Asa Packer

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A Major Producer of Business and Industry

“A Major Producer for Business and Industry” Lehigh University Admissions Office brochure. Circa 1960.

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Asa Packer in front of the Packer House

Asa Packer in front of the Packer House, Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania." Circa 1872.

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Page one of Letter from Asa Packer to Robert H. Sayre

Letter from Asa Packer to Robert H. Sayre. July 23, 1865. Aix la Chapelle, France.

Packer asks after Robert's father's health and tells him that a day does not pass that Packer does not think of him and pray for him. Packer notes that his own health continues to improve, and he urges Rob not to worry about the state of the business, telling him that "our turn will come." Packer promises to take Abbott with him to England to learn all he can about the manufacture of steel rails.

Asa Packer was a captain of industry who built the Lehigh Valley Railroad (of which Robert H. Sayre was the chief engineer) and controlled a coal-mining empire in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania. In 1865, he founded Lehigh University that would contribute to the “intellectual and moral improvement” of men in the Lehigh Valley. Packer presented a $500,000 gift to build the university which was the largest donation of its kind to any educational institution in America at that time. Born from humble beginnings, Packer became the third-wealthiest man in the United States, beginning his career in the canal industry and then expending to railroads. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State legislature and a served two terms in Congress. He vied unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency as well as for the governorship of Pennsylvania. He died in 1879 after a fall in his Philadelphia office.

Asa Packer wrote this letter during his trip in Europe in July 1865. At the same time, Lehigh University was being prepared to open on September 1, 1866.

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Page two from Letter from Asa Packer to Robert H. Sayre

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Asa Packer under the Hill to Hill Bridge

Asa Packer under the Hill to Hill Bridge” Print showing the Lehigh Valley Rail Road steam engine locomotive named after Asa Packer crossing under the Hill-to-Hill Bridge, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Circa 1990. Gift of James J. Bohning.