Yellowstone History
Roadside History of Yellowstone Park
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(Overstock Books)
The history of Yellowstone Park is rich with tales of the diverse people who have visited this natural wonderland. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.
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Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park
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(Overstock Books)
Intriguing stories of how people have died in Yellowstone warn about the many dangers that exist there and in wild areas in general. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.
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To Save The Wild Bison
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(Overstock Books)
Examines the ecological and political aspects of the wild bison controversy in and around Yellowstone National Park and how it reflects changing attitudes toward wildlife. By the author of Yellowstone in the Afterglow: Lessons from the Fires.
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Ginger Bread Tracks and Pine Needle Pasta
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(Cooking.com Cookbooks)
This delightful, easy cookbook for children combines fact with flavor to teach children about Yellowstone\'s natural features, geologic story, wildlife, and human history.
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Human history
The human history of the park dates back 12,000 years. The Native Americans that hunted and fished in the Yellowstone region also utilized the significant amounts of obsidian found in the park to make cutting tools and weapons. In fact, arrowheads made of Yellowstone obsidian have been found as far away as the Mississippi Valley, which strongly indicate that a regular obsidian trade existed between Yellowstone Native Americans and tribes further east.
In 1806 a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition named John Colter left the Expedition to join a group of fur trappers and was probably the first non-Native American to visit the region and make contact with the Native Americans there. After surviving wounds he suffered in a battle with Crow and Blackfoot tribes, he gave a description of a place of "fire and brimstone" that was dismissed by most people as delirium. The supposedly imaginary place was nicknamed "Colter's Hell."
Mountain man Jim Bridger later returned from an 1857 expedition to the park's area and told tales of boiling springs, spouting water, and a mountain of glass and yellow rock. Because Bridger was known for being a "spinner of yarns" these reports were largely ignored. Nonetheless his stories did arouse the interest of explorer and geologist F.V. Hayden, who in 1859 started a two-year survey of the upper Missouri River region with United States Army surveyor W.F. Raynolds and Bridger as a guide. The party neared the Yellowstone region, but heavy snows forced them to turn away. The intervening American Civil War prevented any further attempts to explore the region.
In 1870 a party of Montana residents organized the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, headed by the surveyor-general of Montana Henry Washburn. Amongst the group was Nathaniel P. Langford, who would later become known as "National Park" Langford, and a US Army detachment commanded by Lt. Gustavus Doane. The expedition spent about a month exploring the region, collecting specimens, and naming sites of interest.
In 1871, eleven years after his failed first effort, F.V. Hayden was finally able to make another attempt at his exploration of the region. Now government sponsored, Hayden successfully returned to Yellowstone with a second, larger expedition. He compiled a comprehensive report on Yellowstone which included large-format photographs by William Henry Jackson and paintings by Thomas Moran. This report helped to convince the U.S. Congress to withdraw this region from public auction and on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill into law that created Yellowstone National Park.General Grant National Memorial (external) by the National Park Service. Retrieved March 29, 2006.
"National Park" Langford, a member of both the 1870 and 1871 expeditions, was appointed as the park's first superintendent in 1872. He served for five years, but without salary, funding, or staff, he lacked the means to improve the lands or implement any kind of protection to the park. Without even any formal policy or regulations put into place, he lacked any legal method to enforce such protection were it available to him. This left Yellowstone vulnerable to attack from poachers, vandals, and others seeking to raid its resources. As a result Langford was forced to step down in 1877.
Having traveled through Yellowstone and witnessed these problems first hand, Philetus Norris volunteered for the position after Langford's exit. Congress finally saw fit to implement a salary for the position as well as a minimal amount of funds to operate the park. Langford used these monies to expand access to the park, building over 30 new, albeit crude, roads, as well as further exploring Yellowstone. He also hired Harry Yount (nicknamed "Rocky Mountain Harry") to control poaching and vandalism in the park. Today, Harry Yount is considered the first national park ranger. These measures still proved to be insufficient in protecting the park though, as neither Norris, nor the three superintendents who followed proved effective in stopping the destruction of Yellowstone's natural resources.
It was only in 1886, when the United States Army was given the task of managing the park (see Fort Yellowstone), that control was able to be maintained. With the funding and manpower necessary to keep a diligent watch, the army successfully developed their own policies and regulations that maintained public access while protecting park wildlife and natural resources. When the National Park Service was created in 1916, it would take its lead largely from the army's successful example. The army turned control over to the National Park Service in 1918.
Yellowstone was designated an International Biosphere Reserve on October 26, 1976, and a United Nations World Heritage Site on September 8, 1978.