Floyd Schmoe

Park Naturalist Floyd Schmoe stands in front of the Ranger Station at Paradise.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

First full-time naturalist at Mount Rainier National Park

Place of Birth:

Johnson County, KS

Date of Birth:

September 21, 1895

Place of Death:

Kenmore, WA

Date of Death:

April 20, 2001

Floyd Schmoe was Mount Rainier National Park’s first full-time naturalist. Born in Kansas on September 21, 1895, Floyd became interested in forestry and moved to the pacific northwest to pursue a degree from the University of Washington. He and his wife worked as winter caretakers of the Paradise Inn, then he worked as a mountain guide for two summers before being hired as a full-time ranger in 1922. He began a publication called Mount Rainier National Park Nature Notes the following year, then was appointed the first park naturalist in 1924. 

Schmoe worked for the park until 1928, when he took a teaching position at the University of Washington, specializing in forest ecology. After the World War II, he stopped teaching and initiated several humanitarian efforts to help those affected by building houses, collecting supplies, and delivering aid to war-ravaged areas in Japan, Korea, and Egypt. Floyd continued traveling and writing about his experiences around the world for many years, eventually helping establish the Seattle Peace Park. He died at the age of 105 in Kenmore, Washington.