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ATC History
Just like the Appalachian Trail, our history is long. But throughout the years, the heart of our organization has remained the same: to protect and manage more than 2,190 miles of the A.T. footpath and its surrounding landscapes.
ATC History
Benton MacKaye looks south from the treetops on Stratton Mountain and wonders about a trail that runs all the way to the southern Appalachians.
Photo by David Warners
April 1921: Betty MacKaye dies by suicide.
July 1921: Benton MacKaye begins writing “An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning.”
October 1921: MacKaye’s Appalachian Trail article is published in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects.
First A.T.-specific sections are completed in New York by Raymond Torrey.
The Appalachian Trail Conference is formed as a confederation under Major William Welch.
MacKaye’s speech to the New England Trail Conference engages Arthur Perkins to take over the ATC.
Myron H. Avery takes over leadership of the ATC and accelerates Trail-blazing.
MacKaye steps away from the ATC (until the 1960s) after disputes with Avery.
The A.T. is fully connected from Maine to Georgia.
Earl Shaffer reports first A.T. thru-hike; interest in A.T. accelerates.
The continuity of the A.T. is restored after hurricane damage and wartime neglect.
Myron H. Avery dies.
Mildred Norman Ryder becomes the first woman to thru-hike the A.T.
Stanley A. Murray elected ATC chair; federal protection drive renewed.
The National Trails System Act is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, making the A.T. a national scenic trail under federal protection. The ATC hires its first employee.
The ATC moves to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Benton MacKaye dies.
A.T. amendments to National Trails System Act become law.
NPS creates an A.T. park office under David A. Richie.
Ruth Blackburn named first woman ATC chair.
NPS delegates park-management responsibilities to the ATC, beginning land-management obligations.
David N. Startzell appointed the ATC’s executive director, beginning 25 years of centralized program growth.
Lori “Tenderfoot” Pierce is the first known Black thru-hiker.
Pamela Underhill begins 17 years as NPS A.T. park manager.
Bill Bryson publishes A Walk in the Woods, triggering an explosion in A.T. interest.
Recognizing the responsibility
The ATC has never had just one job as the project leader when it came to the protection, promotion, and management of the A.T. However, the accomplishment of the land-acquisition priority and the more elevated responsibilities given it by the 1968 and 1978 acts, along with unprecedented federal and state agreements under it, called for a repositioning. Years of discussions came to fruition in July 2005 when the leadership changed the ATC’s name to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. This name change reflects the new superior priority of preservation of the Trail corridor and its natural and cultural resources, which is essential to enhancing the A.T. experience.
The Appalachian Trail Conference becomes the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to reflect the top priority of preserving the Trail corridor and its natural and cultural resources.
Appalachian Trail Conference renames itself the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and restructures governance.
The last major stretch of Trail is formally acquired and permanently protected.
The ATC celebrates 90 years of caring for the A.T.
Large-landscape initiative launched.
Celebrating 100 years of MacKaye’s vision.