Mira Lloyd Dock
December 25, 1853 - July 11, 1945The first woman appointed to a Pennsylvania state government position, Dock spent the period from 1901 to 1913 traveling around the state inspecting lands and recommending their purchase. In 1903 she began to lecture on botany at the newly opened State Forestry Academy at Mont Alto, a school she had helped found by lobbying for its creation. She would continue to teach there until 1929, using her own textbook, which described all the trees that grew in the state and where they flourished the best.
After stepping down from the Forest Commission in 1912, Dock was active in a broad range of causes, including the movement, led by fellow Harrisburg native Horace McFarland (see below), to preserve Niagara Falls, and the local campaign for women’s suffrage.
View the Conservation Heritage documentary about Ms. Dock (http://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/2365606748) her Bureau of Forestry video vignette (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0U355tKemQ) for an additional look at her life and contributions.