J. Horace McFarland from McAlisterville, Pennsylvania

McAlisterville, Pennsylvania

McAlisterville is a census-designated place that is part of Fayette Township in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 765 at the 2000 census.-Geography:McAlisterville is located at ....

 was a leading proponent of the "City Beautiful Movement

City Beautiful movement

The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...

" in the United States.

McFarland was the son of Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 colonel George F. McFarland

George F. McFarland

George Fisher McFarland was a schoolteacher from Juniata County, Pennsylvania and Union Army officer during the American Civil War...

. He lived and worked most of his adult life in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

, the state capital. McFarland served as president of the American Civic Association

American Civic Association

The American Civic Association was a United States organization for making better living conditions in America, with an emphasis on improving the physical and structural growth of communities...

 (ACA) from 1904 to 1924. McFarland and the ACA were a major force promoting civic improvement, environmental conservation, and beautification in the USA . McFarland helped organize the defense of Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...

 from development efforts by power companies, worked with the famous environmental preservationist John Muir

John Muir

John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...

 to protect Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...

, and was hailed as the father of the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

.

He is remembered for a statement at the conference of the USA governors held in the White House, Washington D.C., in 1908, I quote:

“It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism.”