Effigy Mounds Administrative History

¹Proclamation Establishing Effigy Mounds National Monument--Iowa, 64th Statutes at Large, 81st Congress, 2d Session, 1950—51, Vol. 64 Part 2, p. A371, October 25, 1949.

²A summary of land acquisition accomplished by the state of Iowa is presented in Appendix B.

³Memorandum, Neal Butterfield, Edward A. Hummel, and Howard W. Baker to Director [Arno B. Cammerer], National Park Service, October 7, 1937 (the Baker, Butterfield, and Hummel report); and memorandums, Lawrence C. Merriam, Regional Director, Region II, to Director [Newton Drury], National Park Service, October 29, 1946, and January 17, 1947.

⁴Memorandums, Merriam to Drury, October 29, 1946, and January 17, 1947; and letter, Merriam to V.W. Flickinger, Chief, Division of Lands and Waters, Iowa Conservation Commission, January 17, 1948.

⁵The Yellow River and Jennings—Liebhardt units are separated only by the right-of-way of Iowa Highway 76, then known as Iowa Highway 13, and these were the only units of the newly-created monument. The National Park Service had deferred acquisition of the Sny Magill mounds because: a) it was not necessary to acquire them to ensure their preservation, for, being federally owned, they were already afforded a certain degree of protection; b) ownership of the area was snarled by past and continuing transfers of title between government agencies, which promised to be difficult and time—consuming to clear, and c) funds had already been appropriated for the operation of Effigy Mounds National Monument, therefore it was essential to get the land from the state and get the unit started or Congress might cut the appropriation for the next year.

⁶Excerpt from Minutes of the Iowa State Conservation Commission meeting of February 16, 1948; memorandum for the files from George F. Ingalls, Regional Chief of Land and Recreation Planning, Region II, June 6, 1950; and memorandum for the files from Baker, November 4, 1949, all from File 602, "Private Holdings (General), 1949-1952," Effigy Mounds National Monument files, Federal Record Center, Kansas City, Missouri.

⁷Letter, Wilbur A. Rush, Chief, Lands and Waters Division, Iowa Conservation, to Merriam, August 14, 1950; letter, Rush to George F. Ingalls, October 23, 1950; letter, Rush to Baker, December 4, 1950; and memorandum, Baker to Drury, December 19, 1950.

⁸Memorandum, Superintendent William J. Kennedy, Effigy Mounds National Monument, to Baker, March 2, 1951; letter, [State] Senator Fern E. Sharp to Kennedy, March 6, 1951; and letter, Rush to Baker, March 26, 1951.

⁹Memorandum, Kennedy to Baker, March 6, 1951. Other information in this paragraph is from letter, Rush to Baker, July 16, 1951; letter, Baker to Flickinger, June 13, 1947; and letter, Merriam to Flickinger, July 16, 1947.

¹⁰Letter, Rush to Weldon A. Gratton, Acting Assistant Regional Director, Region II, August 8, 1951; letter, Baker to Rush, August 10, 1951; letter, Ronald F. Lee, Acting Director, National Park Service, to Baker, September 7, 1951; letters, Rush to Baker, August 24, 1951, and November 19, 1951; and letters, McLaughlin to Rush, November 9, 1951, and November 30, 1951.

¹¹Letters, Rush to McLaughlin, December 3, 1951, and March 28, 1952; letter, Rush to Ingalls, June 3, 1952; and letters, Rush to Baker, June 25, 1952, and July 15, 1952.

¹²Memorandums, Ingalls to Kennedy, July 18, 1952, July 28, 1952, and August 5, 1952; memorandums, Kennedy to Baker, July 21, 1952, August 1, 1952, and August 7, 1952; memorandum, McLaughlin to Director [Arthur B. Demaray], National Park Service, August 13, 1952; and letter, Baker to Rush, November 26, 1952.

¹³Informational copy of letter, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Mastin G. White to Sen. Guy M. Gillette, May 15, 1950. Other information in this paragraph is from memorandum, Kennedy to Merriam, December 11, 1949; memorandum, Stanley C. Joseph, Acting Associate Regional Director, Region II, to Kennedy, December 23, 1949; and letter, H.H. Douglass, Postville, Iowa, to Gillette, April 26, 1950.

¹⁴Handwritten note, "G.F.I." (probably George F. Ingalls) to Gratton, attached to Effigy Mounds Boundary Status Report, March 12, 1952. Other information in this paragraph is from memorandums, Kennedy to Merriam, January 24, 1950, February 22, 1950, and March 3, 1952; memorandum, Merriam to Kennedy, January 27, 1950; and Weekly Activities Report, December 18-24, 1949; and Wilfred D. Logan, interview with William S. Wood, Tucson Arizona, March 10, 1987.

¹⁵Memorandum, Kennedy to Baker, October 31, 1951; memorandum, James V. Lloyd, Acting Regional Director, Region II, to Demaray, November 14, 1951; memorandum, McLaughlin to Director [Conrad L. Wirth], National Park Service, April 23, 1953; and memorandum, Lee to Baker, May 5, 1953.

¹⁶Letter, Mrs. Addison Parker, Sr., to Superintendent Walter T. Berrett, August 18, 1954; and Logan, interview with Wood, March 10, 1987.

¹⁷Memorandum, McLaughlin to Wirth, August 26, 1954. Other information in this paragraph is from Logan, interview with Wood, March 10, 1987; and memorandum, Berrett to Baker, August 19, 1954.

¹⁸Memorandum, Baker to Wirth, November 4, 1955.

¹⁹Letters, Parker to Berrett, January 4, 1955, January 16, 1955, and September 21, 1955; letters, Berrett to Parker, January 10, 1955, January 19, 1955, and October 17, 1957; memorandum, Berrett to Wirth, January 10, 1955; and letter, Tolson to Parker, September 21, 1955.

²⁰Memorandums, Berrett to Baker, November 24, 1953, March 15, 1954, and April 19, 1955.

²¹Funds appropriated to match privately donated funds could be used to acquire privately-held lands within the boundaries of national parks, but not national monuments, and appropriated funds could not be used to purchase land outside the boundaries of a national monument.

²²Memorandum, Berrett to Baker, January 3, 1956. Other information is from memorandum, Baker to Wirth, November 4, 1955; memorandum, Wirth to Baker, December 14, 1955; and memorandum, Baker to Berrett, December 22, 1955.

²³Memorandum, Ben H. Thompson, Acting Director, National Park Service, to Baker, September 27, 1957.

²⁴Letters, Berrett to Parker, October 17 and 19, 1957, December 13, 1957, and September 16, 1958; and memorandum, Berrett to Baker, November 20, 1957.

²⁵Memorandums, Baker to Berrett, October 16, 1958, and September 18, 1959; memorandum, E.T. Scoyen, Acting Director, National Park Service, to Legislative Counsel, Office of the Solicitor, September 28, 1960; Public Law 87-44, 87th Congress, H.R. 5571, May 27, 1961, p. 413; and letter, Superintendent Daniel J. Tobin, Jr., to Parker, June 7, 1961.

²⁶The superintendency of Effigy Mounds National Monument was Tobin's first step in a distinguished management career. In addition, Daniel J. Tobin, Jr., also served as superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah; Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii; and Mount Ranier National Park, Washington. Tobin was Associate Regional Director for Western Region, Associate Director for Management and Operations in Washington, D.C., and Regional Director of the Service's Pacific Northwest Region.

²⁷Letter, Tobin to A.B. Ferguson, November 13, 1961; and letter, Ferguson to Tobin, November 28, 1961.

²⁸A 1962 valuation for tax purposes, which is customarily one—third of the fair market value, was $22 per acre.

²⁹Memorandum, Superintendent Stuart H. ("Mike") Maule to Regional Director Lemuel Garrison, Midwest Region, August 17, 1965.

³⁰Letter, Superintendent Donald M. Spalding to Ferguson, August 1, 1962; and memorandum, Spalding to Baker, January 3, 1964.

³¹Region II, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, was renamed Midwest Region in mid-1962.

³²Memorandum, Thompson to Baker, May 1, 1963.

³³Memorandum, Spalding to Baker, January 30, 1964, and January 6, 1965; and memorandum, Acting Superintendent James Batman to Garrison, October 16, 1964.

³⁴Memorandum, Chief, Office of Land and Water Rights Clifford Harriman to Maule, December 29, 1966; memorandum, Maule to Harriman, January 19, 1967; and memorandum, Thompson to Land Liaison Officer, Midwest Region, July 1, 1968.

³⁵H.R. 10086, 92d Congress, 1st Session, July 26, 1971; Des Moines Register, December 2, 1971; North Iowa Times, McGregor, Iowa, February 3, 1972; and memorandum, Lawrence Hadley, Assistant Director, National Park Service, to J. Leonard Volz, Regional Director, Midwest Region, August 7, 1972.

³⁶Letter, John M. Wright, Jr., Chief, Division of Lands, Midwest Region, to Maurice Hart, September 30, 1972. Other information in this paragraph is from letter, Wright to Hart, September 6, 1972.

³⁷Letter, Hart to Wright, October 5, 1972; and letter, Wright to Richard S. Moen, October 11, 1972.

³⁸Reinhardt grew up in the area, and had "discovered" the mounds in his youth. He first brought them to the attention of the monument staff in 1974. James David, conversation with author, February 22, 1989.

³⁹Memorandum, Robert L. Giles, Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region, to Superintendent Thomas A. Munson, September 17, 1974; memorandum, Giles to Associate Director, National Park Service, Attention: Legislative Services Division, October 9, 1974; memorandum for the files from Dennis J. Runge and Bill H. Reinhardt of Effigy Mounds National Monument, July 15, 1974; memorandum, Munson to Volz, July 31, 1974; memorandum, Munson to Marilyn Gillen, Public Affairs, Midwest Region, September 20, 1974; letter, Director of Compliance Ann Webster Smith, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, to Dan E. Davis, Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region, October 1, 1974; letter, Richard F. Dungar to Sen. Gaylord Nelson, n.d.; letter, Wright to H.L. Woods, March 10, 1975; and memorandum, Ray Allen, Lands Division, Midwest Region, to Curtis Hennigan, Branch of Coordination and Control, Division of Land Acquisition, August 20, 1975.

⁴⁰The state of Iowa initially transferred its lands to the United States government for national monument purposes. If not used for monument purposes, title would have reverted automatically to the state of Iowa had not the state approved the Teaser transfer.

⁴¹Annual reports, 1982, 1983, Effigy Mounds National Monument; Public Law 98—141 [H.R. 1213], National Park System and Public Lands, October 31, 1983; Exchange Warranty Deed and Exchange Quitclaim Deed, both dated July 26, 1984; Change Order 870-01, Effigy Mounds National Monument, October 8, 1986; Land Resources Division, Master Deed Listing, Status of Lands as of September 30, 1986, date of run, October 10, 1986; and Munson, interview with Wood, July 7, 1987.

⁴²This term is spelled in a variety of manners in National Park Service records. When quoting those documents, the spelling used in the original is repeated. Otherwise, the most commonly accepted spelling ("Sny Magill") is used.

⁴³ Weldon W. Gratton, "A Resume of Region Two Office Files Relating to the Proposed Inclusion of the Sny-Magill Unit in Effigy Mounds National Monument," Typescript, January 12, 1950, citing the Baker, Butterfield, and Hummel report. See also memorandum, Kennedy to Baker, October 31, 1951; memorandum, James V. Lloyd, Acting Regional Director, Region II, to Demaray, November 14, 1951; memorandum, McLaughlin to Wirth, April 23, 1953; and memorandum, Lee to Baker, May 5, 1953.

⁴⁴"Resume of Two Files," 2, citing memorandum, Cammerer to Secretary of the Interior [Harold Ickes], February 7, 1938.

⁴⁵Ibid., 3.

⁴⁶Ibid., 4—5.

⁴⁷Ibid., 7.

⁴⁸Ibid., 8.

⁴⁹Ibid., 11—12.

⁵⁰In 1940, the Department of Agriculture's U.S. Biological Survey and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Fisheries combined to form the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a bureau in the Department of the Interior.

⁵¹Ibid.

⁵²Memorandum, Kennedy to Baker, October 31, 1951.

⁵³Memorandum, McLaughlin to Wirth, April 23, 1953.

⁵⁴Letter, Stan Riggle for Adrian Anderson to Robert Fagerland, Director, Iowa Conservation Commission, July 11, 1980.

⁵⁵Riggle for Anderson to R. Clark Mallam, July 19, 1980.

⁵⁶Spalding to Wirth, August 7, 1962. See also letter, Tobin to Ferguson, November 13, 1961; and letter, Ferguson to Tobin, November 28, 1961.

⁵⁷Letter, Col. William W. Badger, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to Robert Garvey, Jr., Executive Director, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, July 11, 1980; Badger, Finding of No Significant Impact, August 15, 1980; letter, Anderson to Badger, September 2, 1980; and letter, J.F. Brennan Co. to Munson, March 20, 1981.

⁵⁸Jeff Richner, conversation with author, January 24, 1981.

⁵⁹Memorandum, Maule to Regional Director [Fred Fagergren], March 29, 1967.

⁶⁰Memorandum, Thompson to Fagergren, September 4, 1970.

⁶¹Letter, Anderson to Fagerland, May 11, 1980; Determination of eligibility notification, [signature illegible,] July 14, 1977.

⁶²According to Robert Petersen, the existence of additional effigies beyond the two known bears has never been verified. Letter, Robert Petersen to author, April 7, 1989. See also R. Clark Mallam, A Cultural Resource Survey of the Ferguson Tract, Allamakee County. Iowa (Decorah, Iowa: Luther College, 1976); Lori Stanley, The Ferguson Tract Archeological Study: A Cultural Resource Study (Decorah: Luther College, 1984); Lori Stanley with E. Arthur Bettis, David G. Stanley, and R. Clark Mallam, The Ferguson Tract Archeological Project II: A Cultural Resource Study in Allamakee County. Iowa (Decorah: Luther College, 1984); and "Reconnaissance Survey of the Ferguson Tract," Luther College, (Typescript, 1974).

⁶³Memorandum for files, Dennis Runge and William Reinhardt, July 15, 1974; memorandum, Munson to Acting Regional Director, Midwest Region, July 31, 1974; memorandum, Ray Allen, Lands Division, Midwest Region, to Curtis Hennigan, Branch of Coordination and Control, Division of Land Acquisition, National Park Service, August 20, 1974; R. Clark Mallam, "Report on the Effigy Mound Survey of the Luther College Archeological Research Center, 1973"; Lori Stanley et al., The Ferguson Tract Archeological Project II, passim; Dale Henning, interview with Wood, Effigy Mounds National Monument, April 15, 1987; and Rodney Rovang, interview with Wood, Effigy Mounds National Monument, April 14, 1987.

⁶⁴Robert T. Bray, interview with Wood, Columbia, Missouri, January 15, 1987; Ralph Blackwell, interview with Wood, Effigy Mounds National Monument, April 14, 1987; Munson, interview with Wood, April 14, 1987; and David, interview with Wood, April 15, 1987.

⁶⁵Prairie du Chien Courier, June 28, 1938; Timothy Mason, interview with Wood, Effigy Mounds National Monument, April 14, 1987; Blackwell, interview with Wood, April 15, 1987; Runge, interview with Wood, Effigy Mounds National Monument, April 14, 1987; and Logan, interview with Wood, March 10, 1987.

⁶⁶Henning, interview with Wood, April 14, 1987; and Jeff Richner, conversation with author, February 22, 1989.

⁶⁷Photocopy of article by Ellison Orr, no publication data available, from files at Effigy Mounds National Monument.