Scope and Content Note
The papers of Mira Lloyd Dock (1853-1945) span the years 1814-1951, with the bulk of the material dating from 1899 to 1945. The papers are in English and German and are organized into Correspondence , Speeches and Writings , Miscellany , and Oversize series primarily relating to Dock's involvement in horticulture, forestry, conservation, and forestry education in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the United States as well as in Germany and England.
The Correspondence series covers Dock's early efforts, her years as the first woman on the State Forestry Reservation Commission of Pennsylvania, and her work through women's organizations such as the General Federation of Women's Clubs and the State Federation of Pennsylvania Women in the areas of conservation, forestry, horticulture, forestry education, and city beautification. Notable correspondents include F. Bascom, Sir Dietrich Brandis, Marion A. Crocker, T. B. Jäger, Warren H. Manning, J. Horace McFarland, Gifford Pinchot, Joseph T. Rothrock, Charles Sprague Sargent, Mary Belle King Sherman, and H. A. Surface.
Also in the Correspondence are letters from family member William Dean Howells as well as letters concerning Dock and Lloyd family genealogy. Early nineteenth-century correspondence written by Dock and Lloyd ancestors is supplemented in the Miscellany series by an 1864 contract with Gilliard Dock for work on the Lorberry Creek Railroad in Pennsylvania.
The Speeches and Writings span Dock's career and cover topics such as forest conservation; forest fires; playgrounds; park development; forestry education; Arbor Day; city beautification of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; gardening; John Bartram; and tree species. Included is a draft and printed version of a report documenting her 1899 trip to Europe, most notably to England and the Black Forest of Germany. Other reports include those written for the State Forestry Reservation Commission of Pennsylvania and various women's clubs.
The Miscellany is comprised mostly of newspaper clippings and printed matter relating to Dock's interest in forestry, conservation, horticulture, and genealogy.