Lassen Volcanic National Park

Letter from Carl Schurz Vrooman to Franklin K. Lane

Acting Secretary of Agriculture Vrooman informs Secretary of the Interior Lane that the only permanent improvement currently present in the Lassen Volcanic National Park is twenty miles of telephone lines. He includes a diagram showing the area of the National Park, as well as the approximate location of the telephone line. Vrooman confirms that members of the Forest Service have been directed to continue to protect the park from fire or damage until the Department of the Interior can take over administration, and asks if there is an estimate of when this transfer might take place.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1916-09-08

Speech of Ray L. Wilbur at Lassen Volcanic National Park Dedication

Secretary of the Interior Wilbur speaks at the dedication of Lassen Volcanic National Park, recounting the history of the effort to designate the area as a national park, and the improvements which were necessary to do so. Wilbur acknowledges the help the Department of the Interior and National Park Service have received from the people of northern California, as well as the efforts of a number of legislators and government employees. He reflects on the National Park Service as a whole, and emphasizes that the park belongs not only to California, but to the entire United States. (In his speech Wilbur mistakenly identifies William H. Taft, rather than Theodore Roosevelt, as the president who initially created Lassen and Cinder Cone National Monuments in 1906)

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1931-07-25

Official program of the dedication of Lassen Volcanic National Park

Dedication ceremonies for Lassen Volcanic National Park stretch over three days, and include a number of speeches, tours, and dances.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1931-07

Federal Register Proclamation of Lassen Peak Forest Reserve

President Roosevelt proclaims a section of California as a forest reserve, described by the proclamation, and designates it as the Lassen Peak Forest Reserve. Also included in these pages are similar designations of the Wichita Forest Reserve and Maury Mountain Forest Reserve.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1905-06-02

Federal Register Notice of Proclamation of Cinder Cone and Lassen Peak National Monuments

Using the Antiquities Act of 1906, President Roosevelt proclaims Cinder Cone and Lassen Peak, within the Lassen Peak National Forest, as National Monuments. The specific areas designated by these proclamations are described by the attached diagrams.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-05-06

History Notes: Lassen Volcanic National Park and Surrounding Region

A history of the Lassen Volcanic National Park and surrounding region from 1821 through 1977.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

Unknown

Letter from Louis A. Barrett to Gifford Pinchot

Forest Supervisor Barrett informs Gifford Pinchot that it will not be possible to survey the area under consideration until summer due to the snow, but makes several recommendations about areas that the government should reserve as monuments. Physical examination of the area may give more precise coordinates of the areas to be reserved.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-01-30

Letter from Richard Achilles Ballinger to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

Commissioner Ballinger of the General Land Office concurs with the proposed action of Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson regarding the desirability of creating Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone National Monuments.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-04-09

Letter from James Rudolph Garfield to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of the Interior Garfield forwards several drafts of proclamations prepared by Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson to President Roosevelt recommending the creation of Lassen Peak National Monument and Cinder Cone National Monument within Lassen Peak National Forest.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-05-04

Letter from Bo Sweeney to David Franklin Houston

Assistant Secretary of the Interior Sweeney confirms receipt of the letter from Secretary of Agriculture Houston stating that officers of the Forest Service have been directed to continue maintaining the lands within the boundaries of the newly created Lassen Volcanic National Park until the Department of the Interior can assume their maintenance, and thanks him for the action taken in this matter. He hopes Congress will appropriate funds allowing the Department of the Interior to take control over the park before the present session adjourns.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1916-08-21

Letter from David Franklin Houston to Franklin K. Lane

Secretary of Agriculture Houston has learned that the bill to create Lassen Volcanic National Park was approved by President Woodrow Wilson recently, and informs Secretary of the Interior Lane that he has directed the local officers of the Forest Service to continue to protect the area from fire or injury until such time as the officers of the Department of the Interior can take over the work.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1916-08-14

Petition of citizens of Plumas County and Lassen County to Theodore Roosevelt, regarding Lassen Peak

The citizens of Plumas County and Lassen County, California, petition President Roosevelt to appoint a committee for surveying Lassen Peak and its surroundings with the hopes that it may become a national park.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1906-06

Letter from George C. Perkins to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

Senator Perkins sends Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock petitions from citizens of Lassen County and Plumas County, California, asking that a committee be appointed to examine Lassen Peak and its surroundings with the aim of making the area a national park.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1906-06-16

Letter from George F. Pollock to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

George F. Pollock, Acting Commissioner of the General Land Office, inform Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock that his office has received a letter from Senator George C. Perkins enclosing a petition from citizens of California for the creation of a national park encompassing “Lassen Peak and its surroundings.” Pollock describes the area around Lassen Peak and the various points of interest therein, concluding that “there are, without doubt, many points of scientific and scenic interest in the vicinity that should receive the fullest protection possible, which can only be afforded by the creation of a national park.” He suggests that the Forest Service be consulted in this matter, as nearly all points of interest are located in the Lassen Peak Forest Reserve.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1906-10-22

Letter from James Wilson to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson acknowledges receipt of Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock’s previous letter concerning the proposed Lassen Peak National Park. As Hitchcock requested, he has requested Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot to examine the region and make a report, which Wilson will forward to Hitchcock. Wilson is somewhat doubtful whether a national park should be created inside a forest reserve, and believes the goal of protecting the area could more economically be accomplished if President Roosevelt were to designate the area a national monument using the Antiquities Act of 1906.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1906-11-21

Letter from Louis A. Barrett to Gifford Pinchot

Forest Supervisor Louis A. Barrett has closely studied the Lassen Peak region, and recommends a number of points of interest to be set aside as National Monuments. None of the areas he recommends will interfere with the stock or lumber interests of the region, but are likely to be areas of significant tourist interest. If these areas are reserved, provision should be made to improve the roads and trails of the area for easier access.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-01-05

Letter from Louis A. Barrett to Gifford Pinchot

Forest Supervisor Barrett responds to Chief Forester Pinchot’s request for further information on the Lassen Peak region by describing further why he believes the points of interest near Lassen Peak should be particularly protected as National Monuments. Designating these areas as National Monuments will allow for greater selectivity than designating the entire region as a National Park, and Barrett believes this will be more palatable to people living in the region as it will not impede the use of the land for timber or grazing. Further, the area can be cared for by Forest Officers with little additional expense.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-02-22

Letter from James Wilson to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson sends Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock copies of three reports regarding the proposed Lassen Peak National Park. While a satisfactory examination of all the points was not possible, the reports show the importance of the various sites and describe the major areas of interest. The Forest Officer who made these reports, Louis A. Barrett, recommended that these sites be made individually into National Monuments, rather than declaring the entire region a National Park due to the scattered nature of the sites, and the possible complications of declaring a National Park within a National Forest. Wilson therefore recommends that they be designated National Monuments as quickly be possible, which will protect the sites while also not precluding the creation of a National Park at a later date.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1907-04-01

H.R. 4111. A bill for the protection and improvement of the Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, and for other purposes.

This bill proposes to appropriate $5,000 for the protection and improvement of Lassen Volcanic National Park, directs that all revenue connected with the park should be used for its administration and improvement, and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to accept donations of land, buildings, money, or property for park purposes.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1921-04-18

H.R. 5588. An Act to repeal section 5 of an Act entitled “An Act to establish the Lassen Volcanic National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the State of California, and for other purposes,” approved August 9, 1916

This act, introduced in the United States Senate, repeals section 5 of the act establishing the Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Collection

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Creation Date

1922-03-07