Daniel Hunt Gilman (February 8, 1845 – April 27, 1913) was an American attorney and railroad builder who made his career in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Early life

Gilman was born in

Levant, Maine Levant is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,970 at the 2020 census. History Originally called Kenduskeag Plantation, the town was founded in 1802 by Major Moses Hodsden who built three houses, a sawmill, a g ...

, the son of Maine legislator Henry Gilman and his wife Mary (née Twombly) Gilman. Daniel Hunt Gilman received education at the town's high school and the East Main Conference Seminary in Bucksport. At the age of 19 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, he enlisted in one of the Maine companies of the First District of Columbia Cavalry. He served as a sergeant with his regiment in General Kautz's division of cavalry, Army of the James, during the spring and summer of 1864. He was severely wounded at the

Battle of Staunton River Bridge The Battle of Staunton River Bridge was an engagement on June 25, 1864, between Union and Confederate forces during Wilson-Kautz Raid of the American Civil War. The battle took place around the Staunton River Bridge, over the Staunton River, ...

on June 25, 1864, but returned to duty four months later as a Quartermaster Sergeant in the First Maine Cavalry. Gilman spent six years in New York City after the war. He worked in the city's mercantile houses and also engaged in real estate speculation before pursuing law. He received a degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked ...

in 1877 and entered private practice.

Career in Seattle

In 1883, Gilman relocated to

. He saw opportunity in untapped coal and iron deposits in the mountains outside of the city. He assisted in the establishment of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway (SLS&E) in 1885. The group of investors wanted to use a connection with a transcontinental line to trade the region's goods. With the help of approximately $500,000 from his contacts in New York, construction of the line began in 1887. Gilman was actively involved in the management and operation of the railroad until June 1887. He continued to retain interest in the enterprise afterward. The road eventually ran from downtown Seattle, around the northern shores of

Lake Union Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to P ...

, and to the east of

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west ...

. Portions between Ballard and

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 resident ...

became the recreational Burke-Gilman Trail about 100 years later. By 1889 the railroad reached as far as

Snoqualmie Falls Snoqualmie Falls is a waterfall in the northwest United States, located east of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington. It is one of Washington's most popular scenic attractions and is known internationall ...

. Gilman was an early promoter of using the falls to generate

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...

. Rail also stretched north from Seattle to Arlington. Track was laid in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

for a line heading west. However, the railroad never succeeded in crossing the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

as originally intended. Along with the SLS&E, Gilman helped create the Seattle and Montana Railroad (part of the Great Northern system) and the

West Street and North End Electric Railway West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

in the city. He was also involved with various ventures connected with his railroad business. One of these was the establishment of the Seattle Coal and Iron Co. in the town of Squak. The SLS&E inevitably served the coal town. Squak was incorporated in 1892 as Gilman, and it later became the city of

Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah ...

. Although he never sought public office, Gilman was chairman of the state Democratic party's central committee from 1890 to 1892. He helped to establish ''The Seattle Telegraph'' as the newspaper of the party. On January 9, 1888, he married Grace C. Thorndyke. He returned to New York for some time but came back to Seattle in 1906. An injury sustained in an automobile accident on August 25, 1912, shortened his life. Gilman died in Pasadena, California, on April 27, 1913.

References

External links

Guide to the Daniel H. Gilman Papers
from the University of Washington {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilman, Daniel Hunt 1845 births 1913 deaths People of Maine in the American Civil War People from Levant, Maine Lawyers from Seattle Columbia Law School alumni Washington (state) Democrats Gilman family of New Hampshire New York (state) lawyers American real estate businesspeople American mining businesspeople 19th-century American railroad executives American railway entrepreneurs History of Seattle 19th-century American lawyers