Asa Packer

Asa Packer (December 29, 1805 – May 17, 1879) was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active in Pennsylvania politics, and founded Lehigh University. A conservative and religious man, he reflected the image of the typical Connecticut Yankee. His knowledge of construction and engineering was put to good use on behalf of his university. Mr. Packer also served two terms in the United States House of Representatives (1853-1857).

Early life

Packer was born in Mystic, Connecticut in 1805. He became a carpenter's apprentice to his cousin, Edward Packer, at Brooklyn, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. He also worked as a carpenter in New York City and in Springville, Pennsylvania. It was in Springville where he met his wife, Sarah Minerva Blakslee. Dr. Yates writes of his early life: "Asa and Sarah settled on a farm, and in the winter he went to Tunkhannock on the [Upper] Susquehanna and used his skill in carpentry to build and repair canal boats." This continued for 11 years. In 1833, Packer settled at Mauch Chunk (present day Jim Thorpe), in Carbon County, where he became the owner of a canal boat (carrying coal to Philadelphia). Packer then established the firm of A. & R. W. Packer, which built canal-boats and locks for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, probably the first through shippers to New York.