Archives West Finding Aid

Edmund Rogers was born in Denver, Colorado on December 28, 1891. He was selected as the Superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1929, and served there until 1936, when he transferred to Yellowstone National Park as its Superintendent until 1956. He then transferred back to Denver, Colorado “to be the assistant to the Director of the National Park Service”, according to the Employees and Alumni of the National Park Service Newspaper, Vol. 1, Issue 2. During his time at Yellowstone, he was called to Washington, D. C., in 1940 to serve as acting superintendent of the National Capital Parks while the department was undergoing some transition. He coordinated directly with Eleanor Roosevelt on her programs for the Park Service, and presented about Yellowstone to the Department of the Interior. While he was the Superintendent of Yellowstone, Horace Albright resigned as Director of the National Park Service. When his service as Superintendent of Yellowstone ended and his duties in Denver began, he helped initiate the Mission 66 Project, which built roads connecting the National Parks to each other, as well as visitors’ centers, roadside museums and observation spaces. He was a guest of honor at the 1972 Yellowstone Centennial Celebration, and died in Denver that same year.

His wife, Sarah (“Sally”) Vaille Rogers, was born on December 29, 1893. They were married on June 5, 1926 in Denver, Colorado, just three years before his appointment. She was just as involved in the Park as her husband, and collected all of her husband’s correspondence and memorabilia. She was involved in the Estes Park Woman’s Club in the 1930s and encouraged her fellow members to support N. P. S. efforts and employees. She often convinced her friends to hold dinners for the National Park Service. Sarah died on November 21, 1979.

At the end of their service, which concluded in 1960, both Edmund and Sarah were given awards at several celebrations in their honor, some of which occurred as late as 1972. Both public servants were given lifetime credit at stores in Yellowstone and lifetime admission to the Park.