George Hartzog
1 2017-12-03T21:12:20-08:00 Jordan EK 5ee5cb1f8ac73cc6263a0885cedd14b212f95885 24015 1 George Hartzog in 1956. Photo courtesy of NPS. plain 2017-12-03T21:12:20-08:00 Jordan EK 5ee5cb1f8ac73cc6263a0885cedd14b212f95885This page is referenced by:
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George B. Hartzog
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b. March 17, 1920 - d. June 27, 2008
Role
National Park Service Director
Dates of Involvement
1955 - 1977 - Assistant Superintendent at Rocky Mountain National Park
1964 - 1972 - National Park Service Director
Context
George B. Hartzog Jr. was directly involved in the entire Mission 66 program from the beginning, serving as assistant superintendent from 1955 to 1959 (first at Rocky Mountain National Park before transferring to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1957), as superintendent, assistant director, and finally as director of the National Park Service from 1963 to 1972. Under his leadership as director, the National Park System added over seventy new park areas, including national parks and monuments, and saw annual attendance double. During the construction of the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, Hartzog worked with the Department of the Interior and Congress to ensure the completion of the project (Clemson, 2017; Schudel 2008).
Education
Hartzog graduated from Carlisle Military School in Bamberg, South Carolina in 1937. The same year he enrolled in Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Due to a lack of funds, he was only able to attend for eighteen months. Upon withdrawing from college, he began working as a stenographer and interviewer for the Department of Public Welfare in Colleton County, South Carolina. In 1939, the law offices of Padgett and Moorer hired Hartzog as a law clerk and legal secretary. During this period he attended law school night classes (Clemson, 2017).
Career
George Hartzog accomplished much in his extensive career with the National Park Service. During his tenure as superintendent at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri, he worked to initiate the construction of the Gateway Arch on the St. Louis Waterfront. In his eight years as director of the National Park Service, Hartzog increased the acreage of the National Park System by almost ten percent, with over two and a half million acres added in seventy-eight new park areas. Included among these newly established park areas were five national parks, including North Cascades and Redwood National Parks. Other new additions included the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri, Buffalo National River in Arkansas, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. In addition, Hartzog contributed to the creation of The Historical Preservation Act of 1966 (Clemson, 2017).
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Krueger Stackable Folding Metal Chair; Oak Bench
