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Asa Packer

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Asa Packer
19th century portrait of Asa Parker
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
In office
1842–1843
Associate Judge of Carbon County
In office
1843–1844
4th President of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
In office
1862–1864
Preceded byJ. Gillingham Fell
Succeeded byWilliam M. Longstreth
6th President of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
In office
1868–1879
Preceded byWilliam M. Longstreth
Succeeded byCharles Hartshorne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 13th district
In office
March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1857
Preceded byJames Gamble
Succeeded byWilliam H. Dimmick
Personal details
Born(1805-12-29)December 29, 1805
Mystic, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedMay 17, 1879(1879-05-17) (aged 73)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseSarah Minerva Blakslee
OccupationBusinessman, railroad executive, politician
Signature

Asa Packer (December 29, 1805 – May 17, 1879) was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active in Pennsylvania politics, and founded Lehigh University. He was a conservative and religious man who reflected the image of the typical Connecticut Yankee. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives (1853–1857).

Early life

Packer was born in Mystic, Connecticut in 1805. He moved to Pennsylvania where he became a carpenter's apprentice to his cousin Edward Packer at Brooklyn Township, Pennsylvania, which is located on the Pennsylvania-New York border. He also worked seasonally as a carpenter in New York City and later in Springville Township, to the south of Brooklyn Township, and he met his wife Sarah Minerva Blakslee there. Yates writes of his early life: "Asa and Sarah settled on a farm, and in the winter he went to Tunkhannock on the Susquehanna and used his skill in carpentry to build and repair canal boats." This continued for 11 years.[1] In 1833, Packer settled at Mauch Chunk in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where he became the owner of a canal boat carrying coal to Philadelphia. He then established the firm of A. & R. W. Packer which built canal-boats and locks for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company.[2]

Business activities

Packer urged the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company to adopt a steam railway as a coal carrier, but the project was not then considered feasible.[3] In 1851, he became the major stockholder of the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill & Susquehanna Railroad Company, which became the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company in January 1853, and they built a railway line from Mauch Chunk to Easton between November 1852 and September 1855.[4] Construction commenced on the Mauch Chunk-Easton line just as Packer's five year charter was to expire.[3] He built railways connecting the main line with coal mines in Luzerne and Schuylkill counties, and he planned and built the extension of the line into the Susquehanna Valley and thence into New York state to connect at Waverly with the Erie Railroad.[2] Among his clerks and associates during this period was future businessman and soldier George Washington Helme.

Politics

Packer also took an active part in politics. In 1842–1843, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In 1843–1844, he was county judge of Carbon County under Governor David R. Porter. He served two terms as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 1853.[2] Packer made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination in 1868. He got the party's nod for the 1869 Pennsylvania Governor's race, but lost the campaign to John W. Geary by 4,596 votes, one of the closest statewide races in Pennsylvania history.

Lehigh University

Asa Packer elected to found a university in the Lehigh Valley.[5] The final spot chosen was on South Mountain in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.The location coincided a Moravians religious community and would eventually end up coinciding with the home of The Bethlehem Steel Co. In 1865, Packer gave $500,000 and 60 acres (243,000 m²), later increased to 115 acres (465,000 m²) for the establishment of a technical trade school for engineers. Lehigh University was chartered, and instruction began, in 1866.[2] The first main building, Packer Hall was completed in 1869.[6] With Packer's generosity, Lehigh was able to offer education tuition-free for its first 20 years, 1871–1891, before economic troubles in the 1890s forced the University to reverse this policy.

After the initial gift of one half million dollars, Packer continued to support the university and he took an active role in its management.[7] His will bequeathed $1,500,000 as an endowment for the university and $500,000 to the university library and gave the university an interest of nearly one third in his estate when finally distributed.[2]

Family

Packer was married to Sarah Minerva Blakslee (1807–1882), daughter to Zophar and Clarinda Whitmer Blakslee. The Packers had seven children: Lucy Packer Linderman (1832–1873), Catherine Packer (1836–1837), Mary Packer Cummings (1839–1912), Malvina Fitzrandolph Packer (1841–1841), Robert Asa Packer (1842–1883), Gertrude Packer (1846–1848), and Harry Eldred Packer (1850–1884).

Legacies

Stereotype card of the Asa Packer Mansion photographed by M. A. Kleckner

Packer's residence, the Asa Packer Mansion became a museum, opened for tours in 1956, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1985. Packer was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church and contributed large amounts of money to this beautiful Gothic Revival Church that is located in downtown Jim Thorpe. St. Mark's was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. There is an elementary school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, named after Packer. Lehigh University continues to honor him with a large portrait by Boutelle and an annual celebration of Founder's Day.[8] A life-sized bronze by Karel Mikolas, donated by the Lehigh University Class of 2003 and dedicated in 2008, stands outside the Alumni Memorial Building.[9]

  • Legacy
  • Lehigh University's first library, constructed at the cost of $100,000 by Asa Packer as a memorial to his daughter, Lucy Packer Linderman
    Lehigh University's first library, constructed at the cost of $100,000 by Asa Packer as a memorial to his daughter, Lucy Packer Linderman
  • Packer Memorial Church of Lehigh University, which was erected by Mrs. Mary Packer Cummings in memory of her family
    Packer Memorial Church of Lehigh University, which was erected by Mrs. Mary Packer Cummings in memory of her family
  • Statue at Lehigh University
    Statue at Lehigh University

See also

References

  1. ^ Yates 1983, p. 9.
  2. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Packer, Asa". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 441–442.
  3. ^ a b Yates 1983, p. 13.
  4. ^ "Lehigh Valley Railroad".
  5. ^ Yates 1992, pp. 27–28.
  6. ^ Yates 1983, p. 17.
  7. ^ Yates 1992, pp. 38–39, 41–42.
  8. ^ Yates 1983, p. 19.
  9. ^ Harbrecht, Linda (January 11, 2005). "Asa comes home". Lehigh News. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania
1869 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district
1853–1857 		Succeeded by
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