Harry Clay Trexler
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
industrialist who built a business empire in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
.
Early life
Harry Clay Trexler was born in Easton, PennsylvaniaEaston, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
. He was the son of Allentown businessman Edwin W. Trexler and Matilda (Saurbuck) Trexler. He was a descendant of Peter Trexler (died 1758), one of the early Pennsylvania German
Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...
settlers of the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
.
After attending Allentown public schools and Tremont Seminary in Norristown
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, he joined his father's lumber business. In 1885, Trexler married Mary M. Mosser of Allentown (Fink 1925; Hall 1981).
Career
When Trexler began his career, in the late 1860s, Allentown, the commercial center of the agriculturally rich Lehigh Valley region, was undergoing a tumultuous economic transition. The town's first burst of growth had been fueled by the construction of the Lehigh Canal, by the boom in anthracite coalAnthracite coal
Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster...
, and by the growth of an extensive local anthracite iron
Anthracite iron
Anthracite iron is the substance created by the smelting together of anthracite coal and iron ore.-Development of the process:Research into the smelting of iron using anthracite coal began in the 1820s...
industry. In the early 1870s, the invention of Bessemer
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
steel-making technology, the discovery of bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
in western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and the national depression
Depression (economics)
In economics, a depression is a sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. It is a more severe downturn than a recession, which is seen by some economists as part of the modern business cycle....
following the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
destroyed the local economy (Folsom 1981; Hall & Hall 1982, 1987a).
Led by a visionary Board of Trade, in which Trexler was active, Allentown determined to diversify its economy, giving generous incentives to enterprises willing to locate in the city (Gobron 1916). The success of this initiative set off a housing boom from which the Trexler firm profited enormously. By the first World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Trexler's lumber business was among the largest in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, owning tracts of timber and sawmills in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, with distribution yards in Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
and Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
(Hall & Hall 1987).
Allentown's diversified economy and ethos of cooperation, which Trexler did so much to foster, enabled it to escape the worst ravages of the Great Depression. In 1939, Allentown actually had more enterprises in operation than it had during the boom of the 1920s (Hall & Hall 1987b).
In 1911, he was appointed Colonel and Quartermaster General of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and in 1916, he served during the mobilization of troops on the Mexican border. In 1917, he prepared troops for service in WWI and retired in 1918 as a Brigadier General.
Business diversification
Trexler began to aggressively expand his interests beyond lumber in the 1890s. With partners John D. Ormrod and Edward M. Young, he organized the Lehigh Portland Cement Company, which became one of the largest cement producers in the world, with twenty plants operating in ten states. He consolidated scattered electric railway properties into the Lehigh Valley Rapid Transit Company, one of the most innovative and efficient traction companies in the NortheastNortheastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. He similarly consolidated the region's electric utilities, forming the Pennsylvania Power & Light
PPL (utility)
PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...
in the 1920s. He purchased dozens of telephone properties, consolidating them into the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania.
He was also active in banking, finance, and real estate development. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
, he used his combined interests to promote city planning — turning Allentown into a model of balanced development (a dramatic contrast to industrially ravaged Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
and Easton
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
) (City Planning 1963; Hall 1981; Friede 1974, 1978).
In 1927, Trexler donated land to the Boy Scouts of America in Jonas, Pennsylvania. That land is now known as the Trexler Scout Reservation in memory of him, and is home to Akelaland Cub Scout Camp and Settlers Camp, a Boy Scout resident camp.
Social vision
Fearing the power of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
interests and their traditional hostility to the Pennsylvania Germans, Trexler worked with New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
financiers to curtail the Philadelphians' power and to create an economic climate favorable to local control of the city's business life.
Legacy
Following his death in an automobile accident, the terms of his will created a private foundation to benefit the citizens of Allentown and Lehigh County. The Harry Clay Trexler Estate (now the Harry C. Trexler Trust) supports the City of Allentown's park system and various Lehigh County charities including the Boy Scouts of America Minsi Trails CouncilMinsi Trails Council
Camp Minsi is a located on the shores of the Stillwater Lake in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania. The camp was formerly owned by Bethlehem Area Council prior to the establishment of Minsi Trails Council. The camp was donated to the Boy Scouts in 1949 by Samuel Rubel. Camp Minsi encompasses of...
.
In 1988, Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
named their newly-constructed library in honor of Trexler. Allentown's 134 acre (0.209375185123919 sq mi; 0.54227924 km²) Trexler Memorial Park is also named in his honor, as is Allentown School District
Allentown School District
The Allentown School District is a large urban public school district located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Serving most of the city of Allentown, it is the fourth largest school district in Pennsylvania, with 17,962 students, with 15.7% White, 17.4% Black, 64.4% Hispanic,...
's Trexler Middle School and DeSales University's Trexler Library.
Sources
- Brossard, James H. 1918. The Churches of Allentown: A Study in Statistics. Allentown: Jacks, The Printer.
- City Planning in Allentown: Its Past, Present, and Future. 1963. Allentown: Allentown City Planning Commission.
- Fink, Leo G.. 1935. Memoirs of General Harry Clay Trexler. New York: Paulist Press.
- Folsom, Burton W. 1981. Urban Capitalists: Entrepreneurship and City Growth in the Lehigh and Lackawanna Valleys, 1800-1920. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Friede, E.B. 1974. "The Impact of the Great Depression on Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1930-1941." Unpublished dissertation. New York University.
- Friede, E.B. 1978. "Cooperation Conquers: The Response of Allentown's Entrepreneurial Community to the Great Depression of the 1930s." Leigh County Historical Society. Proceedings XXXII, 114ff.
- Gobron, L.C. 1916. Souvenir of Allentown. Allentown: Allentown Board of Trade.
- Hall, Peter Dobkin. 1981. "The Community Foundation and the Foundations of Community: Harry Clay Trexler and the Creation of Modern Allentown." In A Salute to General Harry C. Trexler. Occasional Papers. Lehigh County Historical Society.
- Hall, Karyl Lee Kibler, & Hall, Peter Dobkin. 1987a. "History of Allentown, 1874-1900." In Mahlon Hellerich (ed.), Allentown, 1762-1987. Allentown: Lehigh County Historical Society, I: 289-339.
- Hall, Peter Dobkin, & Hall, Karyl Lee Kibler. 1987b. "Allentown, 1930-1941." In Hellerich, Mahlon 1987. Allentown, 1762-1987. Allentown: Lehigh County Historical Society, II: 82-246.
- Hellerich, Mahlon 1987. Allentown, 1762-1987. Allentown: Lehigh County Historical Society.
- Kibler, Karyl Lee, & Hall, Peter Dobkin. 1981. The Lehigh Valley: An Illustrated History. Woodland Hills: Windsor Publications.
- Marushak, Donald R. 1981. "Parks Are for People: A Tribute to General Harry C. Trexler". In A Salute to General Harry C. Trexler. Occasional Papers. Lehigh County Historical Society.
- Harry C. Trexler, 1854-1833. 1981. Occasional Papers. Allentown: Lehigh County Historical Society.
- Ryan Hinton, Akelaland Program Director and Teacher