Ben Holladay

Benjamin Holladay (October 14, 1819 July 8, 1887) was an American transportation businessman responsible for creating the Overland Stage to California during the height of the 1849 California Gold Rush. He created a stagecoach empire and is known in history as the "Stagecoach King".

Ben Holladay
Born
Benjamin Holladay

(1819-10-14)October 14, 1819
Nicholas County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJuly 8, 1887(1887-07-08) (aged 67)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
OccupationEntrepreneur
Spouses
Notley Ann Calvert
(m. 1839; died 1873)
    Lydia Esther Campbell
    (m. 1849)

    A native of Kentucky, he also was hired as a private courier to General Alexander Doniphan of Missouri. Doniphan refused point-blank to carry out orders to kill the Mormons during the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. Through Holladay's friendship with Brigham Young, Holladay established a profitable freighting contract to Salt Lake City. His transportation empire later included steamships and railroads in Oregon.

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