The Business of George Mortimer Pullman
The Business of George Mortimer Pullman
George Mortimer Pullman was born in Brocton, New York in the year 1831. He was raised in New York, and was taught in the art of cabinetmaking in Albion. For seven years, he worked with his brother making cabinets. (Colliers Encyclopedia, 511) After those seven years, he became bored with cabinetmaking, and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1855. There he gained notice as a contractor, and became quite popular. One of his more popular accomplishments was the raising of the Tremont Hotel. He did not gain much more recognition in the contractor business.
After riding in a train once, he noticed the discomfort of the sleeping cars on the train. He found a new project for himself, and in 1864, converted two coach cars into a “sleeper” with comfortable berths to sleep on. The way his car worked, he invented a system of facing pairs of seats, with an overhead rack that held a curtain, so the seats were to be used as a curtained compartment. This was the first comfortable sleeping car, and began a new career for him. Along with the sleeping car, Pullman invented the Railway Dining car in 1868, and to help the use of his cars, he invented the car vestibule, to connect his railway cars. (New Standard Encyclopedia, 643)
He began the Pullman Palace Car Company, which produced his new sleeping cars, along with his other different cars. This company had made Pullman a rich man and famous man. His cars transported people all across the country, all carrying his name on the side. He had set up several different factories to make his cars in different locations in the US, other than in Chicago where it began. In Chicago, Pullman had a revelation, and thought up a city after his own name, Pullman, Illinois. (“The Forgotten Four Hundred”, 38. This became a model city for his workers in the factory. In his town, he possessed new aged housing, new types of factories, nice library’s for it’s inhabitants, an enclosed shopping area, and even recreational facilities. His town was a model of modern efficiency. His workers rented housing from him, and these houses boasted conveniences like running water, gas heat, and electricity. These types of traits...