Our People of the Century Edward Casper Stokes: Champion of the      Environment

Millville Banker Edward Casper Stokes served as governor of New Jersey from 1905 to 1908. A Republican, Stokes was elected to the State Assembly in 1891, and to the State Senate in 1893. Stokes easily won his bid for governor with a plurality of more than 50,000 votes.

One of Stokes’s major contributions was his persistent championing of conservation legislation. By the time he left office, state preservation commissions had been established and more than 10,500 acres of woodland had been bought or contracted.

Along with politics, Stokes continued to pursue a banking career.

His first position was in the Millville National Bank, where his father was employed. By 1899 he had become the first president of a Trenton bank, and eventually served as the first president of the New Jersey State Banking Association.