Aurelia Squire Harwood (September 1865 – June 1928), daughter of the wealthy Harwood family of

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

, was a conservationist, educator, and first female President of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

in 1927 and 1928. In addition to her terms as President, she simultaneously sat on the Angeles Chapter's Executive Committee, and the club's Board of Directors, from 1921 to 1928. Harwood had a great love of the outdoors that began during her childhood in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, where she moved with her family at an early age. Over the years, she became a member of the Green Mountain Club, the

Mazamas The Mazamas () is a mountaineering organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1894. Promotion of mountaineering The Mazamas has been an important part of the climbing community in the Pacific Northwest of the United State ...

, and the

Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

. When she settled in her final home of Ontario, California, she joined the Sierra Club, and led local outings there for fourteen years. Another love of Harwood's was education. She attained a liberal arts undergraduate degree at

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,590 undergr ...

, which her father Charles helped endow. Later, she completed graduate studies at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

. After her father's example, Aurelia too donated to help fund universities, contributing to

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

, and scholarships for Chinese students at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

. Harwood died in 1928 and was buried at Bellevue Memorial Park in

. The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club named their new lodge after her in 1930. The peak east of

Mount San Antonio Mount San Antonio, commonly referred to as Mount Baldy or Old Baldy, is a summit in the San Gabriel Mountains on the border of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties of California. Lying within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument an ...

, Mount Harwood, was also named in her honor, and recognized by the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

in 1965. Harwood Court at Pomona College, and her namesake scholarship at Mills College, still bear her family name.

References

* * * * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Aurelia 1865 births 1928 deaths Sierra Club presidents American conservationists Activists from California Wellesley College alumni People from Ontario, California