11 Mather, Stephen lyng 1867-1930 STEPHEN T. MATHER IN 1915, WHEN HE BECAME ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. Stephen Mather - Conservation Hall of Fame --- National Wildlife Federation Page 1 of 1 NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION 30 HOME CONTACT US SEARCH WILOLIFE WORK EDUCATION TAKE ACTION PRINT & FILM SUPPORT NWF SHOPPING GET OUTDOORS I KIDS ZONE Conservation Hall of Fame R The Induclees Home About Stephen Mather Inductees (1867-1930) Inducted 1969 Enticed out of retirement in 1915 to become the first director of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather forged landmark advances in the quality of the American environment. Stephen 2 matter Mather had a lifelong love of birds and other wildlife, and worked for wildlife protection. When he complained to his friend, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, about the deteriorating conditions he noticed in Yosemite National Park, Lane responded, "If you don't like the condition of our national parks, why don't you come to Washington and do something about it?" When he arrived in the nations capital, Mather immediately took up the task of securing a bureau for the management and protection of national parks and monuments. On August 25, 1916, President Wilson signed the Raker-Kent-Smoot Bill authorizing the National Park Service. Secretary Lane appointed Mather director - a post which he held until early 1929. During Mather's 12 years on the job, the size of the national parks and the monuments under his jurisdiction nearly doubled. He formulated lasting policies on scenic and historic resources, developed an outstanding personnel organization, and initiated programs for interpretation of park features. No doubt about it: Mather did go to Washington, and he did do something about the conditions in America's national parks. Today, the stewardship of 80.7 million acres of National Park land is built on the foundation Mather created. GET OUR NEWSLETTER We E-MAIL THIS PAGE Home I Contact Us I Search I Wildlife Work Education I Take Action Print & Film I Support NWF I Shopping I Get Outdoors I Kids Zone © 1996-2002 National Wildlife Federation. All rights reserved. Read more about NWF, your privacy and terms and conditions. http://www.nwf.org/halloffame/inductees_mather.html 7/15/2002 Stephen Mather Page 1 of 2 Stephen Mather (1867-1930): Yellowstone's grizzlies gained a powerful ally in 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson appointed Stephen T. Mather as the first director of the National Park Service. Over the next 12 years, Mather not only improved conditions and management practices at the existing parks and monuments, but also greatly increased the size of the agency's holdings. In recognition of his efforts, Mather was inducted into the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Hall of Fame in 1969. Unlike many of the early twentieth-century conservationists who became leaders in America's budding natural-resource agencies, Stephen T. Mather came from neither a government nor a science background. Born in San Francisco in 1867, he went on to attend the University of California before becoming a journalist. But after working for five years as a reporter for The New York Sun, he quit to join his father in the borax business. The younger Mather soon earned a reputation as an advertising and promotions wiz, creating the famous 20-mule-team-borax logo for the company. An aggressive businessman, he became wealthy within a decade and by the time he was in his mid- forties, he had retired from the company to pursue other interests. Among those interests were wildlife and the outdoors. During a 1914 backpacking trip with his wife and daughter in Yosemite, Mather was upset by the conditions of the California national park. Upon returning home, he wrote to Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane. The secretary quickly challenged the businessman to come to Washington, D.C., and do something about his concerns. Moving to the nation's capital, Mather assumed office as park administrator on January 21, 1915, intending to serve for only one year. Instead, he stayed until a stroke in 1928 forced his retirement a year before he died in January 1930. Mather's first task at the Interior Department was to create an agency that would oversee the national parks and monuments, which in most cases were plagued with problems. But not everyone shared his views about the best way to use public lands. Some powerful government leaders wanted to use such lands only for economic purposes. To fight these adversaries, Mather aligned with politically savvy park advocates such as California representative William Kent, who in 1908 had given the federal government the land that became Muir Woods National Monument, and Gilbert Grosvenor, founder of the National Geographic Society. They and others helped Mather draft the law that President Wilson signed in August 1916, creating the National Park Service. Mather believed that for the park system to work, he needed to get people into the parks. As the agency's first director, he initiated efforts to build comfortable lodges and good roads in the parks to attract the increasing number of automobile drivers who took to the highways after World War I. Mather also made personal loans to concessioners for improvements to facilities. Mather's personal financing of the agency's operations was not limited to concessions. For a number of years, he also paid nearly half the salaries of upper-level staff and bought additional parklands out of money from his own pocket in an era when the agency's annual budget was only $20,000. Park expansion was another of Mather's priorities and he proved a success in this endeavor, too, bringing into the system such crown jewels as Zion, Grand Canyon and Acadia National Parks (Acadia was the first eastern U.S. park, originally called Lafayette). He also won congressional authorization for the Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks. During his years as director, the acreage managed by the park service almost doubled, from 4,751,992 acres to 8,275,835 acres. Mather's programs set the stage for future park management. Today, as a tribute to his legacy, every national park and monument bears a plaque that reads: "He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done." (Robert Darland). He was obliged to retire as NPS director for reasons of health, and never fully recovered. On his retirement, a Congressional resolution stated "there will never come an end to the good he had done." http://wwwrpts.tamu.edu/Pugsley/Mather.htm 7/15/2002 Stephen Mather Page 2 of 2 Congress also noted that Mather "sacrificed his money, his health, his time, his opportunities for wealth, in order that he might promote that which will mean SO much to the people of this country in the future." Named for him were an Alaskan peak; a highway in the Cascades; a memorial arboretum at the University of California, Berkeley; a forest near Lake George, New York; and a scenic gorge on the Potomac River below the Great Falls. In addition, memorial plaques were erected at each of the then-existing national parks and monuments in the early 1930s. He was an active member of the Sierra Club, Save the Redwoods League, and of other conservation organizations, which helped him to achieve many of his objectives. Mather was a graduate of Boy's High School of San Francisco; He received his Bachelor of Letters, University of California, Berkeley, 1887; LL.D. George Washington University, 1921; and LL.D. University of California Berkeley, 1924. Sources: http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/ml169/2000_Oct-Nov/66243706/pl/article.jhtm http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/onlinebooks/sontag/mather.htmf for additional information Sterling, et. al. (1997). Biographical dictionary of American and Canadian naturalists and environmentalists. Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press. http://wwwrpts.tamu.edu/Pugsley/Mather.htm 7/15/2002 Mather (Stephen T.) Papers Page 1 of 1 Mather (Stephen T.) Papers Inventory of the Stephen Tyng Mather Papers, [ca. 1883-1930] Collection number: BANC MSS C-B 535 The Bancroft Library OF USA (1868 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Contact Information: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu URL: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BANC/ Processed by: The Bancroft Library staff Date Completed: ca. 1954-1967 Encoded by: Charlotte Gerstein C 1997 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. http://www.oac.cdlib.org/dynaweb/ead/berkeley/bancroft/mather/@Generic__BookTextView/;cs=default;ts=default;uf= 7/15/2002 WebVoyage Record View 1 Page 1 of 1 LIBRARY I National Park Service NPS VOYAGER LIBRARY CATALOG HEADINGS TITLES . NEW SEARCH - HISTORY . HELP . EXIT next SHORT VIEW LONG VIEW MARC VIEW Inventory of the Stephen Tyng Mather papers, [ca. 1883-1930] RELEVANCE: TITLE: Inventory of the Stephen Tyng Mather papers, [ca. 1883-1930] FORMAT: Book PUBLISHER: Berkely, CA : University of California, 1997. SUBJECT(S): Mather, Stephen Tng, 1867-1930 LOCATION: Midwest Regional Office CALL NUMBER: SB482.A4 I4 next RECORD OPTIONS Select Download Format Full Record Format for Print/Save Enter your email address: Email Headings Titles Search History Help Exit http://www.library.nps.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&CNT=20&Search%5F.. 12/31/2006 WebVoyage Record View 1 Page 1 of 1 LIBRARY National Park Service NPS VOYAGER LIBRARY CATALOG HEADINGS * TITLES . NEW SEARCH - HISTORY . HELP . EXIT SHORT VIEW LONG VIEW MARC VIEW Stephen T. Mather correspondence and papers : C-B 535 ; Report and key to MAIN AUTHOR: Mather, Stephen Tyng, 1867-1930. TITLE: Stephen T. Mather correspondence and papers : C-B 535 ; Report and key to arrangement. FORMAT: Archival/Manuscript Material PUBLISHER: [Berkeley, CA : The Bancroft Library, University of California, n.d.] SUBJECT(S): Mather, Stephen Tyng, 1867-1930 - Collections National Park Service (U.S.) - History Borax LOCATION: Harpers Ferry Center-NPS CALL NUMBER: SB481.A1M2 RECORD OPTIONS Select Download Format Full Record Format for Print/Save Enter your email address: Email Headings Titles Search History Help Exit http://www.library.nps.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?SC=Subject&SA=Mather%2C%20Ste... 12/31/2006 FirstSearch: WorldCat Detailed Record Page 1 of 2 OC LC FirstSearch SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIV WorldCat Detailed Record Click on a checkbox to mark a record to be e-mailed or printed in Marked Records. Resource Staff View My Account Options Databases Searching Results Sharing Comments Exit Hide tips List of Records Detailed Record Marked Records Saved Records Go to page IIIII WorldCat results for: ti: stephen and ti: WorldCat tyng and ti: mather. Record 6 of 7. Subjects Libraries ILL E-mail Print Export Help 6 Mark: Prev Next Detailed Add/View Record Comments Photographs from the Stephen Tyng Mather papers Stephen T Mather; Herbert Wendell Gleason; Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor; Alfred Thomas Baker 1915-1926 English Visual Material : Graphic 1 folder, 1 box, 3 cartons (ca. 1670 photographic prints, some mounted in albums) : b&w. Photographs include Yosemite National Park, the John Muir Trail, Sequoia National Park, and views of the Sierra Nevada taken on trip of the Mather party; Southwest Utah; Arizona; Yellowstone National Park; Mt. Rainier National Park; Congressional tour of national parks; and a trip to Hawaii. GET THIS ITEM Availability: Check the catalogs in your library. Libraries worldwide that own item: 1 Connect to Southern New Hampshire University Library Borrow this item from another library (Interlibrary Loan) FIND RELATED More Like This: Search for versions with same title and author | Advanced options Find Items About: Mather, Stephen T. (max: 5); Gleason, Herbert Wendell, (max: 90); Grosvenor, Gilbert Hovey, (max: 16) Title: Photographs from the Stephen Tyng Mather papers Author(s): Mather, Stephen T. 1867-1930. (Stephen Tyng), Mather, Stephen T.; 1867-1930. ; (Stephen Tyng),; Stephen Tyng Mather papers. Gleason, Herbert Wendell, 1855-1937. Grosvenor, Gilbert Hovey, 1875-1966. Baker, Alfred Thomas, 1873-1936. Year: 1915-1926 Description: 1 folder, 1 box, 3 cartons (ca. 1670 photographic prints, some mounted in albums) :; b&w. http://firstsearch.oclc.org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/WebZ/FSFETCH?fetchtype=fullrecord:sessio... 12/31/2006 FirstSearch: WorldCat Detailed Record Page 2 of 2 Language: English Abstract: Photographs include Yosemite National Park, the John Muir Trail, Sequoia National Park, and views of the Sierra Nevada taken on trip of the Mather party; Southwest Utah; Arizona; Yellowstone National Park; Mt. Rainier National Park; Congressional tour of national parks; and a trip to Hawaii. SUBJECT(S) Descriptor: National parks and reserves - West (U.S.) - Photographs. Wilderness areas 200 100 West (U.S.) -- Photographs. Geographic: Pacific States -- Pictorial works. Hawaii -- Pictorial works Southwest, New -- Pictorial works. Yosemite National Park (Calif.) --- Pictorial works. John Muir Trail (Calif.) -- Pictorial works. Utah -- Pictorial works. Arizona -- Pictorial works. Sequoia National Park (Calif.) -- Pictorial works. Yellowstone National Park -- Pictorial works. Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.) - Pictorial works. Mount Rainer National Park -- Pictorial works. Note(s): Title supplied by cataloger./ Photographs taken by Herbert W. Gleason, Gilbert H. Grosvenor, A.T. Baker, and others. General Info: BOX AND CARTONS STORED OFF-SITE:/Advance notice required for use./ Temporary inventory of contents available./Transferred from the Stephen Tyng Mather papers (BANC MSS C-B 535). Material Type: Graphic (grp); Photograph (pht) Document Type: Visual Material Entry: 19951010 Update: 20040320 Accession No: OCLC: 33413831 Database: WorldCat iiiii WorldCat results for: ti: stephen and ti: WorldCat tyng and ti: mather. Record 6 of 7. Subjects Libraries ILL E-mail Print Export Help English Español Français Options Comments Exit OC © 1992-2006 OCLC LC Terms & Conditions http://firstsearch.oclc.org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/WebZ/FSFETCH?fetchtype=fullrecord:sessio... 12/31/2006 AMC[stephen tyng mather[1,1017,2,3,3,3,4,6,5,100,6,1]] (7-1) Page 1 of 1 Records 7 through 7 of 14 returned. Author: Mather, Stephen T. (Stephen Tyng), 1867-1930. Title: Stephen Tyng Mather papers, [ca. 1883-1930] Description: 7 boxes, 1 carton, 10 V., 1 oversize folder. Notes: COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE : Advance notice required for use. Correspondence, scrapbooks of clippings, and personalia, relating primarily to his last years with the Service. A few papers pertain to his early business career with the Pacific Coast Borax Company and the Thockildsen-Mather Borax Company. Also included are letters of condolence to Mrs. Mather and correspondence concerning memorial ceremonies for Mather in several national parks. Photographs transferred to the Bancroft Pictorial Collections (BANC PIC 1954.019--PIC) Stephen Mather was the first director of the U.S. National Park Service. Finding aid for this collection has been filmed for the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (Chadwyck-Healey, Inc. ) Finding aid available in Library. Electronic version available on the Internet. Subjects: United States. National Park Service. National parks and reserves -- United States. Borax. Other authors: Thockildsen-Mather Borax Company. Online Archive of California. Location: The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000. Control No. : CUBUGLAD167954526-A Access: Finding aid: Location: ttp://www.oac.cdlib.org/cgi-bin/oac/berkeley/bancroft/mather Tagged display | Previous Record | Next Record Brief Record Display | New Search This display was generated by the CNIDR Web-Z39.50 gateway, version 1.08, with Library of Congress Modifications. http://lcweb.loc.gov/cgi-bin/zgate?pres.../rlinamc3.html,zinc.rlg.org,200%26AUTH%3drlinam 7/6/2004 "CDL Single record display" Page 1 of 2 CALIFORNIA CDL Database: MELVYL Catalog Personal Profile: Off List: List One DIGITAL Saved: 0 items LIBRARY Search: author mather, stephen tyng Result: 3 of 10 items Saved in all lists: 0 items New Search Short Item Display: 10 per page Change Display Search History Saved Lists Print Mail Download Save Profile Request Clear Checkboxes Updates Modify Search Another Author Search Resources 4 >> Restart Return to previous display Quit 3. Help Author: Mather, Stephen T. (Stephen Tyng), 1867-1930 Title: Photographs from the Stephen Tyng Mather papers Publisher: 1915-1926. Description: 2 folders, 1 box, 3 cartons (ca. 1675 photographic prints, some mounted in albums) : b&w. Notes: Title supplied by cataloger. Photographs taken by Herbert W. Gleason, Gilbert H. Grosvenor, A.T. Baker, Ansel Adams and others. Restrictions: BOX AND CARTONS STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for use. Subject: Photographs include Yosemite National Park, the John Muir Trail, Sequoia National Park, and views of the Sierra Nevada taken on trip of the Mather party; Southwest Utah; Arizona; Yellowstone National Park; Mt. Rainier National Park; Congressional tour of national parks; and a trip to Hawaii. Temporary inventory of contents available. Transferred from the Stephen Tyng Mather papers (BANC MSS C-B 535) Language: English Subjects: National parks and reserves--West (U.S.)--Photographs Wilderness areas--West (U.S.)-Photographs Pacific States--Pictorial works. Hawaii-Pictorial works. Southwest, New----Pictorial works. Yosemite National Park (Calif.)--Pictorial works. John Muir Trail (Calif.)-Pictorial works. Utah-Pictorial works. Arizona-Pictorial works. Sequoia National Park (Calif.)-Pictorial works. Yellowstone National Park-Pictorial works. Sierra Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)--Pictorial works. Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.)-Pictorial works. Other Mather, Stephen T. (Stephen Tyng), 1867-1930 Stephen Tyng Mather papers. entries: Gleason, Herbert Wendell, 1855-1937 Grosvenor, Gilbert Hovey, 1875-1966 Baker, Alfred Thomas, 1873-1936 Adams, Ansel, 1902- Print NRLF Arross. http://128.48.120.7/mw/mwcgi?sesid=1707710140&ZS1.3|CM&CScs=1&Cdisplay(3,1lon,abbrev 7/15/2002 "CDL Single record display" Page 1 of 1 CALIFORNIA CIDE DIGITAL Database: MELVYL Catalog Personal Profile: Off List: List One 75 Saved: 0 items LIBRARY Search: author mather stephen tyng Result: 4 of 10 items Saved in all lists: 0 items New Search Short 10 per page Change Display Item Display: Search History Saved Lists Print Mail Download Save Profile Request Clear Checkboxes Updates Modify Search Another Author Search Resources 5 >> Restart Quit Return to previous display 4. Help Author: Mather, Stephen T. (Stephen Tyng), 1867-1930 Title: Stephen Tyng Mather papers, [ca. 1883-1930] Description: 7 boxes, 1 carton, 10 V., 1 oversize folder. Notes: Restrictions: COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE : Advance notice required for use. Subject: Correspondence, scrapbooks of clippings, and personalia, relating primarily to his last years with the Service. A few papers pertain to his early business career with the Pacific Coast Borax Company and the Thockildsen-Mather Borax Company. Subject: Also included are letters of condolence to Mrs. Mather and correspondence concerning memorial ceremonies for Mather in several national parks. Photographs transferred to the Bancroft Pictorial Collections (BANC PIC 1954.019--PIC) Stephen Mather was the first director of the U.S. National Park Service. Finding aid for this collection has been filmed for the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (Chadwyck-Healey, Inc.) Finding aid available in Library. Electronic version available on the Internet. Language: English Subjects: United States.-National Park Service National parks and reserves-United States Borax Other entries: Thockildsen-Mather Borax Company Online Archive of California Project Online Materials included: Finding aid: Link to Related Resource Access: Print NRLF Access: Return to previous display Send questions, comments, or suggestions to cdl@www.cdlib.org Melvyl® is a registered trademark of The Regents of the University of California http://128.48.120.7/mw/mwcgi?sesid=4899610503&ZS1.4|CM&CScs=1&Cdisplay(4,1lon,abbrev 7/15/2002 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior FINDING AID STEPHEN TYNG MATHER FILM COLLECTION 1920-1929 (bulk dates: 1925-1929) Prepared by Nancy Russell November 14, 2017 National Park Service NPS History Collection Harpers Ferry Center for Media Development P.O. Box 50 Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0050 Catalog Number: HFCA 1883 HFCA 1883 3 HISTORY Stephen Tyng Mather was born in San Francisco, California on July 4, 1867. His parents were Joseph Wakeman Mather, a business merchant with ties to the borax industry, and Bertha Jemima Walker. A descendant of Richard Mather, a prominent Puritan minister in seventeenth-century Massachusetts, Mather attended Lincoln Grammar School and Boys' High School in San Francisco. In 1887, he graduated from University of California, Berkeley. He moved to the East Coast and worked as a journalist for the "New York Sun" for the next five years. In 1893, he married Jane Thacker Floy and the Mathers had one daughter, Bertha Floy Mather. Following the marriage, Mather joined his father in the borax business at the Pacific Coast Borax Company, working in advertising and as a sales promotion manager. Talented at marketing and publicity, Mather helped Francis Marion "Borax" Smith make the brand name 20 Mule Borax synonymous with borax in the United States. In 1898, he and partner Thomas Thorkildsen created Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company. In 1904, Mather hiked the Swiss Alps, followed by climbing up the icy side of Mount Rainier with the Sierra Club in 1905. He credited such experiences not only with making him into a committed mountaineer but also with inspiring ideas to improve national parks in the United States >Mather found that the parks had poorly maintained trails and roads, and no protection from private lumber and cattle interests. In 1914, after hiking in the High Sierra, he wrote the secretary of interior, Franklin K. Lane, to complain about the management of the parks. The story goes that Lane, who was looking for someone to administer the parks, invited Mather to come to Washington, D.C., and "run them yourself" as assistant to the secretary of the interior. Mather came to Washington from Chicago in January 1915 as special assistant to secretary of the interior for national park concerns. There, he met Horace M. Albright, who became his assistant and together they laid the groundwork to establish a system of national parks. That summer the Mather took a group of influential individuals on a back country trek through the High Sierras. The "Mather Mountain Party" as it became known engendered significant support for the mission to establish a bureau to manage the parks. Within a relatively short time, Mather brought together a broad coalition in support for national parks, including the railroads and other business interests; writers and journalists; environmental groups such as Sierra Club, American Civic Association, and Save the Redwoods; and members of Congress, to secure passage of the act establishing the National Park Service (NPS) on August 25, 1916. An appropriations act on April 17, 1917 provided funds for NPS operations and Mather became the first director on May 16, 1917. Albright became assistant director. However, Mather became incapacitated by depression shortly after the NPS was established, leaving Albright to serve as acting director and get the new bureau up and running. As Mather recovered, he continued to promote park access, development, and use and contributed generously to the parks from his personal fortune. He traveled regularly to the parks, often bringing government officials, senators, and representatives with as guests, to showcase the national parks and their needs. During his tenure the Service's domain expanded eastward with the addition of Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, and Mammoth Cave National Parks. Around 1924, Mather purchased a Bell and Howell 16mm Cine camera and Filmo Cine Projector. He used the camera to create home movies that document his family life, national parks he visited, and HFCA 1883 4 special events. From 1925-1928, he made dozens of films while traveling to national parks as part of his annual inspection tours, as well as during trips to Alaska and Hawaii. Mather began talking about retirement in January 1927, saying that he was tired and had accomplished all that he had set out to do. However, that phase passed quickly and, following a trip to Central America, he refocused on "all that's got to be done" and continued his work and his strenuous travel schedule. During a spring 1927 trip to Hawaii, Mather had a heart attack on the outbound boat journey. Although he recovered and appeared fit when he returned to California, others remained concerned about his health. He suffered a stroke on November 5, 1928 and retired from the NPS on January 12, 1929. He remained in the hospital until May 1929, when he returned to the Mather homestead in Darien, CT. In November 1928, Mather entered the Corey Hill Hospital in Brookline, Massachusetts to work with Dr. Joel Goldthwaite to regain mobility in the leg, arm, and fingers affected by the stroke. He had a second stroke while at the hospital and died on January 22, 1930 Following his death, sympathy messages poured in to Mrs. Mather and newspaper obituaries praised his good works Numerous locations and geographic features were named in his honor, including Mount Mather in Alaska; Mather Point at the Grand Canyon; Mather Memorial Highway in the Cascades; Mather Memorial Arboretum of redwoods in Strawberry Canyon at the University of California; and a 10,000-tree Mather Forest was developed at Lake George, NY, among others Bronze plaques, known in the NPS as "Mather plaques" were designed by sculptor Bryant Baker and installed in 23 national parks and 33 national monuments. Memorial trees were planted in numerous national parks and monuments. On July 10, 1932, the Bohemian Club of San Francisco, through the courtesy of NBC, made a National Memorial Broadcast in honor of Mather. In 1969, the scenic gorge of the Potomac River below Great Falls was renamed in his honor. Mather's legacy continues to be acknowledged in books, journals, newspaper reports, and documentaries that address the history of the National Park Service and conservation in the United States. Sources: American National Bibliography Online, "Mather, Stephen Tyng", available at http://www.anb.org/articles/20/20-00648.html Sellars, Richard West (1997), "Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History" available at https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/sellars/chap3c.htm Shankland, Richard (1951), "Steve Mather of the National Parks", New York: Alfred A. Knopf. HFCA 1883 5 SCOPE AND CONTENT STEPHEN TYNG MATHER FILM COLLECTION 1920-1929 (bulk dates: 1925-1929) CATALOG NUMBER HFCA 1883 VOLUME 40 EA DESCRIPTION 16mm, silent, black and white films taken by NPS Director Stephen T. Mather with his Bell and Howell Cine camera. Films document trips to national parks from C. 1924-1929, including Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Redwoods, Isle Royale, and Rocky Mountain as well as trips to Hawaii and Alaska. Rocky Mountain film features Fall River Road and imagery by Fred Payne Clatworthy. Films include shots of Mather, his wife Jane Floy Mather and their daughter Bertha Floy Mather; Horace M. Albright; Mr. and Mrs. Arno B. Cammerer; Roger Toll; Oliver Mitchell; secretaries of the interior; and others. Subjects include wildlife such as deer, bears, moose, and buffalo (bison); Superintendents' Conference at Yosemite; opening of the Gardiner Gateway at Yellowstone; 1926 Coordination Commission at Yosemite; views of the High Sierra; Lake Tahoe; and the 1926 national parks visit by the Crown Prince of Sweden. Also contains films not created by Mather but developed between 1920-1929 to promote national parks, including Great Northern Railroad films of Glacier National Park and Horsley Productions films of Carlsbad, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon. Cine library films of Mount Rainier and Native Hawaiian hula dancing are also included. Reel numbers are those given by the Mather family. They are not consecutive and not all films were assigned reel numbers. Undated films have been given approximate dates based on Mather's known travel schedule, whenever possible. More general films taken by Mather are presumed to date from between 1924 (when Mather is believed to have purchased his 16mm film camera and projector) and 1929 (as Mather died in January 1930). ORGANIZATION Organized into two series: Series I: Mather's Home Movies; Series II: Film Productions. PROVENANCE Collection donated to the National Park Service by Stephen Mather's three grandchildren. Films of a more personal nature were retained by the family. RESTRICTIONS No HFCA 1883 6 ASSOCIATED Assembled Historic Records of the National Park Service, NPS History MATERIALS Collection; National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection, NPS History Collection; Mather's 16mm film projector, NPS History Collection; Archives, Yosemite National Park; Stephen Tyng Mather Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley; and Fred Payne Clatworthy Collection, History Colorado. HFCA 1883 8 SERIES DESCRIPTIONS SERIES I: MATHER'S HOME MOVIES, C. 1924-1929 Arranged alphabetically by park or subject. 16mm films made by Stephen T. Mather as part of his travels and work as director of the National Park Service. In some cases, films may have been sent to him by others. Most of the films feature specific parks, including Grand Canyon, Isle Royale, Redwoods, Rocky Mountain, Mt. McKinley, Yosemite, and Yellowstone, as well as parks in Alaska and Hawaii. Films were also made at conferences and at the Mather Homestead in Darien, CT. People featured in the films include Stephen T. Mather, his wife Jane, and their daughter Bertha; Arno B. Cammerer and Horace M. Albright; Oliver Mitchell, Mather's attorney and business associate; Yellowstone Superintendent Roger Toll; secretaries of the interior; and Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden. Films featuring more than one park are arranged as "Parks, Various." SERIES II: FILM PRODUCTIONS, 1920-1929 Arranged alphabetically by park or subject. 16mm films made by people other than Stephen T. Mather or commercially-produced to showcase and promote national parks. Includes travelogues of Yosemite, Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite by Horsley Productions. Two films about Glacier National Park produced by the Great Northern Railroad are present. Cine library films on Mount Rainier and hula dancing in Hawaii are also included. HFCA 1883 9 CONTAINER LIST STEPHEN T. BOX 01 MATHER FILM COLLECTION SERIES I: MATHER'S HOME MOVIES Conferences, State Park Convention, C. 1928 Conferences, Superintendents" Conference #38, 1927-1928 Mather Homestead, "Babby" #9, C. 1926-1927 Mather Homestead, Summer #65, 1929 Parks, Alaska--Alaska #2, C. 1926 Parks, Grand Canyon National Park--North Rim, 1927 Parks, Grand Canyon National Park--North Rim, C. 1927 Parks, Grand Canyon National Park--North Rim and Kaibab, C. 1927 Parks, Hawaii--Hawaii 1 #46, C. 1927 Parks, Hawaii--Hawaii 2 #47, c. 1927 Parks, Isle Royale National Park--Moose #66, C. 1924 Parks, Mt. McKinley National Park--Animals, C. 1926 Parks, Redwoods --Mather, Jane Floy at Redwoods #39, 1927 Parks, Rocky Mountain National Park and Fall River #67, C. 1925 Parks, Various--Bears #59, C. 1926 Parks, Various--Crown Prince of Sweden Visit #44, C. 1926 Parks, Various--Giant Forest and Yosemite #50, C. 1924-1928 Parks, Various--Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone #41, 1926 Parks, Various--Stills of Parks #49, C. 1924-1929 Parks, Various--Western Trip #8, August-September 1928 BOX 02 Parks, Yellowstone National Park--Animals #60, 1927 Parks, Yellowstone National Park--Buffalo [Bison] #61, 1927 Parks, Yellowstone National Park--Wildlife #68, n.d. Parks, Yosemite National Park--Coordination Commission #42, 1926 Parks, Yosemite National Park--Mather Address #42a, October 1927 Parks, Yosemite National Park--Trip Through Yosemite National Park #57, n.d. Parks, Yosemite National Park--Yosemite with Oliver Mitchell #45, 1927 People--Mather, Jane Floy and the Townsends #40, May 5-6, 1925 People--Mather, Stephen T. #1, n.d. People--Mr. Cam and Mr. Albright, n.d. People--Purdy at Lake Tahoe #48, 1927 People--Secretaries of the Interior #37, n.d. BOX 03 HFCA 1883 10 SERIES II: FILM PRODUCTIONS Carlsbad Caverns National Park Travelogue #56, n.d. Glacier National Park--Fishing Scenes at Lakes #64, n.d. Glacier National Park--Fishing Scenes at Streams #63, n.d. Grand Canyon National Park Travelogue #58, n.d. Mount Rainier National Park "Above the Clouds", C. 1927-1929 Native Hawaiian Hula Dance, C. 1927 Yosemite National Park--Ranger Club #62, 1920 Yosemite National Park Travelogue #55, n.d. Page 1 of 1 UCB Library Catalog (2 of 2) BACK PREVIOUS NEXT Title Stephen Tyng Mather papers, [ca. 1883-1930] Author Mather, Stephen Tyng, 1867-1930. Description 7 boxes, 1 carton, 10 V., 1 oversize folder. Notes COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE :Advance notice required for use. Correspondence, scrapbooks of clippings, and personalia, relating primarily to his last years with the Service. A few papers pertain to his early business career with the Pacific Coast Borax Company and the Thockildsen-Mather Borax Company. Also included are letters of condolence to Mrs. Mather and correspondence concerning memorial ceremonies for Mather in several national parks. Photographs transferred to the Bancroft Pictorial Collections (BANC PIC 1954.019-- PIC) Award metals transferred to the Object Collections of The Bancroft Library. Stephen Mather was the first director of the U.S. National Park Service. Finding aid for this collection has been filmed for the National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (Chadwyck-Healey, Inc.) Finding aid available in Library. Electronic version available on the Internet. Subject National parks and reserves -- United States. Headings Borax. United States -- National Park Service Electronic Finding aid: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/cgi-bin/oac/berkeley/bancroft/mather Access Other Thockildsen-Mather Borax Company. Authors Online Archive of California. Location(s): Bancroft BANC MSS C-B 535 Non-circulating; may be used only in The Bancroft Library Contact Bancroft Library for availability. Shelved: Oversize folder in oversize drawers, unit B. Shelved at NRLF: v.1-10, CARTON 1 v.1 Loan period: non-circulating v.2 Loan period: non-circulating v.3 Loan period: non-circulating v.4 Loan period: non-circulating v.5 Loan period: non-circulating v.6 Loan period: non-circulating v.7 Loan period: non-circulating v.8 Loan period: non-circulating v.9 Loan period: non-circulating v.10 Loan period: non-circulating CARTON 1 Loan period: non-circulating UCB Library Catalog (2 of 2) BACK PREVIOUS NEXT http://sunsite5.berkeley.edu:8000/WebZ/FETCH?sessionid=01-60161-1744757403&recno=.. 7/9/2006 98-432 NPS SB481 ANM2 Stephen : Mather Correspondence and Papers C-B 535 Report and Key to Arrangement UC BERVELEY DATE DUE NPS STEPHEN T. MATHER SB481 CORRESPONDENCE AND PAPERS A1M2 C-B 535 REPORT AND KEY TO ARRANGEMENT DATE ISSUED TO NPS SB481 AIM2 National Park Service Harpers Ferry Center Library GAYLORD Key to Arrangement Box 1 Letters written by Mather, 1892-1929. Letterpress and carbon copies. Early letters relate to his business career with the borax com- panies and work with F. M. Smith. Later letters refer mainly to his work as director of the U. S. National Park Service. Boxes 1-3 Letters written to Mather, mainly covering the years 1926 to 1929. These include responses to an invitation to a dinner honoring Mather in November 1926; letters from friends and co-workers on his illness in the fall of 1928 and upon his subsequent retirement. The letters have been arranged alphabetically by author or organi- zation, then chronologically within each folder. Unlisted letters have been placed in alphabetical miscellanies. A partial list of correspondents may be consulted at the end of the report. Box 1 A - F Box 2 G - M Box 3 N - Z Box 4 Letters to Mrs. Stephen Tyng Mather. Mainly letters of condolence. Arranged alphabetically. Boxes 5-6 Letters re the Bear Mount Memorial Plaque service, Spring 1933. Box 5 Formal letters notifying acceptance or refusal, arranged alpha- betically; noted in partial list of correspondents. Box 6 Formal letters unlisted letters. Clippings re the event. Box 7 Correspondence and papers re S. T. Mether memorials (except for the Bear Mount plaque) Many letters addressed to Ralph Phelps. Miscellaneous clippings and materials re S. T. Mather memorial plaque dedication services in National parks, July 4, 1932. Clippings etc. re Mather Memorial Highway Parkway (Mt. Rainier). Material re memorial tree plantings. Carton Notes and notebooks kept by Mather while at the University of California, Class of 1887. (1 folder) Compositions by Mather, University of California (2 folders) Account books (journal and ledger), 1893-1895. 2 V. Diaries, 1883, 1887 and 1926. (Few entries) Membership cards, [1883]-1929 Papers re 1912 camping trip on the Kings Canyon and the Kern Canyon - clippings, notes, maps Invitations sent to Mather to official functions, 1915-1929 (3 folders) Wedding invitations sent to the Mathers Personalia, including miscellaneous material re his years at the University of California Biographical information on Mather, including copy of Wallace Duncan DuPre's "Stephen T. Mather, First Director of the U. S. National Park Service" (1951) Clippings re Mather Obituaries National Conference on State Parks - Reports. 1929 Redwoods - miscellaneous brochures, etc. Stephen Tyng Mather, first director of the U. S. National Park Service, was born in San Francisco on July 4, 1867. Here he attended the Boys High School, and went on to the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1887. His interest in journalism led to his first job as a cub reporter on the New York Sun in September of that year. He left this employment shortly after his marriage to Jane Thacker Floy in 1893 to become a member of the New York office of the Pacific Coast Borax Company. An astute business man, Mather had the idea of publicizing household uses for borax, and in 1894 opened an office in Chicago. By 1898, he formed his own successful company, the Thockildsen-Mather Borax Company. Mather left his lucrative business position in January 1915 to accept, at the invitation of his former classmate, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, the directorship of the newly formed National Park Service, where he remained until failing health and a stroke led to his resignation in 1929 and to his premature death on January 22, 1930. The papers, gift of Mather's daughter, Mrs. Edward R. McPherson in May and July 1954, contain some early correspondence concerning Mather's work with F. M. Smith and the borax companies. For the most part, however, they relate to Mather's later years as Director of the National Park Service and include letters of acceptance or regret for a dinner honoring Mather in November 1926, expressions of sympathy on his illness in 1928 and on his resignation in 1929, from National Park personnel and friends and colleagues throughout the United States. Also in the collection are letters of condolence to Mrs. Mather; correspondence and papers concerning memorial services for Mather which were held in many national parks; papers relating to Mather's student days at the University of California; a few account books and diaries; invitations to official functions; and clippings and scrapbooks covering his years as journalist on the New York Sun and as director of the National Park Service. Portraits and photographs have been transferred to the Pictorial Division. A Key to arrangement follows. Partial list of correspondents Adams, Charles Christopher, 1873- Card, May 16, 1933. (Box 5) Adams, Franklin Pierce, 1868- 3 letters and telegrams, 1926-1928. (Box 1) Card, [1933]. (Box 5) Letter, Nov. 16, 1931, as secretary, Stephen T. Mather Appreciation. (Box 7) Adams, Harriet Chalmers, d. 1937 (Mrs. Franklin Pierce Adams) Letter, Feb. 20, 1930. (Box 4) Card, [1933]. (Box 5) 3 letters, 1930-1932. (Box ? 7) Adams, Washington Irving Lincoln, 1865- Letter, May 10, 1933. (Box 5) Akeley, Mary L (Jobe), 1886- (Mrs. Carl Akeley) Letter, May 10, 1933. (Box 5) Albright, Grace Marian (Noble) (Mrs. Horace Marden Albright) Letter, Jan. 14, 1929. (Box 1) Albright, Horace Marden, 1890- 27 letters, 1928-1929. Letter, May 10, 1929, is incomplete. Some are carbon copies. (Box 1) 4 letters, 1930. (Box 4) Card, [1933]. (Box 5) 3 letters, 1931. (Box 7) See also: Brown, Thomas E; California. University, Berkeley. Class of 1887; Hays, Howard II; Thomson, Charles Goff; and U. S. National Park Service. American Forests and Forest Life Letter, Jan. 25, 1929, by Ovid Butler. (Box 1) American Forestry Association Letter, Jan. 31, 1930, by Ovid Butler. (Box 4) Letter, May 10, 1933, by Ovid Butler. (Box 5) American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society 3 letters, 1929, by Raymond H. Torrey and G. F. Kunz, re the award of the Pugsley Medal to S. T. Mather. (Box 1) Letter, Jan. 28, 1930, by Raymond H. Torrey. (Box 4) Letter, Apr. 6, 1931, by George F. Kunz. (Box 7) American Society of Civil Engineers Letter, Sept. 16, 1929, by George Tilley Seabury. (Box 1) American Society of Landscape Architects 2 letters, 1929, by Arthur Asahel Shurtleff. (Box 1) Anderson, Harold MacDonald, 1876- Letter, Dec. 14, 1928. (Box 1) Doherty, Frank P Letter, Jan. 14, 1929. Box 1) Dorr, George Bucknam, 1853- 2 letters, [1926]-1928. (Box 1) Telegram, Jan. 23, 1930. ( Box 4) Dougherty, Proctor Lambert Letter, Dec. 14, 1926. (Box 1) Douglas, Archibald, 1072- Letter, [1933]. (Box 5) Drake, John Walter, 187.- - 2 letters, 1926-1929. Note from Mrs. Drake also included. (Box 1) Telegram, Jan. 23, 1930. (Box 4) Draper, Warren Fales, 1083- Letter, Nov. 8, 1926. (Box 1) Drury, Aubrey, 1891- see Save-the-Rediwoods League Drury, Newton Bishop, 1889-1978 Letter, Jan. 14, 1929. (Box 1) Telegram, Jan. 23, 1930. (Box 4) 2 letters, 1933-1950. (Box :) Ferguson, Miriam A Letter, May 18, 1933, written for her by her secretary. Governor of Texas. (Box 5) Finney, Edward Clingan, 1869- Letter and telegram, [19260-1925. ( Box 1) fisher, George Clyde, 1878- Card, [1933]. (Box 5) fitzgerald, John Joseph, 1872-1952 Letter, Nov. 18, 1926. (Box 1) fleishhacker, Herbert, 1872-1968 Telegram, Nov. 22, 1928. (Box 1) Letter, May 10, 1933. (Box 5) fletcher, Edward, 1872-1955 4 letters, 1926-1929. (Box 1) folds, Charles Weston, 1870- Telegram, Nov. 10, 1926. (Box 1) Poote, John A 1874- Letter, Mar. 15, 1929. (Box 1) orbes, William Cameron, 1870- 2 letters, 1926, written for him by secretaries. (Box 1) Letter, May 3, 1933, written for him by Lytton 11. Dowson. ( lox 5) tione, Frank Ernest Alysius, 1891-1941 Letter, [Jan. 19301. (Box 4) horpe, Merie, 1879-1955 Letter, Nov. 7, [1936]. (Box 3) Hillotson, Miner Raymond, 1886- 2 letters, 1929, re Canyon National Park. (Box 3) Telegram, Jan. 23, 1930. (Box 4) itus, Louis, 1872- Letter, [Nov. 19261. (Box 3) oll, Roger Wolcott, 1883- 6 letters, [1926]-1929. Some re Yellowstone National Park. (Box 3) Telegram, Ja 23, 1930. (Box 4) Letter, May 15, 1933. (Box 5) Letter, July 6, 1932. Copy. Description of ceremonies held at dedication of the S. T. Mather plaque in Yellowstone National Park on July 4. (Box 7) Cownsend, Charles Edward, 1868- Letter and telegram, 1923-1929. (Box 3) Telegram and letter, 1930. (Box 4) Letter, May 22, 1933. (Box 5) Ereman, Robert Henry, 1858- Letter, May 8, 1933. (Box 5) Iresidder, Don Bertrand, 1894-1948 2 letters, 1926-1929. (Box 3) Trexler, Harry C , 1854- Letter, Nov. 4, 1926. (Box 3) Turner, Frederick Chester, 1864- see California. University, Berkeley. Class of 1887. U. S. Secretary of the Interior see West, Roy Owen U. S. Dept. of the Interior see Finney, Edward Clingan U. S. National Park Service 3 letters, 1928-1929. 1928 telegram by E. T. Scoyen. : the contains signatures of members of the Washington o' M. Albright, A. Demaray, Isabelle F. Story, Arno others. Letter, July 2, 1929, is signed by Arr F. Story and others. (Box 3) See also: Albright, Horace Marden; Brown, Th Demaray, Arthur R.; Hall, Ansel Franklin; K1 Goff; Tillotson, Miner Raymond; Toll, Roger We Web Voyage Titles http://www.library.nps.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebr...ID=4441&SEQ=20010201125125&CNT=10&HIST=1 LIBRARY LINKS NPS COMBINED HERARYCATALO VOYAGER Search Headings Titles Remote Help Exit History Database Name: National Park Service (NPS) Combined Library Catalog Search Request: Builder = (lafayette AND national AND park) in Title] OR ("george dorr") in Author Name] OR (acadia OR national OR park) in Subject] Search Results: Displaying 1 through 2 of 2 entries. previous next Sort by: Post Limit # Title Long Author Date Civil War in Frederick County, Maryland / [written and Adams, Charles S. 1995 1 researched by Charles S. and Sean T. Adams]. Title owned by multiple NPS libraries Stephen T. Mather correspondence and papers : C-B Mather, Stephen Tyng, 1883 535 ; Report and key to arrangement. 1867-1930. [2 Library Location: Harpers Ferry Call Number: SB481 .Al Center-NPS M2 Status: Ask library Sort by: v Post Limit Clear Selected Retain Selected previous next Save Options Records Format Type Print/Save All on page Text File Selected on page MARC Format Selected all pages e-mail Enter E-Mail address: 1 of 2 2/1/01 12:49 PM 3/3/2019 Xfinity Connect Inbox March 1, 2019 Updates for npshistory.com Harry Butowsky 3/2/2019 1:33 PM To Mary Lucid, Lary Dilsaver, JAMES PEPPER, Mark Barnes, BRETT A WRIGHT, Jeffrey Olson, Patrick Gregerson, William Gregg, Robert Lange, David Harmon, Clifford Tobias, Maureen Finnerty, Shane_Compton@nps.gov, Paul Weinbaum, Harry Butowsky, LuAnn Jones, Kurt Repanshek, Kelly Spradley-Kurowski, Catherine Spude, Darnell Joan, Cherri Espersen, Cynthia Nelson, Tammy Stidham, Jeff Margolis, tom_medema@nps.gov, wyndeth_davis@nps.gov, Roberta D'Amico, Barbara Little, gliddende@aol.com, Richard (Michael) Quijano-West, rebecca_shiffer@nps.gov, Charles Evans, Turkiya Lowe, Jim Wood, Jason Kenworthy, Justin Tweet, Rebecca Port, Harold Pranger, Tim Connors, Dave Steensen, John Wood, Megan Springate, Derrick Crandall, info@peer.org, Bob Krumenaker, Eric Mink, Deanna Mitchell, Amberleigh Malone, Ronald Epp, Craig Fontenot, Scott Abella, Erin Davenport, Ken Mabery, Hansen,James, Barry,Peter, Legare,Marie, Hoseth,Amy, Meyer,Linda, alvin_sellmer@nps.gov All, I am pleased to announce that the March 1, 2019 updates have now been submitted to npshhistory.com We begin this month with a 16 page article, with photos, of the Mather Plaques by G. Arthur Janssen. The Mather Memorial Plaque celebrates a unique American legacy. Begun in 1930 from more than 40 submitted ideas, the original memorial tablet was commissioned and funded by the private Stephen T. Mather Appreciation--a group of friends, associates, colleagues, and admirers of Mather from across the Nation. Bryant Baker, a world class sculptor, was chosen as the memorial's artist and he was paid $1,000 for the arts and crafts design. Although Mather and Albright were both opposed to monuments of any sort in National Parks, Albright would not oppose this committee's efforts. True, Mather himself knuckled under to the Sierra Club for their plaque at John Muir's "Hang Nest" cabin site in Yosemite Valley. True, Mather went along with the Powell Memorial on the South Rim. But Mather didn't want world class National Parks cluttered up like some courthouse square. In his vision a National Park was to show itself. National Parks were not the time or place for trivial amusements and trite entertainment. Gorham Bronze was contracted in 1930 for the first run of 28 bronze plaques-20 for National Parks & Park Service Headquarters, 2 for National Monuments 1 for 3/3/2019 Mather Plaques - A History National ParkService * History eLibrary Mather Plaques - A History MATHER PLAQUES - A HISTORY G. Arthur Janssen August 25, 2016 w/January 25, 2019 revisions STEPHEN TYNO MATHER JULL + 1367 SANCLINE GELAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DEFINING AND ESTABLISHING THE POLICIES UNDER WHICH ITS AREAS SHALL BE DEVELOPED AND CONSERVED UNIVEAURED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. THERE WILL NEVER COME AN END TO THE GOOD THAT HE MAS DONE INTRODUCTION When it comes to Mather Plaques- They are spread out from Alaska to the Virgin Islands, Maine to Hawaii. They cover the gamut of National Parks, Monuments, a Sea Shore, a Lake Shore, Parkways, Memorials, a Preserve, a Battlefield, Recreation Areas, Historical Parks, Historic Sites, three administrative offices, a couple of State Parks, a city park, and two schools. They are in 16 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. Visiting them is a journey They are America at her best. STEPHEN TYNG MATHER Stephen Tyng Mather (4 July 1867-22 January 1930) was born in California of modest longstanding New England roots. He worked to become a self-made millionaire through the promotion and mining of borax. (Twenty Mule Team Borax was his marketing invention.) Mather was a California outdoor enthusiast, member of the Sierra Club, friend of John Muir, and a sometime mountain climber (Whitney and Rainier among others). His activism, prominence, and organizational abilities led to his appointment as an Undersecretary in the Department of Interior 21 January 1915. After the National Park Service was founded in 1916, he was appointed its first Director in 1917. Horace Albright (a lawyer by trade) became his legal assistant, confidant, colleague and ultimately, his successor. Mather worked tirelessly to create a respected governmental agency and a park system unlike any in the world. An accomplished businessman who was generous to a fault, he seems to have had a charismatic ability to colloquy with politicians, hobnob with his wealthy and influential peers, and consistently he presented a down to earth set of ideals and principles to which many Americans could readily relate and Stephen Tyng Mather support. Taking this vision of "National Parks," he brought its reality home to America. Indeed, this was "transparency" before the term was fashionable. With a contentious congress and president, Mather crossed party lines with complete abandon to acquire three new National Parks in 1916 alone. Mather's administration had a knack for recruiting remarkably competent superintendents for our National Parks, a number of whom served for long periods of time giving the young Park Service a period of stability and consistency important in its early development. With 59 Park Units under his wing, Mather retired in early 1929 after suffering a disabling stroke and he died a year later in 1930, age 62. Now with more than 400 National Park Units over the globe having a broad range of interpretive activities, investigative projects, and educational services, the legacy of Stephen Mather in the 21st century is simply astounding. ORIGINS OF THE MATHER MEMORIAL PLAQUE The Mather Memorial Plaque celebrates this uniquely American legacy. From more than 40 submitted ideas, the memorial tablet was commissioned and funded by the private Stephen T. Mather Appreciation--a group of friends, associates, colleagues, and admirers of Mather from across the Nation. Bryant Baker, a world class sculptor, was chosen as the memorial's artist and he was paid $1,000 for the arts and crafts design. Although Mather and Albright were both opposed to monuments of any sort in National Parks, Albright would not oppose this committee's efforts. True, Mather himself knuckled under to the Sierra Club for their plaque at John Muir's "Hang Nest" cabin site in Yosemite Valley. True, Mather went along with the Powell Memorial on the South Rim. But Mather didn't want world class National Parks cluttered up like some courthouse square. In his vision a National Park was to show itself. National Parks were not the time or place for trivial amusements and trite entertainment. Gorham Bronze was contracted in 1930 for the first run of 28 bronze plaques-20 for National Parks & Park Service Headquarters, 2 for National Monuments, 1 for Mather Memorial Parkway, 1 for the University of California campus at Berkeley, and 3 for State Parks where Mather had close ties. (That adds up to 27.) 4 July was Mather's birthday and any number of dedications were conducted on that day or close to it in 1932. At the time of Mather's death there were 24 National Parks and 35 National Monuments SO less than half of the 59 existing Park Units would get a plaque. As the years passed and other Parks were legislated into existence, a second run of 14 bronze plaques was ordered from Gorham in 1959. The original mold at Gorham had been destroyed, probably during WW II as the company turned to wartime manufacturing. Another master mold was created using the original 1930 plaque from outside of the Director's Office in NPS Headquarters. (This mold is evidently lost as well.) In 1986 the Chief Ranger at Colorado National Monument worked at great lengths to obtain a Mather Plaque for his monument's 75th anniversary. This complicated persistent effort took wildly longer than ever dreamed possible but ultimately it led to a rededication activity of 20 Park Units in 1991, on the 75th anniversary of the National Park Service. The plaque at Wind Cave National Park (then in storage) served to make the master http://npshistory.com/publications/mather-plaques/index.htm 2/63 3/3/2019 Mather Plaques - A History móld for a run of 20 new plaques at Gorham. Gorham Bronze is now closed and the company records are in storage. In late 2014 the Superintendent of Whiskeytown NRA, had a mold made using the Berkeley plaque from which five plaques were cast in 2015 by Valley Bronze in Joseph, OR. The Whiskeytown plaque was dedicated 22 August 2015 on that Park's 50th anniversary. The other plaques have been received at Redwood National & State Parks, Joshua Tree National Park, Saguaro National Park, and Walnut Canyon National Monument to be dedicated in 2016. In March 2016 the National Parks Travelers Club ordered a plaque for Independence National Historical Park, site of this year's annual meeting in August. With the current availability of a master mold good for a few more castings, additional new Mather Plaques are a distinct possibility in the future. CONSERVE1 UL THERE WILL NE HE HAS DONE. Club - 2016 HE UNDER SERVICE/PEFINING LAID THE FOUNDATION AND ESTABLISHING OF 12 PARK CONSERVED WHICH? ARBAS SHAUL IS THERE UNIMPAIRED FOR AND HE KAE DOVE AVEND OTHE KILL NEVER COME FUTURE GENERATIO Valley Bronze (2016) Valley Bronze (2016) Indepdenence NHP Indepdenence NHP (Valley Bronze photo) (Valley Bronze photo) The National Park Service celebrates its centennial this year, 2016. One hundred years. It is fitting to thoughtfully reflect on those 100 years of growth and maturation. Looking forward, the next 100 years are sure to bring challenges and changes, some good, and perhaps, some not SO good. The fledgling Park Service inherited a hodgepodge of 37 park units of sundry sorts on its founding in 1916. One hundred years later in 2016 there are more than 400 hundred Park properties. That sort of growth is simply astonishing! But they aren't just "properties." Each Park is unique and requires individual care, maintenance, protection, research and interpretation. Each comes with the impossible mandated balancing act of "enjoyment of the people" along with "preservation in perpetuity." Each has its own problems and challenges, opportunities and gifts. What then is the meaning, the relevance of the Mather Plaque for us today? On one level it remains a memorial accolade for a remarkable man and the many accomplishments of his life. Stephen Mather was the right man at the right time with his far sightedness, public spirited zeal, persistence, tact and altruism. Paired with Horace Albright, it was a dream team that lasted 14 years. They established the "bones" of the National Park Service we know today. In time Mather Plaques have come to embody more than simple recognition of a personality. As a founders' tribute they have come to symbolize a great moral code of conservation and conduct for all of us. It is a tie that binds everyone who has protected and cared for our land of culture, history, natural beauty and individual freedom. For all generations, National Parks continue to be a unique expression of this unique American ethic. That we should be part of SO noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride and humility in those who embrace it. And when the shadows grow long for each of us in the evening of our memory, may there always be a National Park for us to come home to. How many plaques over time have actually been made? Where are they now? What stories might they tell? And what future plaques will there be? The adventure is yours to find them. HE LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. DEFINING AND ESTABLISHING THE POLICIES UNDER WHICH ITS AREAS SHALL BE DEVELOPED AND CONSERVED UNIMPAIRED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. THERE WILL NEVER COME AN END TO THE GOOD THAT HE HAS DONE. MEMORIAL MATHER PLAQUES IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Yosemite National Park (CA) Happy Isles Trail in Yosemite Valley. The plaque is located on an enormous boulder adjacent the pedestrian bridge in the middle of the Merced River, between the two islands. It was dedicated here 4 July 1932 with Park Naturalist C. A. Harwell officiating. Ralph L. Phelps representing the Mather Appreciation made presentation of the plaque along with dedicatory remarks. The plaque was accepted by Superintendent C. G. Thomson and he unveiled it. A musical program was provided by the Yosemite Park & Curry Company orchestra for the occasion. Because of Mather's attachment to and familiarity with Yosemite, in many ways this Park was a pioneering experiment-how do you put together a National Park if it has never been done before? Or, was Yosemite Mather's favorite Park? Could be. Mather visited Yosemite at least once a year during his Interior Department tenure. While hospitalized an extended period of time for depression, the only two photos in his room were of Yosemite. This Park gave Mather a fair share of problems but also was the repeated subject of his personal financial generosity starting with purchase of the Tioga Pass Road and construction of the Ranger Club. Col. Thompson unveiling plaque at Happy Isles Happy Isles Yosemite NP Yosemite NP (NPS photo) Grand Canyon National Park (2) (AZ) 1) South Rim: Mather Point. The 4th of July 1932 dedication occurred at the Yavapai Observation Station on the South Rim. It was conducted by Acting Superintendent James Lloyd and attended by Naturalist Eddie McKee and Chief Ranger James Brooks. Arizona Governor George Hunt was the guest speaker. A pine bough wreath was placed on the memorial by 3 year old Sonny Lehnert, grandson of photographer Emery Kolb. A Hopi school girl performed a native dance and D. E. Fuller, chaplain of the American Legion, rendered a prayer. (Meanwhile, Superintendent Tillotson was gallivanting off to Petrified Forest, the Hopi Mesas and Rainbow Bridge with Horace Albright, "Boss" Pinkley, and Lorenzo Hubbell.) Initially mounted on a stone pedestal, the plaque was later bolted to a Kaibab limestone boulder a bit east of the old stone observation building. When the new Park entrance road was constructed in 1953, the plaque on its boulder was moved to Mather Point where arriving motorists were dazzled as the first glimpse of The Canyon exploded across their front windshield. The Mather Point road, parking area, trails, and amphitheater were recently (2010) extensively redesigned and beautifully landscaped in their entirety. In this restoration-reconfiguration the plaque was again moved on its boulder from its nearby location and placed to the right side of the stairs leading down to the lookout point. It is a stunning setting. In 2014 this plaque was coated with some sort of clear sealer. 3/3/2019 Mather Plaques - A History Headquarters Visitor Center Haleakala NP Acadia National Park (ME) A low granite ledge on the Cadillac Summit Loop Trail (#33) facing the parking lot. Cadillac Mountain granite is geologically unique and esthetically quite pleasing. The salt and pepper effect in the rock comes from a mixture of quartz and hornblende. The striking pink coloration results from a generous portion of feldspar thrown in. This place has a tortured geologic history including multiple continental collisions of tectonic plates. Other fragments of this same metamorphic wreckage can be found in Wales and North Africa Some say this is the second vintage 1930 plaque that Acadia has received-th first plaque may have been either damaged or destroyed in the big wildfire of 1947. If so, there is no record of what became of that first plaque's remains. (?) According to Hillory Tolson, a long time Assistant NPS Director, the replacement plaque sent was the "one spare copy" at NPS Headquarters. (#28!) Interestingly other knowledgeable Park informants say the 1947 fire didn't touch the top of Cadillac Mountain and that first plaque hasn't moved since the day it was placed there by Superintendent George Dorr on the 4th of July 1932>(?) When visiting Cadillac Mountain, I failed to see anything on or around the summit that would remotely support a wildfire. This apparent discrepancy was neatly resolved by a wonderful historian in Darien, CT: When anything takes place in Maine, there are at least two versions of what happened and why and usually both are wrong." Dedication photos might well help to clarify the question of original location. Cadillac Mountain Acadia NP Chamizal National Memorial (TX) Mounted on the left outside wall of the Visitor Center front entrance in 1992. What today looks like a sleepy city park is in reality an historically significant international site. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo terminating the Mexican War was crafted to include accepted international law for a boundary demarcated by a river. Continued changes in the Rio Grande's course in El Paso between 1852 and 1868 resulted in a loss of U.S. territory (Chamizal) and the creation of a horseshoe bend (Cordova Island). Settlement by more than 5,000 people in this Plaque Production and Current Dispositions 1930 Casting (28 plaques) 1959 Casting (14 plaques) 1991 Casting (20 plaques) 2015 Casting (5 plaques) Acadia NP Big Bend NP #1 Colorado NM Joshua Tree NP (2016) Bryce Canyon NP Blue Ridge Parkway #2 Chamizal NMem Redwood N & SPs (2016) Casa Grande Ruins NM Cabrillo NM #3 Guadalupe NP Saguaro NP (2016) Crater Lake NP Carlsbad Caverns NP #4 Big Cypress NPres Walnut Canyon NM (2016) Denali NP Death Valley NP #5 NPS Rocky Mtn.R.O. Whiskeytown NRA (8/22/15) Glacier NP Everglades NP #6 Pipe Spring NM Grand Canyon NP (South Rim) Grand Canyon NP (North Rim) #7 Great Basin NP 5/5 Grand Teton NP Haleakala NP (storage) #8 Santa Monica Mtns NRA Hawaii Volcanoes NP Harpers Ferry NHP (lost) Hot Springs NP Isle Royale NP #9 Allegheny Portage NHS Indiana Dunes NL Mammoth Cave NP #10 Boston NHP (lost) Lassen Volcanic NP Theodore Roosevelt NP #11 Fort Clatsop NMem Mesa Verde NP Virgin Islands NP #12 Golden Spike NHS Mount Rainier NP (Longmire) Mather High School (Chicago) #13 Petersburg NB Mount Rainier NP #14 Old NPS Region III Bldg. (Tipsoo Lake/Mather Pkwy) 14/14 #15 Canyonlands NP Petrified Forest NP #16 Bent's Old Fort NHS Rocky Mountain NP #17 Yucca House NM (lost) Sequoia NP #18 Hovenweep NM (lost) Wind Cave NP #19 Fort Union NHS Yellowstone NP #20 Assateague NS Yosemite NP Zion NP 16/20 National Park Service Headquarters (Washington D.C.) New York-New Jersey Interstate Park (Bear Mountain State Park) University of California, Mather Memorial Grove (Botanical Garden at Berkeley) Redwood Highway (Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Kent-Mather Grove) TOTAL-60/67 27--General Grant NP plaque in museum storage, Ash Mountain, Sequoia NP Lost-5, Storage--2 (28--replacement to Acadia in ME for lost plaque?) 27/28 with noncommittal disinterest. The lukewarm official response. dered the personal observation that phantom plaque at General Grant Five of the 67 Mather Plaques are "when something happens in Maine, National Park was taken down, prob- missing. One may well have been lost there are usually at least two ver- ably in the late 1940's, for unknown or damaged in the big 1947 wildfire sions of what happened and why reasons-possibly the graffiti dated at Acadia and replaced with the last and usually both are wrong." Four 1934 scrawled across its front. It was 1930 copy remaining at Park Service plaques from the 1991 casting reached located in museum storage beneath Headquarters. This is not clear, how- their shipping destinations but noth- a warehouse stairwell at Ash Moun- ever, as the current interpretive staff ing has been seen or heard of them tain, Sequoia National Park-where at Acadia denies that their plaque on since. It is suspected that they may it has been stored for almost 70 years. the summit of Cadillac Mountain has well be lost in storage somewhere in An offer to pay for professional resto- moved since the day it was dedicated the Parks that received them. (Each ration, repatinate this otherwise pris- there by Superintendent George Dorr of those plaques cost $1,275 plus tine plaque and have it mounted has on the 4th of July 1932. A wonderful shipping, est. $60--$65, and weighs also failed to elicit much more than a historian in Darian, CT simply ren- close to 100 pounds.) The new never www.GrandCanyonHistory.org Grand Canyon Historical Society : 7 STEPHEN TYNG MATHER JULY.1-1867 JAN.22 1950 HE LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DEFINING AND ESTABLISHING THE POLICIES UNDER WHICH ITS ARE AS SHALL BE D DEVELOPED AND CONSERVED UNIMPATRED FOR FUTURE DENERAT TONS THERE WILL NEVER COME AN END TO THE GOOD HEAT HE HAS DONE THE BRONZE TABLET BY THE ARTIST BRYANT BAKER WHICH STANDS IN MANY NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS AND MONUMENTS. Shart Yord syl Sm Na Wi bo all tior an gin pri for ing sta 19 (n No Jol Sm the res pa up Sp Rc up all it IN THE ATTENDING PROPOSED SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, VIRGINIA, MAY 1925, frc Back THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON STATE PARKS. po Mrs. row Grosvenor. (left to right): George H. Judd, John Oliver La Gorce, Gilbert Grosvenor, m Front Payne, row: (Robert Governor E. Lee Trinkle of Virginia, Mrs. Trinkle, Mrs. Judd, Stephen T. Mather, Sterling Robert Yard, Howard William Mrs. Joseph Gleason, Showalter Herbert W Gleason. T S Curtis, Mrs. John Mather, Barton PHOTOGRAPH BY WISHERD, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY Natic Park Service: Administrative History-Organizational Structures (1917-1985) e 1 of 6 Organizational Structure of the National Park Service - 1917 to 1985 - Administrative History: Organizations Str. velores the Nettural Service 1985 Administrative History Key Staff Officials by Directors' Tenure Organizational Structures of the NPS 1917 to 1985 DIRECTORS' TENURE NAME TITLE F MENU 05-16-1917 to 01-08-1929 Stephen T. Mather Director Preface Horace M. Albright Assistant Director 05-09 Arno B. Cammerer Assistant/Associate Director 07-03 Arthur E. Demaray Assistant to Director 12-30 Organizational Structure Horace M. Albright Assistant Director (Field) 08-05 George A. Moskey Assistant to Director, Use, Law & Regulations 12-01 Epilogue Washington B. Lewis Assistant to Director, Land Planning 08-01 01-12-1929 to 08-09-1933 Horace M. Albright Director Arno B. Cammerer Associate Director Organizational Charts Arthur E. Demaray Assistant Director, Operations [1] George A. Moskey Assistant Director, Use, Law & Regulations Washington B. Lewis Assistant Director, Land Planning Harold C. Bryant Assistant Director, Research & Education 07-01 Conrad L. Wirth Assistant Director, Lands 02-06 Naturalists, Rangers, & Historians 08-10-1933 to 08-09-1940 Arno B. Cammerer Director Senior Administration Arthur E. Demaray Associate Director 08-10 Officers George A. Moskey Assistant Director, Land Acquisition and Regulation Harold C. Bryant Assistant Director, Research & Education Conrad L. Wirth Directors Assistant Director, Recreational Land Planning Hillory A. Tolson Assistant Director, Operations 10-09 Charles A. Peters Assistant Director, Building Management 10-10 Key Staff Officials Verne E. Chatelain Assistant Director, Historic Sites & Buildings (Acting) 10-10 Branch Spalding Assistant Director, Historic Sites & Buildings (Acting) 09-15 Ronald F. Lee Assistant Director, Historic Sites 05-16 Number "Two" George A. Moskey Office of Chief Counsel 08-10 Senior Operations 08-20-1940 to 03-31-1951 Newton B. Drury Director Officers http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/olsen/adhi-e.htm 6/10/2002 Nati Park Service: Administrative History-Organizational Structures (1917-1985) ge 2 of 6 Arthur E. Demaray Associate Director George A. Moskey Office of Chief Counsel Hillory A. Tolson Assistant Director 08-02 Jackson E. Price Office of Chief Counsel 01-01 S. Herbert Evison Office of Information 12-02 Conrad L. Wirth Assistant Director 06-25 04-01-1951 to 12-08-1951 Arthur E. Demaray Director Conrad L. Wirth Associate Director 04-01 Hillory A. Tolson Assistant Director Ronald F. Lee Assistant Director 04-01 12-09-1951 to 01-07-1964 Conrad L. Wirth Director Hillory A. Tolson Assistant Director, Administration Ronald F. Lee Assistant Director, Research & Interpretation Jackson E. Price Office of Chief Counsel 05-23 Thomas J. Allen Assistant Director, Operations 12-09 Eivind T. Scoyen Associate Director 01-17 Jackson E. Price Assistant Director, Operations 05-07 Thomas C. Vint Assistant Director, Design & Construction 10-11 Ben H. Thompson Assistant Director, Resource Planning 10-15 Daniel B. Beard Assistant Director, Public Affairs 10-15 A. Clark Stratton Assistant Director, Design & Construction 11-10 George B. Hartzog Associate Director 02-18 Theodor R. Swem Assistant Director, Cooperative Activities 01-05 01-08-1964 to 12-03-1972 George B. Hartzog, Jr. Director Jackson E. Price Assistant Director, Specialized Services Theodor R. Swem Assistant Director, Cooperative Activities Clarence P. Montgomery Deputy Assistant Director, Administration 01-05 A. Clark Stratton Associate Director/Deputy Director 01-08 Johannes E. M. Jensen Assistant Director, Design & Construction 01-22 Howard W. Baker Assistant Director, Operations 02-16 Howard R. Stagner Deputy Assistant Director, Resource Studies 02-16 Clarence P. Montgomery Assistant Director, Administration 10-11 Howard R. Stagner Assistant Director, Resource Studies 07-04 Charles E. Kreuger Deputy Assistant Director, Design & Construction 01-30 Robert R. Lovegren Deputy Assistant Director, Administration 04-17 Harthon L. (Spud) Bill Deputy Assistant Director, Operations 04-24 Edward A. Hummel Assistant Director, Policy & Program Analysis 11-06 Harthon L. (Spud) Bill Assistant Director, Specialized Services 12-04 Robert M. Linn Chief, Office of Natural Science Studies (Acting) 01-10 Raymond L. Freeman Deputy Assistant Director, Cooperative Activities 01-15 Leslie F. Arnbarqer Deputy Assistant Director, Operations 01-29 Howard W. Baker Associate Director 01-30 Luis Gastellum Deputy Assistant Director, Administration 02-12 Edward A. Hummel Assistant Director, Operations 05-07 Ernest A. Connally Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation 06-19 Aldo Starker Leopold Chief, Office of Natural Science Studies 07-24 Glen T. Bean Assistant Director, Policy & Program Analysis 07-17 Johannes E. H. Jensen Deputy Associate Director 10-08 Charles E. Kreuger Assistant Director, Design & Construction 10-08 Edward A. Hummel Assistant Director, Specialized Services 12-04 12-05 http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/olsen/adhi-e.htm 6/10/2002 Reproduced at the National Archives 2679, NARA CP CCF 907-34 Acadia BOE 3 DEPARTMENT OF THE NATIONAL PARKINGS LAFAYETTENATIONA OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT BAR HARBOR MAINE C.1' tived Dear Mr. Mather: 1 the William 1976, seens with tousel. In 11, beciming on all End a translation I made last year of an the proposed National Park in the Abbruzzi Mountains article I took it from, printed by the Federation Pro Mon tibus, was given me by Mr. Albright. I will have a reprint over of it made for the National Park Service if you think worth while. The issue of the Journal came out when I was in the West last fall and I have only just received this copy and 1919 one other, though others were sent me at the time, they write. Sincerely yours, Supt. Lafayette National Park. The Director, National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. 1931 ? 1/10/19 SIERRA CLUB BULLETIN, VOL. XVI. STEPHEN T. MATHER 1867-1930 By FRANCIS P. FARQUHAR W HEN Stephen T. Mather came to Washington in 1915 to become Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior, it was his intention to remain for only a year. Up to that time he had taken no part in public life, for, although always keenly interested in public affairs of a constructive sort, his energies had been largely devoted to the building up of a thriving business in borax. The im- mediate occasion for his coming to Washington was the vacancy caused by the appointment to the Federal Reserve Board of Dr. Adolph C. Miller, who had for two years been a assisting Secretary Franklin K. Lane in the affairs of the department.) Dr. Miller had taken a special interest in the national parks, the administration of which had previously been very much lacking in purpose and uni- formity. Under Dr. Miller's guidance, a beginning had been made in the work of coordination but it was apparent that something much more definite needed to be done. New problems were arising that required the entire attention of an able administrator, one con- versant with business methods as well as sympathetic with the ex- pressed purposes of the national parks. At this juncture the name of Stephen Mather came naturally to both Secretary Lane and Dr. Miller, for they had all been together as undergraduates at the W. B. Lewis University of California and had maintained a close friendship. Stephen T. Mather What the course of national park history might have been had THE SUPERINTENDENT OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE someone other than Stephen Mather been chosen for the task, it is At the Dedication of the Administration Building, Yosemite Valley, 1924 impossible to conceive; it certainly would have been different, for Photograph by James V. Lloyd (Courtesy U.S. National Park Service) his colorful individuality was a dominating factor throughout the fourteen years of his administration