J. Horace (John Horace) McFarland

Born in 1859, he built a successful printing business in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, after taking over a small press as a teenager. Alongside his publishing career, he became widely known for his interest in gardening and horticulture, writing and speaking about flowers, landscape design, and the value of beautiful, well-kept communities.

He served as president of the American Civic Association and became an influential voice in the City Beautiful movement, which argued that cleaner, greener, better-designed cities could improve public life. He was also active in the early conservation movement and is remembered for efforts that helped rally support for protecting places such as Niagara Falls from overdevelopment.

McFarland died in 1948, but his legacy lives on in both horticulture and civic reform. He stands out as a figure who moved easily between the worlds of business, gardening, and public advocacy, always pushing the idea that beauty in everyday surroundings truly matters.