ASALH - The Founders of Black History Month

African Americans and the National Park Service

1872-1965 Study Project

The Great Lodge at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, 1942. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia/National Park Service Collection. Originally named “The West Virginia Negro 4-H Camp,” it opened in 1942 as the first 4-H camp for African Americans in the United States and eventually became known locally as “Clifttop.” It was renamed Camp Washington Carver in 1980. Work Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps workers, along with prison laborers from nearby Moundsville did the early construction of the camp’s facilities, which eventually included the Great Lodge made of West Virginia chestnut logs, a few guest cabins, a water tank and pond, a small Health Center, and dormitories for campers. At its peak during the 1950s, the camp provided a safe environment for Black children to enjoy outdoor activities that were not normally available to them during the Jim Crow era. (See Swimming at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, 1942 photograph in the head slider for more information on the site.) — **The Great Lodge at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, 1942. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia/National Park Service Collection.** Originally named “The West Virginia Negro 4-H Camp,” it opened in 1942 as the first 4-H camp for African Americans in the United States and eventually became known locally as “Clifttop.” It was renamed Camp Washington Carver in 1980. Work Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps workers, along with prison laborers from nearby Moundsville did the early construction of the camp’s facilities, which eventually included the Great Lodge made of West Virginia chestnut logs, a few guest cabins, a water tank and pond, a small Health Center, and dormitories for campers. At its peak during the 1950s, the camp provided a safe environment for Black children to enjoy outdoor activities that were not normally available to them during the Jim Crow era. (See Swimming at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, 1942 photograph in the head slider for more information on the site.)

Swimming at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, no date. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia/National Park Service Collection. The camp was enjoyed by many Black children who visited from all over the state. African American groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, church camps, education organizations, and among others, also used Camp Washington Carver for a wide variety of activities including recreational pursuits. Today the camp serves as a cultural arts center for all run by the West Virginia Department of Culture and History. (See The Great Lodge at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, 1942 photograph in the head slider for more information on the site.) — **Swimming at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, no date. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia/National Park Service Collection.** The camp was enjoyed by many Black children who visited from all over the state. African American groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, church camps, education organizations, and among others, also used Camp Washington Carver for a wide variety of activities including recreational pursuits. Today the camp serves as a cultural arts center for all run by the West Virginia Department of Culture and History. (See The Great Lodge at Camp Washington Carver, West Virginia, 1942 photograph in the head slider for more information on the site.)

Titus Alexander with his wife Mary Alexander, at the Wawona Tree, Yosemite National Park, California, ca. 1920–30. Miriam Matthews Photographic Collection. Courtesy Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. Titus N. Alexander (center) and his wife Mary Alexander (right) stand with another couple in front of the Wawona Tree, a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove at Yosemite National Park until a snowstorm brought it down in 1969. At the time of this photograph, the “See America First” campaign was promoting travel to national parks via western railroad lines and automobile tourism in the mass media, including in Black-owned publications. Traveling in the 1920s, before Black travel guide publications were available, this adventurous and resourceful African American group had to find places for food and lodging that would serve them along their scenic drive to Yosemite—three hundred miles and at least a day's drive from Los Angeles when freeways were not yet constructed and dirt roads were still prevalent. An enthusiast for fishing and hunting as well as visiting California nature sites, Alexander was originally from Arkansas. He was educated at Oberlin College in Ohio before moving to Los Angeles in 1897 where he became a civic leader and community historian whose work life career spanned both the public and private sectors. In the 1920s, he attempted to build an amusement center for African Americans at a beach area near the City of El Segundo, but his plans were sabotaged by racist White civic leaders who mounted a months-long campaign that eventually blocked the project.

The Boy Carver Statue, 1960, by Robert Armedola. George Washington Carver National Monument, Newton County, Missouri/National Park Service Collection The statue is situated in a natural area at the birthplace and childhood home of renowned agricultural scientist, educator, artist, and humanitarian George Washington Carver. The statue honors, Carver’s interest as a child in exploring the natural environment around him. Located at the George Washington Carver National Monument which was established in 1943 – this is the first place of the National Park Service dedicated to an African American. — **The Boy Carver Statue, 1960, by Robert Armedola. George Washington Carver National Monument, Newton County, Missouri/National Park Service Collection.** The statue is situated in a natural area at the birthplace and childhood home of renowned agricultural scientist, educator, artist, and humanitarian George Washington Carver. The statue honors, Carver’s interest as a child in exploring the natural environment around him. Located at the George Washington Carver National Monument which was established in 1943 – this is the first place of the National Park Service dedicated to an African American.

Buffalo Soldiers of the 24th Infantry of the U.S. Army at Yosemite National Park, California carrying out mounted patrol duties, 1899. Yosemite National Park Historic Photo Collection, National Park Service Black and White soldiers in separate units of the U.S. Army were among the first park rangers. African American soldiers known as the Buffalo Soldiers were among some of the first of these rangers to patrol parts of the West. Black soldiers got the name Buffalo Soldiers from Native American groups because they saw their dark, curly hair as resembling that of a buffalo. These troops protected Yosemite and the Sequoia national parks in 1899, 1903, and 1904. Among their activities beyond their law enforcement duties, the Buffalo Soldiers were involved in completing the first usable road into Giant Forest and the first trail to the top of Mt. Whitney in Sequoia National Park in 1903. They built an arboretum in Yosemite National Park around the Merced River south fork in 1904 which included the first marked nature trail in the national park system. — Buffalo Soldiers of the 24th Infantry of the U.S. Army at Yosemite National Park, California carrying out mounted patrol duties, 1899. Yosemite National Park Historic Photo Collection, National Park Service. Black and White soldiers in separate units of the U.S. Army were among the first park rangers. African American soldiers known as the Buffalo Soldiers were among some of the first of these rangers to patrol parts of the West. Black soldiers got the name Buffalo Soldiers from Native American groups because they saw their dark, curly hair as resembling that of a buffalo. These troops protected Yosemite and the Sequoia national parks in 1899, 1903, and 1904. Among their activities beyond their law enforcement duties, the Buffalo Soldiers were involved in completing the first usable road into Giant Forest and the first trail to the top of Mt. Whitney in Sequoia National Park in 1903. They built an arboretum in Yosemite National Park around the Merced River south fork in 1904 which included the first marked nature trail in the national park system.

Gettysburg camp of Captain Huft, Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania, c. 1865. Photo by Alexander Gardner. Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania/Civil War Photograph Collection/Library of Congress. Black and White men are participating in the commemoration celebration and enjoying the outdoors at the laying of cornerstone of the Soldier’s National Monument on the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Men on left are preparing food.

Ways to Participate

Call for Submissions

Public Comment Form

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is working on a study, “African Americans and the National Park Service, 1872–1965” to illuminate the national context of this history and experience. The project hopes to bring together existing research and fill in the gaps, revealing African Americans’ long history of engagement with national parks and the larger agency from their own lived experiences and perspectives.

The completed study will be a multi-authored and multi-chapter manuscript that will incorporate historical/biographical profile and oral history components. Photographs, maps, charts, and other figures will be used as appropriate to enhance the text. The project is expected to run through September 2026.

The study is being undertaken in cooperation with Historian and Heritage Conservation Consultant Alison Rose Jefferson, MHC | PhD, Anders Genealogical Services, and AECOM consulting group.

Ways to participate in the study:

Be a Contributing Author: Are you a subject matter expert that has interest in the topic and would like to write a chapter? Please see the Call for Submissions.

Be a Citizen Historian: Do you have any experiences with national parks or their gateway communities as an African American visitor, employee, or entrepreneur? Do you have any photographs, memorabilia or other materials from these engagement experiences? As part of the project, we are looking for individuals to share their personal memories and participate in the oral history component. If interested, please fill out the Public Engagement Form.

If you have general questions about the project, please contact us.

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Call for Submissions: Requests for Essay Contributors

African Americans and the National Park Service

1872-1965 Study Project

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is seeking contributors to write essays for a multi-authored and multi-chaptered study on African Americans and the National Park Service, 1872-1965 in accordance with the requirements specified in this Call for Submissions.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The project will examine the depth and breadth of African American engagements and experiences with the National Park Service (NPS) dating back to 1872, with the creation Yellowstone, the first national park until 1965, with the passage of significant civil rights legislation.

Several national, regional, and park level studies have been completed that look at the history of African Americans and the NPS. While these studies have filled in important gaps in this history, they are predominately from an administrative perspective and therefore absences remain about how African Americans engaged with the National Park Service from their own vantage points. The absences of these perspectives limit the understanding of this important history.

Despite popular constructions, African Americans have had a long history and engagement with national parks. African American newspapers dating back to the late 19th century include advertisements for and discussions of national parks. Society pages and gossip columns are filled with reports of trips to national parks for vacations and honeymoons. African American clubs and other organizations also sponsored trips to national parks. National parks and gateway communities appear in African American travel guides. Even the National Park Service/Department of Interior published its own travel guide called “The Directory of Negro Hotels and Guest Houses” in the late 1930s and early 1940s. African American intellectual W.E.B. DuBois wrote about a trip to Acadia National Park in the essay “Of Beauty and Death,” which appeared in his book Darkwater: Voices within the Veil (1920) and artist Gafton Tyler Brown made paintings of West and Northwest scenes featuring the Yosemite (1886) and Yellowstone (1890) National Parks. African Americans were also part of the agency’s workforce.

The aim of this study is to represent the range of the African American engagement and experiences with the NPS chronologically and geographically. It will also recognize African American contributions and achievements as they relate to the agency. Photographs, maps, charts, and other figures will be used as appropriate to enhance the text. The essays are meant to complement the larger study which will also include historical/biographical profiles and oral histories. The final product will be a peer-reviewed study.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

African American visitation to national parks, focusing not just on experiences within parks but also in travel to and in gateway communities.
African American experiences at NPS units and/or in gateway communities. African American engagement with the NPS and its relation to the larger freedom struggle.
The employment of African Americans in the National Park Service and other related work programs, including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and forced convict labor, which supported park infrastructure and development.
The role of African Americans in the preservation, conservation, and establishment of park units and sites that eventually became units of the National Park Service.
African American landowners and communities associated with sites where national park units were developed.
African American experiences specifically at Virginia Parks including but not limited to: Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania, Prince William, Blue Ridge, Shenandoah, Colonial Williamsburg, and George Washington. See “Segregation in Virginia’s National Parks, 1916-1965” Study and Story Map.
NPS advertisements and outreach in African American publications, including travel guides that offered Black travelers essential information for places to visit on vacation, safe accommodations, and other services.
Representation of national park units in African American artistic and documentary expressions, especially literature, paintings, and photographs.

This project is being led by Consultant Alison Rose Jefferson, M.H.C. | Ph.D., a publicly engaged independent historian and heritage conservation consultant. She has worked extensively to elucidate and re-center the African American experience in heritage conservation efforts and the American identity. Dr. Jefferson is the author of the award-winning book Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era (2020). She has led work on several recent Public History projects, including: the “Black California Dreamin’: Claiming Space at America’s Leisure Frontier” exhibition at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles (2023-2024); Santa Monica’s Belmar History + Art (debuted 2019-2021); the Angels Walk LA Central Avenue Heritage Trail (debuted 2021); the Bay Street Beach Historic District research and listing, Santa Monica (2019); among other projects. She co-authored the African American Historic Context Statement for Survey LA, the City of Los Angeles’ Historic Resources Survey (2018). Learn more about Dr. Jefferson’s work at alisonrosejefferson.com.

SUBMISSIONS

Contributors should have a scholarly research focus in African American history and experience and a demonstrated experience in collaborating with an editor to produce an edited publication is preferred.

Interested contributors are asked to send a max. 800 word abstract and biographical details no later than 5:00 pm EST on July 14, 2025. Biographical details should include specific description of relevant education, experience, and qualifications. Should also include a list of references (no more than three).

All proposals should be submitted through the form here. Notification of acceptance will be given by July 21, 2025. Deadline for the final draft of the full chapter (5000 to 7000 words) will be June 2026.

Please Note: It is expected that the essay contributor will receive an honorarium of $1,000 to $1,500.

Please submit your proposal here.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Submittals will be evaluated and ranked based on the following factors, presented in no particular order:

Qualifications of Essay Contributor, including 3 references.
Overall quality of the essay proposal.
Responsiveness of the essay proposal to the project’s purpose.
Demonstrated prior experience/record of performance, including capability of meeting projected deadlines and successfully completing contracts of this type.

QUESTIONS

Respondents are invited to submit written questions requesting clarifications or explanations of the information contained in this call to [email protected] and [email protected].