Parks Commissioner
Centurion, 1915–1936
Born 17 March 1876 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Died 13 March 1936 in Cannes, France
Buried Cimetière du Vieux Chateau
, Menton, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France
Proposed by Henry Holt and Samuel Parsons
Elected 6 February 1915 at age thirty-eight
Archivist’s Note: Son of Thomas Wren Ward
Century Memorial
Most New Yorkers will remember Cabot Ward for his three-year term, after 1914, as Park Commissioner in this city. It was in those days a thankless task, because of inadequate city appropriations and the perpetual conflict of opinion of what should be done in Central Park to save its trees. It was not until unmistakable and shocking evidences of mortality in the wooded spaces had sunk into the average citizen’s mind, that the task of conservation and replanting was grappled with seriously and effectively. But Colonel Ward had won distinction in other fields of activity. He served creditably in various administrative offices at Puerto Rico after 1905, and did successful work in the aviation department of our Expeditionary Force after June, 1917. His service in the Great War won him the Distinguished Service Medal from both the United States and Great Britain, and from France the Legion of Honor.
Alexander Dana Noyes
1937 Century Association Yearbook
