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On
April 21, 1814, Albert Merritt Billings was born in Royalton. Billings,
with C.K. Garrison, would finance the first elevated railroad in
New York City.
He
was a successful businessman, involved in mass transit projects
throughout the U.S. Billings worked on railways in Chicago, Milwaukee,
and St. Paul, as well as Memphis street railways and the Missouri
Pacific.
In
1916, the Billings family, under the leadership of Albert’s
nephew, donated $1 million to create the Albert Merritt Billings
hospital at the University of Chicago. It is now part of the medical
complex that covers over 25 acres in Chicago’s downtown.
Image
and much information courtesy www.ironhorse129.com.
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An engraving of the New York City
elevated railway under construction.
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