Representative George Washington Prince - Contact Information

George Washington Prince (March 4, 1854 – September 26, 1939) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Illinois who served nine consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives between 1895 and 1913. Born in Tazewell County, Illinois, he was raised in the rural Midwest and attended the public schools, receiving the basic education that prepared him for later professional and political life. His early years in Illinois, a state undergoing rapid economic and political development in the post–Civil War era, helped shape his understanding of the concerns of farmers, small-town professionals, and emerging industrial communities that he would later represent in Congress.

Prince pursued higher education at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, an institution known in the late nineteenth century for its strong liberal arts curriculum and engagement with public affairs. He was graduated from Knox College in 1878. Following his graduation, he studied law, reflecting a common path for ambitious young men of his generation who sought entry into public service through the legal profession. After completing his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar in 1880 and commenced the practice of law in Galesburg, Illinois, establishing himself in a growing regional center of commerce and education.

Prince quickly became active in local public affairs. He served as city attorney of Galesburg from 1881 to 1883, a position that placed him at the intersection of municipal governance, regulation, and civic development during a period of urban growth. His work as city attorney enhanced his reputation as a capable lawyer and public servant. In 1884 he advanced within the Republican Party organization, serving as chairman of the Republican county central committee of Knox County. In that role he helped direct local party strategy, candidate support, and voter mobilization at a time when party organizations were central to political life in Illinois.

Building on his local prominence, Prince entered state-level politics. He was elected as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1888 and was reelected in 1890, serving during a period marked by debates over economic policy, regulation, and the interests of farmers and laborers in a rapidly industrializing state. In 1892 he sought statewide office as the Republican candidate for attorney general of Illinois. Although he was an unsuccessful candidate for attorney general on the Republican ticket that year, the campaign increased his visibility within the party and laid the groundwork for his subsequent congressional career.

Prince entered national politics in the mid-1890s. He was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Philip Sidney Post. Taking his seat on December 2, 1895, he represented an Illinois district during a transformative era in American history that included the closing of the frontier, the Spanish-American War, and the rise of the Progressive movement. He was reelected to the Fifty-fifth and to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving continuously from December 2, 1895, to March 3, 1913. Throughout these nine terms in office, he contributed to the legislative process as a loyal member of the Republican Party, participating in debates and votes on issues of national expansion, economic regulation, and infrastructure development, and representing the interests of his Illinois constituents in the House of Representatives.

During his long tenure in Congress, Prince held several committee chairmanships that reflected both his seniority and his engagement with technical and infrastructural questions. He served as chairman of the Committee on Ventilation and Acoustics in the Fifty-sixth Congress, a body concerned with the physical conditions and functionality of the Capitol and its chambers. He later chaired the Committee on Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River in the Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth Congresses, where he was involved in oversight and legislative efforts related to flood control, navigation, and river improvements on one of the nation’s most important waterways. In the Sixty-first Congress he served as chairman of the Committee on Claims, which handled a wide range of private and public claims against the federal government. Despite his long service and leadership roles, he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress, a year that saw significant political realignments within the Republican Party and the rise of third-party challenges.

After leaving Congress in March 1913, Prince relocated from Illinois to Los Angeles, California, later that year. In Los Angeles he continued the practice of law, bringing to his new community the experience of more than three decades in legal practice and public office. He remained professionally active until 1917, when he retired from active business pursuits. In retirement he resided in Los Angeles during a period of rapid growth and transformation in Southern California, living there quietly for more than two decades after the conclusion of his congressional career.

George Washington Prince died in Los Angeles, California, on September 26, 1939. He was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. His life spanned from the antebellum era through the Great Depression, and his public career reflected the evolution of Illinois and the nation during a time of industrialization, westward expansion, and increasing federal involvement in economic and infrastructural affairs.