MATHER PLAQUES A HISTORY
G. Arthur Janssen
August 25, 2016
w/January 25, 2019, March 25, 2020 and August 2024 revisions
![Mather plaque](images/0-mather-plaque.jpg)
INTRODUCTION
When it comes to Mather Plaques—
They are spread out from Alaska to the Virgin Islands, Maine to Hawaii.
They cover the gamut of National Parks, Monuments, a Sea Shore,
Parkways, Memorials, a Preserve, a Battlefield, Recreation Areas,
Historical Parks, Historic Sites, three administrative offices, a couple
of State Parks, a city park, and two schools.
They are in 16 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.
They are in 11 World Heritage Sites.
They are a bit of history; they are a present reminder; they are a challenge
for our future.
Visiting them is a journey...
They are America at her best.
STEPHEN TYNG MATHER
![Mather](images/mather.jpg)
Stephen Tyng Mather
|
Stephen Tyng Mather (4 July 1867—22 January 1930) was born in
California of modest longstanding New England roots. He worked to
become a self-made millionaire through the promotion and mining of
borax. (Twenty Mule Team Borax was his marketing invention.) Mather
was a California outdoor enthusiast, member of the Sierra Club, friend
of John Muir, and a sometime mountain climber (Whitney and Rainier among
others). His activism, prominence, and organizational abilities led to
his appointment as an Undersecretary in the Department of Interior 21
January 1915. After the National Park Service was founded in 1916, he
was appointed its first Director in 1917. Horace Albright (a lawyer by
trade) became his legal assistant, confidant, colleague and ultimately,
his successor. Mather worked tirelessly to create a respected
governmental agency and a park system unlike any in the world. An
accomplished businessman who was generous to a fault, he seems to have
had a charismatic ability to colloquy with politicians, hobnob with his
wealthy and influential peers, and consistently he presented a down to
earth set of ideals and principles to which many Americans could readily
relate and support. Taking this vision of "National Parks," he brought
its reality home to America. Indeed, this was "transparency" before the
term was fashionable. With a contentious congress and president, Mather
crossed party lines with complete abandon to acquire three new National
Parks in 1916 alone. Mather's administration had a knack for recruiting
remarkably competent superintendents for our National Parks, a number of
whom served for long periods of time giving the young Park Service a
period of stability and consistency important in its early development.
With 59 Park Units under his wing, Mather retired in early 1929 after
suffering a disabling stroke and he died a year later in 1930, age 62.
Now with more than 400 National Park Units over the globe having a broad
range of interpretive activities, investigative projects, and
educational services, the legacy of Stephen Mather in the 21st century
is simply astounding.
ORIGINS OF THE MATHER MEMORIAL PLAQUE
The Mather Memorial Plaque celebrates this uniquely American legacy.
From more than 40 submitted ideas, the memorial tablet was commissioned
and funded by the private Stephen T. Mather Appreciation--a group of
friends, associates, colleagues, and admirers of Mather from across the
Nation. Bryant Baker, a world class sculptor, was chosen as the
memorial's artist and he was paid $1,000 for the arts and crafts design.
Although Mather and Albright were both opposed to monuments of any sort
in National Parks, Albright would not oppose this committee's efforts.
True, Mather himself knuckled under to the Sierra Club for their plaque
at John Muir's "Hang Nest" cabin site in Yosemite Valley. True, Mather
went along with the Powell Memorial on the South Rim. But Mather didn't
want world class National Parks cluttered up like some courthouse
square. In his vision a National Park was to show itself. National
Parks were not the time or place for trivial amusements and trite
entertainment.
Gorham Bronze was contracted in 1930 for the first run of 28 bronze
plaques—20 for National Parks & Park Service Headquarters, 2 for
National Monuments, 1 for Mather Memorial Parkway, 1 for the University
of California campus at Berkeley, and 3 for State Parks where Mather had
close ties. (That adds up to 27.) 4 July was Mather's birthday and any
number of dedications were conducted on that day or close to it in 1932.
At the time of Mather's death there were 24 National Parks and 35
National Monuments so less than half of the 59 existing Park Units would
get a plaque. As the years passed and other Parks were legislated into
existence, a second run of 14 bronze plaques was ordered from Gorham in
1959. The original mold at Gorham had been destroyed, probably during
WW II as the company turned to wartime manufacturing. Another master
mold was created using the original 1930 plaque from outside of the
Director's Office in NPS Headquarters. (This mold is evidently lost as
well.) In 1986 the Chief Ranger at Colorado National Monument worked at
great lengths to obtain a Mather Plaque for his monument's 75th
anniversary. This complicated persistent effort took wildly longer than
ever dreamed possible but ultimately it led to a rededication activity
of 20 Park Units in 1991, on the 75th anniversary of the National Park
Service. The plaque at Wind Cave National Park (then in storage) served
to make the master mold for a run of 20 new plaques at Gorham. Gorham
Bronze is now closed and the company records are in storage. In late
2014 the Superintendent of Whiskeytown NRA, had a mold made using the
Berkeley plaque from which five plaques were cast in 2015 by Valley
Bronze in Joseph, OR. The Whiskeytown plaque was dedicated 22 August
2015 on that Park's 50th anniversary. The other plaques have been
received at Redwood National & State Parks, Joshua Tree National Park,
Saguaro National Park, and Walnut Canyon National Monument to be
dedicated in 2016. In March 2016 the National Parks Travelers Club
ordered a plaque for Independence National Historical Park, site of this
year's annual meeting in August. With the current availability of a
master mold good for a few more castings, additional new Mather Plaques
are a distinct possibility in the future.
![Mather plaque](images/311-inde-1.jpg)
Valley Bronze (2016) Indepdenence NHP (Valley Bronze photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/312-inde-2.jpg)
Valley Bronze (2016) Indepdenence NHP (Valley Bronze photo)
|
The National Park Service celebrates its centennial this year, 2016.
One hundred years. It is fitting to thoughtfully reflect on those 100
years of growth and maturation. Looking forward, the next 100 years are
sure to bring challenges and changes, some good, and perhaps, some not
so good. The fledgling Park Service inherited a hodgepodge of 37 park
units of sundry sorts on its founding in 1916. One hundred years later
in 2016 there are more than 400 hundred Park properties. That sort of
growth is simply astonishing! But they aren't just "properties." Each
Park is unique and requires individual care, maintenance, protection,
research and interpretation. Each comes with the impossible mandated
balancing act of "enjoyment of the people" along with "preservation in
perpetuity." Each has its own problems and challenges, opportunities
and gifts.
What then is the meaning, the relevance of the Mather Plaque for us
today? On one level it remains a memorial accolade for a remarkable man
and the many accomplishments of his life. Stephen Mather was the right
man at the right time with his far sightedness, public spirited zeal,
persistence, tact and altruism. Paired with Horace Albright, it was a
dream team that lasted 14 years. They established the "bones" of the
National Park Service we know today. In time Mather Plaques have come
to embody more than simple recognition of a personality. As a founders'
tribute they have come to symbolize a great moral code of conservation
and conduct for all of us. It is a tie that binds everyone who has
protected and cared for our land of culture, history, natural beauty and
individual freedom. For all generations, National Parks continue to be
a unique expression of this unique American ethic. That we should be
part of so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride and humility in those
who embrace it. And when the shadows grow long for each of us in the
evening of our memory, may there always be a National Park for us to
come home to.
How many plaques over time have actually been made? Where are they now?
What stories might they tell? And what future plaques will there be?
The adventure is yours to find them.
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.
Inscription on Mather Plaques
|
MEMORIAL MATHER PLAQUES IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Yosemite National Park (CA)
Happy Isles Trail in Yosemite Valley. The plaque is located on an
enormous boulder adjacent the pedestrian bridge in the middle of the
Merced River, between the two islands. It was dedicated here 4 July
1932 with Park Naturalist C. A. Harwell officiating. Ralph L. Phelps
representing the Mather Appreciation made presentation of the plaque
along with dedicatory remarks. The plaque was accepted by
Superintendent C. G. Thomson and he unveiled it. A musical program was
provided by the Yosemite Park & Curry Company orchestra for the
occasion. Because of Mather's attachment to and familiarity with
Yosemite, in many ways this Park was a pioneering experiment—how
do you put together a National Park if it has never been done before? Or,
was Yosemite Mather's favorite Park? Could be. Mather visited Yosemite
at least once a year during his Interior Department tenure. While
hospitalized an extended period of time for depression, the only two
photos in his room were of Yosemite. This Park gave Mather a fair share
of problems but also was the repeated subject of his personal financial
generosity starting with purchase of the Tioga Pass Road and
construction of the Ranger Club.
![Mather plaque](images/1a-yose-happy-isles-dedication.jpg)
Col. Thompson unveiling plaque at Happy Isles Yosemite NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/1-yose-happy-isles.jpg)
Happy Isles Yosemite NP
|
Grand Canyon National Park (2) (AZ)
1) South Rim: Mather Point. The 4th of July1932 dedication
occurred at the Yavapai Observation Station on the South Rim. It was
conducted by Acting Superintendent James Lloyd and attended by
Naturalist Eddie McKee and Chief Ranger James Brooks. Arizona Governor
George Hunt was the guest speaker. A pine bough wreath was placed on
the memorial by 3 year old Sonny Lehnert, grandson of photographer Emery
Kolb. A Hopi school girl performed a native dance and D. E. Fuller,
chaplain of the American Legion, rendered a prayer. (Meanwhile,
Superintendent Tillotson was gallivanting off to Petrified Forest, the
Hopi Mesas and Rainbow Bridge with Horace Albright, "Boss" Pinkley, and
Lorenzo Hubbell.) Initially mounted on a stone pedestal, the plaque was
later bolted to a Kaibab limestone boulder a bit east of the old stone
observation building. When the new Park entrance road was constructed
in 1953, the plaque on its boulder was moved to Mather Point where
arriving motorists were dazzled as the first glimpse of The Canyon
exploded across their front windshield. The Mather Point road, parking
area, trails, and amphitheater were recently (2010) extensively
redesigned and beautifully landscaped in their entirety. In this
restoration-reconfiguration, the plaque was again moved on its boulder
from its nearby location and placed to the right side of the stairs
leading down to the lookout point. It is a stunning setting. In 2014
this plaque was coated with some sort of clear sealer.
![Mather plaque](images/2c-grca-dedication.jpg)
Dedication, 4 July 1932 Grand Canyon NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/2-grca-so-rim-mather-pt.jpg)
South Rim Mather Point Grand Canyon NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/2a-grca-so-rim-mather-pt-2.jpg)
South Rim Mather Point Grand Canyon NP
|
2)North Rim: Mounted on a boulder in front of the North Rim Back
Country Office. This plaque was found stored in a shed on the North Rim
by a maintenance worker in 1995 while cleaning out the sign shop to make
more room. It was in new condition, still in the box. Without asking
why or wherefore, it was promptly whanged onto a sandstone boulder. It
is not known where the plaque came from, how long it had been there, or
why it was sent. No documentation or paper work has ever been found.
The shipping crate was burned as fire wood. With an average eleven feet
of winter snow, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is only seasonally
accessible by vehicle, usually from about May 15 to late October. For a
winter visit you will probably have to ski the 42.4 miles each way from
the cookie counter in the bakery at Jacob Lake—or, hike 21.5 miles
transcanyon lugging the mountaineering snowshoes you will need above the
Supai tunnel. (So it remains a mystery. As this totally translocated
1959 plaque has no administrative documentation, one best guess is that
it may well have come from Fire Island National Seashore. Two different
people at different times noted that Fire Island had a plaque that had
never been mounted and was stored in a supply room there for many years.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and a complete Park inventory,
folks at Fire Island now don't know anything about that plaque, when it
left or where it went—but it isn't there anymore. I have asked
both the maintenance supervisor on the North Rim in 1995 and the
superintendent at Grand Canyon in 1995 if they knew of anyone with a
Fire Island connection? No luck. When I posed this question to a former
regional director, before I could finish telling him my troubles, he
snapped "That would have been Marks and he'd do a thing like that." (!)
Richard W. Marks (8/14/35—10/19/06) had a long distinguished Park
Service career. He was a Meritorious Service Award recipient. He was
Superintendent at Fire Island from 8/31/75 until 5/3/80. He was
Superintendent at the Grand Canyon from 5/4/80 until 12/3/88. Did Marks
do it? (Dead men tell no tales.)
![Mather plaque](images/3-grca-no-rim-backcountry-office.jpg)
North Rim Back Country Office Grand Canyon NP
|
Mt. Rainier National Park (2) (WA)
1) Longmire Historic District: Grotto adjacent the classic 1928
log Administration Building (now the Wilderness Information Center).
Dedicated here 4 July 1932. At some point this plaque has been coated
or painted with in a dusty yellow or flat gold color. Architectural
drawings of this setting were submitted to other Parks as a fitting
example of Mather Plaque exhibition, endorsed by the Mather Appreciation
sponsors. (Note: While most National Parks don't have a Mather Plaque,
three Parks have had two. Each for a different reason.)
![Mather plaque](images/4-mora-longmire-wic.jpg)
Longmire Wilderness Information Center Mount Rainier NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/4a-mora-landscape-1.jpg)
Landscape Design for Mather Plaque Location Park Headquarters Mount Rainier NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/4b-mora-landscape-2.jpg)
Landscape Design for Mather Plaque Location Park Headquarters Mount Rainier NP
|
2) Mather Memorial Parkway: Washington State Route 410 at Tipsoo
Lake (Cayuse Pass). This Parkway is a 60 mile scenic drive of which
11.6 miles is within Mt. Rainier N.P. The plaque is on a boulder
pedestal along the perimeter walk around the parking lot at the Tipsoo
Lake picnic area. This is just inside the east Mt. Rainier N.P.
boundary. It was dedicated 2 July 1932 with Washington Governor Roland
Hartley and Professor Edmund S. Meany as featured speakers. At that
time there were still six foot snow drifts all around so the plaque was
not actually mounted until later in the summer when the pass finally
thawed out. Since then, it has been moved around 300 yards from its
original position along the roadside in Cayuse Pass to Tipsoo Lake in
conjunction with subsequent road and picnic area improvements in the
1980's. Creation of the Mather Memorial Parkway began with Mather as a
project to embellish and protect Mt. Rainier with a beautiful driving
parkway. It involved interagency cooperation of the National Park with
the Mt. Baker-Snoqualamie and Wenatchee National Forests so that a
fringe of trees along this scenic drive would not be logged off to a
clear cut moonscape. Cayuse Pass is normally closed for snow November
to May. While this Parkway can, of course, be used for transportation,
as a gorgeous drive it is certainly a worthy destination in and of
itself. Later named in memory of Mather, it is remains a touching
remembrance of the man. November 3, 2008: after several stops to
refuel at local establishments along the way, four young sporting locals
headed for Tipsoo Lake on a chilly afternoon. According to one of the
several changing stories, the intent was snowboarding the next day. It
is unclear how the young lady in the group intended to do this clad only
in sandals—as she was too intoxicated to remember, perhaps it
doesn't matter. In the gathering darkness there was only time enough to
build a fire, drink some more, and do a little shooting at some trees, a
trail sign and the Mather Plaque with a borrowed 40 caliber pistol.
Dark, cold, snowing, and inebriated, the revelers thought it best not to
negotiate any more winding mountain roads under the icy black
circumstances. It was all innocence and disbelief midmorning next when
a Ranger woke up the four sleeping occupants in their snow covered car.
There were uncomfortable questions about the parking lot fire, the
strewn trash, scattered beverage containers, and empty pistol brass.
Follow up and resolution of the five citations took some time as one of
the relevant parties had been otherwise detained in the Puyallup City
Jail for unrelated charges (DUI). Arrangements were made to serve two
additional citations there as he was also awaiting two other active
warrants from Pierce County and an outstanding warrant from King County.
Meanwhile, the owner of the borrowed pistol was also arrested on
unrelated outstanding charges when he dropped by Park Headquarters to
pick up his gun. How best to deal with visiting gentry such as this in
our National Parks? Years later you can still see the discolored
blemishes of bullet ricochets on the Tipsoo Lake Mather Plaque.
![Mather plaque](images/5-mather-mem-pkwy.jpg)
Mather Memorial Parkway Mount Rainier NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/5a-mather-mem-pkwy-2.jpg)
Mather Memorial Parkway Mount Rainier NP (Jeff Mather photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/5-mora-mather-mem-pkwy-tipsoo-lake.jpg)
Mather Memorial Parkway Tipsoo Lake Mount Rainier NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/6a-mora-tipsoo-lake.jpg)
Mather Memorial Parkway Tipsoo Lake Mount Rainier NP
|
Zion National Park (UT)
Human History Museum entrance walkway, left wall. The first plaque
location was midway along the River Walk Trail in a shallow alcove
called "The Stadium." Heber Grant, LDS Church President and a friend of
Mather's, spoke at its dedication on 4 July 1932. In that location by a
seasonal waterfall, the plaque was subjected to periodic flash flooding.
In the 1950's it was snatched from its mounting and lost in a muddy
torrent. Extensive searching and an army surplus mine detector resulted
in locating this plaque and its recovery from a sand burial. The plaque
was then mounted on a stone pedestal just off the end of the road
turnaround in the Temple of Sinawava. The stone pedestal was left (it
is still there) when the plaque was later moved to its current location
at the Zion Human History Museum. One of the objectives for the Junior
Ranger badge at Zion is to find the Mather Plaque.
![Mather plaque](images/7a-zion-installation.jpg)
Installation of Mather Plaque at Zion Stadium, Narrows Trail, 1932 Zion NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/7b-zion-plaque.jpg)
Mather Plaque, 1934 Zion NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/7c-zion-grant.jpg)
Herbert Grant, 1934 Zion NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/7d-zion-temple-sinawava.jpg)
Pedestal for Second Location of Mather Plaque Temple of Sinawava Zion NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/7-zion-human-hist-museum.jpg)
Human History Museum Zion NP
|
Cabrillo National Monument—Point Loma, San Diego (CA)
Visitor Center entrance walkway, close to the flagpole, adjacent an
electrical box. Originally this plaque was mounted on a large rock to
the right of the walk leading from the parking area up to the
lighthouse. In 1968 it was removed from the "historic area" at Park
Service Director Hartzog's request, feeling that the plaque was not in
keeping with the historic old lighthouse. It was placed in storage where
perhaps it was ignored or forgotten. Resurrected in 1995 the plaque was
set in its current humble location.
![Mather plaque](images/8-cabr-1.jpg)
Visitor Center Cabrillo NM
|
![Mather plaque](images/9-cabr-2.jpg)
Visitor Center Cabrillo NM
|
Glacier National Park (MT)
Logan Pass. This plaque was dedicated 15 July 1933 in its current
general location on the Transmountain (Going to the Sun) Highway. Upon
the road's historic completion more than 4,000 visitors, CCC workers,
Native Americans, and a passel of dignitaries attended the dedication
festivities for chili and hot dogs. President Roosevelt visited the
Park a year later. With subsequent road improvements in 1968, the plaque
has been resituated a tiny bit. The rededication July 16, 1968 featured
retired Montana Senator (1923—1947) Burton K. Wheeler, the only
surviving principal speaker at the original dedication. The plaque is
mounted on a boulder along the perimeter sidewalk of the Logan Pass
parking area, close to the flag pole, at the right side of the stairway
going up to the Visitor Center.
![Mather plaque](images/10-glac-follett.jpg)
Ranger Doug Follett Glacier NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/11-glac-logan-pass.jpg)
Logan Pass Glacier NP
|
Yellowstone National Park (WY)
The plaque is mounted in its original location on a boulder about 50'
below (west) of the Madison Information Station (Madison Museum). It
was dedicated here 4 July 1932 with novelist Struthers Burt, a major
promoter of Grand Teton, as the principal speaker. Park legend has it
that this location was the site of the 1870 campfire where a government
Hayden Survey party under Nathaniel Langford was bivouacked. Cornelius
Hodges, a member of the survey crew, is credited with the genius idea of
preserving this wonderful place as a National Park rather than dividing
it up among themselves for profit. The story now is thought to be more
legend than fact but the sacredness of this location remains. A bronze
plaque alluding to this romantic history is close by the Mather Plaque
and station flagpole.
![Mather plaque](images/12a-yell-dedication.jpg)
Mather Plaque Dedication, 4 July 1932 Yellowstone NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/12-yell-madison-jct.jpg)
Madison Junction Yellowstone NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/13-yell-madison.jpg)
Madison Historic Plaque Yellowstone NP
|
Sequoia National Park (CA)
Along the road to Crescent Meadow, just past the Fallen Tree Tunnel
in Giant Forest. The dedication here on 10 July 1932 was officiated by
Gilbert Grosvenor, President of the National Geographic Society and a
personal friend of Mather's. The National Geographic Society was a
major financial contributor for additional land purchase on the Park's
founding. Most unusual for the time, Dr. & Mrs. Grosvenor "made a
special trip by airplane to attend the Sequoia Park Services." (Air
travel in1932—Wow !)
![Mather plaque](images/14a-seki-dedication-1.jpg)
Col. White and Dr. Grosvenor at Mather Plaque Dedication, 10 July 1932 Sequoia NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/14b-seki-dedication-2.jpg)
Mather Plaque Dedication, 10 July 1932 Sequoia NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/14c-seki-plaque-1.jpg)
Mather Plaque Sequoia NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/14-seki-giant-forest.jpg)
Giant Forest Sequoia NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/15-seki-mather-dr.jpg)
Mather Drive Ash Mountain Sequoia NP
|
Lassen Volcanic National Park (CA)
Outside the Loomis Museum on the left front entrance
wall—probably its original location. Lassen National Park was
established in 1916, the same year as the Park Service. Not long
before, Lassen Peak exploded in a series of spectacular Mount St.
Helen's style eruptions starting in 1914. Benjamin Loomis was a
photographer who homesteaded in view of Lassen Peak and documented these
eruptions. He was an important promoter of Lassen's National Park's
congressional incorporation. Benjamin and his wife, Estella, built the
Loomis Museum, dedicating it in 1927 to their deceased daughter, Luisa
May. In 1929 they donated the museum and 40 acres of land to the
adjacent Park where the museum continues to be utilized as an
interpretive center today. Representative John E. Raker, a congressman
from California, was a principal sponsor for the Lassen legislation.
Mather regarded the bill as a poor one because of a number of
anti-conservation issues that it included. Mather also had not seen
Lassen at this point and from what he had heard didn't think it
warranted National Park status. While Mather urged Secretary of the
Interior Lane to have the President veto the bill, the Secretary did not
want to compromise Raker's support for the National Park bill being
considered at the same time. Later, in the summer of 1916, Mather
visited Lassen and acknowledged that Lane was right in supporting the
park and the problematic conservation issues would be dealt with later.
![Mather plaque](images/16-lavo-loomis-mus.jpg)
Loomis Museum Lassen Volcanic NP
|
Crater Lake National Park (OR)
Overlooking the Lake along the rim walk between the Rim Visitor
Center (old Kiser Studio) and the historic Crater Lake Lodge. Originally
dedicated 4 July1932 @ 2:25 PM complete with violin music, a song, and a
prayer, this plaque was kept for a long time in the Information Bureau.
In 1953, 21 years after arrival, it was mounted on a stone pedestal by a
talented stone mason on the facilities staff. Along the promenade rim
walk overlooking The Lake, this plaque is among the most attractive
displayed anywhere. With 43.5' average winter snow fall (that is 43.5
feet—not inches), snow cover and huge drifts can linger well into
early summer.
![Mather plaque](images/17b-crla-plaque.jpg)
Mather Plaque Crater Lake NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/17-crla-rim-walk-1.jpg)
Rim Walk Crater Lake NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/17a-crla-rim-walk-2.jpg)
Rim Walk Crater Lake NP
|
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Big Island, HI)
Early promotion of Hawaii National Park included a Hole in One Golf
Club. There was only one hole on the course and it was called the 19th
Hole. The leg was 510 yards, par 1, and for those duffers successful in
teeing off their ball into the Kilauea caldera there was a certificate
for the accomplishment. Stephen Mather was a member of this Hole-in-One
Club. Mather worked hard and long on Hawaii National Park, which
included Haleakala at that time. Boundary surveys, private inholdings,
fences, roads, acquiring matching state funds. Progress was maddeningly
slow given the obscure view many had of the remote Hawaiian territory,
chronic budget limitations, and slow communication. Much of what was
begun did not come into being until after he was dead. Not long after
Mather's death, a memorial article was published in The Hawaiian
Forester & Agriculturist journal. The Women's Club in Hilo planted
a jacaranda tree on the Federal Building grounds in his memory
dedicating it 1 May 1931. (With road construction in Hilo thirty years
later, that tree was carefully moved, replanted, and rededicated next to
the post office at considerable expense and difficulty. It remains
alive and well today.) Hawaii's Mather Plaque was dedicated in July of
1939 with George Lycurgus, former owner of the Volcano House presiding.A
month later, Associate Director of the National Park Service Arthur
Demarey traveled to Hawaii to rededicate this plaque along with
Superintendent Edward Wingate and George Lycurgus on August 10. The
plaque was originally mounted on a boulder in Kipuka Puaulu (Bird Park)
at stop #18 along the nature trail. At some point between 1952 and 1955
this plaque was moved and remounted in a lava masonry monument in front
of the new Kilauea Visitor Center. Two adjacent plaques added later
designate this Park as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage
Site. Seven United States Parks hold this triple crown. The Mather
Appreciation committee recognized these efforts and sent two plaques to
the Park, one for each island parcel.
![Mather plaque](images/18a-havo-dedication-1.jpg)
Mr. Demarary addressing gathering at Kipuka Pualu at dedication of Mather Plaque, 1939 Hawaii Volcanoes NP (Cunningham, NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/18b-havo-dedication-2.jpg)
Mr. Demarary and uniformed personnel of the park after dedication of Mather Plaque, 1939 Hawaii Volcanoes NP (Cunningham, NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/18-havo-kilauea-vc.jpg)
Kilauea Visitor Center Hawaii Volcanoes NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/19-havo-2.jpg)
Kilauea Visitor Center Hawaii Volcanoes NP
|
Haleakala National Park (Maui, HI)
The location of this plaque to the outside world was mentioned by a
bright perceptive Ranger at Koloko-Honokohau NHP just north of Kona,
Hawaii. In a casual conversation about Polynesian history on the
Islands, the subject of Mather Plaques came up and he blindsided this
visitor with remark of seeing a Mather Plaque while working at Haleakala
N.P. Previously mounted in front of the Visitor Center next to a silver
sword plant, this plaque was taken down years ago and placed in storage
during some Visitor Center alterations. Sure enough, the plaque was
located in storage! On careful examination it is determined to be from
1930!!! Follow-up archival research suggests that this plaque might
well have been mounted in conjunction with road completion up Haleakala
(December 1935) and opening of the Visitor Center on the rim (June
1936). National Park Service Associate Director Arthur Demarey visited
briefly (August 1936) but no mention was made of any special occasions.
Photos from 1962 show the plaque mounted on a boulder adjacent the 1936
Pa Ka'oao (White Hill) Visitor Center on the rim at 9,778'. Currently
that 1936 Visitor Center remains little changed, however the landscaping
is completely altered and the original boulder could not be identified.
With donated funds, this historic plaque was remounted along with the
Park’s Biosphere Reserve plaque as part of the Headquarters renovation
in May 2016. On 1 August 2016 Dr. Natlie Gates, Haleakala
Superintendent, conducted a brief ceremony and blessing of the newly
opened Park Headquarters. While speaking next to the Mather Plaque on
her Park’s centennial anniversary, she marked the first sunrise in
Haleakala National Park’s next 100 years. An original part of Hawaii
National Park since 1 August 1916, Haleakala was incorporated as a
separate National Park 13 September 1960 and the Big Island park was
renamed Hawaii Volcanoes.
![Mather plaque](images/19d-hale-crater-1961.jpg)
Haleakala Crater Spring 1961 Haleakala NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/19e-hale-crater-1961.jpg)
Haleakala Crater Spring 1961 Haleakala NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/19a-hale-vip.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center Haleakala NP (Kim Round photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/19b-hale-hq-vc.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center Haleakala NP (NPS photo)
|
Acadia National Park (ME)
A low granite ledge on the Cadillac Summit Loop Trail (#33) facing
the parking lot. Cadillac Mountain granite is geologically unique and
esthetically quite pleasing. The salt and pepper effect in the rock
comes from a mixture of quartz and hornblende. The striking pink
coloration results from a generous portion of feldspar thrown in. This
place has a tortured geologic history including multiple continental
collisions of tectonic plates. Other fragments of this same metamorphic
wreckage can be found in Wales and North Africa. Some say this is the
second vintage 1930 plaque that Acadia has received—the first
plaque may have been either damaged or destroyed in the big wildfire of
1947. If so, there is no record of what became of that first plaque's
remains. (?) According to Hillory Tolson, a long time Assistant NPS
Director, the replacement plaque sent was the "one spare copy" at NPS
Headquarters. (#28!) Interestingly, other knowledgeable Park informants
say the 1947 fire didn't touch the top of Cadillac Mountain and that
first plaque hasn't moved since the day it was placed there by
Superintendent George Dorr on the 4th of July 1932. (?) When visiting
Cadillac Mountain, I failed to see anything on or around the summit that
would remotely support a wildfire. This apparent discrepancy was neatly
resolved by a wonderful historian in Darien, CT: "When anything takes
place in Maine, there are at least two versions of what happened and
why...and usually both are wrong." Dedication photos might well help to
clarify the question of original location.
![Mather plaque](images/20-acad-cadillac-mtn.jpg)
Cadillac Mountain Acadia NP
|
Chamizal National Memorial (TX)
Mounted on the left outside wall of the Visitor Center front entrance
in 1992. What today looks like a sleepy city park is in reality an
historically significant international site. The 1848 Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo terminating the Mexican War was crafted to include
accepted international law for a boundary demarcated by a river.
Continued changes in the Rio Grande's course in El Paso between 1852 and
1868 resulted in a loss of U.S. territory (Chamizal) and the creation of
a horseshoe bend (Cordova Island). Settlement by more than 5,000 people
in this problem area further complicated a border that neither Mexican
nor American authorities could control. On again off again disputes and
controversy smoldered along over ownership (taxes) and smuggling
(illegal emigrants, contraband, guns, and slaves). Arbitrated in 1910,
it wasn't until 1963 that a mutual accord was finally agreed and the
river channel/boundary set in a concrete revetment. Chamizal National
Memorial was established in 1974 to commemorate international diplomacy
and cooperation (after more than a century of wrangling) in conflict
resolution. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #2.
![Mather plaque](images/21-cham-vc.jpg)
Visitor Center Chamizal NMem
|
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site (CO)
Outside the staff administration building. On the accessible back of
this plaque is the raised lettering COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT EDITION
OF 1991 16. Originally the plaque was located along the walking path
to the Fort. As the Fort's historic reenactment program was developed,
this plaque was thought to distract from the 1840's frontier mood that
was being created for visitors and so it was relocated to this less
intrusive area. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #16. Check hours
of operation.
![Mather plaque](images/22-beol-admin-area.jpg)
Administrative Area Bent's Old Fort NHS
|
Guadalupe Mountains National Park (TX)
Outside, on the low patio wall of the Visitor Center front entrance
area since 1991. This setting that embraces a vista up Pine Spring
Canyon and the flank of Guadalupe Peak (highest point in Texas, 8,749')
is particularly attractive. With the ruins of a Butterfield stage
station, a world class fossil reef, prehistoric pictographs, the old
Frijole Ranch, and an 80 mile network of fine hiking trails, Guadalupe
N.P. is a storied place with lots to do. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS
Rededication #3. Inscription on the reverse is legible.
![Mather plaque](images/23-gumo-hq-vc-1.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center Guadalupe Mountains NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/24-gumo-hq-vc-2.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center (reverse inscription) Guadalupe Mountains NP
|
Petersburg National Battlefield (VA)
Placed in front of the Eastern Front Visitor Center, along the
entrance walkway in August 1991. Petersburg was the last, longest, and
one of the most brutal slugfests of the Civil War—a siege lasting
from 15 June 1864 to 2 April 1865. Collapse of the Petersburg line led
directly to Lee's surrender a few weeks later at Appomattox Court House
and the end of the Civil War. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication
#13.
![Mather plaque](images/25-pete-hq-vc.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center Petersburg NB
|
Big Bend National Park (TX)
Along the paved accessible Window View Trail (a 1/4 mile loop)
immediately west of the Basin Parking area and very near the Chisos
Basin Visitor Center. Tucked between the Window View and Emory Peak,
Chisos Basin is a delightful canyon oasis.
![Mather plaque](images/26-bibe-chisos-basin.jpg)
Chisos Basin Big Bend NP
|
Bryce Canyon National Park (UT)
Close to the flagpole on a boulder outside the Visitor Center along
the front walk. Bryce Canyon has seen all sorts of changes from its
earliest days as Senator Reed Smoot pushed for its protection in 1919.
Mather thought the area was really too small to warrant National Park
status and that it really should be a state park. First there was
National Monument status, then administration by the Forest Service,
then stepchild administration from Zion National Park, and then the
place was renamed. Redesignated again in 1928, it was finally made an
independent National Park in 1956! The current Visitor Center was built
in 1959 as part of the Mission 66 Program. It is thought that the
plaque originally was across the road, next to an earlier visitor center
that was even closer to the current entrance station.
![Mather plaque](images/27-brca-hq-vc.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center Bryce Canyon NP
|
Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, US 36 highway in Estes Park.
Dedicated 4 July 1932, the original location is not known. Three other
visitor centers—two in Estes Park and one in Moraine
Park—preceded the current Beaver Meadows location constructed
1966/67. Taliesin Associates, an architectural group founded by Frank
Lloyd Wright, designed this Visitor Center and Headquarters building.
It is one more jewel to appreciate in this Park's cornucopia of scenic
delights. The Mather Plaque is on a boulder along the entryway walk.
![Mather plaque](images/28b-romo-plaque.jpg)
Rocky Mountain NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/28-romo-beaver-meadows-vc.jpg)
Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Rocky Mountain NP
|
Petrified Forest National Park (AZ)
Along the Rainbow Forest Trail outside the southern entrance Visitor
Center (the old Park Headquarters). This plaque was placed in its
current location and dedicated on 4 July 1932 with Superintendent of
Grand Canyon N.P. Miner Tillotson, NPS Director Horace Albright,
Petrified Forest N.M. Superintendent Charles Smith, and Southwest
National Monuments Superintendent Frank "Boss" Pinkley in attendance.
Robert Mather Albright (Horace Albright's son) unveiled the plaque.
![Mather plaque](images/29a-pefo18359.jpg)
Dedication Ceremony Petrified Forest NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/29-pefo-rainbow-forest-trail.jpg)
Rainbow Forest Trail Petrified Forest NP
|
Wind Cave National Park (SD)
For years this plaque originally hung along the breezeway of the old
Visitor Center. When the building was renovated in 1979 the plaque went
into storage until 2011—32 years! The plaque is currently along a
side walk in front of the visitor center, mounted on a native boulder
"harvested" in the course of pipeline excavation. This plaque (while in
storage) was used to create the mold for the 1991 run of 20 new plaques.
Wind Cave is an old Park having one of the largest and most complex
caves in the world. Meticulous research by a dedicated Ranger on the
interpretive staff determined that Wind Cave received their plaque in
1959 based on the Superintendent's Monthly Reports for that year.
![Mather plaque](images/30-wica-hq-vc.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center Wind Cave NP
|
Colorado National Monument (CO)
Plaque #1 1991 Edition.
It all started with the Monument's Chief Ranger, Hank Schoch, wanting
to obtain a Mather Plaque for his monument's 75th anniversary in 1986.
Unable to locate an unattached plaque, it was his indefatigable work
over the next 5 years that led to the run of 20 new plaques and the
rededication celebration of 20 Park Units on the 75th anniversary of the
National Park Service in 1991. The story is long and complicated with
twists and turns through which the Chief Ranger never gave up. The 20
new individually numbered plaques were again cast by the Gorham foundry
in statuary bronze. Members of the Colorado National Monument staff
engraved their names on the reverse of plaque #1 before the tablet was
permanently mounted on its stone plinth and bench in front of the
Visitor Center on Rim Rock Drive. The pedestal also contains a sealed
time capsule collection of 75th Anniversary memorabilia. This plaque
project was underwritten by the Colorado National Monument Association
and the master mold was "owned" by them—for future
plaques?—until destroyed in a fire that leveled the Aiken, SC
foundry.
![Mather plaque](images/31-colm-rim-rock-dr-vc.jpg)
Rim Rock Drive Visitor Center Colorado NM
|
Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, WY. This plaque
was placed on a boulder on the right side of the walkway heading for the
front entrance in 2007. As there have been several earlier visitor
centers at other locations over time in the Park, it seems reasonable
that this may well be one of possibly several locations for this plaque
(?). Original dedication photos from 1932 or thereabouts may well help
determine where this plaque has been.
![Mather plaque](images/32-grte-thomas-vc.jpg)
Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center Grand Teton NP
|
Isle Royale National Park (MI)
Rock Harbor. On a boulder along the walk between the Visitor Center
and the concessionaire's dining facility. The island is closed October
through April. Although this Park receives fewer visitors in a year
than does Yellowstone in a day, it has the highest per acre back country
wilderness utilization of any National Park. Its average visitor stay
is the longest of any National Park. And, Isle Royale has the highest
National Park rate of "repeaters" among its visitors.
![Mather plaque](images/33-isro-rock-harbor.jpg)
Rock Harbor Isle Royale NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/34a-isro-windigo.jpg)
Windigo Isle Royale NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/34-isro-stoll-plaque.jpg)
Stoll Plaque Isle Royale NP
|
Death Valley National Park (CA)
Visitor Center at Furnace Creek: on the east wall, inside the
courtyard, behind the Visitor Center building. It was unveiled in this
location at a 75th Anniversary NPS program 12 October 1991. Earlier
history is not known. The courtyard can be accessed through the Visitor
Center or, should the Visitor Center be closed, walk around the west end
of the building, past the bathrooms, across the grass, to freely enter
the open courtyard.
![Mather plaque](images/35-deva-furnace-creek-vc.jpg)
Furnace Creek Visitor Center Death Valley NP
|
"Old Santa Fe Trail Building"— Former NPS Region III Office (NM)
1100 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 In the early
1930's the choice of where to put a central regional office that covered
five southwestern states was decided by the usual committee method.
Narrowing the selection down to two cities—Santa Fe and
Albuquerque—the vote was all in favor of Albuquerque. The one
dissenting vote by Herbert Maier (the new Regional Director) determined
the location: Santa Fe. The Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe,
who owned land along the historic Santa Fe Trail, sweetened the deal by
offering 8 acres to the Park Service for this purpose given a $1
donation. It would seem that democracy in the Park Service does not
always work exactly the way you might expect. Although it has been in
use by the Park Service since it was built during the depression, this
classic old CCC/WPA building was technically a property of the General
Services Administration. When the Region III office was moved to the
Intermountain Regional Office in Denver as a cost saving consolidation
in 1995, the Region III Director instantly realized the fate of this
historic Park Service building. He promptly flew to Ft. Worth and plied
the GSA Regional Director with an expensive meal at a fancy restaurant,
unlimited martinis (strictly medicinal), and prevailed upon her to sign
back over this old building to him on a bar napkin at dinner. Not only
did he get this National Historic Landmark back, but also the funding
line that went with it. The woman retired as scheduled several weeks
later. By the time the GSA figured out what had happened, the title had
been transferred, the building was staffed, up and running with NPS
people as a "regional support office"—it was a done deal. For a
while afterwards the place was referred to by some as the "Cook
Building" after the wily Regional Director who snaked it back.
Initially mounted on an outside wall next to the front entrance, the
Mather plaque was moved inside in 1999. In this exquisite vintage
building, the plaque is now centered in the reception lobby as part of a
very tasteful display beneath a large WPA oil portrait of Stephen Mather
on horseback. Business hours accessibility. With current security
considerations it may not be possible to be accommodated for an
impromptu visit and prearrangement is advised to see the plaque and tour
this classic structure. Impeccably maintained by the Park Service, its
myriad of architectural, artistic, and craftsmanship details are well
worth the trouble!The original period conference table was constructed
on site in the conference room as it wouldn't fit through the door.
Most of the adobe was made traditionally on site. CCC carpenters
handcrafted the furniture with some Indian designs "borrowed" from
Superintendent Jesse Nusbaum at Mesa Verde. When funding lagged or ran
out, vigas and log beams were purloined from nearby Forest Service
projects. Vintage Indian blankets and historic pots complete the
décor. 1991 NPS Anniversary Rededication #14.
![Mather plaque](images/36-osftb-entrance-foyer.jpg)
Entrance Foyer Old Santa Fe Trail Building
|
![Mather plaque](images/37-osftb-courtyard.jpg)
Courtyard Old Santa Fe Trail Building
|
![Mather plaque](images/38-osftb.jpg)
Old Santa Fe Trail Building
|
Mesa Verde National Park (CO)
Chapin Historic District. The plaque is mounted outside on the right
(south) side porch of the original Archeological Museum. Adjacent is a
1978 plaque recognizing Mesa Verde as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
According to Horace Albright this plaque was dedicated 4 July
1932—probably in this location.
![Mather plaque](images/39-meve-arch-museum.jpg)
Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum Spruce Tree House Historic District Mesa Verde NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/39a-meve.jpg)
Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum Spruce Tree House Historic District Mesa Verde NP
|
Hovenweep National Monument (UT)
This little National Monument was established in 1923 but remained an
unimproved area for most of its life. Mesa Verde served as its
administrative base and for reasons unknown, a plaque was ordered for
the 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication (#18). It was shipped to
Mesa Verde and placed in storage. When Hovenweep was subsequently
developed and staffed for visitor interpretation in 2001, the plaque
never made it home. Neither the Superintendent in 1991 nor the 2014
Facilities Supervisor at Mesa Verde had any idea or suggestion where it
might be found and the plaque was considered "lost". In late May 2016,
while trying to locate an electrical short in the dark back recesses of
a dusty basement closet in the old Archeological Museum (in the Chapin
historic district), the same Ranger who enlightened me about the
Haleakala Plaque (now at Mesa Verde), encountered two sealed wooden
shipping crates that were too heavy to move easily. A flashlight
revealed "5 July 1991 Hovenweep" and "Gorham Bronze" written on the
outside. So, 25 years later this "lost" plaque was "discovered." Its
disposition (still in storage as of Spring 2020) at Hovenweep is
pending. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #18.
![Mather plaque](images/39a-hove.jpg)
Plaque created for Hovenweep NM found in storage at Mesa Verde NP
|
Bandelier National Monument (NM)
Although established in 1919, Yucca House National Monument in
Colorado remains undeveloped to this day. There is nothing at the end
of the dirt road but a barbed wire fence and a gate! Mesa Verde
continues to be this unstaffed National Monument's administrative base.
Again, for reasons unknown, a plaque was ordered for Yucca House in 1991
(#17) as a part of the 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication activity.
25 years after delivery, the "lost" Yucca House Plaque was "found" in
May 2016 still in its shipping crate at the same time as the Hovenweep
plaque. Still crated in storage at Mesa Verde, its disposition was
rumored for a while to be part of a small planned interpretive
development at the Yucca House site. In the fall of 2018 the
superintendent of Bandelier National Monument, who knew of this plaque's
existence, managed to obtain it by as yet undisclosed means. It now
awaits display at Bandelier! Bandelier National Monument is a "Mather
era" park created by Woodrow Wilson 11 February 1916. It was
administered by the U. S. Forest Service until 1932. Much of the
Monument's development occurred during the Great Depression with
extensive construction by the Civilian Conservation Corps using the NPS
"rustic architecture style." The collected 31 historic buildings in
Bandelier are designated a National Landmark District and they
constitute the largest number of CCC structures in the National Park
Service. Currently—Spring 2020—this Mather plaque is in
storage at Bandelier awaiting display. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS
Rededication #17.
![Mather plaque](images/39b-yuho.jpg)
Plaque created for Yucca House NM Now to be displayed at Bandelier NM
|
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (AZ)
Outside the Visitor Center entrance on the right front wall since
1932 or 1933. The proposed memorial services for the Stephen T. Mather
memorial plaque dedication at Casa Grande "were postponed until later on
account of the extremely hot summer weather." There was also inability
to obtain a distinguished speaker for the occasion, no doubt due to such
repugnant temperatures and the lack of air conditioning. Casa Grande is
one of two National Monuments at the time to receive a 1930 plaque.
(The other was Petrified Forest N.M.) Both Monuments were administered
by curmudgeonly Superintendent Frank "Boss" Pinkley, a long time Mather
appointee.
![Mather plaque](images/40-cagr-vc.jpg)
Visitor Center Casa Grande Ruins NM
|
Theodore Roosevelt National Park (ND)
The plaque is outside in a native plant garden, near the entryway of
the South Unit Visitor Center in Medora, ND. It has been there since
the Visitor Center was completed in 1959 and it is mounted on some CCC
era stonework. Besides preserving the sites of Teddy Roosevelt's two
Dakota Ranches, this Park protects several large parcels of great plains
prairie, badlands, riverine woodland, a petrified forest, incredible
wildlife, and a remarkable variety of ticks.
![Mather plaque](images/41-thro-so-unit-vc.jpg)
South Unit Visitor Center Theodore Roosevelt NP
|
Pipe Spring National Monument (AZ)
Stephen Mather first visited Pipe Spring in 1920. He was immediately
smitten with the fort's quintessential western history (cattle drives,
Indian raids, smuggling, polygamy, God seekers, and desert rats) as well
as its strategic travel location between Zion and the Grand Canyon.
Having cool water and shade trees, it only seemed natural to include
this quaint scenic wayside as part of the envisioned grand scenic loop
around the Colorado Plateau. Working with local as well as national
donors (Mather chipped in too), 40 acres, the spring, and Winsor Castle
was purchased from the Heaton family. Pipe Spring was declared a
National Monument in 1923. The memorial plaque is located along the
Overlook Trail, on a hillside above the Visitor Center. An information
plaque about Mather's historic involvement with the Monument is close
by. Originally, the Mather Plaque had been placed on flat ground behind
the Visitor Center with a wagon scenically placed behind it in
1991—old photos of this still float around on the internet. 1991
75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #6.
![Mather plaque](images/42-pisp-overlook-trail.jpg)
Overlook Trail Pipe Spring NM
|
![poster](images/42a-grand-circle-poster.jpg)
Grand Circle Tour Poster
|
Great Basin National Park (NV)
This plaque has been stolen twice and somehow recovered both times.
Park establishment as a major expansion of Lehman Cave N.M. in 1986 did
not enjoy universal acceptance in Nevada. A vocal local group certainly
did not agree with the loss of recreational hunting, prospecting, and
vehicular access. In 1994 the plaque was ripped off its mounting along
the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive at Mather Overlook. Evidently tossed down
the highway embankment, it was later discovered by road workers.
Reinstalled, the plaque disappeared again in 1995 but was miraculously
obtained back 2 years later from a scrap dealer in Reno after someone
recognized it there. Mounting is now described as "bomb proof." 1991
75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #7.
![Mather plaque](images/43-grba-mather-overlook.jpg)
Overlook Trail Great Basin NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/43a-grba-mather-overlook.jpg)
Mather Overlook Great Basin NP
|
Everglades National Park (FL)
In front of the Coe Visitor Center, across the walk from a bronze
statue of a Florida panther. The plaque is mounted on an irregular block
of limestone riddled with fossils and a jaunty epiphytic plant is
perched askew on top.Details and dates of this plaque's origin are not
known.A 1962 photograph is the earliest documentation the Park could
find.
![Mather plaque](images/44-ever-coe-vc.jpg)
Coe Visitor Center Everglades NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/44a-ever-coe-plaque.jpg)
Ernest Coe Plaque Everglades NP
|
Boston National Historical Park (MA)
Current staff in this Park have heard something about a plaque but no
one there now can remember having seen it. (?) With Faneuil Hall, the
frigate USS Constitution, a group of historic sites, private affiliates
and several museums, this Historical Park embodies the cradle of
American liberty in Boston. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #10.
(Lost?)
Stephen T. Mather Training Center—Harper's Ferry National Historical Park (WV)
When Mather Junior High School in Darien, Connecticut, was closed and
the building turned over to the town for their City Hall in 1983, this
1959 plaque was "offered to a good home" by school officials.
Superintendent Charlie Gebler of the Mather Training Center traveled by
train to Darien and brought the plaque back with him. Working with
Superintendent Campbell of Harper's Ferry NHP, the two decided where to
place the plaque and a suitable boulder was obtained from the Shenandoah
River. Now mounted on this large boulder in front of the Mather
Training Center, it is referred to as the "Mather Rock."Formal
dedication was 13 November 1983 with Mather's sister, a son, Director
Dickenson, Conrad Wirth, and George Hartzog attending...it was quite an
event.
![Mather plaque](images/47-hafe-stma.jpg)
The Mather Rock Stephen T. Mather Training Center Harper's Ferry NHP
|
Canyonlands National Park (UT)
On a boulder in front of the Needles Visitor Center. Across the walk
is another boulder with a plaque in tribute to the legendary founding
Superintendent, Bates Wilson. Dedication of these plaques accompanied
the opening festivities of the Needles Visitor Center at 1030 on Earth
Day, 22 April 1992. This gala affair was hosted by Park Superintendent
Walt Dabny. Starting off with a welcoming address by Utah Governor
Norman Bangerter, a prayer was then offered by Monticello attorney
Bennion Redd. U.S. Senator Jake Garn, Ron Madsen (an aide to Senator
Orin Hatch), and Congressman Bill Orton—legislators who shepherded
the Park Bill through Congress—each said a piece. And, remarks
were made by Robert Baker, Regional Director of the National Park
Service. Other notable guests included former Superintendent Harvey
Wickware, former Senator Frank Moss, and County Commissioner Ty Lewis.
The occasion concluded with the dramatic release of a rehabilitated
golden eagle by Senator Garn followed by a hamburger cookout at the
Needles Outpost. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #15.
![Mather plaque](images/48-cany-needles-dist-vc.jpg)
Needles District Visitor Center Canyonlands NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/48b-cany-dedication.jpg)
Dedication Ceremony 22 Apr 1992 Canyonlands NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/48a-cany-bates-wilson-plaque.jpg)
Bates Wilson Plaque Canyonlands NP
|
Golden Spike National Historic Site (UT)
Promontory Summit, Utah, on the Visitor Center exterior, left wall
along the entrance walkway. Across that walkway is a dinged up head
tall white masonry cenotaph with a benchmark in its base. For many
years this obelisk marked the "spot" of the famous junction in the right
of way along the railroad tracks—where the golden spike was
pounded into a tie of polished California laurel May 10, 1869. The
original rail line over Promontory Summit was later abandoned and the
tracks pulled up for scrap during WW II. The cenotaph with its
benchmark was moved to the front of the Visitor Center in 1969 on the
centennial of this historic meeting. The original Golden Spike
currently resides in the Cantor Arts Museum on the Stanford University
campus along with the silver sledge hammer and the Nevada Silver Spike.
The whereabouts of the second gold spike remains unknown. The Arizona
Gold-Silver-Iron spike was documented at the 1869 dedication in a
photograph with Sydney Dillon (a Union Pacific RR Director and
scandalous contractor) receiving the spike from newly appointed Arizona
Governor Anson P. K. Safford. Safford hadn’t even set foot in Arizona
before he had this spike created and attended the Promontory
festivities. After all the formalities and celebration, the spike
subsequently "disappeared" according to a number of sources. In 1943
the spike surfaced as a private donation from a Mrs. Arthur Whitney in
New Jersey to the Museum of the City of New York. Turns out Mrs.
Whitney was the grand-daughter of Sydney Dillon. While retaining
ownership of the spike, the Museum of the City of New York has placed
this historic piece on permanent loan to the Union Pacific Museum in
Council Bluffs, Iowa. From time to time this spike visits other
museums. The polished laurel tie was lost in the fire following the
1906 San Francisco earthquake. The two steam engine locomotives
currently at this Historic Site are exact working replicas of the
originals. Exact location of the golden spike is currently commemorated
with a new polished laurel tie and a brass plaque in the middle of the
train tracks. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #12.
![Mather plaque](images/49-gosp-vc.jpg)
Visitor Center Golden Spike NHS
|
![Mather plaque](images/50-gosp-promontory-pt-1.jpg)
Promontory Point Golden Spike NHS
|
![Mather plaque](images/51a-gosp-promontory-pt-2.jpg)
Promontory Point Golden Spike NHS
|
![Mather plaque](images/51-gosp-promontory-pt-3.jpg)
Promontory Point Golden Spike NHS
|
![Mather plaque](images/51b-gosp-promontory-pt-4.jpg)
Promontory Point Golden Spike NHS
|
Indiana Dunes National Park (IN)
Sand Dunes State Park was the original recipient of this plaque and
it was dedicated there on 4 July 1932. While working as an industrial
businessman in Chicago in 19ll (years before his tenure with the
Interior Department and the Park Service) Stephen Mather joined the
newly formed Prairie Club and served on its Conservation Committee.
Much like the Appalachian Trail Club in the East and the Sierra Club in
the West, the Prairie Club worked to protect the dunes along the
southern end of Lake Michigan for public recreation and enjoyment. With
continued development of the waterfront between Gary and Chicago, the
Prairie Club voted in 1916 to form the National Dunes Park Association
with the expressed goal of establishing a National Park. Although
Mather left Chicago the year before, he remained an active member of two
organizations advocating for the dunes. In Washington he continued
working with the Interior Department and relevant politicians on behalf
of a proposed Dunes National Park. WW I, business and political
opposition, along with Mather's absence for health reasons conspired
against this accomplishment. By late1920, Mather and Albright finally
thought the idea of a Dunes National Park was fruitless. With continued
development of the lakeshore, the original extent of shoreline for
public use had been badly compromised. Turning the work over to Richard
Lieber, head of Indiana State Parks and a personal friend, Mather
continued to actively work in Indiana on the Dunes State Park. Governor
Goodrich endorsed the project in 1921 and over the next ten years or so,
Indiana Dunes State Park was developed and funded—part for
recreation and part for preservation. First opened for the public in
1926, Lieber had erected a stone monument with a bronze recognition
plaque for Mather in the center of the new Park. (The fate of this
plaque is unknown.) The memorial plaque received in 1932 after Mather's
death was displayed for a while along one of the Park trails at Waverly
Beach. At some point, the memorial plaque was put into storage.
Another generation in another time put together a surrounding National
Lakeshore under the Park Service. When finally authorized in 1966, the
memorial plaque was passed along from the State Park to the NPS unit where it
was put in storage again. With the 1989 development of the Lakeview picnic and
beach area in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (renamed Indiana Dunes National
Park on 2/15/2019), the plaque was finally integrated in that recreation area at
the top of a stairwell leading down to the beach and overlooking the
lakeshore.
![Mather plaque](images/52a-indu-dedication.jpg)
Col. Richard J. Lieber Unveiling Mather Plaque, 4 July 1932 Indiana Dunes SP (Calumet Regional Archives photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/52-indu-lakeview-picnic.jpg)
Lakeview Picnic & Beach Area Indiana Dunes NP
|
Fort Clatsop National Memorial—Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks (OR)
Outside on the front Visitor Center wall, right side as you walk in.
Senator Robert Packwood unveiled this plaque on 28 August 1991 at the
dedication of the new Visitor Center. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS
Rededication #11.
![Mather plaque](images/53-lewi-vc-1.jpg)
Fort Clatsop Visitor Center Lewis and Clark NHP
|
![Mather plaque](images/53a-lewi-focl.jpg)
Fort Clatsop Lewis and Clark NHP
|
![Mather plaque](images/54-lewi-saltworks.jpg)
Salt Works Lewis and Clark NHP
|
![Mather plaque](images/55-lewi-seaside.jpg)
Seaside, OR Lewis and Clark NHP
|
Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
Received in June of 1991 and evidently never mounted or displayed,
this plaque was finally located on 12 December 2013 by Rangers Noreen
and Dennis in the attic above the headquarters office after an
intermittent three month search. Three years of negotiations by the
Chief of Interpretation and the Plaque was finally mounted outside their
visitor center in 2016. Although National Preserves offer different
visitor uses than National Parks, Big Cypress effectively extends and
protects the adjacent Everglades ecosystem. The southern end of Florida
has four large Park areas. Each is so different and diverse that time
for each is essential to their individual appreciation. 1991 75th
Anniversary NPS Rededication #4.
![Mather plaque](images/56-bicy-hq-vc-2014.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center (2014) Big Cypress NPres
|
![Mather plaque](images/57-bicy-hq-vc-2016.jpg)
Headquarters Visitor Center (2016) Big Cypress NPres (NPS photo)
|
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (MT—ND)
Grouted into a glacial erratic boulder in the lower/overflow parking
lot and picnic area since August 1991. The plaque is accessible when
the Fort front gate along the highway is open. Check hours of
operation. From the dawn of human habitation in North America, the
junction of the Missouri and the Yellowstone Rivers has been a
crossroads of humanity. In April 1805 Lewis & Clark spent five days
hereabout mapping the confluence in detail and noted its potential
military importance. Also recognizing this strategic location, John
Jacob Astor placed his American Fur Trading Company post here in 1828.
For the next 39 years it was a legendary supply and communications
center during America's western expansion period prior to the coming of
the railroad. (The lower/overflow parking lot where the Plaque is
located is just west of the Fort and actually across the Montana state
line!) 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #19.
![Mather plaque](images/58-fous-lower-parking-lot.jpg)
Lower Parking Lot Fort Union Trading Post NHS
|
![Mather plaque](images/59-fous-rendezvous.jpg)
Rendezvous Fort Union Trading Post NHS
|
![Mather plaque](images/59a-confluence-map.jpg)
Confluence Map Lewis and Clark Expedition
|
Blue Ridge Parkway (NC)
On an outside deck behind the Linn Cove Viaduct Visitor Center and
Bridge Museum. (Mile Post 304.4) In 1989 this plaque was transferred
from the NPS History Collection to be installed here at the Contact
Station overlooking the valley below. Its prior history is
administratively unknown. The Visitor Center at Linn Cove is open
seasonally. If the gate on the road to the visitor center is closed, it
is but a short walk down from the Parkway to see the plaque. The Linn
Cove Viaduct is a civil engineering marvel constructed between 1979 and
1987. Wrapping this preformed concrete segmental bridge around
Grandfather Mountain was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to
be completed. The short Tanawha Hiking Trail winds around and beneath
the viaduct from Beacon Heights to Julian Price Park. (This remains
another Mather Plaque mystery. Weighing about 40 pounds and cast in a
silver metal rather than bronze—aluminum or some sort of light
weight pewter alloy—no information has been found as to why, how
or when this plaque was cast. In detail it appears to be either 1930
Type II or 1959 in configuration. Perhaps it was a "trial" piece?)
![Mather plaque](images/60-blri-linn-cove-1.jpg)
Linn Cove Contact Station Blue Ridge Parkway
|
![Mather plaque](images/61-blri-linn-cove-2.jpg)
Linn Cove Contact Station Blue Ridge Parkway
|
![Mather plaque](images/308-blri-1.jpg)
Blue Ridge Parkway
|
![Mather plaque](images/309-blri-2.jpg)
Blue Ridge Parkway
|
![Mather plaque](images/310-blri-3.jpg)
Blue Ridge Parkway
|
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site (PA)
Since April 1992 this plaque has remained on its original stone
pedestal along the parking lot perimeter walk, near the entrance of the
Park Amphitheater at the Visitor Center Complex. Used from 1834 to 1854
the portage rail road hauled freight boats 36 miles over the Allegheny
Mountains, from the Holidaysburg Canal Basin to Johnstown. It opened up
shipping of all sorts to the western territories by boat. River travel
was far preferable to muddy rutted mountain tracks. Using 10 inclined
planes, counterbalanced payloads, and a fixed steam engine, this
ingenious early rail road was an engineering marvel of its day. 1991
75th Anniversary Rededication #9.
![Mather plaque](images/62-alpo-vc.jpg)
Visitor Center Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS
|
Denali National Park & Preserve (AK)
Originally this plaque was mounted outside the Ranger Dormitory in
1934. Later it was moved to the Naturalists Office, which received the
most visitor contacts. Now it is drilled through and bolted to the
outside wall next to the Park Headquarters front door where few people
have occasion to see it.
![Mather plaque](images/63-dena-hq.jpg)
Denali NP&Pres
|
![Mather plaque](images/64-dena-karstens-plaque.jpg)
Karstens Plaque Denali NP&Pres
|
![Mather plaque](images/65-dena-sheldon-plaque.jpg)
Sheldon Plaque Denali NP&Pres
|
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (CA)
This big rambling Recreation Area participated in the 1991 75th
Anniversary NPS Rededication activity, ordered and received a plaque
(#8), but has no record of that now. No one currently in the Park Unit
can recall seeing it. The plaque may be unrecognized, stolen, lost in
storage, or.....?
Rocky Mountain Regional Office / NPS Denver Service Center (Lakewood, CO)
Intermountain Region Headquarters Building, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway,
80228. In this enormous high powered administrative setting, the plaque
is freely accessible outside. Mounted on a boulder close to the
flagpole, it is part of the entryway garden. It was purchased with
funds donated by the Denver Center Park Service staff headed up by
Lorraine Mintzmyer and John Reynolds and dedicated 26 August 1991. 1991
plaques cost $600. 1991 75th Anniversary NPS Rededication #5.
![Mather plaque](images/66-dsc.jpg)
Denver Regional Office
|
Hot Springs National Park (AR)
This oldest and smallest of all National Parks was originally four
square miles set aside as a Federal Reserve by an act of Congress April
20, 1832 under President Andrew Jackson—with no provision for
management and no budget. (As you can see, budget woes are a long time
Park Service tradition.) The Memorial Mather Plaque was first installed
outside in an as yet unknown location at an unknown time. In 1939 it
was moved into the lobby of the Administration Building at the end of
Bath House Row to "protect it from the elements." The Administration
Building formerly housed the Park Museum where more people saw the
plaque until the museum was moved to the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor
Center in 1989. The plaque remains in its 1939 location, tucked in a
corner on the wall between the front door and the receptionist's desk.
Business hours accessibility.
![Mather plaque](images/67a-hosp-admin-bldg-2.jpg)
Administrative Building, 1939 Hot Springs NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/67-hosp-admin-bldg.jpg)
Administrative Building Hot Springs NP
|
Assateague Island National Seashore (MD)
Verrazano Bridge accessing the island. The plaque is mounted on the
bridge railing along the pedestrian walkway and close by the Verrazano
Bridge historic marker. It is 200 paces (Arrgh!) from the Barrier
Island Visitor Center Parking lot, where the asphalt turns to concrete.
(West end of the bridge, south side of Highway 611, South National
Seashore Lane.) Originally the plaque was unveiled 21 September 1991 at
the celebration of the Seashore's 25th Anniversary. 1991 75th
Anniversary NPS Rededication#20. To read the visible inscription on the
plaque's reverse it is necessary to climb over the substantial walkway
fence and stand precariously on bridge pilings. To save you the
trouble, the raised inscription on the back says: COLORADO NATIONAL
MONUMENT EDITION OF 1991 20.
![Mather plaque](images/69-asis-barrier-is-vc.jpg)
Barrier Island Visitor Center Assateague Islands NS
|
Virgin Islands National Park (VI)
This plaque sits on a wooden saw horse of sorts next to the flag pole
in front of the St. John's Visitor Center on Cruz Bay.As this display is
movable, not too long ago a visitor leaning on the plaque managed to
knock it over and it landed on another visitor's foot, breaking a toe.
The possibility of a lawsuit has been considered.The Virgin Islands,
formerly known as the Danish West Indies, were purchased by the United
States from Denmark as a diplomatic move in 1917 for 25 million dollars.
The United States was afraid that Denmark could easily fall to the
Germans (WW I) thus giving the Central Powers a naval base in the West
Indies. (American admirals and naval strategists must have paled at the
thought of German battleships and U-Boats smack dab in the middle of the
western hemisphere.) Although recognized by Mather as a prime potential
National Park from its initial acquisition, Congress could not conceive
why anyone would want to go to the warm sunny Caribbean Islands for any
reason? Laurance Rockefeller bought up more than 5,000 acres on St.
John's Island after WW II amid the Caribbean vacation home housing boom.
In 1956 he negotiated this as a donation to be incorporated as a
National Park. Creation of the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National
Monument in 2001 effectively expanded and further protects the Park's
ecosystems with a three mile offshore belt around St. John's Island.
Virgin Islands N.P. is thought to be the first park unit to create an
underwater trail for visitors.
![Mather plaque](images/70-viis-cruz-bay-vc.jpg)
Cruz Bay Visitor Center Virgin Islands NP
|
Mammoth Cave National Park (KY)
A boulder about 30' from the front door of the Visitor Center. This
Park was legislated into existence on 25 May 1926, but it wasn't until
twenty year later that the land acquisition issues had been mostly
resolved, WW II concluded, and Park development could proceed during the
post WW II period of national prosperity. Mammoth Cave was formally
dedicated as a National Park in September 1946.
![Mather plaque](images/72-maca-vc.jpg)
Visitor Center Mammoth Cave NP
|
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (NM)
With the end of construction of the Bat Flight Amphitheater in 1964,
this plaque was mounted on a native limestone wall on the right side of
the Cavern Foot Trail entrance. A World Heritage Site since 1995,
Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the adjacent Lincoln National Forest
are riddled with caves, remarkable for their size, length, complexity
and diversity of formations. The Guadalupe Escarpment, Devil's Den
Canyon, McKittrick Canyon, Lonesome Ridge, and the Brokeoff Mountains
are Wilderness Study Areas that tie Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe
National Parks together in a remarkable and seldom visited wild area.
(Check out various permutations of the Guadalupe Ridge Trail.) The
biosphere of this extraordinary range continues to be explored and
cataloged.
![Mather plaque](images/73-cave.jpg)
Carlsbad Caverns NP
|
Kings Canyon National Park (CA)
The Phantom General Grant National Park Plaque.
The Phantom General Grant National Park Plaque. General Grant
National Park was a small postage stamp of giant sequoias (154 acres)
set aside by presidential decree on 1 October 1890. The Grant Grove
includes the General Grant Tree, originally thought to be the largest
tree in the world. In 1926 President Coolidge proclaimed it the
Nation's Christmas Tree and in 1956 President Eisenhower declared the
tree a National Shrine dedicated to those killed in the war. Precise
measurements in 2012 verified once again that actually, the General
Grant Tree was only the third largest tree in the world! By any
standard it is still an incredible tree, still vigorous, and still
growing. General Grant National Park received a Memorial Mather Plaque
in 1932.It was installed that September on a boulder in a meadow along
the path between the Grant Grove parking lot and the village. (You can
still find this rock about 50 yards from the cement sidewalk in the
Grant Grove parking lot. When you reach the little wooden footbridge
along the dirt path heading toward the village, look
left—north—across the small meadow. The cutout for the
plaque is still plainly evident on the boulder.) In 1940 Kings Canyon
National Park was created from a huge chunk of the Sierras. (Clarence
King was a giant figure in western exploration, the Sierras,
mountaineering, geology, cartography, an accomplished author, art
critic, and first Director of the United States Geological
Survey—who lived a storied double life. But the Kings Canyon was
NOT named for Clarence King or Clarence King Peak. Beleaguered by the
travails of exploration on 6 January 1805, Lt. Gabriel Moraga with his
small escort of Spanish soldiers decided to cover all the bases when he
ran into an undescribed river on the day of the Feast of Epiphany. So
he christened the river El Rio de los Santos Reyes after the biblical
magi—River of the Holy Kings.) Congress reincorporated General
Grant National Park into Kings Canyon National Park. Three years later
Kings Canyon was conjoined with Sequoia National Park to share a common
administration as a cost saving measure during WW II. Noted last in a
memo to the Park architect in 1946, the General Grant Mather Plaque was
removed not long after and placed in storage only to "disappear." While
answering a routine inquiry about historic photos in 2014, a bright
perceptive museum curator in Sequoia/Kings Canyon N.P.'s mentioned a
pristine plaque in Park museum storage at Ash Mountain. Identical to
the one mounted on the rock in Crescent Meadow, dating (1934 graffiti)
confirms this plaque's heritage as the one unaccounted plaque from 1930.
So after 70 years, the phantom General Grant plaque has been found!
![Mather plaque](images/75-seki-rock.jpg)
General Grant Mather Plaque Rock Kings Canyon NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/75-seki-warehouse.jpg)
Warehouse Kings Canyon NP
|
Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area (CA) Whiskeytown Unit
In late 2014 Superintendent Jim Milestone had a traveling mold maker
cast a latex mold of an existing mounted Mather Plaque. The attempt at
Crater Lake was unsuccessful because of the cold August temperature
complicated by bubbles which contracted and ruined the mold at lower
elevation. Copying the plaque at the University of California at
Berkeley was successful. Five plaques were cast by Valley Bronze in
Joseph, Oregon, in 2015. (Valley Bronze did the bronze casting for the
WWII Memorial in Washington DC.) Milestone's plaque was dedicated 22
August 2015 on the 50th anniversary of Whiskeytown's incorporation with
Dr. Bill Tweed as the dedication speaker.Sealing of a children's time
capsule, the Shasta Symphony in a beachside orchestra concert, the
release of candle luminaries onto the lake, and a lighted boat parade
rounded out a delightful afternoon and evening in the Park for an
estimated gathering of 2,000. The plaque is located in a lovely wooded
area along Brandy Creek, about ¼ mile up from Brandy Creek Beach. It is
close to the Brandy Creek picnic area along a paved accessible path at
the start of the trail to Brandy Creek Falls.
![Mather plaque](images/76a-whis-dedication-2015.jpg)
Plaque Dedication 22 Aug 2015 Whiskeytown NRA (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/76b-whis.jpg)
Whiskeytown NRA
|
Redwood National and State Parks (CA)
In a gala afternoon of festivities 6/26/16 a new Mather Plaque was
unveiled and dedicated on the site of a former lumber mill in Orick.
Centennial activities for a crowd of some 1,500 visitors included wagon
rides, trail shuttles, musical groups, food vendors, a Yoruk Indian
canoe demonstration, interactive exhibits, Ranger-led walks, story
tellers, bicycle tours, pony rides, and bucking logs with a two man
crosscut saw. Dignitary speakers included Park Superintendent Steve
Prokop, Yoruk Tribal Chairman Thomas O'Rourke, Congressman Jared
Huffman, Steve Hodder of the Save the Redwoods League, and Michael
Muir—John Muir's great grandson. In 2013 this 124 acre site of a
former lumber mill where redwoods were processed was obtained by the
Save the Redwoods League. With grants and fund raising ongoing, it is
hoped and planned that a new interpretive visitor center will soon
become a reality. Private individuals, corporations, conservation
organizations, and the Save the Redwoods League are working with the
Redwood National and State Parks to make this happen. The Mather Plaque
will be permanently displayed outside at that time. Redwood N.P. is
another triple crown Park. Besides a Mather Plaque, Redwood has both
National Heritage Site status and is declared as a UNESCO Biosphere
Reserve. It is a hotbed of ecology research, canopy exploration,
restoration, archeobotony, and new species identification. All this in
what is only about 4% of the original old growth forest remaining. A
recent book fittingly referred to redwood groves in this exquisite
temperate rain forest as "Cathedrals in the Rain." As of Spring 2020,
this plaque remains in storage while final plan details and permitting
of the new Orick Visitor Center continue.
![Mather plaque](images/76c-redw-dedication-2016.jpg)
Plaque Dedication 20 July 2016 Redwood NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/76d-redw-dedication.jpg)
Dedication 20 July 2016 Redwood NP (Nancy Gregory photo)
|
Joshua Tree National Park (CA)
Dedicated 8/25/16 @ 1000 at the Oasis of Mara administrative and
visitor center complex. Cake, history and music took center stage on the
patio at Joshua Tree National Park Headquarters. Superintendent David
Smith, Chief Ranger Jeff Ohlfs and Park Rangers gathered with VIP's from
across the Morongo Basin to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
National Park Service. Those in attendance included Twentynine Palms
Mayor Dan Mintz and Yucca Valley Mayor Bob Leone, along with
representatives of all three Morongo Basin chambers of commerce and
representatives of the San Bernardino County and Riverside County
sheriff's departments. Palm Vista Elementary School students sang
"America the Beautiful" and a special rendition of "Happy Birthday" for
the National Park Service. Superintendent Smith's address touched on a
number of topics including Joshua Tree's relationship to the surrounding
communities, a bit of Park Service history, National Parks in America
today, as well as recognition of the staff and volunteers in Joshua
Tree. As the oldest living Ranger at Joshua Tree, Chief Ranger Ohlfs
cut the birthday cake with a Pulaski fire axe and gave the first piece
to the youngest Ranger, Tim Callahan. (It is not known by this
researcher exactly how old the Chief Ranger really is? But, with Betty
Reid Soskin, age 95, at Rosie the Riveter NHP and Doug Follett, age 90,
at Glacier NP—our top oldest #1 and #2 Rangers as of the NPS
Centennial Anniversary—it's likely the CR has a ways to go.) Two
plaques were dedicated in the course of the morning. A UNESCO Biosphere
Reserve recognition plaque is mounted on a boulder. The Mather plaque
is welded onto a steel pedestal. Both are in front of the Park Visitor
Center in Twentynine Palms.
![Mather plaque](images/76e-jotr.jpg)
Joshua Tree NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/76e1-jotr-dedication-2016-1.jpg)
Mather Plaque Dedication 25 August 2015 Joshua Tree NP (The Desert Trail photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/76e3-jotr-dedication-2016-3.jpg)
Mather Plaque Dedication 25 August 2015 Joshua Tree NP (The Desert Trail photo)
|
Saguaro National Park (AZ) East Park Unit (Rincon District)
Starting day two of the new Superintendent Leah McGinnis' tenure,
this Mather Plaque was dedicated in front of the Rincon Mountain
District Visitor Center 8/25/16 @ 0800. The Chief of Interpretation,
Andy Fisher, wrangled the small gathering, beginning with the National
Anthem sung acapella by high school senior Yasmine Durazo.A Tohono
O'odham blessing was conferred by Tribal Vice-Chairman Jerry Carlyle
followed by a welcome address from Superintendent McGinnis. Congressman
Raul Grijalva and an aide of Congresswoman Martha McSally each paid
their respects. This plaque was donated by two former fire crew members
at Manning Camp in the mule packing days of the 1950's and 1960's. Ten
miles by trail from the nearest road and 5,000 feet of elevation gain
made Manning Camp the most remote of all fire camps in the Park Service
at that time. John Cook, an old Park Service war horse and one of the
donors, was unable to attend but was represented in remarks by his
brother, "Tee" Cook.Art Janssen, the other donor (and the one who put
John up to it), spoke on the relevance of Stephen Mather for us today.
Bob Newtson of the Friends of Saguaro and Jim Cook of the Western
National Park Association also spoke. Fittingly, Andy Fisher wrapped up
the Centennial occasion with birthday cake and coffee. The Arizona
College Prep Academy gave a presentation during refreshments. At the
shadowy edges of this reception was the legendary old Chief Ranger, Les
Gunzel, who did so much in the 1960's and 70's to set up Saguaro for
later National Park status. His stories and reflections are a nostalgic
historical treasure trove. The Mather Plaque is mounted in a native
plant garden on a non-native boulder out front of the Visitor Center and
adjacent the flag pole. With final dressing of the stone for plaque
placement, the boulder fractured and was later replaced for stability.
It is pretty easy to get a good superficial look at Saguaro cacti from
the paved roads in either the east or west Park unit. But to really get
your arms around Saguaro National Park will take a lot more time and
effort. With 4 life zones, riparian areas, a remote mile high back
country, a rough front country, rugged peaks, old mines, petroglyphs,
and an extensive network of hiking trails, what skills, preparation and
interests will you bring to this sky island wonderland?
![Mather plaque](images/76g-sagu-dedication-2016.jpg)
Mather Plaque Dedication 25 Aug 2015 Saguaro NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/76a-sagu-vc.jpg)
Rincon Mountain Visitor Center Saguaro NP
|
Walnut Canyon National Monument (AZ)
Donation of this plaque was courtesy of the Cook and Guillet
families—4 generations of National Park Service members from two
intermarried families. A number of this Park Service clan are directly
related to the Walnut Canyon/Sunset Crater/Wupatki complex—
including three Superintendents and a Regional Director. The plaque was
received at Walnut Canyon in October 2015. On a picture perfect late
summer morning this plaque was dedicated on the National Park Service's
101st birthday at 0900, 25 August 2017, in front of the Walnut Canyon
Visitor Center. Superintendent Kayci Cook Collins conducted the lovely
morning dedication starting with the Pledge of Allegiance led by her
son, Life (soon to be Eagle) Scout Sean Collins and the National Anthem
sung by Crystal Warden-Gant. Coconino Supervisor Art Babbitt led off
the speakers followed by remarks from former NPS Regional Director John
Cook. Art Janssen related a brief history of Stephen Mather and the
relevance of the Mather Plaque for today. Unveiling of the plaque by
John and Art was followed by birthday cake and optional walking tours to
the original 1904 Ranger cabin.
![Mather plaque](images/86-waca-dedication.jpg)
Mather Plaque Dedication 25 Aug 2017 Walnut Canyon NM
|
![Mather plaque](images/86a-waca-vc.jpg)
Visitor Center Walnut Canyon NM
|
Independence National Historical Park (PA)
Starting 8/25/16 @ 1000 with the Mather Plaque dedication ceremony in
front of the Independence NHP main Visitor Center, the day long
centennial celebration began. There were a continuum of special Ranger
programs, games, free admission to the Benjamin Franklin Museum, a
Founder's Day picnic on the Mall, a camp fire, a night sky talk, and, of
course, birthday cake. This plaque was donated by the National Parks
Travelers Club as a part of their annual meeting in Philadelphia during
the centennial celebration. The plaque is mounted on a boulder placed
in a garden setting along the front walkway of the Visitor Center.
![Mather plaque](images/76k-inde-vc.jpg)
Visitor Center Independence NHP (NPTC photo)
|
National Park Service Headquarters (Washington D.C.)
Originally this plaque was installed in 1932 outside the Director's
Office in Park Service Headquarters at Horace Albright's direction.
(This is now the General Services Administration Building). The plaque
was moved to the new Interior Building in 1937. There it was located
outside the Director's Office for many years until another renovation.
Stored in various offices, it was finally installed in the office of the
Associate Director, Operations. Spring 2014 found it in the office of
Associate Director, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. The 3100
corridor of the main Interior Building was remodeled starting in 2014
over 2 1/2 years. During that time the plaque was stored in the office
of the Deputy Director, Operations (conference room 2023 in a locked
glass cabinet) pending a permanent disposition. Business hours
accessibility and an airport style security clearance is required for
entry. The Department of Interior Building is two blocks long, seven
stories high, with 3 square miles of floor space. To have even a hope
of visiting this plaque, it is important to have a contact person who
can squire you around this enormous setting. With bas reliefs, full
wall WPA era oil paintings, an enormous fresco, a museum, and a corridor
with original Ansel Adams photographs, the Interior Building is most
interesting all by itself. During WWII antiaircraft guns were placed on
the roof top as part of the Capitol air defenses. Inadvertently one gun
was discharged in 1942 firing 3 cannon rounds into the Lincoln Memorial.
The roof of the Memorial was squarely impacted damaging the state seals
of Maryland, Connecticut, and Texas. This misadventure never made the
papers and the damage was quietly and quickly repaired. (The most
difficult of all the plaques to locate, it took nine months of email
exchanges involving five different people to determine exactly where
this plaque was to be found.For the 2016 Park Service Centennial, the
plaque was again located in the same cabinet after another month long
search by five more different people. Institutional memory is a fragile
thing.)
![Mather plaque](images/77-waso.jpg)
National Park Service Headquarters
|
![Mather plaque](images/78-doi-bldg.jpg)
Department of Interior Building Roof
|
NATIONAL PARKS DON'T JUST HAPPEN!
|
MEMORIAL MATHER PLAQUES OUTSIDE THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Palisades Interstate Parkway (NY—NJ)—Bear Mountain State Park (NY)
Dedicated as part of a National Conference on State Parks on 7 June
1933. Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, Horace Albright, and Mather's
wife & daughter attended this convocation. Bear Mountain State Park
is along the west side of the Hudson River in Rockland County, NY, about
a mile south of the Bear Mountain Bridge (Highway 6). Beautifully
weathered, the plaque is mounted on a boulder at The Overlook, 100 yards
east of the bear enclosure in the zoo along a paved path. Maj. William
A. Welch became Chief Engineer and General Manager of Palisades
Interstate Park in 1914. Stephen Mather worked closely with the New
York Parks Commission and the Major throughout his time with the Park
Service and the two became fast friends. In turn, Mather enlisted Maj.
Welch to survey potential National Parks in the eastern United States.
Welch surveys that actually became Parks include Mammoth Cave,
Shenandoah, and the Great Smoky Mountains.
![Mather plaque](images/78b-bear-mtn-dedication.jpg)
Eleanor Roosevelt at Dedication Bear Mountain SP (photographer unknown)
|
![Mather plaque](images/78c-bear-mtn-invitation.jpg)
Dedication Invitation Bear Mountain SP
|
![Mather plaque](images/78a-bear-mtn-sp.jpg)
The Overlook Bear Mountain SP
|
University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley (CA)
Mather Memorial Grove. As you drive up Centennial Drive heading up
the hill toward Lawrence Hall, there is an entrance kiosk on the right
side of the road for the Botanical Garden. Directly across the drive is
a visitors' parking lot and a locked gate to the Mather Grove. With
paid admission into the botanical garden you will be given the key code
for the gate. Actually, you can glimpse the plaque from outside the
gate, however, walking through the grove is quite pleasant. For a real
urban adventure, try visiting on graduation day! Check botanical garden
for admission days and hours.Mather & Albright were both UC-B grads.
Their first boss, Secretary of the Interior Franklin Lane, was also an
alum. They all felt that the Park Service should have intellectual ties
and the resources of a fine academic institution—why not Berkeley?
NPS offices were located in room 333 of Hilgard Hall. The major
support provided by the University of California to the early Park
Service is often not well appreciated. Besides the comprehensive
intellectual resources provided by various departments, the students,
faculty and alumni broadly supported the Park Service in countless ways.
The Sierra Club at this time—an outing club of
sorts—included a broad base of UC grads in its membership. Many
faculty, assorted professionals, attorneys, authors, and business men
from San Francisco's upper crust belonged. Their political connections
and direct financial generosity gave enormous support to Mather and the
young Park Service.
![Mather plaque](images/79-ucal-1.jpg)
Botanical Gardens University of California-Berkeley
|
![Mather plaque](images/80-ucal-2.jpg)
Botanical Gardens University of California-Berkeley
|
Stephen Tyng Mather High School (IL)
5835 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60659 (West Ridge neighborhood)
This plaque is viewable inside the school. It is located on a wall that
leads into the main hallway of the school, just right of the reception
desk. Business hours accessibility.
![Mather plaque](images/81-mather-hs-1.jpg)
Stephen Tyng Mather High School
|
![Mather plaque](images/81a-mather-hs-2.jpg)
Stephen Tyng Mather High School
|
Humboldt Redwoods State Park (CA) — The Redwood Highway Plaque (CA)
Kent-Mather Grove along the Avenue of the Giants. It is 30 yards
north of mile marker 15.04 along the Avenue of Giants Highway—old
Hwy 101—on the west or Eel River side of the road. The plaque was
dedicated here in August 1932 and mounted on an irregular block of some
sort of conglomerate. The plaque now has a deep patina and the rock is
covered with moss so it all blends in well with the woods. William Kent
and Stephen Mather were the patrons responsible for salvaging (read that
"purchasing") this exquisite grove of coastal redwoods through the Save
the Redwoods League in 1921. It was the second of many such "dedicated
groves" purchased by private citizens for protection and public benefit.
Since its founding, the Save the Redwoods League has now dedicated and
protected more than a thousand redwood groves. With several hundred
groves still available, you too can still buy and save a redwood grove
today! All total, only about 4% of original old growth coastal redwoods
remain. While giant sequoias are brashly majestic beyond belief, there
is a staid and regal reverence about these coastal redwoods that leaves
many visitors awed to silence.
![Mather plaque](images/82-humboldt-sp-1.jpg)
Kent-Mather Grove Humboldt Redwoods SP
|
![Mather plaque](images/83-humboldt-sp-2.jpg)
Kent-Mather Loop Trail Humboldt Redwoods SP
|
![Mather plaque](images/84-humboldt-sp-3.jpg)
Mather Grove Humboldt Redwoods SP
|
The Idaho Plaque (ID)
This plaque is a private possession of distant Mather family
relatives. Obtained from the University of California by purchase from
stored basement material surveyed off in the 1970's, it is not known
when, how or why Berkeley ended up with two Mather Plaques (?). Yet
another Mather Plaque mystery. This plaque is from the original 1930
casting of 28. It may be that this first plaque was received and set
aside pending formal dedication of the grove of newly planted redwood
trees. Perhaps "lost" or forgotten, a replacement plaque from the 1959
casting was mounted for display at some later date or occasion. (?)
Stored in a garage or basement most of its life, this Plaque is in
pristine condition.
Camp Mather (CA) — San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department
The O'Shaughnessy Dam on the Tuolumne River flooded Hetch Hetchy
Valley in Yosemite National Park. After multiple political battles over
a period of years, the dam was finally authorized by congress in 1913.
It was to be constructed and administered by the City of San Francisco
which was still recovering from the 1906 earthquake with its extensive
fires. Although it was pointed out that water reservoirs per se would
not change the city's ability to suppress future catastrophic fires,
construction of dams to create water reservoirs was in fashion. (Muir
Woods was saved from this political fad.) Construction camps and a
sawmill were built for workers above the Tuolumne Valley. To facilitate
tourists wanting to see the construction, a trickle of visitors were
accommodated at the sawmill by the Yosemite National Park Company (later
to become the Yosemite Park & Curry Company). Not long after, the
Hetch Hetchy Lodge (now the Jack Spring Dining Hall) was built in 1920
to further develop the area and facilitate visitation. When
construction of the dam was completed in 1923, the 337 acre camp was
then devoted to family summer recreation starting in 1924—a "city
park" under the auspices of San Francisco. Water from Hetch Hetchy did
not actually reach San Francisco until 1934.
Stephen Mather was opposed to the flooding of Hetch Hetchy but as a
new young Assistant Secretary of Interior in 1915, he was advised by
Secretary Lane that it was a done deal and better to not go to war over
it now. There were other fish to fry.
Camp Mather naturalist ranger Tom Graham is interested in the history
of Camp Mather and for several years pondered how the legacy of the camp
and its namesake might best be recognized. Mather Plaques are
beautiful—but how to get one now? Continuing research led him to
the efforts of others acquiring a recent Mather Plaque and between the
San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the Friends of Camp
Mather, a Mather Plaque was duly ordered, received and dedicated in a
gala celebration at 0900 on 4 July 2017, 150 years from Stephen Mather's
birthday and 100 years from Mather's appointment as first Director of
the National Park Service. Placed on a boulder in front of the Jack
Spring Dining Hall there is alongside a smaller information plaque about
Stephen Mather. Camp Mather is 7.2 miles down Evergreen Road just
outside the north Park entrance (the old historic Oak Flat Road) of
Yosemite. It is on the way to Hetch Hetchy.
![Mather plaque](images/85-camp-mather-dedication.jpg)
Mather Plaque Dedication Camp Mather
|
![Mather plaque](images/85a-camp-mather-1.jpg)
Camp Mather
|
![Mather plaque](images/85b-camp-mather-2.jpg)
Jack Spring Dining Hall Camp Mather
|
MATHER PLAQUES BY STATE — A CHECK LIST
CA (9) | FL (2) |
| Cabrillo N.M. |
| Big Cypress N. Pres. |
| Camp Mather (San Francisco City Parks) |
| Everglades N.P. |
| Death Valley N.P. | HI (2) |
| Humboldt Redwoods State Park |
| Haleakala N.P., Maui |
| Joshua Tree N.P. |
| Hawaii Volcanoes N.P., Big Island |
X | Kings Canyon N.P. (storage SEKI) | ND (2) |
| Lassen Volcanic N.P. |
| Fort Union Trading Post NHS. |
X | Redwood N&SP's (storage REDW) |
| Theodore Roosevelt N.P. |
? | Santa Monica Mountains NRA. (#8 lost) | OR (2) |
| Sequoia N.P. |
| Crater Lake N.P. |
| U.C. Berkeley campus |
| Lewis and Clark NHP. |
| Whiskeytown NRA. | PA (2) |
| Yosemite N.P. |
| Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS. |
AZ (7) |
| Independence NHP. |
| Casa Grande Ruins N.M. | WA (2) |
| Grand Canyon N.P., North Rim |
| Mt. Rainier N.P., Longmire |
| Grand Canyon N.P., South Rim |
| Mt. Rainier N.P., Tipsoo Lake |
| Petrified Forest N.P. | WY (2) |
| Pipe Spring N.M. |
| Grand Teton N.P. |
| Saguaro N.P. |
| Yellowstone N.P. |
| Walnut Canyon N.M. | |
CO (5) |
| AK Denali N.P. |
| Bents Old Fort NHS. |
| AR Hot Springs N.P. |
| Colorado N.M. | X | ID The Idaho Plaque (private) |
| Mesa Verde N.P. |
| IL Mather High School, Chicago |
| NPS Denver Service Center |
| IN Indiana Dunes N.P. |
| Rocky Mountain N.P. |
| KY Mammoth Cave N.P. |
CT (1) |
| MD Assateague N.S. |
| Stephen Mather Home | ? | MA Boston NHP. (#10 lost) |
UT (4) |
| MD Assateague N.S. |
| Bryce Canyon N.P. |
| ME Acadia N.P. |
| Canyonlands N.P. |
| MI Isle Royale N.P. |
| Golden Spike NHS. |
| MT Glacier N.P. |
X | Hovenweep N.M. (storage HOVE) |
| NC Blue Ridge Parkway |
| Zion N.P. |
| NV Great Basin N.P. |
TX (3) |
| NY Bear Mountain State Park |
| Big Bend N.P. |
| SD Wind Cave N.P. |
| Chamizal N. Mem. |
| VA Petersburg N.B. |
| Guadalupe Mountains N.P. |
| VI Virgin Islands N.P. |
NM (2) |
| WV Harpers Ferry NHP. |
| Carlsbad Caverns N.P. |
| DC National Park Service Headquarters |
| Old NPS Region III Building, Santa Fe | |
X | Bandelier N.M. (storage BAND) | |
Total Mather Plaques—70
Display—63 (X=not on display), "Lost" or unknown—3, Private—1, Storage—4
|
LIST OF 59 NATIONAL PARK UNITS (AS OF 1/22/1930) WHEN MATHER DIED
* (1) Hot Springs N.P.
* (2) Yellowstone N.P.
* (4) Sequoia N.P.
* (5) Yosemite N.P.
* (6) General Grant N.P. (Now in Kings Canyon N.P.)
**(7) Mt. Rainier N.P.
* (8) Crater Lake N.P.
(9) Platt N.P. (Now Chickasaw N.R.A.)
(10) Wind Cave N.P.
(—) Sullys Hill N.P. (Separated 1931; Now Sullys Hill N.G.P.)
* (11) Mesa Verde N.P.
* (17) Lassen Volcanic N.P.
* (23) Zion N.P.
* (26) Glacier N.P.
* (29) Rocky Mountain N.P.
* (31) Acadia N.P.
**(32) Hawaii N.P.
* (34) Mt. McKinley N.P. (Now Denali N.P. and Preserve)
* (36) Grand Canyon N.P.
* (42) Bryce Canyon N.P.
(48) Shenandoah N.P.
(49) Great Smokey Mountains N.P.
(50) Mammoth Cave N.P.
* (51) Grand Teton N.P.
*National Park Service Headquarters
|
* (3) Casa Grande Ruins N.M.
(12) Devils Tower N.M.
* (13) Petrified Forest N.M. (Now a N.P.)
(14) Montezuma Castle N.M.
(15) El Moro N.M.
(16) Chaco Canyon N.M. (Now Chaco Culture N.H.P.)
(18) Muir Woods N.M.
(19) Pinnacles N.M. (Now a N.P.)
(20) Natural Bridges N.M.
(21) Kino Missions N.M. (Now Tumacacori N.H.P.)
(22) Navajo N.M.
(—) Shoshone Cavern N.M. (Abolished 1954; Now Spirit Mountain Cave, WY, BLM)
(24) Gran Quivera N.M. (Now Salinas Pueblo Missions N.M.)
(25) Sitka N.M. (Now a N.H.P.)
(27) Rainbow Bridge N.M.
(—) Lewis & Clark Cavern N.M. (Abolished 1937 to become Lewis & Clark Cavern S.P.)
(28) Colorado N.M.
(—) Papago Saguaro N.M. (Abolished 1930 to become Papago Park, Phoenix)
(30) Dinosaur N.M.
(33) Capulin Volcano N.M.
(—) Verendrye N.M. (Abolished 1956 and returned to the state of North Dakota)
(35) Katmai N.M. (Now a N.P.)
(37) Scotts Bluff N.M.
(38) Yucca House N.M. (Undeveloped)
(—) Fossil Cyad N.M. (Abolished 1957, SD, BLM)
(39) Aztec Ruins N.M.
(40) Hovenweep N.M.
(41) Pipe Spring N.M.
(43) Carlsbad Caverns N.M. (Now a N.P.)
(44) Craters of the Moon N.M.
(45) Wupatki N.M.
(46) Glacier Bay N.M. (Now a N.P.)
(47) Mt. Rushmore N.Mem.
(52) Badlands N.M. (Now a N.P.)
(53) Arches N.M. (Now a N.P.)
|
* Parks receiving a 1930 vintage plaque.
Six of these 59 Park Units no longer exist (see The National
Parks: Shaping the System for more details).
|
DATING PLAQUES
1930 29" X 34" (Type I) with much variation. The surface finish is
very smooth, almost like satin to the touch. The inscription in the
lower right corner is complete, clean and well detailed cursive script:
Bryant Baker, sculptor 1930. The bottom edge of the plaque beneath the
inscription is stamped THE GORHAM CO FOUNDERS.There are four threaded
holes on the reverse for mounting. Weight around 87 lbs. This is the
"primo" edition!
1930 28" X 33" (Type II) with much variation is a bit smaller and much
less common. The "sculptor 1930" inscription is cut in half by the
lower edge of the plaque and is unreadable but the writing is still
fairly neat and clean. No bottom edge Gorham stamp. There are 4
threaded holes for mounting bolts or masonry retaining rods. This
variant (from NPS headquarters) was used to make a master mold for the
1959 production run.
![Mather plaque](images/301-havo-1930.jpg)
Hawaii Volcanoes NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/302-grte-1930.jpg)
Grand Teton NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/302a-seki-1930.jpg)
Warehouse Sequoia NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/302b-hale-1930.jpg)
Haleakala NP
|
1959 28" x 33"The surface of these plaques isn't quite as smooth to
the touch as the 1930 plaques or as rough as the 1991 crop. "Bryant
Baker" is legible but appears a bit smudged and not so neat as the 1930
plaque. The word "sculptor" is cut in half and is not legible. The
date "1930" is also cut in half so you can't tell if the last digit
should be an 8, a 9 or a 0. There are 4 threaded holes on reverse for
attachment. Weight—not measured. Identical to the Type II 1930
plaques, provenance is the only way to tell them apart. Plaques from
the 1959 casting (Wind Cave and Berkeley) were used to make master molds
for the 1991 and 2015/16 castings.
![Mather plaque](images/303-brca-1930.jpg)
Bryce Canyon NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/304-hafe-1959.jpg)
Harper's Ferry NHP
|
![Mather plaque](images/304a-bibe-1959.jpg)
Big Bend NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/313-whis-inscription.jpg)
Whiskeytown NRA
|
1991 27" x 32"There is a more textured surface character to plaques
in this bronze casting. The artist's inscription is unreadable except
for possibly the letter "B" from "Bryant." The back has raised
lettering: COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT EDITION OF 1991 and a number
(1—20). The reverse also is somewhat hollowed out and there are 4
threaded holes for mounting. The plaque weighs around 100 lbs.
![Mather plaque](images/305-pete-1991.jpg)
Petersburg NB
|
![Mather plaque](images/306-gumo-1991.jpg)
Guadalupe Mountains NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/307-bicy-1991.jpg)
Big Cypress NPres
|
PLAQUE PRODUCTION AND CURRENT DISPOSITIONS
1930 Casting (28 plaques)
|
1959 Casting (14 plaques)
|
1991 Casting (20 plaques)
|
2015—2017 Casting (7 plaques)
|
Acadia NP
Bryce Canyon NP
Casa Grande Ruins NM
Crater Lake NP
Denali NP
Glacier NP
Grand Canyon NP (South Rim)
Grand Teton NP
Haleakala NP
Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Hot Springs NP
Indiana Dunes NP
Lassen Volcanic NP
Mesa Verde NP
Mount Rainier NP (Longmire)
Mount Rainier NP (Tipsoo Lake/Mather Memorial Parkway)
Petrified Forest NP
Rocky Mountain NP
Sequoia NP
Yellowstone NP
Yosemite NP
Zion NP
National Park Service Headquarters (Washington D.C.)
New York—New Jersey Interstate Park (Bear Mountain State Park)
The Idaho Plaque (private ownership)
(1st Berkeley Plaque, never mounted)
Redwood Highway, Kent-Mather Grove (Humboldt Redwoods State Park)
General Grant NP (now Kings Canyon NP) (in storage, Ash Mtn., Sequoia NP)
Unknown fate of first Acadia Plaque
27 / 28
|
Big Bend NP
Cabrillo NM
Carlsbad Caverns NP
Death Valley NP
Everglades NP
Grand Canyon NP (North Rim)
Harpers Ferry NHP
Isle Royale NP
Mammoth Cave NP
Theodore Roosevelt NP
Virgin Islands NP
Wind Cave NP
Mather High School (Chicago)
University of California (Berkeley Botanical Garden)
14 / 14
|
#1 Colorado NM
#2 Chamizal NMem
#3 Guadalupe NP
#4 Big Cypress NPres
#5 NPS Rocky Mtn R.O.
#6 Pipe Spring NM
#7 Great Basin NP
#8 Santa Monica Mtns NRA (lost)
#9 Allegheny Portage NHS
#10 Boston NHP (lost)
#11 Fort Clatsop NMem
#12 Golden Spike NHS
#13 Petersburg NB
#14 Old NPS Region III Bldg
#15 Canyonlands NP
#16 Bents Old Fort NHS
#17 Bandelier NM (BAND)
#18 Hovenweep NM (HOVE)
#19 Fort Union NHS
#20 Assateague NS
2 "lost" plaques
18 / 20
Unknown Casting (1 plaque)
Blue Ridge Parkway
|
Independence NHP
Joshua Tree NP
Redwood N & SPs
Saguaro NP
Walnut Canyon NM
Whiskeytown NRA
Camp Mather (Yosemite neighbor)
7 / 7
|
NOTES
To the National Park Service, Mather Plaques are considered
"property" (like a chair or a computer) and they may be noted as having
"no value" or "significance." (Of course, 80 lbs of bronze actually does
have significant value!) They are a private donation and were not
budgeted. Because of this, the Park Service has never accessioned or
catalogued Mather Plaques. There is no official record of how many they
have received, where they went, or where they are now. Plaques cast in
1930 and 1959 are now more than 50 years old and as such can well be
considered historic items of interest in their own right.
For years the Gorham Company made silverware for the White House.
The workmanship of Gorham craftsmen was world class, on a par with Roman
Bronze Works (that cast Remington & Russell sculptures) or Tiffany.
No one would seriously claim that something made by Tiffany is "property
of no value." At the very least, Mather Plaques can be considered
elegant limited edition period art objects.
Mather Plaques were individually cast and hand finished by master
craftsmen—mold makers, casters, chasers, finishers, &
patinaters. Plaque size initially was about 29 x 34 inches. Any one
dimension of one plaque may vary when compared with another plaque.
Plaques are not perfectly square either. The right and left heights as
well as the top and bottom widths are never the same. Successive
castings each lost an inch in their outside dimensions.
Bryant Baker (8 July 1881—29 March 1970) was a world renowned
American sculptor. Most famous among his notable creations is the
"Pioneer Woman" in Ponca, Oklahoma. He also has three historic figures
in the capital's National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington D.C.
QUESTIONS
In this computer age, how will future historians access the daily
working records of anything? There are file folders at the South Rim of
the Grand Canyon that have hundreds of letters, drawings, photos, and
memos from those early Park years. They are wonderful to pour through.
But what will be left of our present years for future historians? And,
how will they find it?
I believe there are two plaques "out there" that are most likely lost
in storage at the Parks that received them in July 1991 (SAMO &
BOST). Where are they tucked away?
And, there are a number of Parks that would bust a button to get
their hands on a Mather Plaque!
How do they get one now?
![Mather plaque replica](images/mather-plaque-replica.jpg)
Replica of Mather Plaque (3" x 3" metal) (Jeff Ohlfs photo)
RELATED PLAQUES & POINTS OF INTEREST
Besides the Mather Memorial Plaques, several other plaques have been commissioned
for commemoration of other prominent individuals here are a sampling.
Mather Gorge Plaque—Great Falls Park (VA)
Along the River Trail, Stop #7, overlooking the Potomac River.
Dedicated 17 April 1969. It was rededicated 15 April 1989. This is NOT
a memorial plaque.
![Mather plaque](images/186-grfa-mather-gorge-1.jpg)
Mather Gorge Great Falls Park
|
![Mather plaque](images/186a-grfa-mather-gorge-2.jpg)
Mather Gorge Great Falls Park
|
![Mather plaque](images/186b-grfa-mather-gorge-3.jpg)
Mather Gorge, 2010 Great Falls Park (NPS photo)
|
Horace Albright Memorial Plaque—Peter Strauss Ranch, Santa Monica Mountains NRA (CA)
Horace Albright (6 January 1880—28 March 1987) was the 2nd Park
Service Director, 12 January 1929—9 August 1933. He started work
with Mather at the inception of the National Park Service—Day 1.
The Peter Strauss Ranch house was destroyed by the enormous Woolsey Fire
in November 2018. The memorial plaque (adjacent to the house) was not
destroyed. As for its condition, it was not believed to be severely
impacted.
![Mather plaque](images/187-samo-strauss-ranch-1.jpg)
Albright Plaque Peter Strauss Ranch Santa Monica Mountains NRA
|
![Mather plaque](images/188-samo-strauss-ranch-2.jpg)
Albright Plaque Peter Strauss Ranch Santa Monica Mountains NRA
|
Gifford Pinchot Dedication Plaque—Muir Woods National Monument (CA)
Pinchot was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service,
1905—1910. "The Chief" was one of several individuals who worked
with President Theodore Roosevelt to accept the donation of 275 acres of
land from William and Elizabeth Kent for the 7th National Monument and
the first created from a private land donation. This grove of coastal
redwoods was slated for clearing to create a water reservoir. Its
purchase, donation, and declaration as a National Monument foiled
condemnation proceedings. Pinchot was more of a conservationist than
many would like to believe in spite of his original "multiple use"
agenda that was later so perverted. In May 1910 the Sierra Club
dedicated a Gifford Pinchot redwood tree, placing this boulder with this
plaque beneath it.
![Mather plaque](images/189-muwo-pinchot-tree.jpg)
Pinchot Tree & Plaque Muir Woods NM
|
![Mather plaque](images/190-muwo-pinchot-plaque.jpg)
Pinchot Plaque Muir Woods NM
|
William Kent Dedication Plaque—Muir Woods National Monument (CA)
Kent was a charter member of the Save the Redwoods League (as was his
good friend, Stephen Mather). Among his many charitable donations was
the land for Muir Woods N.M. As a congressman representing California,
William Kent introduced the bill (H.R.15522) creating the National Park
Service that was passed 25 August 1916.
![Mather plaque](images/191-muwo-kent-plaque.jpg)
Kent Plaque Muir Woods NM
|
Muir Plaque—supposed site of John Muir's "Hang Nest" cabin in Yosemite Valley (CA)
This plaque was placed by old time members of the Sierra Club in 1924
over Mather's personal objection. It can be found at the end of a short
side path off the accessible Yosemite Falls loop trail starting at the
Yosemite Falls shuttle stop. A Park Service information node along the
loop trail suggests the millrace and hang nest cabin may actually have
been a bit father upstream along the creek than the old dogs could
recall.
![Mather plaque](images/192-yose-muir-plaque-1.jpg)
Muir Plaque Yosemite NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/193-yose-muir-plaque-2.jpg)
Muir Plaque Yosemite NP
|
Mather Dedication Plaque—Tioga Pass, Yosemite N.P. (CA)
This plaque recognizes Mather's pivotal role in the 1915 donation of
the Tioga Pass road right of way across Yosemite N.P.Mather solicited
donations from his friends and personally contributed the balance of the
$15,500 purchase price. The plaque is mounted on the north curb beneath
the entrance station booth at the east Park entrance. This is NOT a
memorial plaque. Dedicated 20 July 1924.
![Mather plaque](images/194-yose-tioga-pass-1.jpg)
Tioga Pass Yosemite NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/195-yose-tioga-pass-2.jpg)
Tioga Pass Yosemite NP
|
Mather Dedication Plaque—Yosemite Village, Yosemite N.P. (CA)
This small plaque recognizes Mather's purchase and donation of the
"Ranger Club" to Yosemite N.P. Inside this lodging facility (now also
an historic structure) there is a fireplace in the "living room" on the
first level. The plaque is on the left side of the fireplace face.
(1920) This is NOT a memorial plaque. The Ranger Club is west of
Shuttle Stop #5. Public accessibility is limited.
![Mather plaque](images/196-yose-ranger-club-1.jpg)
Ranger Club Yosemite NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/197-yose-ranger-club-2.jpg)
Ranger Club Yosemite NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/198-yose-ranger-club-3.jpg)
Ranger Club Yosemite NP
|
![Mather plaque](images/199-yose-ranger-club-4.jpg)
Ranger Club Yosemite NP
|
Mather Homestead National Historic Landmark (1778) 19 Stephen Mather Road, Darien (CT)
The historic Mather family home was built in 1778 by Deacon Joseph
Mather (son of Reverend Moses Mather) and his wife, Sarah. Their
residence was raided by Tories during the Revolutionary War in 1781. The
home passed through six generations of Mathers. Its most famous
resident was the first Director of the National Park Service, Stephen T.
Mather, who was sole owner of the homestead from 1906 until 1930. The
home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. In 2017 the
Mather-McPherson family donated this home to the newly created Mather
Homestead Foundation as a museum for public education. Tours and events
are available.
The Mather
Homestead Foundation is a 501(C)(3) organization
In 2022 the Foundation ordered and purchased a Mather Plaque from the
Valley Bronze foundry in Oregon. Currently in storage (8/24), plans are
to display this plaque on the property in the near future.
![Mather home](images/200b-mather-home-2.jpg)
Mather Family Home
|
![Mather home](images/200a-mather-home.jpg)
Mather Family Home
|
![Mather home plaque](images/200b-mather-home-plaque.jpg)
Mather Family Home Plaque
|
Mather Gravesite: Mather Cemetery 79 Dorchester Rd, Darien (CT)
![Mather headstone](images/200e-mather-headstone.jpg)
Stephen T. Mather Grave Headstone
|
![Mather cemetery](images/200c-mather-cemetery.jpg)
Mather Family Cenotaph Mather Cemetery
|
![Mather cenotaph](images/200d-mather-family-cenotaph.jpg)
Mather Family Cenotaph Inscription Mather Cemetery
|
MATHER MEMORIAL TREES
Not long after Stephen Mather's totally disabling cerebrovascular
accident, there was a national groundswell of interest for a fitting
recognition of his accomplishments and what Parks mean to America. In
the seeming urgency of the moment, planting a tree in his memory was a
simple suggestion. The shadowy course of this movement is difficult now
to ascertain. Not to be outdone, New York suddenly wanted to plant
10,000 trees (!!!). It is not known if in fact New York planted any
trees at all (?). The Grand Canyon has a letter on file from Associate
Park Service Director Cammerer (7 May 1930) suggesting to Superintendent
Tillotson that a tree be planted on 4 July in Mather's memory. Some
back and forth correspondence followed, to wit, a tree planted on the
4th of July did not have a ghost of a chance to survive the summer's
heat. A tree (Utah juniper) was in fact planted that October at the new
Yavapai Observation Station as part of a native plant garden. It was a
formal occasion complete with dress uniforms, guests, and photographs.
Alas, the little tree did not make it. Today, about 12 feet away, there
is now a shapely Utah juniper that Rangers and volunteer docents refer
to as the "Mather Tree." Maybe it is? Yosemite was one up on the game.
Needing no more trees, rangers there went out and found a young sequoia
about twelve feet tall that was already established, doing well, and
decreed it to be their Mather Tree. Alive, quite large, and still
vigorously growing, you can see Yosemite's Mather Tree today. Following
the refurbishment of the Mariposa Grove in 2017—2918, the Mather
tree is not currently (2019) labeled so finding it may be a trick?
![Mather plaque](images/2b-grca-05765.jpg)
Grand Canyon NP (NPS photo)
|
![Mather plaque](images/199a-yose-mather-tree.jpg)
Mather Tree Yosemite NP
|
SOURCES
Don Lago, "'There will never come an end to the good that he has
done.'—The Stephen Mather Memorial Plaques," Grand Canyon Historical
Society, The Ol' Pioneer, Vol.21 No.4 (2010). This is the only
published article of any veracity that I could find. Don had access to
the Gorham company archives at the time he wrote this. Currently (as of
this writing) the Gorham records are in inaccessible storage at Brown
University under auspices of the Smithsonian.
G. Arthur Janssen, "Eighty
Pounds of Bronze Grand Canyon's Memorial Mather Plaques," Grand
Canyon Historical Society, The Ol' Pioneer, Vol.26 No.4 (2015).
David Nathanson, "The Mather Memorial Plaques,"
NPS Park History Program Files, 12/4/97, updated 9/21/99 & 1/7/02. This is
the only NPS document relating to Mather Plaques from any national NPS source.
This paper is very helpful for some details but it contains a number of errors,
several inaccuracies, and it is incomplete.
Personal communication with a Deputy NPS Director, an Associate NPS
Director, nine Park Superintendents, a Washington D.C. Department of
Interior Librarian, six retired or former superintendents and a retired
Regional Director.
Emails with museum curators at NPS Headquarters, Moab, Grand Canyon,
Sequoia, Yosemite, Zion, Crater Lake, Darien, Ft. Laramie, and Boston.
Emails with two Chief Rangers.
Countless email exchanges with each National Park, State Park and
school possessing a plaque as well as many Park units that don't have
one.
Wikepedia
Various Park Administrative Histories are available on the internet.
When you can find them, these comprehensive documents are most
interesting for many reasons.
The Cline Library at Northern Arizona University.
Robert Shankland, Steve Mather of the National Parks, Alfred A. Knopf, NY,
1951.
Horace M. Albright and Marian Albright Schenck, Creating the National Park Service—The Missing Years,
University of Oklahoma Press, OK, 1999.
Only one email received was succinct to the point of rudeness. The
vast majority of folks receiving my inquiries were variably interested
and at least tried to answer my questions. It must be realized (as I
have learned) that often Park archives, records, memos, photo files,
etc. are "off site." If these collections have not been cross
referenced and digitalized (and most have not because that costs time
and money) then these resources are not available to the interpretive
Rangers schlucking through the daily emails, trying to answer peoples'
endless nitpicking questions about their Park. If a plaque doesn't have
much supporting historical information, it may not exist anymore or
there may not be a reasonable way to obtain the information if it does
exist. A substantial number of Rangers provided more information than I
had requested. Maintenance officers should never be overlooked as they
know where things are in Parks. One Superintendent personally answered
my general email to his Park from his cell phone on a Sunday afternoon. (!).
The descriptions and details for visiting plaques are based on
firsthand experience.
THANKS
To the countless people who contributed to this collection, I give my
heartfelt gratitude.
For all the suggestions, criticisms and freethinking ideas I've
received, I love you for it.
Any mistakes, omissions, or inaccuracies—and I am sure there
are some—they are inadvertent but they are all mine. Should you
have any additional information, corrections, photos, facts, sources or
material related to Mather Memorial Plaques, kindly send it
along—this continues to be a work in progress:
ajansiv@gmail.com. Thanks. The journey has been fun.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
While in university and medical school, G. Arthur Janssen MD worked
four summers in the back country with the National Park Service as a
fire fighter, packer, fire crew foreman, and ranger in the 1960's.
After a 40year career first as an academic and then as a clinical
anesthesiologist, he is now a full time dirtbag hiker and pursues
eclectic historical interests.
(All photos by author, except as noted. Enlarged images can be viewed by clicking on the photo.)
|