Archives West Finding Aid

The Preston P. Macy Papers document Macy's work in preserving Washington's natural lands both as a National Park Service administrator and a private citizen The papers are subgrouped chronologically, according to the phases of Macy's career.

The Mount Rainier National Park, Ranger/Naturalist, subgroup documents Macy's first assignment at the park. Road construction activities can be followed in the correspondence and reports. The correspondence also contains memoranda written by Macy regarding his survey work of the area to become Olympic National Park prior to his assignment there. An additional account of the Olympic Mountains can be found in the speeches and writings series.

The battle to create Olympic National Park is documented in the Olympic National Park, Superintendent, subgroup. Macy was first assigned to the area as acting custodian of the Mount Olympus National Monument, which was under the administration of Mount Rainier National Park. Corresondence with his National Park Service superiors, including Mount Rainier Superintendent O.A. Tomlinson, sheds light on Macy's efforts to negotiate the proposed park's boundaries with conservationist and timber industry interests during the three-year legislative fight. Of special interest are Macy's and Tomlinson's impressions of a visit to the Olympic Peninsula by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the fall of 1937. Roosevelt's declaration of support for the proposed park helped turn the tide in favor its creation. Later correspondence, dating from the period after the creation of the park and his appointment as the park's first superintendent in 1938, documents Macy's opposition of efforts to release park lands to logging. The legislation files contain congressional hearings transcripts on proposals to alter the park's boundaries. A handwritten diary chronicles Macy's work on the proposed park from 1935-1937. While all the entries refer to Macy, the entries in the first half of the diary were made by someone other than Macy, possibly his young daughter. The speeches and writings include materials by Macy and others. The subgroup also contains maps, reports, clippings, and publications.

The Mount Rainier National Park, Superintendent, subgroup documents Macy's return to the park as superintendent. The correspondence is a mix of administrative and personal letters, discussing topics ranging from the installation of ski lifts and personnel matters to visits to the park from VIPs such as Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. The Rainier National Park Company subject files document the park's dealings with the concessionaire. The speeches and writings include a 1952 history of the park written by Robert McIntyre.

Washington Forest Area Use Council subgroup includes correspondence and reports by the council's technical committee on the North Cascades and Cougar Lakes Limited Area. Macy's private papers shed light on Macy's continued interest in Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks following his retirement. He opposed a recommendation by his successor at Olympic National Park to concede park lands to logging interests and urged policy makers to take a strong stand against other such efforts.

Major correspondents include Horace M. Albright, C. Frank Brockman, Irving M. Clark, William O. Douglas, Henry M. Jackson, Scott O. Richards, and Owen A. Tomlinson.