NPS photo (EVER 17742)
Why Come Together to Celebrate a Swamp?
In the early 20th century, Americans saw the Everglades as an obstacle to progress. The land was too swampy to be useful—the inhospitable, challenging landscape was standing in the way of Florida's growth. Drainage projects were underway, slicing through wetlands to make room for farms and towns. But a determined group of scientists and conservationists believed the Everglades held something no other place on Earth did, and they refused to let it disappear.
Their first victory came in 1916, with the creation of Royal Palm State Park on Paradise Key. This small, protected area planted the seed for something much bigger. By the 1920s, that seed had grown into a national movement. On May 30th, 1934, the 73rd United States Congress passed the Everglades National Park Act, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed to authorize the creation of the iconic Florida park.
NPS photo (EVER 17737)
The Long Road to Everglades National Park
In 1944, Congress authorized the creation of a national wildlife refuge to provide some protection for the future park area. Two years later, the Florida Legislature set aside $2 million to purchase private lands in the Everglades. These land purchases, along with the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs' donation of Royal Palm State Park, helped make the park a reality.
On December 6, 1947, crowds gathered on an old golf course near Chokoloskee Bay in Everglades City for the official dedication ceremony. Organizers expected as many as 20,000 people to pour into the small fishing community (a town of just over 1,000 residents) for the biggest event in its history.
The ceremony was presided over by John D. Pennekamp, a Miami Herald editor who had spent years fighting for the park's creation. The dedication program opened with an opening prayer from Deaconess Harriet Bedell and music from the Fort Myers High School Band, who played Florida's state song, "Suwannee River." Later, Indigenous singer and activist Wah Nese Red Rock performed "The Star-Spangled Banner." A celebrated actress and soprano, Red Rock famously sang at the White House for President Roosevelt’s 1945 inauguration and again for Harry S. Truman's 1949 inauguration. Later, President Truman personally invited her to perform at the Everglades National Park dedication.
NPS photo (EVER 17741)
President Harry S. Truman traveled to Florida for the occasion, combining the dedication with days working from the Little White House at the U.S. Naval Station Key West, where he often went to rest and unwind. But the trip to Everglades National Park itself was no mere side trip. Truman came specifically to dedicate the park, marking the first time a national park was established to protect a diverse ecosystem rather than primarily protecting dramatic scenery from future development. That distinction mattered.
Parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite had been protected for their unique geological features, grand mountains, and canyons. The Everglades was different: flat, watery, and subtle, but ecologically irreplaceable. The nine distinct Everglades habitats support a group of connected plant and animal species, some of them found nowhere else on earth.
Standing before the crowd, Truman captured that idea in his dedication speech:
The benefits our Nation will derive from this dedication will outlast the youngest of us. They will increase with the passage of the years. Few actions could make a more lasting contribution to the enjoyment of the American people than the establishment of the Everglades National Park.
NPS photo (EVER 22724b)
Want to hear the moment for yourself?
Listen to a recording of Truman's dedication address.
The guest list read like a who's who of the people who had made the park possible. Ernest F. Coe, a landscape engineer who had championed the park’s creation for decades and was introduced that day as "the grand old man of the Everglades National Park," stood alongside Daniel B. Beard, the park's first superintendent. Florida's governor, Millard F. Caldwell, formally presented the land to the nation. Senators Claude Pepper and Spessard Holland spoke about the decades of political work behind the achievement. Secretary of the Interior Julius A. Krug accepted the park on behalf of the federal government.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas, author of The Everglades: River of Grass, which was published that same year and is still considered a landmark work on the region, was also in attendance. Conservation groups were honored too, including the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs, credited with establishing Royal Palm State Park in 1916, and the National Audubon Society, whose wardens had protected the region's wildlife since 1902.
At the center of it all was President Truman, who received a long ovation as he rose to speak. His attendance was itself remarkable, sitting presidents rarely traveled to attend park dedications at the time, and his presence signaled that this wasn't just a regional celebration; it was a moment the entire country was meant to notice.
Dig deeper into the day's full lineup.
View the original dedication program!
NPS photo (EVER 17728a)
Ingran Billie presented gifts for President Truman’s family—a handbag of palmetto fibers with buckskin handles for the first lady and a tribal flag for his daughter Margaret. Reverend E. A. Finn of the Everglades Community Church offered the closing prayer, and the ceremony ended with the National Anthem. But this momentous day and celebration didn't start with Truman's speech. It began the day before, with a 3-cent stamp that helped spread the news to millions of Americans who couldn't be there in person. Dedicating the park in 1947 didn't mean the story was over. In many ways, it was just beginning.
President Truman closed his speech by reflecting on why places like the Everglades mattered:
For conservation of the human spirit, we need places such as Everglades National Park where we may be more keenly aware of our Creator's infinitely varied, infinitely beautiful, and infinitely bountiful handiwork. Here we may draw strength and peace of mind from our surroundings.
See the Moment
Step back to 1947 by viewing archival imagery from President Truman’s historic address and dedication ceremony.
Exhibit Navigation
The Stamp and Artist
A 3¢ stamp, a Great White Heron, and the artist behind it. Discover the story behind this tiny masterpiece.
First Day Covers
Colorful and unique, these envelopes became prized souvenirs of this historic day. Click here to learn about the process and see the covers.
Exhibit Home
Curious what else this exhibit has to offer? Click here to return to the main exhibit landing page.
Last updated: November 6, 2026