Benjamin Harper (February 12, 1817 – April 3, 1887) was an American businessman and politician.
Life and career Harper was born February 12, 1817, in Philadelphia. He was the son of the mariner Peter HarperPeter Harper (1767–1868) was an American mariner, veteran of the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. “Death of a Centenarian”, Van Wert Weekly Bulletin, Oct. 16, 1868. and lived in Ohio and Missouri before he settling in Illinois in 1850.
From 1854 until 1855, Harper was Mayor of Rock Island, Illinois. He was a Republican. A wealthy hotel owner, he was the builder of the Harper House (1871), Rock Island Preservation Society, published on April 14, 2002. and Harper′s Theatre (1878). The Harper House “has been described in superlatives, such as the ‘finest hotel between Chicago and the Pacific coast’” (George W. Wickstrom). The hotel occupied the site of the former Rodman House that burned down on October 22, 1869.The hotel was named after Lt. Col. Thomas Rodman at the Rock Island Arsenal. “Destruction of the Rodman House, Rock Island”, New York Times, October 23, 1869. It is not to be confused with his private home also known as “Harper House”.Harper House (Ben Harper), 2810 5th Avenue. The “earliest Greek Revival house in Rock Island and perhaps the oldest documented residence in the city limits.”
Besides real estate, Harper was involved in the Coal Valley mines, Rock Island Gas Works and the Rock Island & Moline Railway Company. Ben Harper died April 3, 1887, in the city of Rock Island. He is buried at Chippiannock Cemetery.
One of his sons, Ben Harper Jr. (1861–1884), was a prominent building contractor in Illinois.Commemorative Biographical Record of the Upper Lake Region. Chicago: Beers, 1905. In 1907, another son, Stuart Harper (1872–1910), build a prairie style mansion with stucco covered walls at a cost of $35,000. This building is part of “Rock Island's 100 Most Significant Unprotected Structures.”Harper House (Stuart & Grace Harper), 1600 20th Street.
Sources George W. Wickstrom: The Town Crier. Rock Island, IL: J. W. Potter, 1948. (p. 84-87) Historic Rock Island County. Rock Island, IL: Kramer & Co., 1908. (p. 85-87)
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