The Pennsylvania Society - Origins and Organization

Origins and Organization

The tradition for Pennsylvania's political and business retreat dates to 1899, when James Barr Ferree, a native Pennsylvanian living in New York invited a group of 55 other Pennsylvanians living in New York to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to discuss current affairs in their native state. The dinner became a recurring event and the group began calling themselves "The Pennsylvania Society of New York." It later developed into an annual gathering of Pennsylvania politicians and businessmen on New York's "neutral ground." The organization later changed its name to The Pennsylvania Society and became a nonprofit charitable organization. It was incorporated in 1903, and currently claims 2,000 members. While it sponsors a high school essay contest, the main function of the organization is to organize the weekend retreat.

The gathering began as an exclusively Republican event, but it now includes a sizable number of Democrats. The early years of the meeting were reminiscent of the stereotypical smoke-filled room, where Pennsylvania steel, coal and oil magnates met in closed-door meetings to select their political candidates. That public perception continues, with political legend telling of New York-based businessmen summoning Pennsylvania's politicians to New York to receive their instructions for the following year.