Michael James Heney

Michael James (MJ) Heney was a railroad contractor of international renown, best known for his work on the first two railroads built in Alaska, the White Pass and Yukon Route and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. The son of Irish immigrants, Heney rose to the top of his profession before his death. His life inspired several books and at least one movie.^[1]

Early life

Michael James Heney was born on October 24, 1864, near Stonecliffe, Renfrew County, Ontario. He was the son of Thomas Eugene Heney and Mary Ann McCourt, Irish immigrants. His family farmed in the upper Ottawa Valley.

At age 14, Heney ran away from home to work on the newly announced Canadian Pacific Railway. Though he was soon found and brought home by his older brother Patrick Heney, he stayed home only until 1882, when he left home to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway in Manitoba. He started as a mule skinner and gradually worked his way up through all the aspects of construction. In 1883 he was included in a survey crew, spending the next three years learning more about construction as the Canadian Pacific Railway worked its way through the mountains of British Columbia.

At 21, Heney was ready to set up as an independent contractor. He returned east to earn the engineering degree his father wanted him to have, but was too impatient and was soon back in the west. By 1887 he had moved his operations to Seattle, working on the final stages of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway. The career of the "boy contractor" was launched. Many construction projects in Washington, British Columbia and Alaska followed.

Building Railroads in Alaska

When the Klondike Gold Rush came, Heney was ready. He visited the Skagway area to survey potential routes to the interior. By chance, he met representatives of London financiers also looking to build through the White Pass inside of the St. James hotels bar. A deal was struck and Heney was hired, first as labor foreman and then as contractor. Built through mountainous wilderness, far from supplies, using labor that was returning from the gold fields, the 110 mile White Pass and Yukon Route was an outstanding achievement and gained Heney an international reputation.

Heney next turned his attention to the copper and coal deposits recently discovered on the Copper River (Alaska). He surveyed a route, bought land, named the city of Cordova, Alaska and started construction, while rival companies built on different lines. The dramatic conflicts between the various crews included gunfire and dynamited passes. The Guggenheims and J.P. Morgan owned the ore deposits. When the other route starting port proved impossible to land on, they bought out Heney's work for $250,000 and he retired for a second time.

After having many problems building the railway they appointed him contractor. The Copper River and Northwestern Railway was one of the most difficult construction projects ever undertaken. The line crossed in-between two glaciers, under primitive conditions, far from any supplies. The Million Dollar Bridge, which is between the two glaciers, was completed just hours before the spring ice would have destroyed it.

At the pinnacle of his career, Heney left Cordova to complete some business arrangements in Seattle. On his way back north, his ship hit an uncharted rock and sank. Heney went under deck to rescue his horses, but the last boat left without him when he returned on deck. So he swam to a boat and held on to the stern while it was rowed ashore as there was no room on it. Shortly afterwards he developed pulmonary tuberculosis and died within a year. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Seattle.

Widely popular, Heney was known as "Big Mike" or "The Irish Prince of Alaska". A glacier,^[2] mountain and range of mountains in Alaska over looking Cordova bears his name.^[3]

References

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Resources

• Whiting, Fenton B. (1933). Grit, Grief and Gold: a true narrative of an Alaska pathfinder, Seattle: Peacock Publishing Company. Reprinted in 1972 by Shorey Bookstore and 2009 by Barnett House.
• Minter, Roy (1988). The White Pass: Gateway to the Klondike, Anchorage: University of Alaska Press.
• Herron, Edward A. (1960 ). Alaska's Railroad Builder : Mike Heney, New York: Messner.
• Beach, Rex (1913) The Iron Trail: an Alaskan romance, New York: Harper Bros.
• Tower Elizabeth A. (2003). Big Mike Heney : Irish prince of the Iron Rails, Builder of the White Pass and Yukon and Copper River Northwestern Railroads, Anchorage, Alaska: Publication Consultants.
• Janson, Lone E (1975). The Copper Spike, Seattle: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company.
• Graves, S.H. (1908). On the White Pass Payroll, Chicago.