Samuel Billingsley Hill (April 2, 1875 – March 16, 1958), was a lawyer, mayor, and

U.S. congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Born in

Franklin, Arkansas Franklin is a town in Izard County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 198 at the 2010 census. Geography Franklin is located in northeastern Izard County at (36.175324, -91.766494). According to the United States Census Bureau, the tow ...

, Hill attended the common schools, the

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, and was graduated from its law department in 1898. While at the University of Arkansas, he was a member of Xi Chapter of the

Kappa Sigma Fraternity Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraterniti ...

. Hill was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year and commenced practice in

Danville, Arkansas Danville is a city in Yell County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,409 at the 2010 census. Along with Dardanelle, it is one of two county seats for Yell County. Danville is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. While living in Danville, the young Hill served as Mayor and was also Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of

Yell County, Arkansas Yell County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,263. The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville. Yell County is Arkansas's 42nd county, formed on December 5, 1840, from porti ...

. It was in Danville where Hill also began his pursuit of development of rural areas. In 1899, Hill, J.E. Wooten, and John McCarthy established the Danville Turnpike Company. He moved west to Waterville in eastern Washington in 1904 and continued the practice of law. Hill served as prosecuting attorney of Douglas County 1907–1911, and served as judge of the superior court for Douglas and

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

Counties 1917–1924. Hill was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Sixty-eighth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of J. Stanley Webster. During his time in the House of Representatives, Hill advocated for the funding of the

Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerh ...

. He was called the "Political Father of the Grand Coulee Project" by the '' Wenatchee Dispatch''.Wenatchee Dispatch, August 4, 1934. He was reelected to the Sixty-ninth and to the five succeeding Congresses and served from September 25, 1923, until his resignation, effective June 25, 1936, having been confirmed as a member of the United States Board of Tax Appeals (now the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Trib ...

) on May 21, 1936, serving as a judge on the court until his retirement November 30, 1953. He died in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, March 16, 1958. He was interred in

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stree ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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* 1875 births 1958 deaths Arkansas state court judges Judges of the United States Tax Court United States Article I federal judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) University of Arkansas School of Law alumni Members of the United States Board of Tax Appeals People from Waterville, Washington People from Izard County, Arkansas Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery {{Washington-politician-stub