Rogers, a seminal figure in the history of America's state park system, served as counsel for the American Civic Association, a group dedicated to the preservation of Niagara Falls.

Rogers took a position as an operator in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and later served on a construction crew that strung a wire along the old National Pike from Pittsburgh to Baltimore.

[1] An avid horseback rider, Rogers encountered Mill Creek Gorge during a jaunt through Youngstown Township in 1890.

He was so impressed with its natural beauty that he took steps to preserve the gorge, which was then becoming a locus of timber production and the site of numerous stone quarries.

[3] The project also benefited from the contributions of well-known landscape architect Charles Eliot, and the park is considered one of his notable works.

[4] The Mahoning County commissioners issued bonds to pay for the parkland, and Rogers purchased $25,000 of them, with the understanding that they would be the last ones paid.

The men cut trails, established drives, restored Pioneer Pavilion (a renovated factory building that was the oldest structure in the park) and built Lake Cohasset Dam".

In 1913, a public sewer was run through Mill Creek Park, contaminating the water and leaving Rogers demoralized.

While exploring Colorado's Royal Gorge, Rogers caught a cold that eventually progressed into pneumonia.