Friday, February 15, 1901. Right of way.

The Right-of-Way Act was signed into law by U.S. President William McKinley permitting the Secretary of the Interior to grant rights of way through any federally owned-land, including the Indian reservations and the four national parks then in existence (Yellowstone, Sequoia, Yosemite, and Mount Rainier) if he found it to be "incompatible with the public interest".

Not good.

69 coal miners at the Wellington Colliery Company, near Cumberland, British Columbia, were killed in an explosion.  Over half of them were Japanese or Chinese immigrants.

Bluesman James "Kokomo" Arnold may have been born, assuming he wasn't born on this date in 1896.  He was famous for his intense slid guitar.

Last edition:

Wednesday, February 13, 1901. McKinley wins (officially).

Labels: 1900 Election, 1900s, 1901, Africa, China, Disease, German Army, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley, Wyoming

Wednesday, February 13, 1946. Harold Ickes resigns.

Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior since 1933, resigned in protest after President Truman said that Ickes could have been "wrong" in testimony given to a U.S. Senate committee about Truman's nominee for Undersecretary of the Navy. 

Ickes wrote to Truman saying, in part; "I cannot stay on when you, in effect, have expressed a lack of confidence in me."

His overall resignation letter was some 2,000 words in length and reflected a growing dispute with Truman.  Ickes was known for his combative nature.

Ickes had been appointed to the position by Franklin Roosevelt at a time at which the largely unknown Ickes was a progressive Republican.  Under Roosevelt, he was also head of the Public Works Administration.  He'd come up almost out of nowhere at the time as he'd not been nationally known at the time of his appointment, and was already 59 years old.  He was over 70 years old at the time of his resignation.

He also had an unusual personal life.  He'd married divorcee Anna Wilmarth Thompson in 1911, who was just about his own age.  They had one son, and he was the stepfather to her two children by a prior marriage.   They also had an adopted son.  She was killed in an automobile accident in 1937.  His adopted son Wilmarth killed himself on the anniversary of her death a year later.

Ickes and his second wife, Jane.

At age 64 he remarried 25 year old Jane Dahlman, the younger sister of his adopted son's wife. The couple had two more children, one of whom became Deputy Chief of Staff under Bill Clinton.

Last edition:

Saturday, February 9, 1946. Stalin declares war inevitable.

Labels: 1940s, 1946, Capitalism, Communism, Crime, Italy, Joseph Stalin, Mafia, Personalities, The Cold War, the spoken word, USSR, War

Tuesday, February 1, 1876. The War Department takes over.

The Secretary of the Interior relinquished jurisdiction over all Plains Indians not on reservations to the War Department.

On the same day, the Secretary of the Interior reported that Sitting Bull's band had not reported to the reservation.

Last edition:

Monday, January 31, 1876. Expiration of ultimatum.

Labels: 1870s, 1876, Great Sioux War, Indian Wars, Native Americans, Northern Plains Region, The Frontier West

 

Secretary Haaland Designates 19 New National Historic Landmarks

New designations recognize nationally significant sites for many historically marginalized communities across 15 states, territories, and DC

WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today announced the designations of 19 new National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), reflecting the importance of the sites in sharing America’s diverse history. The new NHLs are nationally significant properties for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, African Americans, Asian American Pacific Islanders, and women’s history in addition to moments important in development of American technology, landscape design, and art. 

“As America’s storyteller, it is our privilege at the Department of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to tell our nation’s history and honor the many historical chapters and heroic communities that brought us to where we all are today,” said Secretary Haaland. “These newly designated historic landmarks join a list of the nation’s premier historic and cultural places, all of which were nominated through voluntary and locally led stewardship.” 

An NHL designation is the highest federal recognition of a property’s historical, architectural or archeological significance, and a testament to the dedicated stewardship of many private and public property owners who seek this designation. While the National Park Service (NPS) maintains NHL listings, most are privately owned.  

The new NHLs join a select group of over 2,600 nationally significant places that have exceptional value in illustrating the history and culture of the United States. NHL theme studies supported many of these nominations and designations. 

“The National Park Service is committed to helping preserve and share a fuller and more inclusive account of our nation's history, a history that is not complete until all stories are represented. These 19 newly designated landmarks help do just that,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “We are proud to recognize these nationally significant places representing the diversity of the American experience and our country’s collective heritage.” 

In addition to the new designations, the NPS has updated documentation for 14 current NHLs and has withdrawn designation of three NHLs because of demolition or destruction. View these changes on the NHL website. 

For more information about these landmarks and the National Historic Landmarks Program, please visit https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks. 

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Tuesday, April 10, 1923. End of the Irish Civil War.

The Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, Gen. Liam Lynch, was fatally wounded in an ambush by the Irish Free State National Army in the Knockmealdown Mountains.

Lynch's party was fleeing a Free State unit to start with when it ran into the ambush.  His death brought about the effective end of the Irish Civil War, which the IRA was already losing.  His successor, Frank Aiken, gave the order to cease operations twenty days later.

Lynch was provided with a Priest and a doctor upon being captured, at his request, noting that he was dying.  He was 30 years old.

The Conservative government of British Prime Minister Bonar Law fell in a suddenly called vote of no confidence.

Clerks of the Department of the Interior enjoyed a break:

Friday, January 7, 1910. Pinchot fired.

President Taft fired Forestry Director Gifford Pinchot over his open criticism of Interior Secretary Richard A. Ballinger.  The dispute was over whether there could be corporate control of Forest assets, such as water.  Pinchot opposed that, and rightly so.

Theodore Roosevelt supported Pinchot, Taft Ballinger, which would eventually lead to the split in the GOP which opened the door for Democrat Woodrow Wilson.

Pinchot would later to on to be Governor of Pennsylvania.  Ballinger returned to private life after the election of 1912 and resumed the practice of law.

Last edition:

Tuesday, January 4, 1910. Disaster in Lander.

Labels: 1900s, 1910, boats and ships, Disaster, French Empire, Lander Wyoming, Sudan, U.S. Navy, Wyoming (Lander)