Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 48(6): November 2022 urban greening, women’s historical contributions have been largely overlooked. Yet women such as Ses- sions, Scidmore, and Dock engaged in and initiated advocacy for urban greening, with Dock also work- ing in rural wilderness conservation. These women mobilized resources and pushed the boundaries of what women could accomplish during this era for their cit- ies and the environment. Female Advocates for Urban Greening in Philadelphia Several women were prominent in urban greening in Philadelphia and deserve credit for green spaces still enjoyed today. Crucially, many of the women we dis- cuss here were in Harrison’s social circle, often living in her neighborhood around Rittenhouse Square, one of the town squares from the city’s original 1683 plan (Milroy 2016) and an area where many elite families lived around the turn of the 20th century. Elizabeth Price Martin (Mrs. J. Willis Martin) was a member of Philadelphia’s high society and was the sister of Eli Kirk Price II, commissioner of the Fair- mount Park Commission (FPC)—the agency respon- sible for Philadelphia’s municipal parks at the time (Heinzen 2009). Martin, along with Dr. J. William White, traveled to France in the early 20th century in search of inspiration for the revitalization of Ritten- house Square. Unfortunately, during that time, Rit- tenhouse Square had many dead trees, and no planting had been done in years (Rivinus 1951). Martin was motivated by the perceived health and social benefits of European city parks and ultimately recruited the French architects Jacques Gréber and Paul Cret, who were already working in Philadelphia (Baratta 2002), to help with her endeavor (Rivinus 1951). At an initial meeting of neighborhood residents about the beautifi- cation of the square in 1913, a committee was selected to enhance the space, including Ellen Harrison and Elizabeth Martin (Heinzen 2009). This group became the basis for the Rittenhouse Square Improvement Association, spearheaded by Martin. In addition, Mar- tin founded and was president of the flower market in Rittenhouse Square, which raised money for the park’s improvement (Baratta 2002). Martin and her neighbors’ daughter, Ernestine Goodman, were 2 of the founders of the Garden Club of Philadelphia. While in Martin’s garden in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, the 2 agreed that, “Since a ‘range of gardening’ had ‘swept 337 across this country’ there was good reason to link American gardeners through an association of garden clubs” (Seale 2013). The Garden Club of America was a direct product of the Garden Club of Philadel- phia. The founding meeting for the Garden Club of America would follow in 1913, in the home of Jane Irwin Robeson Henry (Mrs. Bayard Henry) in the Germantown neighborhood (Seale 2013). The tree- filled Rittenhouse Square park, and the prestigious neighborhood surrounding it, became the verdant land- scape it is today as a result of these women’s activities. Several other Philadelphia women were promi- nent in the City Parks Association (CPA), and like Harrison, they used their social standing and wealth to advance urban greening. Mary S. Linton Lundy (Mrs. J. P. Lundy) was a manager and officer of the CPA from its founding in 1888 until her death in 1907. The CPA advocated for park space as a means to improve urban conditions. The CPA and FPC grad- ually built up Philadelphia’s park system as individ- ual parcels that were donated and became public land (Armstrong 2012). Lundy “gave her whole heart to securing open spaces.” She acquired 45 parks and squares which were given to the city. In addition, she was an organizer of the Pennsylvania Forestry Asso- ciation (Rimby 2012). A CPA report said of Lundy that, “No other Philadelphia woman of her time has had a more effective share in leaving the conditions of her City and her State better than she found them” (The City Parks Association of Philadelphia 1907). Mary Johnson Brown Chew (Mrs. Samuel Chew) was a member, and later manager, of the CPA in Phil- adelphia from 1906 to 1927. Chew was interested in the “open spaces of the city and in their preservation and beautification.” She gifted Cliveden Park to the city and led a movement to preserve Stenton Estate as a park (The City Parks Association of Philadelphia 1928). Giving estates as gifts to the city park system was a trend among elite Philadelphians (Armstrong 2012). Chew gave speeches on behalf of city parks, advocating for their conservation (The City Parks Association of Philadelphia 1928), and she was also present for the aforementioned meeting that launched the Rittenhouse Square Improvement Association (Heinzen 2009). During the time that Lundy and Chew were active in the CPA, the organization was comprised of approximately 45% female members, and approxi- mately 30% of leadership roles were filled by women ©2022 International Society of Arboriculture
November 2022
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