The Lumber Merchant

Leather writing case and fountain pen of Samuel Minot Jones

Following his recovery from the injuries he had sustained in the Civil War, Jones returned to Chicago to partner with Charles Barton in the lumber business. Over 22 years, Barton & Jones thrived. Jones’s presence of mind to hire two fire engines from outside the city saved his lumberyard in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. He retired from business in 1886 with a substantial fortune.