Extracted from History of the City of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado
by O. L. Bakin & Nelson Millett
(O.L. Baskin & Co. Historical Publishers 1880), pages 453-455 (portrait & sketch
of home)
Contributed by: Mary Wilson Miller,
Nathaniel P. HILL is descended from an old and highly respected family of New
York and was born in Orange County, in that State, in 1832. His father, of the
same name, was an extensive farmer, owning a large farm a few miles from the
banks of the Hudson River. He was a man who possessed in an eminent degree the
respect of his fellow-citizens, who manifested their confidence by sending him
as their representative in the General Assembly of the State. He also held the
office of County Judge for a number of years. He was a Democrat of the old
school of Jefferson and Jackson and besides being a thorough gentleman, was
possessed of those principles of unwavering integrity which have also marked the
business career of his son. At the age of sixteen years, young Hill was left in
charge of the paternal estate and in that way acquired an experience in the
management of affairs and the control of men, which has been of great value in
his subsequent life. He found time during the winter seasons to prepare for
college and at the age of twenty-one, became a student in Brown University, at
Providence, R.I. Although an apt student in all the branches of study in the
college curriculum, the science of chemistry was his especial delight and much
of his time was spent in conducting experiments in the chemical laboratory. He
acquired such proficiency in this science, that in 1856, he was made a tutor in
the chemical department of the university and in 1860, was elected by the Board
of Trustees Professor of Chemistry and continued to occupy that chair with
credit until 1864. At that time, so great a reputation had he acquired as a
scientist and a thoroughly reliable gentleman, that a few wealthy men in
Providence and Boston were induced to place at his disposal a sufficient amount
of capital for the thorough examination of the Gilpin land grant in Colorado.
This visit to the Territory led to a second visit the following year, at which
time he made a most complete and exhaustive examination of the mines of Gilpin
County. It was during these visits that his attention was drawn to the imperfect
methods of treating the ores of that region and he devoted much study to the
subject with a view to engaging in his present business. The better to acquaint
himself with his subject, he visited the extensive reduction works at Swansea,
in Wales, having first resigned his professorship in Brown University. He spent
the winter of 1865-66 in studying ore-reduction in Europe and in the summer of
1866, made a second voyage to Europe, taking with him seventy tons of Colorado
ore for experimental treatment at Swansea. Returning in the spring of 1867, he
organized the Boston & Colorado Smelting Company and at once came to Colorado as
a permanent resident. It is not the purpose of this sketch to recount the
history of the grand enterprise of which Prof. HILL has since been the head and
front and a full account of which will be found in the historical part of this
work. We give the following extract from the columns of the Syracuse Courier of
January, 1879, written by one who is evidently well acquainted with Prof. HILL
and his work in Colorado:
"From time to time he created and organized these works (meaning the Boston and
Colorado Smelting Works,) putting in whatever money of his own he had saved and
drawing on these Eastern capitalists for such sums as he thought it safe and
profitable for them to invest. Of course, his uniform success is due mainly to
his splendid attainments in science and practical knowledge of his business, his
superior executive abilities and his pluck and perseverance. But all these would
have been of little avail if he had yielded to the theories and influences which
seemed to take possession of everybody in Colorado during Prof. Hill's earlier
life in that region. All the miners, learned and unlearned, were looking for
bonanzas; but, till the recent silver discoveries, they were not to be found in
Colorado. But promising gold mines and after a few years, still more promising
silver mines, were discovered in all the mountainous regions of the then
Territory. Still, none of them were rich enough to yield profit in spite of the
enormous cost of labor, provisions and fuel, super-added to the proverbial
ignorance and extravagance of the mining superintendents; and the consequence
was, every mining stock company organized in the East and absorbing fabulous
amounts of capital, proved a total or partial failure. From the first, Prof.
HILL took in the situation and entertained the true theory. He neither indorsed,
nor invested in, any of these speculative projects and yet he had the sagacity
to discover that the products of these mines could be purchased at a profit to
the producer, when they were worked with fair economy and reduced and separated
with still greater profit through his system of smelting. He established his
first works at Black Hawk and purchased all the valuable ores brought to his
establishment at their true value, according to assay. This arrangement was
highly advantageous to the miners, as they could thereby prosecute their
business with very little capital. Besides this advantage, it enabled each and
all of them more nearly to determine the real value of their claims. The
construction of the railroad connecting these mountains with the Eastern States,
soon after, gave a great impetus to this smelting business. Several other
smelting concerns were established in various parts of the States, although none
of them achieved any such success as Prof. Hill's."
The works were removed to Denver during the year 1878 and the thriving suburb of
Argo established, where they cover about seven acres of land. The Company
started with a paid-up capital of $250,000, which has since increased until they
now employ in the business fully $800,000, while the products have increased
from less than $300,000 in 1868, to over $2,250,000 during the year 1878. To the
information, discretion and energy of Prof. Hill is due the success which the
establishment has attained. He continued to devote his entire attention to his
important and arduous business affairs, taking no active part in political
matters until the spring of 1879, when he was brought forward as a candidate for
the position of United States Senator and after one of the most active and able
contests in the political history of Colorado, was elected. His Congressional
career has been confined to the extra session of Congress, convened in the
spring of 1879, to consider the appropriation bills and which, therefore,
afforded little opportunity for the introduction of general legislative
measures. Senator Hill, however introduced a bill making the branch mint in
Denver a coinage mint, with every prospect of success when Congress shall meet
in regular session. He also introduced a bill for the encouragement of
irrigation, by allowing any person to enter all the Government land that he will
irrigate, up to 640 acres. This measure, if successful, cannot fail to result in
the reclamation of a large part of the arid lands of the State. On the financial
question, which possesses such an interest to the people of Colorado, he is a
firm believer in the bi-metallic standard and uses all his efforts to promote
that end. Although Mr. Hill has accumulated an ample fortune, he has done so
through the steady prosecution of legitimate business enterprise and not by any
lucky turn of Fortune's wheel or the exceptionally fortunate issue of any
speculative schemes. Cotemporaneous [Sic.] therefore and proportionate to his
own success, has been that of others engaged with him in business, as also the
prosperity of Colorado's most important industry and a large number of men to
whom his vast enterprises have furnished remunerative and steady employment.
Whether in business, social or political life, Senator Hill is an example of the
refined, courteous and honorable gentleman, resorting to none of the deceptions
and intrigues so common in politics and doing what he does from motives of
exalted principle.