Charles S . Farnsworth Charles Stewart Farnsworth ( October 29 , 1862 - December 19 , 1955 ) was an American general and civic leader . Early life . Farnsworth was born in Lycoming County , Pennsylvania and attended local public schools . He worked for Western Union and the Bell Telephone company before being appointed to the United States Military Academy in 1883 . Military career . After graduating in 1887 , Farnsworth was sent to various posts in the Great Plains . He was stationed at Fort Sisseton in South Dakota , Fort Shaw in Montana , and Fort Buford in North Dakota . While at Fort Shaw , he married Laura Galey . They had one son , Robert . She died in 1890 . In 1893 he became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of North Dakota . In addition to his teaching job , Farnsworth was also head coach of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team from 1895 to 1896 . In 1894 he married Helen Bosard of Grand Forks , North Dakota . They had no children . During the Spanish - American War , Farnsworth served as a quartermaster in Cuba and was an aide to Adna Chaffee . After the war , Farnsworth was sent to Alaska where he founded and constructed Fort Gibbon . He was then sent to the Philippines where he founded and built Fort William McKinley . He also expanded the cantonments at the Presidio of San Francisco . In 1909 , he attended the Command and Staff College . He graduated from the Army War College in 1916 . During the Punitive Expedition into Mexico , Farnsworth served as a battalion commander and supply base commander . Farnsworth was the commandant of the Infantry Training School at Fort Sill at the beginning of World War I . He then commanded the 159th Infantry Brigade at Camp Lee , Virginia . In 1918 , Farnsworth was promoted to major general and placed in command of the 37th Infantry Division of the Ohio National Guard . He brought the division to France , where it participated in the Battle of Saint - Mihiel and the Meuse - Argonne Offensive . For his service during World War I , Farnsworth received the Distinguished Service Medal and the Silver Star medal . He also received the Croix de guerre with Palm and the Légion d ' honneur from France . From Belgium , he received the Order of Léopold . After World War I , he commanded Camp Bowie in Texas before being ordered to Fort Benning . There , Farnsworth organized the United States Army Infantry School and served as its first commandant . In July 1920 , Farnsworth became Chief of Infantry . He served in that position until his retirement in 1925 . As Chief of Infantry , Farnsworth traveled around the country inspecting reserve units and R . O . T . C . programs . He also reviewed reports by junior officers George S . Patton and Dwight Eisenhower on infantry tactics and the use of armor . Farnsworth dismissed both reports . Farnsworth retired on March 27 , 1925 . Later life and civic leadership . Farnsworth and his wife moved to Altadena , California after his retirement and lived on Las Flores Drive , close to his son . They became involved in the community . Gen . Farnsworth was the president of the Altadena Citizens ' Association and the Altadena Beautification League . He sat as president of the board of the La Vina Sanitorium . He was also a member of the Los Angeles County Planning Commission and the Criminal Complaints Committee of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury . In 1931 , Farnsworth was Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses and was one of a few to ride a horse down the parade route in modern times . Farnsworth was instrumental in the creation of Altadena Park in 1934 . Farnsworth led the fundraising , designed the park , and supervised its grading and landscaping . The park was renamed in his honor in 1939 . His wife died in 1951 . He died in 1955 at the Naval Hospital in Norco , California . They are both buried at the cemetery at the Presidio of San Francisco . The Farnsworth Family Papers ( Robert J . Farnsworth and Charles S . Farnsworth ) collection is housed in the Rasmuson Library Archives , University of Alaska Fairbanks .