Preliminary Inventory Of The Records Of The National Park Service
(Record Group 78)

Inventory

RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR RELATING TO NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS, 1872-1916

Described below, in entries 1-4, are records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior relating to the administration of parks and monuments before the establishment of the National Park Service. They are records that were transferred to the National Park Service but were kept apart from the records created by the Service. Other records of the Office of the Secretary were merged with the records of the Park Service. Most important of those are the records, 1907-16, removed from the central classified files of the Office of the Secretary which are now in equivalent series of records of the National Park Service (see entries 6 and 7). Other records, chiefly copies of letters sent, 1872-1907, which could not be easily segregated are in Record Group 48, Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.

1.LETTERS RECEIVED BY THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR RELATING TO NATIONAL PARKS. 1872-1907. 37 ft.

Arranged alphabetically by name of park and thereunder chronologically by date of receipt, although some records on a particular subject or, infrequently, from a particular source are grouped together. There are records for the following parks for the years indicated: Crater Lake National Park, 1902-7; Hot Springs Reservation, 1877-1907; Mesa Verde National Park, 1906-7; Mount Rainier National Park, 1900-1907; Platt National Park (Sulphur Springs Reservation), 1901-7; Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, 1890-1907; Sully's Hill Park, 1904-6; Wind Cave National Park, 1899-1907; Yellowstone National Park, 1872-1907; and Yosemite National Park, 1890-1907. For some parks a few documents are dated earlier or later than the years indicated. At the end of the series are some records relating to the Case Grande Ruins (including monthly reports up to 1915), various national monuments, proposed parks and monuments, antiquities, and other subjects.

Letters received mainly by the Patents and Miscellaneous Divisions of the Office of the Secretary, but including some received by the Lands and Railroads, Indian Territory, and other Divisions. Included also, usually as enclosures, are maps, plans, specifications, contracts, leases, bonds, bids, petitions, affidavits, memoranda, copies of letters sent, photographs, newspaper clippings, printed documents, estimates, vouchers, receipts, payrolls, financial statements, and other records. Most of the letters are from park superintendents, but there are also letters from the President, Members of Congress, the War Department, the General Land Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Geological Survey, forest rangers, special investigators, members of commissions, residents in and near park areas, concession operators and applicants for concessions, attorneys, applicants for employment, members of conservation societies, and others. The letters concern establishment of parks and related legislation; appropriations; rules and regulations; surveys and boundaries; construction, maintenance, use, and management of facilities; concessions to private operators; fire control; protection of animals and scenic attractions; intruders on park lands; claims of persons to land or other resources in park areas; investigations; administrative matters; and many other subjects. For some parks there are subjects of special importance, such as protection of the buffalo at Yellowstone Park and the use of water from Yosemite Park by the city of San Francisco. Most of the letters have an endorsement on the back or on a covering sheet giving information about the letter and the action taken on it.

Except during the earliest years, letters were assigned file numbers by the divisions of the Office of the Secretary that handled them. Usually such numbers were assigned in order of receipt, beginning again each year, without subject or other breakdown. Beginning in July 1905 the Patents and Miscellaneous Division numbered letters relating to parks and reservations separately. Only a small proportion of the file numbers in any set were assigned to the letters relating to one park, however. Some of the letters relating to Yellowstone National Park have been reproduced by the National Archives as part of Microfilm Publication 62.

For registers and an index to letters received by the Patents and Miscellaneous Division concerning parks and reservations beginning in July 1905, see entries 2 and 3. Earlier letters received concerning parks and reservations were not registered and indexed separately, and the registers and indexes for them are among the records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior in the National Archives (Record Group 48). The record copies of letters sent relating to parks are also among the records of the Office of the Secretary; they are in bound volumes and could not be segregated easily. Beginning about June 1907, the Office of the Secretary filed both incoming and outgoing correspondence under a central filing system. Records filed under this system that later were transferred to the National Park Service are described in entry 6. Other correspondence of the Office of the Secretary relating to national parks before the National Park Service was established is included in the records of the Chief Clerk (entry 4).

2.INDEX TO LETTERS RECEIVED BY THE PATENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS DIVISION RELATING TO NATIONAL PARKS AND RESERVATIONS. 1905-7. 1 vol. 3 in.

The entries are arranged alphabetically by name or subject.

Gives years and file numbers of letters received from individuals and offices and relating to certain subjects. For letters relating to specific parks and some other subjects there is a further breakdown by subject. Black ink is used for file references to letters writers and red ink, for references to subjects. For registers, see entry 3. For the letters, see entry 1. Before July 1, 1905, letters concerning parks and reservations were indexed as part of the miscellaneous letters received by the Divisions, and those indexes are among the records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior now in the National Archives (Record Group 48).

3.REGISTERS OF LETTERS RECEIVED BY THE PATENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS DIVISION RELATING TO NATIONAL PARKS AND RESERVATIONS. 1905-7. 2 vols. 4 in.

Arranged chronologically by date of receipt. For an index, see entry 2. Most of the letters are among the records described in entry 1. Before July 1905 letters concerning parks and reservation were registered as miscellaneous letters received; and the registers are among the records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior now in the National Archives (Record Group 48).

Entries for individual letters give file number and heading, date of receipt, name and address of writer, date and subject of letter, indication of action taken, and often cross-references to related records.

4.RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CLERK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 1887-1916. 1 ft.

Arranged alphabetically by name of park of other area with some general records arranged by subject.

Correspondence, reports, memoranda, legal opinions, congressional documents, maps, and other records, mostly copies. Many of them relate to legislation and legal questions. For most of the records of the Office of the Secretary relating to national parks before the establishment of the National Park Service, see entries 1 and 6.

RECORDS OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT RELATING TO NATIONAL PARKS, 1892-1937

5.WAR DEPARTMENT RECORDS. 1892-1937. 36 ft.

Arranged alphabetically by name of area with some general records at the end, thereunder by office of origin, and thereunder according to the filing system of the office — usually a modification of the decimal classification system of the Quartermaster Corps. Some War Department records have been interfiled with the central classified files of the Park Service (entry 7). For field records of areas under War Department supervision, see entries 105-113, 115, 119, and 120.

Included are correspondence, memoranda, narrative and statistical reports, historical summaries, copies of contracts and leases, estimates, specifications, bids, requisitions, purchase orders, sales bills, vouchers, time sheets, payrolls, maps, plans, photographs, clippings, and congressional documents relating to military parks, cemeteries, monuments, and other areas that were under the supervision of the War Department until they were transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. Most of the records were transferred to the Service about 1937. There are records from the Office of the Chief of Engineers, the Office of the Quartermaster General, the Office of the Quartermaster Supply Officer, quartermaster offices in corps areas, quartermaster depots, and from park officials. They relate to the establishment of areas, acquisition of land, construction (especially of monuments and markers), restoration, maintenance, supplies and equipment, personnel, and other subjects.

RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

GENERAL RECORDS

6.CENTRAL FILES. 1907-39. 163 ft.

Arranged for the most part alphabetically by name of park and thereunder alphabetically by subject. There are records concerning the following parks: Acadia, Crater Lake, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Hot Springs, Lassen Volcanic, Mesa Verde, Mount McKinley, Mount Rainier, Platt, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia (including General Grant), Sully's Hill, Wind Cave, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion. There are also records concerning Petrified Forest, Pinnacles, and Tumacacori National Monuments, and general records not relating to a specific area.

Included are letters received and copies of letters sent by the Office of the Secretary of the Interior until 1917 and thereafter by the Park Service, memoranda, narrative and statistical reports, contracts, bonds, permits, affidavits, maps. plats, specifications, photographs, tables, financial statements, vouchers, estimates, printed documents, pamphlets and other publications, clippings, press releases, bulletins, and processed procedural material. Most of the correspondence is with park superintendents and other field officials, but there is also correspondence with the President, the Secretary and other officials of the Department of the Interior (especially after 1916), Members of Congress, the War Department, the General Land Office, the Bureau of Public Roads, other departments and bureaus, forest rangers, concessionaires and leaseholders, applicants for concessions and permits, contractors, shippers, members of conservation societies and similar organizations, persons residing in and near park areas, park visitors, applicants for employment, and others.

The series of Park Service records covers a broad range of subjects. Typical headings are: administration, appropriations, automobiles, boundaries, buildings, complaints, disbursing clerk, employment, expenditures, fires, inspection and investigations, lands, legislation, maps, museums, nature study, privileges (concessions, leases, permits, and the like), publications, receipts and revenues, repairs, and improvements, reports, roads, rules and regulations, sanitation, supplies, telephone and telegraph service, timber, travel, troops, vouchers, water supply, and wild animals. For may of the headings there are subheadings, also arranged alphabetically. The individual documents under a heading or subheading are arranged chronologically. A complete list of subject headings and subheadings with the years covered by each is available in the National Archives.

For the years 1907-25 this is the principal series of records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park Service relating to national parks. The series includes records originally filed under the classification system used in the Office of the Secretary and records designated with the decimal classifications developed by the Park Service (see entry 7). A few records are dated before 1907. For the years beginning with 1925 the records described in entry 7 are the principal series of records for the National park Service. The two series overlap, however, and there is not immediate way of determining in which series a particular file is located. For earlier letters received by the Office of the Secretary of the Interior relating to national parks, see entry 1. Earlier letters sent are in Record Group 48, Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.

7.CENTRAL CLASSIFIED FILES. 1907-49. 1,571 ft.

All the records are arranged in accordance with the same decimal classification system (see Appendix II for a select list of headings). Within each decimal classification the records are often subdivided by more specific subjects or by names of park, individuals, States, government agencies, or other appropriate headings, most frequently in alphabetical order. Occasionally, particularly in the 885-01 classification relating to Emergency Conservation Work (CCC), other decimal classifications are used as subheadings. In other instances, particularly in the 900 classification (concessions), the decimal system has not been followed strictly, and all the subheadings relating to a particular subject or individual have been filed together. Some records not designated as part of the decimal system have been inserted in appropriate places, especially records concerning specific projects conducted under different programs. Within individual headings and subheadings, documents are usually fastened together in chronological order, but many loose items have been inserted.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent, narrative and statistical reports, memoranda, minutes, contracts, permits, bonds, opinions, decisions, congressional bills and documents, printed copies of acts of Congress, bulletins, orders, circulars, manuals, charts, schedules, press releases, addresses, completed questionnaires, estimates and justifications, requisitions, vouchers, maps, plats, photographs, clippings, and publications. Most of the correspondence is with park superintendents and other field officials, but there is also correspondence with the President, Members of Congress, the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, other Federal offices, State and local officials, concessionaires, land owners, manufacturers and merchants, shippers, conservation societies and similar organizations, scholarly institutions, and others. Some records of commissions and special officers and some records transferred from the War Department (see entry 5) have been incorporated.

There are general records, records relating to each park in alphabetical order, and records relating specifically or in general to regional offices, monuments, historical parks, memorial parks, military parks, battlefield sites and parks, historic sites, memorials, cemeteries, parkways, recreational areas, National Capitol Parks, and historic sites not federally owned. Frequently, however, records relating to an individual area are with the general records. Appendix I lists areas for which there are records in these files.

The records under the decimal system overlap chronologically those filed under the system described in entry 6. The decimal system was begun in 1925 but was not in full operation for several more years. Many older files were converted to the decimal system, but some records continued to be filed under the old system. There is no immediate way of determining in which series a particular file will be found.

8.PROCESSED ISSUANCES. 1940-47. 9 ft.

Arranged chronologically until April 1944. Thereafter there is a preliminary breakdown by employee distribution or nature of content.

Chiefly mimeographed copies of memoranda sent to regional directors and other field officers and to employees in the central office. There are also some orders, circulars, bulletins, directories, and other issuances of the Park Service, the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, and other offices. Most relate to procedural matters; other give statements of policy or information. Most are designated by a decimal classification of the central classified files, and another copy is usually with the records described in entry 7.

9.ORGANIZATION CHARTS. 1927-49. 1 in.

Arranged chronologically. For other charts, see the 201-13.1 classification of the central classified files (entry 7).

Chiefly printed copies of charts of the Department of the Interior and Park Service.

10.RECORDS CONCERNING THE NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION. 1923-34. 5 ft.

For the most part arranged in rough chronological order, with some separate records concerning legislation and some separate clippings and published reports.

Letters received, copies of letters sent, processed copies of meetings of the Commission, congressional bills and documents, acts, clippings, maps, and other records relating to the establishment and activities of the Commission and its relations with the Park Service. The Director of the Park Service was a member of the Commission. Other records relating to the Commission are among the central classified files (entry 7), especially under the 871 classification of the general records and among the records relating to National Capital Parks.

11.NATURE NOTES. 1927-35. 9 in.

Arranged for the most part alphabetically by area and thereunder chronologically. See also the 504-11 classification of the central classified files (entry 7).

Periodic publications of individual parks and monuments. Some copies of monthly reports are included.

12.CLIPPINGS. 1915-25. 7 ft. 46 vols.

Arranged alphabetically by park or other subject and thereunder in rough chronological order.

Newspaper and magazine clippings and a few other items mounted in scrapbooks with some loose duplicates.

FINANCIAL RECORDS

13.APPROPRIATION EXPENDITURE RECORD. 1915-21. 1 ft.

Arranged in six binders, one for each fiscal year from 1916 to 1921. Thereunder for the most part arranged by park. For some years difference types of forms are in separate sections of the binder.

Accounting forms that balance expenditures against allotted funds.

14.ABSTRACTS OF DISBURSEMENTS. 1921-25. 9 in.

Arranged in three binders by fiscal years, thereunder alphabetically by park (with some special accounts), and thereunder chronologically.

Entries for individual disbursements give date of entry, name of claimant or other indication of purpose, distribution under different accounting headings, and sometimes other pertinent information.

15.ALLOTMENT LEDGER. 1924-30. 1 in.

Entries are arranged in a binder by year and thereunder for the most part alphabetically by name of park.

An itemized record of funds allotted to parks.

16.SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. 1925-32. 1 in.

Arranged chronologically.

Periodic statements with the following designations: "Statement of Balances—General Ledger Accounts," "Schedule of Balances Showing Status of Appropriations," "Summary Allotment Ledger Totals," "Statement of Allotment Accounts," and "Schedule of Balances of Resources and Obligation."

RECORDS OF KEY OFFICIALS

17.RECORDS OF HORACE M. ALBRIGHT. 1927-33. 3 ft.

Arranged for the most part by correspondence, park, or subject and thereunder chronologically.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent, memoranda, reports, maps, clippings, photographs, and press releases. Mr. Albright was simultaneously Assistant Director (Field) and Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park from 1926 until January 1929, and Director from 1929 until 1933. Many of these records are designated "semi-official" and some a "personal." A few are dated as early as 1922.

18.RECORDS OF ARNO B. CAMMERER. 1922-40. 7 ft.

Arranged for the most part alphabetically by subject or correspondence, sometimes with subheadings, and thereunder chronologically.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent, reports, memoranda, clippings, photographs, maps, and processed and printed material. Mr. Cammerer was Assistant Director from 1919 to 1929, Associate Director from 1929 until 1933, and Director from 1933 to 1940.

19.RECORDS OF NEWTON B. DRURY. 1940-51. 11 ft.

Arranged for the most part alphabetically by subject or correspondent and thereunder chronologically.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent, memoranda, reports, procedural issuances, press releases, addresses, congressional documents, clippings, photographs, maps, periodicals, pamphlets, brochures, and picture post cards. Mr. Drury war Director during these years.

20.RECORDS OF ROGER W. TOLL. 1928-36. 5 ft.

Arranged alphabetically by State and thereunder by area or other subject. At the end are some records concerning foreign countries and general subjects.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent and correspondence of others, reports, memoranda, notes, maps, photographs, brochures, picture post cards, press releases, and copies of publications. Mr. Toll was Superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park until 1929 and then of Yellowstone National Park until his death in 1936. In addition to his regular duties, during off-seasons he investigated proposed park and monument areas, boundary extensions, and other matters. These series consists of records concerning those investigations and of reference material. Some of the reference material is dated before 1928.

RECORDS OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF COUNSEL

The Office of the Chief Counsel was established August 6, 1938, but there had been a legal unit in the Park Service since its beginning. The person in charge was designated successively as Law Clerk, Law Officer, Assistant Attorney, Assistant to the Director, and Assistant Director. The office was known by such names as Branch of Use, Law, and Regulation; Branch of Lands and Use; and Branch of Land Acquisition and Regulation. The Office of the Chief Counsel and its predecessors were particularly concerned with land status and acquisition, water rights, contracts and concessions, preparation and enforcement of regulations, and legislation. The records of the Office Chief Counsel in the National Archives relate to legislation. The name of the office was changed to Legal Division in 1947, but the position of Chief Counsel continued. There have been several reorganizations since then, and legislative work is now assigned to the Division of Legislation and Regulations.

21.LEGISLATIVE FILE. 1932-50. 49 ft.

Arranged for the most part by Congress, thereunder by House, and thereunder by bill number. Earlier records concerning proposed legislation are in the central classified files (entry 7) under the 120 classification.

Letters received; copies of letters sent by the Park Service and the Office of the Secretary of the Interior; reports; memoranda; printed copies of bills, acts, hearings, and congressional reports; clippings, mainly from the Congressional Record; maps; photographs; and other records concerning proposed legislation in which the Park Service was interested.

RECORDS OF THE BRANCH OF ENGINEERING

The Engineering Division (sometimes called the Civil Engineering Division) was established in 1917. The division headquarters was located at different cities and parks in the West until 1927, when it was moved to San Francisco to become part of the Field Headquarters. The head of the Division, formerly designated successively as Civil Engineer and Chief Engineer, was now called Chief Engineer; and he was in general charge of the Field Headquarters.

In 1933 the Engineering Division was renamed to Branch of Engineering and an eastern office was opened. The Chief Engineer moved to Washington in 1937, and the San Francisco office was closed. From 1938 until 1943 the Chief Engineer was called Chief of Engineering. In 1946 the Branch of Engineering was merged with the Branch of Plans and Design to form the Branch of Development.

The Branch of Engineering was in charge of engineering work in the parks and monuments system, especially construction work, although major road projects were directed by the Bureau of Public Roads. The records of the Branch include records for the period for the Engineering Division. Other records of the Engineering Division are among those of the Field Headquarters (entry 29).

22.GENERAL RECORDS OF THE ENGINEERING DIVISION. 1917-26. 8 ft.

The records are divided into general records and records relating to individual parks arranged alphabetically. Thereunder arranged by subject headings and subheadings. Within each heading or subheading arranged for the most part chronologically.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent, work progress and other reports, memoranda, bulletins, clippings, photographs, estimates, and vouchers. Some records of engineers in the field have been incorporated.

23.RECORDS RELATING TO THE HETCH HETCHY PROJECT. 1901-34. 1 ft.

Arranged in part by type of record and in part in rough chronological order. Many other records relating to Hetch Hetchy and the San Francisco water supply are among the general records of the National Park Service (see entries 1, 6, and 7).

Correspondence and copies of correspondence of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, the National Park Service, and the Advisory Board of Army Engineers; hearing; reports; photographs; blueprint profiles; copies of legislative bills; and other records relating to the use of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park as a reservoir by the city of San Francisco.

24.REPORTS ON THE WATER SUPPLY OF SAN FRANCISCO AND NEIGHBORING AREAS. 1902-12. 6 ft. 55 vols.

For the most part arranged by assigned number. There are a few unbound documents with some of the same set of assigned numbers among the records described in entry 23.

Most of the reports were prepared by engineers for the city of San Francisco and the Spring Valley Water Company in connection with the controversy over the use of Hetch Hetchy Valley by the city of San Francisco. Some are printed; other typewritten. Photographs, tables, and maps are included in most of the reports. There are also some estimates, rebuttals to reports, and other records that are not strictly reports.

25.CONTRACTS AND PROPOSALS AND SPECIFICATIONS. 1920-26. 1 ft.

Arranged in rough chronological order and in the same order as a list that is with these records.

Mostly for construction work. Included also are some correspondence, progress reports, and other records.

26.ROAD SURVEY REPORTS. 1925-39. 2 ft.

Arranged alphabetically by park.

Reconnaissance, location survey, and other reports concerning proposed road construction. They are in narrative form with estimates, photographs, maps, tables, and other illustrative material. Most ere prepared by engineers of the Bureau of Public Roads; but some were prepared by engineers and architects of the Park Service.

27.FINAL CONSTRUCTION REPORTS. 1934-42. 5 in.

Arranged alphabetically by area.

Narrative reports with cost reports, photographs, plans, and other illustrations concerning completed construction projects in some eastern areas.

28.MONTHLY NARRATIVE REPORTS OF BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS ENGINEERS. Dec. 1936-June 1937. 3 in.

Arranged alphabetically by area and thereunder chronologically.

Reports submitted by engineers assigned to road projects in Park Service areas. With the reports are maps, charts, photographs, and other illustrations. Most of the reports are for April and June 1937; there are reports for only a few areas, mostly in the East and South.

RECORDS OF THE FIELD HEADQUARTERS IN SAN FRANCISCO

The Field Headquarters in San Francisco was organized in 1927 to coordinate the work of the several field divisions: Engineering, Landscape Engineering, Educational, Forestry, and Sanitary (personnel detailed from the Public Health Service). The Chief Engineer was the head of the Engineering Division, and he was in general charge of the Field Headquarters. The headquarters of the Educational Division and the Forestry Division were in Berkeley; and in practice the Field Headquarters was concerned chiefly with the work of the Engineering Division and the Landscape Engineering Division (renamed Landscape Architecture Division in 1928).

From 1930 to 1937 a gradual transfer of direction of technical functions from the field to Washington took place. In 1935 the use of the term "Field Headquarters" was discontinued. In 1937 the Chief Engineer moved from San Francisco to Washington, and the field division offices in San Francisco and Berkeley were closed. Some duties formerly assigned to the field divisions were transferred to the new regional offices.

The records of the Field Headquarters in San Francisco include some records of the Engineering Division and the Landscape Engineering Division for the period before they were moved to San Francisco in 1927. See also the records of the Branch of Engineering (entries 22-28) and the Branch of Plans and Design (entries 30-32).

29.CLASSIFIED FILES. 1925-36. 23 ft.

Divided into general records, records relating to individual parks arranged alphabetically, and records relating to monuments arranged alphabetically. Thereunder arranged for the most part according to a decimal subject classification system similar to that used in the Washington office (see entry 7). Sometimes records relating to the work of the Landscape Division are separated from those relating to the work of the Engineering Division, and there are subheadings for some of the classifications. Within each heading or subheading arranged for the most part chronologically.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent, reference copies of letters sent by other offices, reports, memoranda, press releases, other issuances and publications, clippings, photographs, tables, estimates, and bills of lading. The records for the period before October 1927 were transferred from the office of the Engineering Division in Portland, Oreg., and the office of the Landscape Engineering Division in Los Angeles. Some records are dated as early as 1919; comparatively few records are dated after 1931.

RECORDS OF THE BRANCH OF PLANS AND DESIGN

The Branch of Plans and Design was a continuation of the Landscape Engineering Division established in 1918. The name was changed to Landscape Architecture Division in 1928 and to Branch of Plans and Design in 1933. Its headquarters was moved several rimes. It was at Los Angeles from 1923 until 1927 when the Division was made part of the Field headquarters at San Francisco. An eastern office in Washington was established in 1930. The head of the division was known successively as Landscape Engineer, Chief Landscape Engineer, and the Chief Landscape Architect. In 1933 the Chief Landscape Architect began to spend most of his time at the eastern office in Washington, but the San Francisco office remained open until 1937. From 1938 to 1943 the Chief Landscape Architect was called the Chief of Planning. In 1946 the Branch of Plans and Design was merged with the Branch of Engineering to form the Branch of Development.

The Branch of Plans and Design supervised architectural and landscape designing, planning, development, and construction. Beginning in 1931 it was responsible for the preparation of master plans.

Records of the Landscape Engineering Division and Landscape Architecture Division are among the records of the Field Headquarters in San Francisco (entry 29).

30.MONTHLY NARRATIVE REPORTS. 1936-38. 9 ft.

Arranged by year, thereunder by Park Service region, and thereunder by month.

Submitted by landscape architects and some other employees in field offices. They relate mainly the Emergency Conservation Work (CCC) and other projects in both National Park Service areas and in State and local parks. Photographs accompany many of the reports. A few reports cover periods other than a month.

31.PLANS AND INSCRIPTIONS. ca. 1914-30. 3 in.

Arranged according to area or structure shown in the master plans. Included are plans for Arlington National Cemetery and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

32.MASTER PLANS. 1931-41. 36 ft.

For the most part arranged alphabetically by area and thereunder chronologically; but there are exceptions to accommodate different sizes. A list of the plans is available in the National Archives.

Sets of maps and drawings, sometimes with accompanying statements, depicting work planned for Park Service areas. They were prepared in area and regional offices and relate to such subjects as topography, roads, and trails, administration and utility areas, fire control, and vegetation types. For some areas new plans were prepared almost every year; for other areas, less frequently.

Mainly blueprints.

RECORDS OF THE BRANCH OF FORESTRY

The Forestry Division was established in the Berkeley office of the Park Service in 1937. Chief Park Naturalist Ansel F. Hall also served as Chief Forester. In 1928 John D. Coffman was appointed Fire Control Expert. In 1933 he was transferred to Washington at assist in the organization and administration of the Emergency Conservation Work program and in November of that year the Branch of Forestry was established in Washington with Coffman as Chief Forester. The Branch was concerned chiefly with the protection of forests from fires, insects, diseases, and other dangers. Until 1936 the Chief Forester also directed the Emergency Conservation Work program in national parks. From 1938 to 1943 the Chief Forester was called the Chief of Forestry. In 1947 the Branch of Forestry was redesignated the Forestry Division, and more recently there have been other changes.

33.FOREST FIRE REPORTS. 1928-49. 3 ft.

The comparatively few reports for the years 1928-31 are together. For the years 1932-41, the reports are arranged for the most part alphabetically by park area and thereunder chronologically. For 1942-49 they are arranged by year, thereunder by Park Service region, and thereunder alphabetically by park area.

Chiefly forms completed for individual fires. They give information concerning location (usually including a small map or plat), cause, physical conditions, action taken, damages, cost of suppression, and other matters. Also included are some narrative reports, memoranda, correspondence, and other records. There are some separate reports for recreational demonstration areas, 1935-44.

RECORDS OF THE WILDLIFE DIVISION

In 1929 a Wild Life Survey was organized in the Berkeley office of the National Park Service. Until 1931 it was financed entirely by George Wright. The Government began contributing to its support in 1931 and took over the financing completely in 1933. In 1934 the Wild Life Division, with Wright as chief, was formally established in the Washington Office within the Branch of Research and Education to direct all activities concerning the conservation and management of wildlife. On July 30, 1934, the Park Service changed its usage from "wild life" to "wildlife."

In December 1939 the duties and personnel of the Wildlife Division were transferred from the Park Service to the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Bureau of Fisheries. These two agencies were merged on June 20, 1940, to form the Fish and Wildlife Service. Personnel of the Fish and Wildlife Service continued to work on close cooperation with the Park Service. Biological work was resumed by the Park Service in 1944, but no separate records of the administrative units in charge of this work are in the National Archives.

34.RECORDS OF THE WASHINGTON OFFICE OF THE WILDLIFE DIVISION. 1934-36. 4 ft.

Arranged by park areas, other subjects, and correspondents and thereunder for the most part chronologically. Records relating to Emergency Conservation Work are arranged by enrollment period and thereunder by area. A few records are dated before 1934 and after 1936.

Correspondence, memoranda, reports, procedural issuances, opinions of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, copies of legislative bills and acts, copies of Executive orders and proclamations, lists, press releases, clippings, photographs, and maps.

35.RECORDS OF DAVID H. MADSEN. 1930-39. 3 ft.

The records are arranged alphabetically by park area or other subject and thereunder in rough chronological order. For other records maintained by Madsen during the period when he was Supervisor of Fish Resources, see the following entry.

Included are letters received, copies of letters sent, copies of correspondence of other offices, memoranda, narrative reports, work progress reports, stream survey reports, travel reports, procedural issuances, vouchers, and photographs. Mr. Madsen was appointed Assistant Land Purchaser in August 1930. On December 26, 1930, he was instructed to give as much attention as possible to problems affecting wildlife and was given the additional title of Supervisor of Wild Life Resources. On March 2, 1934, his title was changed from Assistant Land Purchaser to Wild Life Expert. In March 1935 he was given the new position of Fish Culturist; in May of the same year the title was changed to Supervisor of Fish Resources. In all these positions his headquarters was at Salt Lake City. He and his office were transferred to the Bureau of Fisheries in December 1939.

36.RECORDS OF THE SUPERVISOR OF FISH RESOURCES. 1935-39. 2 ft.

Arranged alphabetically by area or other subject and thereunder chronologically. See the previous entry for other records maintained by Madsen, as Supervisor of Fish Resources and in former positions.

Letters received, copies of letters sent, copies of correspondence of other offices, narrative reports, work progress reports, lists, procedural issuances, vouchers, clippings, and photographs and other records maintained by David H. Madsen.