Delaware County Historical Society Lecture

Posted by on April 2, 2004

Delaware County Historical Society Lecture.

Contact: Elizabeth Hutchin
Telephone: 610-359-0825
E-mail: ehutchindchs@comcast.net

The Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS) is proud to continue its Snapshots of History Lecture Series! The lecture, entitled “The Life and Times of John J. McClure,” will take place on April 21. Don?t miss Dr. John M. McLarnon III?s presentation on John J. McClure, who dominated local politics for sixty years as the head of the Republican Party in Delaware County. Dr. McLarnon will impart stories about the famous (and infamous) McClure from his book, Ruling Suburbia: John J. McClure and the Republican Machine in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, recently published by University of Delaware Press. In 1933, during his second term as a state senator, McClure was convicted of running rum; his sentence of 18 months in jail and a $10,000 fine was commuted before it took effect because the 18th Amendment was repealed and Prohibition ended. McClure left a fortune of almost $3 million, a portion of which he allegedly acquired through the questionable sale of shares in the Chester Water Company to the City of Chester. Dr. McLarnon has published articles on Delaware County and Philadelphia history and is an Assistant Professor of History at Millersville University.

The doors open at 6:30 pm, followed by a brief DCHS member update at 6:45 pm. The lecture begins at 7:00 pm and will be held at the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology, 800 Manchester Avenue, Media, PA. This lecture will be moderated by Nancy Webster, DCHS historian, and end with a question and answer period. The lecture is open to the public and students of the Passport to History program will receive a stamp in their passports. For more information on this lecture, or if you have any questions about DCHS, please call Elizabeth Hutchin at 610-359-0825 or see http://www.delcohistory.org/dchs/Lecture.html

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Elizabeth A. Hutchin
Delaware County Historical Society
991 Palmers Mill Road
Media, PA 19063
(610) 359-0825