William Cameron Sproul (September 16, 1870 – March 21, 1928) 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 ...

from 1897 to 1919 and as the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1923. He also served as chair of the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

from 1919 to 1922.

Early life and education

Sproul was born at

John Douglass House The John Douglass House is an historic American home that is located in Colerain Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The birthplace of Pennsylvania Governor William Cameron Sproul (1870–1928), it was listed on the National Register o ...

to William Hall and Deborah Dickinson (Slokom) Sproul in

Colerain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Colerain Township is a township in southeastern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,883 at the 2020 census, up from 3,635 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Solanco School District. Colerain Township was o ...

on September 16, 1870. The family relocated to

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

in 1883, and Sproul graduated from Chester High School in 1887. He attended

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, was a member of the

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pen ...

fraternity and graduated with honors in 1891.

Business career

After graduation, Sproul acquired an interest in the Franklin Printing Company of Philadelphia. Sproul later purchased a half interest in the Chester Times newspaper. Sproul was employed in the field of newspaper publishing, and rose to the rank of president of the ''Chester Daily Times.'' Additionally, he made a substantial profit through investments in railroads and manufacturing interests. In 1895, Sproul was elected a director of the First National Bank of Chester. In 1898, he became vice president of the

Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding and Engine Works Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

but resigned a year later when he organized the Seaboard Steel Casting Company and served as president. In 1900, he was elected president of the Chester Shipping Company. He was president of the Ohio Valley Electric Railway Company, the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad Company and of the General Refractories Company. He was director of the

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad The Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (PB&W) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in the 20th century, and was a key component of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system. Its ...

Company, the Delaware County Trust and Title Insurance Company, the Commercial Trust Company of Philadelphia and the American Railways Company.

Political career

A prominent Republican, Sproul served in the

for the 9th District from 1897 to 1919. At age 26, he was the youngest member of the senate and the youngest man to become senator from Delaware County. In 1911, he drafted the landmark Sproul Road Bill, which created the state highway system. In

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

, Sproul was elected as the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania and served until 1923. As governor, he focused on expanding funding for education, roadway construction, and veterans' services. He also spurred an effort to expand state forest land in order to replenish the state's woodlands after years of depletion by lumber companies. Sproul was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1920. He was later offered the nomination for vice president on a ticket with

Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. ...

, but he declined. In 1926, Sproul chaired the bi-state committee that organized the construction of the

Benjamin Franklin Bridge The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...

between Philadelphia and Camden.

Personal life

On January 21, 1892, Sproul married Emeline Wallace Roach, the daughter of shipbuilder John Roach. They had two children, Dorothy Wallace Sproul (1892–1931) and John Roach Sproul (1894–1949), who married Henry D. Hatfield's daughter, Hazel Bronson Hatfield. Although Sproul was a millionaire, he died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

on March 21, 1928. He is interred at the

Chester Rural Cemetery Chester Rural Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery founded in March 1863 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Some of the first burials were Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who died at the government hospital located at the nearby building ...

in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Legacy

His birthplace is known as the

and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1990. The following are named in his honor: *Sproul Hall, a

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

residence hall built in 1966 *Governor Sproul Apartments in

Broomall, Pennsylvania Broomall is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marple Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,789 at the 2010 census. History This crossroads community was renamed for the post office established to hon ...

*Sproul Estates, a residential development in

Wallingford, Pennsylvania Wallingford is an unincorporated community in Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania, Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County in Pennsylvanias. Founded in 1687, it is named for Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallin ...

built on the site of his former residence *

Sproul State Forest Sproul State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #10. The main offices are located in Renovo, Pennsylvania in Clinton County in the United States. The forest is located in western Clinton County an ...

in Clinton and

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

counties *Sproul Road, which parallels much of

PA Route 320 Pennsylvania Route 320 (PA 320) is a north–south state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the long route is at U.S. Route 13 (US 13)/ PA 291 in Chester. The northern terminus is at PA 23 in Swedeland. The rout ...

in between Wayne, Radnor and Marple *

Sproul Observatory Sproul Observatory was an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Swarthmore College. It was located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States, and named after William Cameron Sproul, the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania, who graduated ...

at Swarthmore College

References

PHMC: William Cameron Sproul biographyPennsylvania Governors Past to Present: Governor William Cameron Sproul

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sproul, William Cameron 1870 births 1928 deaths 20th-century American politicians Burials at Chester Rural Cemetery Chester High School alumni Republican Party governors of Pennsylvania Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Quakers from Pennsylvania Swarthmore College alumni Candidates in the 1920 United States presidential election