Daniel Hunt Gilman

Daniel Hunt Gilman
Gilman, ca. 1890
Born	Template:Birth date Levant, Maine
Died	April 27, 1913(1913-04-27) (aged 68) Pasadena, California
Occupation	railroad executive
Known for	helped establish the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway

Daniel Hunt Gilman (February 8, 1845 – April 27, 1913) was a prominent American lawyer and railroad developer whose professional life centered in Seattle.

Early life

Gilman was born in Levant, Maine to Henry Gilman, a Maine legislator, and Mary (née Twombly) Gilman. He received his education through local institutions and attended East Main Conference Seminary in Bucksport, Maine. At age 19, during the American Civil War, he enlisted in the First District of Columbia Cavalry, serving initially as sergeant and later as Quartermaster Sergeant despite sustaining serious injuries.

Following the war, Gilman spent six years in New York City engaged in mercantile businesses and real estate before completing his legal studies at Columbia Law School in 1877, after which he practiced law privately.

Career in Seattle

Relocating to Seattle in 1883, Gilman recognized significant commercial opportunities tied to the area's coal and iron resources. He played a key role in founding the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway (SLS&E) in 1885 to link these resources with transcontinental rail networks. Approximately $500,000 was secured from New York financiers to commence construction in 1887. Gilman oversaw operations until June of that year and maintained vested interests thereafter.

The railway stretched from downtown Seattle around Lake Union to the east side of Lake Washington, with portions eventually transformed into the popular recreational Burke-Gilman Trail. By 1889, the line extended to Snoqualmie Falls, where Gilman advocated for hydroelectric power initiatives. Additional rail expansions reached northward to Arlington, Washington and westward from Spokane, although plans to traverse the Cascade Mountains were never fulfilled.

Gilman's business enterprises also included founding the Seattle and Montana Railroad—later integrated into the Great Northern Railway (U.S.)—and establishing the West Street and North End Electric Railway. He co-founded Seattle Coal and Iron Co. located in Squak (renamed Gilman and now known as Issaquah), which was served by the SLS&E line.

Although he never held public office, Gilman chaired the central committee of Washington state's Democratic Party from 1890 to 1892 and contributed to launching its newspaper, The Seattle Telegraph.

He married Grace C. Thorndyke on January 9, 1888. After spending some time back in New York City, he returned to Seattle in 1906. An automobile accident in August 1912 eventually resulted in his passing on April 27, 1913, in Pasadena, California.

External links

• Guide to the Daniel H. Gilman Papers, University of Washington