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. He later studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1894. He practiced in Wilkes-Barre. McGroarty moved to
Montana and held an executive position with the Anaconda Copper Mining Company at Butte and Anaconda from 1896 to 1901.
Journalism Afterward, he moved to
Los Angeles, California in 1901 and worked as a journalist. In 1909, McGroarty edited a
Los Angeles Times centenary edition of Lincoln's birth with an introspective on black people in Los Angeles. He became a "beloved figure in black Los Angeles" for his broad-minded views. McGroarty authored numerous books and dramas, one of his best-known works being
The Mission Play (1911), a three-hour pageant describing the
California Missions from their founding in 1769 through secularization in 1834, ending with their "final ruin" in 1847. The play opened on April 29, 1912. McGroarty also penned
California: Its History and Romance in 1911 and
Mission Memories in 1929. In his book the
California Plutarch, 1935, he detailed the lives and histories of Northern and Southern California's early pioneers such as the Crocker, Carrillo, Van Nuys, Stanford, Avila, Estrada, Sepulveda, Baldwin and Mulholland families. Besides, he was also the long-time editor of
West Coast Magazine. McGroarty was designated
poet laureate of California by the state legislature in 1933.
Political career He served in the
74th Congress from January 3, 1935, to January 3, 1937, where he played a significant role in introducing the
Townsend Bill to the legislature. McGroarty was reelected to the
75th Congress from January 3, 1937, to January 3, 1939. In 1937, he introduced a successful bill that enabled the federal government to purchase a large timber holding from the
Yosemite Lumber Company, bringing the land within the boundaries of
Yosemite National Park. He worked on old age pension reform, and opposed President
Roosevelt on the question of expanding the
Supreme Court. 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. After his brief stint in politics, McGroarty resumed the profession of journalism in
Tujunga, California.
Death and legacy 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. It became a part of the City of Los Angeles in 1932. The building, located at 7570 McGroarty Terrace, is now Historic Cultural Monument No. 63 of the City of Los Angeles and is known as the McGroarty Arts Center. == Electoral history ==