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A chronology tracing the creation of the Olympic National Park, beginning from when the lands were first ceded to the United States Government by Native American groups, and continuing through the various proclamations, legislative bills, and other events impacting the location.
Includes a list of cited references.
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Stephen Tyng Mather, Director of the National Parks Service, responds to Madison Grant’s inquiry regarding whether there had ever been attempt to establish a national park on Washington state’s Olympic peninsula. Mather reviews the history of the establishment of a National Monument, the proposed bills that would previously have established a National Park, as well as some of the present difficulties surrounding the establishment of such a park.
1928-10-26
Charles J. Kelly pushes back on Assistant Secretary of the Interior Sweeney’s concerns associated with reducing the size of the Mount Olympus National Monument. Area removed from the monument will nevertheless still be part of Olympic National Forest. Kelly offers to answer any questions Sweeney may still have regarding their argument for the abolition of the national monument and return of all land to the national forest.
1915-04-24
Assistant Secretary of the Interior Herbert A. Meyer requests that the department notify Albert F. Potter of the Forest Service when the matter concerning the elimination of certain lands from the Mount Olympus National Forest is presented to Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane.
1915-04-16
Department of the Interior Solicitor Preston C. West sends Secretary of the Interior Lane his opinion regarding Mount Olympus National Monument, and raises the question whether the Department of the Interior rightfully has anything to do with monuments in National Forests.
1915-04-20
Madison Grant confirms receipt of National Park Service Director Mather’s letter regarding the Olympic Mountains, and would like to discuss the matter in person. Grant hopes they can speak before the Boone and Crockett Club’s annual meeting in early January.
1928-10-29
Acting Forester E. E. Carter thanks National Park Service director Mather for both his letter, as well as the enclosed letter to Madison Grant. The Forest Service “purposes to give every consideration to a proper development of the recreational resource” in administering the Olympic National Forest, but does not plan to build highways into the higher section of the area.
1928-10-29
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recently signed the bill establishing the Olympic National Park, protecting the trees, glaciers, and wilderness on Washington state’s Olympic peninsula. Although the area of Mount Olympus National Monument, which President Theodore Roosevelt had previously proclaimed, had dwindled over the years, proclaiming it a National Park restores and enlarges the protected area.
1938-06-29
Arno B. Cammerer, Acting Director of the National Park Service, responds to Abby Rhoda Hills’ inquiry regarding the establishment of a national park on the Olympic Peninsula. While the area has been noted as a potential site, the government has not yet decided that it meets the criteria for designation as a National Park. He suggests that the best way to preserve timber on the specific parcel of land Hills inquired about would be to get in touch with State park authorities. Cammerer agrees that it would be good if the National Park Service could eventually furnish materials for teachers relative to national parks, but thus far this hasn’t been accomplished.
1932
Conrad Louis Wirth, of the National Park Service, forwards H. C. Bryant a letter from Abby Rhoda Hill that he believes Bryant may be better suited to answer. Wirth includes, however, a paragraph that Bryant can include regarding the establishment of a national park on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
1932-05-17
Representative Hill issues a report on the bill proposing to establish the Mount Olympus National Park. The bill will abolish the existing Mount Olympus National Monument and establish a larger unit containing nearby forests and game habitats which need to be appropriately protected.
1937-08-16
Preston P. Macy, acting custodian of the Mount Olympus National Monument, reports to Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Owen A. Tomlinson on developments relating to Mount Olympus National Monument becoming a National Park. Macy enumerates some of the ways the Park Service has helped prepare the area to become a national park, and notes the occasional hindrances caused by the Forest Service.
1935-10-03
This chronological record traces the efforts to establish Olympic National park from 1904 through 1943, highlighting the various legislative bills that were advanced and the congressmen who were involved, as well as the varying size of the area protected by the government.
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Alfred P. Kelley, Chairman of the Recreational Resources Committee of Portland, Oregon, writes to National Park Service Director Cammerer with a request for more information on the proposed Olympic National Park. Their committee wishes to know whether the park is envisioned as a wilderness area, or if it will have roads to accommodate tourists.
1936-11-17
National Park Service Director Cammerer informs Alfred P. Kelley, Chairman of the Recreational Resources Committee of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, that national parks are developed according to plans resulting from careful study of the area. As no plan for the proposed Olympic National Park currently exists, Cammerer can not comment with certainty how the park will be developed, but believes that while the wilderness aspect of the park should be preserved, there should also be reasonable public access to the area and points of interest.
1936-11-24
Map of Potential Boundaries of Olympic National Park, based on two pieces of legislation introduced by Senator Monrad C. Wallgren of Washington.
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