The monument to Stephen Tyng Mather is at Stop One on the Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front Auto Tour, on the walking trail leading from the Visitor Center to Battery 5.

Stephen Mather became a millionaire mining and marketing Borax in the early years of the twentieth century. He was an avid conservationist, an admirer of John Muir and a member of the Sierra Club. His work to preserve rhe natural wonders of the United States led to his appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Interior in 1914.

Mather worked within the Separtment of the Interior to establish an organization to run the National Parks, most of which at the time were administered by the Army. In August of 1916 the National Park Service was established. In 1917 Mather became Director. He served until 1929, when he resigned after suffering a stroke.

Mather worked not only to preserve American park lands but to make them accessible to the public. He cooperated with railroads to bring visitors to the parks and authorized concessionaires to provide needed services to park visitors. Above all he established the dedicated and professional organization who operates and manages the parks for current and future generations.

Copies of the tablet can be found at other National Parks such as Acadia and Zion.

From the marker:

Stephen Tyng Mather

July 4, 1867 – Jan. 22, 1930

He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done.