Owen Tomlinson served with the United States Army in 1899 during the Philippine American War. He joined the Philippine Constabulary in 1905 and in 1911 he was acting, lieutenant governor of Ifugao subprovince, Mountain Province. He left the army in 1918. Mr. Tomlinson served as the superintendent for Mount Rainier from 1923 to 1941.
From the beginning, both administrators and visitors prioritized increasing access to Mount Rainier National Park via roads. Early visitors to the park came on foot, by rail, and increasingly, by automobile. Park administration and interested developers surveyed roads and created access to areas like the Paradise valley. The War Department surveyed and built the road to Paradise, completing work in 1915. Other road construction depended upon funding and when available, the park saw road construction projects throughout its first 30 years. In 1921, for example, the government appropriated enough money to improve the Nisqually Road and start the Carbon River Road. Access from the eastern Cascades began with the White River Road and construction for State Route 410 from 1916 to 1930.
The Mount Rainier Park Advisory Board created albums with photographs, maps and text relating to a proposal for increasing the budget for the park and continuing the road construction and access to the park. The albums were supported by many prominent organizations such as the Tacoma, Seattle, Yakima, Ellensburg, Grays Harbor, Longview and Chehalis Chambers of Commerce, the Mountaineers Club, and the Washington Construction League.
Three albums containing 56 black and white photographs documenting the development of Mount Rainier National Park including budgets, maps and photographs depicting scenic views, road construction, and the physical improvement of public facilities, circa 1929-1937. The photographs were made by Asahel Curtis.
The collection is open to the public.
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
The albums were the personal copies of Owen Tomlinson, Mount Rainier National Park superintendent. Following Tomlinson's death, the albums were given to Preston P. Macy, another member of the National Park Service.
Donor: Mrs. Preston Macy, 1981
Processed by Marion Brown and Alicia Reuter, 2009
The albums were relocated from the Preston P. Macy Papers, Accession no. 3211-011 in the repository.
Album consisting of 18 photos and 5 panoramas with captions, introduction by chairman of the Rainier National Park Advisory Board, one area map, two folded maps with text on back side, and Rainier National Park Road Program budget allotment of $25,000,000 for 1929-1933. The album contains a budget for the park road program, maps and photographs of the park. The photographs show roads in and through the park. Among the photos are four fold-out panoramic views of the park.
Album consisting of 12 photos and 4 panoramas with captions, introduction by chairman of the Rainier National Park Advisory Board, one area map, and one folded map. The album contains maps of the park and photographs belonging to the park road program. The photographs show roads in and through the park and the Sunrise Lodge and Paradise Inn tourist accomodations opened by the Rainier National Park Company. The photographs include four large fold-out panoramas.
Album consisting of 15 photos and 1 panorama with captions, introduction by chairman of the Rainier National Park Advisory Board, one area map, one map with planned additions, and Mount Rainier National Park budget for 1937, relating to the need for road construction and physical components. The photographs show roads in through the park, Sunrise Lodge, the Administration Building of the National Park Service at Longmire and view of the park. One large fold-out panorama of the park is included.