Businessman, Philanthropist. The son of Civil War General, diplomat and newspaper publisher James Watson Webb, he received his medical degree from Columbia University in 1875. After his marriage to heiress Eliza (Lila) Vanderbilt he became active in the railroad business. In 1883 he took over management of the Wagner Palace Car Company, which later merged with the Pullman Company. Webb also became President of the Adirondack and St. Lawrence Railroad, the Mohawk and Malone Railway and other ventures. His railroads were instrumental in opening the Adirondack region to tourism, and he maintained a 200,000 acre estate called NeHaSane, which he donated to the State of New York to become part of the Adirondack State Park. He became a resident of Vermont in the 1890s, purchasing over thirty properties along Lake Champlain in the town of Shelburne and combining them into one holding, which he operated as a model farm. Shelburne Farms, now a museum, is also a National Historic Landmark. Webb served as Inspector General of the Vermont militia with the rank of Colonel, was a Trustee of the University of Vermont, became prominent in the Vermont Historical Society, and represented Shelburne in the Vermont House before an unsuccessful attempt to obtain the Republican nomination for Governor in 1902. Webb was a founder of the Sons of the American Revolution and served as its President. The town of Webb, New York in Herkimer County was named for him.
Businessman, Philanthropist. The son of Civil War General, diplomat and newspaper publisher James Watson Webb, he received his medical degree from Columbia University in 1875. After his marriage to heiress Eliza (Lila) Vanderbilt he became active in the railroad business. In 1883 he took over management of the Wagner Palace Car Company, which later merged with the Pullman Company. Webb also became President of the Adirondack and St. Lawrence Railroad, the Mohawk and Malone Railway and other ventures. His railroads were instrumental in opening the Adirondack region to tourism, and he maintained a 200,000 acre estate called NeHaSane, which he donated to the State of New York to become part of the Adirondack State Park. He became a resident of Vermont in the 1890s, purchasing over thirty properties along Lake Champlain in the town of Shelburne and combining them into one holding, which he operated as a model farm. Shelburne Farms, now a museum, is also a National Historic Landmark. Webb served as Inspector General of the Vermont militia with the rank of Colonel, was a Trustee of the University of Vermont, became prominent in the Vermont Historical Society, and represented Shelburne in the Vermont House before an unsuccessful attempt to obtain the Republican nomination for Governor in 1902. Webb was a founder of the Sons of the American Revolution and served as its President. The town of Webb, New York in Herkimer County was named for him.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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