NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
4 June 2004

CONTRIBUTIONS OF CITY CIVIC LEADER J. HORACE MCFARLAND TO BE RECOGNIZED BY DAUPHIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN SPECIAL MONTH LONG EXHIBIT AT HARRIS/CAMERON MANSION

Harrisburg, PA—The life and contributions of city forefather J. Horace McFarland will be highlighted during a special month-long exhibit at the Dauphin County Historical Society beginning on Sunday, June 6, with a special presentation featuring McFarland biographer Susan Rimby of Shippensburg University, Mayor Stephen R. Reed said today in issuing a mayoral proclamation declaring June as McFarland Centennial Month for the City of Harrisburg. The special exhibit highlights McFarland’s life and the many innovations and contributions the distinguished civic leader made to our city, state and nation.

The exhibit celebrates the Centennial Anniversary of McFarland’s presidency of the American Civic Association, which is recognized today as the driving force behind the creation of the National Park Service and many other civic enhancements and amenities that grace America’s urban environment to this day.

Mayor Reed said McFarland is best known today for his work in creating Harrisburg’s City Beautiful Movement, and his efforts to establish our National Park System. The renowned publisher, horticulturist and civic leader was perhaps Harrisburg’s most prominent citizen at the turn of the 20th Century, and his legacy continues to benefit citizens across the nation today.

Born in McAlisterville, PA on September 24, 1859, to Lt. Col. George F. McFarland, a Civil War veteran wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, and his wife Adeline Griesemer, the younger McFarland moved to Harrisburg in 1865 with his parents when they bought the former Riverside Nursery on Reily Street in today’s Midtown. In addition to working on his parents’ nursery, McFarland also worked with his father in a family-owned and operated newspaper, which served as fertile training ground for the younger McFarland’s lifelong avocation for publishing.

McFarland began his own publishing business in 1878, when he opened the Mt. Pleasant Press at Crescent and Mulberry Streets in the city’s Allison Hill. Renamed the J. Horace McFarland Company, the rapidly growing publishing concern became one of the nation’s top producers of seed catalogues and gardening books, which had long been his active hobby.

McFarland is also credited with bringing rose growing to the general public, for whom he wrote extensively on growing practices for amateur gardeners.

McFarland’s lasting fame came with the creation of the City Beautiful Movement in the early 1900’s, when he and such other city luminaries as Mira Lloyd Dock and Vance C. McCormick successfully undertook the extensive clean-up of Harrisburg’s waterfront, established drinking water and sewerage systems, created road, bridge, train and trolley right of ways, and much more. Their efforts also resulted in the creation of Riverfront, Reservoir, Capitol and Wildwood Lake Parks, amenities which are amongst Harrisburg’s most idyllic natural amenities to this day.

Following his ascension to the presidency of the American Civic Association in 1904, McFarland spoke around the country on the need for a national system of parks, and in 1908 lobbied for the same during an address at the White House to the nation’s governors. The U.S. National Park System we enjoy today was a direct outgrowth of his advocacy for the creation of such.

The Dauphin County Historical Society’s observances of McFarland’s impact and contributions will begin with a 5:00 p.m. reception at the John Harris/Simon Cameron Mansion on Sunday, followed by Susan Rimby’s presentation at 6:00 p.m. The program is free, but reservations are required and can be made by calling the Society at (717) 233.3462. Group tours are also offered with prior reservations suggested. The Dauphin County Historical Society can also be contacted at hsdc@paonline.com, or via their website at www.dauphincountyhistoricalsociety.org.

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