Caption: Elected as a reform-minded Republican in 1926, Governor Fisher hoped to manage state government with "the same honesty and purpose as if it were a corporation." By 1930, however, the state had the third highest unemployment rate in the country and more people losing their jobs daily. To meet the crisis, Fisher supported new public works programs that would earn him the nickname of "The Builder." When he retired from office in January 1931, the worst was yet to come.

Caption: Born on a farm in Luzerne County, Henry Hoyt (1830-1892) taught school at the Towanda Academy and as a professor of mathematics at Wyoming Seminary before becoming a lawyer in 1853. Under Hoyt's governorship, the state legislature revoked the charters of "diploma mill" medical schools, established a new reformatory to teach young male offenders a trade, and banned school segregation. Some urban school districts, however, would ignore the ban for generations to come.

Caption: A former high school principal, newspaper editor, and lawyer from Bellefonte, PA, Daniel Hastings served as state adjutant general under Governor James Beaver in the late 1880s. A popular governor who served during one of the worst depressions in American history, Hastings embraced reforms that included corporate taxes, forest conservation, consumer protection legislation, and expanded state support of public education. A staunch supporter of state farmers, Hastings supported creation of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in 1895.

Caption: A prominent judge, avid historian–and cousin of Pennsylvania Republican party boss Matthew Quay–Samuel Pennypacker proved an uncommonly independent and progressive governor after taking office in 1903. A supporter of child labor protection, conservation, and consumer protection legislation, he publicly defended the new state capital building, which he believed exalted Pennsylvania's status as the Keystone State.

Caption: Wounded four times during the Civil War, James Beaver became an active campaigner for Republican candidates, but refused to run for offered himself, even when offered the opportunity to be James Garfield's vice presidential running mate in 1880. Had he run, Beaver would have become president of the United States when Garfield was assassinated in 1881. In 1886, Beaver became the fourth Civil War general to be elected governor of Pennsylvania.

Caption: Selected by Republican party leaders as the ideal candidate in the 1866 governor's election, war hero John Geary soon proved an independent-minded reformer. During his six years in office, Geary vetoed 390 laws, most of them special interest bills, supported mine safety over the opposition of the coal barons, tried to reduce the railroads' influence with the state legislature, and led the movement for a new state constitution, ratified in 1874 to reduce political corruption.

Caption: Edwin Stuart was just 38 when he was elected mayor of Philadelphia in 1891; the youngest mayor in the city's history. Backed by Republican party boss Bois Penrose, Stuart in 1906 became the first Philadelphia mayor to also win election as the governor of Pennsylvania. As governor, Stuart supported reforms in public education, consumer protection, and public health. He also funded the State Museum, created during his administration, to house the artistic, historical, and natural treasures of the Commonwealth.

Caption: In 1914 Philadelphia School Superintendent Martin Brumbaugh became the first and only Ph.D. to win election as the Governor of Pennsylvania. After his term ended in 1919, Brumbaugh returned to Juniata College and again served as president of the college, from 1924 until his death in 1930.