Conrad L. Wirth
b. December 1, 1899 - d. July 25, 1993
Role
National Park Service Director
Dates of Involvement
1951 - 1964
Context
As director of the National Park Service from 1951 to 1964, Conrad “Connie” Wirth, oversaw the creation, funding, and execution of the Mission 66 program. In this capacity, he approved of the plans to construct the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center at Rocky Mountain National Park and was essential in coordinating with the Department of the Interior and Congress to ensure funding for the project was sustained.
Education
Wirth graduated from the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts) with a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape gardening (Caldwell, n.d.).
Career
In 1931, Connie Wirth joined the National Park Service as assistant director for the Branch of Lands. When the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created in 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Wirth was responsible for implementing the program to great effect (The Cultural Landscape Foundation, n.d.). Under Wirth’s tenure as director of the National Park Service, Mission 66 was conceived with the intent to, in Wirth’s own words, “overcome the inroads of neglect and to restore to the American people a National Park System adequate for their needs,” (Caldwell, n.d.). In 1964, Wirth retired as director in part due to increasing criticism from both environmentalists and the public regarding Mission 66, passing the torch on to George Hartzog (The Cultural Landscape Foundation, n.d.).
Related Primary Sources to Explore
Mission 66 in Action (Collection 1192 Series 002_1 folder 408 booklet)
