Turners

Turners, especially Francis Lieber (1798–1872), were the leading sponsors of gymnastics as an American sport and the field of academic study.

The organizations continue to exist in areas of heavy German immigration, such as Iowa, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, Syracuse, New York, Kentucky, New York City, Sacramento, and Los Angeles.

[13] After the Civil War, the national organization took a new name, Nordamerikanischer Turnerbund, and supported German-language teaching in public high schools, as well as gymnastics.

The high point in membership came in 1894, with 317 societies and about 40,000 adult male members, along with 25,000 children and 3000 women.

Like other German-American groups, the Turners experienced suspicion during World War I, even though they now had very little contact with Germany.

[15] In 1948, the US Post Office issued a 3-cent commemorative stamp to mark the 100th anniversary of the movement in the country.

[16] The Turnverein Vorwaerts of Fort Wayne, Indiana, owned the Hugh McCulloch House from 1906 until 1966.

Gymnastics room in Turner Hall, Milwaukee , c. 1900
3,000 Turners performed at the Federal Gymnastics Festival in Milwaukee, 1893.
Group portrait of the St. Louis, Missouri Turnverein in 1860
Postage stamp commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the American Turners