1888 illustration

Benjamin Rathbun (December 1, 1790 – July 20, 1873) was an American entrepreneur from Buffalo, New York. He was born in the area of Westford, Connecticut.[1] His family had settled in New York from Connecticut.[2] Before entering real estate, his Eagle Tavern served those who were traveling between Buffalo and Albany. In the 19th century, he built out the city's central business district and many other areas of the city, totaling hundreds of buildings.[2] These included a fourteen-floor warehouse, dozens of low-rise buildings, a hotel, and nearly three dozen private dwellings.[2] His investors were looking to capitalize on the explosive growth of Buffalo after the Erie Canal was finished.[3] Rathbun drew inspiration from Alexander Hamilton and implemented vertical integration into his business model.[2] He began to operate a quarry, brickyards, and machine shops. He would also hire his own architects, shipping personnel, and other tradesmen to help see his projects to completion.[2] By 1836, Rathbun's projects under construction had a collective value of $5.5 million ($147 million in 2022[4]).[2] His reputation led to him opening his own bank, with banknotes displaying his signature as "B. Rathbun".[2] Rathbun's plans for more projects, including a Buffalo Exchange building, were halted prior to the Panic of 1837—he was later jailed for forged endorsements in 1836.[5][6] This crisis led to mass unemployment in the lodging, education and banking sectors, which relied on his company's fortunes to succeed.[7] Rathbun died on July 20, 1873.[8]

The Title Guarantee Building/former First Unitarian Church, the only remaining Rathbun building, as seen in 2019

The vast majority of Rathbun's buildings have been destroyed or demolished in the years since his period of activity.[9] The sole exception is the Title Guarantee Building at the corner of Franklin and West Eagle Streets, which he built in 1833 as home of the First Unitarian Church, but was heavily altered by architect Franklin W. Caulkins upon its conversion to offices in the 1880s.[10]

References

  1. ^ Falkowski, Rick (2019). Profiles Volume I: Historic and Influential People from Buffalo and WNY - the 1800s. Buffalo and Erie County Public Library: Rick Falkowski. pp. 190–194. ISBN 9780578569239. OCLC 1125007865.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Goldman, Mark (1983). "Ups and Downs During the Early Years of the Nineteenth Century". High hopes : the rise and decline of Buffalo, New York. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 21–55. ISBN 9780873957342. OCLC 9110713.
  3. ^ Rundell, Edwin F.; Stein, Charles W. (1962). "Buffalo Becomes a Great City". Buffalo: your city (4th ed.). Buffalo and Erie County Public Library: Henry Stewart, Incorporated. pp. 97–125. OCLC 3023258.
  4. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  5. ^ Balleisen, Edward J. (2017). "Channels of Exposure". Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff. Princeton University Press. pp. 75–104. ISBN 9781400883295. OCLC 1032354818. Retrieved June 9, 2021 – via Project MUSE.
  6. ^ Rezneck, Samuel (July 1935). "The Social History of an American Depression, 1837-1843". The American Historical Review. 40 (4): 664. doi:10.2307/1842418. JSTOR 1842418.
  7. ^ Whitman, Roger (1996). The rise and fall of a frontier entrepreneur : Benjamin Rathbun, "Master Builder and Architect" (1st ed.). Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press and Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. ISBN 9780815603375. OCLC 33405872.
  8. ^ "Death of Benj'n Rathbun". The Buffalo Commercial. July 22, 1873. p. 3. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Brown, Richard C.; Watson, Bob (1981). Buffalo, Lake City in Niagara Land: An Illustrated History. Los Angeles: Windsor Publications. ISBN 9780897810364.
  10. ^ LaChiusa, Chuck. "First Unitarian Church / Title Guarantee Building". Buffalo as an Architectural Museum. Retrieved June 10, 2021.

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