Isaac C. Fowler

Isaac Chapman Fowler (September 2, 1831, Jeffersonville, Virginia – April 29, 1905) was a Virginia politician. He served as mayor of Bristol, Virginia, from 1871 to 1875, represented Washington County in the Virginia House of Delegates, and served as that body's Speaker from 1881 until 1882 as a member of the Readjuster Party.

Early life and family life Isaac Fowler was born to Thomas and Priscilla Fowler on September 23, 1831, in Tazewell County, Virginia. He attended Emory and Henry College. He married Kezia McDonald Chapman on December 4, 1854. During the Civil War, he worked for the Commissary Department of the Confederate States under John C. Breckinridge. Fowler, along with his brother, Elbert, purchased the Bristol News from A. C. Smith in 1864. He became the paper editor until February 1884. He won his second stint in 1881 and was voted Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates during the 1881–1882 General Assembly meeting. As speaker, he oversaw legislation enacted that repealed the state's poll tax as a prerequisite to voting and liberalized appropriations for the state's public school system, which included the creation of Virginia State University, passage of the ReAdjusters debt bill, and reform of tax laws. After his term as speaker was up, he served as Clerk of the U. S. District Court in Abingdon, until shortly before he died in 1904.

Death and legacy Fowler died on April 6, 1904. He is buried at East Hill Cemetery in Bristol, Virginia.