John Campbell Greenway

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John Campbell Greenway (July 6, 1872January 19, 1926) was an American mining, steel and railroad executive: a man of many trades in many states. He also had a distinguished career as a soldier, both cavalry and infantry.

Greenway was born in Huntsville, Alabama and attended Phillips Academy, Andover and then the University of Virginia although he graduated in 1895 from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. His early employment as a furnace helper for the Carnegie Steel Company was brief, as he joined Roosevelt's Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. After earning a Silver Star for his courageous service at the Battle of San Juan Hill, he was recommended for promotion to brevet captain by Colonel Roosevelt.

Beginning in 1899, Greenway held executive positions in a number of mine, steel, and railroad companies throughout Arizona. He invented the turbo log washer and built the town of Ajo. Greenway served for one year as a regent of the University of Arizona before the United States entered World War I. During the war, he was especially praised for his heroic conduct in battle and was cited for bravery at Cambrai. France awarded him the Croix de Guerre, the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de l'Etoile. He also received a Distinguished Service Cross.

In 1919 Greenway became a colonel of the infantry, and three years later he was promoted to brigadier general. Full of stamina, John Greenway continued to be active in business until his death in 1926 in New York City. In 1930 Arizona placed Greenway's statue in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection. Greenway's great great grandfather Dr. Ephraim McDowell's statue was placed in the National Statuary Hall in 1929 by Kentucky.

A major thoroughfare in Phoenix, Arizona, Greenway Road, and Greenway High School in Phoenix is named in his honor.

Biographical information: courtesy National Statuary Hall

Greenway & Ajo An article about John Campbell Greenway and Ajo appears at cunews.info, the website of the Ajo Copper News.