In recognition of Women’s History Month, this blog post is about “The Mother of Balboa Park”, Kate Sessions.
Kate Sessions statue
Her statue, placed in 1998 on the South side of El Prado. It is just West of Balboa drive and the famous Cabrillo bridge.
Brief biography
Katherine Olivia Sessions was born in San Francisco on November 8, 1857. She developed an interest in plants early in life. After completing high school in Oakland, California she traveled with family friends to what is now Hawaii. That trip bolstered her interest in horticulture.
Sessions was one of the first women to obtain a degree in “scientific curriculum” from the University of California at Berkeley in 1881. She started teaching 8th grade after graduating. That ended within a year, as she quickly realized that it was not her life goal. By 1885, she partnered with friends to open a nursery in the City of Coronado, California.
After the nursery in Coronado opened, Sessions started a business discussion with the City of San Diego. In exchange for leasing nursery space in City Park near downtown San Diego, she would plant 100 trees a year in the park. Her lease with the city ended after 10 years. City Park became Balboa Park! The video link in “About Kate” (below) has a nice description of why the city agreed to allow Kate to plant trees of many varieties in the park!
Kate’s agreement with the city included 300 trees per year for planting in other areas. That means there’s a good chance that trees you see around San Diego came from Kate’s work!
Sessions transferred her successful nursery business to Mission Hills. That location is open today! The video below is from that site:
About Kate – Kate Sessions Trees (katestrees.org)
Sessions died in 1940, very well known in the horticulture world. She co-edited a monthly magazine and wrote articles about plant care.
The Sessions family graves
Katherine Olivia “Kate” Sessions (1857-1940) – Find a Grave Memorial
The photos show the Sessions family graves. Mount Hope is the City Cemetery. Fittingly, a tree threatens their graves!
Video of the family grave site
About the author
About the author – Cultures and Graves
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