Hugh Theodore Inman (December 24, 1846 – November 14, 1910) was a member of the prominen
Inman Family
of Atlanta and was the wealthiest man in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

at the time of his death. He was born in

Dandridge, Tennessee Dandridge is a town in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Tennessee. It had a population of 3,341 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Jefferson and Hamblen co ...

, son of Shadrach Inman and grew up there with his brothers Samuel M. Inman and John H. Inman, who were also successful cotton traders and industrialists. He owned an interest in the Inman, Swann, & Co. of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He engaged in the cotton trade in New York City until moving to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, and then ultimately

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

where he continued in the cotton trade. He was a founding member and first president of the

Exposition Cotton Mills The Exposition Cotton Mills were Cotton mill, cotton mills located in what is now the West Midtown area of Atlanta at the upper end of the Marietta Street Artery, an area rich with industrial heritage architecture. They were built on what had bee ...

, which was founded in 1882. By 1890, it had 500 employees and had spun fifty million yards of yarn. Along with his brothers he was an investor in the Atlanta Steel and Hoop Company, later known as

Atlantic Steel The Atlantic Steel Company was a steel company in Atlanta, Georgia with a large steel mill on the site of today's Atlantic Station multi-use complex. Atlantic Steel's history dated back to 1901 when it was founded as the Atlanta Hoop Compan ...

. It was Atlanta's first steel hoop mill. Hugh founded clothing manufacturer Inman, Smith and Company with his son, Edward, in 1896. By 1902, it had 300 employees and was producing 1000 pairs of pants per day. Hugh and son, Edward, provided financial support and were vice-presidents of Atlanta Woolen Mills, which had 450 employees in 1902 and did yearly business amounting to $500,000. He owned the Kimball House Hotel in

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

which he gave as a wedding gift to daughter Annie and son-in-law John W. Grant. His son, Edward Hamilton Inman, owned the

Swan House (Atlanta) The Edward Inman "Swan" House is a mansion in Atlanta, Georgia. It was designed by Philip T. Shutze and built in 1928 for Edward and Emily Inman. The house is currently part of the Atlanta History Center, and it has been featured in '' The Hun ...

. At the time of his death, he had amassed an estate exceeding $2,000,000 (approx. US$54 million in 2019 adjusted for inflation) making him the wealthiest man in the state. In August 1910, he went to a sanitarium in New York City suffering from neurasthenia and died there three months later of pneumonia.

References

1846 births 1910 deaths History of Atlanta 19th-century American businesspeople People from Dandridge, Tennessee {{atlanta-stub