STEPHEN TYNG MATHER AND THE NATIONAL PARKS

Numerous National Parks have a plaque dedicated to Stephen Mather. The inscription 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."

The National Park System traces its roots all the way back to 1864, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, thereby protecting the Northern California landscape as California's first state park and one of the first such parks in the country. Eight years later in 1872, Yellowstone became the first National Park (Yosemite became a National Park in 1890). By 1915, there were nine parks in the system, but with little oversight and accessibility for the public. That's where Stephen Mather came in, determined to expand the system and make it accessible for the people. He lobbied for the creation of a National Park Service and became its first director in 1917. Under his direction, the US more than doubled the land in the park system and made the parks accessible to the people. Many consider Mather to be the "father of our modern national park system."

Today, the National Park service manages 428 individual units covering more than 85 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories. These include 63 National Parks such as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Acadia etc., plus

The Early National Park System
est. 1872

The Yellowstone National Park Act, signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1972, established Yellowstone as the world's first true national park. It preserved two million acres of land in Montana and Wyoming to be "dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." It placed the park under the control of the Secretary of the Interior and gave the Secretary responsibility for preserving all timber, mineral deposits, geologic wonders, and other resources within the park.

Yellowstone_CastleGeyser_PengZhuang-Dreamstime-e1618497899718.jpg.webp

Antiquities Act

1906

The Antiquities Act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, grew out of a movement to protect the prehistoric cliff dwellings, pueblo ruins and early missions in the Southwest. It authorized Presidents to proclaim and reserve "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" on lands owned or controlled by the United States as "national monuments."

Roosevelt is pictured right with naturalist and writer John Muir, known as "John of the Mountains," whose advocacy helped create several national parks, including Sequoia (1890), Mount Rainier (1899) and Grand Canyon (1908). He wrote “only Uncle Sam” could save our country's land for future generations to enjoy.

The National Park Service
est. 1916

The Organic Act, signed by Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916, created the National Park Service. This new agency's mission: "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Logo_of_the_United_States_National_Park_Service.svg.png

Stephen Tyng Mather
1867-1930

The charismatic and energetic Stephen Mather lobbied for the creation of the National Park service and served as its new director. A self-made millionaire with a passion for nature and its conservation, Mather retired early from the Borax business where he coined the slogan "20 Mule Team Borax" and dedicated his life to preserving and protecting America's scenic landscapes. He is responsible for saving some of the best known national wonders such as Grand Canyon, Zion, Acadia, Shenandoah and more. He believed that the parks should be accessible to all Americans and worked to ensure access by building roads, lodging, and then publicizing the parks.

"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."

Inscription on bronze plaques in National Parks

MORE ABOUT STEPHEN MATHER

The National Park System Today

Today, the National Park Service oversees 428 park units, more than 150 related areas, and programs that assist in conserving the nation's natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations. The 428 park units include the 63 National Parks plus: 11 National Battlefields, 4 National Battlefield Parks, 1 national Battlefield Sites, 9 National Military Parks, 63 National Historic Parks (e.g., Weir Farm National Historic Park in CT), 74 National Historic Sites, 1 International Historic Site, 3 national Lakeshores, 31 National Memorials, 84 National Monuments, 4 National Parkways, 19 National Preserves, 2 National Reserves, 18 National Recreational Areas, 4 National Rivers, 10 National Wild and Scenic Rivers, 6 National Scenic Trails, 10 National Seashores, and 11 other designations. More at NPS.gov.

Exhibit at the Mather Homestead:
Stephen Mather & the National Parks

In 2022, the Mather Homestead Foundation opened its first exhibit to explore the life and legacy of Stephen Tyng Mather. The images below were presented in the Elizabeth W. Chilton Center ("the barn") as 8 foot high panels along with many items from the Mather Homestead collection related to Stephen Tyng Mather including Stephen Mather's photo collections, his camera and more.