John Day Fossil Beds Floating in a Stream of Time An Administrative History of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

In the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument are preserved life forms existing millions of years ago, a time span dwarfing humankind's brief existence on the earth. The seemingly long period of interest in the John Day Basin's geology from the First Oregon cavalry explorations of Captain Drake to the present--130 years--are but a flash in time when compared to the record found in the monument's formations.

Even shorter is the 60 year period beginning with my earliest recollections of my grandfather, John C. Merriam, describing his work in the John Day country. He envisioned a parkway under state auspices along the John Day River, where the geological story could be revealed to visitors in an educational and inspirational way. After his retirement from the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1938, grandfather dedicated much energy to this project and started a group called the John Day Associates.

As president of the Save-the-Redwoods League, grandfather experienced unusual success in preserving and interpreting the spectacular coast redwood as an ancient life form in California. He thought similar efforts could be made in the John Day country after he provided the impetus for the state to acquire land there in 1927. The gigantic trees along U.S. Highway 101 are, however, a great aesthetic attraction in themselves and are easily appreciated when compared to the more subtle fossil beds. A series of events precluded the parkway project, even though grandfather seemed to have the attention of highway commissioners who controlled funding for the state parks in those days. There never seemed to be enough money to acquire private lands needed for the parkway and the state parks superintendent misperceived the parkway concept. Another complication was that World War II continued almost to grandfather's death in October 1945.

As state park planner under the Oregon State Highway Commission in the early 1950s, I made several trips to these parks--then called Painted Hills and John Day Fossil Beds. Characterized by widely scattered tracts of land, both parks possessed little in the way of visitor facilities. Painted Hills was a small park of only 13 acres, accessible by a gravel road several miles away from the Ochoco Highway. At what is now called the Sheep Rock Unit, there were several parcels known as the John Day Fossil Beds State Park. The only interpretation at either park consisted of a rustic wood sign summarizing the basin's geology at an overlook east of the Cant Ranch.

Thus it is a tribute to the national monument's supporters in Oregon who, aided by Congressman Al Ullman, obtained a National Park Service study of the area. After much planning and persistence, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument was established in 1975. This publication tells the story of its growth and management.

Lawrence C. Merriam, Jr.
Corvallis, Oregon