Well, friends, August is off to one heck of a start. Not only did this blog recently surpass 500,000 all-time views, which I still can't fathom, but the numbers rolling in are increasing by the day. I don't know how you're all finding me, but I'm glad you're here!
In last week's puzzle-y post, I promised that this week I would explain the big event for which I was preparing. It was another interview, but it was a way bigger deal than any interview I've given yet. I spent a very pleasant hour speaking with Sydney Harris-White of America250PA, our commonwealth's celebration of the sesquicentennial, for an episode of their podcast series! My guest appearance will be featured in an episode going live in a few weeks, and I had a great time telling some of my favorite marker stories and explaining how all of this got started. (I even got to plug my beloved Zenkaikon a little bit.) The podcast episodes have been airing all year and have covered a wide variety of topics; I learned about it when Jim, of UncoveringPA, was the guest in two episodes back in the spring. Definitely check out what they've done so far - you can either listen to the episodes or download the transcripts by visiting "Start Here, America Did" and browsing the extensive listings. And as soon as I have a link for my own episode, I'll share it.
Meanwhile, it's back to the usual this week, so let's take a look at the life of another one of Pennsylvania's 48 governors to date. This one left a legacy that has impacted every child in the commonwealth, even if they don't know it.
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| The marker stands near the intersection of Nor-Bath Boulevard and Jacksonville Road in Allen Township. |
This George was born on August 12, 1777, in Allen Township, on the outskirts of the community of Bath in Northampton County. He was the youngest of five children born to George and Maria Margaretta Wolf, and his father, a Lutheran immigrant from Germany, had been a veteran of the American Revolution. As a young man he was educated at the Allen Township Classical Academy, of which he was later the principal. (This school, which still stands today, was renamed Wolf Academy in his honor in the early 20th century.) From there he went to Easton, where he studied law, and in 1798 he was admitted to the Northampton County Bar. That same year he married a neighbor, Mary Erb, with whom he had nine children.
George's law career was a busy one, and much of it was spent in Northampton County. In 1801 he served as clerk to the prothonotary, and then in 1802 he was appointed postmaster of the city of Easton. From 1804 to 1809, he was the clerk of the Northampton County Orphans Court. He was elected to the state General Assembly in 1814, but only served a single one-year term before being defeated in the election of 1815. He then returned to Easton to continue practicing law until 1824, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; he was re-elected in 1826 and 1828, and served part of that time as chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.
As governor, George dealt with a number of issues which had been left by his predecessors. He revised the commonwealth's statutory laws and created new taxes, which were needed to pay off the big loans that had been needed to finance the railroad and canal systems being installed. In 1833, he was hit with double tragedy. His son Charles, who was serving as the first mayor of Maysville, Kentucky, died in July from the cholera epidemic; then he was widowed by the passing of his wife Mary in November. I can only imagine how this might have affected his governorship, but it doesn't seem to have stopped him from achieving his biggest accomplishment the following year.
As I mentioned in my post about Thaddeus Stevens, he and George were co-champions of the idea of providing free public education to all children in Pennsylvania, regardless of their family's economic or social status. Together they created the Common School Law, which was enacted in 1834. This landmark piece of legislation established the first statewide system of public education in the entire country. There was a massive protest against this, and viewing the matter through 21st century eyes, I don't claim to understand why. A bill to repeal the Common School Law managed to pass the state Senate, and might have passed the state House of Representatives too, if Thaddeus hadn't been there to renounce it vigorously. The bill failed, and the law remained.
George, meanwhile, was voted out of the governor's mansion in 1835, having served two terms. The continuing disagreement between the factions in his party was too great a hurdle to be overcome. President Jackson, concerned with possible shenanigans in the Second Bank of the United States, appointed George to the new post of comptroller of the Treasury. He served there for two years, until Jackson left office and was succeeded by Martin Van Buren. The new president gave George the position of collector of customs for the Port of Philadelphia, and he held that title until his sudden death on March 11, 1840. He was interred beside Mary in the Harrisburg Cemetery.
Today, the Allen Township academy where young George Wolf was educated is part of the Wolf Academy Historic Site. In the 1950s, a group of interested folks joined together to purchase the Wolf Academy and restore it. This group, the Wolf Academy Restoration Society, merged in 1979 with the Bath Historical Society and became known as the Governor Wolf Historical Society. They've since added the Ralston-McKeen House and the Monocacy School to their holdings. The society provides educational programs for local students about how Pennsylvanians lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. They also hold various public events throughout the year, including a twice-monthly crafting social and free tours of the buildings on the third Saturday of each month from April to November. Most of all, they make sure that people know who to thank for the fact that Pennsylvania led the charge when it came to educating young Americans.
Sources and Further Reading:
The official website of the George Wolf Historical Society
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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