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Morgan, Samuel Huntington (1911–2000)

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Riverside trail in William O’Brien State Park

View of the St. Croix River from the Riverside Trail in William O’Brien State Park. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user McGhiever, 2010. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Samuel Huntington Morgan was a long-time attorney regarded as a champion of Minnesota's outdoors. His advocacy efforts helped create, preserve, or expand many of the state's most popular open spaces, including Fort Snelling State Park, Lilydale Regional Park, Afton State Park, and the Gateway State Trail.

Morgan was born February 21, 1911, in Duluth. He and his family relocated to St. Paul when he was seven. In the 1950s, Minnesota communities—like others across the United States—began to expand beyond the boundaries of city centers into newly formed suburbs. Suburban sprawl led to a widespread interest in preserving open spaces. Later in life, Morgan recalled the joy he had felt as a child in the natural landscapes of Duluth, as well as summers spent swimming in the St. Croix River. Affected by these experiences, he became part of a call to action to preserve the environment.

On January 19, 1961, Morgan’s friend Thomas Savage asked him and his wife, Natalie, to attend a meeting held by the Fort Snelling State Park Association. He went with them and watched the speakers outline the opportunity for a citizen-led effort to establish a park below the fort. Morgan offered to help and attended weekly meetings at the St. Paul Athletic Club to discuss strategy. The group's work led to the passage of an act to establish Fort Snelling State Historical Park on April 20, 1961.

In 1967, Morgan was named the president of the nascent Minnesota Parks Foundation. Its purpose was to raise money to preserve, protect, and support natural landscapes through land acquisition. At a July 8, 1967, meeting, the foundation decided to use a permanent revolving fund to meet its goals. It planned to purchase desired land with its own raised monies and then sell it to the state to replenish the fund.

The foundation's first project, which laid the groundwork for Afton State Park, presented significant challenges. Legislative constraints delayed enacting a park until 1969. At the same time, the group worried that their inability to assure donors that their contributions would result in a state park would hurt their fundraising efforts. In the end, through charitable gifts and secured loans, a purchase agreement was completed on July 12, 1968.

With the purchase agreement settled, the group began meeting with nearby property owners to discuss buying their land. Although a sketch of the proposed property layout was drawn, no one could be sure of actual park boundaries until the 1969 State Legislature convened to enact the park and designate the land. There was strong opposition, but supporters prevailed. After assurances that the foundation wasn't profiting from the purchase, Governor Harold LeVander signed the legislation. This success set the foundation on a path of acquisitions that continued throughout the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Morgan’s efforts on behalf of the Minnesota Parks Foundation expanded to include acquiring abandoned railways for public trails. At the time, existing parks could not accommodate newly popular linear sports like cross-country skiing, cycling, inline skating, and snowmobiling. The Soo Line Trail, later part of the Gateway Trail, was the foundation’s first purchase, followed by the Cannon Valley Trail.

In 1987, Morgan’s presidency ended when the Minnesota Parks Foundation and the Minnesota Council of State Parks merged to become the Minnesota Parks and Trails Council. In 2000 it was renamed the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota. Between 1967 and 2018 it acquired more than 10,000 acres of land worth over 30 million dollars. The revolving fund became known as the Samuel H. Morgan Land Fund.

After leaving the Minnesota Parks Foundation, Morgan continued his advocacy work. In 1985, the Samuel H. Morgan Trail and Interpretive Center opened in William O'Brien State Park. Governor Arne Carlson named August 11, 1992, "Samuel H. Morgan Day" in his honor. And on May 21, 2000, he received the Met Council's "Metropolitan Regional Leadership Award" for his leadership in advancement of his environmental vision.

Morgan passed away on October 17, 2000, at the age of eighty-nine. On September 20, 2002, a bicycle and pedestrian path along the Mississippi River in St. Paul was named in his honor. The Samuel H. Morgan Regional Trail is a crucial cycling route in the city and the southern leg of St. Paul's Grand Rounds Scenic Byway.

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Austin, Paul. "One Man's Quest - Samuel H. Morgan." Minneapolis Star Tribune. March 29, 2011.
http://www.startribune.com/one-man-s-quest-samuel-h-morgan/118848409

Crosby, Jackie. "In St. Paul, a New Approach to the Downtown Riverfront.” Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 22, 2003.

Divine, Mary. "Parks Visionary was Literally a Trailblazer; Sam Morgan Looks Back on a Lifetime of Park Victories." St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 27, 2000.

Editorial. "Samuel H. Morgan; all Twin Citians are Beneficiaries." St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 19, 2000.

Friends of Fort Snelling. "Creating Fort Snelling Park."
http://www.fortsnelling.org/Fort-Snelling-State-Park-History

Friends of the Mississippi River. “History, Nature Intersect as St. Paul Rediscovers Urban Oasis.”

Hella, U. W., and Robert A. Watson. Quest for Excellence: A History of the Minnesota Council of Parks, 1954 to 1974. St. Paul: Minnesota Parks Foundation, 1985.
https://www.parksandtrails.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Hella_Quest-for-Excellence.pdf

Minnesota Legislature: Office of the Revisor of Statutes. "Session Laws of Minnesota for 1961."
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/laws/?id=570&year=1961&type=0

Morgan, Samuel H. Environmental Recollections: Including the Story of the Minnesota Parks Foundation, the First Twenty Years, 1967-1989. [Minnesota]: Samuel H. Morgan, 2000.
https://www.parksandtrails.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/SamMorganbook.pdf

Pina, Phillip. "Minnesota Loses Steward of Land; St. Paul's Sam Morgan, 89, Helped Preserve
Open Spaces." St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 18, 2000.

Related Images

Riverside trail in William O’Brien State Park
Riverside trail in William O’Brien State Park
Afton State Park
Afton State Park
Gateway State Trail
Gateway State Trail
William O’Brien State Park
William O’Brien State Park
Samuel H. Morgan
Samuel H. Morgan
Samuel H. Morgan Land Fund logo
Samuel H. Morgan Land Fund logo

Turning Point

Morgan’s decades-long conservation effort begins with an offer to help friend Thomas Savage and the Fort Snelling State Park Association after a January 19, 1961 meeting.

Chronology

1911

Samuel Huntington Morgan is born in Duluth on February 21.

1936

Morgan graduates from Harvard Law School.

1947

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources authorizes the creation of William O’Brien State Park.

1962

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources authorizes the creation of Fort Snelling State Park.

1967

Morgan helps create the Minnesota Parks Foundation and becomes its president.

1969

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources authorizes the creation of Afton State Park.

1971

The Minnesota Legislature creates Lilydale Regional Park.

1987

Morgan’s presidency of the Minnesota Parks Foundation ends when the organization merges with the Council of Parks to form the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota.

1992

Governor Arne Carlson declares August 11 to be Samuel H. Morgan Day.

1993

The Gateway State Trail opens to visitors.

1995

Morgan receives the Reuel Harmon Award, a lifetime achievement award from Minnesota’s Friends of Parks and Trails on March 30.

2000

Morgan receives the Met Council’s Metropolitan Regional Leadership Award on May 21.

2000

Morgan dies on October 17.

2002

A bicycle and pedestrian path in St. Paul is named the Samuel H. Morgan Regional Trail.