No, this is not an April Fool’s joke in August and no the name of Lassen Volcanic National Park has not been changed. It was on this date in 1916, that the park was created with the signing of the bill to create it by President Woodrow Wilson.
By the 1890s dialog had been created to make Lassen Peak and its various hydrothermal features a national park. On May 6, 1907 Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone became national monuments. Things changed when in November 1910 John Raker was elected to represent California’s First Congressional District. On February 23, 1912 Raker introduced H.R. Bill 19557 to create an 80,000 acre Peter Lassen National Park. It went nowhere, just as his previous legislation to create a Redwood National Park. One of the hurdle’s for his Lassen Park was that hardly anyone knew of Lassen Peak outside of his district.
With the sudden eruptions of Lassen Peak in the summer of 1914, everything changed with national exposure. At this time, it was suggested to rename Raker’s proposal as Lassen Volcanic National Park.