David R. Porter
Huntingdon, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Ironmaster and Governor of the State, 1839-45, lived in this house. A leader in local affairs, he was called "our own Davy R." His son Horace, soldier and diplomat, was born here, 1837.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
David R. Porter made his home in this house while building a career that carried him from the iron furnaces of central Pennsylvania to the governor's chair, which he held from 1839 to 1845. Affectionately called "our own Davy R.," he embodied the era when ironmasters were both industrialists and political leaders. His son Horace, born here in 1837, went on to distinction as a soldier and diplomat.
Why it matters
It links Pennsylvania's early iron industry to the state's political leadership, showing how the men who ran the furnaces also shaped public life in the young republic.
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Related people
- · David R. Porter
- · Horace Porter
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Huntingdon, PA · est. 1982
When Pennsylvania carved Huntingdon County out of frontier Bedford County in 1787, the young commonwealth was still ratifying the new federal Constitution. The county took its name from Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, an English patron whose gifts helped the fledgling University of Pennsylvania — a nod to the transatlantic ties that still shaped early American learning. Its valleys of fertile ground, iron ore, timber, and rushing water power drew settlers who would turn the region into a working landscape of farms and forges.
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Juniata Iron
Morris Township, PA · est. 1947
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