Harlan Page Kelsey

Born: July 9, 1872

Died: July 28, 1958

Burial Location: Sylvan Avenue, Lot 1766, Grave 4

Harlan Page Kelsey was born a twin in Pomona, Kansas. His brother was Harry. They had one sister, Edith Kelsey Hodge. When he was three, the family moved to Highlands, North Carolina.

From a very young age Harlan Kelsey was interested in and also active in his father’s plant nursery business. He was said to have begun to sell flowers at the age of twelve. During the 1870’s he worked on cultivating previously uncultivated plant species. As a young man, he moved to Boston, and set up a nursery and landscape architecture business. He was hired to work for famous Salem business man Daniel Low to work on the landscape of his home, and met Low’s daughter Florence. On November 25, 1902, the couple was married. They lived at 285 Essex St. in Salem. They had four children: Harlan, Jr. Seth, Katherine Sawyer and Jane Hart.

Harlan Kelsey was very active in Salem. He was a member of the first Board of The House of the Seven Gables. He was a landscape architect for Pioneer Village. In 1912, he wrote a plan for the City of Salem. He oversaw the development of Derby Wharf and was instrumental in the establishment of the Salem Maritime Historical Site. He was elected President of the Civic League and was a Park Commissioner as well as a member of the Planning Board.

His activities also took him far from Salem. He served as a member of the National Park Commission, working on the forests of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the Everglades in Florida, The Shenandoah Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains. He was President of the American Association of Nurserymen. His business was based in Boxford Massachusetts and was called Kelsey Highland Nursery.

Harlan Kelsey also wrote about the plants and flowers he loved. He wrote a book called Standardized Plant Names. He also wrote a booklet which was called “Beautifying and Improving Greenville South Carolina: Report to the Municipal League, Greenville, South Carolina” and “The Great Smoke Nuisance” co-authored with Frederick Law Olmsted.

He was honored by the American Horticultural Society for his work in conserving the nation’s forests. The University of Massachusetts awarded him an honorary degree for his work in conservation.

Harlan Page Kelsey died in Salem Hospital.

Sources Consulted:

• ‍Book: Beautiful Land of the Sky: John Muir’s Forgotten Eastern Counterpart, Pioneering Our Native Plants and Eastern National Parks, Loren M. Wood IUniverse, Bloomington Indiana: 2013
• Internet:‍
  • https: Wikipedia.org/w/index.php?=title=Harlan-Kelsey=213306757‍
  • www.findagrave.com/memorial/151691878/harlan-page-kelsey, memorial page for Harlan Page Kelsey (9 Jul.1872-28 Jul 1958) , Find a Grave Memorial ID 151691878, citing Harmony Grove Cemetery, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Four Leaf Clover (contributor 14084634) “www.Noblenet.org/salem/wiki/index,php/Kelsey,_Harlan_P.”‍
  • Salem Evening News: July 29, 1958 Harlan Page Kelsey Obituary
  • Wicked Local Salem: Leave A Legacy: Conservationist Harlan Page Kelsey, John Goff/Preservation Perspective, August 17, 2007