On This Day

President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon in 1903. An avid outdoorsman, he established the Grand Canyon Game Preserve in 1906. With resistance from Congress to make it a National Park, Roosevelt worked with the National Parks Association to lobby for a power to create a national monument system. He was then able to redesignate the park as a National Monument in 1908. The Grand Canyon National Park was finally established as a National Park by Congress on this day in 1919 during President Woodrow Wilson's presidency.

Photo from: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs -- Arnold Genthe Photographer.