 Retiring from his business ventures in 1865, Hurlbut took a three-year tour of Europe and returned to Ohio in 1868.He came back out of retirement in 1871, and became the president of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway in the same year.Hurlbut is considered a founder of the Cleveland Museum of Art, along with John Huntington, Horace Kelley, and Jeptha Wade II.