Empire Builder - Season 1

He was known as "The Empire Builder" and "The Devil's Curse." Streets, towns, and counties were named in his honor along with a persistent and invasive weed. He was mythologized in novels and was the target of union battle cries. In households across America, James J. Hill was as well-known as any industrial leader of his day-yet today he is largely unknown.

When the railroad ushered in one of the most transformative eras in American history, James J. Hill emerged as its unrivaled leader. Building a transportation empire that stretched across North America and to the Orient, he was a catalyst for the agriculture, timber, and mining industries of the West and settled tens of thousands of immigrants along his lines.

As the pendulum swung from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, Hill was a lightning rod for the most impactful issues of the day: immigration, government regulations, market manipulation, trust-busting, Native American displacement, and environmental stewardship, as well as redefining our nation's role on the global stage.

James J. Hill is simply one of the most fascinating individuals in American history you may have never heard of.