The formation of the State Park System and the Division of Parks in 1928 caught the eye of outdoor enthusiast and businessman W.M. Haggen. Mr. Haggen intrigued by the need of “Guardians” of public land soon realized that the slow growth of the park system created a void that he believed must be filled, especially, for nature areas that were less popularized. Mr. Haggen would discover beautiful hiking trails that were becoming far too dangerous to hike due to remnant miners homesteading the land in an attempt to find gold.
In 1940 Mr. Haggen established the National Ranger Corps, a well trained group of private rangers that would patrol and reconstruct areas of concern keeping the public lands safe for hikers to enjoy. Much of these efforts were subsidized by profits made by Mr. Haggen’s bindery business. Mr. Haggen realized that by privatizing he was able to expand service much faster and provide newer, more efficient equipment. The State rangers were still dependent on surplus equipment obtained from the military responsible for the parks through 1898.
Rangers became ambassadors to the areas they served encouraging hundreds more visitors to enjoy the great outdoors. These private rangers would serve in the same capacity as their State counterparts. To help support the ever growing business Mr. Haggen opened “provision” tents that sold camping and hiking gear and soon added “keepsakes”. The Ranger Corps company became profitable and for the first time self sufficient in 1945.
These private ambassadors of public land would continue through the 1950’s under the watch of Mr. Haggen’s family. The mid 1950’s saw an enormous increase in trailer camping putting a strain on company profits. Campers no longer needed the provisions available and soon afterwards the family closed the retail side of the business.
Today, the Ranger Corps company provides private ranger services for historic buildings, retail and commercial development built on historic sites, resorts and resort communities, private parks, greenway trails, historic museum parks and Native American semi wilderness and recreational vehicle campgrounds.
