Benjamin M. Hartshorne facts for kids

Benjamin Minturn Hartshorne (1826–1900) was a smart businessman from California. He came to California during the exciting California Gold Rush. He was very involved with steamboats on the Sacramento River and Colorado River. He also helped manage ships that traveled the seas.

Benjamin Hartshorne's Business Adventures

Benjamin Hartshorne was born on May 7, 1826, in Highlands, New Jersey. He moved to California in 1849, right when the Gold Rush was happening. He quickly got involved in a ferry business. This ferry helped people cross the Colorado River at a place called the Yuma Crossing. He worked with George Alonzo Johnson and other partners from San Francisco.

Supplying Fort Yuma by River

Benjamin and George saw a great chance to bring supplies to Fort Yuma. This fort was in a very isolated spot. So, in 1852, they sold their share of the Yuma ferry business. They went back to San Francisco.

They tried to carry supplies up the Colorado River using barges pushed by poles. But this plan did not work well. The river had a very strong current and many sandbars.

The Uncle Sam Steamboat

In 1853, a steam tugboat named the Uncle Sam successfully traveled up the river. It had a 20 horsepower engine. After this success, George A. Johnson started a company called George A. Johnson & Company. Benjamin Hartshorne became a shipping agent for the company in San Francisco. They also brought in Captain Alfred H. Wilcox. He was an experienced sea captain who knew a lot about the tricky Colorado River Delta.

The company brought a steamboat called General Jesup to the Colorado River Delta. They took it apart, shipped it, and then put it back together. This steamboat had a more powerful 70 horsepower engine.

Shipping Success on the Colorado

With the General Jesup, Johnson began successfully shipping cargo and carrying passengers. They traveled from the river's estuary (where it meets the sea) all the way up to Fort Yuma. This steamboat could carry 50 tons of cargo to the fort in just 5 days!

This new way of shipping made things much cheaper. It cost only $75 a ton to supply the fort by steamboat. Before, it cost $500 a ton to ship cargo over land across the desert from San Diego. Each trip on the Colorado River made the company about $4,000.

Growing Wealth and New Companies

George A. Johnson & Company was the only steamboat company on the Colorado River. When gold was discovered along the Colorado River in 1858, Johnson and his partners became very wealthy.

Benjamin Hartshorne was the president of the company's operations in San Francisco. He used his new wealth to invest in another big shipping company, the California Steam Navigation Company. By 1863, he became its vice-president. Then, in 1865, he became its president.

In 1869, George A. Johnson & Company joined with other partners. They formed a new company called the Colorado Steam Navigation Company. Benjamin Hartshorne was also the president of this new company.

Later Life and Legacy

Later, railroad companies bought out both of Benjamin Hartshorne's shipping companies. In 1878, he returned to his family's home in Monmouth County, New Jersey. He passed away there in 1900.