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Finding aid for the John McLaren Collection
1866-1965
SFH 22
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Table of contents
Title: John McLaren Collection
Date (inclusive): 1866-1965
Collection Identifier: SFH 22
Creator:
McLaren, John, 1846-1943
Physical Description:
11 boxes
(7.75 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Diaries, daybooks, writings, correspondence, newsclippings, scrapbooks, photographs, books, and artifacts created and/or collected
by McLaren and his granddaughter, Martha "Matie" McLaren Daniels. The collection documents McLaren's gardening, landscape
design, and landscape architecture work for private estates; his travels within the United States and to foreign countries;
and to a lesser extent, his work as Assistant Superintendent of Golden Gate Park and then Superintendent of Parks for the
City and County of San Francisco. Materials originally collected by McLaren have been added to, rearranged, and annotated
by his granddaughter--possibly in preparation of a biography--and a small number of her writings are included.
Physical Location: Collection is stored onsite.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
The collection is open for research, with photographs available for viewing during Photo Desk hours: Tuesday: 1-5; Thursday:
1-5; Saturday: 10-12, 1-5.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
[identification of item], John McLaren Collection (SFH 22), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
The John McLaren Collection was donated to the San Francisco Public Library by Ralph C. Daniels ca. April 1970. Five medals
were returned to Valerie Daniels by Gladys Hansen of the San Francisco Public Library in July 1974.
During processing, the entire collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes, and metal paper clips
and most staples were removed. Individual leaves of Jane McLaren's "Notes of a Trip to Europe" (folder 1/14) were flattened
and stabilized with Japanese paper, and a preservation photocopy included in that folder. Some volumes from McLaren's library
had spine repairs and other treatments, and some volumes were isolated due to water and mold damage.
Processed by Tom Carey in 2009.
Photographs have been transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection. Books from McLaren's library have
been transferred to the San Fracisco History Center's book collection; they are represented in the SFPL online catalog with
a call number of SFH 22 and are found in Boxes 10 and 11.
John McLaren was born December 20, 1846 in Craigford, Stirlingshire, Scotland. At age five, he was enrolled in the local grammar
school; he did not go on to high school. About 1857, his family moved to a farm in Muirside, property that remained in the
family until 1935. McLaren's first job was at nearby Bannockburn House, working for the master gardener there starting about
1860. In March 1864, he left to work for three years at a larger estate, Blair Drummond House, near Stirling. Following this,
he found employment at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, enrolling in the botany classes there during at least one winter
and spring. He also found work at other estates: Mavisbank; Dupplin Castle, near Perth; and Gosford, in the Lothians, which
was planted on what had been sand dunes.
McLaren met his future wife, Jane Mill, while studying at the Royal Botanic Garden. While in Edinburgh he was recruited by
George Howard to create a garden for his six-thousand acre estate "El Cerrito" in San Mateo, California. McLaren sailed for
San Francisco in January 1873, and in February McLaren began work for Howard, continuing as head gardener until 1887. During
this time he also landscaped properties owned by Stanford, Mills, Ralston and other wealthy San Francisco peninsula capitalists.
Jane Mill followed McLaren to California, and they were married July 31, 1876 in San Francisco. Their son, Donald, was born
in 1879. He followed in his father's footsteps, managing MacRorie-McLaren Company (1910- ), landscape engineers and nursery
in San Mateo. Donald died in 1925, and Jane died October 4, 1926 in San Francisco.
The Board of Park Commissioners appointed McLaren Assistant Superintendent of Golden Gate Park in 1887, and three years later
he was appointed Superintendent of Parks, a position he held until his death January 12, 1943 at age 97. He was awarded the
George Robert White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1924), elected Associate of Honour by the
Royal Horticultural Society (1930), and honored by the American Institute of Park Executives (1939).
San Francisco's McLaren Park was named in his honor in 1927. While best known for his work transforming sand dunes into Golden
Gate Park, McLaren also supervised the landscaping of Lincoln, Harding, and Sharp Parks, and the 1915 Panama-Pacific International
Exposition, in San Francisco, and Lithia Park in Ashland, Oregon. For a more complete biography, the best one-volume work
is Tom Girvan Aikman's
Boss Gardener: The Life and Times of John McLaren (San Francisco: Don’t Call It Frisco Press, 1988.)
Diaries, daybooks, writings, correspondence, newsclippings, scrapbooks, photographs, books, and artifacts created and/or collected
by McLaren and his granddaughter, Martha "Matie" McLaren Daniels. The collection documents McLaren's gardening, landscape
design, and landscape architecture work for private estates; his travels within the United States and to foreign countries;
and to a lesser extent, his work as Assistant Superintendent of Golden Gate Park and then Superintendent of Parks for the
City and County of San Francisco.
Half of the collection relates to McLaren's career before his tenure with the City of San Francisco. The earliest material
included is McLaren's daybook of work done at Mavisbank, Scotland, 1866-1871. His personal library of gardening and landscape
architecture includes imprints dating from 1803 to 1934; some volumes appear to have been collected before he came to the
United States.
Materials originally collected by McLaren have been added to, rearranged, and annotated by his granddaughter--possibly in
preparation of a biography--and a small number of her writings are included. Some material in the collection-– proclamations,
memorials, clippings-– was collected posthumously by Daniels. Writings about McLaren, collected by him or by his granddaughter,
are also found in the collection. Considering McLaren's lengthy tenure as Parks Superintendent, there are large gaps in coverage
of his professional life.
The collection is organized into eight series: Series 1: Diaries, Day Books and Writings by McLaren; Series 2: Correspondence;
Series 3: Writings about McLaren; Series 4: Awards and Certificates; Series 5: News Clippings and Scrapbooks; Series 6: Photographs;
Series 7: Realia; and Series 8: Library. Within series, folders are generally arranged chronologically. Within folders, items
are arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Daniels, Martha McLaren
El Cerrito (Estate : San Mateo, Calif.) .
Howard, George H., 1827-1878
McLaren family
Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, Calif.)
Horticulturists--California--Biography
Landscape architects--California--Biography