Last updated: March 7, 2023
Person
Hiram Young
Quick Facts
Significance:
Hiram Young was a successful wagon-maker who supplied Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trail travelers.
Place of Birth:
Tennessee
Date of Birth:
1812
Date of Death:
1882
Place of Burial:
Independence, MO
Cemetery Name:
Woodlawn Cemetery
Hiram Young was a talented carpenter who became an incredibly successful wagon supplier at the confluence of the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails. Enslaved at birth, Young gained his freedom in 1847, and through the success of his business became one of the wealthiest men in Independence, Missouri.
Young opened his business in 1851 on North Liberty Street in Independence. The modest wagon shop eventually evolved into a large operation, with census records indicating that Young completed 6,000 yokes and 300 wagons in 1860. Young’s wagons were popular on the trails, built to haul around 6,000 pounds. To keep up with demand at the height of his business’s success, Young employed between 50-60 men.
In 1861, Young’s business was devastated as Civil War tensions along the Kansas-Missouri border forced Young and his family to flee from the area. Though he maintained his business in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the loss of business caused by the war was significant. He filed a lawsuit against the US government for war-related losses but passed away before it was resolved. After the war, his family returned to Independence where he started the first local school for African American children and was a founding member of Saint Paul’s African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.