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The National Park Service is excited to celebrate the 150^th birthday of famed western author Zane Grey. Pearl Zane Grey was born on January 31, 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio a town founded by his mother’s ancestors. Zane would spend his childhood exploring the wilds of Ohio, playing baseball, and writing short stories. Even though Grey had the desire to be a writer, he would eventually follow in the footsteps of his father and study dentistry. It was Grey’s pitching talents that would afford him a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Upon graduation Grey would play minor league ball for the Orange Athletic Club for a short time before moving to New York City to open his own dental practice.

It was during his time in New York City that he learned of the majestic Delaware River. Anxious to get out of the city, he and his brother hopped on the train to Lackawaxen, PA where the excitement of fishing and camping filled his everyday thoughts. Grey would meet his future wife, Lina Elise Roth in Lackawaxen and would ultimately in 1906 move there, full time to begin raising a family and to focus on his writing career.

Zane’s most successful book, Riders of the Purple Sage was written right here in Lackawaxen and is included on the Library of Congress list of “100 Books that Shaped America”. Grey has sold over 40,000,000 books in 23 languages earning him an estimated $37 million from writing in his lifetime; he is said to be world’s first millionaire author.

Later in life, Grey would spend his hard-earned money in pursuit of his passion for fishing, and of course writing about his adventures along the way. He traveled the world’s waterways an estimated 2,500,000 miles and held 10 world fishing records during his lifetime.

Please help us celebrate Grey’s 150^th birthday by stopping by the Zane Grey Museum located at 135 Scenic Drive, Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania. The museum will be open for self-guided tours on Saturday, January 29^th, and Sunday January 30^th, from 10:00am – 3:00pmPM. In celebration, each visitor will receive a free “birthday” gift while supplies last. The Zane Grey Museum will remain open weekends (weather permitting) through February 27^th, 2022 and will reopen for the summer season on Saturday, May 28^th.

To create a safe environment for all visitors to the museum everyone must wear a mask regardless of vaccination status, visitors will be limited to eight at a time, and visits will be limited to 15 minutes per group.

Please visit https://go.nps.gov/ZaneGrey to learn more about the life of author Zane Grey.

Photo Caption: Zane Grey and his brother Romer on the banks of the Delaware River holding a small mouth bass, circa 1902. (Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River museum collection 650)