Notable Oregonians: Samuel Hill - Good Roads Pioneer Samuel Hill
was born on May 13, 1857 in Deep River, North Carolina. His
Quaker family was prominent in the community and played a part
in the anti-slavery movement and the underground railroad. After
receiving death threats for their abolitionist activities, the
Hill Family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in the wake of the
Civil War. Samuel Hill graduated from Haverford College and
earned his law degree from Harvard University before returning
to Minneapolis to practice law. In 1886 he joined the legal
office of the Great Northern Railway, working for its head,
James J. Hill. Two years later, he married Hill's eldest
daughter. Over the next decade, Samuel Hill's role with the
railway expanded, along with his wealth and civic standing. His
work took him to the Northwest and by 1902, he had decided to
build a house and live in Seattle, Washington. Meanwhile, his
wife moved back to Minneapolis with their two children after six
months in Washington. Hill spent