September 24, 2013 marks the 50th Anniversary donation of Grey Towers to the American public. View this short video on the planning of the national celebration and commemoration of the event.

Where Were You on September 24, 1963?

For many in northeast Pennsylvania, September 24, 1963 is a day they will always remember: President John F. Kennedy, setting out on a 5-day conservation tour, arrived by helicopter on the grounds of Grey Towers, the ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot, to address an audience estimated at 10,000.

The President was here to accept the gift of Grey Towers to the American public and to dedicate the Pinchot Institute for Conservation Studies. Dr. Gifford Bryce Pinchot donated the mansion and 102 acres to the US Forest Service to carry forward the conservation legacy of his father, Gifford Pinchot.

“Every great work is in the shadow of a man, and I don’t think many Americans can point to such a distinguished record as can Gifford Pinchot,” the President told the enthusiastic crowd. “He was more than a forester,” the President remarked. “He was the father of American conservation.”

September 24, 2013 marks the 50 th Anniversary of that memorable day in our history and the Forest Service and our partners, the Pinchot Institute of Conservation and the Grey Towers Heritage Association, are already planning a national celebration and commemoration of the event.

The Forest Service and many partners work to carry forward the Pinchot legacy with active use of the National Historic Site as a conservation learning and conference center. Public programs, conferences, preservation projects and interpretation of the mansion and grounds help share the Pinchot story of all that this family contributed to American society.