During World War I, super-patriotism of unhistorically minded critics demanded the abandonment of the name of the King of Prussia Inn, because the United States was at war with Germany. Propaganda depicting cruelty by the despotic militarism and harsh discipline of the Prussian ruling classes fanned the flames for a name change.
On August 9, 1918, Senator Philander C. Knox wrote in a letter from his Valley Forge farm that “a few patriotic citizens” demonstrated their antipathy to anything German. These citizens took it upon themselves to shoot up the old sign board at the King of Prussia Inn so that the inn was then referred to as “Ye Old King Inn.”
Some residents went even further by no longer registering themselves as being from King of Prussia and the village was referred to as Reesville.
With the return of peace, the hostility ceased and the inn and the village names were restored.