caption resting_place death_date death_place birth_place nationality article_title birth_date known_for image employer name
collis shaw p. huntington , c. 1872 by stephen w. woodlawn cemetery , bronx , new york 13 august 1900 long lake , new york , u.s. harwinton , connecticut , u.s. american collis potter huntington
 22 october 1821 first transcontinental railroad collis_p_huntington_by_stephen_w_shaw . jpg central railway pacific railroad southern pacific railroad chesapeake & ohio collis potter huntington
collis potter huntington

collis potter huntington -lrb- october 22 , 1821 -- august 13 , 1900 -rrb- was one of the big four of western railroading -lrb- along with leland stanford , mark hopkins , and charles crocker -rrb- who built the central pacific railroad as part of the first u.s. transcontinental railroad .
huntington then helped lead and develop other major interstate lines such as the southern pacific railroad and the chesapeake & ohio railway -lrb- c&o -rrb- , which he was recruited to help complete .
the c&o , completed in 1873 , fulfilled a long-held dream of virginians of a rail link from the james river at richmond to the ohio river valley .
the new railroad facilities adjacent to the river there resulted in expansion of the former small town of guyandotte , west virginia into part of a new city which was named huntington in his honor .
next , turning attention to the eastern end of the line at richmond , he was responsible for the c&o 's peninsula extension in 1881 -- 82 which opened a pathway for west virginia bituminous coal to reach new coal piers on the harbor of hampton roads for export shipping .
he also is credited with the development of newport news shipbuilding and drydock company , as well as the incorporation of newport news , virginia as a new independent city .
after his death , both his nephew henry e. huntington and his stepson archer m. huntington continued his work at newport news , and all three are considered founding fathers in the community , with local features named in honor of each .
much of the railroad and industrial development collis p. huntington envisioned and led are still important activities in the early 21st century .
the southern pacific is now part of the union pacific railroad , and the c&o became part of csx transportation , each major u.s. railroad systems .
west virginia coal still rides the rails to be loaded aboard colliers at hampton roads , where nearby , huntington ingalls industries operates the massive shipyard .
