Robert Habersham Coleman (March 27, 1856 – March 15, 1930) was an iron industrialist, railroad president, and owner of extensive farmland in Pennsylvania. He was nationally known as the "Iron King of Pennsylvania." In 1879, he was worth about $7 million (equivalent to $ in today's money). By 1889, he had turned that into $30 million (equivalent to $ in today's money). At the time, he had more money than his contemporaries A. J. Drexel, Marshall Field, J. P. Morgan or Frederick William Vanderbilt.
He was "rich, progressive, generous, honest—he was utterly crushed by the financial panic of 1893."
Early life Coleman was born in Savanah, Georgia, the son of Susan Ellen Habersham (1835–1892) and William Coleman (1826–1864). His paternal great-grandfather, Robert Coleman, established an ironmaking dynasty in Cornwall, Pennsylvania in last quarter of the 1700s.
When his father died in 1864, nine-year-old Coleman and his seven-year-old sister Anne jointly inherited 1/3 of the Cornwall Ore Mines in Pennsylvania, as well as $1.2 million each in a trust (equivalent to $ in today's money). The Cornwall Ore Mines was"the world's richest iron mine." His r wealth grew during the Civil War because of the need for munitions.Habecker, Jan Margut (1987). "A Dynasty Tumbles". Pennsylvania Heritage (Winter). Samuel Small, Coleman's guardian, protected the estate through economic crises by investing in farmland and herds of prize livestock. Small also expanded the inherited ironmaking business, purchasing Donaghmore Furnace in Lebanon and constructing the Burd Coleman Furnaces in North Cornwall, Pennsylvania.
Ellen Coleman purchased a residence on Madison Avenue in New York City. The family also spent time in her hometown of Savannah and traveled to England, France, and Germany in the summers. Coleman was educated by his mother. When he was fifteen, he enrolled in the Rectory, a school in Hamden, Connecticut.
Three years later, he attended Trinity College where he became interested in all things mechanical, especially trains. He became class president, president of the chess club, and a member and president of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (aka St. Anthony Hall).Catalogue of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi. New York: Fraternity of Delta Psi, 1889 via Google BooksBitner, Jack (2011). Mt. Gretna: a Coleman Legacy. Author House. p. 9-10. – via Google Books. He also played first base and was manager of Trinity's baseball team. He was elected by his classmates to give the oratory at the exercises of February 22, 1877. He graduated from Trinity in 1877, next to last in his class academically—but he was selected as most popular. His popularity was probably influenced by "his generous parties, dances, sports, and musical pursuits."
When he turned 21 in 1877, Coleman received access to his trust fund. He also gained full ownership and control of the mines, iron furnaces, and land—his total inheritance was worth an estimate $7 million (equivalent to $ in today's money).
Career Iron business
In 1879 at the age of 22, Coleman became president of the Cornwall Ore Bank Company and quickly proved to be "a man of brains and enterprise." He was the fourth-generation in his family to manage the Cornwall Iron Furnace, in Cornwall, Pennsylvania.
Coleman was influenced by the new manager of the Cornwall Ironworks, Artemus Wilhelm, who was a risk-taker. In 1879, he acquired land in western Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and began constructing two modern anthracite furnaces, Colebrook I and Colebrook II, at Sixteenth and Cumberland Streets.Bitner, Jack (2011). Mt. Gretna: a Coleman Legacy. Author House. p. 11-12. – via Google Books. He also worked to create the Lebanon Iron Company which utilized the raw material created in his furnaces. In 1883, he closed the old family Cornwall Furnace that was obsolete. He also bought all of his sister's shares in the family business. No longer needing a mentor, he terminated Wilhelm's services in 1885.
In 1889, work stopped at Colebrook Furnace I for several months after six men were killed there. Coleman took care of the widows and children. By December 1889, all six of his furnaces were back in operation.
Railroads
Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad In 1881, Coleman attempted to purchase a controlling interest in the Cornwall Railroad (CRR) which was owned by his uncle-by-marriage, William Coleman Freeman. The CRR was an industrial line that served the Coleman mines and furnaces. Freeman turned Coleman down—twice. Freeman had also turned down the Pennsylvania Railroad's offer the year before, but Coleman must have taken Freeman's refusal hard as this was "the inciting incident in what has long been reported as a personal and business rivalry between the two cousins."
In 1882, Coleman built the Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad (C&L) at his own expense. He also founded the Colebrook Railroad, merging it with the C&L in 1886. To build the C&L, Coleman had to cross the CRR, which ended up in litigation and a lot of expenses, including building a large fill and iron bridge over the Cornwall. At one point, Freeman brought in 250 men to tear up of a newly constructed C&L branch, dumping its materials over a steep embankment. Coleman eventually won the court cases and his railroad was more profitable than his cousin's because it served both industries and passengers and connected to the Pennsylvania Railroad at Conewago Junction near Cornwall. In 1880, Pennsylvania was the largest railroad in the world.
The rivalry between the two cousins continued. One historian notes, "Often the passenger trains of the Cornwall Railroad and the Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad would race each other from Cornwall to Lebanon. One train would sometimes delay its schedule to wait for the other—and then the race was on! This must have been a great thrill for the more hardy passengers. I have been told that Mr. Robert Coleman himself took over the engineer's job on a few occasions to race."
Coleman maintained his trains with "fierce pride, making sure that metal remained polished and the interiors spotless." In 1885, he hired architects G. W. & W. D. Hewitt to design a Queen Ann style railroad station in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Coleman's seventeen-mile long railroad started in Lebanon and went to Cornwall and Elizabethtown. Along the way, it passed through a scenic wooded area in the mountains along Conewago Creek. There in 1882, Coleman created Mount Gretna, a pleasure stop on the railroad.
Mount Gretna Railroad Initially, Mount Gretna offered visitors a picnic grove with wildflowers and natural springs. Although Mount Gretna gave people another reason to ride his railroad, Coleman was still competitive with Freeman who had previously created a pleasure resort, Penryn Park. In a few years, Coleman added a hotel, pavilions, a playground, an amusement park with a carousel, a store, a dance hall, and a skating rink to Mount Gretna. In 1885, Coleman dammed Conewago Creek, creating Lake Conewago for swimming and boating.
One of Mount Gretna's main attractions was a narrow gauge railway to the top of Governor Dick Mountain, built by Coleman in twelve weeks in the spring of 1889. This train was unique for several reasons—its rail was only wide and it was the only track in the country to run 4-4-0 type locomotives. Coleman ordered three of these scaled-down locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. As one historian noted, "[Coleman] wanted a choo-choo, and he had the money to buy one." The Governor Dick narrow gauge was "Coleman's greatest pride" and an immediate success; it attracted 36,000 visitors in its first season. That summer, Coleman entertained a large group of Trinity College alumni at Mount Gretna.
The Governor Dick train only operated in the warmer months because its cars were open-air. It ran for some , traveling along the lake, passing over Conewago Creek, and climbing Governor Dick to a loop. Coleman built a pavilion and a tall observatory at the summit. There were six train excursions daily, leaving from Lebanon. The trip cost a quarter (equivalent to $ in today's money). An ad noted that the train "throws open for view the magnificent scenery of the South Mountain, and this novel attraction is supplemented by the erection of an Observatory on the mountain's highest peak, Gov. Dick from which a sight may be obtained than which there are few grander, the view taking in an area of forty miles square, and presenting a landscape of unparalleled beauty."
In 1890, Coleman added a branch to the narrow gauge railroad, running to the rifle range that he built for the annual Pennsylvania National Guard encampment at Mount Gretna. This branch operated until 1916.
Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railroad In 1883, Coleman invested in a Florida company that manufactured railroad parts, purchasing $356,000 (or $ in today's money)of capital stock. Then, he partnered with several New York backers to expand his railroad interests into Florida. He purchased a stretch of the Jacksonville to Palatka Railroad and a railroad company in anticipation of building the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railway. However, it construction plans were so challenging that his backers withdrew, leaving Coleman to fund the railroad on its own.
Coleman was so convinced of the value of this railroad, that he went forward by mortgaging virtually all of his assets, including the ore mines, furnaces, and bank holdings. To cover the interest on his debts, he borrowed $500,000 (equivalent to $ in today's money) from the Pennsylvania Trust Company on January 21, 1891; this was followed by a forced loan of $1.5 million (equivalent to $ in today's money) on February 21, 1891. He also took out a mortgage for $62,500 (or $ in today's money) on June 30, 1892, to cover the interest that was due and past-due.
Other businesses Coleman tackled his family's farms in Lancaster County, Lebanon County, and York County, Pennsylvania which consisted of . He modernized production and marketing, increasing profits. He founded a rolling mill. He also acquired a majority interest in the Lebanon Dimes Savings Bank and built a new building at 8th and Cumberland Streets in Lebanon.
Collapse Around 1891, the Coleman family lost a lawsuit against the Grubb family—descendants of the original builder of Cornwall Furnace who still owned one-sixth of the ironworks and mines—who had been taking increasingly more ore without compensating the Colemans. Later in 1891, Coleman lost $1.5 million (equivalent to $ in today's money) to the Pennsylvania Trust Company in court, indicating that his short-term loans related to the railroad in Florida were then past due.
When the financial Panic of 1893 started in November 1892 and the stock market virtually collapsed, Coleman was without the cash needed to repay his various mortgages for the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railway. When foreclosure proceedings started, he had no choice but to let the railroad go as his liabilities totaled $3.5 million (equivalent to $ in today's money) . However, its sale took place during the height of the economic depression, and the company was rendered valueless. Ironically, Coleman's vision for the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railway was sound; within five years, it was profitable and would have made him millions. However, being over-leveraged, he was instead made penniless. Coleman also lost the Cornwall & Lebanon Railroad during the crisis; about 1/3 of the nation's railroads went into bankruptcy during this time.