G. Fred Blackburn papers

George Frederick Blackburn (1903-1990) was an active member of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), serving as its president between 1951 and 1955. Blackburn was born in Cessna, Pennsylvania in 1903, and received Bachelor and Masters degrees in Mathematics from Princeton University. He relocated to the Washington, D.C. area and worked for the National Bureau of Standards for the majority of his career. Blackburn joined the PATC in 1929, and became actively involved in its activities in the 1930s and 1940s. He served as the organization's president for four years, beginning in 1951. Under his leadership, the PATC fought efforts to convert the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath into a scenic highway. Blackburn was a participant in the hike led by Justice William O. Douglas in 1954 to draw attention to the scenic beauty of the canal, as well as subsequent reunion hikes. G. Fred Blackburn died in 1990.