Hartwell Carver

Dr. Hartwell Carver (1789 – April 16, 1875) was an American doctor, businessman, and an early promoter of what would become the Transcontinental Railroad.

Hartwell Carver
54-foot monument to Carver in Mount Hope Cemetery. Paid for by Union Pacific Railroad.
Born	1789 (1789)
Died	April 16, 1875(1875-04-16) (aged 85–86)
Resting place	Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York
Occupation(s)	Doctor, businessman
Known for	Advocate for Pacific Railroad

Carver's push for a railroad to connect both coasts of the United States began in 1832 with a proposal that was dismissed by Congress. Over the next several years, Carver wrote a series of articles in the New York Courier and Enquirer about the subject.[1] He participated in the hammering of the Golden Spike that officially joined the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869 at Promontory, Utah.[2]

His historic home in Pittsford sold in 2018 for $1,179,000.[3]

Carver was interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York under a 50-foot (15.24 m) monument erected by the Union Pacific Railroad. The monument is the second tallest in the cemetery.[4] The inscription reads:

"Dr. Carver was the father of the Pacific Railroad; with him originated the thought of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by railroad."[5]

Carver was erroneously described on the monument at his grave, as well as by local histories, as the great-grandson of John Carver, who came over on the Mayflower and was the first governor of Plymouth Colony,[6] while this purported ancestor actually had no descendants.[7]