Benjamin F. Yoakum

Benjamin Franklin Yoakum
B. F. Yoakum, circa 1900
Born	(1859-08-20)August 20, 1859 Tehuacana, Texas
Died	November 28, 1929(1929-11-28) (aged 70) New York, New York
Nationality	American
Occupation	Railroad executive
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Bennett
Children	2

Benjamin Franklin Yoakum (August 20, 1859 – November 28, 1929) was a visionary railroad executive of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who attempted to join the Frisco and Rock Island Railroads into a great system stretching from Chicago to Mexico. In 1909, when Yoakum controlled 17,500 miles of railroad, Railway World magazine called him an "empire builder" who had done as much for the Southwest as legendary James J. Hill had done for the Northwest.

Yoakum was born near Tehuacana, Texas, on August 20, 1859 to Narcissa Teague and Franklin L. Yoakum.

In 1879 at age twenty, he worked on the surveying gang for the International-Great Northern Railroad to Palestine, Texas. He later became a land speculator for Jay Gould. He drilled artesian wells in the Rio Grande Valley. In 1887, the town of Yoakum, Texas was named for him.

From before 1888 to 1892, Yoakum worked for the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway as general manager and traffic manager. From 1893 to 1896, he was general manager and third vice president for the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad. In 1896, he became vice president and general manager of the Frisco Railroad. He became president in 1900, and chairman of the board in 1904.