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Director Emmet Hill's administrative files, 1936-1959 (bulk 1953-1958).
Amount:
2.50 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Arranged by subject.
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Biographical/Historical:
The Board of Parks and Historic Memorials, commonly known as the Florida Park Service, was originally created in 1935 (Chapter 17025, Laws of Florida) and was administered within the Board of Forestry. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), under the National Park Service's supervision, designed and built the original eight state parks. In 1949, the park service became an independent agency, the Board of Parks and Historic Memorials (Ch. 25353, Laws). Its purpose was to administer and control the operation and development of the state parks and historic sites of Florida. In 1969, the Board was merged with the Outdoor Recreational Development Council (Ch. 63-36, Laws) to form the Division of Recreation and Parks (Ch. 69-106, Laws), under the Department of Natural Resources. The Division eventually moved to the newly created Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 1993 (Ch. 93-213, Laws). Between 1948 and 1969, the Florida Park Service's administrative staff consisted of a Board comprised of five governor-appointed citizens, a director, assistant director, fiscal agent, publicity chief, and various stenographers. The first director was Charles H. Schaeffer, who served in that position from 1935 to 1937. He was followed by H.J. Malsberger (1937-1940) and Lewis Scoggin (1940-1952). After Emmet Hill's tenure (1953-1960), the board saw two more directors -- Walter Coldwell (1960-1963) and N.E. "Bill" Miller (1963-1969) -- before merging into the Division of Recreation and Parks in 1969.
Emmet Hill was born in Jennings, Kansas in 1902. After receiving a B.S. in landscape architecture from Kansas State University, Hill began working for the National Park Service (NPS) with their CCC state park camps. Following a brief period in Kansas at Oberlin Sappa State Park, Hill was transferred in 1936 to the NPS's Central Design Office in Tallahassee. While there, Hill assisted with the layout and design of Florida Caverns, Highlands Hammock, Fort Clinch, Hillsborough River and Torreya state parks. In July 1941, he joined the Florida Park Service as a landscape architect. Following a brief stint working for the Georgia state park system in 1944, Hill went into private business at Kimball Groves in Umatilla until the Board of Parks and Historic Memorials hired him as director in 1953.
Summary:
This series contains the administrative files for Director Emmet Hill documenting his responsibilities and decision-making as the Board's chief executive. Although not complete, the series also documents many of the major issues and activities of the Florida Park Service in the 1950s, including cooperatives with the National Park Service, Game and Fresh-Water Fish, State Road Department, and various non-Florida state agencies, as well as correspondence with various Board members and the State Geologist Herman Gunter. The files also provide information on the operation and development of several state parks including Fort Pickens, Three Rivers (Jim Woodruff Dam), Highlands Hammock, Little Talbot Island, Florida Caverns, and Anastasia state parks. In addition, there are some reference files from the 1930s and 1940s, including material on the Civilian Conservation Corps, Florida Park Service directors Lewis Scoggin and H.J. Malsberger, and the WPA's Park, Parkway, and Recreational Area Study.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available. 0
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Associated Materials:
Series S1948, Reading Files, 1957-1960, contain's Hill's correspondence from 1957 to 1960.
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Hill, Emmet, 1902-
Florida Park Service. Florida. Board of Parks and Historic Memorials. Parks and Historic Memorials, Board of. Florida. Dept. of Game and Fresh Water Fish. Game and Fresh Water Fish, Dept. of. Florida State Improvement Commission. Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.) United States. Works Progress Administration. Works Progress Administration (U.S.) United States. National Park Service. National Park Service (U.S.)
Parks Florida Recreation Florida. Outdoor recreation Florida Land use Planning Tourism Florida. Natural resources Florida New Deal, 1933-1939.
Speeches. aat Plans (drawings) aat
Highlands Hammock State Park (Fla.) Florida Caverns State Park (Fla.) Fort Pickens (Fla.) Fort Clinch (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) Torreya State Park (Fla.) Anastasia Island (Fla.) Little Talbot Island State Park (Fla.)
for detailed listing.