UPDATED May 27, 2022
Margaret Mary Morgan (1866-1946) was a trailblazer and important figure in San Francisco history. Growing up in Portland, Maine, she moved to San Francisco in 1903 where started her own business: The Margaret Mary Morgan Printing Company at 619 California Street. In 1921 she became the first woman to be elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, a position she held until 1925. She was also involved in the California Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, the California League for Women Voters, the San Francisco Nursery for Homeless Children and the Mount Davidson Conservation Committee.
Mount Davidson is the highest peak in San Francisco. At 928 feet, it is located near the geographical center of the City, just south of Twin Peaks. It is named after George Davidson, former Chief of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey’s Pacific Operations. The land was first granted by Mexico to Don Jose de Jesus Noe. In 1881 it was purchased by Adolph Sutro[1]. When he died his will bequeathed Mount Davidson to charity, but the California Supreme Court would ultimately grant the appraiser of Sutro’s estate the right to develop the area into new residential neighborhoods. Most of the City’s mayors have lived in these neighborhoods. In 1923 the first cross was erected on the summit of Mount Davidson and annual sunrise Easter services began being held there. In 1926 San Francisco resident and State Park Commissioner Madie Brown and Margaret Mary Morgan formed the Mount Davidson Conservation Committee for the purpose of preserving the remaining open space from further development. With their influence these two women raised the funds needed to purchase the land on behalf of the City. On December 20, 1929, Mount Davidson was dedicated as a City park.
The cross at the summit was burnt down by arson, replaced and burned down again several times before Mayor Angelo Rossi and Governor James Rolph3 commissioned the construction of a 103 foot concrete and steel cross that still exists today. President Franklin Roosevelt lit this cross via telegraph from the White House and it remains the largest cross in the world. The sunrise Easter service was broadcast nationwide from the 1940s – 1970s and still takes place today.
In 1991 the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Congress and Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the City over ownership of the cross. Instead of taking it down, the City chose to sell the summit of Mt Davidson. It was purchased by The Counsel of Armenian American Organizations of Northern California4. They installed and then replaced (when the first was stolen) a bronze plaque memorializing the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. A ceremony remembering the Genocide is held every April 24th5.
[1] Adolph Sutro: see story coming March 14th
[3] James “Sunny Jim” Rolph: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=5365
[4] Visit them at https://mountdavidsoncross.org [5] For an indepth dive into the history of Mount Davidson and its surrounding area, I recommend San Francisco’s West of Twin Peaks by Jacqueline Proctor, or her blog at https://mtdavidson.org
