Asa Packer | |
|---|---|
 19th century portrait of Packer | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 13th district | |
| In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1857 | |
| Preceded by | James Gamble |
| Succeeded by | William H. Dimmick |
| 4th & 6th [[President ofLehigh Valley Railroad]] | |
| In office 1868–1879 | |
| Preceded by | William M. Longstreth |
| Succeeded by | William M. Longstreth |
| In office 1862–1864 | |
| Preceded by | J. Gillingham Fell |
| Succeeded by | Charles Hartshorne |
| Associate Judge ofCarbon County | |
| In office 1843–1844 | |
| Member ofPennsylvania House of Representatives | |
| In office 1842–1843 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1805-12-29)December 29, 1805 Mystic, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | May 17, 1879(1879-05-17) (aged 73) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sarah Minerva Blakslee |
| Parent(s) | Elisha Packer Desire Packer Packer |
| Occupation | Businessman, railroad executive, politician |
| Signature | .png) |
Asa Packer (December 29, 1805 – May 17, 1879) was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active inPennsylvania politics, and foundedLehigh University inBethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was aconservative and religious man who reflected the image of the typical Connecticut Yankee. He served two terms in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1853 to 1857.
Packer was born inMystic, Connecticut in 1805 and moved toPennsylvania, where he became a carpenter's apprentice to his cousin Edward Packer inBrooklyn Township, Pennsylvania. He also worked seasonally as a carpenter inNew York City and later inSpringville Township, Pennsylvania, where he met his wife Sarah Minerva Blakslee.
Packer and his wife settled on a farm. In the winter months, he went toTunkhannock, Pennsylvania on theSusquehanna River and used his skill in carpentry to build and repair canal boats. This continued for 11 years.[1] In 1833, Packer settled in Mauch Chunk in present-dayJim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where he became the owner of a canal boat, which transportedanthracite coal from Pennsylvania'sCoal Region toPhiladelphia. He then established A. & R. W. Packer, a firm that built canal boats and locks for theLehigh Coal & Navigation Company.[2]
Packer urged theLehigh 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 theLehigh Valley Railroad in January 1853, and they built a railway line from Mauch Chunk toEaston 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 inLuzerne andSchuylkill counties, and he planned and built the extension of the line into theSusquehanna Valley and thence intoNew York state to connect atWaverly with theErie Railroad.[2] Among his clerks and associates during this period was future businessman and soldierGeorge Washington Helme.
Packer also took an active part in politics. In 1842 and 1843, he was a member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives. In 1843 and 1844, he was county judge inCarbon County under GovernorDavid R. Porter.
He served two terms as a Democratic member of theU.S. House of Representatives beginning in 1853.[2]
George Washington Woodward at the1868 Democratic National Convention entered Packer's name as a candidate for President as aFavorite son despite himself not being present or actively campaigning. Packer earned a nearly consistent 26 delegates through the 14th round of the ballot and due to him being little known outside of Pennsylvania, with the statement from one delegate; "Who in the hell is Packer?" being used as the headline for many New York journalists, who started to see Packer as an unoffensive moderate candidate that could increase the Democratic party's electability.[5] However, the convention instead went withHoratio Seymour, for largely the same reason but also due to Seymour's name recognition. Interestingly, Woodward attempted to forge a Packer - Blair ticket, however,Francis Preston Blair Jr. was instead named Seymour's running-mate.[6] 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 toJohn W. Geary by 4,596 votes, one of the closest statewide races in Pennsylvania history.
Packer endeavored to found a university in theLehigh Valley, an industrial region located in easternPennsylvania.[7] The university was located onSouth Mountain inBethlehem, Pennsylvania, which then was aMoravian religious community that later became the global manufacturing and corporate headquarters ofBethlehem Steel, the second-largest steel manufacturing company in the world for most of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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. In 1866, the year following the end of theAmerican Civil War, the school, namedLehigh University, was chartered and began instruction.[2] The first main building, Packer Hall, was completed in 1869.[8] With Packer's generosity, Lehigh was able to offer education tuition free for its first 20 years from 1871–1891. Economic troubles in the 1890s forced the university to then reverse this policy.
After the initial gift of one half million dollars, Packer continued to support the university and took an active role in its management.[9] His will bequeathed $1,500,000 as an endowment for the university, $500,000 to the university library, and granted the university an interest of nearly one third in his estate upon its final distribution.[2]
Packer was married to Sarah Minerva Blakslee (1807–1882), daughter to Zophar and Clarinda Whitmer Blakslee. The Packers had seven children:
Packer died on May 17, 1879 inPhiladelphia, at age 73.[10]
Packer's residence,Asa Packer Mansion, became a museum, opened for tours in 1956, and was named aNational Historic Landmark in 1985. Packer was a member ofSt. Mark's Episcopal Church inJim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and contributed large amounts of money to this Gothic Revival Church. St. Mark's was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. There is an elementary school inBethlehem, Pennsylvania named after Packer.
Lehigh University continues to honor him with a large portrait byCharles A. Boutelle and an annual celebration of Founder's Day.[11] A life-sized bronze by Karel Mikolas, donated by the Lehigh University Class of 2003 and dedicated in 2008, stands outside Lehigh University's Alumni Memorial Building.[12]Lehigh Valley Railroad named a passenger train after him, theAsa Packer which ran to and fromNew York City toPittston, Pennsylvania until 1959.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Packer, Asa".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 441–442.| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Pennsylvania 1869 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 13th congressional district 1853–1857 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
