User:Cjmoran/Charles J. Hull

Charles J. Hull was a Chicago real estate developer. He was born near Hartford, CT on March 18, 1820 and died on Feb. 12, 1889 in Houston, TX. He first studied medicine, graduating from Rush Medical College in 1851. He then went to Cambridge and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1853. During the same year he was admitted to the United States supreme court, on motion of Hon. Reverdy Johnson, of Baltimore. His success was phenomenal, and by investing his earnings in real estate in this and other cities, and building tenement houses and selling them on time he amassed a colossal fortune. He seemed to have had a genius for money-making. He dealt largely in real estate, and the rise in value made him rich beyond the dreams of avarice. He is buried in Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Chicago. Marking his grave is a large monument topped with a statue of himself seated in a chair.

In 1856, he purchased property on the near west side, just west of the south branch of the Chicago River just southwest of Chicago's business center. It was first settled as an agricultural holding. Mr. Hull placed his home along Halsted Street, an important north-south thoroughfare. The area soon developed into one of the most fashionable areas of the city. It was not long before encroaching industrial development compelled Hull to move from the area, although he retained the house as part of his vast real estate holdings in booming Chicago. The house survived the Chicago Fire of 1871, which started nearby. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on June 12, 1974 and was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark on June 23, 1965. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966, which is the day that the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was enacted creating the register. In 1889, the house was leased to social reformer Jane Addams (1860-1935)and Ellen Gates Starr, who founded what is known today as Hull House. It was one of the first settlement houses in the United States. It provided housing and education to new immigrants. Her endeavor came to be widely known as one of the most important pioneering efforts in social equality.

Mr. Hull left his entire estate to his cousin, Helen Culver, who rented Hull House to Jane Addams and Ellen Starr for $60 a month. Ms. Culver was skeptical at first of her settlement tenants. She soon realized the benefit of the work of Starr and Addams and bequeathed them the house. Even though Addams and Starr originally named their settlement Chicago Toynbee Hall, the name "Hull" House stuck. Culver eventually granted the whole block to the Hull-House Association and gave $50,000 for a boy's building.

Mr. Hull was a member of the board of trustees of the Old University of Chicago. On Dec. 12, 1895, the Trustees of the University of Chicago received a letter from Helen Culver,informing them of her donation of property valued at one million dollars. Included in this donation was the land on which Hull House stands. "It has long been my purpose to set aside a portion of my estate to be used in perpetuity for the benefit of humanity. Among the motives prompting the gift is the desire to carry out the ideas and to honor the memory of Mr. Charles J. Hull who was for a considerable time a member of the board of trustees of the old University of Chicago. I think it appropriate therefore to add the condition that, wherever it is suitable, the name of Mr. Hull shall be used in designation of the buildings erected and of endowments set apart in accordance with the terms of this gift."

References: Chicago Tribune. "Gives It A Million." Chicago Tribune 15 December 1895: 1, 4 Library of Congress: http://loc.gov/pictures/item/il0411/ John McAuley Palmer. The bench and the bar of Illinois : Historical and reminiscent Volume v.2. page 11, http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/john-m-john-mcauley-palmer/the-bench-and-the-bar-of-illinois--historical-and-reminiscent-volume-v2-mla/page-11-the-bench-and-the-bar-of-illinois--historical-and-reminiscent-volume-v2-mla.shtml www.findagrave.com graveyards.com/IL/Cook/rosehill/hull.html http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/ChiTribune/CT_1895_12_15.html http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/INCORP/Hull-House/hullinvestor.html www.prairieghosts.com/hull.html http://loc.gov/pictures/item/il0411/ http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Hull_House http://www.arch.uic.edu/urbanarch/mainpage.html