Mira Lloyd Dock Residence

Mira Lloyd Dock Residence (HM3OV)

Location: Harrisburg, PA 22030 Dauphin County
Buy Pennsylvania State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 40° 16.176', W 76° 53.645'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 1288 views
Inscription
Perhaps the single-most important event that would trigger the public's embrace of Harrisburg's City Beautiful movement was the speech given on the evening of December 20, 1900, to the Harrisburg Board of Trade by social reformer and environmentalist Mira Lloyd Dock (1853-1945). Dock, who was born and raised in Harrisburg, formed a collaboration in the 1890's with noted Harrisburg printer and horticulturalist, J. Horace McFarland, to spearhead a new environmental consciousness, which established Harrisburg as one of the first national models for urban beautification and civic enhancement. With a background in the study of biology both in America and Europe, Dock's sensitivity to nature and ecology was applied to the Harrisburg "experiment." Her focus upon the unsanitary conditions of the Susquehanna River and riverfront, which had been the depository for rubbish and garbage prior to the establishment of municipal trash collection serves, was the catalyst to the creation of the Harrisburg League of Municipal Improvements and to the City's commitment to upgrade its parks and public works infrastructure. Dock and her family lived here in the house at 1427 N. Front Street at the turn of the 20th Century. Of great coincidence was that the land upon which this house was erected in the 1890's was earlier the nursery of Horace McFarland's father. It was here where McFarland lived as a youth and where he acquired his appreciation for flowers, seeds and botany before establishing Breeze Hill in Bellevue Park at Harrisburg's eastern end. Dock went on to serve for 13 years as an early member of the Pennsylvania State Forest Reserve Commission, the first woman to be appointed to a government post in Pennsylvania. There she led efforts in the acquisition of many of the Commonwealth's state forests for which she is also widely remembered.
Top Map
1889 City Atlas showing the Southeast corner of N. Front and Reily Streets with arrow pointing to McFarland Property
Bottom Map
1901 City Atlas showing the Southeast corner of N. Front and Reily Streets after being subdivided and developed with arrow pointing to Dock property.
Details
HM NumberHM3OV
Series This marker is part of the Pennsylvania: The Harrisburg History Project series
Tags
Placed ByThe Harrisburg History Project Commissioned by Mayor Stephen R. Reed
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, October 24th, 2014 at 7:55pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 338954 N 4459401
Decimal Degrees40.26960000, -76.89408333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 16.176', W 76° 53.645'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 16' 10.56" N, 76° 53' 38.70" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)703, 571
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 10479-10485 Capital Area Greenbelt, Harrisburg PA 22030, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. What year was the marker erected?
  8. This marker could use another picture or two.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?