Dandridge Hill

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In 1888, Dandridge Hill, a former C&O porter,
 started Huntington’s first cab business. The
 buildings seen behind him in this photo
 are the old Adelphia Hotel, at left, and
 the city’s Carnegie Library, which
 opened in 1903.

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File photo | The Herald-Dispatch

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Dandridge Hill came from White Sulphur Springs to
 Huntington in the late 1870s, taking a job as a porter
 for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. Before
 long, he quit the C&O and partnered with a
 fellow Black migrant, the Rev. Nelson
 Barnett, father of future physician
 Dr. C.C. Barnett, in operating a
 grocery store and restaurant
 at 9th Street and
 7th Avenue.         

That venture apparently didn’t last long, for, in
 the early 1880s, Hill started the city’s first
 cab business. Working out of the Seventh
 Avenue Hotel, he was kept busy hauling
 passengers around in his horse-drawn
wagon. He became well known around
 town, with people often referring
 to him as “Old Dan.”

When it came to politics, Hill was a loyal
 Republican but one who often found
 himself out of step with the
 GOP’s local leaders.

With some frequency, he would announce he was
 going to publicly call them to account. Clad in
 a fancy Prince Albert coat and wearing a top
 hat, he would arrive at the appointed time
 and place but his friends were always
 able to dissuade him from speaking.

However, as related by local historian George S. Wallace
 in his “Cabell County Annals and Families,” one night
 they were unable to keep him quiet. As he mounted
 his wagon to speak, someone gave it a shove,
 a wheel fell off and Hill tumbled to the
 ground. He didn’t speak that night
 and the GOP politicos were
 spared any lecture
 from him.

Following a brief illness, Hill died from a combination
 of diseases on July 2, 1925. He was believed to be
 nearly 80 years old. His funeral was held at the
 McClain Funeral Home, and he was
 buried at Spring Hill Cemetery.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Sept. 17, 2024.

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