The National Park Service: A Short History 1872-1972

The National Parks began in 1872 when President Ulysses Grant signed a bill setting aside Yellowstone "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." As the need for preserving America's outstanding scenic treasures became recognized, the Congress established other parks. The Antiquities Act of August 8, 1906, permitting the President to set aside public lands of historic or scientific importance, resulted in the creation of a number of national parks. President William Howard Taft, in 1912, urged that a bureau be established to administer the National Parks, and, on August 15, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill creating the National Park Service in the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service's responsibilities were greatly expanded by the Reorganization Act of 1933, which brought under its stewardship a large number of historical areas, battlefields and monuments formerly administered by the War Department or the Forest Service. From 1933-1942, the National Park Service handled the National and State Park CCC [Civilian Conservation Corps] Program.

Under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of 1935, the National Park Service became responsible for furthering the established national policy of preserving historic sites. In 1936, it was designated by the Park, Parkway and Recreational Area Study Act to cooperate with other Federal agencies and with the states and their political subdivisions in planning their parks, parkways, and recreation areas.

In August, 1937, the National Park Service was organized into four regions with their headquarter offices located in Richmond, Virginia (Region One); Omaha, Nebraska (Region Two); Santa Fe, New Mexico (Region Three); San Francisco, California (Region Four). In 1955, a fifth region was created with its headquarters office located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Regional Director heads up each region. In 1954, field offices of the Division of Design and Construction were established in Philadelphia and San Francisco.

The 1960s marked a turning point for the National Park Service. Beginning in the mid-1950s a ten-year plan called MISSION 66 was developed. This plan contained ten major objectives, which ranged from dealing with expansion and problems of visitor impact to coordinating a nationwide recreation plan to providing for the protection, preservation, and perpetuation of substantial wilderness areas on federal land. The Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 and the 1966 Historic Preservation Act are two pieces of notable legislation, which passed during this period.

In order to gain perspective for this one hundred years of expansion of the National Park Service, from 1872 to 1917 the National Park System had thirty-nine areas and 490,705 visitors. In 1960 there were one hundred eighty-three areas and a visitation of 65,746,000. By 1972 the park system had added seventy-eight new park areas swelling acreage by 2,693,448 acres for a total of 30,000,000 acres. Three hundred natural, historic, recreational, and cultural areas, 13,000 employees, and an operating budget of more than $226,000,000 attest to the growth of the system and the complexity of administering the national parks. This short history came from material within the collection.

George Benjamin Hartzog, Jr. was born on March 17, 1920, in Smoaks, Colleton County, South Carolina, to George Benjamin and Mazell Steedly Hartzog. He graduated from Carlisle Military School (high school) in Bamberg, South Carolina, in June 1937 and later that year enrolled at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. However, due to lack of finances, he was forced to withdraw and went to work for one-and-a-half years as a stenographer and interviewer for the Colleton County Department of Public Welfare. In June 1939, Hartzog started working as a law clerk and legal secretary in the law offices of Padgett and Moorer in Walterboro, South Carolina. During this time he also read and studied the law at night under the tutorship of Mr. Joe Moorer. From September 1940 to May 1941, Hartzog served in the United States Army, and was admitted to the Bar of South Carolina and the Supreme Court of South Carolina in December 1942. He engaged in private law practice until he was inducted into the army on March 18, 1943. Immediately after his release from active duty on March 10, 1946 (1st Lieutenant), Hartzog went to work as an adjudicator in the Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the Interior. However, Hartzog continued to stay in the Army as an active reservist (Captain) from 1946-1958. In October 1946, he transferred to the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior as an attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel where he worked in three different locations: Chicago, October 1946-October 1947; Denison, Texas, October 1947-August 1948; and Washington, D.C., August 1948-April 1951. Mr. Hartzog was admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States in October 1949. In April 1951, Hartzog was promoted to be the Assistant Chief of Concessions Management in Washington, D.C. Hartzog received a bachelor's degree in business administration at American University in 1953 and would later complete his course study of the MBA Program there in 1955. In August 1955, he became the Assistant Superintendent of the Rock Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado, and in November 1957, he transferred to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to become its Assistant Superintendent. In February 1959, Hartzog became the Superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri. Hartzog left the National Park Service in July 1962, to serve as the Executive Director and Secretary of Downtown St. Louis, Inc. However, this job turned out to be short-termed because Hartzog returned to the National Park Service in February 1963, as its Associate Director. Also, during 1963, he was admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of Missouri. On January 6, 1964, during the early period of President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration, George B. Hartzog, Jr. became the seventh Director of the National Park Service following the retirement of Conrad L. Wirth. In September 1970, George Hartzog was admitted to practice law before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In the mid-December 1972, due to personnel changes President Richard Nixon wanted to make during his second administration, George Hartzog was asked to resign his position as Director of the National Park Service effective December 31, 1972. He was replaced by Ronald H. Walker.

George Hartzog accomplished much during his twenty-six-year career with the National Park Service. During the period as Superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri, he was able to get the support of the federal, state and local governments, as well as the private sector, to initiate the construction of the Gateway Arch on the St. Louis Waterfront. In his eight years as Director of the National Park Service, Hartzog increased the acreage of the national park system by almost 10 per cent-2,693,448 acres were added in 78 new park areas. Included among these newly established park areas were five national parks such as the North Cascades and the Redwood National Parks. Other new additions were the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri, the Buffalo National River in Arkansas, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Hartzog promoted the National Visitors Center idea at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and supported the cultural national park concept at Wolf Trap Farm in Maryland. He had a hand in the setting up of The Historical Preservation Act of 1966 and the setting aside of millions of acres of Alaskan land under a provision of the Alaska Native Claims Act of 1971 permitting federal study and retention of desirable park sites. During his eight-year tenure, the annual visitation to the national parks more than doubled to the figure of 213 million while the total number of permanent and temporary personnel remained at the same level.

After returning to private law practice specializing in environmental law in January 1973, as a partner of Ragan & Mason, Attorneys-at-Law, in Washington, D.C., Hartzog also became an Adjunct Professor of Public Administration for the Washington Public Affairs Center of the University of Southern California, in Washington, D.C. In addition, he was admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of Virginia in July 1974. Furthermore, in 1975, he became vice-president of Hartzog, Lader & Richards, a company of natural and historical resources planners and consultants, which had offices in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Arlington, Virginia. In 1978, he was one of the candidates considered for the position of President at Clemson University in South Carolina. Also, George Hartzog wrote a book, Battling for the National Parks, which was published in 1988.

Hartzog received numerous rewards for his dedication, loyalty and work for America's national parks and natural resources. Some of these awards include: Special Service Award, Greater St. Louis Federal Business Association (July 1962); Distinguished Service Award, Department of the Interior (December 1962); Alumni Recognition Award, American University (May 1966); Rockefeller Public Service Award (1972); the Cornelius Amory Pugsley National Medal Award (1967) and the Henry M. Jackson Award for Distinguished Public Service (1990). His honorary doctorates of laws include those from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri (June 1971); Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina; Lincoln College, Lincoln, Nebraska; and University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (May 1972). In addition, in December 1985, he received an honorary doctorate of humanities from Clemson University. Also, in 1979, Clemson University had set up the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Award for Excellence in Park Management and Distinguished Lecture Series. In 2008 Clemson University established the George B. Jr. and Helen C. Hartzog Institute for the Parks in recognition of the 30-year relationship with the former Director of the National Park Service and his wife. The Institute will create, conduct and disseminate a broad range of education and training programs for current and prospective park professionals.

George B. Hartzog, Jr. married Helen Carlson of Arlington, Massachusetts on June 28, 1947. They have three children: George III and Nancy, born on July 26, 1949; and Edward, born on September 8, 1962. Hartzog died on June 27, 2008 in Arlington, Virginia. The biographical information on Hartzog came from material found within the collection, as well as other sources.