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Thomas Barlow Walker is one of the most honored names
in the city of Minneapolis, where he is known not so much
for his large fortune as for his numerous philanthropies,
public and private.
Mr. Walker was born February 01, 1840, at Xenia, Ohio,
the second son of Platt Bayless and Anstis K. Barlow Walker. His
maternal grandfather was Hon. Thomas Barlow, of New York. When
the subject of this sketch was a child his father fitted
out a train for the newly discovered gold fields in California, investing
all his means in that enterprise. While on his way
to California he fell a victim to the cholera scourge. This
threw the lad upon his own resources and the remainder
of his boyhood was a hard struggle with poverty. He
had a natural aptitude for study however, and notwithstanding
the adversity which he suffered managed to acquire
an excellent education. From his ninth to his sixteenth
year he attended only short terms in the public schools. At
that time his family removed to Berea, Ohio, for the better
educational advantages to be attained at Baldwin University. Here
he was obliged to devote most of his time to a clerkship
in a country store in order to support himself, so that
he was able to attend the university only one term of each
year. His industry and capacity were such, however,
that he soon outstripped many of the regular students.
At nineteen he was employed as traveling salesman by Fletcher
Hulet, manufacturer of the Berea grindstones. His travels
brought young Walker to Paris, Illinois, where he became
engaged in the purchase of timber land and in cutting cross
ties for the Terre Haute & St. Louis Railroad. Unfortunately, after
eighteen months of successful work, he was robbed
of nearly all his earnings through the failure of the railroad
company. He then returned to Ohio and during the next
winter taught a district school with much success and was subsequently
elected to the assistant professorship of mathematics in
the Wisconsin State University. This position
he was obliged to decline, however, because of arrangements
already made to enter the service of the government survey.
While at McGregor, Iowa, Mr. Walker chanced to meet J.M.
Robinson, a citizen of the then young but thriving town
of Minneapolis. Mr. Robinson presented the attractions
and prospects of the young city with such persuasive eloquence
that Mr. Walker determined at once to settle there, taking
passage on the first steamboat for St.Paul and bringing
with him a consignment of grindstones. There he met
an unusually intelligent and energetic young man employed
by the transportation company as clerk and workman on the
wharf, of whom he has bee a firm and trusted friend ever
since. That young man was James J. Hill. From St.
Paul Mr. Walker came over the only railroad in the state,
to Minneapolis, and within an hour after his arrival
entered the service of George B. Wright, who had a contract
to survey government lands. The surveying expedition
was soon abandoned owing to an Indian outbreak, & returning
to Minneapolis Mr. Walker devoted the winter to his books having
desk room in the office of L.M. Stewart, an attorney. The
following summer was occupied in examining the lands for
the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. In the fall he
returned to his Ohio home at Berea, where he was married
December 01, 1863, to Harriet G., the youngest daughter
of Honorable Fletcher Hulet, a lady whose name is
a synonym in Minneapolis for good works.
Returning to Minneapolis, Mr. Walker entered
upon an active career which made him not only a participant
in but the chief promoter of many good works and enterprises
in this city. In the summer of 1864 he ran the first
trial line of the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad, after which
he gave attention for years to the government survey. In
1868 he began to invest in pine lands and thus laid the
foundation for the large fortune which he subsequently
acquired. His first partners in the business were
L. Butler and Howard W. Mills under the firm name of Butler,
Mills & Walker, the first two furnishing the capital
while Mr. Walker supplied the labor and experience. This
led also to the extensive manufacture of lumber by the
old firm of Butler, Mills & Walker, afterwards
L. Butler & Co., and later Butler & Walker. Of later years his most
important operations in this regard have been his
large lumber mills, Crookston and Grand Forks, both of
which have been leading factors in the development of the
Northwest. Mr. Walker's business career has been characterized
by strict integrity and honorable dealing, but he
has not been content to acquire money simply. At the
time of the grasshopper visitation he not only
labored for the immediate relief of the starving but organized
a plan for the raising of late crops which were of inestimable
value. One of the most creditable examples of his public
spirit and munificent influence was his organization of the public
library. It was due to his effort that this
institution became a public instead of a private collection
and was made available to the public without even so much
as a deposit for the privilege of using the books. To him
also the city owes more than to any one else the possession
of the magnificent library building which it now owns.
As would seem right and proper under the circumstances,
Mr. Walker has been continuously president of the
library board since its organization in 1885, to the present
time. To him also is due the credit for the inception
and principal support of the School of Fine Arts, of which
society he is president. Mr. Walker's love for
art is fully exemplified in the splendid collection of
pictures in his own private gallery, a collection which has
few if any equals in this country, among private
individuals. His home library is also an evidence
of the scholarly taste and studious habits of its owner. The
Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences is another institution
much indebted to him for its part support and present
fortunate situation. Not the least important of the services
rendered by him to Minneapolis is his devotion to the building
up of the material interest of the city in the line of
manufactures, jobbing, etc. It was through his
instrumentality that there was organized the Business Men's
Union, which has accomplished a great deal for the
material interests of the city. The Minneapolis Land
and Investment Company is another institution at the
head of which Mr. Walker stands and upon which he
has expended much time and money. This enterprise
is located a short distance West of the city, where
a company organized by Mr. Walker purchased a large tract
of land and established a number of important industries.
This manufacturing center is directly
tributary to Minneapolis and will no doubt in the course
of a few years become a part of the city. The Flour
City National Bank was organized in 1887, and a year later
Mr. Walker was elected, without his knowledge or consent,
to the office of president. He accepted the duties and
responsibilities of his position, against his protest,
and discharged them until January 01, 1894, when he peremptorily resigned. Three
years ago Mr. Walker also organized a company of which
he is president for the construction of the Central City
Market, probably one of the finest market buildings in
the United States.
This necessarily brief sketch but imperfectly
outlines the numerous activities and beneficent public
services of a man who has been identified very largely
with nearly every good work and public enterprise
in the city of Minneapolis. No man was ever more favored
in the marriage relation. Mrs. Walker has been the
inspiration and participant of her husband's useful and
successful life, and as a leader in every philanthropic
effort had brought honor to his name.
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