Campbell, James 1814 - 1883 | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Campbell, James 1814 - 1883

Campbell, James 1814 - 1883 | Wisconsin Historical Society

railroad promoter, politician, b. Susquehanna County, Pa. In 1835 he moved to Wisconsin, settling in what is now Green County where he farmed and later operated a store in Albany. In 1855 he was one of the organizers of the Sugar River Valley R.R. Co. He served as vice-president of this company until 1863, when financial difficulties forced a reorganization and he became president. The company succeeded only in building a portion of the line, and was eventually forced to forfeit its land grant. Campbell then became the principal organizer of the Madison and Portage R.R. Co. (1870). In 1871 the road was completed to Portage and leased to the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, which acquired complete ownership in 1880. A Republican, Campbell was state assemblyman (1861). During the later years of his life he lived in Madison. Madison Wis. State journal, Jan. 18, 1883; C. R. Tuttle, Illus. Hist. . . . Wis. (Boston, 1875); J. W. Cary, Org. and Hist. of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Co. (Milwaukee. 1893).

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

Learn More

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.

[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]