William Kemmeller Verbeke (July 18, 1820 – February 23, 1898) was an American businessman, philanthropist, early developer of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
and politician who served as a
City Controller
A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...
,
School Director and
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of Harrisburg.
Biography
After initially investing his 1856
inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...
from his late father in land adjacent to
downtown Harrisburg
Downtown Harrisburg is the central core neighborhood, business and government center which surrounds the focal point of Market Square, and serves as the regional center for the greater metropolitan area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. ...
, he began developing a new ward of the city. In what he first called "West Harrisburg" (present day
Midtown) due to the orientation of the maps at the time, he developed a neighborhood built by and sold to very low income residents; this area would come to be known briefly as "Verbeketown" until annexed into the newly incorporated city in 1860. Verbeke helped to organize and serve as
Presiding Officer of the
Good Will Fire Company No. 7 (located at 1212-1224 Ridge Ave (Sixth Street)) from May 1860 until 1867. Starting in 1860, he also built the
Broad Street Market
The Broad Street Market, opened in 1863, is located in the Midtown (Harrisburg), Midtown List of Harrisburg neighborhoods, neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally established on Broad Street (now Verbeke Street) b ...
. Though the Market was planned to be built on what was already "Broad Street," the Streets Committee (which included Verbeke) officially renamed it Verbeke Street in the summer of 1863.
When the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
first invaded Pennsylvania during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, the ''Harrisburg Daily Patriot And Union'', which regarded Verbeke as "one of our best and known and most highly esteemed citizens," reported that he immediately organized and promised wages to a group of thirty-six men and three wagons known as the Verbeke Guards to muster at
Camp Curtin
Camp Curtin was a major Union Army training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. It was located north of Pennsylvania's state capitol building on 80 acres of what had previously been land used by the Dauphin County Ag ...
under Col. Asbury F. Awl's
201st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. In 1871, after winning a majority vote over 200 in the previous fall's election, he became Mayor of Harrisburg.
In 1883 as City Controller he balanced the budget to first place in the State.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verbeke, William K.
1820 births
1898 deaths
Mayors of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania