Of the hundreds of photographs in the fifth edition of the National Parks Portfolio, only two individuals are identified by name. One is Judge Walter Fry (See blog “Wintriest winter…”) The other is Mary Roberts Rinehart. Per Wikipedia: Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876 –1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. Rinehart published her first mystery novel The Circular Staircase in 1908, which introduced the "had I but known" narrative style. Rinehart

The Homestead archives recently acquired a copy of the first National Parks Portfolio. The Portfolio text was written by Robert Sterling Yard, Stephen Mather’s best man at his marriage, and whom Stephen enlisted in his campaign for a National Parks Service. As TIME Magazine wrote, “Mather and Yard reasoned that public support for a centralized management of the national parks would be a key step in making sure that the government took action…The cornerstone of the Mather-Ya

With the recent cataloging of items in the Mather Homestead, this pewter teapot is now item 2017.01.0304. But for any visitors it is the...

Among those drawn early to serve in the new National Park Service were a number of women. In his 1921 Annual Report to the Secretary of...

From the correspondence received by Stephen Mather during the later years of his position as Director of the National Park Service, we...

In earlier blogs, we looked at Stephen’s ongoing association with fellow alumni of The New York Sun and we traced his bond with Gilbert...

Taken about 1879, this photograph of three women on the front porch is the oldest Homestead photograph we have. But who are they? On the back of the original photograph, in Bertha’s handwriting is the following: Mather Homestead-oldest photo. Left to right – daughters of Deacon Jos. Mather – Phebe Mather, Rana Mather, Betsy Lockwood. But, in a note affixed to a copy of the photo, again in Bertha’s handwriting, is: The Mather Homestead 1879. Left to right:

If you wander through the Mather Cemetery, you’ll find the headstone for Betsey Mather Lockwood (1794-1891), the ninth of Deacon Joseph Mather and Sarah Scott’s eleven children. Betsey, first married at twenty, was twice-widowed by the age of thirty-one. Betsey had two daughters, one by each of her husbands. To the right of Betsey’s headstone is that of her second daughter, Ann Elizabeth Lockwood. Integral to Homestead history, Ann Elizabeth, who never married, inherite

Among the Stephen Mather correspondence at the Bancroft Library are notes and letters from at least six of Stephen’s colleagues at The...

To encourage protection of America’s western natural wonders, Stephen Mather invited a number of influential individuals to join the Mather Mountain Pary of 1915. Among them was Gilbert H. Grosvenor, the editor of The National Geographic. The inclusion was quickly rewarded when Grosvenor devoted the entire April 1916 issue to the “Land of the Best” and encouraged readers to support a Park Service. A copy was sent to every member of Congress. These efforts worked, and th

In Steve Mather of the National Parks, Robert Shankland writes “During the whole germination period, the Geological Survey, “the mother of all bureaus,” helped out magnificently…it gave Mather, for his Washington office, a pair of willing workers who are still with the Park Service. One, Arthur E. Demaray…The other acquisition, Isabelle Story, has risen, but dint of her devotion and manifest abilities as a writer and administrator, to Editor-in-Chief…” In a January 1929, I

In February 1929, Stephen Mather received a note on the letterhead of “Government of Palestine Deputy District Commissioner’s Offices,...

In 1926, Stephen Mather received a note of regret from Mr. and Mrs. George Putnam stating they couldn’t attend the National Parks Superintendents Dinner on November 19. The note was on Mrs. Putnam’s monogrammed stationery—DBP—Dorothy Binney Putnam (Yes, the Binneys of Crayola fame and fortune.) As avid blog readers may recall, the Homestead has a letter from Anne Morrow Lindbergh to Bertha Mather McPherson, explaining why she and Charles think it best if their daughter doe

In his 1926 Annual Report to the Secretary of the Interior, Stephen Mather includes photos of the Prince of Sweden at Yellowstone and the...

In a prior blog, we highlighted Ernest F. Coe, deemed the Father of the Everglades National Park. Within the correspondence to Stephen...

In January 1929, Stephen Mather received a letter from Ernest F. Coe, Chairman of “The Tropic Everglades Park Association,” soliciting...

In November 1928, Frankin Roosevelt’s uncle, Frederic Delano, wrote to Stephen Mather and suggested that Stephen go to Warm Springs,...

The 1929 NPS Director’s report to the Secretary of the Interior states that the recently counted elk population of Yellowstone National...

Among the letters in the Stephen Mather archives is one from Neal Begley, President and General Manager of Hertz Driv-Ur-Self Stations in...

On February 5, 1929, Dr. W.S. Benedict wrote to Stephen Mather to express his feelings upon learning that Stephen had resigned from his position with the National Park Service. In a one-page typed letter, Dr. Benedict wrote: “I am extremely sorry to hear of your recent illness, and also your resignation from the National Park Service. Your very valuable services and cooperation will be missed by that body, I know, as your efforts during the last twelve years have done mor