Fordyce, Samuel Wesley, 1840-1919

Capitalist.

Samuel Wesley Fordyce was a businessman who spearheaded efforts to build thousands of miles of railway in the South and Southwest during the late nineteenth century, including the Cotton Belt route that crossed Arkansas. He also was a major force behind the transformation of Hot Springs, Ark., from a small village to major health resort. His son, John Rison Fordyce (1869-1939), was an engineer, inventor, amateur historian, and archaeologist, and candidate for U.S. Congress. He was a member of Dr. Frederick A. Cook's expedition to the Arctic in 1894 and in 1917 was commissioned Major of Engineers and put in charge of the construction of Camp Pike.

...