residences and homes. Early in the spring of 1884 he secured the option upon two hundred acres of land fronting on West Peachtree street, and running west along North avenue, about two- thirds of which was within the incorporate limits of the city. Within six hours after he had consummated the plans he secured subscriptions to the full amount of the proposed capital of the company, amounting to $250,000 ; in fact, a large amount was subscribed in excess of this amount. The company was organized under the name of the " Peters's Park Improvement Company," with Mr. Richard Peters as president, and Mr. Kimball as the general man ?- ger. The purpose of the company was to grade the lots, have the streets paved in the best possible manner, and to have all the public improvements, including water, gas and sewerage. Fifty thousand dollars has been expended in improving and beautifying a small portion of the property, and plans for fu- ture improvements, when carried out, will add greatly to the value of the grounds. It is a remarkable case, that in a city like Atlanta, two hundred acres of such valuable property, nearly all within the city limits, should be con- trolled by one company. But a few years more will make this property one of the finest resident localities in the country and necessarily profitable to the owners, and a real monumental work to the wisdom and sagacity of Mr. Kim- ball. Some ten acres of the ground in the southwestern part was sold to the Technological School, upon which has been erected a magnificent school building.
So much for a bare and inadequate outline of the career of H. I. Kimball. It leaves untold many, very many of the directions in which his aggressive en- terprises have found outlet ; it gives only a mere mention of a few salient facts in a life crowded with events and crowned with rare success. In any commu- nity, among any class of men, Mr. Kimball would be instantly recognized as a man of force and of no ordinary range of ability. His personal appearance would indicate it, while his direct, forceful manner of talking, and ready grasp of any subject discussed, would mark him as a man of no common mold of mind. He would take rank in any society of men as a man far above the average of the systematically educated in the breadth of his field of knowledge and the exactness of his information. His achievements in many fields have given him distinction, and few men connected with the material development
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of the " New South " are more widely and thoroughly known. He has carved for himself a well recognized place in the great industrial history of the South, and as the years go by the more willing will the people be to acknowledge the value of his labors.
In a personal sense Mr. Kimball's main power seems to lie in the uncon- querable spirit of perseverance with which his plans are pursued. He cannot be turned from purposes he has once deliberately formed. To do that which he has undertaken to do, being convinced it is the right thing to do, he is last- ingly pledged by the resolution of his nature. If one path to this end is closed he seeks another, but the object on which he has fixed his eye is never aban- doned.
While of the most sanguine and hopeful temperament he is cautious, cool headed and calm, and appears most happy when organizing the complicated business details of some great enterprise, and seems to really enjoy the work for its very complexity.
The domestic life of Mr. Kimball has been one of singular congeniality and happiness. He is one of the most genial, open hearted and interesting of com- panions in private life, and lives in the enjoyment of a wide circle of friends who esteem him no less for his high abilities than his charming social qualities. A man of the most exemplary and abstemious habits, he has been a member of the Methodist Church for many years, and ever active in religious and chari- table work.
Such in brief are a few of the striking characteristics of this versatile man, who unselfishly has devoted many years of the best portion of his life to the upbuilding of Atlanta and the State of Georgia, and it is not too much to ex- pect, with his ripe experience, robust physical force, the fruits of his labors in the years to come will add still greater benefits to the State than have been realized in the past.
RANT, COLONEL L. P. Lemuel Pratt Grant was born in Frankfort, J Me., on August 11, 1817. His early life, to the age of twelve, was spent on a farm, and from that period until his nineteenth year, he alternated be- tween the farm and in learning the rudiments of merchandising in village stores. His educational opportunities were embraced mainly in attendance at the district school, in the village near the farm homestead, during winter months, and a few months at the higher schools known as academies. The story of his youth would be simply a repetition of that of thousands of boys of our country, who have struggled up through poverty and hardships to early man- hood, looking with longing eyes toward the coveted advantages of a liberal education, without the means of attaining it.
At the age of nineteen he was appointed to the place of rodman in the engineer corps of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, which was then be- 22.
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ing constructed. The position of rodman was the lowest in rank in the corps and was that assigned to young men entering the profession of civil engineer- ing. This was the school and service best adapted to the bent of Mr. Grant's mind and physical wants. By dint of earnest application he won his promo- tion, within the space of one year, to the rank of assistant engineer. In Janu- ary, 1840, on the completion of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, be- tween the two cities named, he accepted the offer of an assistant in the engineer corps of the Georgia Railroad, of which J. Edgar Thomson was chief. The party of which he was a member located the line of the road, between Madison and the present site of Atlanta, in the spring and summer of 1840. Financial depression prevented the prosecution of the work of construction beyond Mad- ison.
In March, 1841, Mr. Grant was engaged as assistant in the engineer corps of the Central Railroad of Georgia, of which L. O. Reynolds was chief. In the early part of 1843 he was recalled to the Georgia Railroad, where he served until the grading was completed to Atlanta, then known as Marthasville. In April, 1845, he accepted the appointment of chief engineer and superintendent of the Montgomery and West Point Railroad, of which forty miles from Mont- gomery to Chehaw was in operation. He remained in charge of this road until April, 1848, during which time the track was extended to Opelika. He then accepted the place of resident engineer of the Georgia Railroad, which position he filled until 1853, during two years of this time also holding the place of chief engineer of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, which office he resigned in 1853. For five years following he engaged in construction con- tracts on railroads in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In June, 1858, he was elected president of the new Southern Pacific Railroad Company of Texas, the old company having been sold out under judicial decree. In June, 1859, he was succeeded as president by J. Edgar Thomson, as a compromise of pend- ing litigation between the old and new companies.
In 1859 and 1860 he was chief engineer of surveys and location of pro- posed roads in Georgia and Alabama, the most prominent of which was the Georgia Western, then aiming toward Decatur, via Gadsdon and Gunter's Landing, operations on all of which were suspended at the close of 1860, by reason of impending war between the States.
In October, 1862, soon after the organization of the engineer bureau at Richmond, Mr. Grant received a commission of "Captain Engineers C. S. A.," which he accepted. In May, 1863, he was appointed "Lieutenant Colonel En- gineers," which he declined. He served as captain to the end of the war, mainly in charge of construction of defenses of Atlanta and Augusta, and in the re- pair and reconstruction of raided railways. In all of this work, by his long experience and great engineering skill, he rendered valuable assistance to the Confederacy.
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From October, 1866, to July, 1881, Mr. Grant was in charge of the oper- ations of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad as general superintendent. He was also elected president of the Georgia Western (now Georgia Pacific) Rail- road Company, in June, 1873, but resigned the office in August of the same year.
He was appointed in March, 1875, receiver of that portion of the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railroad lying in the State of Georgia, being one hundred miles. The receivership terminated in March, 1876. In July, 1881, he was elected president of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad Company, and in March, 1883, president of the Western Railway of Alabama, holding the former position until July, 1887, and the latter until November, 1887.
Mr. Grant's interest in Atlanta commenced while the embryo city was known as Marthasville. In 1844 he purchased land lot No. 52, bounded now by Fair, Fort, and Foster streets, and Capitol avenue in part. In 1846 he purchased land lot No. 53, bounded now by Capitol avenue, Fair, and Glenn streets, and land lot No. 44. In 1847 he purchased lot No. 44, bounded now by South Boulevard on the east, by Fair and Glenn streets on the north and south, and by lot No. 53 on the west. These together contained six hun- dred acres, now wholly within the city limits. The most valuable portion of this area was subdivided and sold at low rates, in the early history of the city. In 1883 Mr. Grant donated to the city, to be used for park pur- poses one hundred acres of a tract of land, subsequently acquired, adjoining the city limits on the southeast, which has since been handsomely laid out and is known as the L. P. Grant Park. A considerable area of his original land purchase is still owned by Mr. Grant, and contains many eligible sites for resi- dences
Mr. Grant was an early advocate of the free school system, and lent the full force of his influence in securing its establishment in Atlanta. He was elected a member of the first board of education in 1869, and for several years took an active and leading part in the work of building up the admirable sys- tem of free schools in Atlanta. He was also among the original promoters of the Young Men's Library, and was made the first life member of the library association.
In all the enterprises of a public character which have advanced the mate- rial interest of Atlanta, Mr. Grant has been a co-worker with the city's most liberal and progressive citizens. His name, his influence and money have never been withheld from any project which had for its aim the moral, spiritual or temporal good of his fellow men. He has been successful in business, but his success has been achieved in legitimate public enterprises such as have promoted the common good. Never a man of robust health, he has, neverthe- less been a hard worker, and by a proper husbandry of his strength and cor- rect habits, has been enabled to accomplish a large amount of work. He is
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naturally conservative, but when a course has been decided upon he pursues it with determination, and cannot be moved by any consideration of policy. Through all the eventful days in the history of Atlanta, from a small settle- ment to its present greatness-thorough disaster, days of doubt, peril and ruin -seasons of sunshine and storm, the city has had no more warm nor more sin- cere friend. For nearly half a century his history has been a part of Atlanta's history, and during this long period no man has maintained a better record for business probity, nor a more unsullied reputation as a high minded Christian gentleman. He has been a member of the Central Presbyterian Church since 1860, and has always taken an active part in church work. At the present time Mr. Grant is retired from active participation in business affairs, beyond the supervision of his large private estate. He has honestly earned the right to rest, and now in the eventide of life, secure in the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens, it is to be hoped that many years of peaceful comforts may be in store for him.
Mr. Grant was married at Decatur in December, 1843, to Miss Laura L. . Williams, daughter of Ammi Williams. Mrs. Grant died in May, 1879, having borne her husband four children-two sons and two daughters. Their eldest son, John A. Grant is a well-known and successful railroad manager, at pres- ent residing at Dallas, Tex., being general manager of the Texas and Pacific Railway system. Mr. Grant's present wife was Mrs. Jane L. Crew, of Atlanta, whom he married in July, 1881.
ALHOUN, PATRICK. Amongst those citizens of Atlanta who are im- C portant factors in the development of Georgia and of the South, there is no one entitled to a higher place than Mr. Patrick Calhoun, the subject of this sketch. The youngest of five sons, he was born on the 21st of March, 1856, at Fort Hill, Pendleton District, S. C., so widely known as the home of his illus- trious grandfather. His father, the Hon. Andrew P. Calhoun, was the eldest son of the great John C. Calhoun, and was a gentleman of high character and attainments. Though never entering political life he was a man of marked in- fluence in his State. Mr. Calhoun's mother was Miss Margaret Green, daugh- ter of the celebrated General Duff Green, for a long time resident at Dalton, Ga.
In March, 1865, when only nine years of age, Mr. Calhoun lost his father, and the disastrous results of the civil war which swept away their property, left the family in most straightened circumstances. In common with many of the youth of the South, these misfortunes sadly curtailed his educational op- portunities; thirteen months at the Pendleton School and twelve months at Norwood High School in Virginia, comprising the extent to which he was afforded educational facilities other than such instruction as could be given by members of his family, or such knowledge as might be acquired through the more arduous processes of self-tuition. At these schools young Calhoun won
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from his teachers the highest praise for industry, scholarship and mental powers of an unusual order; and despite these disadvantages it is safe to say that there are few to-day in the State of Georgia better read or possessed of wider and more varied information, especially on graver subjects, such as philosophy, gov- ernment and political economy.
In 1871, a short time before his departure for Norwood High School, Mr. Calhoun with his mother and family left Fort Hill, and moved to Dalton, Ga., to the house of his maternal grandfather, General Duff Green. In 1874, after leaving Norwood, Mr. Calhoun went to Columbus, Ky., where under the guid- ance of John M. Brummel, Esq., a prominent lawyer of that place, he began the study of law. To be a great lawyer had been from earliest youth Mr. Calhoun's ambition, and with characteristic ardor he applied himself to the study of his chosen profession. Returning to Dalton in 1875 he continued his studies under Colonel I. E. Shummate, one of the most accomplished mem- bers of the strong bar for which Dalton is justly celebrated.
In October, 1875, at the age of nineteen, Mr. Calhoun was admitted to the bar by the Hon. C. D. Mccutcheon, then judge of the Cherokee circuit. Con- sidering the field at Dalton too narrow, and already fully occupied, in January, 1876, Mr. Calhoun left Georgia with the purpose of beginning the practice of his profession in the growing West. After several unexpected vicissitudes and delays incurred on the journey, he found himself at the expiration of several days in the city of St. Louis, where he had finally determined to try his fortunes. His worldly possessions, other than his personal effects, were at this time re- duced to the trifling sum of two dollars. With this capital, backed by his own energies, he started his career as a lawyer in St. Louis. In the entire city he was not conscious of knowing a single human being. Being introduced by a self-made acquaintance to Mr. John G. Chandler, a prominent lawyer, Mr. Cal- houn secured desk-room in his office in return for such assistance as he might be able to render Mr. Chandler in copying, writing, etc. Living in the most modest manner and practicing the most rigid economy, Mr. Calhoun applied himself with renewed ardor to the practice of the law. In the many leisure moments, incident to a young lawyer waiting for clients, he devoted himself, un- der Mr. Chandler's guidance, to an extensive course of reading on the various topics of the law.
In order to introduce himself to the people Mr. Calhoun became at this time an active participant in the political movements of the day. He was one of the organizers of the Young Men's Democratic Association of St. Louis, which became in a short time a very considerable political power in the city, and in the fall of 1876 he took a very active part in the congressional race be- tween Mr. Wells and Colonel Slayback, which at the time excited interest throughout the State. Earnestly advocating the cause of Colonel Slay back, he was frequently on the stump during the contest. Colonel Slayback had be-
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