Hill, James J., 1911

Weyerhaeuser’s neighbor on Summit Hill Road in St. Paul was James J. Hill, the director of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. In 1899, the two businessmen negotiated one of the largest private land deals of all time. In 1900, Weyerhaeuser purchased 900,000 acres of Northern Pacific Railroad’s best pine land in Washington state. That year, he formed the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company to manage the land. Photograph of Hill (left), with J. H. Carroll, by Harris & Ewing.