William Hemphill

William Arnold Hemphill (May 5, 1842 – August 17, 1902) was an American businessman and politician.

Biography

Early years and education

Hemphill was born on May 5, 1842 in Athens, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society and earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1861.

Business ventures

At the beginning of the Civil War Hemphill joined the Confederate Army, rising to the rank of colonel. After the war, he moved to Atlanta in 1867, to teach. Within one year, Hemphill accepted an offer from his father-in-law, Carey Styles, to become the business manager and co-founder of a local newspaper, the Atlanta Constitution, which was first published on June 16, 1868. Styles quickly fell into financial difficulty, which commanded all his attention, when he was unable to sell his interests in a struggling Albany, Georgia newspaper. This left Hemphill in charge of the Atlanta publication. Hemphill's business acumen helped navigate the Atlanta Constitution through many subsequent changes in ownership, including an eventual majority interest buy-out by Evan Howell.

In 1883, Hemphill was one of a group of investors who incorporated the Fulton County Street Railroad (horse cars), which would later become famous for its Nine-Mile Circle route to what is now Virginia-Highland.

Political service

He began a political life as city councilman-at-large in 1887, the same year he began an unsuccessful banking career. The next few years he served as president of board of education and in 1889 added alderman duties.

While still in control of the Constitution in 1890 he defeated a Black mayoral candidate known now only as "McKinley" and took office the next year.

During his tenure the first building of what became Grady Memorial Hospital was built and a fresh-water pumping station was established on the Chattahoochee River replacing the need for various wells and cisterns (for fires). Part of the 55 acres (220,000 m²) purchased for the associated reservoir included a newly built street named in his honor – Hemphill Ave.

After leaving office, he saw mention of a Cotton Palace in Waco, Texas and suggested what became the Cotton States and International Exposition (1895).

Death and legacy

He is buried at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta.

References

History of the University of Georgia by Thomas Walter Reed, Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949, p.684