Mary Gibbs

Mary Hannah Gibbs Logan (1879 – February 4, 1983) was the superintendent for Itasca State Park and a pivotal figure in the development of the park, located in Minnesota at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Gibbs was the first female park commissioner in the United States.

Early life Mary Hannah Gibbs was born in Atwater, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota in 1879. When her father died, Mary was just 24 years old, but she knew the park's operations well.

A local lumber company, the Mississippi Schoolcraft Boom and Improvement Company, built a dam to facilitate its logging operations. Concerned that the flooding would kill the park's old-growth pine forest, Gibbs ordered the company to open the dam. After his threat was proved futile, the lumber boss ordered the gates opened, and he and another worker were brought to jail. The company obtained an injunction threatening Gibbs with arrest if she returned to the dam.

The Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center and Interpretive Plaza, featuring exhibits exploring the history, geography, geology, and natural environment of the area, was dedicated in 2005.

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