The Stephen Tyng Mather Home is a historic house and

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

at 19 Stephen Mather Road in Darien, Connecticut. It is significant as the longtime family home

Stephen Tyng Mather Stephen Tyng Mather (July 4, 1867 – January 22, 1930) was an American industrialist and conservationist who was the first director of the National Park Service. As president and owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company he became a milliona ...

(1867–1930), an industrialist and conservationist who championed the creation 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 propertie ...

in 1916 and served as its first director. The main house was built in 1778 by his great grandfather, Deacon Mather. Stephen Mather often lived elsewhere, but regarded this house as his true home.

Description and building history

The Mather homestead was built in 1778 by Deacon Joseph Moses Mather. The house he built was a -story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof and a central chimney. The interior layout includes a dining room and parlor beside the chimney, and a kitchen behind, flanked by two smaller rooms in the rear corners. The upstairs had a similar layout, with two rooms in front and a large unfinished space in the rear. This unfinished space was converted into bedrooms and a bathroom at an unknown date before its ownership passed to

in 1906. Mather made a number of alterations, giving the house a more Colonial Revival appearance. In 1927, based on designs by architect

Thomas Harlan Ellett Thomas Harlan Ellett (September 2, 1880 – November 24, 1951) was an architect who practiced in New York City. Early life and education Harlan Ellett, as he was known in his youth, was born in 1880 and grew up in Sherman Township, Iowa, the ...

, he added a porch on the side and a two-story addition to the rear, and added the portico over the main entrance. The interior of the main block retained its original character through these changes, but the old kitchen space was converted into a living room. Mather also had a sunken garden built, along with a caretaker's cottage (replaced later by a guest house) and a carriage barn. The house was declared a

in 1963, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1966.. The landmark includes three adjacent land parcels owned by Mather, plus a the family cemetery in which Mather is buried.

Significance

Stephen Tyng Mather was born in California, educated at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

, and was a successful industrialist in the manufacture and processing of

borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form, ...

. He became interested in the condition of the nation's parks and public lands in 1904, expressing his concern in a letter to his friend

Franklin Lane Franklin Knight Lane (July 15, 1864 – May 18, 1921) was an American progressive politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as United States Secretary of the Interior from 1913 to 1920. He also served as a commi ...

, the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

. Lane responded by offering him a government post overseeing the parks, which Mather accepted in 1915. His lobbying of legislators and the press was instrumental in raising the profile of the park system, and resulted in the formal establishment of the

in 1916 with Mather as its director. Mather oversaw the establishment of the services policies and practices, as well as the addition of numerous parks into the system. He retired in 1929 and died the following year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mather, Stephen Tyng House Houses completed in 1778 Buildings and structures in Darien, Connecticut National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Houses in Fairfield County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut

Description and building history

Significance

See also

References