To learn more, see the Administrative History of Grand Canyon National Park, a political and economic history of the park from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present.

Authorization Summary:

1882 First unsuccessful attempt to establish a Grand Canyon National Park.

1893 Designated a "forest reserve" by President Benjamin Harrison (Presidential Proclamation #45)

1908 Established as Grand Canyon National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt (Presidential Proclamation #794)

1919 Designation of Grand Canyon National Park by an act of Congress on February 26 (40 Stat 1175).

1975 Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act an act of Congress on January 3 (88 Stat 2089) (Public Law 93-620)

1979 Designation as a World Heritage Site on October 26.