Buffalo’s Olmsted park system was built and administered by a commission of citizens operating as a part of the city government. The Buffalo Board of Park Commissioners, commonly referred to as the Park Board, was established by an act of the New York State legislature passed April 14, 1869. It consisted of twelve members, who served for five year terms of office upon appointment by the mayor, who also served as an ex-officio member of the board. The members served without salary, and were free to choose their own presiding officer and to establish a committee structure to assist them in their work. They were eligible to be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, when so authorized by the board.
The Mayor of Buffalo, William Rogers, appointed as the first Buffalo park commissioners Sherman S. Jewett, Dexter P. Rumsey, William Dorsheimer, Lewis P. Dayton, M.D., Richard Flach, John Greiner, Dennis Bowen, Edwin T. Evans, John Cronyn, M.D., Joseph Warren, James Mooney, and Pascal Pratt on 19 April 1869. During the initial organization of the Board, Mayor Rogers temporarily functioned as the presiding officer of the first meeting while officers were elected. Mr. Rogers, whose term of office as mayor would end at the conclusion of the year, was initially voted to be the President. He accepted, but only until Pascal Pratt, who was absent from city, could be the chosen as the permanent President. Mr. Rogers and all the members present were in agreement that Mr. Pratt was most deserving of the honor. Mr. Rogers, however, was willing to continue to serve as a regular member of the Board thereafter. Mr. Evans was elected as Secretary and Treasurer of the Board, to serve until a salaried officer could be hired for the role. As it developed, Mr. Pratt was duly elected President of the Board at the February 1870 meeting, and Mr. Rogers, whose term as had ended Mayor the preceding month, was chosen as the salaried Secretary.
One of the park board’s first activities was to make a formal appointment of Olmsted, Vaux & Company as landscape architects. To oversee the daily administration of the parks, the board initially employed a Park Engineer and a Superintendent of Planting. The park engineer they engaged was George K. Radford, who already had a working association with Olmsted and Vaux in their work on the Chicago, Illinois, parks. They also selected William McMillan, a professional horticulturist who had come to Buffalo from Flushing, New York, on Olmsted’s recommendation to serve as the Director of Planting for the Buffalo parks.
When the initial surveys of the grounds were completed in 1873, the new position of Superintendent was created to oversee the administration and maintenance of the parks. As the first Park Superintendent they chose Mr. McMillan. Mr. Radford resigned to enter into a partnership with Calvert Vaux.
The Board of Park Commissioners guided the creation and development of Buffalo’s park and parkway system for 47 years. During that time, they oversaw the expenditure of very significant amounts of City funds and had their responsibilities increased several times, eventually becoming responsible for all city parks, squares and public grounds, the city zoo, a botanic garden and a sizable amount of public roadways. In an era which regarded charity as a private responsibility, the parks provided a means of providing for the able bodied poor and jobless. At times so many men applied for work that the available park construction jobs were rotated daily to spread the benefit among as many families as possible. Despite their level of responsibility, the Board of Park Commissioners proved unique among the governing bodies of the city, in that not one scandal ever blotted the administration of the parks and the public funds appropriated for them! The Board was renowned well beyond the boundaries of the city for its honesty and incorruptibility.
Two major changes to the structure of the Board of Park Commissioners over its time of service. The first occurred in February 1902, when a new state law replaced the longstanding format of membership and reduced its composition to just five members. It appears that proponents of the City Beautiful movement were the driving force for the change, and that the larger board was seen as an impeding element to the interests who sought to both reshape the parks toward a less passive and more active role, coupled with a drive toward expenditure reductions.
The second, and more fateful change came just over a decade later. A complete revision of the City Charter, which took effect on January 1, 1916 eliminated the bicameral legislative structure of the city government and all of the many commissions responsible for governmental administration, including the Park Commission. The end of the Park Board also marked the conclusion of the period of continued expansion and improvement of the Buffalo park and parkway system. Its functions were replaced by the city Department of Public Buildings and Parks, and under its administration the parks were soon subordinated to other municipal activities. The nearly 50 year old association of the City of Buffalo with Frederick Law Olmsted and his firm and successors ended with the demise of the Park Board. Sadly, after less than one year of the new form of administration, a financial misappropriation scandal struck the Parks Department, forcing the resignation of the Commissioner of Public Building and Parks … and highlighting what Buffalo lost when the Park Commission was disbanded.