The "Lancaster Could Have Had Two U.S. Presidents!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading Jack Brubaker's "The Scribbler" column and realized that Lancaster County, Pennsylvania could have had two United States Presidents had Governor William Sproul accepted the offer of the nomination as presidential running mate for Warren G. Harding in 1920.  

A young William Cameron Sproul

I'm sure you remember the name of Harding who won the election and eventually died in office two years later.  His replacement would have been Gov. William Sproul, had he accepted the invitation to run with Harding, but since he turned it down, the new President was Calvin Coolidge who served for two years and was then re-elected.  All this happened 100 years ago when William Sproul began serving as governor of Pennsylvania.  During the spring of 1919 he started some of his signature projects such as declaring April 11 and April 25 as Arbor Days.  Because of this action thousands of trees were planted throughout the state and this helped to replenish forests that had been decimated by years of industrial logging.  The planting of the trees also served as a memorial to soldiers killed in WWI.  Because of the war, residents of Pennsylvania asked for legislation that would remove the teaching of German from the public school classroom.  

Pennsylvania road marker telling of
William C. Sproul.  Click to enalarge.

But, Gov. Sproul made the residents realize that German was needed so we could trade with them and if we ever went to war with them in the future, we would have a knowledge of their language and give us a big advantage.  In May of 1919 he vetoed the legislation to remove German from the classroom.  It was soon after that when he was offered the nomination as presidential running mate of Warren G. Harding.  And, the rest is history, as they say.  As far as Mr. William Cameron Sproul, he was born to a Quaker mother in Colerain Township, Lancaster County, near Octoraro and Andrews' Bridge in Kirkwood, southern Lancaster County, on September 16, 1870.  He went to Swarthmore College and then worked as a newspaper editor and publisher as well as having interests in banking, railroads, mining iron processing and other industries.  In 1898 he married Emeline Roach whose father was a Chester County, PA shipbuilder.   Before he was elected Governor, Sproul served as a Republican State Senator from 1897 until he was voted in as Governor.  While a senator he continued to expand his education and became involved in philanthropic missions which gained respect from other political leaders.  

Gov. Sproul and son Jack lead a parade.

In 1906, as a trustee of Swarthmore College, he personally funded the acquisition of research-quality astro- nomical equipment, including a photo- graphic telescope, for the college.  The college's Sproul Observatory was later built and named after their famous alumnus and benefactor.  As a Senator in 1911, he sponsored the Sproul Act which created the state road system.  This bill was perhaps the most important one he passed as a Senator.  The legislation created the construction and maintenance of the state road system solely at the expense of the state.  He was also credited with organizing the construction of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge between Philadelphia and Camden N.J.  As the Governor of Pennsylvania he was named by newspapers as the "father of good roads" in Pennsylvania.  He died on March 21, 1928 without ever drafting a will.  His birthplace is known as the John Douglass House and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Governor William Cameron Sproul