University of Wyoming
Arthur E. Demaray was a United States government administrator for the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. He spent most of his career as the number two person in the National Park Service during the agency's formative years, the New Deal period, and through the war time years as the agencies point of contact with Congress. He is known for his effectiveness as an administrator, his pioneering efforts that lead to the establishment of several national parks during these turbulent times, and his ability to work with the infamous Interior Secretary, Harold Ickes. Demaray was in U.S. government service for forty-eight years (1903-1951). His career began at the age of 16 in 1903 for the U.S. Geological Survey as a messenger boy; later he apprenticed and became a draftsman for the department. In 1917 he transferred to the newly formed National Park Service, where he proved to be a very effective administrator and political liaison; serving as Assistant Director and Director of the National Park Service until his retirement in 1951. Demaray was born on February 16, 1887 in Washington D.C and died in Tucson, Arizona in 1958.
The collection contains correspondence (including a few letters from Harold Ickes), diaries, photographs, articles, publications, awards, medals, memorabilia, and Plains Indian artifacts all related to Demaray's career. There is material relating to his various trips including brochures and other travel literature, postcards, scrapbooks, and photographs. Also included are personal and family memorabilia; articles by Elise Demaray Anderson; family photographs including ambrotypes and daguerreotypes; and genealogical information on the Demaray, Demarest, Briggs, Shryock, and Fravel families. There are a large number of photographs of the National Parks and Monuments across the United States; Yellowstone; Great Smoky Mountains; Crater Lake; Mammoth Cave; Yosemite; Grand Canyon; many of the Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah parks; National Park Service officials; Civilian Conservation Corps camps; and photographs by Jack Ellis Haynes, Official Yellowstone photographer. There are also photographs of Harold Ickes, Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and personal family snapshots and photo albums of family, friends, and their travels. Also included are Demaray's paintings, drawings, and sketch books.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
There are no known other archival collections created by Arthur E. Demaray at the date of processing.
This material was received from Elisa D. Anderson (daughter of Arthur E. Demaray) in 1971, 1979, and 1981.
The collection was processed by Jamie J. Greene in December 2012. Additional detail for scrapbooks and photo albums was provided by Pechet Men in June 2015.
The scrapbooks were digitized by Pechet Men, Steven Mares, and Kathy Gerlach from July 2015-March 2015.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at
This series contains files regarding Demaray's work for the National Park Service including articles written by him, notes, memorabilia, legislation, minutes, reports and surveys, press releases, and publications (brochures, handbooks, and booklets) published by the National Park Service concerning National Parks and Monuments.
This series contains correspondence, diaries, speeches, books, certificates and awards, newspaper clippings, travel files, ephemera, artifacts, artwork, family memorabilia, and genealogical research files relating to Demaray's professional and personal life.
This series contains photographs, negatives, and scrapbooks regarding Demaray's professional and personal life.
Photos of houses, family photo, beach resort house, waterfalls, family gatherings, orchards, place in Havana, the Malecon Havana, horse racing, countryside houses, sketch “When Johnnie Comes Marching Home in February ’09, pets, people doing farming, horses, La Machina, Cabanas the Parapet, Students Wall La Punta, the Wild West, Hazen (Nev), Boats, and ports.
Photos of mountains, Scottbluff, forests, pets, rivers, waterfalls, Yellowstone National Park, helicopters, family photos, Ketchikan (Alaska), Wrangell Narrows, Totem (Alaska), Juneau (Alaska), Sitka, Taky Iceberg, Columbia Glacier, Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska Indian Cache, Alaska’s bears, Alaska’s husky, Fairbank’s Ice Carnival, wildlife, Eskimo people in native costume (Obleka, Menadelook), Valdez, governor’s mansion in Juneau (Alaska), the Kadashan Totems in Wrangell (Alaska), Totem Pole of Thlinget Chief Kian in Ketchikan (Alaska), Totem Pole, Alert Bay, Vancouver Island, Capitol Building in Juneau (Alaska), Gastineau Channel, Aue Lack, Mt. Rundle in Banff (ALT), the Three Sisters in Banff (ALT), Bow Valley in Banff (ALT), the Cascade Mountain and Bow River Bridge in Banff (ALT), the Banff Springs Hotel (ALT), Castle Mountain in Banff (ALT), Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier (ALT), Chateau, Lake Louise (ALT), Mount Lefroy and Lake Louise (ALT), Cathedral Peak (ALT), Moraine Lake and Valley of Ten Peaks (ALT), the Spiral Tunnels in Field Hill, B.C. (ALT), the Kicking Horse Canyon (ALT), Mt Burgess and Emerald Lake Chalet (ALT), Field, B.C. and Mt. Stephen (ALT), Mount Columbia (ALT), Mount Assiniboine, and Colonial Inn Concord (Massachusetts).
Photos of Lafeyette National Park, beaches, mountains, boats, houses, Lafeyette National Park Office, river, forests, family gathering/picnic, family camping, churches, horse cart, trains, trip to Prineville Oregon, congressional trip to Mormon Conference, Demaray Air dale “Gerry,” photo of Mr. Mather, and photos of cars and pets.
Photos of honeymoon trip by boat to New Orleans, Statue of Liberty, New York City, boats, photo of Elise, Union Station in D.C., Shoshone Canyon, Shoshone Reservoir, Cody Road in Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful Camp, Yellowstone River, bears, Great Falls and Yellowstone Canyon, wildlife, Salt Lake, street in Denver, Rocky Mountain Park, Odgen in Utah, San Francisco, Yosemite Park, Wawona (California), Sequoia National Park, Santa Catalina Island, San Juan de Capistrano Mission (Church), Coronado Hotel, Venice (California), La Jolla (California), Tia Juana (Mexico), Grand Canyon Park, Petrified Forest (Arizona), Crater Lake Park, Columbia River Highway, Two Medicine Lake (Glacier National Park), and photos of Victoria (British Columbia).
Photos of the Jersey Lilly, Judge Roy Bean’s house, Law West of the Pecos, mountains, forest, family gathering, rivers, family picnic, port, and lighthouse.
Photos of Down South in Florida, 4 wheels Glades Buggy, a short forward hand-written by Ray Vinten, Royal Palm Contact Station in Everglades, Air Boats, Ancient Ruin, Ancient City in the Tropical Islands, and Strange Palaces.
Photos of Frank Lange (the diver), people pumping air to the submerged diver, sea, tugboat, photo of divers, barge, crew of the barge, Mr. Homer L. Ferguson, relics (materials) brought up from the Charon, engraved bottle found aboard the Charon, a recovered carpenter’s plane, cannons recovered from the Charon, a recovered anchor, oak knee from the Hull of the Charon, lead drain pipes, and bucket used in dredging.
Hand-written note on the first page says “Crater Lake National Park in Winter” dated 1935, photos of marmot on window sill, marmots, Crater Lake, houses, snow tunnel, bulldozers, snow go, trees, and cars.
Photos of Morrow Castle, Malecon with view of Morrow Castle, view of the Prado, Palace, Wreck of the Maine, Fortress Cabanas, Cathedral, Royal Palms, Firemens Monument, Boneyard, Columbus Temple, coconut tree, and hand-written note at the end by Demaray.
photos of ship, people on board R.M.S. “Queen Mary”, postcards, photo of R.M.S “Queen Mary” 3rd Class Garden Lounge and dinning saloon, booklet of R.M.S. “Queen Mary” including list of cabin passengers’ names, paintings, posters, notices, news clippings related to R.M.S. “Queen Mary;” paintings of The Origin of the Milky Way, Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time, Mrs. Siddons, Mary Queen of Scots, Dona Isabel Cobos de Porcel, Carinal Richelieu; passenger’s transportation ticket; theatre play booklets and/or programs; trips to London; hotels’ brochures and menus; booklet “The Romance of Scotland” by Graham Sutton; booklet “England in Coronation Year” by S.P.B. Mais printed in 1937; color-printed map of England in 1937; guidebook to Windsor Castle, the town and neighborhood of Windsor by Stanley A. Williams, printed in 1937; London’s transportation map; exhibition catalog book “Madame Tussaud’s Exhibition” in 1937.
Booklet “Sweden Wermland Karlstad Stadshotellet,” Stadshotellet Karlstad restaurant menu, Varmlands Museum pass, short description of public buildings and interesting landmarks at Karlstad, hotels’ and restaurants’ receipts, Stockholm tourist map, Sverige’s map, theatre play booklets and programs, exhibition’s booklets, booklet “The Artists of George Jensen Silver” by Chr. Ditlev Reventlow, transportation and museum passes, Stockholm National Museum booklet, trip to Copenhagen, guidebooks in and around Copenhagen and Kronborge Castle, list of tourist class passengers on S.S. “Maasdam” Cruise from Rotterdam to New York on 26 May 1953, news clippings on S.S. “Maasdam,” and postcards.
Postcards of Amsterdam, hotels and restaurants’ booklets and receipts and menus in Amsterdam and Brussel and Paris and Switzerland, transportation passes, tourist booklet of Amsterdam, Belgium’s sightseeing booklet, Brussel’s tourist map, exhibition catalog “Real Lace” by Mary Dusaer, Paris sightseeing booklet, Switzerland tourist guide, booklet “Switzerland,” news clippings, Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen (North German Lloyd Bremen) passenger list on 14 September 1937, photos of people in the cruise ship and restaurants, theatre play programs and/or booklets, North German Lloyd Bremen cruise ship map, and travel itinerary.
News clippings about and by Arthur Demaray, national parks in the US and others; personal correspondence of Arthur Demaray; photos of Arthur Demaray at his office; Arthur Demaray’s passes to Sequoia and General Grant National Parks Company, the Glacier Park Transport Company, Rainier National Park Company, Grand Canyon National Park; meeting schedule/program on “Seventh National Convention” at Izaak Walton League of America in Chicago 18-20 April 1929; article “Citizens the Most Valuable Product of this Asphalt Quarry by Richard Woods Edmonds in 1929; postcards; invitation letters; Official Program of the Yorktown Sesquicentennial Celebration, Yorktown, Virginia, October 16-19, 1931; Historical Notes, Colonial National Monument, Volume 1, Number 3, 1932 by National Park Service, Department of the Interior; Memorandum for the Press by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes on the resignation of Horace M. Albright, Director of the National Park Service in 1933.
Personal correspondence of Ironsides; portrait photos of men and women; news clippings related to the death of Mary A. Ironsides, William Benthall, Gilbert c. Briggs, Harriet H. Shryock, real estate, and marriage announcement between George J. Zimmerman and Callie S. Briggs; article “A Pic-Nic at the Falls” by I.H. Hager in 1844.
Postcards; news clippings related to the death of Capt. Samuel M. Register, Charles H. Register, article of a Minnesota Boy who took a journey on foot to White Mountains, a visit to Wellesley College (Boston) of Baker’s and Hunnewell’s Gardens, letter to editor on “Stillwater;” portraits of men and women, and articles by “Tourist.”
Hand-written notes of people names, and ink sketches of trees or animals or people or rock or windmill on the right edge of the book.
Photos of houses and people in the pool, featured magazine article (Sunset Magazine) on Demaray’s house in Catalina Foothills in 1954, news articles about Demaray’s paintings, exhibition schedule for ’55-’56 and for ’55-’57, articles related to National Park Service, Tucson Art Center’s exhibition catalog, letter to Arthur E. Demaray from Fred J. Overly, Olympic National Park, on handing a copy of old negative taken at the Elks Club in 1939 and of Mon C. Wallgren’s.
News clippings, theatre programs, postcards, photos of men and women, letters to Arthur Demaray as an apprentice Draftsman in McGill, color waters, and booklet “A little journey to Shoomaker’s: Being an appreciation and an eye-opener” by Fra Elbertus in 1909.
Photos of Yellowstone National Park’s Steamboat Point at Yellowstone Lake, bull moose, buffalo (bison), Lower Fall and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Mount Washburn, pronghorn (antelope) buck, Great Fountain Geyser, Old Faithful Geyser, Fountain Paint Pot, black bear cub, wapiti-elk bull, and bighorn ram (Rocky Mountain sheep).
Mesa Verde National Park map; photos of mountain range, buildings, paintings, Cliff Palace, Long House Ruin, Balcony House, Spruce Tree Ruin, specimens recovered by archaeologist, Sun Temple, Pool Canyon, skull, Hopi Village, the “Frog Woman” potter, Navajo dancers, and Navajo women.
News article “Artist Helen Durston to Sketch Capital Scenes for the Star,” information related to scope of the program, budget plan from 1935 to 1937, Emergency Relief Appropriation (ERA) Projects on National Parks and Monuments; map of National Park Service Emergency Relief Projects; ERA Projects on Recreational Demonstration Areas; photographs of buildings, people at work, moat, objects uncovered during excavation, road construction, grading highway embankments, forest, ranches, map of Layout Plan of an Organized Group Camp in a Recreational Demonstration Area, dining hall, craft shop, blacksmith shop, camp administrative building, people at swimming pool, waterfalls; ERA Beach Erosion Control Project in North Carolina; Non-federal ERA Projects on State, County Metropolitan Parks and Recreational Areas; and list and photos of types of workers and employment on ERA Projects.
Photographs of Arthur Demaray and his coworkers, cars, house, Arthur Demaray at Yellowstone National Park, bears, lake, waterfalls, boats, officials visit Yellowstone National Park, and ranches.
Photographs people, wildlife, mountain ranges, forest, waterfalls, rivers, boats, lake, and Arthur Demaray with his colleagues.
30 photographs of Mount Rainier (Mount Rainier National Park, Washington), Fern Forest (Hawaii National Park, T.H.), Grounded Iceberg (Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska), Jupiter Terrace (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming), the Great White Throne (Zion National Park, Utah), Lak McDonald (Glacier National Park, Montana), Mount LeConte (Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee), White House Ruin (Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona), Forest Detail (Mount Rainier National Park, Washington), Mount McKinley (Mount McKinley National Park, Alaska), Detail (Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico), the Rio Grande (Big Bend National Park, Texas), the Grand Canyon from the South Rim (Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona), Old Faithful Geyser (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming), Manly Beacon (Death Valley National Monument, California), Josephine Lake (Glacier National Park, Montana), Upper Yosemite Fall (Yosemite National Park, California), Milestone Mountain (Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, California), General Sherman Tree (Sequoia National Park, California), From Hurricane Hill (Olympic National Park, Washington), El Capitan (Yosemite National Park, California), the Teton Range and the Snake River (Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming), Forest at Beartrack Cove (Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska), Longs Peak (Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado), Sea and Rocks (Acadia National Park, Maine), the Crater of Haleakala (Hawaii National Park, Maui, T.H.), Grass in Rain (Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska), Mount Lassen from the Devastated Area (Lassen Volcanic National Park, California), Dunes (White Sands National Monument, New Mexico), and Moonrise (Joshua Tree National Monument, California).