John S. McGroarty

Born at Buck Mountain, in Foster Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (near Wilkes-Barre), McGroarty was the youngest of 12 children.

He was educated at public schools and Harry Hillman Academy in Wilkes-Barre, and was employed as treasurer of Luzerne County from 1890 to 1893.

[3] In 1938 McGroarty left his seat to run for California Secretary of State; he was defeated in the Democratic primary by incumbent Republican Frank C. Jordan.

McGroarty died in St. Vincent's Hospital in Los Angeles, California on August 7, 1944, at the age of 81, and was interred at Calvary Cemetery.

He lived in Tujunga, California, in a house known as Chupa Rosa, that he built himself and completed in 1923 in what was at the time the unincorporated community of Sunland.

McGroarty in 1893
McGroarty c. 1912
The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse , a classic example of " Mission Revival Style architecture ," was built in 1927 as the "Mission Playhouse" specifically as a venue for McGroarty's production of The Mission Play , which chronicled the history of California . A statue of him sits in the theatre's lobby.