Conrad Louis Wirth (December 1, 1899 – July 25, 1993) was an American landscape architect, conservationist, and park service administrator. He served as the director of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

(NPS) between 1951 and 1964. Wirth was born in Hartford, Connecticut, where his father Theodore was park superintendent. Seven years later, Theodore moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota, where he became superintendent of the Minneapolis Park System. Conrad Wirth grew up in the Theodore Wirth House, the home built by the Park system for his father, surrounded by city park. Conrad earned a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape gardening from Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

). He first came to the Washington, D.C., area to work for the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and he joined the NPS in 1931. With the coming of the New Deal he supervised the service's

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) program in the state parks. His administrative ability made him a successor to Director Arthur E. Demaray, whom he served as associate director before advancing to the top job in December 1951. Wirth's crowning achievement was

Mission 66 Mission 66 was a United States National Park Service ten-year program that was intended to dramatically expand Park Service visitor services by 1966, in time for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Park Service. When the National P ...

, a 10-year, billion-dollar program to upgrade park facilities and services by the 50th anniversary of the NPS in 1966. Wirth submitted his resignation to President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

in the fall of 1963 and left the directorship in early 1964, after recommending George B. Hartzog Jr. as his successor. He went on to supervise the Interior Department's CCC program. A member of the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

's Board of Trustees, he was also active in conservation and Park Service alumni affairs. He died in his sleep in 1993.

Legacy

The M/V ''Conrad Wirth'', a 25-car ferry was named for him. The 112-ft. vessel was built in 1970 for the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division to cross

Hatteras Inlet Hatteras Inlet is an estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County. History ...

between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands on the outer banks of North Carolina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirth, Conrad L. 1899 births 1993 deaths Civilian Conservation Corps people Directors of the National Park Service Mission 66 Artists from Hartford, Connecticut American people of Swiss descent

Legacy

Further reading

References