Louis Arthur Watres (April 21, 1851 – June 28, 1937) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the 20th district from 1883 to 1890 and as the fifth

lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

from 1891 to 1895.

Biography

Watres was born on April 21, 1851, in

Jessup, Pennsylvania Jessup is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,532 at the 2020 census. Geography Jessup is located at (41.471131, -75.562171). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total ar ...

(known as the borough of Winton at the time) to Lewis S. Watres, a pioneer developer of the

Lackawanna Valley The Lackawanna River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It flows through a region of the ...

. He later moved with his family to

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

. In 1877, he joined the

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

as a private. He served as captain of Company A of the 13th Regiment, Colonel of the 11th Regiment, judge advocate of the Division Staff, general inspector of rifle practice on the staff of Governor

James A. Beaver James Addams Beaver (October 21, 1837 – January 31, 1914) was an American attorney, recruiter and field commander of Pennsylvania Infantry who was wounded four times during the American Civil War, and politician who served as the 20th governo ...

and as commander of the 13th Regiment after the unit returned from duty in the Spanish-American War. He became the first president of the Pennsylvania National Guard and served in that capacity for two years. He was a member of the Armory Board of Pennsylvania and a key sponsor for the construction of the 109th Regiment Armory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He studied law and was admitted to the

Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton. The county ...

bar in 1878. Watres served as the solicitor for

government from 1881 to 1890. He served as a member of the

for the 20th district from 1883 to 1890. He was a member of the Judiciary General and Appropriations committees. He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1891 to 1895. He was a successful businessman and worked as president of the Scranton Passenger Railway Company, the County Savings Bank, the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, the Economy Light, Heat and Power Company, the Pittston Slate Company and the Boulevard Company. He was a partner in the development of the Springbrook Water Company. He was the owner of the Mansfield Water Company and promoted the construction of the Wilsonville Dam on

Wallenpaupack Creek Wallenpaupack Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Lackawaxen River in the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania in the United States ...

which created

Lake Wallenpaupack Lake Wallenpaupack is a reservoir in Northeastern Pennsylvania. After Raystown Lake, it is the second-largest lake contained entirely in Pennsylvania. It comprises of shoreline, with a length of and a maximum depth of , and has a surface area in ...

. He purchased the ''Scranton Truth'' newspaper in 1908 and ''The Scranton-Tribune Republican'' in 1915. He merged the two newspapers and continued working as editor until 1934 when he sold it to

Frank D. Schroth Frank D. Schroth (October 18, 1884 – June 10, 1974) was an American newspaper publisher who owned and operated the ''Brooklyn Eagle'' from 1938 until its demise in 1955 after a strike by The Newspaper Guild. Life and career Schroth was born ...

. In 1913, Watres purchased 15,000 acres along the Wallenpaupack Creek for $15,000. The land purchase included Lacawac, the estate previously owned by Congressman William Connell, which Watres used as a summer home. From 1916 through 1917, he served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania,

Free and Accepted Masons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. From 1934 to 1937 Watres served as the Executive Officer of the

Order of DeMolay DeMolay International is an international fraternal organization for young men ages 12 to 21. It was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919 and named for Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. DeMolay was incorporat ...

in Pennsylvania, later serving as Grand Master of the International Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay in 1936–1937. He was a key member of the committee established to construct the

George Washington Masonic National Memorial The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, the first President of the United States and a Mason ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

Legacy

In 1925,

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

conferred the honorary degree of LL.D to Watres. He died on July 28, 1937, and was interred at Dunmore Cemetery in

Dunmore, Pennsylvania Dunmore is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, adjoining Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthrac ...

. The 109th Regiment Armory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is known as the "Watres Armory". His second son,

Laurence Hawley Watres Laurence Hawley Watres (July 18, 1882 – February 6, 1964) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life and education Laurence H. Watres was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Louis Arthur Watres ...

, became a U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district.

References

External links

The Political GraveyardPast Executive Officers of Pennsylvania DeMolay
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Watres, Louis Arthur 1851 births 1937 deaths 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American newspaper editors American bankers American Freemasons Burials in Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governors of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania National Guard personnel Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania