A. J. (Alfred James) Hill

Born in London in 1833, Alfred James Hill later settled in Minnesota, where he trained and worked as a civil engineer and surveyor. Historical sources connect him especially with St. Paul, and with some of the earliest documented archaeological work in the state.

Hill became interested in Minnesota's burial mounds soon after arriving in St. Paul. State archaeology history notes that he excavated a mound there in the 1860s and, disturbed by the destruction of mound sites, later supported the large-scale mapping work of Theodore H. Lewis across Minnesota and neighboring states. His field notes and surveys were important enough to be incorporated into The Aborigines of Minnesota after his death.

He also contributed to historical writing more broadly. Library records list his work on History of Company E of the Sixth Minnesota Regiment of Volunteer Infantry, as well as contributions connected with The Mississippi River and its Source and publications of the Minnesota Historical Society. A suitable confirmed portrait image was not available from the sources reviewed.