Alvan Markle
Alvan Markle | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Hazleton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | March 19, 1931 (aged 69) |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, businessman, engineer, inventor |
| Known for | Development of electric power and transportation systems in Hazleton; founder of multiple companies including Markle Banking and Trust Co. and Wilkes Barre and Hazleton Railroad Co. |
Alvan Markle (August 29, 1861 – March 19, 1931) was a prominent American figure in banking, business, engineering, and invention, based in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. He was the son of George Bushar Markle (1827–1888), who transitioned from carpentry to banking and coal operations. The Markle family significantly contributed to transforming Hazleton into a hub of finance and industry by advancing transportation, electrical power, and mining technologies.[1] Alvan was also the sibling of John Markle, the founder of the John and Mary Markle Foundation.[1]
Career
In 1879, when his father became ill, Alvan left Lafayette College at age 18 to assist his brothers in overseeing the family businesses. By 1882, they had joined forces with Thomas Edison to build what became the sixth urban electric power station worldwide, establishing Hazleton as a pioneer in electric energy.[1] Throughout the following decade, Alvan introduced Hazleton’s inaugural electric public transportation network; by 1892, his trolley system connected seventeen nearby mining communities with the city and the 40-acre Hazle Park, which he developed into a public recreational space.[1]
In 1899, he initiated an electric high speed rail service between Hazleton and the county seat of Wilkes-Barre, innovating a safeguarded third rail mechanism that later became a nationwide standard for urban transit systems.[1][2] From 1886 until 1929, he oversaw the family’s banking operations, acquiring full ownership by purchasing his brothers’ shares in 1892. In 1910, he commissioned the construction of the fire-resistant, eleven-story Markle Banking & Trust Company Building in Hazleton, designed by architect John Irwin Bright. This structure featured an electric rooftop sign and was expanded with a six-story addition in 1923; it is currently recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] Additionally, he played a role in founding regional telephone services.
Corporations
Markle established and led multiple companies including the Markle Banking and Trust Co. (1892), the Wilkes Barre and Hazleton Railroad Co. (1902), the Lehigh Traction Company, the Hazleton Auto Bus Co., the Consolidated Telephone Co. (1913), and the Lehigh Telephone Co. (1924). His leadership roles extended to serving as president and director of the Hazelton Manufacturing Company, vice president and director of the Jeddo Highland Coal Co., as well as director of the Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey Power Co.
Public Service
From 1909 to 1925, Markle chaired the joint committee representing both the United Mine Workers and Anthracite Operators. He was a director for United Charities of Hazleton beginning in 1902 and joined the board of the Pennsylvania State Chamber of Commerce in 1916. Appointed as Hazleton’s Collector of Taxes, he contributed his entire commission to the Red Cross. He also served as a special assistant to the Postmaster General for a token salary. During World War I, Markle led Luzerne County's Public Safety Committee and headed both the Pennsylvania Council of National Defense and local War Bond campaigns. Furthermore, he participated on the Executive Committee for the Hazleton Public Library Association, housed in a Beaux-Arts style building donated by his brother John in 1912.
Personal life
In 1887, Markle wed Mary Dryfoos (1869–1945), and together they raised five children who survived into adulthood: Emily (1888–1989), Alvan Jr. (1889–1975), Donald (1892–1977), Eckley (1894–1961), and John (1902–1986). By 1898, he had introduced one of the earliest automobiles to the Hazleton area.
Residences
Throughout much of his professional life, Markle resided at 321 Broad Street in Hazleton, occupying a substantial shingle-style wooden home constructed in 1887. This property was subsequently used by the Hazleton Elks Lodge, where Markle held the position of Exalted Ruler in 1891. In 1924, he moved to his expansive 66-acre mountaintop property known as "Highacres," located at Conyngham Pass.
Beginning in 1915, Markle collaborated with architect John Russell Pope to develop Highacres, designing a fire-resistant home with poured-in-place concrete walls accented by local fieldstones. The estate featured terraced landscaping, greenhouses, a garage accommodating six vehicles with attached apartments, various outbuildings, and a state-of-the-art 32-room mansion.
Transformation of Highacres into Penn State Hazleton
The Markle family’s enduring impact on Hazleton is visible through several prominent landmarks: the Markle Bank Building (currently Hayden Tower at the Markle), the Markle Memorial Library (established in 1912 and now serving as the Hazleton Public Library), and the Highacres estate (built in 1924 and presently home to Penn State Hazleton).
In 1948, Alvan Markle Jr. recognized an opportunity to expand the newly founded Hazelton Undergraduate Center of Penn State University, which initially operated from the Markle Bank Building. He persuaded his brother Eckley Markle, a World War I pilot, to donate 60 acres from Highacres for campus development.[3] Additionally, Eckley sold six more acres with existing structures to Penn State under favorable terms for educational purposes.[4] In 1968, their brother Donald Markle further contributed by donating his adjacent 31-acre estate called "Norwinds" to facilitate campus growth.[5] Later on, in 1998, Hazel R. Markle, widow of Eckley, gifted an extra six acres atop the mountain.[6]
More recently, descendants of Markle’s uncle Stephen Decatur Engle, who partnered with the Markles on Thomas Edison’s electrification project, donated an additional 25 acres to Penn State Hazleton.[7] Collectively, the Markle family has provided 122 out of the total 148 acres comprising the campus.
See also
- Penn State Hazleton
- John Russell Pope
- Stephen Decatur Engle
- The John and Mary Markle Foundation
- The Markle Bank Building
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:0 - ↑ Template:Cite patent
- ↑ Luzerne County Record Book
- ↑ Krause (1999), p. 112
- ↑ Luzerne County Record Book
- ↑ Luzerne County Record Book
- ↑ Jackson, Kent (January 6, 2012). "25 Acres of Land Donated to Penn State Hazleton". Hazleton Standard-Speaker.