Barr, Morris Abner, 1884-

Morris Abner Barr was a contractor, poet, and proprietor of the Valley Forge Springs Museum, Valley Forge, Pa.

From the description of The General George Washington sentry tree for years preserved at Valley Forge at a great cost, and three scrapbook pages, 1943. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 62171638

Morris Abner Barr was born March 4, 1884, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He received four months of schooling at Berks Public School. Barr worked as a building contractor and discovered a mineral water spring when he was excavating the cellar of his home. He named the spring Valley Forge Spring and became interested in mineralogy when he found the site was also rich in gemstones. For "Immortalizing the Sentry Tree of George Washington" (for thirty years he converted the wood from the tree into stools, gavels and letter openers), he was awarded a Doctor of Letters Degree by Bolin Memorial University, at Lake Jackson Conservatory, in Manassas, Virginia. Barr died in 1974 in Royersford, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

From the guide to the Morris Abner Barr papers, Barr (Morris Abner) papers, 1939-1968, (John Hay Library Special Collections)