Asa Whitney

This article is about the New York City merchant. For the manufacturer of railroad wheels, railroad engineer and Erie Canal commissioner, see Asa Whitney (canal commissioner).
Asa Whitney
BornMarch 14, 1797
Groton, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedSeptember 7, 1872
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeRock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C., U.S.
OccupationBusinessman
Spouses
Herminie Antoinette Pillet
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(m. 1832; died 1833)​
Sarah Jay Munro
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(died 1840)​
Catherine (Moore) Campbell
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(m. 1840)​
RelativesWhitney family

Asa Whitney (1797–1872) was a highly successful dry-goods merchant and transcontinental railroad promoter.[1]

He was one of the first backers of an American transcontinental railway. A trip to China in 1842–44 impressed upon Whitney the need for a transcontinental railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific.[2][3]

When Whitney returned to the United States in 1844, he realized the benefits from such an undertaking, and spent a great deal of money trying to get the Congress to take up the project. In 1849, he published A Project for a Railroad to the Pacific. For years he continued to write revised memorials and take expeditions through what was then known as Indian Territory to support his cause.

Later Whitney's dream was realized through the efforts of Theodore Judah. In the end, Whitney lived to see his dream realized in 1869 with the opening of the Union Pacific.[4]

  1. ^ Herbert B. Nichols, Historic New Rochelle New Rochelle, New York: Board of Education, 1938.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Whitney was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Loomis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Seymour Dunbar, A History of Travel in America.