Carl Parcher Russell
Encyclopedia
Fall River, Wisconsin
Fall River is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States, along the North Fork of the Crawfish River. The population was 1,097 at the 2000 census...
. He joined the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
(NPS) in 1923 as a Naturalist in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
. In 1931 he received a Ph.D. in Ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. He served as an officer for the NPS for 34 years, from 1923 until his retirement in 1957. He was the Chief Naturalist of Yosemite from 1923 to 1929. He specialized in frontier history
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
, studying its material culture in minute detail, and documented pioneer life for the NPS and others.
Dr. Russell served in several regional positions in the NPS, including NPS Chief Naturalist of Yosemite (1923–1929), regional director, and Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
Superintendent. Dr. Russell retired from the park service in 1957 and died June 19, 1967.
Books by Carl P. Russell
- One Hundred Years in Yosemite (1931, 1947, 1957)
- Guns on the Early Frontiers (1957)
- Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men (posthumously, 1967) ISBN 0-8263-0465-6
- Besides books, Dr. Russell wrote several articles for Yosemite Nature Notes and NPS and historical journals, and papers for various conferences.
Online Article by Carl P. Russell
External links
- Biographical sketch (WSU Libraries). WSU is the depository for his papers.
- Biographical sketch by John Bingaman (in Guardians of the Yosemite" (1961)