Louis Arthur Watres (April 21, 1851 – June 28, 1937) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

who served as a Republican 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, stagger ...

for the 20th district from 1883 to 1890 and as the fifth

lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor of Pennsylvania, governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutena ...

from 1891 to 1895.

Biography

Watres was born on April 21, 1851, in

Jessup, Pennsylvania Jessup is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,532 at the 2020 census. Geography Jessup is located at (41.471131, -75.562171). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total ...

(known as the borough of Winton at the time) to Lewis S. Watres, a pioneer developer of the Lackawanna Valley. He later moved with his family to

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. In 1877, he joined the

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

as a private. He served as captain of Company A of the 13th Regiment, Colonel of the 11th Regiment, judge advocate of the Division Staff, general inspector of rifle practice on the staff of Governor

James A. Beaver James Addams Beaver (October 21, 1837 – January 31, 1914) was an American attorney, recruiter and field commander of Pennsylvania Infantry who was wounded four times during the American Civil War, and politician who served as the 20th governor ...

and as commander of the 13th Regiment after the unit returned from duty in the Spanish-American War. He became the first president of the Pennsylvania National Guard and served in that capacity for two years. He was a member of the Armory Board of Pennsylvania and a key sponsor for the construction of the 109th Regiment Armory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He studied law and was admitted to the

Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; ) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It had a population of 215,615 in 2022. Its county seat and most populous city is Scranton. The county is part of the Northeast region of the commonwealth. The county was ...

bar in 1878. Watres served as the solicitor for

government from 1881 to 1890. He served as a member of the

for the 20th district from 1883 to 1890. He was a member of the Judiciary General and Appropriations committees. He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1891 to 1895. He was a successful businessman and worked as president of the Scranton Passenger Railway Company, the County Savings Bank, the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, the Economy Light, Heat and Power Company, the Pittston Slate Company and the Boulevard Company. He was a partner in the development of the Springbrook Water Company. He was the owner of the Mansfield Water Company and promoted the construction of the Wilsonville Dam on

Wallenpaupack Creek Wallenpaupack Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Lackawaxen River in the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania in the United State ...

which created

Lake Wallenpaupack Lake Wallenpaupack () is a reservoir in Northeastern Pennsylvania. After Raystown Lake, it is the second-largest lake contained entirely in Pennsylvania. It comprises of shoreline, with a length of and a maximum depth of , and has a surface are ...

. He purchased the ''Scranton Truth'' newspaper in 1908 and ''The Scranton-Tribune Republican'' in 1915. He merged the two newspapers and continued working as editor until 1934 when he sold it to Frank D. Schroth. In 1913, Watres purchased 15,000 acres along the Wallenpaupack Creek for $15,000. The land purchase included Lacawac, the estate previously owned by Congressman William Connell, which Watres used as a summer home. From 1916 through 1917, he served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania,

Free and Accepted Masons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. From 1934 to 1937 Watres served as the Executive Officer of the

Order of DeMolay DeMolay International is a youth leadership organization with Masonic origins for young men ages 12 to 21. There is in select areas a "Squire" program for those younger than 12. It was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919 and named for Ja ...

in Pennsylvania, later serving as Grand Master of the International Supreme Council of the Order of DeMolay in 1936–1937. He was a key member of the committee established to construct the

George Washington Masonic National Memorial The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, first president of the United States and charter ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

Legacy

In 1925,

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

conferred the honorary degree of LL.D to Watres. He died on July 28, 1937. The 109th Regiment Armory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is known as the "Watres Armory". His second son,

Laurence Hawley Watres Laurence Hawley Watres (July 18, 1882 – February 6, 1964) was an attorney and politician from Scranton, Pennsylvania. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1923 to 1931. A nativ ...

, became a U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district.

References

External links

The Political GraveyardPast Executive Officers of Pennsylvania DeMolay
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Watres, Louis Arthur 1851 births 1937 deaths 20th-century American newspaper editors American bankers American Freemasons Lieutenant governors of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Pennsylvania National Guard personnel National Guard (United States) colonels Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania Converts to Christian Science from Presbyterianism American Christian Scientists 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly