William H. Hardy
Encyclopedia
William H. Hardy founded the cities of Hattiesburg
and Laurel, Mississippi
, and co-founded the city of Gulfport, Mississippi
.
) on 12 February 1837, William Harris Hardy attended country schools and eventually Cumberland University
in Lebanon, Tennessee
for three years, withdrawing before graduation due to contraction of pneumonia
. Following his convalescence, Hardy agreed to a cousin's proposal to start Sylvarena Academy, a boys' primary school affiliated with the Methodist Church. During his year at Sylvarena in Flowers, Mississippi
, Hardy read law, and when he departed the Academy in 1856 for Raleigh, Mississippi
, was able to easily pass the Bar
. In 1858, he opened his own law practice. In 1859, he met, and in 1860, he married Sallie Ann Johnson, with whom he had six children (Mattie, Willie, Ellen, Elizabeth, Thomas, and Jefferson Davis) before her death in 1872.
, became Captain and, at one time, served under General Stonewall Jackson
. A gastric ulcer necessitated his discharge, and he returned to Raleigh, Mississippi in 1865.
to New Orleans, Louisiana
: the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad
(NO&NERR). He later became General Counsel for the company, although his legacy with that railroad centers on two things in particular: Hardy's engineering work to construct the bridge spanning Lake Ponchartrain and his efforts to secure funding once the road went into receivership during the economic Panic of 1873
.
In 1870, Hardy worked sporadically with his brother-in-law and board of directors member, Milton Lott, on the narrow-gauge Alabama Southern Railroad. Hardy's work there ended in much the same way as his involvement in the NO&NERR, he eventually secured partial funding from the British banking house of May before departing the railroad and ending his official involvement in 1873.
Hardy's increasing involvement in the day to day operations of the NO&NERR, eventually as that road's General Counsel, necessitated a move to Meridian, Mississippi in 1873. While on a business trip to Mobile
he met Hattie Lott, and they married in 1874. Hattie moved to Meridian soon after; she had three children (Lena Mai, Lamar, and Toney) with Hardy before her death in 1895.
veterans, William Clark Falkner
and William Wirt Adams
, to revive and revise the lapsed charter for the narrow gauge Ship Island, Ripley, and Kentucky Railroad. With Fallkner's support, Hardy accepted the presidency of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
in 1887, pending revision of that road's line to "some point on the Gulf of Mexico
," and its change to standard gauge
. An apocryphal tale says that while involved in surveys for the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, Hardy came up with the idea of a north-south railroad from the Mississippi Gulf Coast
to Jackson, Tennessee
. While Hardy did not devise the entire railroad route on his own, he did make several important modifications to the lay of the line by changing the coast terminus and the route to cross his NO&NERR at a point he named "Hattiesburg," in honor of his wife, Hattie. Hardy determined Mississippi City
, the county seat
, was too far east of the natural deep-water harbor protected by Ship Island and proposed a new city, Gulfport
, as the revised terminus.
Throughout his long involvement with the Gulf and Ship Island, Hardy lobbied investors and financiers throughout the north, west, and Europe
to bring their capital to his project; eventually, the reality of Reconstruction economics got the best of him. Hardy's questionable use of the state's convicts, under the lease of Jones S. Hamilton, brought his first dose of bad press when a state commission, tasked with investigation of the convict lease system, revoked the company's lease in 1888. Also in that year, two of the railroad's most vocal supporters (William Falkner and Jones Hamilton) were involved in politically-motivated assassinations. The final blow came with a financial collapse; Hardy's efforts to secure fianancing could not counter a wholesale panic, and the Gulf and Ship Island went into receivership in 1896.
, Hardy remained involved as a board member until 1899. His election to the Mississippi State Legislature in 1895 kept him at the State Capital in Jackson
enough to make involvement with the railroad less possible. While in Jackson, Hardy met and married his third wife, Ida V. May, with whom he had three children, William H., Jr., Hamilton Lee, and James Hutchins. In 1905, Hardy served as circuit court
judge for the second district (covering south-central Mississippi). When the district split in 1906, Hardy remained as judge for the newly-created coastal district until his semi-retirement in 1909. For the next eight years, Hardy maintained law offices in Gulfport, Mississippi with his son Toney.
Hardy died of a heart attack at his home in Gulfport, Mississippi on 17 February 1917.
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...
and Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, and co-founded the city of Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
.
Early years
Born to Robert W. and Temperance L. (Toney) Hardy in Todds Hill (in Lowndes County, AlabamaLowndes County, Alabama
Lowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,299...
) on 12 February 1837, William Harris Hardy attended country schools and eventually Cumberland University
Cumberland University
Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842, though the current campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896.-History:...
in Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
for three years, withdrawing before graduation due to contraction of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Following his convalescence, Hardy agreed to a cousin's proposal to start Sylvarena Academy, a boys' primary school affiliated with the Methodist Church. During his year at Sylvarena in Flowers, Mississippi
Flowers, Mississippi
Flowers is an unincorporated community in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is located approximately three miles east of Bovina and is part of the Vicksburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Ceres Industrial Park, one of many industrial areas in Warren County, is located in Flowers....
, Hardy read law, and when he departed the Academy in 1856 for Raleigh, Mississippi
Raleigh, Mississippi
Raleigh is a town in Smith County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,462 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat and second largest town in Smith County.Named for the famous English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, Raleigh has been home to such famous Mississippians as Governor Robert...
, was able to easily pass the Bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
. In 1858, he opened his own law practice. In 1859, he met, and in 1860, he married Sallie Ann Johnson, with whom he had six children (Mattie, Willie, Ellen, Elizabeth, Thomas, and Jefferson Davis) before her death in 1872.
Civil War service
In 1861, Hardy joined Company H of the 16th Mississippi InfantryInfantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, became Captain and, at one time, served under General Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
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. A gastric ulcer necessitated his discharge, and he returned to Raleigh, Mississippi in 1865.
New Orleans and Northeastern and Alabama Southern Railroads
In 1868, Hardy became involved in a plan to build a railroad from Meridian, MississippiMeridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
to New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
: the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad
New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad
The New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad was a Class I railroad in Louisiana and Mississippi in the United States. The railroad operated of track from its completion in 1883 until it was absorbed by the Alabama Great Southern Railroad subsidiary of the Southern Railway in 1969.- History :The...
(NO&NERR). He later became General Counsel for the company, although his legacy with that railroad centers on two things in particular: Hardy's engineering work to construct the bridge spanning Lake Ponchartrain and his efforts to secure funding once the road went into receivership during the economic Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
.
In 1870, Hardy worked sporadically with his brother-in-law and board of directors member, Milton Lott, on the narrow-gauge Alabama Southern Railroad. Hardy's work there ended in much the same way as his involvement in the NO&NERR, he eventually secured partial funding from the British banking house of May before departing the railroad and ending his official involvement in 1873.
Hardy's increasing involvement in the day to day operations of the NO&NERR, eventually as that road's General Counsel, necessitated a move to Meridian, Mississippi in 1873. While on a business trip to Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
he met Hattie Lott, and they married in 1874. Hattie moved to Meridian soon after; she had three children (Lena Mai, Lamar, and Toney) with Hardy before her death in 1895.
Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
The coup Hardy achieved in overseeing completion of the Ponchartrain Bridge and securing funding to complete the NO&NERR brought a measure of regional fame. Railroad men (and those who wanted to be) throughout The Magnolia State courted him for their boards of directors. In 1880, Hardy joined longtime railroad financiers and fellow ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
veterans, William Clark Falkner
William Clark Falkner
William Clark Falkner was a soldier, lawyer, politician, businessman, and author in northern Mississippi...
and William Wirt Adams
William Wirt Adams
William Wirt Adams was a United States district court judge for the state of Mississippi, a soldier for the Republic of Texas, and a Confederate officer and general in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
, to revive and revise the lapsed charter for the narrow gauge Ship Island, Ripley, and Kentucky Railroad. With Fallkner's support, Hardy accepted the presidency of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad was constructed in the state of Mississippi, USA, at the turn of the 20th century to open a vast expanse of southern yellow pine forests for commercial harvest. In spite of economic uncertainty, entrepreneurs William H. Hardy and Joseph T. Jones successfully...
in 1887, pending revision of that road's line to "some point on the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
," and its change to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
. An apocryphal tale says that while involved in surveys for the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, Hardy came up with the idea of a north-south railroad from the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Mississippi Gulf Coast
The Mississippi Gulf Coast refers to the three Mississippi counties which lie on the Gulf of Mexico: Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.The region was severely damaged by Hurricane Camille in 1969 and again by Hurricane Katrina in 2005....
to Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
. While Hardy did not devise the entire railroad route on his own, he did make several important modifications to the lay of the line by changing the coast terminus and the route to cross his NO&NERR at a point he named "Hattiesburg," in honor of his wife, Hattie. Hardy determined Mississippi City
Mississippi City, Mississippi
Mississippi City, Mississippi, was an unincorporated community in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It was part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, was too far east of the natural deep-water harbor protected by Ship Island and proposed a new city, Gulfport
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
, as the revised terminus.
Throughout his long involvement with the Gulf and Ship Island, Hardy lobbied investors and financiers throughout the north, west, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to bring their capital to his project; eventually, the reality of Reconstruction economics got the best of him. Hardy's questionable use of the state's convicts, under the lease of Jones S. Hamilton, brought his first dose of bad press when a state commission, tasked with investigation of the convict lease system, revoked the company's lease in 1888. Also in that year, two of the railroad's most vocal supporters (William Falkner and Jones Hamilton) were involved in politically-motivated assassinations. The final blow came with a financial collapse; Hardy's efforts to secure fianancing could not counter a wholesale panic, and the Gulf and Ship Island went into receivership in 1896.
Public service
Although the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad changed hands to Joseph T. JonesJoseph T. Jones
Joseph T. Jones was an American entrepreneur who built his fortune as an oil producer. He funded construction of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad in Mississippi, co-founded the City of Gulfport and developed its seaport....
, Hardy remained involved as a board member until 1899. His election to the Mississippi State Legislature in 1895 kept him at the State Capital in Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
enough to make involvement with the railroad less possible. While in Jackson, Hardy met and married his third wife, Ida V. May, with whom he had three children, William H., Jr., Hamilton Lee, and James Hutchins. In 1905, Hardy served as circuit court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
judge for the second district (covering south-central Mississippi). When the district split in 1906, Hardy remained as judge for the newly-created coastal district until his semi-retirement in 1909. For the next eight years, Hardy maintained law offices in Gulfport, Mississippi with his son Toney.
Hardy died of a heart attack at his home in Gulfport, Mississippi on 17 February 1917.