James Lewis Caldwell
( 1846 - 1923 )

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James Lewis Caldwell ( 1846 - 1923 ) was one of the first to see the possibilities of the rich coalfields of southern West Virginia and built the Guyandotte Valley Railway to tap that natural wealth. He was born in Elizabeth in Wirt County, fought in the Union Army and after the war traveled the state selling insurance. When Collis P. Huntington founded his new town, Caldwell moved to Huntington and quickly took advantage of the opportunities it presented, investing in a number of business ventures, including the city's first streetcar line. in 1884, he and his partners organized the First National Bank of Huntington with Caldwell as president, a post he held until his death nearly 40 years later. In 1914, the bank built a 12 story building at Fourth Avenue and 10th Street, known today as the St. James Building, that is still a downtown landmark.

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