Representative Frank Crawford Sites

Frank Crawford Sites (December 24, 1864 – May 23, 1935) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served one term in Congress from 1923 to 1925. Over the course of his career he was a tradesman, local education official, federal postmaster, and businessman, as well as a national legislator representing his Pennsylvania constituents during a significant period in American history.

Sites was born in Shippensburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1864. In 1875, when he was about ten years old, he moved with his parents to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Growing up in the state capital, he attended the public schools of Harrisburg, receiving the basic education that would support his later work in both business and public service.

After completing his schooling, Sites learned the trade of watchmaker and jeweler. He subsequently practiced those trades in Harrisburg, establishing himself in a skilled profession that required precision and reliability. His work as a watchmaker and jeweler placed him within the commercial life of the city and helped build the local reputation that would later support his entry into public affairs.

Sites began his formal public service in local education. From 1903 to 1912, he served as a director on the Harrisburg school board. In this role he participated in the oversight and administration of the city’s public schools during a period of growth and modernization in public education. His nearly decade-long tenure on the board reflected the confidence of the community in his judgment and leadership.

In 1913, Sites was appointed postmaster of Harrisburg, a significant federal position in the era when the Post Office was a major instrument of government service and communication. He served as postmaster from 1913 until his successor was appointed in 1922, overseeing postal operations in the state capital through World War I and the early postwar years. His long service in this role further solidified his standing as a Democratic Party figure in Pennsylvania.

Building on his local and federal administrative experience, Sites was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-eighth Congress and served as a Representative from Pennsylvania in the United States Congress from March 4, 1923, to March 3, 1925. A member of the Democratic Party, he contributed to the legislative process during his single term in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents at the national level during a significant period in American history. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1924, bringing his congressional service to an end after one term.

After leaving Congress, Sites returned to Harrisburg and entered the bond business, continuing his engagement in the economic life of the city. He remained a resident of Harrisburg for the rest of his life. Frank Crawford Sites died in Harrisburg on May 23, 1935. He was interred at East Harrisburg Cemetery, closing a life that had combined skilled trade, local educational leadership, federal administration, national legislative service, and private business activity in Pennsylvania’s capital region.