Last updated: August 26, 2026
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Guide to the James B. Felton Papers
This finding aid describes the James B. Felton Papers, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.
Collection Overview
Collection Number: HFCA 3640Accession Number: HFCA-01376
Creator: Felton, James Brown (1906-2002)
Title: James B. Felton Papers
Dates: 1932-1979
Extent: 0.1 LF
Language of Materials: English
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized.
Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use.
Conditions Governing Use: Some of the reports and other reference materials in this collection were not produced by the NPS and may not be in the public domain. See https://rightsstatements.org/page/CNE/1.0/?language=en. See also the NPS general archives copyright & restrictions information.
Provenance: This collection was found in the NPS History Collection.
Processing Note: This collection was processed by Mikaela Wilson in May 2026.
Rights Statements for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: James B. Felton Papers (HFCA 3640), NPS History Collection
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Related Materials:
- Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
- National Park Service Oral History Collection (HFCA 1817), NPS History Collection
Biographical Note
James Brown Felton was born on December 17, 1906, in Big Rapids, Michigan. In 1910 his family moved to Tempe, Arizona, where his father taught at Tempe Normal School (now Arizona State University). He attended high school in Pheonix where he met his future wife Margaret Jordan.Felton attended Pomona College from 1924 to 1928, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology. After graduation, he worked for five years as a high school teacher in Litchfield Park, Arizona, as well as the Judson School for Boys in Phoenix, Arizona. He then worked at the Associated Oil Company in California before he became a student member of Yosemite Field School of Natural History in 1932. Felton later notes that this experience at the Yosemite Field School is what spurred his career in the National Park Service (NPS). He and Margaret Jordan married in 1936.
Felton took the Civil Service examination in 1933. In 1934 he was appointed senior foreman and temporary park ranger at Petrified Forest National Monument (now national park, PEFO) in Arizona. He was soon hired into a permanent ranger naturalist position there. In December 1936 he accepted a new appointment as a park ranger at Tumacácori National Monument (now national historical park, TUMA). He transferred to White Sands National Monument (now national park, WHSA) in 1937. He stayed here less than a year before accepting his next position at Fort Jefferson National Monument (now part of Dry Tortugas National Park, DRTO).
As assistant park naturalist and often acting custodian, his time at Fort Jefferson was rife with hardships. Felton describes “primitive” conditions where he was expected to chlorinate his own water and serve as his own doctor, amongst other responsibilities. The fort had been damaged by several hurricanes and vandalized since the military’s departure in 1874. Felton, along with a crew of Works Progress Administration (WPA) workmen, worked to restore parts of the monument. Felton regarded this as his most “unusual” tenure.
Felton stayed at Fort Jefferson National Monument for four years before becoming superintendent at Kings Mountain National Military Park (KIMO) in South Carolina in 1942. At the same time, he applied for furlough to join the US Naval Reserve in May 1942 to fight in World War II. He later became a lieutenant commander, earning himself a Navy Citation with a Commendation Ribbon. During the war effort, he recommended ranger Stanley McComas as acting superintendent. In 1946 he returned to his post as a superintendent and later custodian at KIMO. In 1951 he became the chief ranger at Zion National Park (ZION). He served there for about nine years before taking his last position as superintendent of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (ORPI) in 1962. He retired on May 22, 1965.
In the later years of his life, he had become a councilman in Springdale, Utah, and presided over his own farm where he raised horses and cattle. He died on December 3, 2002.
Sources
James B. Felton Papers (HFCA 3640), NPS History Collection.Felton, James Lee. James L. Felton Photographs. CP SPC 5, Arizona State University Library. Accessed May 2026. http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asu/felton_photos.xml.
NPS Employee and Alumni Association Records, Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection.
Veterans Legacy Memorial. “James Brown Felton.” Accessed May 2026. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/JAMESBROWNFELTON/6bf9e0.
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence, employment records, newspaper clipping, essays about Fort Jefferson, and biographical information about Felton. Correspondence with Hillory Tolson, Carl Norden, Rob Sears, Roy Appleman, Earl Glaze and others are included. Topics discussed include Dr. Samuel Mudd, experiences and wildlife at Fort Jefferson, ZION, letters of congratulations and thank you cards, recommendations for job positions, and other personnel-related correspondence. Reports regarding pests and accidents in the parks are also present.Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by subject.Container List
BOX 01Folder 01: Biographical Information, 1949, 1967
Folder 02: Correspondence, 1933-1979
Folder 03: Employment Records, 1932-1965
Folder 04: Fort Jefferson National Monument, 1940-1942