Henry Clay Trexler (April 17, 1854 – November 17, 1933) was an American industrialist, businessman, and major philanthropist who contributed to the economic development of Allentown, Pennsylvania and the surrounding Lehigh Valley in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

He bequeathed the majority of his estate to create the Harry C. Trexler Trust,[1] which has since dispensed more than $150 million in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

[9] With headquarters in Allentown, the company maintained branch and sales offices in New York City, Norfolk, Virginia, Sumter, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Jacksonville, Florida.

[10] One of their major logging sites was in Ricketts, Pennsylvania, where the company harvested 500 million board feet of lumber over 20 years, from 1890 to 1910.

[12] Trexler served as the first chief executive officer of Lehigh Portland Cement, which was officially incorporated on November 26, 1897.

Between 1916 and 1933, Harry Trexler purchased an additional 41 farms in Lowhill Township and Trexlertown, which were merged to establish a cattle ranch.

[16] Harry C. Trexler was part of a small group of five founding directors of the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, later renamed PP&L and now PPL Corporation, in Allentown.

"Trexler also got involved early in the building of utility infrastructure of the Lehigh Valley," author Bill Beck wrote in his biography on PPL.

[18] By 1928, Trexler's stature and influence at PP&L allowed him to assume the lead role in selecting John Wise as the company's second president.

[19] Trexler's personal aide and secretary for 17 years, Nolan Benner (1893-1980), recorded Trexler's significant role in PP&L history: "The General’s persuasion and engaging manner won the controversy (about locating PP&L’s headquarters) and the new building was constructed on the northwest corner of Ninth and Hamilton."

[21] Trexler's long-time secretary and personal aide Nolan Benner recorded in his memoir, "The General had a splendid military bearing and was a statuesque figure on his white charger (horse) Jack O’Diamonds.

[24] When Trexler died in 1933, the preserve passed to the ownership of Lehigh County, which assumed title in 1935 and has been in control of the land since.

With the additional development of Hickory Run streams 50 miles north of Allentown, Trexler was able to sell his trout and had his own private preserve to test and enjoy newer approaches to farming.

[26][27] In 1920, Trexler told those who questioned his interest: "In the not too distant future, men will be working shorter hours and they will have more leisure time...I would like to see Hickory Run developed into a State Park where the families can come and enjoy wholesome recreation.

The Hickory Run lands would be ideally located for either a government or state park...It took General Trexler 25 years to buy up these various tracts, and it would be impossible for our own state or the government to purchase such a large tract, free of encumbrances so peculiarly suited for public park purposes.

[29]Hickory Run State Park today boasts 15,990 acres of recreational land with over 40 miles of trails and trout streams.

On November 16, 1933, Trexler's automobile collided with a broken down truck on the William Penn Highway in Wilson, Pennsylvania.

Held annually, Romper Day marked the close of organized summer activities at Allentown's playgrounds.

Children from the city's playgrounds gathered for track events and demonstrations of various dances and drills along with their parents and community members.

The Trexlers organized workers to carry out the details and provided funds for transportation and refreshments for thousands of children, parents, and friends.

[35] Trexler's longtime aide and secretary Nolan Benner once recorded, "He will be cited as the man who—with a generous spirit and a sagacious foresight—bequeathed for the improvement of his fellowmen the accumulated earnings of his life.