Search Results

Cultural Landscape Report Documents Received from Heritage Heritage Materials received 10/28/23 Progress memo Draft history chapter Site Existing Landscape map Site Existing Landscape map 2 MH Documents History National Register of Historic Places Listing The Story of the Mather Homestead as told by Gordon Hastings The Story of the Homestead - find this document Anne McPherson report on homestead 1956 Letter from Selleck 1878 Letter from the "old homestead" 1877 House Bertha's album chronicling house history (see bottom of this page) Ownership of the home over the years MH ownership 1778 TO 2017 Donn's Blog: Ah, had the Deacon lived another 182 years... A look at the Last Will and the estate of Deacon Joseph Mather. Donn's Blog: From the Deacon to Stephen... Tracing the ownership of the Homestead from 1840 to 1905. 2021 McPherson donation of land Garden Walter Burlei gh Griffith plans 1909? Pictures of STM's garden - find Lillian Egleston plans 1938 - find APS Final Condition Assessment Surveys - 2021 - 2021 The Mather Homestead Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of the Mather Homestead, built in 1778 and enjoyed by seven generations of Mather descendants, as a treasured place for public education and enjoyment. The Foundation is committed to raising awareness of the Homestead’s unique history, dating back to the Revolutionary War, and Stephen Tyng Mather’s legacy as an important conservationist and the founder of our modern National Parks System.

The Mather Homestead teen board invites middle schoolers to submit essays in November. Topic to be announced in the fall. MIDDLE SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST - 2025 The Mather Homestead teen board is excited to announce the topic for their fourth annual Teen Essay Contest. The topic: Why is it important to celebrate America 250? You may also consider; How do you think the Mather Homestead and the town of Darien should celebrate America 250? From the America250 website: America250's mission is to celebrate and commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, marking America's Semiquincentennial. About the Mather Homestead: The Mather Homestead, Darien's historic home on the four corners of Brookside and Stephen Mather Roads, was built in 1778 by Deacon Joseph Mather, son of Moses Mather, the first minister of the First Congregational Church of Darien and a fiery patriot. The house was famously raided by Tories during the Revolutionary War. It was later the home of Stephen Tyng Mather, an avid conservationist and the first Director of the National Park Service. Following Stephen's death in 1930, the house was lived in by his daughter, Bertha Mather McPherson, one of the first female architects in Connecticut and a founding member of the Darien Historical Society. She filled the house with a collection of period antiques and tended the gardens while raising her three children (the sixth generation of Mathers to live in the home). The home became a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. In 2017, the Mather Homestead was deemed a "Protected Town Landmark" by the town of Darien and donated by the McPherson siblings to a newly created foundation to be operated as a museum dedicated to community education. The Mather Homestead Foundation Mission Statement: The Mather Homestead Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of the Mather Homestead, built in 1778 and enjoyed by seven generations of Mather descendants, as a treasured place for public education and enjoyment. The Foundation is committed to raising awareness of the Homestead’s unique history, dating back to the Revolutionary War, and Stephen Tyng Mather’s legacy as an important conservationist and the founder of our modern National Parks System. Mather Homestead 2025-2026 Teen Board: MIDDLE SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST - 2024 The Mather Homestead Teen Board selected the topic "What makes a house a home?" for the 2024 Middle School Essay Contest. They read and evaluated essays from 6th, 7th and 8th graders from schools as far as Wisconsin! After much deliberation thanks to the many well written and thoughtful essays, they selected Penelope Gwin (6th), Mason Wang (7th), and Pavana Attonito (8th), all students at Darien Middlesex Middle School. Congratulations to our winners and thank you to the many students who submitted essays! Read their essays: Penelope Gwin Mason Wang Pavana Attonito Penelope Gwin (6th), Mason Wang (7th), and Pavana Attonito (8th).

Essay question: Why are the National Parks good for people Details: Open to students in grades 6 through 8. No more than 500 words. 1 winner per grade to be chosen. ESSAY CONTEST - readers page Essay question: Why are the National Parks good for kids? Details: Open to students in grades 6 through 8 No more than 500 words 1 winner per grade to be chosen. Essays will be evaluated on the following criteria: Your essay demonstrates an appreciation for the National Parks. Your essay is well written with proper punctuation and grammar. Deadline: Submit by December 5th to MHessay@gmail.com . Winners will be announced on December 16th Prizes: Book by Jonathan Waterman: Atlas of the National Parks

The Mather Homestead is open for tours by appointment. Tours of the beautifully preserved 1778 home and property focus on the home's Revolutionary War history, and the impact of the six generations of the Mather family, including Stephen Tyng Mather, first Director of the National Park Service, and his daughter, Bertha Mather McPherson, one of Connecticut's earliest female architects and a visionary preservationist. VISIT THE HOMESTEAD Events We have a robust schedule of events, most of which take place in the Elizabeth W. Chilton Center ("the barn"). We hope to see you! UPCOMING EVENTS Tours We offer tours for individuals, families, groups and more. We are open by appointment Tuesday - Thursday 9a to 2p. For tours outside of regular hours please email info@matherhomestead.org. We are happy to accommodate you! SCHEDULE A TOUR Location The Mather Homestead is located at 19 Stephen Mather Road on the corner of Brookside and Stephen Mather Roads in Darien, Connecticut, just on the border of New Canaan and Norwalk. The Mather Homestead is located in a residential neighborhood - please be respectful of our neighbors! Parking on the road is not allowed and neighborhood speed limits are 25 mph.

Refresh your mind and energy with this revitalizing practice to uplift and restore your entire system. Enjoy a well-paced flow that will offer you just the right amount of challenge while encouraging strength, resistance, and flexibility while reducing tension in the hips, back and shoulders. It includes movement through yoga poses and breathwork to get your morning or week started in a positive and uplifting way. YOGA IN THE MATHER HOMESTEAD BARN Yoga is now Wednesdays and Saturdays! 9:30-10:30a Purchase tickets below. Single Class: $30 Ten-Pack: $250 See you at the barn! Vinyasa Yoga with Mary Ann Wednesday/Saturday 9:30a Join us Wednesdays and Saturday mornings at 9:30a! Buy Tickets Vinyasa yoga with Mary Ann - Purchase a Ten-Pack Ticket Here Date and time is TBD Refresh your mind and energy with this revitalizing practice to uplift and restore your entire system. Enjoy a well-paced flow that will offer you just the right amount of challenge while encouraging strength, resistance, and flexibility while reducing tension in the hips, back and shoulders. Buy Tickets Yoga at the Mather Homestead with Mary Ann Morning Flow and Breathwork Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:30 am $30 per class Refresh your mind and energy with this revitalizing practice to uplift and restore your entire system. Enjoy a well-paced flow that will offer you just the right amount of challenge while encouraging strength, resistance, and flexibility while reducing tension in the hips, back and shoulders. It includes movement through yoga poses and breathwork to get your morning or week started in a positive and uplifting way. BYO mat and water.

The Mather Homestead is bringing history to life through educational programs designed for all ages. Come for an event or tour to learn more about the rich history of the Mather family and their home. HOMESTEAD HAPPENINGS There's lots happening at the Homestead! We are bringing history to life through lectures , literary workshops , kids learning & fun , family events including historic reenactments , art-at-mather , music-at-mather , field trips and more! Mixed Media Collage Making with Lisa Thorén Mar 26, 2026, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM More info RSVP Records Erased - Professor Chris Brown on Antislavery and The Declaration of Independence Apr 23, 2026, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM More info RSVP Painting Patriotism, Healing Wounds: The Art of Col. John Trumbull with Walter W. Woodward Apr 28, 2026, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM More info Details Soldiers and Storytellers LIVE at The Homestead May 02, 2026, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM More info Details Field Trip to Yale University Art Gallery May 14, 2026, 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM More info RSVP Sixth Annual Garden Tea - Tickets on Sale Soon! Jun 04, 2026, 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM More info Details Middlesex Parish Open House Day Jun 13, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM More info RSVP Vinyasa Yoga with Mary Ann Wednesday/Saturday 9:30a More info RSVP Request a tour of The Mather Homestead on a day and time of your choosing Date and time is TBD More info RSVP Past Events

The Mather Homestead will produce a video - The Mather Family: An American Legacy which tells the compelling story of the Mather family juxtaposed against the dynamic timeline of American and Connecticut history, illustrating how individuals and ideas can shape a nation. THE MATHER LEGACY: AN AMERICAN STORY The Mather Homestead Foundation will produce a 15-minute film chronicling the 400-year legacy of the Mather family to coincide with America’s 250th celebration. The Mather Legacy: An American Story tells the compelling story of the Mather family juxtaposed against the dynamic timeline of American and Connecticut history, bringing to life how individuals and ideas can shape a nation. Gives viewers a personal passport into our nation's & our state's amazing past. Will serve as an essential educational tool for Connecticut American history classes in the 8th and 11 grades - with an accompanying on-line teacher’s guide and curriculum. And also will be made available to all the Connecticut libraries and history museums. CBS News’ Scott Pelley will be the narrator. Will be premiered in late June 2026 at the Darien Public Library. Let’s Make History Together! Please give. HELP US MAKE HISTORY!

When you become a member of the Mather Homestead you support our mission and help to secure our future. Benefits include: Discounted/free tickets to events, Reduced rate for usage of the Homestead for private events, Free private tours. MEMBERSHIP When you become a member of the Mather Homestead you support our mission and help to secure our future. Mission Statement: The Mather Homestead Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of the Mather Homestead, built in 1778 and enjoyed by seven generations of Mather descendants, as a treasured place for public education and enjoyment. The Foundation is committed to raising awareness of the Homestead’s unique history, dating back to the Revolutionary War, and Stephen Tyng Mather’s legacy as an important conservationist and the founder of our modern National Parks System. $150 Family Membership $100 Individual Membership Membership Benefits include: Invitations to free member-only events, like our June family ice cream social and December Merry Mather celebration party, Discounts on Mather Homestead events, Free tours for you, family and friends, 10% off in our (new!) gift shop. Membership to NARM (North American Reciprocal Museum Association), offering free entry to over 1,400 museums*, We hope you will consider an increased level of support in order to support the work of the Mather Homestead which includes: Preservation, maintenance & restoration of the 1778 house, seven acre property and collection of antiques, papers, books, portraits, textiles and more. Educational programming which "brings history to life" including lectures, tours, kids events and more. Payments via check: Please send payments to "The Mather Homestead Foundation" to PO Box 1054, Darien, CT 06820. Please notate "membership" in memo.

The Mather Homestead property originally consisted of 100 acres in 1778, which is what it took for a family to sustain itself. When Stephen Tyng Mather acquired the property in 1906, it consisted of 22 acres. In 1909, Stephen Mather hired renowned architect and landscape artist Walter Burley Griffin to create the Homestead's sunken garden that still exists today. THE MATHER PROPERTY AND GARDENS The Mather Homestead property originally consisted of 100 acres, which is what it took for a family to sustain itself. The working farm included vegetables, flax and wheat and farm animals providing milk, eggs and meat. By 1906, when Stephen Tyng Mather became the sole owner of the Homestead, the property consisted of 22 acres. Stephen, his wife Jane, and their baby daughter, Bertha, first occupied the house in the summer of 1907. In addition to making changes to the house, they added a sunken garden in 1909 which still exists today. Walter Burleigh Griffin Garden 1909 Stephen Mather hired Walter Burley Griffin, who was both an architect a nd a landscape architect, to design the sunken garden. As a member of "The Prairie School," he worked with Frank Lloyd Wright and oversaw the construction on many of Wright's houses. Wright met Stephen Mather when they were both members of the Prairie Club of Chicago which, among other things, sought to "raise public awareness of special areas and to create an interest in their conservation." In 1911, an international competition was held for the design of a capital for Australia. Walter and his partner and wife, Marion Mahoney Griffin, entered the competition and won. They emigrated to Australia in 1914 and did not return. MORE ON DONN's BLOG 1909 Sunken Garden designed by Walter Burley Griffin Pictures by Herbert W. Gleason. cont. 1909 Sunken Garden designed by Walter Burley Griffin Pictures by Herbert W. Gleason. 1/2 Lillian Egleston Garden 1938 Upon S tephen Mather's death in 1930, his daughter, Bertha, inherited the house. She changed the sunken garden to be a bit less formal in 1938. The plans were prepared by Lilian Egleston of Elizabeth, NJ, where Bertha's mother grew up. MHA 1951 uk garden P McPherson # 0 - Egleston plan 1938 MHA 1953-05 uk garden flowers P MHA 1951 uk garden P 1/11 Charles Middeleer Terrace 1962 Berth a added the terrace a round the well and additional plantings in 1962 with plans by Charles Middeleer. Bertha cared for the gardens until her death in 1993. MHA 1969-05 uk house from garden P MHA 1969-05 uk well P MHA 1969-05 uk well and garden P MHA 1969-05 uk house from garden P 1/8 Elizabeth W. Chilton Education Center Garden 2020 In 2020, a new barn-like structure, the "Elizabeth W. Chilton Education Center, " was added to the property to provide a place for education. The Mather Homestead Foundation is grateful to the Garden Club of Darien, who generously contributed foundation plantings to the barn. The Garden Club of Darien selected plantings with considerations of sunlight, water, deer resistance, pollinator attraction, color, size and other growing conditions. Plants include Ilex, Viburnum, Spirea, and more. The Garden Club of Darien and Mather Homestead are grateful for the expertise of Ungemack-Mccool Landscape Associates, Inc. for their help with this project. "The Barn" Plants courtesy of the Garden Club of Darien Cont. "The Barn" 1/3 Mather Garden Today Fast forward to today. The Mather Homestead gardens were quite unkempt when the Mather Homestead Foundation took over the property in 2017. Thanks to the efforts of Mather Homestead volunteers, in particular Andy Huntington, the gardens have been restored and beautified. In addition to leading extensive clean up of the gardens, Andy has incorporated roses, peonies and other herbaceous perennials to give the garden more visual appeal throughout the spring and summer season. Thank you Andy and our other volunteers! Cultural Landscape Report 2023-24 In 2023, The Mather Homestead Foundation hired Heritage Landscapes to conduct a Cultural Landscape Report of the property. T he report will provide a better understanding of the property, its history and usage, and inform a Master Plan for the future. If you are interested in helping our organization with our gardens, please send us an email he re! GET IN TOUCH!

Bertha Mather McPherson (1906-1993) was the only child of Stephen and Jane Mather. One of the first female architects in Connecticut and a charter member of the Darien Historical Society, she owned the Homestead from her father's death in 1930 until her death in 1993. BERTHA MATHER MCPHERSON (1906-1993) Bertha, the only child of Stephen Tyng Mather and Jane Thacker Floy, was born in Chicago, IL on August 10, 1906 but spent summers at her family homestead in Darien, Connecticut. She graduated in 1928 from Vassar College and went on to the Cambridge School of Landscape and Domestic Architecture, a program operated by Smith College, earning a master's degree in 1933. Bertha became one of the first female architects in Connecticut and designed the house across the street (Brookside Road) for a relative. It was recognized in House Beautiful with an honorable mention. The house is currently owned by a Mather descendant. Bertha became a champion for preservation. She was a charter member of the Darien Historical Society. In that role, she helped to move the Bates-Scofield house to its current location and identified historic homes in Darien, publicizing them through the local Darien News Review. Recognizing the important role of her father as first Director of the National Park Service, and the ~200 year history of the Mather Homestead, she successfully advocated for the Mather Homestead to become a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Also inspired by her father's conservation efforts, Bertha was long associated with the Student Conservation Association, a nonprofit educational organization that places student volunteers with national parks, forests and wildlife refuges. Bertha inherited the Mather Homestead from her father when he passed in 1930. She married Edward Reynolds McPherson in 1932 and raised their children, Anne McPherson Tracy, Stephen Mather McPherson and Jane McPherson Nickerson in the Mather Homestead where she lived until her death in 1993. Edward McPherson lived in the home until his death in 2002. Bertha lovingly cared for the home and gardens from 1930 to 1993, keeping its historical character and adding many 18th century antiques and artifacts which still rest in the home. Today, it stands as she left it - a ~250 year home filled with stories of a six generation family that made its mark on American history. Anne, Jane and Stephen McPherson, children of Bertha Mather McPherson House Beautiful, 1936 Young Bertha Mather at the Mather Homestead

The Mather Family has a long history in New England and is traced back to Lowton, Lancaster, England. The Reverend Richard Mather (1596-1669) and his wife, Catherine, and four children, Samuel, Timothy, Nathaniel, and Joseph, traveled to New England on the ship James in 1635. THE EARLY MATHER FAMILY The Mather Family has a long history in New England and is traced back to Lowton, Lancaster, England. The Reverend Richard Mather (1596-1669) and his wife, Catherine, and four children, Samuel, Timothy, Nathaniel and Joseph, traveled to New England on the James in 1635, fifteen years after the Mayflower set sail. They were part of the very first mass immigration to America in what would later be called The Great Migration taking place between 1630 and 1635. Over that time some 20,000 people, mostly Puritans seeking relief from the persecution of King Charles, left England bound for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Mather family established a homestead in Dorcester near Boston and quickly became part of the religious community there. After their arrival in America, Richard and his new wife Sarah, who he married in 1656, had two more sons, the youngest being Increase Mather. Increase Mather, and his son, Cotton, were Harvard-educated Puritan ministers. They were both well known intellectuals. They were also known for their involvement in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692-93. Richard and Catherine’s son, Timothy, born in 1628, is the great-great grandfather of Deacon Joseph Mather. Unlike four of his brothers, Timothy did not become a minister. To this day, his descendants refer to him as “The Farmer Mather.” His son, Richard, moved to Lyme, Connecticut where he established a family farm. Richard named his son, Timothy after his grandfather. Captain Timothy fought in Queen Anne's War in the early 1700s. His son, Moses Mather, grew up on the family farm, but was not destined to become another Mather farmer. He enrolled at Yale in New Haven and graduated in 1739 and became a Congregational Minister. In 1739 Moses struck out to what was then Stamford, Connecticut, in an area now known as Darien. Moses had broken from the long standing Puritanism of his ancestor as had many New England clergy seeking greater freedom of religious expression and was ordained a Congregational Minister. He built a farmhouse in Darien and shortly thereafter was installed as the pastor of the First Congregational Church in Darien that had been erected in 1740. During his 60 year tenure as the pastor of the First Congregational Church, Moses was an outspoken early firebrand for the cause of independence. Moses' son, Deacon Joseph Mather married Sarah Scott of Ridgefield and inherited approximately 100 acres from his mother in 1778 and built the Mather Homestead that we know today. In this house, Joseph and Sarah raised 11 children. Three generations later, the home was owned by Stephen Mather, who we all know as the Founder of the National Park Service. In 2017, Stephen's grandchildren, Anne Floy McPherson Tracy, Stephen Mather McPherson and Jane McPherson Nickerson, generously donated the Mather Homestead to the Mather Homestead Foundation in order for it to be preserved as a historical place for education and enjoyment.

Stephen Tyng Mather (1867-1930) Early Life (1867-1887) Stephen Tyng Mather, the great-grandson of Deacon Joseph Mather who built the Mather Homestead in 1778, was born on July 4, 1867 in Berkeley, California. He was named after the prominent New York Episcopal Minister, Stephen Tyng, who married his parents, Joseph W. Mather and Bertha Walker Mather, three years earlier in New York. Another son, Josie, was born in 1869. He passed at the age of 19 from spinal meningitis. Mather was educated at Boys' High School (now Lowell High School) in San Francisco, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1887. While Mather grew up in California, he spent summers at the Mather Homestead in Darien, CT and considered it his "true home." He loved the outdoors and spent much time both in California and Connecticut exploring. Mather was attracted to nature in part because he found it helpful in moderating the debilitating bouts of chronic depression from which he privately suffered, while presenting to the world as ever- charming, friendly and garrulous. The New York Sun (1887-1893) Mather worked as a journalist for the New York Sun for five years following his graduation from Berkeley in 1887. By family lore, he met Jane Thacker Floy of Elizabeth, New Jersey whose father did not think journalism was a suitable career for his daughter. Mather left journalism in 1893 and joined the Borax Company where his father worked. Jane Thacker Floy (1868-1944) Jane Thacker Floy was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on February 7, 1868. She and Stephen Mather were married in October 12, 1893 in New York City. She gave birth to one daughter, Bertha in 1906. Following her husband's death in 1930, she lived with her daughter's family at the Mather Homestead until her death. She passed on August 19, 1944 and is buried in the Mather Cemetery on Stephen Mather Road. 20 Mule Team Borax (1893-1914) After leaving the New York Sun in 1893, Mather joined the Pacific Coast Borax Company, where his father worked, in the New York office. In 1894, he moved with his new wife to Chicago, where he established a distribution center for the company. Mather proved to be a marketing genius and is credited with creating the slogan "20 Mule Team Borax" which propelled Borax to become a household name throughout the country. In 1898, Mather helped his friend, Thomas Thorkildsen, start another borax company. After suffering a severe episode of bipolar disorder in 1903 and having his salary withheld during extended sick leave, Mather resigned from Pacific Coast and joined Thorkildsen full-time in 1904. They named their firm the Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company. Their company became prosperous, and they were millionaires by 1914. He then retired to pursue his interest - the National Parks. 1904 Trip to Europe Mather’s interest in national parks was influenced by a 1904 trip to Europe he took with his wife, Jane. Climbing the Swiss Alps and seeing how accessible they were to visitors inspired Mather to bring this model to park management in the United States. On his return, he became a dedicated conservationist, a friend and admirer of the influential John Muir, joined the Sierra Club, and climbed Mount Rainier. Through his activities in the Sierra Club, Mather made numerous allies who supported the creation of the National Park Service. In 1916, the Sierra Club made him an honorary vice-president. Note: vintage photo of the alps from "The Alps 1900. A Portrait in Color" published by Taschen. Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior - 1915 Mather traveled to Yosemite in 1914 and noticed the abysmal conditions of the park which were then managed by the US Army: bumpy, dangerous roads, inadequate lodging, cattle and sheep grazing and destroying pristine meadows, plus logging, hunting, mining and more. Mather wrote a letter to Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, also from the University of Berkeley, espousing the deplorable conditions in the park. He received a letter back stating, "Dear Steve, If you don't like the way the parks are being run, come on down to Washington and run them yourself." And so he did. Mather went to Washington and became Assistant Secretary of the Interior in January 1915 and tirelessly made the case for the National Park Service. The Mather Mountain Party - 1915 In his first 12 months as special assistant for national park concerns to the Secretary of the Interior, Mather worked the corridors of Washington, D.C., traveled 30,000 miles and hosted one of the most spectacular lobbying sessions in American history. Nineteen politicians, businessmen, and scientists, along with the vice-president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the editor of National Geographic, the president of the American Museum of Natural History and a congressman, who later became the Speaker of the House, accepted Mather’s invitation for a two-week camping trip in July of 1915 through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Known as the Mather Mountain Party, the purpose of the trip was to lobby this captive audience to support the creation of the National Park Service. Mather paid for the entire trip, hiring touring cars, horses, mules, and providing everyone with the latest in camping comfort–an air mattress. He hired a cook to prepare gourmet meals served on white linen tablecloths with fine china in remote areas of the park. In addition to having a memorable experience, the members of the Mountain Party saw the poor conditions of the campsites, the barely passable roads, the vulnerability of the ancient Sequoia groves to logging interests, and how grazing cattle were decimating meadows. At the end of the trip, Mather said to the group: "I think the time has come … that I should confess why I wanted you to come along with me on this adventure–not only for your interesting company, but to hope you’d see the significance of these mountains in the whole picture of what we are trying to do. Hopefully you will take this message and spread it throughout the land in your own avenue and style." In the end, Mather’s charisma coupled with the amazing scenery of the Sierra Nevada mountains created a memorable trip that won everyone over. “If he was out to make a convert,” one participant said of Mather, “the subject never knew what hit him.” Back in Washington, D. C., the men from the Mather Mountain Party lobbied successfully to create the National Park Service. Director of the National Park Service On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act, thereby creating the National Park Service. Mather was appointed its first director in May of 1917. During his tenure, and working closely with his assistant Horace Albright, Mather created a professional and highly respected organization to administer the parks, including a cadre of Park Rangers to oversee the parks and educate visitors. He expanded the parks, nearly doubling the land in the system to include some of the nation’s best-known natural wonders and landscapes such as Grand Canyon, Zion, Hawaii Volcanoes, Denali, Acadia, Hot Springs, and Shenandoah. Mather hired, with his own funds, Robert Sterling Yard, a former co-worker at The New York Sun and friend, to publicize the parks and promote American tourism. He initiated the development of lodges and campsites, as well as railroad access and new roadways to make the park lands accessible. He even contributed generously to the parks from his personal fortune. Mather was firm in preventing private development in the parks that would mar their natural beauty. He built public appreciation for preserving and publicized the nation’s natural beauty and history. MORE about Stephen Mather and the history of the National Parks. The Mather Homestead (1906-1930) In 1906, Mather became the sole owner of the house and 22 acres following the passing of his father, Joseph Wakeman Mather, in 1905. He immediately made changes to the house, giving the house a more Colonial Revival appearance, building a barn, a cottage for a gardener, and in 1909, establishing a sunken garden designed by Walter Burleigh Griffin who went on to design Canberra, Australia's new capital city. In 1927, Mather nearly doubled the size of the house using architect Thomas Harlan Elliott. He added a porch to the side of the house and a two-story addition to the rear included a modern kitchen with bedrooms upstairs, and the portico over the main entrance was renovated. The interior of the house retained its original character and finishes during these renovations except for the old kitchen ("keeping room"), which was converted into a living room. Death and Legacy Stephen Mather suffered a heart attack in 1927, ten years after he became director of the NPS. A month later, he was mountain climbing and back at his desk maintaining his frantic work schedule. One year later, he suffered a massive stroke that left him incapacitated, forcing him to retire. He died on January 22, 1930 and is buried in the family cemetery on Stephen Mather Road in Darien. He left behind a huge legacy. Stephen Mather recognized the need for and met the challenge of creating a National Park system. He expanded the park lands and created the first parks in the East (Shenandoah and Acadia). He established professionals to manage the parks - the National Park Rangers who are among the most respected professionals in our country. He prevented industries from destroying park resources for their own gain. Most importantly, he welcomed Americans to the parks and encouraged them to experience the natural wonders of their country. His life is well summarized — on a series of bronze markers which were posthumously cast in his honor and distributed through many 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. There will never come an end to the good he has done . . ." More about STM and the National Parks We've created a timeline of the National Parks. Click here . 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 and end to the good that he has done. Stephen Tyng Mather Photo Gallery stephenhorse IMG_4211 scan0001_Page_01 stephenhorse 1/52 The Ted Mack Radio Hour! A record player with a single vinyl record was found in the Mather Homestead cabinet -- the record includes 2 1/2 minutes honoring Stephen Mather from the 1951 Ted Mack Hour. Take a listen! Donn's blog tells more. 1951-06-04 Stephen Mather Tribute, ETC Side A copy Artist Name 00:00 / 02:40 Just for fun: VINTAGE BORAX ADS The National Parks: America's Best Idea The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a 2009 six-episode series produced by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan and written by Dayton Duncan. Episode 3: The Empire of Grandeur (1915-1919) pays tribute Stephen Mather. Available on amazon prime video. Stephen Mather Videos from Harpers Ferry In 2025, the Mather Homestead Foundation acquired Stephen Mather's personal videos from Harpers Ferry, the archival arm of the NPS. Take a look below! https://vimeo.com/1063671326