Years of National Parks Service


Long before the National Park System was officially created, there were a number of activists and movements that raised awareness leading up to 1916. See how the NPS has become what it is today in 2016 by first looking back to 1872 where it all started.

1872

Yellowstone National Park Act

An act establishing Yellowstone National Park was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Officially titled "An Act to set apart a certain Tract of Land lying near the Head-waters of the Yellowstone River as a public Park," this landmark legislation created the first national park.

1890

Yosemite

California

One of the most notable advocates, John Muir, convinced prominent guests of the importance of putting the Yosemite area under federal protection; one such guest was Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of Century Magazine. Muir and Johnson lobbied Congress for the Act that created Yosemite National Park.

1890

Sequoia

California

1899

Mount Rainier

Washington

1902

Crater Lake

Oregon

1903

Wind Cave

South Dakota

1906

Mesa Verde

Colorado

1910

Glacier

Montana

Soon after the establishment of the park on May 11, 1910, a number of hotels and chalets were constructed by the Great Northern Railway. These historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks and a total of 350 locations are on the National Register of Historic Places.

1915

Rocky Mountain

Colorado

1906

Antiquities Act

The Antiquities Act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, grew out of a movement to protect the prehistoric cliff dwellings, pueblo ruins and early missions in the Southwest. It authorized Presidents to proclaim and reserve "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" on lands owned or controlled by the United States as "national monuments."

1916

Lassen Volcanic

California

1907

Hawaii Volcanoes

Hawaii

1907

Haleakala

Hawaii

1917

Denali

Alaska

1919

Grand Canyon

Arizona

1919

Zion

Utah

1919

Acadia

Maine

1921

Hot Springs

Arkansas

1926

Shenandoah

Virginia

1928

Bryce Canyon

Utah

1929

Grand Teton

Wyoming

1930

Carlsbad Caverns

New Mexico

1933

Reorg of 1933

A major reorganization within President Franklin Roosevelt's executive branch in 1933 had a tremendous impact on the National Park Service. Specifically, two executive orders, effective August 10, 1933, transferred the War Department's parks and monuments to the National Park Service. In addition, the National Park Service received all the national monuments held by the Forest Service and the responsibility for virtually all monuments created thereafter.

1934

Everglades

Florida

It is the third-largest national park in the lower 48 states after Death Valley and Yellowstone. It has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance, one of only three locations in the world to appear on all three lists.

1934

Great Smoky Mountains

Tennessee

The park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. It is the most visited park in America.

1935

Preservation of Historic Sites Act

The Historic Sites Act grew out of the National Park Service's desire for a stronger legal underpinning for its expanding historical programs and from recognition outside the Service of the need for greater federal assistance to historic properties. The Act declared "a national policy to preserve for public use historic sites, buildings and objects of national significance for the inspiration and benefit of the people of the United States."

1938

Olympic

Washington

1940

Kings Canyon

California

1940

Isle Royale

Michigan

1941

Mammoth Cave

Kentucky

1944

Big Bend

Texas

1956

Mission 66

Mission 66 was a 10-year program, initiated by National Park Service Director Conrad L. Wirth in 1956, to upgrade facilities, staffing, and resource management throughout the System by the 50th anniversary of the Service in 1966. Congress appropriated more than a billion dollars over the 10-year period for Mission 66 improvements. The legacy of the program included dozens of visitor centers, hundreds of employee residences, as well as the Mather and Albright employee training centers at Harpers Ferry and the Grand Canyon.

1956

Virgin Islands

United States Virgin Islands

1962

Petrified Forest

Arizona

1964

Canyonlands

Utah

1966

Guadalupe Mountains

Texas

1965

Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act established a fund for acquiring new recreation lands either within or adjacent to existing park units or new parks. Money for the fund would come from surplus property sales, motorboat fuel taxes, and other sources. A portion of the money in the fund would come from fees charged at existing parks. The fund was administered by the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, a new Interior bureau established in 1962.

1968

North Cascades

Washington

Though the North Cascades National Park Act designated the region as a National Park on October 2, 1968, the National Park Service did not commence direct management until January 1, 1969.

1968

Redwood

California

Redwood National Park and California's Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks (dating from the 1920s) combine to protect 133,000 acres of old-growth redwood forests.

1969

Volunteers in the Parks Act

This legislation authorized the Secretary of the Interior to establish a "volunteers in the parks" program to aid in interpretation functions or other visitor services or activities in and related to areas administered by the National Park Service. The legislation provided a vehicle that allowed the Service to utilize volunteer help and services. The number of volunteers and volunteers has consistently grown and has proven increasingly beneficial.

1971

Capitol Reef

1971

Voyageurs

1971

Arches

1978

Theodore Roosevelt

1978

Badlands

1980

Channel Islands

1980

Biscayne

1980

Katmai

1980

Glacier Bay

1980

Gates of the Artic

1980

Kenai Fjords

1980

Kobuk Valley

1980

Lake Clark

1980

Wrangell St. Elias

1986

Great Basin

1988

National Park of American Samoa

1992

Dry Tortugas

1994

Death Valley

1994

Saguaro

1994

Joshua Tree

1999

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

2000

Cuyahoga Valley

2003

Congaree

2004

Great Sand Dunes

2013

Pinnacles

Million Acres of Protected Land


As the National Park Service continues it's efforts in the future in order to perserve America's greatest idea, the National Park Service benefits greatly from donations from people that understand it's value. Even a small donation goes a long way to help fund and support the continuing efforts.

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Double Arch by Night

Jeffrey Stylos

Grand Prismatic Spring

Jim Peaco

Half Dome

Shane Lin

Glacier National Park

Mark Stevens

Theodore Roosevelt

Chicago, S. Stone

Grand Canyon

Jason Thompson

Grand Teton National Park

David Grimes

Great Smoky Mountains

John Britt

Big Bend National Park

Jesse Sewell

Canyonlands National Park

Jeff Wallace

Redwood National Park

Justin Brown

Grand Prismatic Spring

Jim Peaco

Great Sand Dunes

Channel Islands

Kyle Frost

Badlands

Jake Young