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- Thumb Lunch Station | Geyserbob.com
The West Thumb Lunch Station or Hotel, was an important lunch stop for stageccoach travelers between 1892-1916. It was a half-way point between Old Faithful and Lake Hotel. It was also a starting point for the ferry from Thumb to Lake. Hotels in the Yellowstone West Thumb Hotel - Lunch Station Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Thumb Lunch Station - 1892-1903 Located along the shores of Yellowstone Lake at West Thumb, a tent camp was established to serve as a lunch station for stagecoaches traveling the route from Old Faithful over Craig Pass to the Lake Hotel . The business opened in 1892 by the Yellowstone Park Association (YPA) and replaced the lunch station that had existed at Trout Creek , located along the previous route to the Lake that traversed the Mary Mountain Road from Fountain Flats. The famous Larry Mathews managed the lunch station that first season, but moved to Norris the following year. YPA was granted a lease to operate boats on the Yellowstone Lake in 1891 and allowed Ela C. Waters to manage the new boat/ferry operation. The ferry service would eliminate the tedious and dusty ride from the Thumb Lunch Station to the Lake Hotel and the "The Zillah" was put into service for that purpose. The steel-hulled, 40-ton steamer was 81’ with a 14’ beam, and could carry 120 passengers and crew. The Zillah’ was assembled on site by Amos Shaw, of the Shaw & Powell Camping Co ., to provide ferry service from West Thumb to Lake Hotel. E.C. Waters would pay the stagecoach drivers fifty cents for each passenger the driver convinced to take the ferry, and then charged passengers $3.00 for the boat ride. Above: The steamship Zillah docked at West Thumb in 1906. [Glass slide F.H. Maude Photographic Co.] Top Left : View of the Thumb Lunch Station tents, ca1890s, as viewed from the boat dock on Yellowstone Lake. [High Grade Original Views stereoview, #1300] Top Right : "Hotel Camp, Thumb of Lake." View of Thumb Lunch Station tents from the edge of the hot springs basin. [Detroit Photographic Co., 86-200-2504, Colorado History Museum, Denver] The 1896 Haynes Guide noted, “There are no less than seven hot-spring areas surrounding Yellowstone Lake; those of the west arm, or Thumb Bay, are by far the most interesting. They comprise over sixty springs and paint pots and several geyser cones; one of which rises above the lake surface just a few feet from shore, standing upon which one may catch trout, and, dropping them into the hot water in the crater of the cone, cook them without removal from the hook.” The Thumb Lunch Station was located near the Thumb Paint Pots, and was short walk from the boat dock up a wooden walkway to the station at the top of the rise. Although primarily serving as a lunch station, a few sleeping tents were available for guests that wished to spend the night. Traveler Chas. Maus Taylor noted in1900, “The tents at Thumb Lunch Station appear plain and unpretentious, but the tourist receives a hospitable welcome, and the food is abundant, wholesome and well served.” Note: the Boardwalk can be viewed at left and above left.] Left : "Hot Spring Basin at the "Thumb" of Yellowstone Lake." In the distance can be seen people walking the boardwalk in front of Thumb Station ca1903. [HC White Stereoview, #12077] Top Right : The boat dock & boardwalk as viewed from near the Thumb Lunch Station. [From the Philadelphia Free Library, #PCDE00495] Carrie Belle Spencer , a young school teacher from Nebraska, Yellowstone National Park in July and August, 1892. She was in the company of her older brother Alvah and his wife Adaline. They were “traveling on their own dime,” as they say, and not with the transportation company. She had this to say about Larry’s: “. . . we were soon on the beautiful waters of the Yellowstone sailing smoothly along toward the Thumb. After a delightful ride of 1 1/2 hr. we landed at the dock on a beautiful beach and saw on a slope not far distant five tents in a row, this is what is known as the Lake Side Lunch station; as we were about ready for lunch and desirous of finding some place to leave our luggage we started in that direction. When not more than half way up the slope a gentleman, with skull cap, white apron, towel etc. started toward us saying "Good morning ladies, good morning", & before we had time to reply he had our luggage in his hands saying "Right this way to the waiting room." & entering this tent, he took me by the arm & pointing out of the tent in an opposite direction he says "Ladies toilet just ahead. . . The waiting room was a tent about 20 ft. sq., dirt floor & contained a few chairs, stove, cigar case & slat benches around the room. The "toilet" was out doors & too cute for particulars, ta ta. After arranging our "twilight" and entering the waiting room this man "Larry" Mathews as he proved to be began asking questions & entertained us in a royal manner until we heard the rattle of approaching hacks, which were of course the expected tourists. "Larry" no longer had time for entertaining individuals as each new comer was greeted in the same manner. It was not long until we heard the call "All register" & "Right this way to hash". Soon 40 ladies & gentlemen were seated on slab benches at long home made tables, and the bill of fare was soon commenced; it was not very extensive but every thing was enjoyed, being season with Larry's Irish wit. "Run in the hens." "Let 'er go pie." It was not long after lunch until the tourists were on the steamer & we were left in our glory with "Larry, wife and baby Lizzie.” Two pieces of souvenir china sold by E.C. Waters at his boat store, who ran the boat & ferry company until around 1907. These pieces were "Made in Germany for M.B. Waters." M.B. being Martha Bustus, EC Waters' wife. Detroit Industrialist Carl E. Schmidt traveled the Yellowstone and other western areas in 1901, and describes the lunch station in his book, A Western Trip : “The growth of timber grows heavier until it ends in a fringe at the shore of the lake. There is found a lunch station, that is, large tents, are pitched. We enter the first one which is a sort of a reception room. On inquiring for a drink the gentlemen of the party are motioned to the rear where a canvas flap is lifted and on stepping through we find ourselves in a smaller tent where eight whisky bottles are set on a shelf in a row, and to our delight each is labeled "Canadian Club”. While waiting around for the lunch to be set on the table a coach party arrives and as soon as they have shaken themselves free of dust we are ushered into the dining room which contains a long deal table with benches along the sides. After all are seated bountiful platters of good, substantial food are set out before us. Capt. Waters, a striking figure introduces himself and arrangements are made with him to cross the lake on his little steamer “Zillah." The "Zillah” is a small steamer that was transported piece-meal over the mountains to this lake.” Tourists gathered around the Fishing Cone at Thumb Bay. Included is chef Larry Mathews, manager of Thumb Lunch Station in 1892. [Keystone View Co. Stereoview #26498] Thumb Hotel - 1903-1916 Construction began on a new wooden hotel and lunch station at West Thumb the end of May 1903. It was a simple frame building designed by Robert Reamer , architech for the Old Faithful Inn, without his usual rustic embellishments. Work proceeded quickly on the $3,000 building and the station was open for much of the 1903 season. The hotel sported 20 simple guest rooms for those who chose to spend the night. When the park transportation system was motorized in 1917, the trip to Lake Hotel from Old Faithful became much shorter and more comfortable in the new White Motor Co . auto-stages. The ferry service from Thumb to Lake became obsolete, and the boats were mostly used for pleasure cruises from the hotel. The hotel and lunch station also became unnecessary and closed down at the end of the 1916 season. The building sat empty until 1919 when Chas. Hamilton gained use of it for a general store. Top Right : Colorized postcard view of the Thumb Lunch Station ca1912. [Haynes Photo No. 208] Bottom Left Thumb Lunch Station, ca1905. [Yellowstone Park Asso. brochure, 1905] Bottom Right : Approach to Thumb Hotel. Notice large tent at left. Not dated. [YNP 1875] The Yellowstone Park Association brochure in 1905 described some of the basics of the lunch station and area: “At the Thumb Lunch Station you will find everything neat and clean, and an appetizing lunch served, notwithstanding the fact that you are more than a thousand miles from a market of any considerable size, and that everything provided for you has been hauled by freight teams nearly seventy-five miles over mountains rising more than 8400 feet above sea level. On the lake you will find an excursion boat which makes regular trips between the Thumb and the Lake Hotel. This is not a part of the regular transportation trip, the steamer being owned and operated by an independent company, and parties desiring to make this trip are required to pay an additional charge.” There is good cheer at this lunch place and much to see in the hour-and-a-half stop. The drive-whetted appetites will find no disappointment here; these good people of the Thumb Lunch Station have one duty to perform, the preparation of the noonday meal, and they do it well; they know just how many are coming; there is never any shortage and the last have just as much and just as good food as the first to arrive, and the Thumb lunch is not the least of the pleasant surprises of this every-way surprising drive. There is an hour-and-a-half wait while the horses feed and rest, so there is time to visit the Paint Pots, and the Cone in the lake where you may catch a fish in the cold water of the lake and cook it in the hot water of the Cone without taking it off your hook. Top Right : View of Thumb Hotel from near the lake. [YNP #82] Middle Right : Thumb Hotel from one of the approaches, nd. [Author Digital Collection] Bottom Right Stagecoach with passengers at loading porch of hotel in 1906. [Wyoming State Archives] Bottom Left : Thumb Paint Pots near the hotel. Tent at left may be the photographer's tent. A building in trees at right, perhaps part of the hotel complex, 1905. [HC White Stereoview, #12078] Hamilton Store at the Old Thumb Hotel - 1919-1923 In 1919 Chas. A. Hamilton made arrangements with the Yellowstone Park Hotel Co . to use the old Thumb Lunch Station as a general store. He was owner of the general store at Old Faithful, and desired to expand his business. He remodeled the interior of this lunch station to establish his first store at the Thumb in 1919. According to Park Superintendent Horace Albright, “He is now engaged in building a fine new store at the Lake which will take the place of the boat company’s store . . . Mr. Hamilton expects to arrange for the maintenance of a store next year in the old lunch station of the Yellowstone Park Hotel Company at the Thumb of Lake Yellowstone where the south approach road joins the belt line system” In 1924, Hamilton built a new log store and abandoned the old Lunch Station, which was torn down three years later. Map of the Lake area showing the Thumb Lunch Station. The Wylie Camp & ranger station were nearby. A Shaw & Powell camp was just north of the hotel along the road to lake. Route of the Zillah are also shown. [Oregon Short Line Brochure, 1899] For additional information on the West Thumb area after the closure of the Thumb Hotel, please check out the Thumb page on my old website, geyserbob.org. Info on the Hamilton & Haynes Stores, Thumb Camp/Cabins; Ranger Station and more. Click Here Right : West Thumb map from the 1936 Haynes Guide
- Chicago & North Western RR | Geyserbob.com
Early history of the Chicagi & NorthWestern RR and their access to Yellowstone National Park via Lander, Wyoming and the Togwotee Pass highway. Yellowstone's Supporting Railroads Chicago & NorthWestern RR Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Chicago & North Western Railroad Yellowstone's Southern Rail Access - Lander, WY “Where Rails End and Trails Begin.” The Chicago & North Western Railroad The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad (C&NW) has complicated origins in the Midwest, but essentially formed from the ruins of the bankrupt Chicago, St. Paul, & Fond du Lac railroad. The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad (C&NW) began its dominating railroad business when it was chartered by the states of Wisconsin and Illinois in 1859. After acquiring multiple other railroads, completing connections mostly north and west from Chicago, C&NW gained controlling interest of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway, also known as the Omaha Road. Real-Photo postcard of the Lander Depot, ca1910 The railroad reaches Lander, Wyoming The Chicago & Northwestern extended their rail lines to Lander, Wyoming in 1906, which would be the farthest west the railroad would venture, despite earlier plans. Construction on the extension of the C&NW Railroad from Casper to Lander, commenced Monday, May 2, 1905. and was completed October 17, 1906. Regular passenger train service was soon established, covering a distance of 148.1 miles. The C&NW RR served many small communities between Chicago and Lander with branch lines off of the Union Pacific main line to Ogden, Utah. After suffering through or approaching a couple of bankruptcies, the Union Pacific RR ultimately acquired control of C&NW on April 24, 1995 in a $1.2 billion stock takeover. From the Wind River Mountaineer, Friday, Oct. 12, 1906 The railroad has at last reached Lander. After waiting for thirty-five years some of our citizens have at last seen the steel rails laid into our beautiful city and valley, and not only have their hopes been realized but something has come to pass that many believed would not be. The steel was laid to the depot site, or within one half block of Main street on Wednesday evening . . . Wednesday, October 17th, has been fixed by the mayor and committee; on arrangements as the day on which to celebrate the completion of the Wyoming & Northwestern railroad into Lander, and ail arrangements are now being made to entertain the large crowd who are expected here at that time. ft is now expected that a special train will arrive here from Denver at noon on that day with the excursionists, and will leave at 6 o’clock on the following morning . . . A grand free ball will be held at the Opera House in the evening, during which time refreshments will be served, and the following evening the Eagles will give a free dance and refreshments. “Lander is the western terminus of the Chicago & North Western Ry.—“Where Rails End and Trails Begin.” It is midway on the new Rocky Mountain Highway, running by the most direct route from Denver, via Ft. Collins, Laramie, Rawlins, and Lander, across the historic Shoshone Indian Reservation, through the famous big game country of Upper Wind River, past Brooks Lake, over Togwotee Pass in the Absarokas, around Jackson Lake at the foot of the Tetons, and into Yellowstone Park through the too-little known Southern Entrance. Whichever way you choose to enter or leave the Park, one way you must explore this new and greatest route. Through no other route can you prepare yourself so fully, so truly get into the spirit of the West, as via Lander.” [1923 Lander Transportation Co. brochure] Rocky Mountain Highway Highway to Be Officially Opened Sunday---Many Will Take Part "An Auto Caravan left early yesterday morning [17th] en route for Yellowstone Park over the Rocky Mountain Highway. The summit of Two-gwo-tee Pass will be the stopping place on Sunday and appropriate opening ceremonies will be held. Three kinds of bear meat, all varieties of mountain trout, and many other delicious morsels will be served free at the banquet. All tourists are invited to join the caravan." [Jackson Hole Courier, 18Aug1921] "Two-Gwo-Tee Pass was dedicated as the southern entrance to Yellowstone National park at 1 o’clock Sunday afternoon. A thousand people from Wyoming. Colorado, Idaho, Montana and the mountain west, from far away Florida, from California and from states to the east, the west, the north and the south witnessed the ceremony on the green carpeted slope of the continental divide 115 miles northwest of Lander, where in the spring the melting snows feed streams that flow to the two oceans, where the Teton and Washakie national forests adjoin, and the Fremont and Lincoln county lines meet. The hundreds who gathered there were more than witnesses they were active participants in the dedication, for in a seemingly endless chain of automobiles they had journeyed especially for this occasion distances ranging from a score to hundreds of miles." [23Aug1921, Casper Star-Tribune] Top Left: Shoshone chief invited to the 1921 Two-Gow-Tee Pass highway opening celebration. The author believes this to be Dick Washakie, son of the great Chief Washakie (ca1804/1810 – 1900 [Photo courtesy YNP Archives #57783] Bottom Left: Lander-yellowstone Transportation Co. decal featuring Chief Dick Washakie. [Author Collection] Top Right: Jack Haynes photo showing the 1921 highway celebration [Photo from 1923 C&NW RR brochure, author collection] The new Rocky Mountain Highway over Two-Gow-Tee Pass to Yellowstone In 1921 rail passengers at Lander could visit Yellowstone by automobile on the newly built Rocky Mountain Highway. The travelers commenced at Lander, journeyed past Fort Washakie, to Dubois, and stopped for lunch. Afterwards, they proceeded over the mountains through Togwotee Pass to Brooks Lake Lodge for the night, where they could relax, fish or boat. The next morning they proceeded to Moran Junction for lunch at Amoretti Inn. From Moran tourists could travel south to Jackson Hole or north through the south entrance of Yellowstone. The Lander-Yellowstone Park Transportation Company provided auto stage service from Lander to Moran, where visitors were transferred to Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. buses for the trip into Yellowstone, arriving at Lake Hotel for dinner. Top Left: Two-Gwo-Tee Inn on the Pass, also known as Brooks Lake Lodge. It was the overnight stop on the trip from Lander to Yellowstone. [Wyoming State Archives , RAN430] Top Right: Amoretti Inn at Moran, in sight of Jackson Lake. A lunch stop enroute to the tetons or to Yellowstone. [Wyoming State Archives, Stimson Collection #4541] Bottom: Amoretti Inn and other businesses at Moran, 1920s. The are later became the Jackson Lake Lodge. [ Rockefeller Archives] Amoretti Inn - Jackson Lake Lodge The hotels along the route from Lander to Yellowstone were built and maintained by the Amoretti Hotel and Camp Company, incorporated in April 1922, "for the object of operating hotels, providing and conducting stores, commissaries, camps and other facilities and equipment, for the conveyance, entertainment and convenience of the tourists." The hotel company was the idea of Eugene Amoretti, long-time area resident and prominent Lander businessman. The Amoretti Inn was built in 1922 and included a large, central building that primarily held a dining room and groups of cabins for travelers stopping on their way to Yellowstone National Park. Located 25 miles from the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park, The Amoretti Inn was situated on a bench overlooking Jackson Lake, and from its spacious porch and lobby, one could view the lake and the Teton Mountains. The area was a favorite haunt of John D. Rockefeller beginning as early as 1924. By that time, the Inn began being called the Jackson Lake Lodge. The Jackson Hole Courier noted on July 26, 1930 that, “A deal was consummated last week whereby the Jackson Lake Lodge [former Amoretti Inn] at Moran passes from the hands of local and Casper men into the hands of the Teton Investment Company, a Salt Lake concern, which has also bought Sheffields [Teton Lodge] and other resorts In that section. The deal was for virtually $75,000. The new owners expect to spend a lot of money on the lodge and make it an attraction for the new Teton Park . . . they virtually have a monopoly of all hotels and recreation places there.” In later days the Lodge was rebuilt beginning in 1953 to become the new Jackson Lake Lodge. According to the Jackson Hole Courier, May 14, 1953, “Ground will be broken this month on the Jackson Lake Lodge, about 25 miles south of the Yellowstone National Park boundary and 35 miles north of Jackson. The Jackson Lake lodge will have a two-story stone faced central lodge with a capacity of 200 guests that will be surrounded by cabins accommodating 800 more vacationers. The main lodge will he constructed on a bluff overlooking Jackson lake with picture windows offering a commanding view of the 13,000-foot Tetons to the west.” Brooks Lake Hotel the massive hotel complex was built in 1922 as part of a program to provide accommodations for tourists arriving via the Lander-Yellowstone Transportation Company and was operated by the Amoretti Hotel and Camp Company. Eugene Amoretti was a businessman in Lander who was alleged to be the first European born in South Pass City in 1871. The Brooks Lake hotel was one of two operated by Amoretti on the road to Yellowstone; the other was at Moran. The hotel was built quickly, started in April 1922 and completed by July 1. The hotel charged $6 per person daily or $35 weekly, and it flourished for a couple of years, but by 1926 it was bypassed by buses. That year it was reorganized by investor Jim Gratiot as the Diamond G Ranch, which offered a dude ranch experience. [Wikipedia] The success of Brooks Lake Hotel was short-lived, however. Apparently the bus trip from Lander to the Lake Hotel took too much time, and the overnight stop at the Inn was discontinued. In an effort to keep the complex solvent, Jim Gratiot, one of the original five corporate directors of the Amoretti Hotel and Camp Company, took over the complex and renamed it the Diamond G Ranch, operating it as a dude ranch. Strictly speaking, the Diamond G was not a true dude ranch because it had never been a working ranch, but it catered to the same clientele as the working dude ranches: well-to-do Easterners [U.S. Depart. of the Interior, NPS, National Register of Historic Places—Nomination Form Brooks Lake Lodge, 1982] Amusing Anecdote about the 1st train to roll into the Lander Depot THE STORY OF LANDER By Harold Rogers Here is an amusing story told of the arrival of the first passenger train in Lander in 1906. The railroad officials had advertised this momentous event throughout the county as the grand opening of the C & N W Railroad and its advent into the Lander Valley and Fremont County. Citizens of South Pass, Pinedale, Jackson "Hole, Dubois and the Shoshone Reservation gathered at the new Lander depot. The engineer of this first passenger train was an Irishman who loved to pull his jokes or shenanigans on the unsuspecting crowds. He had a good head of steam up. When a large crowd of spectators had gathered around to gaze at the iron horse he let off a big head of steam to watch the crowd scatter and yell. He poked his head out the cabin window when it was time to pull up the train, swung his arm in a sweeping circle and yelled, “Look out, you hill billies. I’m going to turn her around.” Most of the spectators ran for the side streets, thinking the train was going to turn around right there. The engineer and his train crew had a good laugh at the expense of the pioneers. [Annals of Wyoming , April 1968, Vol. 40, No. 1]
- R.C. Bryant | Geyserbob.com
History of the Robert C, Bryant Camping Co., also known as Bryant Way. They operated in Yellowstone Park from 1906-1912, using portable camps. Camping in the Yellowstone R.C. Bryant Camping Co. Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Bryant Camping Company was formed by Rev. Robert Collins Bryant in 1903 and first operated as the Bryant-Spence Tours, with offices in the Monadnock Building, Chicago Illinois. By 1903 there were a number of other companies operating camping tours in Yellowstone National Park that successfully competed with the more expensive hotel tours. These including the Wylie Camping Co ., Shaw & Powell , Tex Holm , the Lycan Company, Blankenship Co., Marshall Bros, and others. Most of these others used the North entrance at Gardiner due to the easy railroad access by the Northern Pacific RR. The Sylvan Pass road from Cody, WY to Yellowstone Lake opened in 1903 allowing easier access from that direction and rail service by the Chicago, Burlington, Quincy & RR . His summer headquarters were moved to the town of Yellowstone at the West Entrance in 1908, later renamed West Yellowstone . He conducted the camping tours with moveable nightly camps and continued yearly through 1912. Downtown Chicago in 1898. The Monadnock Bldg is in the upper right. Robert C. Bryant was born in Brooklyn, NY Feb. 13, 1870. He attended Lafayette College in Easton PA in 1891 and in 1891-95 attended Union Theological Seminary and Auburn Seminary in NYC, a Presbyterian school. He was ordained as a Pastor at the Binghamton Presbyterian church June 4, 1895. Apparently having made himself a career and perhaps feeling more financially responsible, he married Margaret “Maggie” Tims on July 3 of that year. She was a native of Binghamton NY born ca1869. About two years later their son Robert Alfred was born. In 1901 the family moved to Rockford Illinois where Rev. Robert C. Bryant, began his duties as Pastor of the Church of the Christian Union, a Unitarian Universalist church built in 1888. In 1908 the family moved to Chicago, where by at least 1918 he was the pastor of the Green Olive Grove Baptist Church. No doubt many of his early customers on his camping ventures came from within the congregations of the churches at which he served. He passed away 1959 in Southern California, and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The West entrance area of Yellowstone prior to 1908 was called Riverside and was accessed by stagecoach from Monida or Beaver Canyon on the Union Pacific RR’s main line from Brigham City, UT to Butte, MT. It required about a day and a half stage ride from Monida, located on the Idaho-Montana border, to get to the west entrance. It would not be until 1908 that the UP extended a branch line to the fledgling town that was christened Yellowstone, eliminating the long coach ride from Monida. At that time business seemed to pick up considerably for Bryant and advertisements for his services in national newspapers and periodicals become more prominent. Union Pacific Depot at Yellowstone in 1908. [J. Clum Glass Slide] In 1908 Bryant produced a brochure that advertised “The Bryant Way,” an obvious takeoff on his successful competitor the “Wylie Way.” Even though he was widely advertising his services by this time, he apparently neglected to obtain camping permits from the Interior Department during several previous seasons. When he tried to apply in July 1908 he was turned down, probably for this very reason. During those years a number of complaints were filed against his operation and it is said that he sometimes sold tour tickets and then pawned the unsuspecting tourist off on other operators. Nonetheless, Bryant was somehow able to obtain a permit for the 1909 season to resume his business. By this time he now operated a hotel on Park Street in [West] Yellowstone along with a stagecoach line. The hotel was located on Park St., about a block east of the UPRR depot, directly along the route of travelers going into or from Yellowstone Park. Left: "The Inn at the Gate"in 1914. [1914 traveler's account, Univ of Wyo] Right: Main street of Yellowstone ca1916. The Inn at the Gate, behind the horses, became the Shaw & Powell Hotel after 1912. [Real-Photo Postcard] Campbell Guide "The Bryant-Spence Yellowstone Camping Company has an established reputation, gained through six years' service, for the completeness and excellence of camp equipment, the good quality of the table and service, the thoroughness of the sightseeing. The Bryant-Spence Company has its offices in the Monadnock Building, Chicago, with camp headquarters at Yellowstone, Montana, where all tours start. Special arrangements may be made to start from Gardiner, North Gate. The camps are movable, not permanent; each day, as the party travels, camp is broken in the morning and made at another point in the afternoon. Comfortable coaches and saddle horses are provided for the members of the parties. Special wagons carry provisions, baggage, tents, cots, blankets, tables, chairs, stoves, everything to make camp life comfortable. A professional cook accompanies each party, and abundant help to do all the camp work." [Campbell's New Revised Complete Guide and Descriptive Book of the Yellowstone Park, 1909 by Reau Campbell] From the 1909 Bryant "Delightful Camping Trip" brochure: PERSONALLY CONDUCTED TOURS Two circuit tours from Chicago and the East, via Yellowstone, the new western entrance to the Park, and Lander, and through the Yellowstone National Park, are being arranged under the auspices of the Bryant Yellowstone Camping Company. Each of these tours provides for twenty days' camp life in one of the most beautiful regions of high plateaus and ranges of splendid mountain peaks in America. In this region the Wind River, the Gros Ventre and the beautiful Teton Mountains form, day after day, a background for extensive plains, brilliant hued buttes, and a dry air that carries with it tonic properties of untold worth. . . One of these personally conducted parties will leave Chicago via the Chicago, Union Pacific & North Western Line, Monday, July 5th, via the electric-lighted Los Angeles Limited to Salt Lake City, and the Yellowstone Special to Yellowstone, the new western entrance to the Park. Arriving at Yellowstone, the party will make a camping tour of the Park, stopping each day at Bryant camps, and returning leave the Park via the Thumb, thence down the Snake River. ITINERARY OF PERSONALLY CONDUCTED TOURS [1909] The first personally conducted party will arrive at Yellowstone, the new western entrance to the Park, via the Yellowstone Special at 7.00 A. M., July 8th, and at 9.00 A. M. the twenty days' camping trip will begin: First Day . Drive through Christmas Tree Park and along the Madison River to the Lower Geyser Basin. Visit Mammoth Paint Pots, Fountain Geyser, Excelsior Geyser, Firehole Lake, Prismatic Lake, etc. Second Day. Drive to Upper Geyser Basin and spend the day there, visit Old Faithful, Giant Castle, Riverside, Grotto and many others. Return to Lower Basin Camp. Third Day. Drive through Gibbon Canyon to Norris Basin, then north to Apollinaris Spring, passing the Devil's Frying Pan, Beaver Lake, Obsidian Cliff, etc. Fourth Day. Drive through Golden Gate and Silver Gate to Mammoth Hot Springs Fifth Day. Drive twenty miles east to Tower Falls, visiting Yancey's, the Petrified Trees the Lower Canyon, etc. Sixth Day. Drive to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The entire party with carriages and horses will climb to the top of Mount Washburn, 10,300 feet above the sea. Seventh and Eighth Days. Spend visiting the Grand Canyon, the most wonderful, gorgeous natural spectacle in the world. Artist's Point Lookout, Inspiration Point, Falls of the Yellowstone, etc. Ninth Day. Drive to the Lake Hotel, passing Sulphur Mountain, Mud Volcano, etc. Tenth Day. Drive along the shore of the lake [Yellowstone] to the West Thumb, visit the Fishing Cone and the Paint Pots. The road here leaves the stage route, turning south. Camp on Lewis Lake. . . [From that point the tour went into the Jackson Hole country for 10 days before arriving at Lander WY for the rail trip home.] The Bryant Permanent Camp on Jackson Lake A permanent camp has been established on the east shore of Jackson's Lake under the management of Mr. Robert C. Bryant, of the Bryant Yellowstone Camping Company. This camp is ideally located. Directly across the lake are the Teton Mountains. There is a medicinal hot spring on the shore of the lake not far from the camp. The fishing on Jackson’s Lake is unsurpassed and mountain trout are often taken that weigh from five to ten pounds each. Good boats may be had at the camp and a naptha launch will be available. Carriages and saddle horses may be had at reasonable prices and guides for mountain trips or other excursions. The camp will provide a good table and comfortable rooms with every possible convenience. Rates $2.50 per day. Jackson’s Lake is twenty miles south of the Yellowstone National Park. It is reached either from Yellowstone Station at the western boundary of the Park or from Lander, the terminus of the North Western Line. Arrangements may be made for carriages from either of these points by addressing Bryant Tours, 457 Monadnock Block, Chicago, previous to July 1st, and after this date either the above address or Mr. Robert C. Bryant, Yellowstone, Mont., via Ashton, Idaho. [Delightful Camping Trip, 1909 Brochure] Incorporation The business was incorporated as the R.C. Bryant Company on March 2, 1911 in Salt Lake City, Utah with $50,000 capital and they maintained an office in Salt Lake City. The transaction was reported in the March 3, 1911 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune. Officers listed were: R.C. Bryant, president & director; Rodney T Badger, vice-president and director, along with Bryant’s wife M.T. (Margaret Tims) Bryant as a director. According to the 1911 National Park Conference Proceedings held in Sept in Yellowstone, Bryant claimed he had taken 800-900 tourists on his tours through the park that season. The Final Days Sometime in 1912, Robert Bryant sold out his “Bryant Way” camp and hotel operations to the Shaw & Powell Co. Perhaps he was no longer able to effectively compete with Shaw & Powell or Wylie, who by this time had established permanent camps throughout the park. The hotel became the Shaw & Powell hotel, which now gave them lodging facilities at both West Yellowstone and the north entrance at Gardiner. This enabled them to better provide for tours that came in one entrance and departed through another. According to US Federal Census figures, Robert and his wife and son were still living in Chicago in 1920. By 1930 Robert was boarding in San Diego, CA, and although he was listed as “Married,” Margaret was not living with him at the time of the census. Whether by death, divorce, or some other reason is unknown at this time. But in 1934 Robert Bryant, age 64, married Martha Wood Blake, age 49, in Los Angeles. The 1940 census shows the pair living together in Los Angeles. On Oct 26, 1959, Robert Collins Bryant passed away in the Los Angeles area at about age 89. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
- George Whittaker | Geyserbob.com
History of George Whittaker and his purchase and operation of the Jennie Henderson Ash general store at Mammoth Hot Springs. Yellowstone Storekeepers - George Whittaker General Stores Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. George Whittaker and the Yellowstone Park Stores - 1913 to 1932 The Army Days . . . George Whittaker began his career in Yellowstone as a soldier for the 6th Cavalry. He was assigned to Ft. Yellowstone in February of 1891 after participating in the Sioux campaign of 1890 at Wounded Knee. He served in Yellowstone until 1896, when he was appointed as a Scout by Acting Superintendent Gen. S.B.M. Young. He assisted in protecting the wildlife and searching for poachers until 1898 when he enlisted to serve in the Spanish-American War. He served at the Missouri Barracks and the Philippines as a packer, eventually returning to his scout duties in the park in 1902. He continued on as a scout during the winters until 1910, while he spent the summers working as a Transportation Agent for the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. at Canyon . Whittaker the businessman . . . In February of 1913 Whittaker purchased the Lyall-Henderson general store and post office at Mammoth. The enterprise became known as The Yellowstone Park Store. In 1914 Whittaker built a 20’ by 30’ addition to the store with an ornamental plate glass front. Financial reports showed 7 employees, including Mrs. Grace Whittaker, who is listed as Manager. He expanded into the gas station business in August of 1915 when automobiles were first allowed into the park and added a new gas station in 1919. In 1921-22 a 16’ long addition was built at the rear of the store. A 30’ addition to the former post office annex was also added. Top Left : Jenny H. Ash store at Mammoth ca1896 Top Right : Lyall-Henderson store at Mammoth ca1907. [YNP #9388] Bottom Right: Whittaker store 1917. [YNP #199719-72] In 1918 Whittaker established a store and gas station at Canyon. The store occupied a log building abandoned by Holm Transportation Co. and was located next to the ranger station, along the rim of the Grand Canyon. The old buildings consisted of one 18’ x 20’ cabin, a 14’ x 16’ cabin, a 22’ x 50’ stable and two outhouses. In the fall of 1919, he began construction a new large log store building that was completed the following spring. In 1921-22 a new warehouse was built at Canyon Revised blueprints from 1924 of Whittaker’s Canyon operation showed a ‘T’-shaped filling station with 4 pumps, a rectangular shaped store and 3 storage buildings. He then formed a partnership with the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. to operate the gas stations, with each partner having a 50% interest in the business. (The YPTCo also formed a similar relationship with Charles Hamilton's gas stations in the southern part of the park.) By 1923 he was operating a branch store at the Mammoth auto camp and the following year he added a deli to the Mammoth camp operation. In 1925 he sold the camp store business to Pryor & Trischman. Left : Whittaker store at Canyon ca1918, using old Holm Transportation Building Right : Whittaker gas station at Canyon, early 1920s. YNP #36503 Left : Whittaker store at Canyon ca1922. YNP 36501-733 Right : Whittaker gas station at Canyon, ca1922. YNP #36501-732 Left : Aerial view of Whittaker general store, gas station and support buildings at Canyon, undated. The sale to Pryor & Trischman and move to West Yellowstone . . . After 40 years of service in the park, George Whittaker decided to retire from the Yellowstone scene. He sold out to sisters Anna Pryor and Elizabeth Trischman in 1932 for $75,000, giving them a monopoly on the general store business in the northern half of the park. The sale included his 50% interest in the service station business at Canyon and Mammoth. He moved to West Yellowstone, where he had recently purchased property and an interest in the Hayward Cabin Co. The business included tourist cabins, a general store, service station and a beauty/barber shop. He was also involved in the construction of the first airstrip in West Yellowstone during the mid-30's. He continued his operation at West until the late 1940's when he sold the business (he was in his late 70's by this time). He eventually moved to the Old Soldiers Home at Sawtelle, California and died there in 1961 at age 91. Left : Hayward Cabins at West Yellowstone, 1940s. Right : Whittaker's Red Crown gas station in West Yellowstone, 1940s.
- Early Stage Outfits | Geyserbob.com
History of the early stagecoach operations in Yellowstone Park ca1873-1883. It includes Gilmer & Salisbury, Marshall & Goff, Zack Root's Express, James A. Clark, George Wakefield, and the Yellowstone Transportation Co. Coaching in the Yellowstone The Smaller Stage Companies Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Abbot-Downing Co. J.S. Abbott and Lewis Downing started this stagecoach company in 1826 and built the first Concord Stage in 1827. The company was known by several variations of the name over the years and produced over 3700 Concord Stages between 1827-1899. The coaches typically held 6, 9, or 12 passengers on bench seats. A Tally-Ho coach, with seats atop, could carry up to 20 or more persons. The Wells Fargo Company was among the company’s larger accounts, while the various Yellowstone companies purchased several hundred coaches from 1883-1916. The basic model weighed over 1-ton and the coach rode on twin through-braces made out of rawhide that formed 3-inch thick leather springs and gave a smooth, swinging motion. The coaches were used extensively throughout the west and are considered the finest stagecoaches ever built. One person could sit next to the driver (riding shotgun) and at least one model had bench seats on top. The underbody was painted yellow, while the coach body could be red (Monida & Yellowstone), yellow (Yellowstone Park Transportation Co), green, or other colors at the buyers request. When Yellowstone abandoned its coach fleet in 1917 for White Motor Co. buses, the company turned to making motor trucks for other industries. Above: The Abbot-Downing Carriage Works in Concord, NH Left: The 'Castle' stagecoach, used by the Monida-Yellowstone Stage Co . A typical illustration of a 'Yellowstone Wagon' from the Abbot-Downing catalog. Right: A typical illustration of a Wells Fargo Concord Coach, from the Abbot-Downing catalog. Gilmer & Salisbury John T. “Jack” Gilmer, with brothers Orange J. and Monroe Salisbury formed this stagecoach line in 1868 with the purchase of the assets of the Utah, Idaho, and Montana branches of Wells, Fargo Co. In 1873 this transportation firm was running stages from Fort Benton, Montana to Helena. They bought out the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage, Mail and Express Line in 1876, operating the Deadwood line between Cheyenne and the Black Hills. However, when they took over other stage lines, they generally kept the original names for the sake of customer familiarity, as thus, the Gilmer & Salisbury name itself was not always well-known to the public. The company became one of the most powerful corporations in the Northwest in the late 1800’s and amassed a sizable fortune. In their final days lines ran from the Canadian border to southern Utah and from the Great Plains to California and Washington. Gilmer passed away in May 1892 of Bright’s Disease. Monroe Salisbury died of cancer in May of 1907 while his brother O.J succumbed to heart disease a month later in June of 1907. Left: Gilmer & Salisbury Stage Line advertisement in the New North West. 8Oct1869. It outs service to Corinne Ut and Virginia City, Mt. According to “The History of the Construction of the Road System in Yellowstone National Park, 1872-1966 Historic Resource Study, Volume I,” “The first West Entrance Road, built by Gilman Sawtell , originated in Virginia City, Montana, and reached the Lower Geyser Basin by way of the Madison Canyon in 1873. Sawtell, the owner of a hotel near Henry's Lake in the Idaho Territory, named the toll-free road, The Virginia City and National Park Free Road, in order to differentiate it from the North Entrance toll road. But, by 1877, the road was a barely passable road as noted by a visitor “In 1878, Philetus Norris had the road along the Madison River to the western boundary in his improvement program . . . But two years later, Norris was approached by O. J. Salisbury, a partner in Gilmer & Salisbury Company, mail contractors, to find a new coach and mail route for the west side. The existing route along the Madison River, which required much bridging, was impassable most of the year and many considered the route dangerous. After two days of exploration, an acceptable route, which cut south from the Madison River at Riverside, was found. Salisbury left men to construct a mail station at the Riverside cutoff, while he proceeded east to secure his mail contract. Norris, who once considered the mountainous area south of the Madison River inaccessible, was surprised to find "a dry, undulating, but beautifully timbered plateau, allowing a judiciously located line of wagon-road with nowhere an elevation much in excess of 1,500 feet above the Forks of the Fire Hole. This route, which was shorter by six miles than the Madison Canyon route, would be cheaper to construct and maintain and also would open up new observation points for scenic and geologic interests." Top: Portraits of Jack Gilmer and Monroe Salisbury, undated. Bottom: Gilmer & Salisbury Stage Line pass, 1883 [Steamboat & Stagecoach Era in Montana and the North West, by Carlos A. Schwantes] Apparently, Gilmer & Salisbury was providing stage and Mail service to the Firehole by at least 1879 and perhaps earlier. In 1880 Marshall & Goff began providing that service, taking over from Gilmer & Salisbury. The company later began providing access close to Yellowstone Park as early as 1869 by running stagecoaches to Virginia City and later to Bozeman, where other stage lines (Bassett Brothers) carried passengers into the park. By 1880 they were running stages for mail, freight, and passengers from Red Rock, near Monida, to Mammoth Hot Springs . Marshall & Goff. George W. Marshall received a 1-year mail carrier contract in 1879 for the Virginia City to Mammoth route and formed the Marshall & Goff Stage Co. with John Goff in 1880. They built a house at the Firehole River near Nez Perce Creek. The following year erected a mail station at Norris, possibly in the meadow near the soldier station. Marshall and John A. Goff also built a 2-story hotel along the Firehole River near Nez Perce Creek in 1880. It was the 2nd hotel in Yellowstone; McCartney’s at Mammoth being the first). Left: Marshall & Goff's Mail Station at Firehole, ca1879. [Thos. H. Rutter stereo, courtesy Yellowstone Stereoviews webpage.] The first passenger stagecoach left October 1, 1880 from Virginia City for the Lower Basin. George Marshall drove the first two passengers, one of which was Carrie Strahorn, who claimed to be the first woman to tour the entire Park. She was traveling with her husband Robert A. Strahorn. They traveled up the Madison River to the Lower Geyser Basin to Marshall’s Hotel located at the confluence of Nez Perce Creek and the Firehole River. Marshall began giving tours of the park that same year and his tours were the first known to originate from 'within` the park. The Helena Weekly Herald reported on Aug 26 1880, “This week the coaches on Marshall & Goffs mail and express line to the National: Park were started. The coaches are commodious lour-horse vehicles, and the stations are at convenient distances, so that tourists can now make the journey by easy stages to Fire Hole Basin.” The paper also reported that construction of the hotel was nearing completion and would be ready for visitors the first of September. Board and lodging was $3/day, or $12/week . . . [and] Persons desiring to ride or drive through the Park will be furnished a two or three-seated carriage with driver for $8 per day. Riding horses for ladies or gentlemen, or pack horses will be furnished for $2.50 a day each. Trusty guides to all places of interest for $5 a day when required.” Top Right: Helena Weekly Herald, 26Aug1880] Bottom Left: 1908 Map excerpt showing Virginia City, Monida, Spencer, Henry's Lake and Firehole. [Clason's Map Co.] From “Montana and Yellowstone National Park,” by Robert E. Strahorn, 1881 EXPENSES IN THE PARK. "Mr. G. W. Marshall, at the National Park House in Lower Geyser Basin, will transport parties to various points or outfit them at following rates; Three-seated carriage and driver, $8 per day; single-seated rig and driver, $6 per day; saddle horses, $2.50 per day for 3 days or more, or $3 for single day . . . Bedding, tents and board will be furnished to parties on Park tours at very reasonable rates; board at hotel, $3 per day. Parties who desire to outfit and board themselves while making excursions in the Park, can buy all necessary provisions, ammunition, fishing tackle and bedding of Mr. G. W. Marshall at a reasonable advance (for freightage) over prices at Virginia City, or cooking utensils, bedding, tents, etc., will be leased on favorable terms to proper parties . . . Our estimate of the entire expense of the trip for one person from Omaha to the Park and return, including horse hire, board or provisions, etc., for 10 days in the Park is from $225 to $250." "Crossing Firehole Creek, Lower Geyser Basin" Near Marshall's Hotel early 1880s. The coaches may be those of the Bassett Brothers. [Cabinet Card, F.S. (Francis Shay) Halsted, Photographer] Zack Root's Express Zachary T. Root was born in October 1846 in Maryland. He is known to have been in the Bozeman area by at least the fall of 1873. Around July 1874, Zach Root formed a transportation company in Bozeman that hauled freight and passengers from Bozeman to Mammoth and points in between on a weekly basis. Zack Root's stage connected with George Huston and Frank Grounds at Mammoth Hot Springs, who had been operating a pack train operation into Yellowstone since at least 1873. The New North West newspaper in Deer Lodge, Mt., noted in early August 1874 that, “Zack Root's express, carrying the U. S. mail, passengers and freight, leaves Bozeman every Monday morning for the Mammoth llot Springs, National Park, and connects there with pack trains to the geysers and all attractive points in Wonderland.” A Bozeman paper noted in May 1875, that Zack Root was having his coaches renovated and repainted for the upcoming tourist season. Right: Mammoth Hot Springs stage and pack trips ad. [Bozeman Avant Courier, 18Sep1874] Zack Root only advertised his operation during 1874-75. In 1876 Clark & Arnholt’s Express was being promoted with George Wakefield as proprietor and provided the same services that Root had offered. The following year George Ash and E.L. Fridley bought out Clark’s operation and announced, “Tourists for the National Park and Geyser Land! Headquarters at the Bozeman.” They supplied wagons, carriages, buggies, saddle horses, and pack animals and connected with George Huston’s pack train at Mammoth. The operation changed hands again in 1877 as George Reese took over the venture under the name Clark’s Fork Express, and provided regular service to the burgeoning mining community at Clark’s Fork. There were no references in the Bozeman Avant-Courier that year for guiding or pack train services in the park by Huston or any other guide, nor were there any transportation ads for service to the park in 1878 or 1879 that the author has found. No doubt the Nez Perce and Bannock wars of 1877 and 1878 adversely affected business in the park. By 1880 Marshall & Goff were handling stage operations to Mammoth and Fire Hole from Virginia City, and Gilmer & Salisbury providing service to Virginia City. Left : Ad for Zack Root's Express. [Bozeman Avant Courier, 3Aug1875] Above: Ad for Z.T. Root's Express [The Madisonian, Virginia CIty, Mt, 4Dec1875] James A. Clark James Clark constructed a small tent hotel at the base of Capitol Hill in 1885 and was granted a 4-acre lease for 10 years that permitted him to build a hotel and necessary outbuildings. He also established a transportation and guide service that year for his guests. It was a partnership with E.O. Clark and was known as the “National Park Hack & Express”. He apparently took over the operation of an operation of the same name operated by Hobbs & Link (Frank M. Hobbs and Lawrence Link) that advertised in 1884 and was based in Cinnabar , They operated until Sept of 1885 when the partnership was dissolved. Right: Jas. A Clark - National Park Livery. [Livingston Enterprise, 10Jul1886 The Clarks advertised renting carriages, hacks, and saddle horses, with or without drivers. The Livingston Enterprise noted in 1885 that “Clark’s Town" is located at the foot of Capitol Hill and contains five houses and a number of tents.” By 1886 Clark was operating the ‘Cooke Stage & Express Line’, and received the Mammoth-Cooke City mail and stage contract in 1887. The business was often referred to simply as the White Barn at Mammoth . Two years later he was making tri-weekly trips to Cooke, with an overnight stop at the Soda Butte Stage Station. Above: Advertising Card for Jas. A. Clark at Mammoth, ca1886 Above: The "White Barn" at Mammoth Hot Springs, headquarters for James Clark's transportation operation. It was located at the base of Capitol Hill, about where the current Xanterra Parks & Resorts executive house is located. Livingston Enterprise - Apr 16, 1887 Park Transportation J. A Clark has refurnished his already extensive outfit of horses and carriages, and is prepared to do a general transportation business through the National Park during the coming season. He will also run the Cooke City mail and stage line, for which he has the contract. All wishing to make a tour of the Park will find it to their interest to consult with Mr. Clark before engaging transportation elsewhere. His place of business is the White Barn south of the National Hotel, at Mammoth Hot Springs. Call and see him or address him at the above place. James sold his transportation business in 1889 to A.T. French, who received the Mammoth-Cooke City mail route franchise. Clark was never able to build the hotel as promised in his lease and sold out his hotel interests in 1888 to the firm of White, Friant & Letellier, and eventually landed into the hands of George Wakefield. Early in 1889 Clark applied for a lease to erect a hotel at Soda Butte, but was turned down by Interior due to his past record. Clark was also involved in several mining ventures at Cooke City. "Cooke Transportation Line - A.T. French, Proprietor" [Livingston Enterprise, 30Nov1889] Sale of Clark's hotel site at Mammoth [Livingston Enterprise, 10Dec1887] The Wakefield Stage Companies George W. Wakefield was born in Bangor Maine in 1833 ventured west in 1859, where he prospected for gold in Colorado, California, Mexico, Nevada, British Columbia, Oregon and Idaho. In 1872 he settled in Bozeman, operated a livery barn and took a lease to manage the Northern Pacific Hotel, which he purchased in 1879. Wakefield had been operating stage lines in Montana Territory and between Bozeman and Virginia City before he teamed up with Charles W. Hoffman of Bozeman to establish the Wakefield & Hoffman stage line in 1883. Hoffman, a Montana pioneer, had become Post Sutler at Ft. Ellis in 1868, later Quartermaster, Post Trader in 1878, and was a state senator in the 1890s-early 1900s. The new stage company, Wakefield & Hoffman, provided service from Cinnabar to Mammoth and into the park under an exclusive agreement with Yellowstone Park Association (YPA), effective July 15, 1883. They operated from Livingston to the track's end until the Northern Pacific’s RR’s line was open to Cinnabar. The business started out with four Concord coaches, drawn by four horses. The coaches were named the Mayflower, the Bighorn, the Huntley, and the Queen. According to a Stagecoach information page on the St. Louis arch Museum website, Wakefield and Hoffman purchased Gilmer & Salisbury’s equipment to operate there business in Yellowstone National Park The company also received the mail contract for the Livingston to Cooke City route (tri-weekly) and provided daily mail service (during the summer season) to Mammoth beginning in July 1883. They utilized a cabin at Soda Butte for a mail station and overnight stop, as the trip from Cinnabar to Cooke City took more than one day. Right: Ad in The Yellowstone National Park , Herman Haupt, 1883 The St. Paul Globe noted on July 18, 1883 that, "The stage service by Messrs. Wakefield & Hoffman will be complete and ample for any emergency daring the season. They will have from 80 to 100 horses distributed through the park at various stations. From the terminus of the Park Branch road to the Mammoth Hot Springs, they place Concord coaches, and from the hotel through the park, new two and three-seated spring Concord wagons of Racine manufacture. They will be equipped and prepared with transportation for any number traveling in large excursion parties on short previous notice. Their whole outfit will be in the park in a few days." The following April the Livingston Daily Enterprise revealed that Wakefield had just returned from a trip back east (probably Concord, NH) and had purchased, “an elaborate outfit of wagons of new and unique design.” It was reported that in1884 the company maintained about 40 vehicles, including Concord coaches, jerkies, buggies, elegant spring wagons, and single and double buckboards. In Dec. of 1885, C.W Hoffman sold out his interest in the stage company to F.J. Haynes, the park photographer. The new business was called Wakefield & Haynes Stage Co. In March of 1886 Wakefield traveled to South Bend, Indiana, ”purchasing carriages and stages for the park tourist business this season.” [Indianapolis Journal, 31March1886] The company however was short-lived and Haynes sold out in July of 1886 for $2400, for reasons not entirely clear. The concern then became known as Wakefield Stage Lines. Left: Portrait of Chas. W. Hoffman [History of Montana , H.F. Sanders] Right: Livingston Daily Enterprise, 25Jan1884 "Notice of dissolution of partnership.—Notice is hereby given that the co partnership heretofore existing between Geo W. Wakefield of Bozeman, Gallatin county, Mont., and F. Jay Haynes of Fargo, Cass county, Dak., under the firm name and style of the Wakefield & Haynes Stage Co., has by mutual consent been dissolved, and all persons indebted to said firm, or having claims against the same, are hereby notified that all the debts of said firm have been assumed by the said Geo. W. Wakefield, who will pay the same as they become due, and that all credits in favor of said firm have been purchased by said Geo. W. Wakefield, who is hereby authorized and empowered to collect the same. Hereafter the business of said firm will be continued by Geo. W. Wakefield Stage Co. In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this 23rd day of July, A. D. 1886, at Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming. GEO. W. WAKEFIELD. F. JAY HAYNES Witness: W. W. Livingston. [The Livingston Enterprise, 07 Aug 1886, Sat • Page 1] In 1887 Wakefield began tri-weekly stage service from Livingston to the mining city of Castle. The following year he bought James Clark’s hotel operation at Mammoth and in 1889 the business incorporated as the National Park Transportation Co. with members Charles Gibson, E.C. Waters, G.W. Wakefield, and Thomas Oakes. An inventory conducted at that time revealed that the company owned three 11-passenger Concord wagons, eight 7-passenger Concord wagons, eight 5-passengers surreys and wagons, three 3-passenger Studebaker surreys, and eight other miscellaneous wagons and coaches. In a series of behind-the-scenes political maneuvers, schemes, and contrivances, the Wakefield company lost the transportation contract late in 1891, and the physical possessions were purchased by Harry W. Child and his associates. The Helena Independent Record announced on May 22, 1892 that, “George Wakefield and the National Park Transportation Co. lost the YPA contract in late 1891, and the operation was purchased by the YNPTC in 1892. In carrying out this object, a company has been incorporated under the laws of Montana entitled the Yellowstone National Park Transportation company, 'the incorporators are S.S Huntley, H. W. Child , E.W. Bach, L. H. Hershfleld and Aaron Hershfield. Silas Huntley will be the genera! manager of the company. The capital stock is $250,000. The contract given Mr. Huntley by the government is for ten seasons, beginning Nov. 1, 1901. The season opens June 1 and to start it the company has 500 horses, from seventy-five to 100 vehicles. and will employ about 100 drivers in addition to the stock tenders.” By 1894, Wakefield had teamed up with John A. Ennis and were delivering mail by stage from Livingston to Cinnabar under the name Wakefield & Ennis. D.I. Donovan took over the route in 1895 and Wakefield went into the camping business in Yellowstone, and received a permit in to operate a camping coaches and wagons from the Interior Dept His operation originated from Cinnabar , Montana, using 10-passenger Concord coaches. Passengers on the 10-day camping tours visited all the major attractions in the Park. The service cost $40 and all the visitors camping needs were provided for. Wakefield continued with this concession through at least 1901. Left: Billings Gazette, 11Aug1896 Above: George Wakefield standing in front of one of his camping coaches, ca1898. [Courtesy Univ. of Montana - Missoula] Yellowstone Transportation Co. (YTC) This firm was organized by Charles Gibson and Thomas F. Oakes (in 1886, under the auspices of the Yellowstone Park Association. Gibson was a St. Louis hotel businessman and co-founder of the Yellowstone Park Asso . (YPA) and Oakes was vice-president of the NPRR and held 10% of share in YPA. However, the YTC was unable to acquire a lease from the Army authorities, so they subcontracted with Wakefield & Hoffman to provide stagecoach service for YPA. That year Gibson issued a notice that "the drivers of the stage should act as guides in showing guests all the curiosities of the park." YPA`s transportation privileges were revoked November 1, 1891 and were taken over by the Yellowstone National Park Transportation Co.
- Norris | Geyserbob.com
A history of the three Norris Hotels at the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone park, illustrated with numerous historic photos. Hotels in the Yellowstone Norris Hotels 1887-1892 & 1901-1916 Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The First Norris Hotel - 1887-1887 Variously known as the Norris Lunch Station, Norris Hotel, and Larry's Lunch Station, there were five different facilities at Norris between 1883 and 1916. In 1883 the Yellowstone Park Improvement Co . (YPIC) established tent hotels at various locations throughout Yellowstone Park, including the Norris Geyser Basin. The first hotel opened up in the spring of 1887, even though construction was apparently incomplete. A workman started a fire in an unfinished chimney that set the hotel ablaze on July 14. The Livingston Enterprise reported that there were many guests in the hotel, but that all were saved. A bit of furniture was rescued, but all else was lost. Afterwards tents were set-up for guest use. The Jamestown Alert in North Dakota reported that, “the Norris hotel at the National park was burned Thursday and a loss of $50,000 sustained. Sam and Mrs. Matthews, who were at the hotel in the capacity of managers, have not been heard from as to personal loss or injury. Their friends trust all is right with them.” Left: The 1st Norris Hotel, Spring of 1887. [F.J. Haynes Stereoview, YNP #345] Above: Close-up of the front of the hotel, Spring 1887. [YNP Archives #50792] The Second Norris Hotel - 1887-1892 By the end of 1887 a temporary wooden hotel was completed with 20 sleeping rooms. It was long and narrow, built with 1" board siding. The Helena Weekly Herald noted on Aug. 18, 1887, “The Norris Basin hotel, burned a short time ago, is already replaced by a comfortable temporary structure with ample accommodations for more than a half hundred guests. Contrary to that report, Acting Supt. Capt. Moses described it as "cold and open, with no appliance for heating beyond a sheet iron stove in the common hall." Fire again caused havoc in 1892 and this building burned down. Much of the silverware, bedding and furniture were saved this time. Once again, the fire was believed to have resulted from a stovepipe or chimney problem. The view below would have been taken from the Norris Soldier Station, currently the Museum of the National Park Ranger. The bridge crossed the Gibbon River. Rare view of 2nd Norris Hotel by Emily Sibley Watson from Rochester NY on 20Aug1889, during her tour of Yellowstone. [Photo courtesy Univ. of Rochester , NY, Memorial Art Gallery] Round-format camera view of the 2nd Norris Hotel in 1890. Photographer unknown. The Third Norris Hotel - 1901-1916 A New Hotel. Larry Mathews , who is so well known in connection with' the Yellowstone Park, writes us that the new hotel recently built at Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Park, will be opened to the public Friday evening, Aug. 2nd. A 5 o'clock dinner will be served, after which a grand ball will be given. Ice cream, lemonade and all kinds of fruit will be served during the evening. It is expected that about 5,000 people will be present. This hotel is built on the formation, where all the large geysers of the park can be seen from the front porch, is a large affair costing $150,000, including fixtures. A large silk flag 80x47 feet will be erected over the center of the building. 'Mr. Mathews will have the management of the hotel, and is considered by the park association as the best manager in the park. [Post and Record (Rochester, Minn), 2Aug1901] A new lunch station and hotel opened in 1901 on the Porcelain Terrace at Norris. It was located on the edge of the Basin and from the front porch, one could gaze at the various geyser erupting. It contained about 25 rooms and continued to service the lunch crowd passing through. Larry Mathews managed he new hotel in 1891, and was moved to Old Faithful and managed the old "Shack Hotel Tent Camp" in 1902-03. As with the Fountain Hotel, decreased travel times in 1917 due to motorized buses, eliminated the necessity of the lunch station. It closed after the 1916 season and was razed in 1928. There are no longer any lunch or overnight facilities at Norris. Above: ca1905 view of Norris Hotel. Photographer unknown. Below: Norris Lunch House, ca1912. [Acmegraph PC #6501] Above: ca1905 view of Norris Hotel. [YPA Brochure, 1905] Below: Norris Lunch Station, ca1912. [Haynes-Photo, No. 194] From the 1901 Dept. of Interior Annual Report: "A new and very comfortable little hotel has been constructed at the Norris Geyser Basin. It has been built on a far better site than that occupied by the old lunch station, which was some distance from the geyser basin – entirely too far for the majority of tourists to walk. The new hotel is so conveniently located that the tourists can now sit on its broad and sheltered veranda, after having their luncheon, and while awaiting the arrival of their coaches, they will be greatly interested in watching the playing of the geysers in the distance below them; or if they prefer to do so, they can stroll leisurely through the basin and await the arrival of their coaches at the Monarch geyser, where comfortable seats and a shelter have been provided. This hotel has been greatly needed for a long time, and will be frequently patronized by people who can not afford the time to go entirely around the park, and also by many who wish to go out of the park by the Monida route." End of the Norris & Fountain Hotels . . . The Yellowstone Park Hotel Company is now engaged in razing the old Fountain hotel and the Norris basin lunch station, which have not been utilized since the stage coach days of 10 years or more ago. These institutions went out .pf use with the inauguration of the motor bus service. Materials .contained in these structures will be used in other construction work. [Great Falls Tribune, Mont., 26 Jun 1927, p.26] Norris Hotel with stages, 1906. [Stimson Collection, Wyoming State Archives ]
- Union Pacific RR | Geyserbob.com
History of the Union Pacific RR and their spur line to West Yellowstone and Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone's Supporting Railroads Union Pacific RR Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Union Pacific Railroad - Yellowstone's Western Access A Pictorial History of the Early Days Union Pacific Railroad - Beginnings . . . In 1862 President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act that named and directed two companies to construct a transcontinental railroad. The companies would be known as the Union Pacific and Central Pacific. The Act authorized land grants along the rail routes for the railroads as incentive for construction. The Ames brothers, whose shovel business flourished during the ‘Gold Rush’ years, provided the much needed immediate financing. The Central Pacific began construction in 1863 at Sacramento, California and headed east. Union Pacific started at Omaha, Nebraska to head west. The two lines connected in 1869 on May 10 at Promontory, Utah and the famous ‘Golden Spike’ was driven as the official last spike. The company fell into bankruptcy and was sold to a group of investors in 1897 that included railroad tycoon E. H. Harriman. It was Harriman that made the decision in 1905 to run tracks accessing the West entrance of Yellowstone. The Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern . . . The Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern came about in 1897 through a reorganization of the Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern RR. That railroad resulted from a merger between the Utah & Northern RR and other small ‘short lines’ in 1889. The Utah & Northern Railway was organized in April 1878 by Union Pacific interests to own and operate the bankrupt Utah Northern Railroad, with the intent to build a rail line from existing tracks in Northern Utah to the gold mines of Montana. Construction began the following year at Brigham City, Utah on a narrow gauge line. The tracks reached Butte on December 26, 1881, after a long lull in construction resulting from the ‘Panic of 1873’ Right Top : Utah Northern bridge at Eagle Rock (Idaho Falls) ca1880 Right Bottom : Union Pacific train crossing trestle enroute to West Yellowstone, undated. Yellowstone Historic Center. The Bassett Brothers began stage service that year to Yellowstone from Beaver, Idaho. Stage service to the park from the Monida station, located along the Montana-Idaho, border began in the 1890’s. The St. Anthony RR began building tracks from the main line at Idaho Falls to St. Anthony in 1899. Six years later UPRR President Harriman decided to open a line from St. Anthony to the west entrance of Yellowstone. The line was completed in November 1907 and the 1st scheduled passenger train arrived in the town of Riverside (now West Yellowstone) on June 11. The Oregon Short Line took over legal ownership of the line from St. Anthony RR in 1911 and in 1935 merged with the Union Pacific RR. Union Pacific provided much of the financing for these ventures Monida The small town of Monida was located along the Montana-Idaho border where Interstate I-15 currently passes through between Dillon, MT and Idaho Falls. The old stage route also passed along that route, along with the Union Pacific RR. There was a post office there between 1891-93 and 1896-1964. The Bassett Brothers continued to haul their stage passengers from Beaver into Yellowstone, while FJ Haynes’ Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. began hauling tourists into Yellowstone from Monida in 1898 and continued until 1907, when the UPRR extended their lines to the west entrance of the park. The old route to the park roughly followed Montana Route 509 through the Centennial Valley and past Henry’s Lake. It skirted the Centennial Valley, Red Rock Lakes, passed through Alaska Basin and crossed the Divide to Henry Lake; then over Targhee Pass to the west entrance of the park. Left Top : Town of Monida, Real-Photo PC postmarked 1908. Right Top : Summit Hotel in Monida, from 1902 brochure. Right Bottom : Railroad depot at Monida, from undated glass slide. Where Gush the Geysers Cover page from the UPRR pamphlet, "Where Gush the Geysers" published in 1899. This was the first year for this publication and it was produced to publicize not only the Oregon Short Line's route into Yellowstone through the West entrance, but the firm of the Monida-Yellowstone Stage Co. This company began providing reliable stage service from Monida to Yellowstone the previous year, and was viewed as more professional and better financed than the Bassett line. The brochure contained full-color pictures of various park wonders, along with descriptions of the features. Each page was decorated with elaborate and delicate scroll art work. It also included information on the four major hotels available at that time: Fountain, Lake, Canyon and Mammoth. The tour lasted for eight days. Beginnings of West Yellowstone The town was originally called Riverside upon its founding October 23, 1908, even though the town site was two miles from the river. The site was located on Forest Service lands and permission was required for any homesteaders. The first residents were issued permits for stores and homes late in the fall of 1907, but did not actually own the land. Prior to 1908 the area was referred to as ‘the Boundary’, or ‘at the Boundary’. To avoid confusion, the name was changed to Yellowstone on Jan 31, 1910. Confusion continued for years with the town named the same as the park, so the name was changed again in 1920 to West Yellowstone. Above : West Yellowstone depot, from 1910 UPRR brochure. Below Left : Yellowstone Special, undated. Union Pacific’s first passenger train rolled into West Yellowstone in 1908, It has been noted in many history books that the original train arrival was on June 10, but according to Paul Shea of the Yellowstone Historic Center, a rock slide across the tracks delayed the train until the 11th. That day is now celebrated as Train Day. The train became known as the ‘Yellowstone Special’ after WWI, and was equipped with sleeping cars and would arrive in town early in the morning, where passengers could have breakfast before starting their journey into the park. It ran one trip daily during the summer season until the end of the 1960 season when declining passenger numbers could no longer support the service. A second train, the Yellowstone Express began service in 1922 and ran for 20 years. Union Pacific Depot The depot was built in 1909 at West Yellowstone and replaced a rail car that had been used temporarily. Soon after its construction, the Union Pacific described the depot as “built of stone, very substantial, spacious, and artistic. It is electric heated by steam, and provides large waiting rooms, an individual dressing room for ladies, two large fireplaces, drinking fountains, etc. In it are the usual ticket and Pullman offices and the office of the Monida and Yellowstone Stage Co. The trains approach on the south side while the stages receive and deliver passengers under the porte-cochere on the north side.” (From the UPRR Collection of the Yellowstone Historic Center) Tourists were loaded onto stagecoaches of the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. to tour through the park until 1913, when the service became known as the Yellowstone-Western Stage Co. Beginning in 1917, White Motor Co. auto stages of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. replaced the stagecoaches. The depot was donated to the town of West Yellowstone in 1969, and a private museum opened up in the old depot in 1972. In 2000, the Yellowstone Historic Center leased the depot from the Town of West Yellowstone and spearheaded many major repair and restoration projects. The depot now is the home of the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum. Top Left : Depot, colorized lantern slide by J.P. Clum, 1908. YNP Slide File Top Right : Depot, undated. YP 39 Bloom Bros. postcard. Bottom Left : UP Dining Lodge, Real-Photo postcard. Bottom Right : UP Dining Lodge Interior, Real-Photo postcard. Dining Lodge The first eatery was a crude tarpaper and wood frame building in 1908. It was replaced by the 'Beanery' in 1911 and in 1925 UP had the ‘Dining Lodge’ constructed near the depot. It was a grand structure of stone and timber designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood. Visitors by train would arrive early in the morning and partake in breakfast prior to starting their journey into the park. Diners would be seated in the Mammoth Room, a massive dining room with a 45-foot ceiling, large windows, and a fireplace large enough for a man to stand in. Several hundred people could be seated at one time. Visitors returning from the park could have supper there before they started their train ride home around 6:30 p.m. The Dining Lodge closed, probably during the mid-late 1950’, due to declining visitation. The lodge was donated to the town of West Yellowstone in 1969 and is currently used as an event center, serving as a venue for weddings, gatherings, celebrations, and more. For additional information, visit the Yellowstone Historic Center website. Gilbert Stanley Underwood Underwood became associated with the National Park Service, the UPRR and other park concessionaires in the early 1920’s. He was trained in the California Arts & Crafts movement in 1910-11. Using those concepts he designed buildings that utilized natural and native materials, such as rock and logs, to blend the buildings in with their environment. He designed a multitude of buildings in the western United States including: the Dining Lodge at West Yellowstone; Old Faithful Lodge; lodges at Zion, Bryce, and Cedar Breaks; the Grand Canyon Lodge; Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite; Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, Oregon; Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho; and the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton. He also designed many other railroad depots for the Union Pacific. G.S. Underwood, ca1925. NPS photo The Union Pacific Bears . . . Walter Oehrle, a commercial artist was hired by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1923 to illustrate the covers of a promotional pieces announcing the opening of Yellowstone each June. The subject was always bears. The UP bears were drawn to look cute, silly, and anthropomorphic. The most common theme of the illustrations is of performance and entertainment. Of the 92 bear illustrations, 37 depict the bears being either mischievous or inept, like clowns. A number of them show the bears performing as artists, or in films, circuses, parades, or beauty pageants. The bears are presented as happily performing for their human visitors.” Images of these happy-go-lucky bear were published in a small pamphlet that was given away by the Yellowstone Park Company. They were later rendered into woodcuts, which graced the inside of the Bear Pit Lounge at Old Faithful Inn for many years. A couple of these woodcuts are still on the walls of the Old Faithful Inn Snack Shop. During a recent remodeling, the images were redone in cut glass,
- Bears-in-Circles Logo | Geyserbob.com
History of the Bear-in-Cicles logo used by the transportation and hotel companies from the early 1900s to the present. Yellowstone Hotel & Transportation Companies Bear-in-Circle Logo Through the Years Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Yellowstone Park Association 1886-1909 Created in 1886 by the Northern Pacific RR to take over the properties and operation of the bankrupt YPIC. The heads of the company included Charles Gibson, Nelson C. Thrall, Frederick Billings, and John C. Bullitt. Harry Child, Edward Bach, and Silas Huntley purchased the company in 1901 with financing from the Northwest Improvement Co. Child acquired full ownership in 1907, and on December 9, 1909, Child had the name of the company changed to the Yellowstone Park Hotel Co . Top Left: This decal is 4" diameter. The photo for these decals was taken by F.J. Haynes in the early 1890's at the Fountain Hotel garbage dump. You can still see the cans in the foreground. In later years the foreground was stylized to represent small trees, logs and Top Center: Paper decal, 1 inch,seen on envelopes, stationary, luggage, etc. Top Right: Paper decal, 1 inch, for use on mailing envelopes. Bottom Left: Paper decals, 1 inch size, perforated like stamps. Yellowstone Park Hotel Co. 1909-1936 Formed Dec. 9, 1909 by H.W. Child to take over the operation of the Yellowstone Park Association, which he also owned. Son Huntley Child was chosen as vice-president and son-in-law William Nichols became secretary. Child remained head of the YPHCo until his death in 1931, when Wm. Nichols took over the helm. At that time Vernon Goodwin became vice-president and Hugh Galusha was retained as controller. The company remained in control of the park hotels until 1936, when the company was merged with the Yellowstone Park Boat Co., Yellowstone Park Transportation Co., and Yellowstone Park Lodge & Camps Co. to form the Yellowstone Park Company. Left: Paper decal, 1-1/2 in to 4 inch, used on luggage, envelopes, postcards, stationary, etc. Right: Metal pinback, about 1-1/4 inch diameter. Very prolific, even these days. Left: Paper decal, 1-1/2 in to 4 inch, used on luggage, envelopes, postcards, stationary, etc. Right: Brass watch fob from 1912. Stamped on back: Mid-West Delegation Chicago Special Yellowstone Park Company 1969-1979 Formed in 1936 under the direction of Wm. Nichols, with Vernon Goodwin as vice-president, Mrs. Harry Child was a principle stockholder. The company was formed by the mergers of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co., Yellowstone Park Hotel Co., Yellowstone Park Lodge & Camps Co., and the Yellowstone Park Boat Co. The company received a 20-year lease in August. The Child-Nichols family sold the company to Goldfield Enterprises on February 4, 1966 for 6.5 million dollars. Goldfield became a part of General Host, Inc. The Park Service, increasingly frustrated by General Host’s dismal record of service in the park, canceled the contract in October of 1979 and paid 19 million for all of YPCo’s park buildings and assets. TWA Services received the new concession contract later that year and changed the name of the company. Very common paper decal, found in sizes 1-1/2 and 4 inch. 12 inch water-transfer decal were used on the side door panels of company vehicles. Soft cloth patch that could be sewn on to employee uniforms. Linen iron-patch used on employee uniforms TW Services, Amfac, and Xanterra Parks & Resorts. In 1979, the government bought out all the Yellowstone Park Co. assets in the Park, and a new short-term lease was granted to TWA Services, with extensions and renewals based on performance. The name was changed to TW Services in 1984 and TW Recreational Services in 1988. Amfac Parks & Resorts, who had purchased the Ferd Harvey Company in 1968, bought out TWR Services in 1995 and was renamed Xanterra Parks & Resorts in 2002. The top three items are all cloth patches for employee uniforms. To the left was a sew-on patch, about 4 inch size, while the other two were iron-on patches, about 3 inches in length.. Bottom left is Amfac logo, using dark green lettering. To the right is a TWR paper decal about 3 inches long. Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. 1898 - 1936 Formed in 1898 by Harry Child, with brother-in-laws Silas Huntley and Edward Bach to take over the operation of the Yellowstone National Park Transportation Co.. They received a 10-year lease on March 31. Huntley died about three years later and his shares reverted to NorthWest Improvement Co. Bach sold his shares to NWIC in 1902, leaving Child in full control. In 1917 the stagecoaches were put out to pasture and White Motor Co. buses took over the roads. William Nichols, who took over the company in 1931 after Child’s death, merged the YPTCo with the YPHC, YP Lodge & Camps Co., and the YP Boat Co. in 1936 to form the Yellowstone Park Co. YPTCo decal, 1-inch and 2-inch are known YPTCo brass badge, or driver's cap emblem. This dates to the 1920s - early 1930s. Yellowstone Park Co brass badge, or driver's cap emblem, about 2-inch in size.. This dates to the post-1936 era. Notice the 'T' missing in the center. Variations on a Theme From the 1890s to 1940s Top Left: Logo of the Lander-Yellowstone Park Transportation Co., who drove tourists from Lander, Wyo. to Moran Jct. near the Tetons. They began business in 1921 when a new highway opened over Togwotee Pass. The image is of Dick Washakie, son of famed Shoshone Chief Washakie. Top Center: Logo for the Summit Hotel in Monida, Mont. It opened in 1898 when the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. began hauling tourists from Monida through the west entrance of Yellowstone, Top Right: Logo for the Monida Line & the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Line. The company operated 1898-1913. Middle Left: Logo for the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co., 1898-1913. Middle Right: Logo for the Milwaukee Road RR, and the Gallatin Gateway route to Yellowstone. Service was provided through the west entrance of the park by the YPTCo. beginning in 1928. Bottom Left: W.A. Hall Store in Gardiner, Mont., at the north entrance to Yellowstone, located next to the Roosevelt Arch. Bottom Right: Logo for the Cody Road to Yellowstone, traveling through Wapiti Valley and over Sylvan Pass into Yellowstone. Cody was home to Buffalo Bill.
- Frost & Richard | Geyserbob.com
The Frost & Richard Camping company was based from the Wapiti Valley, near Cody, Wyo. It was run by Ned Frost and Fred Richard, who conducted tours into Yellowstone ca1905-1916, and also led hunting expeditions into the wilds of Wyoming. Camping in the Yellowstone Frost & Richard Camping Co. Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. "Now all is hustle among local transportation companies in anticipation of the opening of the Turk season July 1st. The equipment is being put in readiness and parties being booked daily. The companies in the field this year are the Yellowstone Park Camping & Transportation Co., Shoshone Camping Co., Frost & Richard and Dahlem Bros. All are reliable and anyone hooking with them is assured of the finest treatment possible and the finest trip through the country. The Cody road to the Park is completed and leads through the noted Shoshone Canyon, just past the Shoshone dam and lake and up through the grand North Fork country. It's a trip worth traveling over continents to enjoy. BOOK NOW! Address any of the Companies mentioned at Cody, Wyoming." Park County Enterprise (WY), Jun 1, 1910 The town of Cody, Wyoming is located 50 miles east of Yellowstone and was founded in 1896 by Buffalo Bill Cody, and other investors having railroad and agricultural interests. Like most small western towns, growth of the town was predicated upon having access to railroad service. Col. Cody began negotiations with the railroads and eventually the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR was convinced to build a branch rail line from their main line at Billings, MT. The line extended south to Toluca and from there ran southwest for 129 miles to Cody. The line reached town in 1901 and the depot was built on the north side of the Shoshone River, on the opposite side of the river from the town proper. That same year construction began on a new road over Sylvan Pass into Yellowstone. It opened in late June/early July 1903 after the heavy snows had melted, making Cody the East Gateway to Yellowstone Park. Tex Holm began conducting camping tours over Sylvan Pass in 1903 and other small operators, including Ned Frost and Fred Richard, followed suit in later years . Top Left: The town of Cody Wyo, ca1904, less than a decade after its founding. Bottom Left: Ned Frost leading a pack train over Sylvan Pass, probably late spring. [Undated Real Photo postcard] Ned Frost became a partner with Fred Richard in the early 1900’s with each of them homesteading land around Green Creek west of Cody. Ned hunted and trapped, while Fred skinned, stretched and prepared the pelts. Coyote pelts were going for $60 at the time and business was good. Individually or collectively they also guided hunters through the nearby wilderness country in search of big game. Through these enterprises they saved up enough to build a large ranch house as a base camp for their enterprises in Wapiti Valley. The ranch featured 17 rooms, including seven bedrooms upstairs and a large living room with fireplace to entertain their paying guests. Richard, Fred J. (Alfred John) Fred J. Richard was born around 1880-81 in Vermont. He married Margaret Hughes (born ca1881) of Illinois in Chicago on January 1, 1909. Her sister Mary would marry New Frost the following year. By 1910 Fred and Margaret were listed in the US Federal Census for Park County. The couple had two children; Alfred J. “Jack”, born in 1909 in Wyoming; and Robert H., born ca1915 in Wyoming. Son Jack became quite a renowned local photographer and his massive collection of photographs was donated to the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody Wyoming. Frost, Ned Ward Ned W. Frost was born April 11, 1881 in Minnesota and came into the Cody country in a covered wagon in 1884 with his family and settled on Sage Creek near Cody. He killed his first grizzly bear around the age of seven or eight and began a life of hunting and guiding. By age 14 he was shooting antelope to supply meat houses in Coulson (Billings), Montana. He appears in the 1900 Federal Census for Wyoming. He helped to build the Corkscrew Bridge on Sylvan Pass in the early 1900’s and in 1903 he discovered Frost Cave in Cedar Mountain just west of Cody. His future wife Mary Hughes was born February 1881 in Chicago, Illinois and was the sister of Margaret Hughes, who married Fred Richard in 1909. Ned and Mary were married January 20, 1910 at the home of Fred Richard. The couple’s first son Nedward Mahlon was born around 1911. He was followed by Richard J. about 1918 and Jessie W. circa 1921. Ned passed away Nov. 19, 1957 after several months of ill health. He was considered by many to be the foremost big-game hunter of his time. Frost & Richard Camping Co. Ned Frost and Fred Richard formed the "Frost & Richard Camping Co." around 1909 and began conducting formal advertised camping trips into Yellowstone using moveable camps. They had, however, operated earlier than 1909 as “Frost & Richard.” The Wyoming Stockgrower and Farmer newspaper of Cody noted on July 11, 1907 that, “Frost & Richard started with the first park party of the season Monday. The party consisted of Chas. P. Whitney, wife and little daughter, Mr. Lesch, a railroad attorney, three young Lady teachers and three young gentlemen, all of Chicago, and Mrs. Frank Thompson of Cody.” Several articles in the Wyoming Stockgrower & Farmer newspaper for July 1905 also noted several small tours led into the park by Frost and Elmo Webster. These informal tours no doubt extended back several years and probably utilized the Sunlight Basin route through Cooke City and the northwest entrance prior to the opening of the Sylvan Pass road in 1903. The size of the parties gradually increased and in June 1910, the Park County Enterprise (WY) reported that the Frost & Richard Camping Co. was guiding a party of around 30 tourists through Yellowstone. Wyoming Stockgrower and Farmer, 19Jul1905. In 1910 the men had a 20-page promotional booklet printed up by South Publishing Press to advertise their services. It was entitled, “Over the Cody Trail to Yellowstone: Seeing nature’s Wonderland by Camp in Parties of Two or More. [Not shown] The following year the McGuire Printing Co. published a 16-page booklet more simply titled, “Cody Road Through Yellowstone Park.” [Left - 1915 Edition} This small tome is not to be confused with a Burlington, Chicago & Quincy RR publication titled “The Cody Road to Yellowstone” that was in publication by 1907, and continued through 1916. [Right] The Frost & Richard Camping Co. is first mentioned in that brochure in 1909. Camping Tours Over the Cody Road (1909) The most popular way of making the trip over the Cody Road and through Yellowstone Park is in a camping party from Cody back to Cody, occupying 16 or 18 days. The Yellowstone Park Camping and Transportation Co. (Aron Holm, Proprietor) and Frost & Richard have for many years made a specialty of outfitting and conducting such parties, and the many people who have made the tour under their auspices have been uniformly well pleased with the arrangements. The names of such people we will be glad to furnish to anyone contemplating the trip. The Company and Frost & Richard both have first-class outfits and handle their own parties and in an entirely satisfactory manner. Transportation is provided in covered surreys or waggonettes built with extra good springs specially for this mountain service and very comfortable; a good saddle horse is provided for those who wish to make the trip on horseback, for $1 per day extra—should any such become tired, they may of course have a seat in the surrey. The tents are tepees, each accommodating two persons, and the best that money can buy; they are furnished with canvas floors, ostermoor mattresses, woolen blankets and warm, heavy comforters; a private toilet tent for ladies is set up at each camp. The meals are the best that the market affords in canned goods, smoked meats, fresh vegetables and trout, all prepare by women cooks in a covered cook-wagon. Many ladies make the camping tour and enjoy it thoroughly; children as young as seven or eight years have made the trip, some even going horseback as there is always a man in the party to teach the inexperienced to ride and who accompanies the children and inexperienced riders of the party at all times. [The Cody Road to Yellowstone Park – 1909 (Burlington, Chicago & Quincy RR, shown above right] By 1910, the company advertised 12, 16, and 28-day camping trips, and used tepee-style sleeping tents nine feet square with canvas bottoms. The tents had beds that were provided with mattresses and blankets and accommodated two persons, but private tents could be had for an extra charge. Trips were conducted in 3-seated mountain surreys seating five passengers and the driver. Mess and baggage wagons accompanied the party carrying supplies, cooking and dining tents. The dining tent was furnished with a stove, folding tables, and chairs and the dinnerware was of white granite. Toilet tents were set up at each camp and water heated for the guests’ use. The trips cost $4.00 per day with an extra $1.00 per day charge for those wishing to ride on horseback. The company also offered horseback pack trips in the park that traveled on various trails during the daytime, but spent the nights at the camps of the coaching parties. Cody Pictorial, ca1911. Click to enlarge. "The Loop Sylvan Pass Cody Road" Frost & Richard camp wagon crossing the pass, ca1912. [Lucier Photograph] "Corkscrew Road Sylvan Pass" Undated photo of Fros & Richard camp wagons. [YNP #1935] From the Park County Enterprise (WY), Jun 1, 1910: "Now all is hustle among local transportation companies in anticipation of the opening of the Turk season July 1st. The equipment is being put in readiness and parties being booked daily. The companies in the field this year are the Yellowstone Park Camping & Transportation Co., Shoshone Camping Co., Frost & Richard and Dahlem Bros. All are reliable and anyone hooking with them is assured of the finest treatment possible and the finest trip through the country. The Cody road to the Park is completed and leads through the noted Shoshone Canyon, just past the Shoshone dam and lake and up through the grand North Fork country. It's a trip worth traveling over continents to enjoy. BOOK NOW! Address any of the Companies mentioned at Cody, Wyoming." Top Left : Frost & Richard wagons atop of Mt Washburn, undated. [Courtesy Wyoming PBS] Top Right: Frost & Richard party having lunch on the road on Aug. 19, 1912, probably Sylvan Pass or Mt. Washburn. [Courtesy Wyoming PBS. " "YELLOWSTONE AND OTHER WESTERN LOCALES THROUGH A YOUNG WOMAN’S EYES" Photo album from Muriel Mann of Chicago of a western tip in 1913 Left: Frost & Richard wagons atop of Mt Washburn. Right: Frost & Richard wagons crossing the Shoshone River, somewhere between Cody and the East entrance of Yellowstone Finale for the Frost & Richard Co. After 1916 and the government-mandated consolidation of the camping companies in Yellowstone, Frost and Richard mostly parted ways and returned to their own guiding and hunting operations. Frost guided many famous hunters during his lifetime, including Saxton Pope and Art Young (Pope & Young Club) in 1920. Frost Lake, two miles NE of Pyramid Peak was named after him ca1893-95, as was Frost Cave in the mountain west of Cody. The Skytel Ranch is currently located on the site of the Frost Ranch. "Through a deal which was closed this week the Frost & Richard Co. dissolved partnership and Fred Richard takes over the ranch on Northfork and will devote his entire time to developing it along agricultural and stock raising lines. Ned Frost, the retiring member of the company plans to continue his "dude" wrangling activities, making the ranch his headquarters for the present. Poor health is the principle reason for his retirement from business and in the fall he will probably go to California to spend the winter." Northern Wyoming Herald, May 21, 1919 Map of Frost and Richards tour route through Yellowstone with campsite numbered. [1915 F&R brochure] Click to enlarge Famous Guide and Big Game Hunter Dies at Cody, Wyo. Greeley Daily Tribune, Thursday, Nov. 21, 1957 Ned Ward Frost, 77, one of the West's most famed big game hunters and guides, died Tuesday [19th]. He had been in ill health for several months. Frost, who came to the Cody area in 1903, led many big game hunting expeditions into the rugged country surrounding Yellowstone National Park and was the discoverer of Spirit Mountain Cavern, five miles west of Cody. Frost was reputedly one of the most accurate big game marksmen in the first quarter of the 20th Century and made several hunting expeditions throughout the world. Sept. 26, 1952, was set aside in Wyoming as "Ned Frost Day", to honor big game guides and hunters. Frost was found dead at mid morning when Dr. Joseph A. Gautsch went to investigate when Frost failed to keep an appointment with the physician. Funeral arrangements have not been completed. Within the past month, Frost sold his 1,885-acre ranch on the North Fork of the Shoshone River to Rep. Keith Thomson (R Wyo). Fred J. Richards Dies in Powell CODY, Wyo.—Fred J. Richards, a long time Park County resident, died in a Powell rest home early Monday at the age of 82. Mr. Richards was born in Eden, Vt., July 19, 1880 and had lived in Park County for 61 years. Two sons, Jack of Cody and Robert of Denver, survive. Billings Gazette, 28Aug1962 GRIZZLY FIGHTS GUIDES TOURISTS RESCUE THE PAIR Washington Post, Aug. 27, 1916 Ned Frost, Yellowstone park guide and noted hunter, and Edward Jones, a cook were badly injured near Lake Hotel, in Yellowstone park, in a one-sided battle with an immense grizzly bear. Frost was conducting a tourist pack train through the park, Jones being the cook. Because of park regulations the party traveled without arms. Monday night Jones discovered a male bear raiding the camp grub outfit. BEAR RESENTS INTERFERENCE Bears protected in the park roam unmolested and ordinarily are not vicious. So Jones did not hesitate to attempt to drive the animal away. Resenting his interference, the bear charged, hurled him 80 feet with a blow from its paw and was mauling his back when his yells brought Frost to the scene. Unarmed, but undismayed, Frost unhesitatingly went into battle attacking the enraged beast with the first weapon he could seize, a frying pan. The bear turned upon Frost and an unequal battle with the advantage all on the side of the grizzly ensued. A sweep of the bear's claws tore Frost's leg open from the hip to the knee, but he fought on floundering away from the grizzly's lunges and belaboring her with whatever he could lay his hands on. NOISE OF BATTLE BRINGS AID Jones, almost disabled, rejoined the fray and the two men between them succeeded in confusing the bear so it wasted its efforts in attempting to maul both at the same time. The noise of the battle brought tourists running to the camp and the bear fled. Frost and Jones were taken to the hotel where an army surgeon dressed their wounds. Later they were brought to town [Cody] in a serious condition, but are expected to recover. Frost is one of the best known of the park guides.
- Hotels Introduction | Geyserbob.com
General history of the various hotels that operated in Yellowstone National Park since 1880. Yellowstone Hotels Introduction Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author. The earliest hotels in the park were rather crude facilities with only the most basic amenities and services. James McCartney built the first hotel (loosely speaking) at Mammoth, located at the mouth of Clematis Creek. It consisted of two log cabins in 1871, and by 1873 another cabin, stables, and outbuildings were constructed. Visitors used their own bedding and generally slept on the floor. Most of the people visiting at this time were hunters, poachers, miners, curiosity-seekers, or invalids coming to reap the supposed health benefits of the hot springs around Mammoth. Travel to this part of the country was difficult at best, and dangerous at worst, as evidenced by the Nez Perce forays through the Park in 1877. That summer Indians killed Richard Dietrich , one of a party of Helena tourists, while he was standing in the doorway of McCartney`s cabin. Other visitors included "official" exploration parties carried out by various governmental and military agencies for exploration purposes and surveys for potential roads. The railroads also conducted surveys in the park in hopes of laying track to various features, and to the mines in Cooke City. Fortunately these plans never materialized, despite tremendous pressures brought upon the government by the miners, railroad and local citizens hoping to make a profit. The second hotel to be built was by George Marshall near the mouth of Nez Perce Creek in 1880. A crude road had been built from Virginia City through the west entrance to the Lower Geyser Basin in 1873, and a road was cut south from Mammoth by Supt. Norris in 1878. With these primitive accesses, Marshall was able to serve the early tourists to the Upper and Lower Geyser basins. He sold out to G.G. Henderson and Henry Klamer in 1885 and the hotel was renamed the 'Firehole Hotel.` A pair of utilitarian cottages were built next to the hotel to increase capacity. The Yellowstone Park Association assumed control in 1886 and operated it until 1891 when the Fountain Hotel opened up nearby and the old hotel was no longer needed. The year 1883 was a momentous one. The Northern Pacific Railroad had recently completed its transcontinental railway and needed to create a demand for its services. With Yellowstone only 50 miles from their tracks at Livingston, Montana, and the hope for big profits in the tourist trade, the Northern Pacific extended their tracks to Cinnabar , three miles north of Gardiner . The "Park Branch Line" would for this first time, enable wealthy tourists to 'ride the rails` and visit Wonderland. This type of tourist was accustomed to the fancy resorts in the east and Europe and expected the best in accommodations. The existing park hotels were totally inadequate to provide the needs of this newer and more demanding class of tourist. In order to attract these new, affluent visitors, the Yellowstone Park Improvement Co. (YPIC) was formed to provide for a new system of hotels. Carroll T. Hobart , a division superintendent for NPRR, Henry Douglas, and investor Rufus Hatch were the creators of this new company. Their first order of business was construction of a hotel at Mammoth, eight miles from the railroad terminus. Actual construction of the National Hotel started in the fall of 1882, with a partial opening of 141 rooms on August 1, 1883. Visitors were brought from the new railhead at Cinnabar to Mammoth in Wakefield & Hoffman stagecoaches. Completion of the building did not occur until 1886, due in part to a 5-month carpenter`s strike in 1884. Beginning in 1883, YPIC also established tent hotels at Canyon , Old Faithful and Norris to serve the tourist until grander facilities could be built. Financial problems caused YPIC to go bankrupt in 1885, and the Yellowstone Park Association (YPA) was established the following year. Charles Gibson, Nelson Thrall, and John Bullitt formed this new company with financial backing from the Northern Pacific RR. They bought out the National Hotel, and assumed control over the Firehole Hotel and other YPIC properties. Join with me and continue to explore the history of the old hotels and lodges in Yellowstone National Park in these richly illustrated web pages . . . . .
- Yellowstone Bios H | Geyserbob.com
Yellowstone Biographies with last name beginning with H Yellowstone Biographies H Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Hague, Arnold . Arnold Hague was born December 3, 1840 to Rev. Dr. William and Mary B. (Moriarty) Hague in Boston, Massachusetts. He served as a geologist with the US Geological Survey from 1879 until his death in 1917. Hague graduated from Yale and studied at several universities in Germany. He specialized in the geology of Yellowstone beginning in 1883 and continued his surveys of the park through two decades. He and his staff were responsible for naming many of the park features. He was a member of Clarence King's US Geological exploration of the 40th Parallel from 1867-77 and investigated mining and mining processes in Nevada, China, and Guatemala. Hague was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and other professional societies, and authored numerous scientific books and professional papers on the geology of the West. In 1899 he co-authored "Geology of the Yellowstone National Park" and wrote numerous other treatises on geology. [Who's Who in America, 1902; Webster's Biographical Dictionary, 1948; The 20th Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, 1904] [25L;46] Hall, William A. W.A. Hall, familiarly known as 'Billy', was born April 30, 1861 and came to Montana from Humansville, Missouri as a foster child of the C.D. Fisher family. He married Lulu F. Brown in 1886 and they had four sons: Arthur W., Earl H., Warren E., and James Raymond. Hall built the W.A. Hall store in Gardiner near the Arch and rail depot in 1903 and provided all of the basic necessities of life for the tourist, hunter, and resident. The large upstairs was home to many community dances in its heyday. The store was a Golden Rule store, the forerunner of the J.C. Penny franchise. Hall originally ran a store in Aldridge, but built a new and larger store in Gardiner with the opening of the railroad to that town. He left Aldridge completely after the coal strike of 1904-05. Hall also operated a Golden Rule store at Cinnabar in the 1890's. The W.A. Hall Company at Cinnabar housed a general store, a beer hall and a restaurant. Hall closed the store down in 1903 when the railroad continued on into Gardiner and the town of Cinnabar was abandoned. Hall later moved to Bozeman and his sons operated the Gardiner store until 1955. Lulu Hall passed away in 1931. The W.A. Hall building was sold in 1961 to Cecil Paris. Reportedly architect Robert Reamer designed the building for Hall. However, there is some doubt about whether the building that was erected actually used the plans drawn up by Reamer. Reamer's blueprints of the store show many design characteristics that were not included in actual construction, perhaps as a means to save both time and money. [25L;101] [71c] [56o;Hall, Warren] [1m;Hall, W.A.] Hamilton, Charles A. Charles Hamilton was founder of the Hamilton Stores business that operated general stores in the park from 1915 to 2002. He was born in 1884 in Winnepeg, Manitoba and went to work for the YPA in 1905. In 1915 he purchased the Klamer store at Old Faithful from Mary Klamer with financial backing by H.W. Child. The following year, with an increasing amount of autos in the park, he went into the service station business with Child. Hamilton opened up his second store and filling station in 1917 at Lake in the old E. C. Waters building in front of the Lake Hotel. Construction on a new store at Lake began in 1919 and was ready for opening in 1922. Hamilton married May Spence in 1920 at the Fort Yellowstone chapel. By the mid-1920’s he had campground stores and filling stations at West Thumb, Fishing Bridge, and Old Faithful. In 1926 he helped form the Yellowstone Park Service Stations (YPSS) with Child and Anna Pryor. The Upper Hamilton store was erected at Old Faithful in 1929-30 using a design by Robert Reamer. He bought out the Brothers Geyser Bath operation at Old Faithful in 1933. His daughter Eleanor May and husband Trevor Povah took over much of the day-to-day management of the business in 1940. In 1953 Hamilton purchased the Pryor & Trischman stores at Mammoth and Canyon, giving him a monopoly on the general store business. He died in 1957 and his family controlled the business through 2002. [25g] [25k] For addition information on the Hamilton Stores, please visit my web page. Hamilton, Eleanor . Eleanor Hamilton was the daughter of Charles Hamilton, she married Trevor Povah in 1940. After her father’s death in 1957, Eleanor (Ellie) and her husband took over the Hamilton Stores operation. [25L;47] Harriman, E.H. E.H. Harriman was president of Union Pacific RR and decided in ca1905 to build a branch line to the western entrance of Yellowstone. The line was opened in 1908 at what would eventually become the town of West Yellowstone. The family donated 14,750 acres of their ranch to the state of Idaho in 1977 for use as a state park. The park was named after the Harriman family. [25L;46] Harris, Capt. Moses . Capt. Harris was the 1st military superintendent of the park. He took charge on August 20, 1886 with the 1st Cavalry, Troop M. The troop consisted of two officers and 50 enlisted men. He hired Jack Baronett as a guide, and James McBride as scout. He served until May 31, 1889. [25L;47] Hartzog, George B. George Hartzog was appointed NPS Director in 1964. He canceled all of the Mission 66 objectives that year. The following year he notified YPCo that the government was going to terminate their contract. [25L;47] Harvat, John . John Harvet was a Livingston area businessman who received the beef contract for the park hotels for the 1890 season. D.B. May held the contract for the two previous seasons. Harvat contracted with Henry Klamer to manage the operation. Klamer himself received the contract the following year and maintained it for the rest of the decade. [25k] Hatch, Benton . Benton Hatch was in charge of the Firehole Hotel in 1890 and became manager of the new Fountain Hotel when it opened in 1891. However, he had differences of opinion on management of the hotel with the Yellowstone Park Association (YPA), and retired from the position in September. He was well-liked by his employees, and 20 of them left with him in a show of support. [LE;10/18/1890;9/12/1891] Hatch, Rufus . Rufus Hatch was one of the original investors and partners in the YP Improvement Co. in 1883, along with Carroll T. Hobart and Henry Douglas. Hatch was born in Wells, York County, Maine in 1832 and later became a grocery clerk in Rockford Illinois. He entered the grain commission business in Chicago in 1854 and amassed a fortune. In 1862 he went to New York to establish a stock brokerage on Wall Street. YPIC went bankrupt and into receivership in 1885. He died in 1893. [25g] [2] Hayden, Ferdinand V . Born in Westfield, Mass. on September 7, 1829, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1850. He studied medicine at the medical college in Albany, New York before heading west in 1863 to explore the Badlands of Dakota and other areas of the Upper Missouri. F.V. Hayden began the Hayden Survey in 1867 and conducted a geological survey of the new state of Nebraska. The government assumed control of his survey in 1869 and it became known as the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories. He obtained $40,000 from Congress and became the leader of the 1st government-sponsored expedition to Yellowstone in 1871 that explored, named, mapped, and later published accounts of this historic trip. His efforts were of great assistance in the campaign to protect Yellowstone as a National Park. Artist Thomas Moran, photographer Henry Jackson, and other scientists accompanied him on the expedition. Hayden also conducted Yellowstone expeditions in 1872 and 1878. The author of numerous scientific papers and government publications, he retired from government service in 1886 due to health issues and died two years later in Philadelphia. [Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1-7-1888] [25L;47] Haynes, Bessie. Bessie Haynes was Frank Haynes' oldest daughter, who married Lt. Frederick T. Arnold. She was born around 1880 in Minnesota and passed away 100 years later in Arizona. [25L;46] Haynes, Frank J. Frank J. Haynes (F.J. Haynes, F. Jay Haynes,) was known as the ‘Official Park Photographer’ and was originally employed by the Northern Pacific RR in 1875 to take pictures along their route from Minnesota to the West Coast for advertising and promotional purposes. Frank Haynes was born Oct. 28, 1853 in Saline Michigan and married Lily Verna Synder in 1878. Haynes established a photo studio in Moorhead, Minnesota in 1876 and moved it to Fargo, North Dakota in 1879. Ten years later he moved the studio to St. Paul, Minnesota where it was maintained for many years. In 1884 he obtained leases for 4 acres at both Old Faithful and Mammoth, where he opened his first photo shop in 1884. His son Jack was also born that year. Frank eventually operated Haynes Photo Shops at all major locations in the park. In December of 1885, he joined up with George Wakefield to form the Wakefield & Haynes Stage Co. The concern was short-lived and Haynes sold out in June 1886, but Wakefield continued the operation for several more years in the park as Wakefield Stage Lines. Haynes was a part of the Schwatka winter expedition in 1887 and took the 1st winter pictures of the interior of the park. He and two others finished the trek after Schwatka got sick and turned back. The Haynes Guidebook was first published in 1890 and continued almost yearly until 1966. In 1900 he produced his first set of ‘picture post cards’, and went on over the years producing tens of thousands of these cards and stereoviews, many of which are now collector’s items. Haynes and W.W. Humphrey formed the Monida-Yellowstone Stage Co. in 1898 that operated from the Union Pacific rail line at Monida into the park. It began operating out of Yellowstone (West Yellowstone) in 1908 and became known as the Yellowstone & Western Stage Co. in 1913. In 1909 Haynes made an attempt to break into the hotel business in Yellowstone, but Harry Child offered Haynes one-half of his interest in the Wylie Permanent Camping Co. to keep Haynes from building a hotel. By 1913 Haynes was a stockholder in the Madison Fork Ranch Corp. located near the Madison Basin west of the park. Haynes owned the Cody-Sylvan Pass Co. in 1913 and became president and largest shareholder of the first motorized bus fleet in the park in 1916. That venture was known as the Cody-Sylvan Pass Motor Co. and was co-owned by William Nichols, Wylie and Shaw & Powell. That business was taken over by the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. (YPTCo) in 1917. He lost all of his transportation businesses in 1917 when YPTCo was awarded the contract for the transportation franchise in the park. Haynes was also forced to sell off his Wylie shares when the camping companies were reorganized. F.J. retired from the transportation and camping businesses after the 1916 season and turned over the photo shops to his son Jack in the beginning of 1916. Frank passed away on March 10, 1921 at age 68. Supt. Albright renamed Mt. Burley to Mt. Haynes in his honor. [43j] [25g] [18t] [YNP Archives, Box C17] [31] For additional information, please visit my Haynes Photo Shops page. Haynes, Isabel. Isabel Haynes, nee Isabel Nauerth, was manager of Roosevelt Lodge in 1927and married Jack Haynes in 1931. Their only child was a daughter born in November of that year named Lida Marie. She skied competitively in high school and learned to fly while attending college. She had been expected to take over the family business, but unfortunately died in a tragic traffic accident at age 20. Upon Jack’s death in 1962, Isabel operated the Haynes Photo Shops until 1967, when she sold out to Hamilton Stores. In 1970 she donated the company pictures, negatives, and papers to the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Personal and non-business papers were donated to Montana State University at Bozeman. She passed away in 1993 and the estate auction was held that year in Bozeman. [25L;49] Haynes, Jack Ellis . Jack Haynes was son of Frank J. Haynes and born Sept. 27, 1884 at Fargo, Dakota Territory. Jack received his college degree at the Univ. of Minnesota, graduating in 1908 and took over the Haynes photo business in 1916 when his father retired. Jack was commissioned in the US Army Reserve as a 2nd Lt. in 1918. He was an integral part of the Place Names Committee in 1927, and three years later he obtained exclusive rights to sell images of Yellowstone in the park. He was a member of the Masons, Elks, and Rotary clubs. Haynes married Isabel May Nauerth June 11, 1930 and they made their home in Bozeman. Their daughter Lida was born in 1931, but died in a tragic accident in 1952. He was known to many as ‘Mr. Yellowstone’ and successfully operated the Haynes Photos Shops until his death in 1962. Isabel ran the business until 1967 when it was sold to Hamilton Stores. There were 13 photo shops in the park at the time of sale. [25L;49] [56o; Haynes, Jack Ellis] Hays, Howard . Howard Hays was born on November 23, 1883 in Metropolis, Cook Co., Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago Law prior to coming out to Yellowstone in 1905 to begin work for the Wylie Permanent Camping Co. as a surrey driver. He served as the traveling passenger agent for the company from 1906-16. In 1915 he married Margaret Mauger of Salt Lake City. Early in 1917 he became employed by the Union Pacific RR, and later the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Tourist Bureau, and the National Parks Bureau of the US Railroad Administration. In 1919 he purchased the Yellowstone Park Camping Co. with Roe Emery, changing the name to Yellowstone Park Camps Co. After becoming ill with tuberculosis, he sold the company in 1924 to H.W. Child and Vernon Goodwin for $660,000. He later went on to become President of the Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP Co. In 1927 Hays purchased the Glacier Park Transportation Co. and ran the company until 1955. During this time hays purchased an interest in the Riverside Press newspaper, in California. He eventually moved up through the ranks to become president of the company, a position he held until his death in early January of 1969. [25L;49] Heap, David Porter . David P. Heap was part of the Barlow-Heap expedition of the Army Corps of Engineering in 1971. They had orders from General Sheridan to make an exploration of Yellowstone Park. They traveled with the Hayden Expedition for a portion of the journey. Beaver Dick Leigh served as a guide while photographer Thomas J. Hine took the first pictures of Old Faithful in eruption. Unfortunately the Great Chicago Fire of 1889 destroyed almost all of Hines' negatives from the expedition and only about 16 are known to have survived. Heap was born March 24, 1843 in Stephano, Turkey. He immigrated to the United States and attended Georgetown College in Washington DC. He graduated from the US military academy in 1864 and served out the remainder of the Civil War on the side of the North. He was promoted to Captain, later to major of engineers in 1882, and lieutenant colonel in 1895. In 1899 he became in charge of the 3rd lighthouse district and depot at Tompkinsville, NY. He authored several treatises on electric lighting and lighthouses. [The 20th Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable American; Chronology of Wonderland, Goss] Hedges, Cornelius. Cornelius Hedges first came to Montana in 1864 in search of gold and established a law office in Helena the following year. He was also an editorial writer for the Helena Herald and a member of the Washburn Expedition of 1870. Following the expedition he wrote a series of articles that were published in the Helena Herald describing the wonders of Yellowstone and proposed the appropriation of Yellowstone for public use. [25L;50] Henderson, Barbara Gazelle (Lillie) . Barbara Henderson was born in 1861, she was the daughter of G.L Henderson. She became the park Postmistress on July 5, 1882, shortly after the family’s move to Yellowstone. Together with her sister Jennie, who became Postmistress in 1884, they began the Post Office Store at Mammoth in one of James McCartney’s old buildings. The postal position remained mostly in the family for 35 years. She married Alexander Lyall in 1898, who was the construction contractor for the new general store at Mammoth in 1895-96. Barbara later moved to Southern California to live. [1900 Federal Census, YNP] [25j] Henderson, Abel Bartlett. Bart Henderson was born in Tennessee in 1832 to Gideon B. and Jane Ritchey Henderson. He is believed to have prospected for gold in California and the far west at least by the 1860s. He began prospecting around the Yellowstone Park in 1867, coming up from Jackson’s Hole over Two Ocean Pass, around the east shore of Yellowstone Lake, and downriver into Montana. He discovered gold in the Cooke City area in 1869-70 with Adam ‘Horn’ Miller, Ed Hibbard, and James Gourley. He named Soda Butte and Soda Butte Creek during that trip. With help from James Gourley and Adam ‘Horn’ Miller, he began building a road in 1871 from Bottler’s Ranch near Emigrant to Mammoth. The road later passed into the hands of ‘Yankee Jim' James George. Henderson became the 1st known user of skis in the park when he skied from Stephens Creek to Bozeman in 1871. Bart and his brother Stokely D. (and perhaps a brother named James??), owned a ranch near Stephens Creek, just north of the northern Park border, that came under attack by Nez Perce on August 31, 1877. The ranch was burned and after a short battle, Sterling Henderson (son of Stokely), Joe Brown, George Reese, John Werks, and one other man escaped across the Yellowstone River in a small boat. No relation to George Legg Henderson, Bart died August 4, 1889 at Nelson, BC. [LE;10/5/1889] [32] [25g] Henderson, David Bremmer . David Henderson was the younger brother of George Henderson, he became an Iowa Congressman and Speaker of the House of Representatives. It was his influence that no doubt gained George’s appointment as Asst Supt of Yellowstone in 1882. [25L;50] Henderson, George L . George Henderson, or G.L. Henderson, was born in Oct. 8, 1827 in Old Deer Scotland and immigrated to the US with his family in 1846. The family later settled in Fayette County, Iowa. George and his wife Jeanette Thomas divorced in 1879 after having 10 children. However, five of them died by 1875 due to various causes. He was hired as an assistant superintendent to Supt. Conger in June of 1882 and moved to Yellowstone with his children. He arrived with his son Walter J., aged 20, and daughters Helen L., aged 28, Jennie A., aged 18, Barbara G., age 21, and Mary R., age 12. They moved into the Norris Blockhouse and the following year lived in one of McCartney’s old hotel buildings. The family built the Cottage Hotel at Mammoth in 1885 and Walter and Barbara were listed as the owners on the lease paperwork. He produced a newspaper-style guide to the park called Henderson's Park Manual. Editions were published in 1885 and 1888. George was an avid supporter of the park, conducted tours, and named numerous features in the park. He became known as the 1st Park Interpreter. The Yellowstone Park Association (YPA) bought out the Cottage Hotel in 1889, but George continued to work for his former nemesis until the early 1900’s as a promoter of his beloved Yellowstone. He married Hannah Horton in 1889, but the marriage contract was dissolved twice, the final time in 1898. George died in November 14, 1905 in Chula Vista, CA. [111] [Family Records of James Dean Henderson] Henderson, Helen Lucretia (Nellie) . Born April 25, 1854 in Henderson Prairie, Iowa, Helen Henderson was the daughter of G.L Henderson and became the 1st female stagecoach driver in the park in the mid-1880’s. In her duties she also acted as tour guide and interpreter. She married Charles Stuart Nov. 15, 1887. Helen, also known as ‘Nellie’, worked for the family business at the Cottage Hotel and probably at the general store. The lease for the Henderson business was in her and Walter’s name. [25L;52] [LE;11/19/1887] Henderson, James. James Henderson, brother of Bart Henderson, established a small ranch on Stephens Creek, near the northern border of the park, with his brothers in 1871. In 1877 the Nez Perce Indians burned some of the ranch buildings during their raids through the park. His son Sterling, John Werks, Joseph Brown, George Reese, and Wm. Davis were under attack from the Indians at the ranch for two hours, but managed to finally escape across the Yellowstone River in a small boat. Shortly afterwards Lt. Doane and a detachment from Ft. Ellis arrived and chased the Nez Perce back into the park. The ranch lands became the site of the town of Cinnabar in 1882. The ranch was purchased by Clarence Stephens in the early 1880’s, and was eventually owned by George Huston, C.T. Hobart, and finally the Hoppe family. The lands were transferred to the government in the mid-1920’s. [113] [28g] Henderson, Jennie . Daughter of G.L. Henderson, Jennie Henderson was born March 13, 1864 and took over the Postmistress job at Mammoth from 1884 to 1886. She operated a post office store with her sister Barbara beginning in 1882, in one of James McCartney’s old buildings and became the founder of the first permanent general store in Yellowstone. They sold curios, crystals, agates, petrified wood and ‘coated specimens’. The business later began selling general tourist supplies, clothing, boots, camping gear and supplies, and other tourist necessities. In 1886 Jennie married John Dewing and had two children, George L. and Jessie M., but the marriage later ended in divorce. Marion Baronett took over the Postmistress job and store from 1886 to 1888. In October of that year Jennie was again appointed Postmistress and served until Oct. 1893, when George Ash became Postmaster. George and Jennie were married in June of 1893. In 1895-96 the couple built a new store and post office at Mammoth and lived in the upstairs apartment. Brother-in-law Alex Lyall was in charge of construction of the building. She again became Postmistress early in 1900 after her husband became ill. Several months later George died in a Salt Lake hospital. Jennie received a new 10-year lease for the business in 1905. She retired in 1908 and transferred the lease to Walter Henderson and Alex Lyall. They operated the business until 1913 when George Whittaker purchased it. The business operated under a variety of names: Post Office Store , ca 1883-89; YNP Post Office, ca1889-93; Ash & Henderson, ca1896; Yellowstone Park Tourist Supplies, ca1902; J.H. Ash & Company, ca1907, Yellowstone Park Tourist Supply Co., ca1908; Lyall & Henderson, 1908-1912. Jennie died in 1947 at the age of 83. The store is currently operated by Delaware North Parks Co. [25j] [1900 Federal Census, YNP] Click Here to read the article I wrote on Jennie Henderson Ash and her General Store for the Spring 2005 issue of Yellowstone Science. Henderson, Mary Rosetta . Mary Henderson, born July 15, 1870 in Iowa, was the youngest daughter of G.L. Henderson and was known to have been teaching music in Iowa for part of the year in 1887. She helped her sisters with the Post Office Store at Mammoth and married Henry Klamer in June of 1892. They built and operated the Klamer general store at Old Faithful in 1897. Henry died in 1914 and Mary Klamer sold the store to Charles Hamilton in 1916 and returned to Southern California to live. She died around 1951 at age 81. The Henderson family records note her birth in 1867. (See ‘Klamer, Henry E.’) [LE; 4/2/1892] [25j] [25k] [1900 Federal Census Records, YNP] For additional information on the Klamer family and store please visit my Klamer Store web page. Henderson, Sterling D . Sterling Henderson was son of James Henderson (see above). In 1875 he served as a Stock Herder at Mammoth. He advertised in the Bozeman newspaper that he would be prepared to ". . . take charge of, and herd, the stock of visitors at the Springs. Stock will be called for and delivered at the Springs whenever desired." He was at the Henderson ranch in 1877 when the Nez Perce attacked and burned some of the buildings. [Bozeman Avant-Courier 6/11/1875] Henderson, Walter James . Walter Henderson, born Oct. 5, 1862, was the only surviving son of George Henderson. Walter and his sister Helen were the official leaseholders of the Cottage Hotel that opened in 1885. Early in 1889 he married Eva S. Fitzgerald, daughter of S.M. Fitzgerald. After the hotel was sold in 1889, YPA hired him for the summer to manage the Firehole Hotel. He used his proceeds from the hotel sale to buy an orchard grove and house in Southern California, California. He lived there on a seasonal basis it seems, for a time, and also had a home in Seattle. In 1908 he and his brother-in-law Alexander Lyall purchased the Mammoth store from his sister Jennie. The two men operated the business until 1913 when they sold out to former scout George Whittaker. After Henry Klamer died in 1914, Walter returned to Yellowstone to help Mary manage the Old Faithful general store. [25j] [25k] Herschfield, Aaron & L.H . Aaron Hershfield and L.H. Hershfield were partners with Harry W. Child and Edmund Bach. Together they formed the Yellowstone National Park Transportation Co. that was incorporated May 20, 1892 with capital stock of $250,000. The YNPTC actually started operations in March 1891 when George Wakefield lost his Yellowstone Park Association contract. YPA then leased all of their transportation equipment and facilities to YNPTC, who appointed Wakefield as President. They bought out the Yellowstone Transportation Co. (YTC) and Wakefield & Hoffman operations for $70,000 in 1892 and were granted exclusive transport of NPRR passengers. The following February they received leases for six parcels of land to erect barns and other facilities. The company was taken over by the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. in 1898, under Child, Huntley, and Bach. [25g] [LE; 5/28/1892] Hibbard, Alfred T. Alfred Hibbard became one of the first non-family members (with Hugh Galusha) to become a member of the Board of Directors of YPCo in 1956. [25L;52] Hine, Thomas J. Thomas Hine was a Chicago photographer who accompanied the Barlow-Heap Expedition of 1871. He took about 200 photos on glass plates during the trip, including the 1st picture of Old Faithful in eruption. He returned to Chicago after the trip, but the disastrous Chicago fire on October 8-9, 1871 destroyed all but 16 of his prints. They were lost until 1998 when author James Brust accidentally discovered seven of them in a collection at the New York Historical Society. Hine was apparently in business with Thomas Copelin and his stereographs had been produced under the name Copelin & Sons. The same fire also destroyed many of the reports and specimens collected by Capt. Barlow. [14m] [119b] [79u] Hobart, Carroll T . C.T. Hobart was one of the organizers of the Yellowstone Park Improvement Co. in 1883 with Henry Douglas and Rufus Hatch. The company originally received government approval for leases of 4400 acres, a monopoly on the park concessions, and almost unlimited use of park resources for their operation. Hobart was the general manager and his group built the National Hotel at Mammoth on credit. Financial problems caused the company to go bankrupt in 1885, whereupon Hobart opened up crude hotels at the Lower and Upper Geyser Basins with former Park Superintendent Robert Carpenter. [25L;53] Hobart Charles F . Charles Hobart was the contractor brother of Carroll Hobart, he built the ‘Shack Hotel’ at Old Faithful in 1885 with former Supt. Robert Carpenter, who managed the operation. Feuding over financial matters between the Hobart brothers caused Carpenter to leave the scene after 1885. [25L;53] Hofer, Thomas Elwood. T.E.Hofer (Thomas Hofer) came out West in 1872 to Colorado where he mined and carried mail on skis during the winter of 1875-76. He left Colorado in the spring of 1877 and mined a bit in the Black Hills. Finding little promise he headed for Montana where he visited the Custer Battlefield and ran into P.W. Norris on the Yellowstone River. After reading Nathaniel Langford's Yellowstone account and talking to Norris, he was determined to visit Wonderland, but with the Nez Perce on the prowl, he stayed in Bozeman until things calmed down. While there he became friends with N.P. Langford and did odd jobs until 1878 when he finally got to Mammoth Hot Springs in the company of a freight outfit. He made the rounds of park, meeting a variety of trappers, hunters, scouts, and military men. Having some experience with sailboats on Long Island Sound, he decided to build a boat and during the winter of 1879-80 gathered up tools and materials. During the summer of 1880 he stayed in E.S. Topping's old cabin and began construction of his “Sharpie," whip-sawing his lumber in the same pit that Topping had used. He ended up with a 20’ sailboat called the Explorer which he used for a few years to transport tourists around the lake. After leaving the boat unattended for awhile one summer, some campers 'borrowed' it and left it unmoored. The poor craft floated into the Yellowstone River where it eventually went over the falls. Hofer then began guiding and outfitting tourist and hunting parties and was still listed as a registered guide as late as 1889. A newspaper article from 1882 proclaimed "Complete packing out-fit, will make trips to Clark's Fork and Yellowstone Park. Freights transported at reasonable rates. Will be located for the season at Mammoth Hot Springs." Also known as “Uncle Billy”, Hofer was a scout for the army in the early days and assisted with the attempts to increase the size of the buffalo herd. During the winter of 1887 he conducted the first wildlife survey in the park. He traveled 225 miles through most of the major areas of the park, chronicling all the wildlife he encountered along the way. He included large and small game, fish, birds and predators, and his reports were published in Forest and Stream magazine that year. He began trapping a wide variety of park wildlife in 1891 for shipment to the National Zoological Park in Washington DC. He also learned the art of photography while in the park. Hofer eventually applied for a lease to maintain a stable and corral at Mammoth in order to conduct his guiding business. He guided Theodore Roosevelt on several occasions, along other many other notable parties. In 1907 Hofer received a 10-year lease to operate up to 10 power launches and 50 rowboats and dories on Yellowstone Lake. He formed the T.E. Hofer Boat Co. the following year, buying out the E.C. Waters operation. Articles of incorporation were filed in March of 1908, and included three directors: Hofer, W.A. Hall, and C.N. Sargent. His company operated the ferry service with the ‘Zillah’ from West Thumb to Lake Hotel, provided fishing boats to hire for visitors, and operated a small store that sold or rented fishing tackle and appliances, grain, hay, and other basic tourist supplies. Financing for the buyout of the E.C. Waters' business and operation of the company was obtained from H.W. Child and the railroad companies. Hofer apparently was not a great businessman, and by 1910 the company was failing. Child used his financial interests to squeeze Hofer out of the business, and Child created the YP Boat Co. the following year. That was probably a benefit to Hofer as in a short autobiography he admitted that he did not particularly relish dealing with the public and much preferred small and close-knit guiding parties. A newspaper ad in the Gardiner Wonderland newspaper of April 30, 1903 lists an ad by Hofer offering to sell his Gardiner properties. They consisted of two houses on 100’ x150’ lots, containing corrals and sheds. They were listed as “cheapest property in Gardiner.” Hofer later moved to Clinton, Washington where he settled on Sunlight Beach. [15b] [25g] [73h] [1889 YNP Supt’s Report] [84c] [YNP History Files; H2 Hofer Biography] Hoffman, Charles. Charles Hoffman and Charles Wakefield of Bozeman established the Wakefield & Hoffman stage line in 1883 and provided service from Cinnabar to Mammoth and into the park under an exclusive agreement with YPA. They operated from Livingston to Cinnabar until the Northern Pacific RR’s line was open to Cinnabar. They also received the mail contract for the Livingston to Cooke City route and provided daily mail service (during the summer season) to Mammoth beginning in July 1883. The company built a mail station near Soda Butte as the trip from Cinnabar to Cooke City took more than one day. Wakefield bought out Charles Hoffman in Dec. of 1885 and teamed up with Frank Haynes to form the Wakefield & Haynes stagecoach company. [25g] [LE;6/8/1889;6/1/1895] [Daily Enterprise, Liv. Mt;7/6/1883;7/19/1883] [39-49] [43j] Holem, Frank. A prominent and popular businessman in Gardiner, Frank Holem rose up from the depths of the streets of Chicago. Going to work at an early age to help support his family, Frank hawked newspapers, shined shoes, and eventually acquired some blacksmith skills. At the age of 20 left the rough and tumble city streets and landed in Deadwood, SD around 1886 and found work horseshoeing. He moved to Montana in 1892 and Gardiner the following year to become an itinerant blacksmith. Around 1915 he established an automotive repair business and later added a gas station. By 1925 Holem and Henry J. Pilger were operating the Gardiner Garage on the corner of Second and Main streets in Gardiner. Frank's first wife, Margaret A. Williams died in 1918 and Frank married widow Minnie (Ball) Francis. Mr. Holem died January 2, 1940 and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Livingston. Holm, Aron "Tex" . Aron Holm, Tex Holm - See "Camps History." Holmes, Elias Burton. Burton Holmes was a traveler and lecturer who published the classic 15-volume series “Burton Holmes Travelogues," first published in 1912. The books describe interesting and varied lands from around the world. Volume 12 is devoted to Yellowstone Park, along with the Grand Canyon and Moki Lands of Arizona. His Yellowstone travelogue describes life in Yellowstone in the early part of the twentieth century and contains pictures found in few, if any other published books on the park. He was born January 8, 1870 in Chicago to Ira and Virginia (Burton) Holmes and was educated at the Harvard School in Chicago. He traveled to Japan, Algeria, Morocco, Greece, Thessaly, Europe, Hawaii, the Philippines, China, and other countries. [Who's Who in America, 1902] Holmes, William Henry . W.H. Holmes was an anthropologist who was appointed artist for the 1872 Hayden Expedition and studied and illustrated various geologic phenomena in Yellowstone. He also assisted F.V. Hayden with geologic surveys in Colorado from 1872-74. From 1875-79 he continued his studies in Colorado and the southwest, including many of the cliff ruins of ancient Native Americans. He became curator for the aboriginal pottery department in the National Museum from 1882-93, while exploring artifacts of the southwest. He was later curator at the Columbian Museum of Chicago and was head curator of anthropology at the National Museum in 1897. [The 20th Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, 1902] Hoppe, Hugo J. Hugo Hoppe served as a scout for the Cavalry, became the first sheriff at Miles City, and established some of the first breweries in Montana. He ranched in Gallatin Valley and eventually moved to Cinnabar. He was permitted to operate a dairy herd near the mouth of the Gardiner River in 1883 to supply the government and the hotels. He received title to a plot of 160 acres in the Cinnabar area in 1886, and again in 1889. By 1886 he was hauling freight for the Yellowstone Park Association (YPA) and engaged in freighting from Cinnabar to Cooke City. The government purchased his ranch in 1925 (some say forcibly) that was located on the south side of the Yellowstone River. It became part of the Game Ranch addition to Yellowstone in 1932. Hoppe Creek, near Electric Peak, was named after him. By 1891 he was a Park County Commissioner. His wife Mary died in November of 1894 and Hugo died in 1895. Both are buried in the Soldier's Plot in Livingston. [YNP Archives, Box A9] [25g] [LE;7/24/1886] [71c] Hoppe, Walter M . Walter Hoppe was born Aug. 6, 1864 in Virginia City to Hugo J. and Mary Gee Hoppe. He is known as the first white male born in Montana. He came to the Upper Yellowstone area in 1883. Walter and Ella E. Fitzgerald were married on May 4, 1896 and had four children; Paul, Pearl, Mildred and Harold. Walter purchased the Fitzgerald Hotel in Gardiner in 1902 and re-fitted and refurnished it for opening in June, operating it for fours years. Around 1989-99, he built the Bear Gulch Hotel in Jardine and operated it for 6 years. He sold the hotel to John Jervis about 1906 and the building burned down in 1942. Walter was engaged in the freighting business at least by 1891, when he received a government contract to haul freight between the rail depot at Cinnabar and Camp Sheridan at Mammoth. He served the mining and business interests in Jardine and his freighting outfit was one of the largest in Montana. The Hoppe family owned a large part of what was the Cinnabar township. The ranch was eventually appropriated by the government and became part of the Game Ranch addition to Yellowstone in 1932. Walter passed away in 1940 and Ella lived until 1968. [LE;3/14/1891; 4/9/1892; 6/14/1902] [71c] [106;41] Horr, Harry Riddle. Harry Horr, also known as Henry Horr, he was born Sept. 20, 1842 in New York. By 1870 he was employed at Fort Ellis as a civilian employee of the post trader’s store. When Truman Everts was lost in the fall of 1870, Horr and two soldiers accompanied George Pritchett back to Yellowstone to help transport Everts to Bozeman. The next year Horr became co-owner of McCartney’s hotel at Mammoth when he and James McCartney filed claims on July 5 at the Gallatin County Courthouse. They also filed claims a month later in Evanston, Uinta County, Wyoming Territory. The claims were later ruled invalid as the territory had never been officially opened to homesteading. He sold or gave up the business to McCartney in 1873. He claimed “I gave the Springs [MHS] the name they now bear.” He married Aurilla Davis in 1880 in Bozeman. Horr later went on to start the Horr Coal Co. with his brother Joseph and uncle, Dr. Asa Horr, in 1883 at an area north of Gardiner. They were unable to actually develop the mines and Harry sold out his interest in 1889. The town of Horr, which later became known as Electric, was named after him. He died in Feb. 1912 in Seattle, WA. [32] [25g] [106d] Howard, Oliver Otis . Gen. O. O. Howard (Nov 8, 1830 – Oct 26, 1909) was the Army general who helped to pursue the Nez Perce during the 1877 wars. His troops blazed a trail over Mary Mountain during the pursuit. That route was used for tourist travel until 1892 when the road over Craig Pass from Old Faithful to West Thumb was completed. The general's son committed suicide in late August of 1885 while visiting the park with his father. Reportedly he was despondent over a breakup with his betrothed. [25L;55] [13r - 9/1/1885] Howell, Bill. Bill Howell began the 1st snowmobile rental business in West Yellowstone in 1968-69 called Yellowstone Tour & Travel. [25L;55] Howell, Ed. Ed Howell was a poacher and resident of Cooke City who was caught in the act of poaching buffalo on Feb. 13, 1894 on Pelican Creek by Scout Felix Burgess and Sgt. Troike. F.J. Haynes and Emerson Hough of Field & Stream magazine documented his capture. The publicity surrounding this event spurred passage of the Lacey Act, which finally provided legal protection to the park’s resources. However, due to the lack of adequate laws at his time of capture, he was released from his confinement at Ft. Yellowstone on April 24 by order of the Secretary of Interior. Supt. S.B.M. Young temporarily hired Howell in 1897 to track down the perpetrators of the robbery of fifteen stagecoaches on the road 4 miles west of Canyon. Howell eventually tracked down George “Morphine Charley” Reeb, who was convicted of the crime, along with Gus Smitzer. Howell moved to Manila, Philippine Islands to start a restaurant business and was mailed $150 as his reward money. [25g] [LE;5/5/1894] Humphrey, Wm. W. W.W. Humphrey helped to found the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. in 1898 with F.J. Haynes. They were also known under the name Humphrey & Haynes. Haynes bought out his partner in 1913. Humphrey had been manager of Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. (YPTCo) prior to his association with Haynes. George Breck took over his job at YPTCo. [25L;55] Huntley, Silas S. Silas Huntley was born in 1831 in New York and served in the Civil War for three years in the 37th New York Volunteers. He came up the Missouri R. in 1867 to the Montana Territory and went into the stage line business, organizing the 1st stage line between Helena & Ft. Benton. With his cousin Bradley Barlow they controlled almost all the stage lines in Montana. He also operated stage lines in Utah, Idaho, Oregon and California. He retired from the business in 1878 and began raising standard-bred horses. He married Annie Dean, sister of Adelaide Dean (HW Child’s wife). Silas received the transportation contract in Yellowstone in 1891, and the next year he, along with his brother-in-laws Edmund Bach and Harry W. Child, and Aaron and L.H. Hershfield, formed the Yellowstone National Park Transportation Co., taking over the operation of the Yellowstone Transportation Co. They were granted exclusive transport of Northern Pacific RR passengers in the park. In 1898 he founded the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. with Harry Child, and Edmund Bach. Three years later he purchased the Yellowstone Park Association (YPA) with Harry Child and Edward Bach. The NW Improvement Co. (NWIC), subsidiary of NPRY, loaned money for the venture. Huntley died in at his home in Mammoth on Sept. 1, 1901 and his shares in YPA reverted to NWIC. His wife later married former park supt. Gen. S.B.M. Young. [25g] [YNP Archives, Box YPC153] [98 - Ogden Standard Examiner, 9/12/1901] Huston, George . George Huston was a gold prospector who is known to have prospected in park areas as early as 1864 when he led a party of 30-40 miners up the Yellowstone River into the Lamar and Clark’s Fork drainages. Later in the year he led another party up the Madison and Firehole rivers. Two years later he led another small group of miners up the Madison River to the geyser basins and prospected around Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley, Mirror Plateau, Lamar Valley, and returned to Emigrant via the Yellowstone River. He built a cabin in the fall of 1867 near Turkey Pen Creek along the present Rescue Creek Trail, before the trail rises up into the hills, becoming the first permanent white resident in the park. When Truman Everts was lost on the Washburn Expedition of 1870, it was Huston who carried Everts on his horse to the north side of Yankee Jim Canyon where a wagon could then transport Everts to Bozeman. It was probably his cabin that Jack Baronett and George Pritchett brought Everts to so he could recuperate. In Nov. 1871 Huston assisted Matthew McGuirk in the construction of a house and barns at McGuirk’s Springs on Boiling River. In 1873 Huston assisted John Werks in the rental operation of a string of pack and saddle horses in Mammoth. They later hooked up with Zack Root’s Express from Bozeman to Mammoth, and provided horse and guide service to the geyser basins. Huston operated in the park at least through 1877 and guided the Radersburg party through the geyser basins. He assisted in the search for George Cowen, who was wounded by the Nez Perce and joined Gen. Howard at the Clark’s Fork Mines as a scout for the remainder of the expedition. He was probably with the command at the surrender of Chief Joseph in the Bear Paw Mountains in early October. Huston and Joe Keeney purchased part of the Henderson Ranch at Stephens Creek Nov. 19, 1883, which totaled 116.45 acres. They resold the land later that year to the NPRR and the site became the town of Cinnabar. He was also involved in the Cooke City mining business and in 1884 was one of the incorporators of the proposed rail line from Cinnabar to the mines of Cooke City. His property was known as the ‘Cache of Ore Millsite’, on part of which the Cooke City General Store was built after his death. He died July 4, 1886 in Livingston of typhoid pneumonia and other complications. He was 42 years old and unmarried. An 1877 article in Harper’s Weekly described Huston as “…a man of sterling integrity and indomitable pluck . . . the hero of many a thrilling bear or Indian fight, but told so modestly that you do not suspect him of being the principle actor."
- Monida Yellowstone - YW | Geyserbob.com
The Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. operated stagecoach lines in Yellowstone from 1898 to 1913, when the name was changed to Yellowstone - Western Stage Co.. They operated out of the west entrance, first using the Union Pacific RR depot at Monida, and then West Yellowstone 1914-1916. Coaching in Yellowstone Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. - 1898-1913 Yellowstone - Western Stage Co. - 1913-1916 Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. This stage line was formed in 1898 by Yellowstone photographer Frank J. Haynes and Wm. W. Humphrey , who had previously been superintendent of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. The new company received a 10-year lease from the Interior Dept. to operate a stage line into and around Yellowstone. The Monida & Yellowstone Stage Line provided service from the Utah Northern/Union Pacific RR depot at Monida to the park, using red Concord stages from the Abbot Downing Company, which became known as the 'Red Line.` The route from Monida, on the border between Montana and Idaho, passed through Centennial Valley, past Henry`s Lake, over Targhee Pass, with an overnight stop at Dwelle`s Inn. This was a part of Harry Dwelle`s Madison Fork Ranch that was located about 5 miles west of the park border. In the next morning, the stages passed through the West entrance, before there was a town there, and reached the Fountain Hotel around noon. [See my Monida and West Yellowston e pages for additional information} The Anaconda Standard of Feb. 3, 1898, reported that, "Forty thousand dollars will be expended this year in putting the line in shape. An order has been placed with the factory in New Hampshire [Abbot Downing] for 19 Concord coaches of the latest pattern as a starter for the equipment of the line. The horses, 150 head, will be purchased principally in Kentucky, some in Oregon. Everything will be in readiness for passenger business at the opening of the tourist season on the first of June. Mr. Humphrey will personally superintend the management of the new line." The Bee-Hive stagecoach, built by Abbot-Downing Co. of Concord, New Hampshire. [Courtesy of Yellowstone Historic Center at mtmemory.org] Stables, barns, and driver`s quarters were constructed at eight different park locations. A brochure from the year 1900 boasts of a 6-day tour using two, four, and six-horse Concord coaches. Relay stations were placed every 15-20 miles along the Monida route. Hotel stops included two nights at Fountain and one night each at Lake, Canyon, and Mammoth hotels before exiting via Cinnabar on the Northern Pacific RR . An article in the Gardiner Wonderland newspaper in the spring of 1905, noted that M-Y was doubling the number of stages that would be run that year, and purchasing an appropriate number of horses. A "Staged" Robbery - 1904 : The Anaconda Standard, Aug. 9, 1904 Special Dispatch to the Standard. Billings, Aug. 8. - A man who was in Billings yesterday on his return from the National park related the story of a sham holdup of one of the stages that is operated from Monida to points in the park. While the whole affair was a hoax, this fact was not known to the passengers and it required considerable daring to carry it out. The sensational feature of the affair Is that the holdup is said to have been perpetrated by two young ladles, one of them the daughter of a prominent New York newspaper man and the other a Helena young lady. The name of the New York lady was remembered by the Standard's Informant on account of the prominence of her father, but he is unable to give the name of the Helena girl. The young ladles were camping in the park with a party of friends and arranged with the driver of the stage to hold it up at a lonely point on the road. They attired themselves in regulation bandit costumes and rode out on horseback to the point agreed on, and when the stage arrived they drew down on the driver and he courteously came down from the box. The passengers, several of them being men, were compelled to line up at the side of the road and while one of the ''bandits” covered them with a rifle the other went through the party and appropriated money, jewelry and everything else of value that a diligent search revealed. After they had secured everything in sight and had all the fun they wanted at the expense of the travelers, the young ladles pulled off their false whiskers and other disguises and gave the crowd the laugh. The valuables were restored, but several of the passengers were disposed not to regard the affair in the light of a joke and said they would make the girls trouble if there was any law that would reach them. The "sore" ones later concluded when their nerves had settled that such action would redound but little to their credit and they finally came around to see the ludicrous side of the affair and joined in the laugh. In the fall of 1907 the arrival of the Union Pacific rail line to the west entrance ended the long stagecoach haul from Monida and the company began picking up passengers at the new depot in Riverside (now West Yellowstone ). The 1st passenger train arrived at the west entrance on June 11, 1908. The new passenger rail service was named the “Yellowstone Special” and a railroad car was used as depot the first year. The town was originally named Riverside, but the name was soon after changed to “Yellowstone.” Left : Sketch of the Riverside Barns layout near the West entrance. [Courtesy Montana St. Univ. Special Collections, Haynes Papers] Below : Photo of the Riverside Barns. [Courtesy Montana St. Univ. Special Collections, Haynes Papers] The stage company built new headquarters along the Madison River about 1-1/4 miles inside the park line near the Madison River. A 1908 map showed coach sheds, blacksmith and paint shops, corral, a barn and hay shed, office, lodging house, mess house, and granary. The Wylie Permanent Camping Company set up one of their stage operations and tent camp nearby the same year. In 1917 it was necessary to convert the buildings for use by the new motorized White Motor Co. auto stages of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. When YPTCo built new facilities at Old Faithful in 1926, the Barns fell into disuse. The buildings were razed in 1957 From the Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 20, 1910, by C.E. Arney: “In splendidly painted barns a mile from Yellowstone, on the westerly bank of the Madison river, are the unique stables of this large overland transportation company. An inspection of their grounds today showed that degree of orderly system essential to the cleanly, sanitary and handy condition of affairs, all of which appeared at every turn. There was a closely built harness room, a harness cleaning room, a room for washing buggies, a blacksmith shop, a woodworking shop, a paint shop, a commissary, granaries, wagon houses and all in the very pink of cleanliness and repair. There is an office, a sleeping quarters and a dining house on the grounds. Near the river is a tank supplied bv a pumping plant and water is carried through underground pipes to all four sides of the spacious grounds. At each corner of each building is a hose attached to a nozzle and in each building an additional patent fire extinguisher. For the most part the wagons of this company are purchased from the Glen Falls carriage works of New York, though they buy also from the Concord Stage Coach company and from the Studebaker firm.” In 1912, the Monida & Yellowstone Co. established a new station near Tower Falls. One of the four standard tours in 1913 offered a trip from Canyon, over Mt. Washburn, and on to the Falls. From that point the coaches proceeded on to Mammoth Hot Springs , and Norris geyser basin. After the consolidation of 1917 when Haynes lost his transportation business, the building became a Haynes Photo Shop. [Photo from M-Y 1914 brochure] The Yellowstone-Western Stage Co. F.J. Haynes bought out his partner Humphrey late in 1913 and reorganized the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. into the Yellowstone-Western Stage Co. The company was co-owned by James Robert Duff, and Richard W. McTavish. Haynes continued transporting visitors into the park from the UPRR depot at Yellowstone (West). By this time, the company already had facilities located at eight locations in the park. During 1915, the peak year of operation, the “Red Line,” known for its red-colored Concord coaches, hauled 20,151 tourists into Yellowstone. Records also show, however that only 4116 passengers were carried in 1914 and 3659 in 1916. This was due to 1915 being the year of the Panama-Pacific Exposition held in San Francisco. The fair greatly increased visitation to the park. The Y-W fleet consisted of 45 eleven-passenger 4-horse coaches, 11 eight-passenger coaches, 13 three-passenger 2-horse surreys, and 61 five-passenger surreys. Two, four and five-day basic tours were available, ranging from $14.25 to $41.25. 2-horse surreys for three people could be rented with driver for $12.00/day. Left : Yellowstone-Western coaches lined up at the Canyon Hotel waiting to load passengers. [1914 Y-W brochure] Above : Cover of a 1916 Yellowstone-Western brochure. Above : The Congress stagecoach, operated by the Yellowstone - Western Stage Co., and built by Abbot-Downing Co. of Concord, New Hampshire. The MY and YW coaches all had names, while the YPTCo used a numbering system. [Courtesy of Eli Anderson] Right : A YW metal cap badge and 1915 YW Pinback. After the 1916 season all of the transportation companies were consolidated into the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co ., under the ownership of Harry Child . Haynes was forced to sell out his transportation holdings in the Yellowstone & Western and the Cody-Sylvan Pass Motor Co. and was allowed only his photo shop operations in the park. The Wylie and Shaw & Powel l camping companies were also put out of the transportation business, and were combined into the Yellowstone Park Camping Co . In 1917 the stagecoaches and horses were put out to pasture and replaced with automobiles made by the White Motor Company, forever changing the face of transportation in Wonderland. Examples of 3, 5, 8, & 11-passenger coaches of the Yellowstone - Western Stage Co. From YW 1916 Brochure Top : Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. check. Dated 1909 & signed by F.J. Haynes. Bottom : Yellowstone-Western Stage Co. check. Dated 1915, signed by F.J. Haynes A Day in the Life of a Stage Driver in Yellowstone. The following is an excerpt of a transcription from an oral interview conducted with Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. driver Ira. D. Stanton. His moniker was “Red” due to his red hair and hs family had resided in SE Idaho since the late 1880s. He presents a fascinating description of a typical tour around Yellowstone, beginning at the Union Pacific RR in West Union. He began driving for Monida-Yellowstone ca1911 The Interview was conducted in 1968 by Harold Forbrush under the auspices of the Upper Snake River Valley Historical Society, titled VOICES FROM THE PAST STAGE COACHES IN THE PARK, #18 Well, every night when we were in camp, we’d go in the office and look on the board. Our names would be on the board showing us what place we were to take off at the next morning. Whatever place we had, well, that was the place we kept all the way through the Park. We’d hook up the next morning and we would be in West Yellowstone loading up at 8:00. They could load up about two coaches at a time. While the people were getting in the coaches they would load their suitcases and things in the trunk. They had a great big trunk in the back and it was covered leather. They would buckle them in there so the dust wouldn’t get in. Whoever we were following, that’s what we do to watch for. We’d follow that man till we made the trip plumb around the loop. As near as I can remember, coaches and surreys, they’d be around 50-75 of us from one company. There were four companies that operated out of West Yellowstone. But the MY company, that was the Monida, Yellowstone Transportation Company, that’s what we were. The boys that drove for the MY, they had badges on with the MY and a number. That number was our number all the time through the Park. If we done anything out on the road, why they could take our number and trace it right back where we come from. . . . Maybe I could give you an idea about what our driver was each day. Our first day was from West Yellowstone to Madison Junction, which was fourteen miles. We took off from there and started for Old Faithful. We drove six miles from Madison Junction. There was a hotel there where we had noon. It was called the Fountain Hotel. It isn’t there anymore. Then from the Fountain Hotel, in the afternoon, we’d go four miles to Old Faithful. That wasn’t a very heavy drive but it made a quite a drive for the day, twenty-four miles for the day. The next forenoon we’d drive from Old Faithful to the Thumb. That was seventeen miles. In them days we followed streams of water all the time. The road doesn’t go around where it used to. It goes over some of those passes now. But one reason they were dirt roads. They had to have them sprinkled. The sprinkler had to go by ever morning unless it had rained. They had to sprinkle ahead of the coaches. . . . Well, we went to the Thumb then. That was seventeen miles from Old Faithful. From the Thumb to the Lake was twenty-one miles. So that was a thirty-eight drive that day. That was a quite a long drive for the horses with quite a load. Then the next morning we drove to the Canyon. That was only sixteen miles. We laid over that afternoon at the Canyon because there was so much sight seeing at the Canyon. They had sight seeing busses [Omnibus, horse-drawn] that would take our tours up the Canyon and show them all around. The next morning we would go from Canyon to Norris Geyser Basin. This was eleven miles. There we had another eating place. It’s not there anymore. That was the noon place. From the Norris Geyer Basin sometimes we had to go on to Mammoth. That was twenty-one miles. That was quite a drive. Then the next morning we’d come back to Norris again with those tourists. Then from there on into West Yellowstone. That made an awful drive if you had to drive from Mammoth to West Yellowstone that same day. That gave you thirty-five miles that day and that was awful hard on the horses. They did all that road from West Yellowstone pretty near up to the Madison bridge that year. When we would hit that with our horses, why it was so hard. Our horses on those long drives, why they couldn’t take it. We’d have to drive off into the barrow pits in order to keep from giving our horses right out. A lot of the horses give out right on the road between Norris and West Yellowstone. A Few Side Notes from the Interview: If you went to Mammoth it would be six days. If you just made the round loop it would be four days. Well our schedule was six miles an hour. Outside of the uphill why you were on the trot pretty near every bit of the way. If you walked them uphill you had to make it up somewhere else. Horses can’t walk six miles an hour. So you had to keep them on the tot pretty much of the time. Well, the coaches were come 11 passenger and some 8 passenger. It was 12 with the driver. We had a roof over them so them they couldn’t get wet. We had curtains. If the weather got bad we could throw these curtains down and fasten them and they were closed in. The driver and two other men had to set right up there, no matter if it was raining or what it was. We set up above. The other people were back under shade all the time. Course, as a rule, the fellow who set up by the driver, he was kind of the spokesman for the rest of the company you had with you. When they had any questions asked, why as a rule, they’d send it up to him. He’d ask the driver. The driver would tell him and he would relay it back to them
- Chicago & Milwaukee RR | Geyserbob.com
Early history of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul RR adn their access to Yellowstone National Park via the Gallatin Gateway. Yellowstone's Supporting Railroads Chicago & Milwaukee RR Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Yellowstone's Western Rail Access at Gallatin Gateway The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway The CM & SP was originally known as the Milwaukee & Waukesha RR until the name was changed in 1874. They completed their rail line across Montana to the West Coast in 1909. In 1915 the Milwaukee Road completed its first electrified section of rail line, from Harlowton to Deer Lodge, Montana, a feat that was advertised to passengers since electrification eliminated the soot normally associated with steam-powered rail travel. Extensions in the 1910s and 1920s resulted in 649 miles of electrified main line, in Montana, Idaho and over the Cascades in Washington. The 440 miles of electrified line between Harlowton, Montana and Avery, Idaho was said to be the longest continuous electrified rail line in the world at that time. By 1927, the company operated 11,000 miles of track in twelve Northwestern States and was one of the largest railroad systems in the country. Top: The Olympian open-air cars, ca1915. Because the train was electrified, passengers were not bothered by the coast dust and soot that was normal on other railroads of the time. Right: The modern Olympian Hiawatha, as shown in a 1947 brochure The Olympian and its successor the Olympian Hiawatha were passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. The Olympian operated from 1911 to 1947 and was, along with its running mate the Columbian, the first all-steel train to operate in the Pacific Northwest. The streamlined Olympian Hiawatha operated from 1947 to 1961 and was one of several Milwaukee Road trains to carry the name "Hiawatha." The Olympian Hiawatha was designed by industrial designer Brooks Stevens and included the distinctive glassed-in "Skytop" observation-sleeping cars. It later featured full-length "Super Dome" cars. The Olympian Hiawatha was never a financial success. On May 22, 1961 the train was discontinued, one of the first of the great name trains to end service. With the discontinuance of the Olympian Hiawatha in 1961, trains No. 15 and 16 continued to operate as an unnamed passenger train between Minneapolis and Deer Lodge, Montana with coaches, a Touralux open-berth sleeper and cafe car. In 1964 it was cut back to a coach-only train to Aberdeen, South Dakota, discontinued in 1969. In 1909, the Gallatin Valley Electric Railway Co., a concern from Bozeman, built an electric railway from Bozeman, south to Salesville. Zachariah Sales built a sawmill in the area in 1865 and founded the town of Salesville in 1883. A post office was established in 1880, but by 1890, it had closed. In 1910 the CM&SP took over the electric railway and linked it to their main line at Three Forks. Top Left: Downtown Salesville ca1912. [Museum of the Rockies #x80.6.453b] Top Right: The original depot at Salesville, ca1920. [Museum of the Rockies, #97.19.77] Rails to Gallatin Gateway . . . To compete with the other railroads accessing Yellowstone. The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, also known as the Milwaukee Railroad, began promoting the Gallatin Canyon as a “Gateway to Yellowstone” in 1926 The president of the Milwaukee Railroad, Henry Scandrett, knew the canyon, as his family were early guests in the early 1920s at Elkhorn Ranch along the upper West Gallatin. As part of its promotion, in 1927, the railroad constructed an arch over the highway 191 just north of present-day Rockhaven Camp and Retreat Center across the Gallatin River from Sheep Rock Mountain. In August of 1926 a second log arch was built over the road some 12 miles below Karst's Camp at the southern entrance to the canyon. Both were removed sometime in the 1950s when Hwy 191 was widened and improved. The CM&SP began passenger rail service to Gallatin Gateway on August 1, 1926 with a spur from the main line at Three Forks. They replaced the previous electric railway system of 1909, allowing standard rail cars to access the area. Buses of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. carried visitors from Gallatin through the West entrance and transported them on tours around the park. Top Left: The 2nd arch was built at the north end of Gallatin Canyon. JC Robbins postcard, author collection Top Right: Celebration being held at the 2nd arch in he beginning of August 1927. Right: 1st arch constructed toward the south end of Gallatin Canyon. Milwaukee Road postcard Gallatin Gateway Inn & A New Gateway to Yellowstone The Great Falls Tribune announced on Jan. 6, 1927, that a new Milwaukee rail line would replace the old line from Three Forks beginning on March 1st and extend to Salesville. They also planned to build a depot, hotel and restaurant there. From that point, buses of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. would take guests to and from Yellowstone National Park. The railroad depot was established inside of the new Inn. The Gallatin Gateway Inn, newest Gateway to Yellowstone, would officially open on June 17. The Anaconda Standard proclaimed on May 29, that, “Elaborate preparations have been made to take care of all guests. Harry Childs of the Yellowstone Hotels company will bring: down an orchestra of 50 pieces from the park to play for the biggest dance ever given in Montana. The huge Yellowstone park busses which already have made the Gallatin Gateway famous, will be on hand to accommodate passengers en route to the park.” Around the same time, Milwaukee officials convinced local folks of Salesville and the area to rename the town Gallatin Gateway. Top Left: Gallatin Gateway Inn postcard Top Right: Gallatin Gateway Inn postcard, ca1930s. Published by the Milwaukee Road. Left: Gallatin Gateway Inn, ca1928. Photo from Montana Historical Society, posted on the Gallatin Gateway Inn website. Sacajawea Inn The Sacajawea Hotel, also known as Sacajawea Inn, was constructed in 1910 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The hotel served passengers on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, which terminated in Three Forks until 1927, when the line was extended to Gallatin Gateway. The original building was the Madison Hotel, built in 1862 on the Three Forks townsite, and moved on log rollers a mile to its present location. At the time, the Milwaukee Depot was across the street. In 1910, the main lobby and 29 rooms were constructed by railroad agent John Q. Adams, who hired Bozeman architect Fred Willson to create a grand but warm and welcoming design. Top Left: Back side of the Sacajawea Hotel under construction, ca1910. Photo courtesy Sacajawea Inn website. Top Right: Front of the Sacajawea Hotel, ca19-teens. Left: Sacajawea Inn with of downtown Three Forks. Photo courtesy Sacajawea Inn website. OPEN SACAJAWEA HOTEL. Special Dispatch to the Standard. Bozeman, Dec. 15.—The formal opening of the Sacajawea hotel at Three Forks took place last evening, and a large delegation of Bozeman citizens went down on a special train over the Gallatin valley branch of the Milwaukee road. The special was arranged through the influence of the Gallatin Valley club and nearly every branch of business and Bozeman had a representative. In the party were several ladies and some young people. All had a good time and pronounced the new hotel one of the finest in the state. The proprietor, J. N. Kleber, and his wife did everything to make the visitors enjoy themselves. [From the Anaconda Standard, Dec. 16, 1910] Top Left: Three Forks railroad depot in 1911, with the Olympian in front. Top Right: The new depot at Sacajawea Inn, undated postcard.
- Yancey's - Roosevelt Lodge | Geyserbob.com
Fascinating history of the Yancey's Hotel in Pleasant Valley, Yellowstone National Park. It was run by pioneer John F. Yancey from 1882 until his death in 1903. Also the interesting story of Roosevelt Lodge, beginning in 1917. Flushly illustrated with historic photos. Hotels in the Yellowstone Yancey's - Roosevelt Lodge Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Yancey's Hotel in Pleasant Valley 1882-1906 Uncle John F, Yancey This colorful character, the sixth of ten children, was born in Barren County, Kentucky in 1826. Described as the weakly child of the family, he outlived them all. He moved with his family to Missouri while he was still a boy. He journeyed to California in 1849, no doubt following the Gold Rush and later spent time on the Santa Fe Trail. Yancey returned east and fought for the cause of the South in the Civil War. After the war he removed to the Bozeman area and Crow country in 1866 and was employed by the government much of the time. Sensing opportunity in the Yellowstone Park, he made arrangement to settle himself along the road from Mammoth Hot Springs to Cooke City. Jack Baronett built a bridge over the Yellowstone River, that was located near Yancey’s site. John Yancey settled into Pleasant Valley in 1882 and built a cabin and mail station to serve the stages and miners enroute to the mines of Cooke City. The area was located near the junction of the Lamar and Yellowstone Rivers, not too far from Baronett's Bridge. The mail route from Gardiner to Cooke City generally took two days in good weather, and mail carriers used Yancey’s as the overnight stop. Yancey had reportedly received verbal permission from Supt. Patrick Conger to establish the mail station to accommodate traffic to Cooke City. Left: Bridge built by Jack Baronett in 1871 over the Yellowstone River, just above its junction with the East Fork of the Yellowstone (Lamar River). [F. Jay Haynes Stereoview] Right: Sketch of John Yancey made by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1897. [From Recreation Magazin e, "ElkLand," Vol. 7, 1897] Yancey received a 10-year lease on 10 acres of land on which to construct his hotel and mail station. He opened the "Pleasant Valley Hotel" in 1884 with a 1-1/2-story log cabin measuring 30' x 50'. It could supposedly accommodate 20 guests in the upstairs bedrooms at a rate of $2/day or $10/week. Yancey erected a 1-1/2-story saloon nearby in 1887 that measured about 20’x20.’ The story goes that his whiskey glasses were undefiled by the touch of water. Yancey knew all the good fishing holes and had plenty of tall tales to amuse people. His establishment attracted fishermen, hunters, and others interested in this quiet part of the park. By 1885, $25,000 had been spent on the construction of a road from the Yellowstone Falls via the east trail over Mount Washburn to Yancey's on the Mammoth Hot Springs road. This road allowed traffic to and from Yancey’s into the heart of Yellowstone, providing addition business traffic. To deal with the increased business, Yancey enlarged his hotel Above Right : Yancey's Hotel & saloon, ca1896. From Burton Holmes Travelogues Below : Yancey's Hotel, undated stereoview, photographer unknown. One Acting Superintendent described Yancey as a “peculiar and interesting old character . . . popular among a large class of people in this section, and also has a few powerful friends in the east . . .” It was also noted that Yancey’s place had “attractions, for a number of people, probably for the very reason of its roughness, and because it is a typical frontier establishment.” Of course that roughness did not appeal to everyone and superintendent Pitcher commented in 1902 that “it is so wretched as to prevent many people from going to his place who [would] do so if he would furnish [them] with a fairly decent fare." Owen Wister That same year, Owen Wister, who later authored The Virginian , was in Yellowstone on a sheep and goat hunting trip. He stopped by Yancey’s and was treated to one of Uncle John’s special elixirs. Wister described the old man as one, “of that frontier type which is no more to be seen; the goat-bearded, shrewd-eyed, lank Uncle Sam type. He and his cabins had been there a long while. The legend ran that he was once a Confederate soldier, and had struck out from the land of the Lost Cause quite unreconstructed, and would never wear blue jeans because blue reminded him of the Union army. He was known as Uncle John by that whole country . . . And then Uncle John led me across the road to—not his wine, but his whisky cellar. Handsome barrels. I came to know it well. He had some sort of fermented stuff made from oranges, which he obtained from California. Mingled properly with whisky, the like of it I have never elsewhere tasted.” Burton Holmes Travelogues World traveler Burton Holmes expressed a similar opinion in his Yellowstone Travelogue during a visit in 1896: “A visit to “Uncle John Yancey’s” ranch is an experience that will be remembered but which will not be repeated. A comic writer might find food for profitable study in the peculiarities of Uncle John, but the ordinary traveler will find neither palatable food nor decent accommodations while at the old man’s “Hotel.” The tenderfoot should not remark the unwashed condition of the two historic glasses into which the proprietor pours the welcoming libation of “Kentucky tea,” for it is Yancey’s boast that his whisky glasses have never been polluted by the contact of so alien a liquid as water. That water is not held in good repute at Yancey’s is evidenced by the location and condition of the “bathing establishment” maintained for the inconvenience of guests who are so perverted as to require more than a pail that serves the needs of the habitués of the primitive caravansary. On the whole it is wiser to leave the park with the impressions of its glories undimmed by memories of Yancey’s Ranch.” Somehow, despite Holmes' unfavorable review, he did devote a fair bit of space to Yancey in the Yellowstone Travelogue, along with a wealth of photos not found elsewhere. Yancey's "dough-wrangler" and all-around helper cooking "Grub," and John Yancey in his corral ca1896. Yancey maintained a small herd of horses, beef and milk cows to help maintain the operation. [ From Burton Holmes Travelogues] I n 1897 Ernest Thompson Seton, sometimes Ernest Seton Thompson, and his wife traveled to Yellowstone and rented and fixed up one of Yancey’s cabins. They spent the next few months studying wildlife nearby Yancey’s Hotel and then ventured through Yellowstone to see and photograph other wildlife. That visit formed the basis on some of his many books. [Recreation Magazine , December 1898] Uncle John traveled to Gardiner in late April to attend the dedication of the new stone arch near the Northern Pacific RR depot. “Teddy” Roosevelt was on hand, along with numerous other dignitaries, and dedicated the arch on April 24. It came to be known as the Roosevelt Arch and still proudly stands today on the edge of Gardiner. John Burroughs, in his Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt , remarked that during Roosevelt’s trip through Yellowstone in 1903 with Burroughs and others, “We spent two nights in our Tower Falls camp, and on the morning of the third day set out on our return to Fort Yellowstone, pausing at Yancey's on our way, and exchanging greetings with the old frontiersman, Yancey took sick after attending the dedication of the new arch in Gardiner in 1903. The Anaconda newspaper reported on May 6 that, “Word was received late Monday night, first by telegraph and later by telephone, that "Uncle John” Yancey, pioneer in the Yellowstone park, having lived there more than 30 years . . . was dying. Both messages were directed to Assistant County Attorney Daniel Yancey, nephew of the pioneer. The telegram stated that '‘Uncle John" was sick, confined to bed, but the word over the 'phone was urgent and to the effect that the old settler was sinking fast.” Yancey passed away the next day, on May 7th at age 77. Above Right: John F. Yancey Photo taken at the C.E. Finn photographic studio in Livingston, Mt. [YNP #939] Left: Photo of Yancey's headstone in Gardiner's Tinker Hill Cemetery. [Photo by the author] Right: Headline from the Butte Miner, May 8, 1903. The Gardiner Wonderland reported on the 14th, that the funeral procession was the largest ever seen and most of the businesses had closed their doors for the funeral and procession. At the funeral service held at Tinker’s Hill cemetery, where the Rev. E. Smith of Livingston, offered a prayer and eulogy. The minister expressed the generally held opinion that, “The esteem in which “Uncle John” Yancey was held in this community [Gardiner] where he was best known, was shown in the very great concern of people who paid a last tribute to his memory. From everywhere around came those who had known him in life, until the procession was much the largest ever seen here. Nearly all business houses closed and as the procession filed by the government and railroad works, all business was suspended.” Described as among the class of men renowned as “pioneers, first settlers, old timers, etc. . . [they lived a] hardy, rugged, rough and ready life . . . [where] the hardships born; the stalwart purposes developed can not be too extravagantly spoken of. All of this has brought peace, comforts, and prosperity to this present generation and insures the same to succeeding generations.” The End is Near for Yancey's Hotel On April 16, 1906 fire destroyed the hotel building. The Butte Daily Post reported soon after that; “A fire originating in a defective flue is reported to have completely destroyed the old Yancey hotel property in the Yellowstone park Monday night. Uncle John Yancey built and opened the hotel over twenty years ago, and it was a very popular resort for park tourists. The loss is about $5,000. Dan Yancey, who succeeded to the ownership and management of the hotel upon the death of Uncle John, says a new hotel will be built on the site of the old [one] this summer, and tents will be used in the interim for the accommodation of travelers.” The following year Dan applied for permission to continue the business at a location closer to where a new road was being constructed. Permission was denied and the original lease was revoked in November of that year. However, a lease was issued to the Wylie Permanent Camps Co. to establish a camp nearby. The camp was located at the junction of the Mammoth-Cooke City-Mt Washburn/Canyon roads. the camp became the Roosevelt Lodge in the 1920s. The saloon and remaining buildings were razed in the 1960's. Camp Roosevelt & Roosevelt Lodge 1917 - Present Wylie Camping Company Roosevelt Tent Camp was established by the Wylie Permanent Camping Co. in 1906. A bathhouse was built at nearby Nymph Spring, which had been used since at least the 1870s as a bathing/soaking spring by early pioneers and explorers. The guest accommodations were wood-floored tents covered with red and white candy-striped canvas and furnished with simple, rustic furniture. The camp could handle up to 125 guests. A communal dining tent served family-style meals. The area appealed to those who desired a more isolated area and catered to fisherman, wildlife enthusiasts, and horseback riders. Above: Roosevelt Lodge in 1923, surrounded by a combination of tent cabins and wooden cabins. [Yellowstone Park Camps Co brochure, 1923, courtesy Univ of Wyoming Library] Right: Wylie Camping Co., Camp Roosevelt, ca1907. [Underwood & Underwood stereoview] Camp Roosevelt Camp Roosevelt was originally named by the Wylie Camping Co. to honor President Theodore Roosevelt, who was rumored to have camped on the site during his camping trip in 1903. The actual camp site was located at the old Tower Soldier Station, about one and a half miles south of the camp and the Roosevelt Lodge. The rustic log lodge show above was built on the site of the former Wylie Camp in 1919-20 by the Yellowstone Parks Camps Co. and was originally known as Camp Roosevelt. Construction began in the fall of 1919 and was completed the following year. The 1-story building rested on a rubble-stone foundation and utilized unpeeled logs for the walls. It measured 90’ by 50’ with an “L” extension of 29’ by 59’. A covered porch extended across the front of the building and wrapped around the southeast side. In 1924, Vernon Goodwin bought the camp from Howard Hays and Roe Emory in 1924, retaining the same company name. Around 1927 Goodwin renamed the company the Yellowstone Park Lodge & Camps Co. The "Camps" at Mammoth Hot Springs, Lake, Canyon, OF and Roosevelt became 'Lodges.' Left: Camp Roosevelt, ca1920, Real-Photo postcard. Right: Camp Roosevelt, 1922. [Haynes PC #22738] The lodge featured two stone fireplaces, a dining room lounge, kitchen and rustic furnishings. Roosevelt Lodge was not a part of the standard tour package and tourists had to pay extra to include that area in their trip. Therefore visitation here was never as great as in other locations, but was a favored location for fishermen and horseback riding. Left: Camp Roosevelt, interior and stone fireplace, 1922. [Haynes PC #22740] During the years 1920-29, 37 cabins and 26 tent cabins were constructed, along with other utility buildings. By 1929, three groups of tourist cabins had been established at Camp Roosevelt. These included: six log cabins and one "rustic-frame” cabin located south southeast of the Lodge; 18 board-and-batten, rustic-frame, tent cabins located southeast of the lodge, and 18 rustic-frame cabins located northeast of the Lodge. In the 1920s, bathroom and shower facilities were added to the Camp Roosevelt complex. Two bathrooms were constructed adjacent to the southeast and northeast cabin groups. These were simple buildings, of frame construction with wood-shingled gable roofs. They also served as a public wash room for transient guests — people who come in only for lunch and did not have a cabin. Left: Log & board rustic cabins at Camp Roosevelt. Facing the lodge, these would have been somewhere to the right side. [Undated Real-Photo postcard] Right: Tent and wooden cabins located to the left of the lodge, 1925. Note the larger bench surrounding the "Roosevelt Tree." [ YNP #36505] Upper Left: The "Roosevelt Lodge" name appears on this Haynes postcard in 1927. [Haynes PC #27468] Lower Left: Roosevelt Lodge ca1930, with the local bear entertaining two young ladies. Note the log bench has again been changed. [ YNP #185328-270] Right: Article from the Anaconda Standard , June 1, 1919, describing the naming of "Camp Roosevelt." This was an official government name now, as opposed to the corporate name from the Wylie days. Click to enlarge. The lodge was closed in 1933-34 due to the Great Depression and the housekeeping cabins at the Tower campground were closed in 1934. A few years later about 70 cabins were moved in to Roosevelt from Mammoth Lodge. By 1939 running water was provided to all of the cabins. World War II again closed the lodge from 1943-46. The southeast section of the lodge building was removed around 1947. All of the tent cabins were removed by 1950 and in 1962 thirteen cabins from Old Faithful Lodge were hauled in. The lodge and about 97 cabins units are still available for guest use and are operated by Xanterra Parks & Lodges. Yellowstone Forest and Trail Camp for Boys and Young Men This camp was established in 1921 at Roosevelt to provide outdoors’ skills to young boys. It opened July 1 for a seven-week term. Alvin G. Whitney of Syracuse University of New York was the Director. The staff was composed of naturalists, foresters, and artists who instructed the students in photographing wild game, studying the fauna and flora, fishing, and mountain climbing. Informative auto tours were conducted to study the many park features and wildlife. The camp was designed for boys 12 to 18 years of age and emphasized character building. Meals were served in the Camp Roosevelt Lodge. There were tent cabins, simple wooden cabins, council house, shower baths, and a swimming pool. The boys were expected to provide for themselves, pocket kodak, flashlight, small sheath-knife, binoculars, knapsack, canteen, hand lens, compass, pocket notebook, fishing tackle, hatchet, and waterproof matches, in addition to a proscribed collection of varied clothing and boots.. A brochure from 1921 made the pitch that, “Every boy should have the opportunity to experience the simple and elemental in wild nature at the most imaginative and plastic age, while life-long interests are being developed. During that golden period of altruism a deepening interest in nature may well serve to mould his character and direct his pleasures permanently in the noblest channels.” Although the project seemed to be a noble venture, it unfortunately was short-lived and after the 1923 season, it closed due to financial losses. Upper Left: Boy's Camp main lodge building. [YNP #31831] Lower Left: Advertisement for the Forest and Trail Camp. Click to enlarge [ Newspaper ad from 1921, author's collection] Upper Right: Boy's Camp lodge building with tent cabins. [YNP #193429-75] Stage Rides & Cookouts The now famous stagecoach rides and steak cookout at Yancey’s Hole n Pleasant Valley began in the summer of 1959. An article from the Spokesman Review of Spokane Wash. proclaimed, “For the first time in many years, old-fashioned stagecoaches and tallyhos (horse-drawn sightseeing carriages) will operate in Yellowstone park from Roosevelt lodge to Pleasant valley. Morning and evening rides to Yancey s Hole will be featured where breakfasts arid barbecue dinners will be served.” A Yellowstone Park Co. brochure from the early 1960s invited guests to, “Clamber aboard a stagecoach for an exciting jaunt into the past . . . The sturdy Concord coaches, luxurious vehicles at their time, [1886-1916] may in the softness of the present seem like Roosevelt rough riders.” At that time, a mere $1.75 allowed one to step back into Yellowstone’s past. By 1966, five bucks would gain one a coach ride with steak, French fries, a vegetable and coffee at the historic Yancey’s Hole. The Boston Globe that year waxed, “Barbecue smoke and the aroma of coffee hang heavy on pine-scented air while the sun falls behind the nearby Rockies. Later the stage rattles home, fording a stream, trailing a cloud of dust that glows red in the dying light of day.” The Concord Tally-Ho ruled the road there for many a year, but in later times rubber-wheeled wagons did most of the hauling of guests. They were safer and easier for less-experienced wranglers to drive. The days when a jehu who knew how to wield the ribbons of four or six horse teams and expertly crack the whip had rapidly faded. Although in recent years a replica Talley Ho was built in the Xanterra garage/shop for use at Roosevelt. One visitor in 1966, who seemed to have enjoyed his journey into the past, related his impressions: At Roosevelt Lodge we climbed aboard a yellow stagecoach for a steak fry in the peaceful surroundings of Pleasant Valley. The 30-minute ride with steak, French fries, vegetable, coffee and dessert comes to $5. Children go for half price. Barbecue smoke and the aroma of coffee hang heavy on pine-scented air while the sun falls behind the nearby Rockies. Later the stage rattles home, fording a stream, trailing a cloud of dust that glows red in the dying light of day. [24Jul1966 Boston Globe ]
- West Yellowstone | Geyserbob.com
Pictorial History of West Yellowstone, the Western Gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Accessed by the Union Pacific RR, with stagcoach service into Yellowstone 1908-1916, and auto access 1917 to date. Gateways to Wonderland West Yellowstone & The Union Pacific RR Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Early Days . . . . The West Entrance of Yellowstone was used by many of the earliest tourists to Yellowstone. Gilman Sawtelle, probably the area's earliest settler, homesteaded a ranch in the Henry's Lake area in 1867. The following year he built a road from his ranch to Virginia City. Five years later he was instrumental in constructing the first road from Virginia City into Yellowstone through the West Entrance. The road was known as the Virginia City and National Park Free Wagon Road. In the 1880's travel to the park was also accomplished by the UP's line that extended from Brigham City, UT. to Butte MT. The train stopped at Beaver, near the Idaho and Montana border, and there stagecoaches made the trip through the West Entrance. The route traveled through Centennial Valley, past Henry's Lake, with an overnight stop at Dwelle's Inn. The passengers arrived at the Fountain Hotel the following day in time for lunch The jump-off point was later moved to Monida, where the Monida-Yellowstone Stage Line began service in 1898 and traveled a more direct route to the west entrance of Yellowstone. In 1905, E.H. Harriman, President of Union Pacific RR, made plans to extend their rail line to the west entrance of Yellowstone. The line was completed in Nov. of 1907 and the following June the line was open for regularly scheduled train traffic. Right Top: Dwelle's lodge, later known as the Grayling Inn. In 1884 he established Dwelle’s Stage Stop to service the Bassett Bros. stages that were running to the park from Beaver, Idaho. In 1898, Dwelle’s Inn became an overnight stop for the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. that transported tourists to the park from Monida until 1908. [Montana Historical Society] Right Bottom: Gilman Sawtelles cabin in 1872, when he hosted F.V Hayden Expedition Hayden standing to right and Sawtelle sitting on the right. Photo by Wm. H. Jackson. Bottom Left: The Sawtelle Ranch in 1872. Photo by Wm. H. Jackson. The Union Pacific RR Moves in . . . The UPRR incorporated the Yellowstone Park Railroad Company on September 12, 1905 to build a line from St. Anthony, Idaho to the west entrance of Yellowstone. Construction began October 3, 1905 and was completed November 12, 1907. The line was almost immediately closed by winter snows, but was ready to provide service the following June. The town at the Boundary was founded in 1908 with the name of Riverside, even though the town site was two miles from the Madison River. The UP began providing passenger rail service to the town on June 11, 1908. A road was cut through the forest in 1907, to the Madison River two miles distant, where the Wylie Permanent Camping Company and the Monida and Yellowstone Stage Company built barns and other facilities required by their stages engaged in transporting the tourists into the Park from the Union Pacific RR depot. The townsite was located on Forest Service lands and permission was needed for any homesteaders. The original settler was Joe Claus, who built a cabin in what is now the townsite during the winter of 1906-1907, probably in the hope of profiting from construction of the railway. The first residents were issued permits for stores and homes late in the fall of 1907, but did not actually own the land. They were Charles A. Arnet, Sam P. Eagle, and L.A. Murray. A Forest Service survey in June 1908 created a town site consisting of 6 blocks and the town was officially named Riverside on Oct. 23, 1908. Prior to that time the area was referred to as ‘the Boundary’, or ‘at the Boundary'. Yellowstone Hotel Hotel Yellowstone, usually referred to as the Yellowstone Hotel, or Yellowstone Inn in later days, was a 2-story hotel was built around 1907-08 by L.A. Murray. Adjacent buildings were a small pool hall and a corner barber shop run by Osh Hedgecoach in the early years. I believe it came into possession of the Bryant Way, a camping outfit that toured Yellowstone. Around 1913, Shaw & Powell Camping Co. bought the hotel for use by their guests. After reorganization of the camping companies in Yellowstone in 1917, it came into possession of the Yellowstone Park Camping Co. In 1926, the property was sold to Sam Hurless, who constructed a cabin camp on the lot. T op Left: Hotel Yellowstone, photo taken perhaps soon after construction. Top Right: Yellowstone Hotel with the pool room at right and barber shop on far right. Bottom Right: The Inn at the Gate: The Yellowstone Hotel, ca1914 when used by the Shaw & Powell Camping Co. [Photo from University of Wyoming] Eagles Store, ca1910 Samuel Peter Eagle, then in partnership with Alex Stuart, opened a general store in 1908 which operated for two years, after which the Stuart family went into business for themselves. On November 17, 1909 Sam Eagle was appointed Postmaster, taking over from Chas. Arnet. The store was enlarged in 1913. [Photo from Images of America - West Yellowstone , by Paul Shea] The Town's Beginnings . . . The name Riverside had already been applied to an area 4-5 miles east of the park entrance in the 1880’s, where a mail and stagecoach station and a soldier station were located. To avoid confusion, the name was changed to Yellowstone on Jan 31, 1910. Confusion continued for years with the town named the same as the park. The name was changed for the last time in 1920 to West Yellowstone. In 1913 and 1919 lands were removed from the Forest Service jurisdiction for use as the town site and residents were then able to actually own their land. In 1920 additional areas were surveyed and platted, enlarging the town. The original blocks were renumbered and 22 additional blocks created. Charles Arnet, one of the original founders, built the Yellowstone Store, around 1907-08. It was the first store in town and located in the middle of Park Street. It also housed the first post office. He sold out to Alex Stuart in 1910. L.A. “Dick” Murray built the Yellowstone Hotel in 1909, located across the street and west of the Eagle Store. It later became the Yellowstone Inn, and then the hotel for the Shaw & Powell Camping Co. Around the same time, Sam Eagle also operated a general store with Alex Stuart. When Stuart bought the Yellowstone Store, Eagle and his wife continued their operation. In the late 1920's they built a new 'Eagle Store'. The Eagle family continues to operate the store to this day. Early Street Views of "Yellowstone" T op Left: Real-Photo postcard with Hotel Yellowstone behind the horses, probably pulling a Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co., undated. Top Right: Park St. in 1912. Alex Stuart's General Merchandise Store. Bottom Right: Street view ca1917 showing buses of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. Behind are the madison Hotel (left) and Madison Cafe to its right. The building on the right advertises Park Tour and Permanent Camps, no doubt an old Shaw & Powell Camping Co. building. [Yellowstone Historic Center, #2016.4] Union Pacific Depot The depot was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood and opened in 1909 by the UPRR, replacing temporary facilities. The Union Pacific RR described it as, “built of stone, very substantial, spacious, and artistic. It is electric heated by steam, and provides large waiting rooms, an individual dressing room for ladies, two large fireplaces, drinking fountains, etc. In it are the usual ticket and Pullman offices and the office of the Monida and Yellowstone Stage Co. Upon the railroad's arrival to West, the Monida-Yellowstone Stage Line moved their operations from Monida to an area a few miles inside the park's boundary called Riverside. They picked up passengers from the depot and took them on the tour around the park. In 1972, major changes were made throughout the depot to convert its use to a privately-operated museum. The building currently houses the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum Union Pacific Dining Lodge The Dining Lodge was built in 1925 by the UPRR with Gilbert Stanley Underwood as architect. The dining hall incorporated a large central eating space (the Mammoth Room) with a massive, arrowhead-shaped fireplace, a kitchen large enough to prepare over 1,000 meals per day; a large service wing containing the employee dining hall, a bakery, butcher shop, scullery, linen room, coal room, manager’s office, and walk-in refrigerators and freezers. Visitors would arrive in the morning and have breakfast prior to their journey into the park. Diners were served in the Mammoth Room, a dining room with 45' ceilings, large windows, and a fireplace large enough for a man to stand in. Several hundred people could be seated at once. Visitors returning from the park would have supper before boarding the train for their trip home. T op Left: The Beanery, built in 1911 to replace the original crude facility. [Photo from Images of America - West Yellowstone , by Paul Shea] Top Right: Mammoth Room in the new UP Dining Lodge, constructed in 1925, replacing the Beanery. [Real-Photo postcard, author collection] Middle Right: The Depot with the Yellowstone Special in front. [Postcard Bloom Bros. #4270, Author collection] Bottom Right: Early view of the Union Pacific Depot. [Real-Photo postcard] Bottom Left: Trackside view of the Union Pacific Dining Lodge (left), Baggage Bldg., and the Depot, late 1920s, Tammen Postcard #4520 Early Businesses Stuart's Garage Alex Stuart, one of towns founding pioneers, started out in business with Sam Eagle. Stuart bought Arnet's Yellowstone Store in 1910 and started a general merchandise store. They incorporated as the Stewart Mercantile Co. in 1915. According to the Butte Miner, Oct. 24, 1915, “The Stuart Mercantile company, organized to conduct a general retail merchandise business at Yellowstone, in extreme southern Gallatin county on the Park boundary, has been Incorporated by papers filed with the county clerk and recorder last Thursday. The capital stock is $25,000. The directors are Matthew A. Stewart and Emma Stewart of St. Paul. Minn., and Alex Stuart and Laura Stuart of Yellowstone. [See stereoview of the store on the "Street Views of Yellowstone above) Right: Stereoview of Stuart's General Merchandise Store, 1912. With the advent of the 'horseless carriage' in Yellowstone, he entered into an agreement with the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. to service their new White Motor Co. buses beginning in 1917. He built Stuart's Garage, selling gas, tires, oil, and other automotive supplies. He obtained the service contract in 1917 for the White Motor Co. touring buses of the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. YPTCo took over operations from the Yellowstone-Western stagecoach company when motor cars began ruling the roads in Yellowstone in 1917. Alex’s son Walt, reportedly the first baby born in West Yellowstone (1909), began working at the station in 1919, purchased it in 1936 and eventually sold it in 1977. Alex Stuart died in 1961. Top Right: Colorized postcard of Alex Stuart's Service, undated. Top Left: Walt Stuarts Texaco after rebuilding/remodeling, ca1940s. Real-Photo postcard. Madison Hotel Built by Jess Pieman in 1912, the Madison Hotel is the only remaining early hotel in West Yellowstone. This rustic log hotel was soon after purchased by Charles M. "Roxy" and Dolly (Bishop) Bartlett. It was conveniently located across from the UPRR depot. There were originally 6 rooms upstairs with a downstairs lobby. Fourteen more rooms and a card room were added in 1921 and running water a few years later. Eventually the Hadleys bought the operation in 1959, adding a large gift shop. The business is still open during the summer season. Top Right: Ad for the Hotel Madison in 1915. [Road Logs Salt Lake City to Yellowstone Park, 1915] Bottom Right: Lobby of the Madison Hotel, undated. [Real-Photo postcard, author collection] Bottom Left: Madison Hotel, located across from the UP Depot, ca1920. [Real-Photo postcard, author collection] Kennedy Bldg - Menzel’s Curio The Kennedy Building was built in 1911 on a lot owned by Madison Basin Forest Ranger Louis J. Kennedy. It originally served as a dance hall in the town that would become West Yellowstone. Equipped with a piano, the building hosted Saturday night dances for the entertainment of tourists, railroad employees, and locals. It then housed a summer restaurant from 1913 to 1916, and in 1919, local students used its lofty space as a basketball court. Sam Eagle, one of the town’s founders, acquired the building in 1933 and opened a curio shop managed by his daughter, Rose. In 1941, Rose married Herm Menzel who promptly went off to war. Upon Herm’s return in 1946, the store became Menzel’s Curio Shop. The building still stands on Yellowstone Avenue today. Top Left : Kennedy Building, that later housed Menzel's Curio Shop in 1933. Rose Eagle managed the business until 1946, when she married Herm Menzel. [Real-Photo postcard, probaby ca1933.] Top Right : Later view of Eagle's Curio Store, ca1940s Bottom Right : 1981 view of Menzel's Curio Store. It is still in business to this day. It is one of the few original businesses in town remaining from the 1910s era. [NPS Photo #284] Eagle Store Samuel Peter Eagle, then in partnership with Alex Stuart, opened a general store in 1908 which they operated for two years, after which the Stuart family went into business for themselves. On November 17, 1909 Sam Eagle was appointed Postmaster, taking over from Chas. Arnet. Eagle took over the actual operation of the post office in January of 1910, which was the beginning of his 25 years of tenure. The West Yellowstone Post Office was housed in the store from 1910 until 1935. Also, a soda fountain was added to Eagle’s Store in 1910. The store was rebuilt/enlarged in 1913. The present 3-story building was built in the years between 1927 and 1930. Sam purchased Joe Claus’ cabins in the early 1920s and used them as employee housing. Small shops to the side of the store were replaced by a store addition in 1966. The Eagle Family has continued to operate at 3 Canyon Street in its original location to this day. Top Left: 1913 view of the early Eagle Store. [Photo from Images of America - West Yellowstone , by Paul Shea] Top Right: View of the Eagle Store after it was rebuilt in 1927-30. [Schlechten Photo] Tepee Inn The Tepee Inn (also Tee Pee Inn) was built by Paul & Dorothy Strieder in 1919. It was a large two-story log structure that housed a bar, dance floor, cafe, and rooms. Paul died in the early 1920s and later Dorothy married Val Buchanan, and continued to operate the hotel. J.H. Venable sold the Tepee to A.K. Clawson in 1952. A fire caused by a burning grease trap burned the Tepee in 1965, but the exterior rock wall and interior back-bar survived the fire. The building was rebuilt as a single story structure, and Clawson added the Tepee Motel to the building. Right: Lobby of the TePee Inn, 1934. [Schlechten Photo] Bottom Left: The Tepee Inn, ca1920. Real-Photo postcard. Bottom Right: The Tepee Inn, alte 1920s after the Inn was greatly enlarged. Real-Photo postcard. Doc’s Bar - Doc’s Club Horace G. “Doc” Bartlett was the brother of Roxy Bartlett, who opened the Madison Hotel. Doc opened a grocery store called the Log Store around 1920. A few years later he opened Doc’s Bar, later called Doc’s Club. Gambling was not unknown in the bar and occasionally newspapers, somewhat unfavorably, reported on the matter. In the late 1930s, Doc was involved in the startup of the Chalet Theater. In later days the club featured the Starlite Lounge, for drinks, dinner and dancing. It was listed for sale in newspapers in 1956 and 1968. Above: Newspaper ad for Doc's Club, from the Idaho State Journal in 1959 Left: View of Yellowstone St., late-1930s. Doc's is in between the two cafes on the left. [Photo from, Images of America - West Yellowstone , by Paul Shea Smith & Chandlers Transcription of sign from the West Yellowstone Historic Walking Tour "In 1927, two pioneering entrepreneurs from Las Vegas, Nevada, Carl Smith & Ken Chandler, built a large general mercantile across the street from the Union Pacific Depot. Train passengers walked across the dirt street for their group photos. Tour bus riders bought western hats and dusters. Auto travelers picked up postcards and curios. “Smith & Chandler Indian Traders” brought Navajo, Zuni and Hopi jewelry makers and rug, blanket and basket weavers to the store for decades. Alice Chandler was quite a memorable sight, too. She dyed her hair a bright red and was dressed in the finest western dresses and boots. She graced the store with her style and presence for 50 years. By 1972, the Smiths and Chandlers had retired and sold the store to the Hamilton/ Povah family. In March of 1973, suspected static electricity and leaking propane gas sparked a tremendous fire. Without the help from modern fire hydrants to extinguish the flames, the store and adjoining coffee shop burned to the ground. The family quickly built this new store and kept the same name" Bottom Right: Postcard view of the Smith & Chandler store in West Yellowstone, ca1940s. They also produced many postcards, many of which were Real-Photo postcards of the "Yellow Buses" filled with tourists heading into Yellowstone. Top Right: Early view of Smith & Chandler [Schlechten photo, Museum of the Rockies, #x80-6-3098] The Town Grows Up . . . This area collects tremendous amounts of snow in the winter and spring and the business season here is typically very short. The railroad shut down service during the winters. Many residents left the area for the winter, and the few that stayed were generally snowed-in for the duration. It was not until 1936 that the road to Bozeman was kept open through the winter. The area’s first airport opened in 1935 on forest lands south of town, cleared by Yellowstone pioneer George Whittaker. Private-owned snowplanes entered the park through the West Entrance in 1948-49. Private snowmobiles were 1st allowed into Yellowstone in the 1963-64 seasons and the area has since developed into a very popular winter resort area for snowmobiling, snowcoach tours into Yellowstone and cross-country skiing. Snowmobile rental businesses have begun using snowmobiles with 4-stroke engines that pollute less and are quieter. Although the Park banned individual snowmobile travel in Yellowstone, there are vast areas that be explored outside of the Park. Regularly scheduled railroad passenger service ended in 1960, but a new airport was built in 1963-64, allowing for larger aircraft to bring visitors into the area. The town was incorporated in in 1966 and three years later the UPRR donated the Depot, Dining Lodge, and other service buildings to the town. Postcard Views of Motels of 1930s -1950s T op Left: The Hayward cabins and gas station, built by former Yellowstone storekeeper George Whittaker in the 1930s-40s. Top Right: The Stagecoach Inn, built in 1948. A Sanborn Real-Photo postcard. Middle Left: The Sleepy Hollow Motel. Bottom Left: Circle R Motel, ca1940s. Bottom Right: THerk's Modern Cabins, ca1940s. Street Views T op Left: View from near Park entrance looking east. From the right: Collette's Coffee Shop, Old Faithful Tavern, barber shop, drug store, cafe, Smith & Chandler's, and Madison Hotel & Gift Shop to the left. Ca1940s. YNP #185327-497. Bottom Left: Looking north, Purdy's Frontier Club and Knotty Pine Coffee Shop Click to enlarge photos Top Right: Yellowstone St., looking west from the corner with Stuart's Texaco gas station on right. A cafe is to the right of the Texaco, then the Frontier Club. A Sanborn postcard. Bottom Right: Looking north from near Yellowstone St. A Pegasus/Mobil Oil gas station on right, Peterson's on left, with the Log Store and a Tavern next to it. A Linen-Style postcard, ca1940s. Click to enlarge photos Off to Wonderland . . . Be sure to visit the highly-rated Yellowstone Historic Center Museum, now the Museum of the Yellowstone, on your next visit to West Yellowstone
- White Motor Bus Specs | Geyserbob.com
This page describes the specifications of the White Motor Company buses used in Yellowstone, beginning in 1917. Eight of the buses still ply the roads to this day, although modified to conform to modern saftey regulations. Auto Stages in Yellowstone Yellow Busses White Motor Company Models & Specs. Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. TEB - 11 Passenger 1917-23 3/4T, 140” wheelbase truck with 45hp GEC engines, 4-spd transmissions, and open-side bodies. Front tires were 34” x 5” pneumatic with 36” x 6” on the rear. There were four pairs of doors opening onto seats for three passengers, allowing for 11 passengers and the driver. Although in practice, only one passenger sat in front with the driver. The left-hand doors were sealed to prevent opening onto traffic. The transition between the hood and dash was squared off, while the windshield was a solid 2-piece unit (upper & lower). Kerosene running lights were located below the windshield and under the frame supporting the rear boot. They were powered by acetylene bottles on the driver’s side running boards. A canvas boot covered the rear wooden platform that was supported by a steel frame. A canvas top was supported by detachable bows at each bench and celluloid side curtains could be put up in inclement weather. Plate numbers 1-135. 108 vehicles purchased from 1917-1923. (Image YNP Archives #115013) 15/45 - 11 Passenger 1920-25 Similar body to the TEBS, except the transition between the hood and windshield was rounded and the windshield was split into four pieces - upper/lower and left/right. The wheelbase was slightly longer (143-1/2”) with an updated chassis and improved 4-cylinder GN motors. The later 1923 models had 50hp GR motors, as did later deliveries. Front tires were 34” x 5” and rear 36” x 6”. Other amenities were mostly identical to the TEBs. The 1922 models had Scott bodies, while the 1923 and later models had Bender bodies, without LH doors. The rear contained an enclosed trunk instead of a boot. Four oval-shaped windows graced the tonneau cover on the sides at the rear. A canvas top was supported by detachable bows at each bench. Celluloid side curtains could be put up in inclement weather. Acetylene bottles were carried on the driver’s side running boards to power the headlights. Plate numbers 137-349. 214 vehicles purchased from 1920-1925 . Model 50 - 25 Passenger 1923 There were six side doors opening onto seven wide benches to seat 25 passengers plus the driver. The Bender body had a 198” wheelbase with a 4-cylinder GN motor. The roof was solid and luggage could be stored on the roof rack, accessed by a folding ladder from the rear of the bus. Side window curtains could be rolled down in inclement weather. It was the first model to feature electric lights. They had Budd steel disc wheels and electric lights. It utilized 36” x 6” tires all around, with duals on the rear. As the heavy buses were slow at climbing hills, they were mostly used on the West Yellowstone to Old Faithful run. Plate numbers 930-931. (Originally numbered in the 330s) 2 vehicles were purchased in 1923. [Photo: YNP Archives] Model 614 - 14 Passenger 1931 There were four doors to seat 14 passengers. The roof was open with a roll-back canvas, with roll-up glass door windows. The luggage area was enclosed in the rear with two side-opening doors. There was a single, slanted windshield. It was powered by 75hp overhead valve 6-cylinder White 3A engines, with four-wheel Lockheed hydraulic brakes, 4-speed manual transmission and glassed-in Bender bodies. The bus was wider and more comfortable than the other buses used and were primarily run on the longer Cody to Lake Hotel route. The ccanvas top could be rolled back in nice weather to allow passengers to stand up for better view or photographs. Plate numbers 351-358. 8 vehicles delivered in May 1931. [Photo: YNP 114504] Model 706 - 14 Passenger 1936 There were 27 of these 14-passenger buses introduced in 1936. They had two squared-glass windshields, roll-down glass windows and lantern-style rear running lights. The bodies were produced by Bender bodies with an open roof and roll-back canvas tops that tied down along the edges. Each seat had grab handles for passengers to hold on to while standing to view the park through the open roof. The 1937-38 models had improved 16Ah motors. They sat on a 190” wheelbase chassis and were powered by a White 318 cu.in. six-cylinder 16A engine. Renowned industrial designer, Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky was responsible for the radiator cowling and grill design. Plate numbers 361-460. 98 vehicles purchased from 1936-1939. 7-Passenger Touring Cars These cars had a 137-1/2” wheelbase with 37” x 5” tires all around. They had a model GM 4-cylinder, 16- valve motor. They featured four doors, front bucket seats, a rear bench seat, and two rear jump seats, as well as a canvas convertible top and a storage compartment under the rear seat for side curtains. VIPs as well as more affluent visitors to Yellowstone toured the park in vehicles of this type, which were later supplemented by Lincoln touring cars. [NOTE: Information & details on these vehicles is inconsistent & incomplete] Plate numbers 700-717; 720-767. 65 ?? vehicles purchased from 1917-1925. [Photo Yellowstone NPS Collection] 8-Passenger Touring Cars No Photo Plate numbers 718-719 2 vehicles purchased in 1920. Touring Cars in Yellowstone 1917-1939 Lincoln - Ford - Buick Lincoln Touring Cars - 29 Known Vehicles 1925-1927 - Lincoln 7-Passenger Sport Touring [23] Nos. 801-822; 824 33” x 5” Tires; 136” W.B.; Style 124 body w/rear luggage carrier 1926 - Lincoln Sport Phaeton [1] No. 822 33” x 5” Tires; 8-cyl Motor; 136” W.B.; Style 123B body w/ rear luggage carrier 1926 - Lincoln 7-Passenger Berline [2] Nos. 825-826 33” x 6.75” Tires; 8-cyl Motor; 136” W.B.; Style 147B body w/ rear luggage carrier 1928 - Lincoln 7-Passenger Sport Touring Car [1] No. 828 33” x 5” Tires; 8-cyl Motor; 136” W.B.; Style 124 body w/ rear luggage carrier; 4-wheel brakes. 1922 - Lincoln 7-Pasenger Sport Touring Car [1] No. 827 33” x 5” Tires; 8-cyl Motor; 136” W.B.; Leland Body 1931 - Lincoln Limousine [1] No.829 Ford Touring Cars - 17 Known Vehicles 1925 - Ford Model ‘T’ Touring Car [3] Nos. F50 - F52 30” x 3.5” Tires, Electric starter; Electric lighting 1925-1927 - Ford Model ‘T’ Slip-On Roadster [8] Nos. F1 - F8 30” x 3.5” Tires, 100” W.B.; Electric starter; Electric lighting 1927 - Ford Model ‘T’ Roadster [2] Nos. F9 - F10 30” x 3.5” Tires, 100” W.B.; Electric starter; Electric lighting 1928-1929 - Ford Model ‘A’ Roadster [3] Nos. F12 - F14 30” x 4.5” Tires, 103.5” W.B.; Electric starter; Electric lighting 1931 Ford 14-Passenger Car [1] No. 359 Buick Touring Cars - 7 Known 1935-1938 - Buick 7-Passenger Touring Cars [7] Nos. 831-835; B1, B3 Left: Lincoln Touring Car, probably used by Wm. "Billy" Nichols. [YNP #185328-94] Right : Western States Buick Distributors at Yellowstone, showing off their various models, 1922. [YNP #19388] For additional information, visit the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust Above Right : A Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. Lincoln Passenger Touring Car, faithfully restored by the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.
- Robert Goss - Books & Articles | Geyserbob.com
Lising of the variety The Writings Of Robert Goss Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Articles by Robert V. Goss First Bridge Over the Yellowstone River - The Saga of Jack Baronett" Annals of Wyoming , Spring/Summer 2023 "Poker Nell - The Queen of Diamonds" Montana Pioneer , Aug & Sep 2021 "Coated Specimens and Colored Sands" Yellowstone History Journal , 2020, Vol. 3, No. 1 "The Great Yellowstone Park Holdup and the Lone Star Involuntary Benevolent Society" Annals of Wyoming , Winter Spring 2020, Vol. 92, No. 1 "Yellowstone Pete - Seeing America by Donkey Train" Montana Pioneer , June 2020 “Coated Specimens & Colored Sands - Yellowstone’s Early Curio Trade Yellowstone History Journal , Vol. 3, No. 1, 2020 "The 1889 Gardiner Inferno" Montana Pioneer , May 2020 “Thar She Blows! When Whales Rode the Rails in Montana" Montana Pioneer , July 2019 "Cinnabar’s 'Specimen' Schmidt - Specimens from Out of the Park” Montana Pioneer, Oct. 2018 "Cody-Sylvan Pass Motor Company: First Commercial Motorized Passenger Service in Yellowstone" Annals of Wyoming , Winter 2018. Vol.90, No.1 "Geyser Bob: Yellowstone's Legendary Stage Driver" Annals of Wyoming , Vol. 88, No.3, Summer 2016 “Robbery and Wrangling in Yellowstone" (George "Morphine Charley" Reeb) Montana Pioneer , January 2011, Livingston Montana “Holm on the Range: Camping the Yellowstone with Aron ‘Tex Holm’” Annals of Wyoming , Winter 2010, Vol. 82, No. 1. “Taking the Cure – at LaDuke Hot Springs” Montana Ghost Town Society , Fall 2010, Vol. 40. “Meet Me in St. Louis” (Gus Holms) Points West , Summer 2010, Cody Wyoming “Prospecting for Z.R. ‘Red’ Sowash – Park County Miner & Saloon-Keeper" News From the Red Caboose , Spring 2010, Livingston, MT. “And Finding. . . A Hairless Cub, Called the Gulch, Bear. Being an Early History of Bear Gulch and the Sheepeater Mining District" Montana Ghost Town Quarterly , Spring 2010, Vol. 40. “The Man Who Wandered Away - A Yellowstone Mystery” Annals of Wyoming , Autumn 2008, Vol. 80, No. 4. (No longer available online) “A Tale of Two Sisters: Pryor & Trischman in Yellowstone in the Best and Worst of Times” Annals of Wyoming , Spring 2002, Vol. 74, No. 2. “Yellowstone’s First General Store – A Legacy of Jennie Henderson and Her Family” Yellowstone Science , Vol. 13, No. 2, Spring 2005. Yellowstone Center for Resources, YNP, WY “Buses in Yellowstone National Park” Motor Coach Today , Vol. 7, No. 2, April-June 2000. By Bruce Austin, Robert Goss, and Gerald Pesman (Note: This not a link) “Glacier Park” (A History of the White Buses in Glacier) Motor Coach Age , Vol. 53, No. 2, April-June 2002. By Bruce Austin, Raymond Djuff and Robert Goss “Yosemite” (A History of the White Buses in Yosemite Park) Motor Coach Age , Vol. 60, No. 1, Jan-Mar 2009. By Bruce Austin, Tom Shafer and Robert Goss Books by Robert V. Goss : Yellowstone Jack: The Life and Times of Legendary Pioneer Jack Baronett Riverbend Publishing, Copy 2025 (Available from on-line bookstores) “Images oF America: Livingston, Montana” Elizabeth A. Watry and Robert V. Goss Arcadia Publishing, Copy 2009 (Avail. from the Publisher & on-line bookstores) “From Sail to Trail - Chronicling Yellowstone’s E.S. Topping” Self-Published, Copy 2008 (Out of Print) “Pack Trains and Pay Dirt in Yellowstone - On the Trail with George Huston” Self-Published, Copy 2007 (Copies still available from the author - $10 incl S&H by USPS) Coating Curiosities in Yellowstone - Ole Anderson and the Specimen House” Self-Published, Copy 2004 (Copies still available from the author - $10 incl S&H by USPS) “Yellowstone’s George Whittaker - Soldier, Scout and Storekeeper” Self-Published, Copy 2003 (Copies still available from the author - $10 incl S&H by USPS) “Serving the ‘Faithful’ in Yellowstone - Henry Klamer and the General Store in the Upper Geyser Basin" Self-Published, Copy 2003 “Yellowstone – The Chronology of Wonderland” Self-Published, New, Revised 5th Edition, 2015, 180pps (Currently Out of Print) “Making Concessions in Yellowstone” Self-Published, 3rd Edition, Copy 2003 (Out of Print)
- Wylie Camps at Zion & Grand Canyon | Geyserbob.com
The story of the beginnings of tourist accomodations in Zion National Park, run by the Wylie Camping Company, formerly of Yellowstone Park. Wylie Way Camps Zion NP & North Rim, Grand Canyon Copyright 2021 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Wylie Camping Co. in Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks 1917 - 1928 Introduction Zion National Park is the third most visited national park in the US with almost 4.5 million visits in 2019. The canyon can be reached via an easy half-hour drive from I-15. A hundred years ago the area was remotely located and required a slow and difficult route to traverse. Even in 1919 when autos made the journey, a 7-8 hour trip was required for the 100-mile route from the rail depot at Lund , northwest of Cedar City, Utah to Zion Canyon . In the beginning . . . Zion Canyon proper was set aside as a national monument on July 31, 1909 by President Taft and called Mukuntuweap . Explorer John Wesley Powell named the canyon in 1872 using a Paiute word variously defined as "straight arrow," "straight canyon," "straight river," or "land of the springs." Local Mormon pioneers generally referred to it as Little Zion, or Zion Canyon. On March 18, 1918, President Wilson enlarged the monument and changed the name to Zion National Monument. A little over 1-1/2 years later the monument was again enlarged and it attained status of a national park. Painting of the entrance to Zion Canyon by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh in 1903. Interest in the area as a tourist destination had been percolating for a number of years. Late in the fall of 1913 a party of visitors to Zion included Utah Governor Wm. Spry, A.W. Miles, president of the Wylie Permanent Camping Co . in Yellowstone, Howard Hays and Ed Moorman of the Wylie company, Douglas White, of the Salt Lake & Los Angeles rail line (LA&SL), and other Utah promoters who investigated the area for potential tourist development. In August of 1916 another visit was arranged which consisted of the Utah Governor, officials of the Salt Lake rail line and the Oregon Short Line (both companies later came under the corporate umbrella of the Union Pacific RR ), Howard Hays , representatives of the White Motor Co. (who were negotiating to provide buses for Yellowstone National Park), along with other promoters to investigate both Zion and the North Rim of Grand Canyon. Crawford Ranch, Mormon homestead ca1860s. The nearby village of Springdale was established Mormons in 1862. The Wylie Way Camp The end result of these trips was an offer by railroad officials to bankroll William W. Wylie in establishing tent camps in Zion and Grand Canyon for the 1917 season at a tune of $13,000. The National Park Transportation and Camping Company was formed with W.W. Wylie as president, son Clinton as secretary, and Gronway and Chauncey Parry as vice-president and treasurer respectively. The Parry brothers provided transportation services and the Wylie family set up the camp operation. W.W. Wylie had founded the Wylie camps in Yellowstone in 1883, but had sold out in 1905 after creating a viable and camping business enjoyed by thousands of visitors. Wylie would assign the task of setting up a camp at Bright Angel Point on the North Rim of Grand Canyon to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Thomas H. McKee. Left: Gronway Parry driving tourists through Zion in a wagon, ca1917. [Courtesy Cedar CIty Homestead Museum] Right: A dapper-looking William W. Wylie in front of the Office Tent, ca1920. Visitation was limited that first year but gradually increased as the roads were improved and word of the wondrous sights to be appreciated spread across the land. In 1918 the Parry brothers were off to war and upon their return in 1920 discovered that they had been somewhat unceremoniously ousted from the company by Wylie. Chauncey successfully filed suit to regain their status and ultimately created an independent transportation company, the Utah-Arizona Parks Transportation Co., that served not only Zion and Grand Canyon parks, but also Bryce, Cedar Breaks and Pipe Springs national monuments. Left: The two National Highway Cars purchased by the National Park Transportation and Camping Co. in 1917. The Parrys ran the cars while Wylie ran the camp. [Salt Lake Tribune, 10Jun1917] Right: One of buses traveling the unique early road to Zion Park. [Southern Utah Univ., #18B01I0988] The Wylie camp during these years consisted of a simple tent camp which lay against the cliffs in a shady grove of trees just south of today's Zion Lodge, On the East Wall behind the Wylie Camp is the large alcove listed on current maps as “Wylie Retreat.” The camp featured a central assembly hall, dining room, and 10 wood-floored tent-cabins with partial board walls. Each tent-cabin had two double beds separated by a canvas wall down the center, and a separate dressing area. The tents were kept clean, were watertight, had screen doors and were lighted with gas lanterns. Meals were served in the dining room tent on oilcloth-covered tables with linen napkins. Mrs. Wylie and two girls waited on the tables, serving traditional old-fashioned meals. Entertainment included an evening campfire, horse rentals and daily excursions up the canyon. Margaret McCartney, who worked for Wylie in Yellowstone, joined the staff at Zion as the Camp Matron and Hostess. In 1917 patrons could plunk down $26.50 for the 8-hour auto ride to and from Lund via the Parry brothers auto stages. The plan included two meals along the route at Cedar City, with two nights lodging and five meals. Visitors arriving on their own terms or those who continued on beyond the two-night plan paid $3.50/day or $21.00/week. Horses were available for $3.00/day, guides for $4.00/day, and auto tours ran 75 cents/hour. Left: View of the Wylie Camp showing the distinctive Wylie Retreat Alcove in the East Wall. [1919 US Railroad Administration brochure ] Right: Close-up view of Wylie tent cabins [Courtesy Southern Utah Univ. #27649252] Below: Advertisement for the Wylie Way Camp in Utah's Wonderland. The camp first opened around June 20th. [Washington County News , Ut., 28Jun1917] Left: Professor Wylie greeting guests to his camp in Zion Canyon. [South Utah Univ. Special Collections] Right: Postcard view of the Wylie tent cabins in Zion. [Real-Photo PC by Putnam Studlok of Los Angeles] The "Polly-Ann" travel articles were written by Marion A. Byrne, who wrote about other historic and scenic areas in the Southwest. She was accompanied Douglas White, agent for the Salt Lake RR (later Union Pacific), a photographer and moving picture operator. The Zion article was part of a 4-part series, also published in the Arrowhead Magazine in 1917. It was written as if a letter to an old travel friend. Polly-Ann Motors by the Wylie Way Over one more little meadow and we roll up in front of the Wylie Camp. Our arrival is the real day’s event, and everybody is out to meet us. Oh, how I wish you could have been there. It would have done you good to have seen the great big hearted Miss McCartney with her bright smile that tells of constant effort to make her guests comfortable and happy. I well remember how you told of her many thoughtful attentions when you visited the Yellowstone by the “Wylie Way." You always said she was an ideal hostess, and really I believe she has improved by being transplanted to Zion Canyon. Then there was Mr. Wylie himself, chock full of the kindly welcome, with the two Wylie boys and dear Mrs. McKee, all out on the Plaza of the camp waiting to do something to start our visit right. The camp is just a beauty spot snuggled into a little hollow among the rocky cliffs with the crystal creek running in front, and the sweetest crystal spring water trickling down from the rocks at the back. There are the same cunning little tent houses that you remember in the other Wylie camps, a great big social hall and a cheerful dining room, all set under the shade of the great big trees. In the center is the regulation camp fire space, where, after nightfall, the bright red blaze lights up the tent circle and sends fantastic shadows playing hide and seek upon the rocky walls. [Iron County Record , Cedar City, Aug.17, 1917] The Utah Parks Company Takes Over The Zion camp was never a financial success and was consistently losing money. In 1921 Wylie, now 73 years old, asked the railroad to foreclose on his chattel mortgage and take over the camp. The LA&SL agreed and paid Wylie and his wife $2,000 annually to operate the camps for the 1921-22 seasons. Wylie sold out completely after that and retired. He transferred ownership of the operation at North Rim, Grand Canyon to daughter Elizabeth. In 1921 the railroad became part of the Union Pacific System and in 1923 formed the Utah Parks Company as a subsidiary to operate the Zion camp with plans to build lodges in Zion, the North Rim, Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks. The UPCo operated the Zion camp during the 1923-24 seasons while building a new lodge just north of the camp. They negotiated continued services with the Parry brothers who operated under the name of Utah-Grand Canyon Transportation Company. But in the spring of 1925, the UPCo received permission from the Utah Public Utilities Commission to operate forty 10-passenger touring cars in Zion. They were garaged in Cedar City near the new rail spur that had been built from Lund. The Parrys however continued operations at the other parks. Right Top: Two Wylie Camp buses, operated by the Parry Brothers on Main St. in Cedar City, ca1918 [Courtesy Frontier Homestead State Park Museum , Cedar CIty] Right Bottom: Utah Park Co. buses at the Cedar City Union Pacific Depot, ca1930. The new Zion lodge was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood , who had also designed the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone and the new lodges being constructed in Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon. The 2-story lodge opened on May 15, 1925 and included 46 guest cabins (15 more were built the following spring). Huge opening day ceremonies were held on May 18 and were attended by the Utah governor and a variety of local, state, federal and corporate officials. The day celebrated not only the new lodge, but also the improvements made in the road system and the railroad spur to Cedar City, which brought rail visitors closer to the park. 16,817 tourists visited the park that year – twice the previous year Top: New Zion Lodge with Angel's Landing in background, ca1928. [Keystone View Co. Stereoview #29031] Right: Zion Lodge Lobby, 1927. [Keystone Mast Collection, Stereoview Segment] Left: Map of Zion Canyon and surrounds, from a 1919 Railroad Administration booklet. Right: Map of Zion and the surrounding national parks and monuments and the routes used by the Parry Bros. bus operation. From a 1924 Utah Parks Transportation Co. brochure. (Click on images to expand) Wylie Camp at North Rim of Grand Canyon Facilities similar to the Wylie Camp in Zion were arranged at the North Rim of Grand Canyon, which attained national park status in 1919. Access to the area was primitive at best, as only two automobile parties are known to have reached the general area of Bright Angel Point prior to the establishment of the camp. Gordon Wooley is believed the first in 1909, which required passengers to build much of the road along the way; and a trip made by Joseph and Anna Brown about 1916. The camp was organized by W.W. Wylie’s daughter Elizabeth and her husband Thomas McKee. Son Robert was in charge of hauling water up a steep trail from a spring some 200’ below the rim. An elderly burro named Brighty did most of that work. Once, some of waitresses and maids mischievously put up a sign on a tree: "Wylie Water Works. Power Plant, Brighty; General Manager, Bob." A girl one day asked: "Bob, which is the boss of this shebang, you or Brighty?" Reply: "Neither. We are pardners." Occasionally Bob and his “Pardner” would give burro rides to some of the younger children of the camp guests, which of course, thrilled them to no end. Right Top: Overview of the Wylie Camp on the North Rim, Grand Canyon, taken from a nearby forest ranger fire tower. [Photo courtesy Southern Utah Univ. Special Collections] Right Bottom: Family and employee photo. Thomas Mckee at left, Elizabeth & Robert McKee at right. Camp employees surround the famed burro Brighty. [Courtesy Eliz. McKee Scrapbook] The camp became a part of the “Circle Tour” driven by the Parry brothers buses. The route began at the Union Pacific depot in Lund, Utah and traversed to Zion Canyon. Then travelers were escorted to Cedar Breaks , Bryce Canyon , Pipe Springs on the Arizona Strip, and on to the North Rim . Visitors returned to Lund, later Cedar City to catch the UP Train. Although the camp operation was limited in the first years, by 1920 the Wylie camp consisted of a central dining tent and sleeping tents to accommodate 25 guests. Rates were $6/day and included meals. 1 and 2-day horseback trips were available at $3/day plus $2.50/day for bedding and provisions. Left: Newspaper ad touting Utah and North Rim as tourist destinations. [Salt Lake Tribune, 17June1917] Right: View of the Wylie tent cabins in the meadow amidst the forest. [Courtesy Margaret Krueger & Eliz. McKee Scrapbook] W.W. Wylie sold his Zion operation to the Utah Parks Co. in 1923, and the next year transferred his rights to the North Rim camp to daughter Elizabeth. By 1926 the McKees could lodge, feed, and entertain as many as 120 people, and had built a new central services building, installed electric lights, increased their product line for the tourists, and expanded the number of guided tours, conducted almost daily to Points Sublime and Imperial, Cliff Spring, and Cape Royal. From the National Register, North Rim Entrance Road Corridor Historic District (ca2012): “Beginning in 1917, Thomas and Elizabeth McKee offered wagon trips and by 1924, automobile trips, from their camp at Bright Angel Point to Point Sublime and Cape Royal. In the latter year, they drove their few customers to these scenic points in a Dodge and two seven-passenger Buicks. Also by 1924, the Parry Brothers of Cedar City, Utah, began to offer automotive bus trips to these points in cooperation with the Union Pacific Railroad and Utah Parks Company. At this same time, motorists in their private vehicles began to visit North Rim. The number of automobiles entering the park from the north increased approximately 1,000 per year through the middle and late 1920s. To handle the increased traffic, the NPS determined to build two new roads at North Rim: a new scenic highway from Bright Angel Point to Cape Royal, and a new entrance highway from the park boundary at Little Park to intersect with the Cape Royal road within Thompson Canyon. After grading Cape Royal Road in 1927-29, they immediately made plans for North Entrance Road.” Left: View of the Wylie Camp on the North Rim. [Courtesy Margaret Krueger & Eliz. McKee Scrapbook] Right: The new camp lobby building, built in 1926. [Courtesy Margaret Krueger & Eliz. McKee Scrapbook] The Grand Canyon Wylie Camp continued operations through the 1927 season. That year the NPS solicited bids for a North Rim concessioner that would construct a large lodge facility. The operation had never been very successful financially, and the McKees were unable to compete with the corporate giant Union Pacific. The UPCo obtained the contract and began construction of the lodge, under the direction of architect G.S. Underwood. UPCo bought the Wylie Camp for a disappointing $25,000 and negotiated with Elizabeth and Thomas to operate the camp for the 1927 season. The UPCo also bought out the Parry transportation interests so they could expand their own transportation operation. The New Lodge at North Rim The new Grand Canyon Lodge opened in 1928 with great fanfare, although the official dedication was not held until September 14. More than a million dollars was spent on the facilities and water and power development. The rustic 56,000-square-foot structure was built of native sandstone and rough-hewn ponderosa pine, and designed to blend in with the rugged and rustic location atop the rim of the Grand Canyon. Sleeping accommodations were provided by 100 2-room log lodges and 60 rooms in 20 deluxe lodges, with private bath, fireplace and porches. The operation could sleep 264 guests and offered electric lights, recreation room, lounge, barber shop, 200-person dining room, showers, and other modern luxuries. A mere four years later the interior of the magnificent structure was destroyed by fire, but only two of the cabins were destroyed. The North Rim Inn had been constructed at the nearby campground in the late 1920s, and visitors could stay there and in the remaining guest cabins and partake of meals at the camp cafeteria. The lodge was rebuilt beginning in 1936. Left: Newspaper article about plans for the new North Rim Lodge, with an artist conception sketch. [Salt Lake Tribune , 20Feb1927] Right: Photo of the new Grand Canyon Lodge, ca1929. In Conclusion . . . The Wylie Way system of camping and touring successfully operated in three of our great national parks. Begun in 1883 in Yellowstone, the Wylie name and tradition of a simple yet fastidious and enjoyable camping experience continued on for 33 years in Yellowstone and 11 years in Zion and Grand Canyon. Today the camps are merely a memory. The astute explorer may find a few vestiges of some of the camps in Yellowstone, but one will find few, if any signboards or plaques commemorating this early history. Nor will you find much of any discussion of this early history in the various park's museums, save for the lobby of the Grand Canyon Lodge where photographs delineate the story of Brighty the mule, who once played a small part in the North Rim Wylie camp. In general, the history and memory of the Wylie camps (and the many other camping companies in Yellowstone) have been unceremoniously erased within the boundaries of the national parks. The success of the Wylie Way was probably matched only by the Curry Company in Yosemite, founded in 1899 by David Curry. He and his wife Jennie also got their start in Yellowstone, and they no doubt looked upon the Wylie Camps as an inspiration and blueprint for their somewhat similar and very successful camp operations. But that is yet another story . . . .
- Jardine | Geyserbob.com
Althoughnot a Gateway to Yellowstone, Jardine Montana was an important gold mining district in the 1870-1920s. The area lay a mere 5 miles from the Gateway town of Gardiner, and created considerable business enterprise for the region, Gardiner, and the Northern Pacific RR. Gateways to Wonderland Jardine, Mont. Gold Mining on the Edge of Yellowstone Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Undated photo of the Bear Gulch Mining District - Jardine, Montana. Note the row of houses along Bear Creek at far right. Mineral Hill is center, with the main mill below . The quaint small village of Jardine, Montana, was never considered a Gateway to Yellowstone National Park by any means. However, it was an important part of local history, and an economic boom for Gardiner , Cinnabar , and the Northern Pacific RR .The mining history is quite complicated and involved, so only the basics are discussed in this narrative. More extensive information may be obtained from the sources at the bottom of the page. "and finding also a hairless cub, called the gulch Bear.” Eugene S. Topping , in his Chronicles of the Yellowstone, a classic and important history of the greater Yellowstone Valley written in 1885, claimed that in 1863 a group of thirty miners lead by George Huston prospected their way up the Yellowstone River from the mining community of Emigrant Gulch and continued past Soda Butte toward what later became the New World mining district. Attacked by Indians who ran off all their horses, the prospectors cached their excess supplies and continued afoot toward Clark’s Fork with one lone jackass. Finding a few prospects, but no pay, they returned back along the Yellowstone. Topping related that, “On the way they found fair prospects in a creek on the east side of the Yellowstone, and finding also a hairless cub, called the gulch Bear.” Even though today the creek goes by the name Bear Creek, the name Bear Gulch, also referred to as the Sheepeater District, still identifies the classic mining areas around the town of Jardine, Montana. Left : Eugene S. Topping, author of "Chronicles of the Yellowstone." Center : Joe Brown , one of the discoverers and developers of gold in Bear Gulch. Right : George A. Huston, one of the discoverers of gold in Bear Gulch, and a founding Father of Cooke City. Sporadic prospecting around Bear Gulch continued uneventfully the next few years after Huston’s journey until Joe Brown and partners John Zimmerer, Dan Royer, and an unknown man struck rich, gold-bearing gravel in 1866 on a bar at the mouth of Bear Gulch, as it empties into the Yellowstone River. They staked a claim and reportedly took out $8,000 in gold. News traveled quickly in the mining communities and in 1867, Lou Anderson, A.H. Hubble, George W. Reese, Caldwell, and another man discovered gold in a crevice at the mouth of the first stream above Bear Gulch, and named it Crevice Gulch. That same year George Huston returned to the area and built a cabin on Turkey Pen Flats across the Yellowstone River from Bear Gulch. Living on land that later became part of Yellowstone National Park, Huston’s cabin is believed to be the first white residence in Yellowstone. Historic illustrations of early gold mining. At top is a rocker that separated the gold flakes from the gravel, which was afterward panned out. At bottom is an arrastra that used a mule to drag a heavy stone over the ore to crush it, which could then be panned or separated from the host rocks. Meanwhile, placer mining was conducted on gravel bars along the creek, or in ancient channel deposits accessed by tunnels or drifts into the hillsides. During the years 1875-77, Joe Brown and other miners built over 3000 feet of ditch to carry water to the various gravel bars they were working. In either 1870 or 1874, depending on sources, Joe Brown and James Graham discovered quartz gold deposits in upper Bear Gulch on a hill later known as Mineral Hill. Although not developed for several years, the Bozeman Times reported in July 1877 that Wm. Heffner, Joe Brown, and James Graham were successfully crushing ore with a crudely-built, mule-drawn device known as an arrastra, based on a primitive design from the early Spanish and Mexican miners. The paper also noted that George Huston and Stoker Henderson would have their arrastra operating by October. Hard rock mining digs in . . . Hard rock mining escalated in 1878 when Z.H. “Zed” Daniels and three other men began working a quartz lead on Bear Gulch and built an arrastra to process their ore. In July the Bozeman Times reported that George Huston, Jimmy Dewings, and Joe Brown discovered a “fine gold lead . . . [that] panned out one dollar to the pound of rock.” A later article described a 9-foot vein with free gold running through it; a 4-ton run through the arrastra yielded $50 per ton. In 1879 the following mines were recorded at Bear Gulch: Legal Tender (Joe Brown); The Wonder of the World (Beattie, Anderson, and Lovely); The James Graham Lode; Joe Brown & Graham; The Monitor; The Mountain Bride; The Coan & McCauley Lode; The Mountain Chief (Geo. Huston); The Champion Lode; The Summit Lode; The Great Western; Mountain Chief (Brown, Huston, & Graham); and the Home Stake. Various newspapers touted the richness and auspicious future of both Bear Gulch and Crevice Gulch, where similar successes and operations were occuring. The Bismarck Tribune in May of 1879 claimed, “The belief is that erelong Bear Gulch is destined to become one of the richest camps in the Territory.” In April of that year a new town site was being laid out with corner lots going up, a harbinger of anticipated stability and prosperity. Outside investors were now beginning to see the potential of Bear Gulch and as a sign of things to come, George Huston and Dewings sold a third of one of their claims for $3500. Huston went on to concentrate his efforts in the New World Mining District, amassed dozens of claims, and became one of the original founders of Cooke City . Article from the Bozeman Avant-Courier, 22May1879, touting the wonders of the riches of the Bear and Crevice Gulches Major Eaton and the Bear Gulch Placer Co. In 1882 Major George O. Eaton and a man named Sturgess formed the Bear Gulch Placer Co. and filed articles of incorporation in Gallatin County with capital of $40,000. Eaton bought out Brown’s Legal Tender mine and over the next few years purchased other mining properties. His crews tunneled into the canyon walls following old river channels in search for placer gold. Eaton also began hydraulic mining in 1884 on Joe Brown’s 40-acre placer claim on Bear Creek; about three miles below what would later become the town of Jardine. Installing equipment served by 1200 feet of 12-inch pipe with a vertical drop of 400 feet through a six-inch nozzle, it was reported to be the most powerful hydraulic placer operation in the world. Blasting away huge sections of the canyon walls in the quest for auriferous bounty, Eaton realized few riches from his efforts and left a scarred landscape, still visible to this day. Hydraulic mining is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold. Hydraulic mining developed from ancient Roman techniques that used water to excavate soft underground deposits. Its modern form, using pressurized water jets produced by a nozzle called a "monitor", came about in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush in the United States. Though successful in extracting gold-rich minerals, the widespread use of the process resulted in extensive environmental damage, such as increased flooding and erosion, and sediment blocking waterways and covering farm fields. "Placer Mining in Bear Gulch, Montana. Scenery Along the Northern Pacific Railroad F. Jay Haynes , Publisher, Fargo, D.T." The inscription reads: "Compliments Eaton His Mines(?) The little Giant engine My Father and I visited the scene" (Author unknown) To watch a fascinating video about hydraulic mining, click on this YouTube link. View of Bear Gulch in 1884. The town grew up along both sides of Bear Creek. [Courtesy Montana Memory] Changing direction, Eaton built the first quartz mill in Bear Gulch, a five-stamp combination mill to process the oxidized ores from the various lode claims. The mill operated successfully for about two years, but shut down around 1886 due to internal company dissention and the difficulty in hauling ore to the Cinnabar railhead. Minimal organized mining efforts occurred until 1890 when the firm of E.D. Edgerton and W.E. Jewell of Helena took over the operation and added five stamps to the mill. Operating successfully for three years, the operation was shutdown during the Panic of 1893 and the resulting economic depression. Changing direction, Eaton built the first quartz mill in Bear Gulch, a five-stamp combination mill to process the oxidized ores from the various lode claims. The mill operated successfully for about two years, but shut down around 1886 due to internal company dissention and the difficulty in hauling ore to the Cinnabar railhead. Minimal organized mining efforts occurred until 1890 when the firm of E.D. Edgerton and W.E. Jewell of Helena took over the operation and added five stamps to the mill. Operating successfully for three years, the operation was shutdown during the Panic of 1893 and the resulting economic depression. A new town takes shape . . . By 1895 a few businesses had been established, including a hotel, sample room, general store, and four log cabin residences belonging to George Welcome and two other men. In 1895 a new post office was been established at Crevasse with Mrs. M.E. Cowell as postmistress and on Dec. 9, 1898 the community of Bear Gulch became known as Jardine, when the post office was established with J. B. McCarthy as postmaster. This gentleman also had a general store, while other businesses in town included a hotel, saloon and barber shop. Additional business enterprises followed later in the summer. The hotel in Bear Gulch went into bankruptcy in 1896 and was purchased by Cinnabar businessman W.A. Hall . It came into the possession of John Jervis at some point and was known as the Jervis Hotel. The Anaconda Standard reported on Oct. 31, 1898 that, “John Jervis, a recent arrival from Victoria, B. C. secured a license, Tuesday, to open a saloon at Bear Gulch. Mr. Jervis is interested with Helena parties in mining property in that district.” Walter Hoppe leased the Bear Gulch Hotel from Jervis in September 1899, and operated the hotel until about 1905, whereupon it reverted back to Jarvis. Top Right : Ad for the Bear Gulch Hotel in Jardine ca1900. [R.L. Polk Directory] Bottom Right : "Hotel of Walter M. Hoppe, Bear Gulch," ca1899. [Livingston Enterprise Souvenir, 1Jan1900] Left : Bear Gulch Hotel in Jardine ca1903. [Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR] Right : Bear Gulch Hotel, ca1903. [Underwood & Underwood stereoview] A correspondent writing from the town about the middle of October 1907, stated that 100 buildings were then in existence or in course of construction, and that the mining company contemplated the erection of thirty more cottages. At its peak the town boasted of a population of 500-600 souls. A Cultural Resource Survey of the area conducted in 1982 claimed that, “Within a year [1898-99] there were 130 new buildings, including two hotels, three mercantile establishments, office buildings, a mine company office, a guest house, a school and work started on a new mill. A water system and telephone service soon followed.” A hydroelectric dam was built on Bear Creek in 1903 near the mouth of the creek that produced electricity to the mines, businesses and residents of the Jardine area until 1948. A correspondent writing from the town about the middle of October 1907, stated that 100 buildings were then in existence or in course of construction, and that the mining company contemplated the erection of thirty more cottages. At its peak the town boasted of a population of 500-600 souls. A Cultural Resource Survey of the area conducted in 1982 claimed that, “Within a year [1898-99] there were 130 new buildings, including two hotels, three mercantile establishments, office buildings, a mine company office, a guest house, a school and work started on a new mill. A water system and telephone service soon followed.” A hydroelectric dam was built on Bear Creek in 1903 near the mouth of the creek that produced electricity to the mines, businesses and residents of the Jardine area until 1948. F. Jay Dean Bear Gulch Lodge No. 76, A.O.U.W. Jardine, Mont., 1901 [Author's Collection] Left : Ad for George Welcome, with stores in H orr, Aldridge, & Jardine. [Gardiner Wonderland , 21Aug1902] Right : Ad for the F.J. Dean general merchandise store in Jardine [Gardiner Wonderland , 17Jul1902] A New Mining Era Begins - 1899-1948 . . . By 1895 a few mines and two stamp mills were again in operation. In the midst of the mining operations, despite promising discoveries by Uncle Joe Brown and others, the community remained relatively quiet until 1898, when the arrival of Harry Bush, a native of England and active in the South African mines, arrived and inaugurated a new era in Bear Gulch. Backed in part by Canadian capitalists, he secured a lease on the Legal Tender mine and the Edgerton & Jewell properties on Mineral Hill. Bush organized the Bear Gulch Mining Company in August, 1898, and began buying additional claims that included the Sowash mine on the same vein as the Legal Tender, the Revenue from George Phelps, and five mines from George Welcome. Bush enlarged the Eaton mill to twenty stamps, attracted additional investors, and laid out the townsite of Jardine. New businesses developed and the mining district boomed. With the beginning of the 20th Century close in sight, a new epoch was emerging that would experience the cyclic triumphs and failures, joys and sorrows, so typical of the mining industry. "In March of 1899, Bush laid the foundation for his Revenue (Red) stamp mill, with a ground area of 93 x 120 feet and a height of 103 feet. The foundation of this building contained six hundred perch (perch = 1 cu.yd.) of stone and required 400,000 feet of lumber . . . a five hundred foot tramway ran from the mine to the mill and discharged into a Cammett crusher which pushed it into a 500-ton pocket. The ore was then fed into eight batteries of five stamps each by eight automatic feeders. Eight plates then caught the free gold. This mill was finished in December of 1899 and Bush celebrated with a Christmas party at which 700 guests were entertained by a twelve piece orchestra and fed roasted buffalo.” [Cultural Resource Inventory and Evaluation Project – Jardine, 1982] “[Bush] resolved to give Jardine a Christmas which would linger in the minds of those who attended for years. Accordingly, arrangements were made for a grand banquet in the Revenue Mill on Christmas Day. Mrs. Bush was given charge of the arrangements, and the success which attended the affair is a splendid commentary upon the ability of Mrs. Bush as an entertainer and is a fact showing that Hurry Bush is not the only person in Bear Gulch who makes no mistakes in laying plans.The scene of the banquet was the machine shop of the Revenue Mill, the room being vacant on account of the machinery not yet having arrived. The room was decorated in a manner that rendered it a perfect bower of loveliness. The roof was a solid bank of evergreens, dotted hene and there with electric lights of various hues. Bunting of national colors swung in graceful folds around the room, and the most exquisite cut flowers lent their delightful perfume and beauty to the scene. Harry & Ada Bush [Livingston Enterprise Souvenir , 1Jan1900] The tables were laid for 100 persons and were profusely decorated. At 6 o'clock the banquet began, and it was 10 o'clock before the guests who had assembled to enjoy the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Bush … The menu abounded in delicacies, and every luxury in the line of edibles that could be found in the market graced the tables. As a reminder of early days in Montana, a buffalo had been purchased by Mr. Bush. The juicy steaks and tender roasts of the monarch of the plains in days gone by contributed a share of the feast. Elk and deer, fowl of every description, and products of the salt seas and of the clear waters of the Yellowstone River w ere there in generous abundance. The best of everything was none too good for the guest assembled at the banquet, and it is safe to say that no greater enjoyment was ever had by any crowd than was furnished Christmas Day to the assemblage at Jardine. After the banquet was over, an orchestra of eleven pieces furnished music for the promenade and, as the first strains of the grand march swelled forth, the entire machinery of the Revenue Mill was set in gentle motion. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bush led the march and, to the dropping of the stamps, the host of guests were conducted through every floor of the vast structure, winding the various rooms until the starting point was again reached: then a quadrille was formed. The remainder of the evening was most pleasantly spent and the breaking up of the assembly marked the close of the greatest social event ever held in Montana.” [Anaconda Standard, 31Dec1899] “However, during this period, Harry Bush struggled with problems obtaining ore with sufficient value to run since his most productive mines were tied up in litigation. He continued to process low-grade ore in his mill and problems with other members of the Bear Gulch Mining Company developed. A split in the Bear Gulch Mining Company developed and Bush broke away and formed the Revenue Mining Company, incorporated in Helena on June 21, 1899 . . . By the summer of 1899, Bear Gulch, now renamed Jardine, had two distinct mining groups operating in opposition to each other. These were the old Bear Gulch Mining Company, still under the direction of A. C. Jardine, and the new Bush Company.” [Cultural Resource Inventory and Evaluation Project – Jardine, 1982] In early 1900 creditors began to press Bush for payments on his huge debt load. After much wheeling and dealing, and many negotiations Bush was forced into bankruptcy. On August 18, 1900, Bush's properties including the Revenue Mill, 72,000 shares of Bear Gulch Mining Company stock, 275,000 shares of King Solomon Quartz and Placer Company stock, electric light plant, water plant, guest house and mine office buildings, were sold at auction in Livingston, with the First National Bank of Butte the new owner. The short reign of 'King Harry' rapidly came to an end. In the fall, new directors of the Bear Gulch Mining Company were elected with A.C. Jardine, B.C. VanHouten, and Andrew J. Davis representing Montana, while Alfred C. Blair, W.H. Barnaby, and W.G. Merritt from St. John, New Brunswick and mining and milling resumed. Top Left & Right : Construction of the Revenue stamp mill in Jardine. Bottom Left : Construction of the Revenue Mine Tramway. Bottom Right : Completed construction of the Revenue Stamp Mill [All photos ca1899, from Livingston Enterprise Souvenir , 1Jan1900]] Meanwhile, a collection of local Bear Gulch mining people created a new mining company, as per the Anaconda Standard, Jan. 26, 1903. “NEW COMPANY IN BEAR GULCH Will Carry On a General Mining and Milling Business, Says Articles of Incorporation. The Livingston Post says that a new mining company has been organized for the purpose of operating in the Sheepeater district of Park county. It is known as the Bear Gulch company , the incorporators being Alex Livingston of Livingston and George Welcome, John Jervis, Frank Ackelmire and H D. Andrews of Jardine. These gentlemen are also the directors. The company has a capital stock of $500,000, divided Into 500,000 shares at a par value of $1 each. Of this stock only a small number of shares has so far been subscribed for, the present holders being Messrs. Livingston, Ackelmlre, Welcome, Andrews, Jervis, A.J. Campbell of Butte, and S.H. Crookes of Livingston. The stock is non-assessable.” By March, the new operation was bought out by the Kimberly-Montana Gold Mining Company, operated by a syndicate from Chicago. It was reported that a new 40-stamp mill was being constructed in concert with the soon-to-be completed cyanide plant operation, bringing a total of 80 stamps under the company’s direction. The new management consisted of: P. L. Kimberly, William H. Barnaby, John H. Thompson, Moise Dreyfus, H. M. Ryan, Samuel Deutsch and Miles Finlen. Cyanide Mill in Jardine, 1908 [University of Montana, Missoula] Scene in Bear Gulch, 1899 [Montana Memory Project] Jardine Cyanide Mill Burns [Billings Gazette ,14May1948] The Jardine Gold Mining & Milling Co. takes over . . . In 1914 the Jardine Gold Mining & Milling Co. was formed to take control of the Jardine gold mines and was renamed the Jardine Mining Co. in 1921. By 1906 tungsten was being mined and milled by the various mining properties. The mineral was found in scheelite, a combination of tungsten and lime, occurring mostly in pockets. Wolframite is tungsten and iron, occurring in regular veins. Tungsten ore ran between $1000 to $1200 per ton, making it more valuable than silver. Mining activity was interrupted by an extended period of litigation from 1909 to 1916 and the mines operated continuously from 1923-26 and 1932-36 producing gold, arsenic and tungsten, but tended to operate off and on until 1948. Operations were temporarily suspended in 1942 because of the Federal restrictions on gold mining, but increasing war demands for arsenic led to the reopening of the mines in 1944, which operated until May 8, 1948, when fire destroyed the cyanide plant and the mines closed down in July. High shipping costs of arsenic ore were claimed as a reason for the mining shutdown. About 90 men were abruptly thrown out of work. Production figures from 1899 -1942 indicate that over 155,000 ounces of gold, 27,000+ ounces of silver, 4,000+ ounces of copper, 765,000+ pounds of tungsten and 12,615,000 tons of arsenic were produced. Perhaps an additional 40,000 ounces of gold were produced 1944-48. News article about the closing of the Jardine Mine. [Butte Montana Standard , 5Aug1948] Downtown Jardine, ca1930s [Montana Memory Project] The Mine Office in Jardine, ca1940s. The building still stands and was used as the mine office during the Mineral Hill Mine era in the 1980-90s. [Library of Congress] Entering the modern age of gold mining . . . In 1988 a new era in gold production began when TVX Gold, Inc. of Canada began mining efforts with tunnel/adit development, mill and crusher construction and pre-production activities such as erection of administrative and lab facilities. After much controversy regarding potential environment hazards of a mine so close to Yellowstone and potential pollution of the Yellowstone River fromm Bear Creek, permitting was finally approved and gold production officially began in September of 1889 at the 556-acre Mineral Hill site. The mine operated successfully until early Sept. 1996, when problems of access to new ore bodies dwindling ore supplies from existing workings caused the facility to close and about 130 workers were permanently laid off. Since closure, TVX has removed surface buildings and attempted to restore the area to a natural condition. Treatment of water draining through the tailings pile and from the tunnels continues to be processed to this day. The mine was located two miles from Yellowstone's boundary, five miles by road from Gardiner and produced about 40,000 ounces of gold a year for an approximate total of 260,000 ounces. Today the community supports a small population of about 50 souls and and a few businesses such as outfitting, fishing & hunting guides, and vacation rentals. It is a popular area for hiking, biking, horse riding, skiing, and snowmobiling enthusiasts. Commemorative belt buckle given to employees to celebrate the opening of Mineral Hill Mine on September 26, 1989 [From the author's collection] Left : Article discussing the opening of Mineral Hill Mine in September 1989. [Great Falls Tribune , 23Sep1989] Top : The closing down of TVX Mineral Hill Mine in September 1996, after only about 7 years of operation. [The Missoulian , 5Sep1996] Below : Current view of Bear Gulch and Jardine looking toward Yellowstone Park.
- Storekeepers | Geyserbob.com
Yellowstone's Storekeepers Click on Link above to begin your tour. Stores, Photo Shops and Misc. Businesses in Yellowstone Hamilton Stores, Inc. is the concessionaire in the park currently (2002) authorized to sell generalsundries, supplies, groceries, and curios to the public. There are three main branches to the Hamilton family tree. The main branch of the tree started in 1897 when Henry and Mary Klamer (daughter of G.L Henderson) were granted a 10-year lease to build and operate a store at Old Faithful. They built a 2-story building and began operations. Apparently they were successful, for in 1913 they began construction on a 16' addition. After Henry's death in 1914, Mary sold the store to Charles A. Hamilton, an employee of YPA, who obtained financial backing from Harry W. Child. In 1917 Hamilton opened up a new store at Lake, and a filling station at Old Faithful. By 1930 Hamilton had stores with filling stations at Lake, Fishing Bridge, West Thumb, and two stores at Old Faithful. He continued to expand his business by buying the Brothers Geyser Baths and Swimming Pool at Old Faithful in 1933, which he rebuilt and expanded. The Hamilton Stores were replaced by Delaware North Co. in 2002, after some 80 years of service. The second branch of the Hamilton tree starts in 1889 when Ole Anderson opened up a shop in Mammoth selling curios and objects coated with residues from the mineral waters. In 1908 sisters Anna Trischman Pryor and Elizabeth Trischman bought out Anderson, and opened "The Park Curio & Coffee Shop." In 1924, they opened up a cold drink and ice cream stand on the Mammoth Terraces called the Devil's Kitchenette. At that time they also purchased George Whittaker’s’ deli in the auto camp. Whittaker, who also operated small stores at Mammoth and Canyon, sold out to Pryor & Trischman in 1932, giving them a monopoly in the northern half of the park. They continued to operate until 1953 when they sold their operation to Hamilton. The third branch of the family tree has the oldest beginnings, but was the latest acquisition. In 1884 Frank J. Haynes opened up a photo shop at Mammoth and Old Faithful. F. Jay was the Official Photographer of both the Northern Pacific railroad, and the Yellowstone Park Improvement Co. Frank was also involved in the stagecoach business for a number of years, but it is his photography that made him famous. By 1905 his work in Yellowstone was such that he severed his connections with the NPRy and concentrated on his park business. Eventually he was to have Haynes Photo Shops at all locations, with the exclusive right to sell images of Yellowstone inside the park. His son Jack ran the business from 1916 until his death in 1962. His wife continued to run the business for a few years, but finally sold out to Hamilton Stores in 1967. There is one more segment of the Hamilton tree that currently operates under the name Yellowstone Park Service Stations. This company was formed in 1926 as a joint venture between Hamilton Stores, H.W. Child and Anna Pryor. They created a monopoly on gas sales and auto repairs in the park. YPSS is presently owned [2001] by Amfac Recreational Services and Hamilton Stores. There were a variety of other small business ventures started in the park in the late 1800's to early 1900's, most of which were short lived, or bought out by other companies. H.B. Calfee seems to have had one of the earliest recorded stores in the park. He was a photographer from Bozeman who, by at least 1881, had set up a crude tent store near Old Faithful to sell photos of the park. The following year saw the Henderson family setup a store and post office at Mammoth in one of James McCartney's buildings. There were several different laundry operations and bathhouses in existence at various times. Even Calamity Jane was issued a permit in 1897 to sell postcards of herself, reportedly to keep herself in drinks in Gardiner's finer establishments. After 1916, most all the small enterprises were gone, and the park was more or less 'officially' divided up among the businessmen and women mentioned earlier.
- Corwin Hot Springs | Geyserbob.com
Corwin Hot Springs Hotel was a short-lived hotel and Spa (1908-1916) located about 7 miles north of Yellowstone National Park. It was very popular with local Montanans and Yellowstone visitors who could alight from the Northern Pacific RR's Yellowstone Park Line. Gateways to Wonderland Corwin Hot Springs Hotel Taking the Cure Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Introduction . . . The spa, defined as the social aspect of using warm water therapeutically, has a long tradition, not only in this country, but in the world at large. During the 19th century many famous European spas became popular with the well-to-do as social and cultural gathering spaces, in addition to being meccas for health restoration. In this country, Native Americans “took the cure” for thousands of years before white men set foot on these shores. European Americans commercialized this phenomenon of “taking the cure” throughout the eastern United States. Claims were made about these “curative waters” that touted an array of medicinal values that would purportedly benefit a wide variety of ailments, including those of the kidney, bladder, liver, stomach, skin, and nervous diseases. By 1850 resorts such as Saratoga Springs, New York, White Sulfur Springs and Hot Springs in Virginia, and Hot Springs, Arkansas had become celebrated social and cultural “hot spots” for the affluent crowd. Hot Springs Spa at Aachen, Germany, 1682 Commercial spa development continued to spread and expanded into the West with construction of the trans-continental railroads in the early 1870-80s. Hot spring resorts bubbled up across the state and hot spring spas such as Boulder, Alhambra, Norris, Bozeman (Ferris), and the Broadwater became popular destinations where pleasure-seekers could enjoy the recuperative properties and mingle with society. By the late 1890s, Park County, Montana enjoyed the benefits of two hot spring spas – Hunter’s Hot Springs and Chico Hot Springs, originally Emigrant Warm Springs. Around that time Julius LaDuke pioneered a third resort, LaDuke Hot Springs, which slowly developed just south of what is now Corwin Springs. [Excerpts from “Taking the Cure” at LaDuke Hot Springs, by Robert V. Goss, Montana Ghost Town Quarterly, Fall 2010] Planning and Construction Begin . . . In 1908, Dr. F. E. Corwin, resident physician at Chico Hot Springs in Paradise Valley south of Livingston, contemplated building his own hot mineral springs spa in the fashion of those popular in Europe. He visited the hot springs at La Duke, some 7 miles north of Gardiner and shortly after purchased the rights to some of the hot water. In May 1908, Corwin formed the Electric Hot Springs Company with fellow investors. These included, his brother J.W. Corwin, Richard 'Dick' Randall (OTO Ranch), JW and CS Hefferlin (Livingston businessmen), and JH Holliday (Clyde Park hotelier & rancher), who together raised some $175,000 in capital. By December, Billings architects Link & Haire were completing the design plans for the Corwin Hot Springs Hotel, which was to include 72 rooms, a large swimming pool, private plunges, and Spray, Needle and Shower baths that were fed with hot water piped in from La Duke Springs. A contractor was hired and construction soon began. The hotel was to be advertised as a health resort and it was noted that the ". . . curative properties of these waters are of a superior quality, and are peculiarly adapted to the cure of rheumatic affections and the diseases of women . . ." The resort was sometimes referred to as the Electric Hot Springs Hotel. Corwin Hotel under construction, 1909. [Courtesy Yellowstone Gateway Museum ] The location was a mile or so was north of LaDuke hot springs and just east of the Yellowstone River. At that period of time, the only road to Gardiner and Yellowstone Park traversed the west side of the river. Park Country agreed to have a bridge built over the river for access, with the county and the new company splitting the $13,500 cost. The Northern Pacific RR, whose rails to Gardiner were also on the west side of the river, agreed to build a small depot near the bridge with a design in keeping with the style of the hotel. The hotel was constructed to feature all the modern conveniences, including hot and cold running water in the rooms, along with electric bells, phones and electric lighting. The company built its own electric plant to provide for the hotel. Wooden pipes transported hot spring water from La Duke Springs for the plunge and for the hotel plumbing system. The hot water flowed continuously through the plunge, providing a complete change of water on an almost constant basis. The plunge featured vapor baths, private plunges, and tub baths. There were plans to build a hot house, heated by the spring water to provide fresh vegetables for the guests. Horse-drawn carriages carried the hotel guests to and from the railroad depot. A Butte newspaper headline in December of 1908 descried, “The Carlsbad of the Northwest,” a reference no doubt to the famed restorative springs in Bohemia. The "healing" waters at Corwin were claimed to helpful in the treatment of dyspepsia, stomach trouble, rheumatism, nervous ailments and other maladies. View of the Northern Pacific RR Hot Springs Depot, with new bridge over the Yellowstone River, leading to the Electric Hotel. [Courtesy Yellowstone Gateway Museum ] Electric Hot Springs Hotel, Corwin Springs, Corwin, Mont. [Chas. E. Morris Co., Great Falls. post card, author collection] From Electric Hot Springs Hotel Postcard above: Electric Hot Springs being located on the Northern Pacific Railway makes it easy of access and as it is on the Yellowstone National Park it is surrounded with scenery both grand and sublime. The large swimming pool, the private plunges, spray, needle and shower baths are all supplied by a constant flow from the Medicinal Hot Springs near by. The beautiful surrounding, the natural Hot Springs, the grounds and the buildings, every detail having been carefully planned, all combine to make this the grandest and best health resort in the entire Northwest. All trains stop at the Hotel. Undated view of the Corwin Hot Springs hotel, photo by Jos. Scherieble The hotel was constructed to feature all the modern conveniences, including hot and cold running water in the rooms, along with electric bells, phones and electric lighting. The company built its own electric plant to provide for the hotel. Wooden pipes transported hot spring water from La Duke Springs for the plunge and for the hotel plumbing system. The hot water flowed continuously through the plunge, providing a complete change of water on an almost constant basis. The plunge featured vapor baths, private plunges, and tub baths. There were plans to build a hot house, heated by the spring water to provide fresh vegetables for the guests. Horse-drawn carriages carried the hotel guests to and from the railroad depot. A Butte newspaper headline in December of 1908 descried, “The Carlsbad of the Northwest,” a reference no doubt to the famed restorative springs in Bohemia. The "healing" waters at Corwin were claimed to helpful in the treatment of dyspepsia, stomach trouble, rheumatism, nervous ailments and other maladies. The resort opened around June of 1909 to great fanfare for Gardiner and Park County residents, and in time, the resort also became popular site for conventions and social soirees. Advertisements in January 1910, claimed, “You’ll see so much life and energy, that you’ll feel ten years younger in spite of yourself; you can live reasonable, have a good time and return home with a Clean Bill of Health.” Other ads proclaimed, “Spring is coming, and those old rheumatic pains are apt to begin chasing up and down your bones - better beat ’em to it. There’s a way - Take that trip to Corwin Hot Springs and boil out, before you’re down and out.” Top: Interior of Lobby, showing Post Office and Curio Den, Corwin Springs, Mont. Bottom: Front Veranda of Corwin Hot Springs Hotel, Corwin Springs, Mont. [Postcards, author collection] Top: The Morning Train has just arrived, Corwin Springs, Mont. Bottom: Electric Hot Springs, Corwin Springs, Mont. [Postcards, author collection] Top: Parlor, Second Floor, Corwin Hot Springs, Mont. Bottom: Front View of Interior of the Swimming Pool, Electric Hot Springs Hotel, Corwin Springs, Mont. [Postcards, author collection] However, despite local popularity and the traffic to and from Yellowstone, the resort encountered financial problems not long after the initial opening and by November of 1911, CH Hefferlin, a Livingston banker, acquired a controlling interest in the Electric Hot Springs Company. To help bring in business, ads were placed in the Bismarck (ND) Tribune during the winter of 1911-12, advising folks, “If you have a delicate wife or child, ship them to Corwin away from the blizzards.” Nonetheless, during much of 1912 ads in newspapers featured “Reduced Rates” at the hotel for weekly and monthly guests to entice more business, and during the winter of 1912-13 the resort closed down operations completely. In late April of 1913, an ad in the Butte Miner newspaper announced, Corwin Hot Springs Hotel Reopens May 1st, 1913,” and touted, “A hot mineral water that CURES.” What specifically it cured was not mentioned. Left: Billings Gazette, 12Jul1913 Center: Trade Tokens, Corwin Springs, ca1910s Right: Montana Standard, Butte, 1Aug1930 Tragedy Strikes . . . The resort carried on the next few years, but again in the winter of 1916, it apparently closed up shop. Tragically, on December 1, the Livingston Enterprise published a startling headline, “CORWIN SPRINGS HOTEL IS DESTROYED BY FIRE.” “ The Corwin Hot Springs hotel, erected at a cost of $100,000, was totally destroyed by fire at an early hour this morning . . . The manager, Dr. Craven, was away at the time of the fire, and only the keeper was there.” The cause of the fire was not determined, but electrical wiring was certainly as possible culprit. The structure was reportedly insured for $50,000 and CS Hefferlin boldly announced that he would rebuild with a modern fireproof structure with a number of modern cottages. Apparently the fire insurance they had was inadequate to rebuild and the plan never materialized. The nearby plunge survived the carnage, but the grand architecture of the hotel was forever gone. Aerial view of the hotel, bridge and other buildings at Corwin Springs, ca1910-1916 The Eagle's Nest Ranch . . . By June of 1920, the property came into possession of the Sidebotham family and the new managers reopened the plunge and operated a small tourist camp on the site. The location seemed to be a popular location for large railroad and other company outings. In August of 1927, Walter J. Hill, son of Great Northern RR magnate James Hill, purchased the property along with another 20,000 adjoining acres. He invested several hundred thousand dollars in his new resort, rebuilding the swimming pool as an open-air plunge, building new 4-6 room cabins along the river, and erecting a club house with living room and dining room. It was named the Eagle’s Nest Ranch. In 1926, Highway 89 was extended from Carbella Flats, just above Yankee Jim Canyon to Gardiner, on the east side of the river. So, to accommodate the increasing automobile trade, Hill constructed the unique Tepee gas station along the new road. Eagle’s Nest Ranch Is Attractive Tourist Mecca Eagle's Nest ranch offers the vacationist a well rounded variety of attractions. A nine hole all-grass golf course delights the wielder of the mashle and the driver. An open air plunge of Spanish architecture Is beautifully set near the mountainside and proves to be too much of a lure for the most backward of bathers . . . Probably the first thing to attract the attention of the autolst Is the large, brightly colored Indian tepees on the highway serving as modem service stations for the tourist. The recreation hall is very attractive and well filled while the lounge room of the club house has a decidedly restful atmosphere. A series of cabins, some equipped with fireplaces, are complete in every detail. Saddle horses are at the disposal of guests and pack trips into the mountains give the outdoor enthusiast a real Insight Into the beauties of the country. Fishing and big game hunting are also attractions at Eagle’s Nest ranch. [Augusta News, Mont., 23Jul1931] [Above & Be low Real-Photo postcards from Author's Collection] Left: Whoopee Nite at Corwin [Montana Standard, Butte, 1Aug1930] Right: Swimming Pool, Clubhouse & Cabins, Corwin Hot Springs, Montana Bottom Left: Lounging Room, Clubhouse, Corwin Hot Springs, Montana Bottom Right: Sioux Indian Village, Corwin Hot Springs, Mont. [Real-Photo postcards, Author's Collection] Welch "Sonny" Brogan's Ranch Business continued on until 1944, when Walter Hill suddenly died of a heart attack at age 62. Early in 1946 a portion of the property was advertised “for sale.” It included a, “Ten-acre tract on main highway . . . [with] Six good-sized cabins, plunge, bathhouses and abundant supply of hot mineral water. Excellent fishing and hunting country.” By 1947 Welch “Sonny” Brogan had acquired the property and eventually established what is believed to be the first elk game ranch and became something of the forefather of the modern game farm. By the time game farming became all the rage in the late 1970s and early '80s, Brogan had been at it for about 30 years. He estimated he sold more than 2,500 elk all over the world, sometimes fetching a top price of $5,000 each. Industry experts have said that herds at many of today's commercial elk operations can trace their lineage to Brogan's Cinnabar Game Farm Great Falls Tribune, Apr. 10, 1946 The Church Universal Triumphant eventually purchased the property in September 1981 from Malcolm Forbes and it became a part of the 12,000-acre Royal Teton Ranch. The leaders and followers made preparations for the upcoming end of the world. When the date for “the end” came and went and life continued on as always, there were a few followers, it seems, that were somewhat disappointed. But, that is a whole ‘nother story . . . The pool walls, tattered plunge, and stone chimney of the old clubhouse still stand proudly, mute monuments to the once grand old Corwin Hot Springs Hotel. Left: View of the Corwin Plunge, ca1990 Right: Corwin Plunge, 2014, Google Earth view.
- Yellowstone Bios U-V-W-X-Y-Z | Geyserbob.com
Yellowstone Biographies U-V-W-X-Y-Z Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Underwood, Gilbert Stanley. Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood became associated with the National Park Service, the Union Pacific RR, and other park concessionaires in the early 1920’s. Trained in the California Arts & Crafts movement in 1910-11, he used those concepts to design buildings that utilized natural and native materials, such as rock and logs, to blend the buildings in with their environment. He designed a multitude of buildings in the western United States including: the Dining Lodge at West Yellowstone; Old Faithful Lodge; lodges at Zion, Bryce, and Cedar Breaks; the Grand Canyon Lodge; Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite; Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, Oregon; Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho; and the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton. He also designed many railroad depots for UPRR, 20 post offices, two major federal buildings, and the US State Dept. Building. [66m] [25g] Villard, Henry . Henry Villard became president of the Northern Pacific RR in 1881 and presided over the “Last Spike” ceremonies at Gold Creek in 1883. The ceremonies celebrated the completion of NP’s line from Minnesota to the West Coast. [25L;100] Wakefield, George W. G.W. Wakefield was born in Bangor Maine on Oct. 15, 1833. He married Margaret Brotton in 1854. Venturing west in 1859, he worked and prospected in many areas, including Colorado, California, Mexico, Nevada, British Columbia, Oregon and Idaho. In 1872 he settled in Bozeman, operating a hotel and livery barn. Wakefield and Charles W. Hoffman of Bozeman established the Wakefield & Hoffman stage line in 1883 and provided service from Cinnabar to Mammoth and into the park under an exclusive agreement with Yellowstone Park Association (YPA).They operated from Livingston to Cinnabar until NPRR’s rail line was open to Cinnabar. They also received the mail contract for the Livingston to Cooke City route and provided daily mail service (during the summer season) to Mammoth beginning in July 1883. The company built a mail station near Soda Butte as the trip from Cinnabar to Cooke City took more than one day. Wakefield bought out Charles Hoffman in December of 1885 and teamed up with Frank Haynes to form Wakefield & Haynes. The company was short-lived and Haynes sold out in June of 1886 for $2400. The concern then became known as Wakefield Stage Lines. In 1887 the line began tri-weekly stage service from Livingston to the mining city of Castle. In 1889 the business incorporated as the National Park Transportation Co. with members Charles Gibson, E.C. Waters, Wakefield, and Thomas Oakes. George Wakefield lost the YPA contract in late 1891, and the operation was purchased by the Yellowstone National Park Transportation Co. in 1892. By 1894 the firm of Wakefield & Ennis was delivering mail by stage from Livingston to Cinnabar. D.I. Donovan took over the route in 1895. The following year George Wakefield received permission to transport visitors from the Union Pacific rail line at Monida. In 1895 he began operating the Albermarle Hotel in Livingston and held ranch properties in the Livingston area. He used 10-passenger Concord coaches and began operation of a camping company in the park that year. In 1901 he began conducting 10-day camping tours after he traded his ranch in Shields Valley to A.W. Chadborne for his camping company. The tours cost $40 and all the visitors camping needs were provided for. [25g] [LE;6/8/1889;6/1/1895] [Daily Enterprise (Liv.MT); 7/6/1883; 7/19/1883; 1/5/1895] [39-49] [43j] [3m] Wald, Andrew. Andy Wald (Andrew Wald) was the pioneer sand artist who in 1888 originated the idea of filling bottles with multi-colored sand to create images of animals, geysers, and various park scenes. He received permission in 1893 to erect a tent at Mammoth in which to sell his crafts. He also supplied Ole Anderson with sand art for his Specimen House curio business. It is known that Wald worked with Ole in the curio business, but to what extent is unknown. The Federal Census of 1900 showed Wald as a boarder at the Anderson household, and no doubt he was a close friend of the family. After Ole sold out his business to Pryor & Trischman in 1908, they employed Wald at their curio shop in Mammoth. He received permission from various acting superintendents to collect his sand from Norris, Canyon and other areas. He was cautioned “… not to disturb or mar the natural formations or other objects of interest.” He also served as winter keeper at the Lower Basin Hotel for at least the winter of 1889-90. An interesting account in the Livingston Enterprise noted a 1908 beer baseball game in Gardiner between the ‘Fats’ and the ‘Leans’. Wald was the ‘bartender’ and manned the keg of beer located at first base. A single merited one beer and a triple three beers. The game was umpired by famous stagecoach driver and storyteller Geyser Bob (Robert Edgar). The article described Wald as “… the famous old-timer who lives any old place where he hangs up his hat, and is noted for his ability for pounding sand in bottles in the Yellowstone Park.” He was born in 1853 in Sweden and was commonly known to friends and visitors as "Sandy" or "the Sand Man." According to an article written in the Spokane Chronicle, August 20, 1897, Wald would spend the long winter months creating his bottled sand artwork and then enjoy the fruits of his labor during the summer season. It was reportedly not uncommon for him to earn $3000 during the four summer months in Yellowstone. But, the article continued, "he was not a provident man and spent his money almost as fast as he got it in playing poker, shooting craps and drinking. When he would lose a large sum of money he would almost invariably drink heavily for a week or ten days. During such sprees he neglected his business and let many dollars slip through his fingers in that way." Despite those problems, the reporter claimed "he sold his bottles of sand to many of the royal families of Europe when they visited the park, besides the thousands of people of lesser rank and distinction the world over." He passed away on September 22, 1933 in Livingston, Montana at age 82, and was buried the next day in the Gardiner cemetery. His headstone can still be viewed there and reads “Pioneer Sand Artist of Yellowstone Park 1853 - 1933". [1912 Haynes Official Guide] [LE;5/9/1908] [Park County Death Records,Livingston Library] [YNP Army Files Doc.618 &1985] [YNP Archives,Box 68;10] [Anaconda Standard, Aug 18, 1897] [YNP Annual Supt's Report, 1933] Washburn, Henry. Henry Washburn was appointed Surveyor-General of the Montana Territory in 1869. He became the leader of the Washburn expedition of 1870, which produced the 1st official report on the Yellowstone area. There were 15 members of the expedition that included Nathaniel Langford, Lt. Gustavus Doane, Truman Everts, and Cornelius Hedges. Washburn died the following January from a cold caught on the expedition. [25L;102] Wasson, Isabel Bassett . Isabel Deming Bassett was born in Brooklyn, NY on January 11, 1897. Daughter of urban planner Edward Murray Bassett and Annie Preston Bassett, she married geologist Theron Wasson in June 1920 and became Yellowstone’s 1st woman ranger that same year. Isabel earned a master's degree in geology, specializing in petroleum geology, at Columbia University. One of the country's few female geologists in the 1920s, Mrs. Wasson took part in explorations in remote areas of South America. In 1928, she embarked on a career of more than 50 years of teaching, lecturing and public service from her base in River Forest, Illinois. She passed away February 21, 1994 at age 97.For more information on Ms Wasson, check out "Women in Wonderland", by Elizabeth A. Watry. Waters, E.C. Ela Collins Waters (E.C. Waters) was born at Martinsburg, Lewis Co., NY on May 5, 1849 and moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin shortly afterwards. He served as a drummer during the Civil War with the Wisconsin 38th Infantry, after being refused by the regular army. He married Martha Bustus Amory March 4, 1878 and had one son and two daughters, the younger of which died in 1905 and the elder in 1913. In 1882 he opened the Merrill (Morrell) House hotel in Glendive, Montana with a Mr. Klaus and operated it until it burned down in 1885. That same year Waters opened the Headquarters Hotel in Billings. He came to work in Yellowstone in 1887 with E. C. Culver. Waters became general manager of the Yellowstone Park Association hotels in 1887, serving until 1890 when he was removed from that position. During that time he became involved in several different mining ventures in the Cooke City area. In 1889 he was one of the incorporators of the National Park Transportation Co. that purchased the Wakefield operation in the park. He became head of the Yellowstone Lake Boat Co. from 1891 to 1907 and built a house and boathouse in front of Lake Hotel that first year. He also brought in the 40-ton steamship “The Zillah ”, which was assembled on site by Amos Shaw (Shaw & Powell). The boat made its first run on June 22, 1891 with a crew of government road workers. Amos Shaw was in charge of the boat for the 1891-92 seasons. The craft served as a ferry from West Thumb to Lake Hotel until 1917. In 1896 he was given permission to establish a wild game show on Dot Island in an attempt to increase business for his ferry from West Thumb to Lake Hotel. He hauled four buffalo in cages on wagons from the Cinnabar depot to the Lake for his ‘show’. He bought out the boat company from YPA in 1897, and obtained a 10-year lease from Interior. In 1905 he bought a second boat and named it the “E.C. Waters.” It was 125’ long with a 26’ beam width and capable of carrying 300-400 passengers. It was used part of the 1905 season, but authorities refused to license the vessel, and it ended up anchored off the east side of Stevenson Island. Waters was not a particularly well respected person or businessman and his wild animal show was a disgrace and a health hazard for the animals. He was ‘encouraged’ to leave the park in 1907 by the army. According to Bartlett’s “Yellowstone – A Wilderness Besieged”, a notice was posted by Supt. Gen. Young stating that “…E.C. Waters, President of the Yellowstone Lake Boat Company, having rendered himself obnoxious during the 1907 season, is…debarred from the park and will not be allowed to return without permission.” It seems though; he did not leave the park completely until 1910. Tom Hofer bought out his boat business with a loan from Harry Child and called it the T.E. Hofer Boat Co. Mrs. Waters died Aug. 6, 1909 and Ela Waters passed away Aug. 25, 1926. He had been in an Old Soldiers Home near Fond du Lac, and his mind was reportedly "entirely gone," and had no recollections of his service in Yellowstone. [56m;918-922] [LE;6/27/1891;10/27/1888;6/8/1889;11/9/1889;6/6/1891;10/15/1892;7/25/1896] [15b] [25g] [YNP H-2, History File] Wear, David W. David Wear was the last civilian Superintendent to serve prior to the takeover by the army in 1886. His administration began July 1885 and only lasted about one year. He was a nephew of Uncle John Yancy. [25L;103] Weed, Walter Harvey. Walter Weed served as a geologist for the US Geological Survey beginning in 1883 and studied Yellowstone from 1883-1889. He discovered that the colors in the hot springs and geyser deposits were due to algae living in the hot waters, and that the deposits were formed by algae life. He also discovered Death Gulch, where wildlife died due to the intense carbon dioxide gas emitted from the ground. He engaged in the geological examination of Montana from 1889-98, primarily from an economic viewpoint, i.e. mining. He authored "Formation of Hot Springs Deposits," "Glaciation of Yellowstone," and was co-author of "Geology of Yellowstone Park," and wrote numerous other papers. Weed was born May 1, 1862 in St. Louis to Samuel R. and Nellie S. (Jones) Weed. He was educated in public schools and graduated from the Columbia School of Mines in 1883. [Who's Who in America, 1902] Welcome, George W. George Welcome was among the earlier residents and businessmen of Gardiner. He was born June 17, 1853 in Ogdensburg, New York and came out West at an unknown date. By 1883 he was running a sawmill above the railroad tunnel on Bozeman Pass, probably supplying railroad ties, tunnel timbers, and trestle material for the Northern Pacific RR. In 1884 Welcome, Al. Coffin, and Alex. Moore built a cabin in Gardiner in the area between the Gardiner River and James McCartney's place. Apparently it was considered to be inside the park boundaries at the time. By 1886 he was operating The City Hotel in Gardiner with his wife as proprietor. He ran the saloon end of the business and advertised Milwaukee Keg Beer on draught. The 1889 Horr Voting Registry listed him as a Saloon Keeper in Horr. By 1894 he maintained a residence in Aldridge near the Lake and owned Welcome Hall, a building that was used for a variety of community events and also sported a saloon. The Livingston Enterprise reported in 1892 that George ran a resort in Horr “where a man can procure anything from a drink to a sufficient quantity to float a steamer. Mr. Welcome carries a mammoth stock of liquors and cigars, employs two mixologists . . . and does a larger business than any saloon in Livingston . . . he also conducts a gambling room.” In 1899 it was reported that he sold the Keats mine in Jardine to local mining magnate Harry Bush for $40,000. He also operated a hotel in Jardine and maintained a residence there, probably around that same time. A Polk Directory for 1904 showed he shared interest in 160 acres of land around Jardine with a man named Double. He had three sons (Harry, George, & ??) and one daughter. George Welcome died of heart failure in his home at Jardine on September 10, 1905 after being in poor health the previous year. His obituary in the Gardiner Wonderland newspaper of Sept. 14, 1905 said he was 56 years of age; although according to the 1889 voting registry he would have been about 52. He was buried in the Jardine cemetery and his large tombstone "Welcomes" all who enter. [Sources: Helena Independent 3/16/1883; 2/27/1884; 6/12/1886. Livingston Enterprise 6/4/1892. Doris Whithorn books on Gardiner and Aldridge] Werks, John. (Also John Works) In 1873 John Werks, George Huston, and Frank Grounds operated a primitive pack and saddle transportation business at Mammoth. Werks began stagecoach service in 1873 from Bozeman with weekly service, or as required. In 1874 “Zack Root's Express” took over the weekly service, leaving Mondays from Bozeman and arriving on Tuesday at Mammoth, carrying both freight and passengers. In 1877 Werks was present at the Henderson Ranch outside of Gardiner when it was attacked my marauding Nez Perce. Much of the ranch was burned, but Werks, Sterling Henderson, and others escaped across the Yellowstone River after a gun battle with the Indians. [25L] [Bozeman Avant-Courier, 7/3/1874] Visit my George Huston web page for additional information. Whittaker, George. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia ca1870, George Whittaker enlisted in the Army for five years in 1889. He was sent to South Dakota in 1890 and participated in the Wounded Knee Sioux Campaign. He was assigned to Ft. Yellowstone the following year, serving until 1896. He was appointed Scout that year and performed those duties until 1898. Around 1897 he conducted hunting and tourist parties in and around the park with Wm. Van Buskirk, a sergeant-major at Ft. Yellowstone. George Whittaker served in the Spanish American War until 1902, with assignments at the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri and in the Philippines as Chief Packer. Whittaker returned to Yellowstone in 1902 as Scout and Packer during the winters until 1910. During the summers Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. employed him as a transportation agent at Canyon until 1913. In February of that year he bought out the Lyall-Henderson post office and store at Mammoth and became Postmaster. The enterprise was known as the Yellowstone Park Store (currently the Yellowstone General Store, operated by Delaware North Parks Services). He began selling gas and automotive supplies at the Mammoth store in 1915 and built the nearby gas station in the fall of 1919. He established a general store and gas station at Canyon in 1917 in an old Holm Transportation building. He built a new store and filling station at Canyon in 1920 that was located next to the ranger station along the rim of the Grand Canyon (current Upper Falls parking lot). By 1923 he was operating a small branch store at the Mammoth auto campground and the following year a deli was added at the camp. He sold the Mammoth camp operation to Pryor & Trischman in 1925, and in 1932 sold the rest of his operation at Mammoth and Canyon to the ladies for $75,000. That sale included his interest in the service station business with YPTCo. He settled in at West Yellowstone where he was part owner of the Hayward Cabin Co., which included tourist cabins, general store, service station, and a beauty/barber shop. Whittaker was also responsible for construction of the first airstrip at West Yellowstone in the mid-1930’s. He continued in business at West until at least the late 1940’s and died in the Old Soldiers Home at Sawtelle, California in 1961 at age 91. [25i] For additional information please visit my Whittaker General Store page. White, Walter. Walter White headed the White Motor Company that manufactured automobiles and trucks. They provided 117 touring buses to the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. (YPTCo) for the 1917 season to replace the stagecoaches. That first season there were 100 10-passenger ¾-ton TEB buses and 17 7-passenger buses. A fire at the YPTCo garage at Mammoth in March of 1925 destroyed about 92 White buses. The White Company rushed to produce 90 new White Model 15/45 10-passenger buses in time for the park opening in June. In 1931 eight 14-passenger buses (614 series) were tried out, and in 1936-39 YPTCo bought 98 14-passenger buses of a different design (Model 706). The autos all featured open tops for unobstructed viewing by the passengers. White Co. provided touring cars to many of the other western national parks during that period of time. In 1914 White teamed up with Roe Emery to operate the Glacier Park Transportation Co., with the White Co. providing $60,000 worth of vehicles for the park that season. Two years later White and Emery setup a similar arrange at Rocky Mountain National Park. Walter White was a silent partner in the 1919 purchase of YP Camping Co. with Howard Hays and Roe Emery. [25L;105] [2r] For additional information, please visit my Yellowstone White Buses web page. Wilcox, Jay. Jay Wilcox was permitted with Jim Parker in 1918 to raise potatoes on Turkey Pen Pass to sell to the tourists. [25L;106] Wilder, Capt. W.E . Capt. Wilder was Acting Supt. with the 4th Cavalry for three months in the spring of 1899. [25L;26] Williams, Frank. E.S. Topping and Frank Williams were permitted to operate boats on Yellowstone Lake in 1874. They built a small boat and named it the ‘Sallie’, after the 1st two female passengers they carried on the Lake – Sarah Tracy and Sarah Graham. A Bozeman newspaper of Aug. 7, 1874 noted that Topping ". . . has his little craft successfully launched upon the Yellowstone Lake, and intends to accord the privilege of naming it to the first lady passenger." Williams drowned May 22, 1875 at the Yellowstone Crossing, near the future site of Livingston Montana. He and three others were crossing the river when the wire crossing cable broke and the boat sank. The others survived the ordeal. [Bozeman Avant-Courier 8/7/1874; 5/28/1875] Wilson, Edward. Ed Wilson served as an assistant superintendent in 1885-86 and was selected as a scout for the Army in 1887, serving admirably for several years. He joined Frank Haynes on the winter expedition of 1887 after Lt. Schwatka became ill and returned to Mammoth. He later fell in love with Mary Henderson, daughter of G.L. Henderson, but she spurned his advances. Disconsolate, he took his life on July 20, 1891 after drinking morphine on the hill above the National Hotel. His remains were not discovered until a year later when a daughter of Henry Wyatt found them in early June of 1892. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Livingston, Mt. [113] [31] [LE;6/8/1892] Wingate, George Wood . George Wingate was the author of "On Horseback Through the Yellowstone." The book describes the travels of Wingate, a wealthy and prominent New Yorker, with his wife and 17-year old daughter on a 26-day journey through Yellowstone on horseback in the summer of 1885. Upon his return he noted that "If I had gone to Africa instead of to the Yellowstone, I could scarcely have had more trouble in obtaining reliable information in regard to the journey." So, he wrote his book as an aid and guidebook for others who were to follow in his footprints. He was born in New York July 1, 1840 to Charles and Mary P. (Robinson) Wood. He was a lawyer and was involved in politics and the railroad and insurance industries. As an officer of the NY National Guard, he was instrumental in formulating rules for systematic rifle practice. He obtained the charter for the New York National Rifle Association in 1871 and served as its president for 25 years. He authored numerous books and articles, many on the subject of military matters. [Who's Who in America, 1902; Webster's Biographical Dictionary, 1948] Wirth, Conrad L . Conrad Wirth served as NPS Director from Dec. 9, 1951 to Jan. 7, 1964. He was responsible for the Mission 66 plan, a 10-year, billion-dollar program to upgrade park facilities and services in time for the 50th anniversary of the NPS in 1966. [25L;106] Wo, Sam. Sam Wo was gardener at Chinaman’s Gardens along the Gardiner River near the 45th Parallel from 1909-1922. Robert Reamer designed a house for him in 1917. [25L;106] Wylie, William. William Wallace Wylie (W.W. Wylie) was born June 8, 1848 in Concord, Ohio. He later moved with his parents to Washington, Ohio. He attended college at Hopkinton, Iowa, graduating in 1872. He became a teacher and principal in the Delhi, Iowa school system for two years, was principal at Hinsdale, Ill. for one year, and superintendent at Lyons, Iowa for three years. On April 2, 1874 he married Mary A. Wilson of Independence, Iowa. Wylie moved to Montana in 1878 to be a Bozeman school principal. He later became principal of the Bozeman Academy and served as superintendent of public education for the territory of Montana during 1886-87. He brought his first paid visitors into Yellowstone for a tour in 1880. He published his guide “The Yellowstone National Park, or the Great American Wonderland” in 1882. Wylie started 10-day park tours in 1883 using moveable camps. He created the Wylie Camping Company in 1893 and was licensed to operate a transportation business to serve his customers. The Wylie Way was a less expensive way for tourists to be able to tour the park without the necessity of having to ‘dress up’, as was considered proper in the hotels. A 7-day Wylie tour cost $35.00 while a 6-day tour at the hotels was $50.00. The company was given permission in 1896 to establish permanent camps, and two years later camps were located at Apollinaris Springs, Upper Geyser Basin, Lake Outlet, and Canyon, with lunch stations at Gibbon Falls and West Thumb. He operated the business until 1905 when he sold out to Arthur W. Miles and A.L. Smith (fronting for H.W. Child). Sometime after that Wylie and his wife moved from Bozeman, Montana to Pasadena, California. The Wylie Permanent Camping Co. continued to operate in all major areas of the park until after 1916, when the Wylie and Shaw & Powell camping companies were merged and monopolized into the Yellowstone Park Camping Company under joint ownership. In 1917 WW Wylie and wife Mary started a Wylie Way Camp in Zion National Monument (it became a national park in 1919) and his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Thomas H. McKee opened a Wylie Way Camp at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Monument. The Zion camp lasted until 1925 when the Utah Parks Co. (under the auspices of the Union Pacific RR) unveiled the new Zion Lodge (the Wylie camp had been under UPCo management since 1923). The North Rim camp lasted through 1927 under the McKees and the following season UPCo opened the new Grand Canyon Lodge. Mary Wylie passed on in 1928 and William Wylie died February 7, 1930 in Pasadena at age 82 after a major cancer operation. [25L;107] [56m;1171] [42e;1930] Please visit my Wylie Camping Co. page for more info! Yancey, John F. John Yancey (“Uncle John” Yancey) was a colorful character born in Barren County, Kentucky in 1826 and moved with his family to Missouri while he was still a boy. He fought in the Civil War and was in California in 1849, no doubt following the Gold Rush. He built a cabin and mail station at Pleasant Valley in 1882 to accommodate teamsters and mail stages enroute to Cooke City. He opened the “Pleasant Valley Hotel ” in 1884 and served the ‘undiscriminating’ tourist until his death. The hotel was 1-1/2 stories and measured 30’ by 50’. It could accommodate twenty guests in the upstairs bedrooms at $2.00/day, or $10.00/week. The area was located off of the standard tour route offered by the transportation companies, and his main business catered to fisherman, hunters, miners, freighters, and prospectors to and from the Cooke City gold mines. He knew all the good ‘fishing holes’ and had plenty of tall tales to amuse his guests. Supposedly his whiskey glasses were undefiled by the touch of water. A 1-1/2 story saloon was erected some time between 1887-93, measuring about 20’ x 20’. His nephew Dan took over the business when Uncle John died on May 7, 1903 at 77 years of age. Dan conducted the business until a fire destroyed the hotel on April 16, 1906. The saloon survived the fire, along with a stable and two other log structures. In 1907 Dan applied for permission to lease a site closer to the new road that was being constructed. He was turned down since the Wylie Camping Co. and the Yellowstone Park Association were already in possession of building permits in the area. His lease for the original site was revoked in November of that year. Dan finally received $1000 in compensation for loss of his property in 1935. The saloon was razed in the 1960’s. John Yancey is buried in the Gardiner cemetery at Tinker’s Hill and his tombstone and plot can still be visited. [108a] [25g] [60g] [119o;5/7/1903 & 5/14/1903] Yankee Jim . Like many other Yellowstone pioneers, Yankee Jim (James George, born ca1835 in Penn) came west in 1863 to search for gold in the Bannack, Montana area. He eventually became a meat hunter for the Crow Indian Agency located east of present day Livingston. Actually named James George, this colorful character squatted in the Yellowstone River Canyon about 16 miles north of Gardiner. He came into possession of the primitive road from Bottler’s Ranch to Mammoth in 1873 when Bart Henderson and ‘Horn’ Miller gave up their road building enterprise. In July Yankee Jim declared the road open to within two miles of Mammoth. He set up a cabin and tollbooth in Yankee Jim Canyon 16 miles north of Gardiner and all traffic to the park from the north had to go through his property. Like Uncle John Yancy, Yankee Jim loved to fish, hunt, and tell ‘whoppers’ to folks passing through his ‘Canyon’. The Northern Pacific RR appropriated his roadbed through the Canyon in 1883 against his bitter protestations. The railroad did however; construct a crude bypass for him over the steep hill near the rail line. Jim spent several years attempting to seek justice through the courts, but it did no good. He gradually allowed maintenance of the road to degrade and in 1887 Park County took away his rights to eleven miles of the road north from the Wyoming line. In 1893, his road maintenance continued to decline, along with his sobriety. Park County Commissioners convinced him to give up his road that year in exchange for $1,000. Jim spent most of the rest of his life on his ranch, but deeded it to his brother John early in 1920. A few months later, unable to care for himself, John went to live with his brother in Fresno, California. Yankee Jim died in 1924, at about age 94. [107] [Click Here for Find-a-Grave page on Yankee Jim] Young, Col. S.B.M. Born on January 9, 1840 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Samuel Baldwin Marks Young was the son of Captain John, Jr. and Hahhan Scot Young. He was educated at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. He enlisted as a Private in the 12th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in April 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War. After the expiration of his term he was commissioned Captain, 4th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in September. He served with distinction in the Army of Potomac throughout the Civil War, receiving promotion to Major in September 1862, to Lieutenant Colonel in October 1864 and to Colonel in December 1864. He was breveted Brigadier General of Volunteers in April 1865 for services during the final campaign from Petersburg to Appomattox. Col. S.B.M. Young served two terms in Yellowstone as Acting Supt. with the 4th Cavalry. He served 5 months in 1897 and from May 14, 1907 to November 28, 1908 with the rank of General. In 1908 he married Annie Dean Huntley, widow of Silas Huntley and sister of Adelaide Dean Child (wife of Harry Child). S.B.M. Young died in Montana on September 1, 1924 at age 85. He rose through the army ranks from a private in the Civil War to the rank of Lt. General and head of the US Army. [LE;3/7/1908] [25g] [NY Times, 9-3-1924] [Arlington National Cemetery Website] Young, Harold. Harold Young founded ‘Snowmobiles of West Yellowstone’ in 1955. His company operated Bombedier snowcoach tours through the park. [25L;117] Yount, Harry. Harry Yount was born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania on March 18, 1847. He enlisted in the Union Army at the age of 14 and served until the end of the American Civil War, after which he traveled west to the present-day state of Wyoming. Beginning in 1873, Yount spent a number of years exploring Wyoming's mountain country, including the Grand Tetons, as a member of the geological surveys led by Dr. Ferdinand Hayden. Yount was hired in 1880 to be the 1st Gamekeeper in the park. A cabin was built for him near Soda Butte, but he resigned in September 1881 in frustration over his lack of authority and the absence of enforceable laws. The cabin was located on the western foot of Mt. Norris, east of the old Lamar River ford. Younts Peak, located at the head of the Yellowstone River, was named in his honor. After leaving the park, Yount started his own animal trapping and hunting business and did some prospecting for gold. He was well-known as a bear killer and is reputed to have occasionally engaged in “hand-to-paw” combat with one of these dangerous beasts. He also acquired a rather substantial amount of mining property in later years, including a marble quarry.[25g] [66m] [Wikipedia] Zack Root’s Express. Zack Root began hauling freight and passengers to Mammoth from Bozeman on a weekly basis, leaving on Monday and arriving on Tuesday, beginning in July of 1874. George Huston and John Werks, who operated of a string of pack and saddle horses in Mammoth, hooked up with Zack Root’s Express to provide horse and guide service to the geyser basins. An ad in the Bozeman Avant-Courier read "Ho! For The Mammoth Hot Springs and Geyser-Land! The public and pleasure seekers generally are respectfully informed that I will after this date run a Line of Conveyances between Bozeman and the Mammoth Hot Springs for their accommodation during the season. . . " In 1875 Root advertised stops at Hayden, Emigrant, Chico, Henderson and Bear Gulch. He also carried the US Mail to Mammoth that year. The Bozeman paper revealed no ads for his services in the summer of 1876. [30;195-96] [Bozeman Avant Courier, 7/3/1874; 5/14/1875] For additional information, please visit my George Huston web page
- Monida & Beaver Canyon | Geyserbob.com
History of the towns of Monida Montan and Beaver Canyon, Idaho, Gateways to Yellowstone National Park in the 1880s -1890s. Gateways to Wonderland Monida & Beaver Canyon Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Geyser Bob Presents: Beaver Canyon and Monida: Early Stage Access Through the Western Entrance of Yellowstone Beaver Canyon, Idaho The discovery of gold on Grasshopper Creek in the mountains of western Montana in 1862 created the need for a transportation avenue to the mines. The Salt Lake Valley presented the best opportunity as a supply center, and a Montana road north to the mines through Beaver Canyon soon developed. Provisions first reached the mines by pack train, but that method eventually proved inadequate and as the region grew a freighting industry evolved. Toll roads and bridges were built to accommodate the heavy wagons. The Utah and Northern Railway reached the area on September 1, 1879. Until the railway reached the Montana border on March 9, 1880, Beaver Canyon acted as the terminus and business flourished. Stages, freighters, and a large crew of railway workers turned the area into a temporary boomtown. Sawmills sprang up in the area to provide lumber for buildings and ties for the rail tracks. An article in the Blackfoot Register in the summer of 1880 described the route: "Leaving Red Rock at 1 p.m., on our return, a ride of two hours brought us to the foot of Beaver Canyon, and to the station of the same name. The scenery down this canyon, a distance of about ten miles, is grand. The tall pine trees, the huge rocks rising on either side, with first on one side and then on the other, a sparkling stream of water, wending its way down over the rocks and falls, make it picturesque and beautiful." The town was originally named Beaver Canon, but was changed to Beaver Canyon in 1884. Click on maps to enlarge Top Map: 1885 map showing the Union Pacific and Utah-Northern routes in Utah, Idaho and Montana Above Map: Modern map showing routes to the west entrance of Yellowstone in the 1880s-90s. the green is the Monida route and red the Beaver Canyon route. Excerpt From Camping Out in the Yellowstone - 1882 By Mary Bradshaw Richards "At noon of the 31st [July 1882] we reached Beaver Canyon, where our camp life commenced. The village consists of a dozen log houses, two saloons and a big water tank. Its citizens are bound to other parts of the world by railroad and a telegraph office. Here are located some half a dozen of the Bassett brothers, fine enterprising fellows of the true pioneer stamp, who undertake to prepare and carry you in and through the National park in good form . . . Our hotel at Beaver Canyon was a little log house, who door opened almost into the village well . . . We slept under the logs one night, leaving at noon August first for the park, whose western boundary is one hundred miles distant from Beaver Canyon." Bassett Brothers The Bassett Brothers operated a saloon and made preparations to start a line of spring wagons to Yellowstone National Park. They began this operation in the spring of 1881 and charged $25.00 for the round trip. Tourist travel to Yellowstone and the good railway connections greatly bolstered the local economy. A Bassett Brothers’ newspaper ad in the Salt Lake Tribune of July 30, 1882 proclaimed the Beaver Canyon route as “The Shortest and Best Route from the Railroad to the Eden of America.” A newspaper article from the Salt Lake Tribune in August of 1881 noted that, “Travelers can take the comfortable cars of the Utah & Northern in Ogden for Beaver Canyon, where connection can be made with Bassett Bros. through line to the Yellowstone. This line is composed of covered light spring wagons with the best of teams, and passes over one of the best roads in the country. This route is 150 miles shorter than by way of Virginia [Virginia City, Mt.] and the fare is $28 less than by that place. Experienced drivers are furnished and passengers are put through in quick time.” Ad for Basset Bros. Beaver Canyon to Yellowstone camping tour. Salt Lake Daily Tribune, July 30, 1882 "Beaver Was Once A Lively Center" By William Stibal Pettite Excerpts from The Post-Register , Idaho Falls, March 18, 1970 "Beaver was once dominated in a business sense by the Bassett family. The Bassett Brothers operated a noted stage line, being headquarters for trips to Yellowstone and Fire Hole Basin, plus a branch line to Camas. They had a large hotel and saloon as well. . . . Frank Bassett, agent for the Utah and Northern Railroad, had the post office. Jules Bassett [C.J. Bassett], a polital associate of Senator Dubois, later formed the Idaho Sheep and Land Co. with Martin Patrie at Market Lake [now Roberts]. In the 1880's he served in the legislature from what was then Oneida County and later replaced partner Patrie as Idaho's Secretery of State. Brother C.H. Bassett noted that in 1880 a special - offer could be had from Bassett Brothers Stage. This special was a round trip ticket to Yellowstone for only $25.00 in gold. C.H. later lived in Pocatello and served as the first Bannock County Assessor Due to competition in Yellowstone with the new hotel company, the Bassett Bros. decided to get out of the camping business in 1886 and seeing the hotel crowd as more lucrative, concentrated their efforts on stage transportation of tourists to the various park hotels. In the early 1890’s the company moved the head of their operations from Beaver to Monida and in 1895 began operating as the Union Pacific Stage Lines with C.J. Bassett as proprietor. They were the only transportation company to operate through the west entrance from 1881 until 1898, when they were refused a permit to operate in the park. A new company, the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Company, was granted the sole concession to transport visitors through the west entrance into Yellowstone. Excerpt From: A Ride Through Wonderland By Georgina M. Synge "Beaver Canyon is the funniest little place. As we had to wait there three days to collect our outfit (and scour the country for a side-saddle, an article which we foolishly omitted to bring), we had plenty of time for observations. It stands between two low ridges of hills which form the entrance to the canyon, and consists of several rows of little wooden houses and a few rather larger ones "dumped" here and there on its brown treeless level. Enormous signboards announced that a large percentage of these mansions were "restaurants" and "beer saloons." The hotel is decidedly primitive, [probably Bassett's] and as the air does not seem to suit either cows or hens, the luxuries produced by these useful species come from a distance, and are rather scarce. The railway runs through the middle of town, and, as there is no road (and only one or two trains in the day), forms the fashionable resort of the inhabitants on Sundays and fine evenings. One great drawback to enjoying this, however, is that one's eyes have to be more or less glued to one's footsteps, as the sleepers are raised rather high above the ground, and a glance upwards may land one upon one's nose. . . We got all our outfit together at last, Messrs. Bassett Bros., who run the stages through the Park Reservation, supplying us at about seventeen dollars per day. This included the hire and forage of the horses, a guide, a lad to drive the wagons, a tent, and cooking utensils, etc." [Sampson Low, Marston & Company , 1892] Top: 1891 letterhead for the Beaver Canyon Saloon & Restaurant. Above: Utah & Northern train crossing the High Bridge enroute to Beaver Canyon. Below: Sign at site of Beaver Canyon, 2008 by author. (Click to expand) Clark County town, Once rail and timber center, recalls memories By William Stibal Pettite Excerpts from The Post Register newspaper, Idaho Falls, Feb. 11, 1976 "Only foundation rubble and an old graveyard mark the location of the boomtown of Beaver, once a large lumber and railroad center of 90 years ago. The many lumber firms in that region supplied a vast majority of the wood used for construction in Idaho Falls . . . When the Utah and Northern Railroad came through in the fall of 1879, the small center began to grow. Five large lumber firms were in operation, employing several hundred men. The railroad also used the center as a train center, as Beaver Canyon was a treacherous pass . . . Some of the pioneer Beaver Canyon families included David Stoddard, Peter Lawson, Joe Davidson, Abraham Redford, Sam Lee, Peter Barney, Charles and Jules Bassett, and ranchers Sam Hancock, W.H. Murray, and P.J. Owen . . . At one time the many Davidson graves at the large Beaver cemetery were the only ones cared for. Now even they are forgotten and the grounds are in sagebrush, with the many old fences in decay." Beaver Canyon closes its doors . . . After 1887 the town began to decline. The harsh weather and winters at Beaver Canyon made life untenable and the residents and businessmen felt Spencer would be a more optimal location. The area was somewhat lower in elevation with less snow and was wide enough to allow more land for expansion of the railroad facilities and other businesses. The town was moved in 1897, six miles south to a new town of Spencer, named after Hyrum H. Spencer, a businessman in Beaver. Many of the buildings were moved south on flat cars, including the depot after the railroad eliminated Beaver Canyon as a stop. The Beaver post office closed in 1898. Monida, Montana Monida was the first point in Montana that the Utah and Northern RR, a branch of the Union Pacific RR, reached around 1880. The line, originating at Brigham City, Utah was planned to extend north to Butte and the mines in Montana. Construction began in 1871 and by 1874 had only reached Franklin, Idaho. The "Panic of 1873" caused all rail construction in the United States to halt and progress on the line was not resumed until 1878. The narrow gauge line reached Monida in 1880 and was completed to Butte in December of 1881. The narrow gauge track was converted to standard gauge between 1887 - 1890. A series of mergers resulted in the railroad becoming known as the Oregon Short Line in 1897. Top Right: Logo of "The Monida Line" advertising travel to Yellowstone from Monida. 1902 Oregon Short Line brochure, author collection. Bottom Right: Lantern slide of the Monida Depot, undated. Bottom Left: Monida townsite ca1898. the Summit Hotel is prominent in the center. [F.J. Haynes photo, Montana Historical Society] Monida was reportedly known as Spring Hill in its early stagecoach days, but the name Monida was in use at least by 1881. Mr. B.H. Paul purchased a small general store in the town and in early 1898 opened the Summit Hotel to serve rail and stage travelers. the Butte Miner noted April 1902, that Paul owned the whole town, which consisted of a rail station, section house, general store, saloon and a hotel. In May 1903, it was announced that Paul was constructing a large addition to the hotel and refurbishing the old section. Tragically, a fire in October of 1905 destroyed the Summit hotel and other nearby buildings. The hotel was later rebuilt of logs, opening by January of 1906. Another file destroyed the railroad depot in May of 1906. Right: View of the RR depot, showing the main street of Monida. The hotel is to the right. Undated photo, ca1903 Hotel Opening ---------- The Summit Hotel at Monida Opened Friday Night - A Fine Time The opening of the Summit Hotel at Monida Friday night was a complete success, and the proprietors, Messrs. Burnside & Paul, certainly should feel gratified by the numerous expressions by their guests of the pleasure and satisfaction they experienced. The Summit Hotel is built on n rise of ground east of the railroad track, at Monida station, and is intended principally for the entertainment of tourists, who take the Monida and Yellowstone stage line from that point to the National Park. The hotel is a large two-story frame building containing 22 rooms. It has large and airy office, parlor, dining room and kitchen and store rooms on the first floor, and sleeping rooms on the second floor. All the appointments are first-class and an excellent table is set. Mrs. Burnside looks after the comfort of the guests with close attention, and no one is allowed to leave the place dissatisfied. Over 130 guests assembled at the opening of the new hotel. There were people from Lima, Redrock, Dillon, Beaver Canyon and the surrounding country. By far the larger number were from Lima, 51 tickets being sold at that station. Soon after the arrival of the train the ball opened and dancing was kept up almost continuously until 6 o’clock next morning. Soon after midnight a fine supper was served, all the delicacies of the season being found on the table. After breakfast the hosts took all who cared to go out for a drive in the fine new 12-passenger canopy-top Concord coaches. This was a feature of the occasion that was greatly appreciated by those accepting the invitation. [Dillon Tribune, 29Jan1898] Right Top: The Summit Hotel, probably ca1898. Right Bottom: The Summit Hotel between 1903-1905. Note the addition on the right and to the rear. Disastrous Fire at Monida - Oct 1905 A most disastrous fire occurred last Thursday at Monida when the Summit hotel, the hotel annex and a cottage, all the property of B. H. Paul, were burned to the ground and practically a total loss sustained. The tire must have been burning some time before it was discovered and the upper part of the inside of the hotel proper was all in flames before it was noticed . . . All three of the buildings were razed to the ground and the only things saved were a few of the household goods from the cottage. [4Oct1905 Dillon Examiner] A New Hotel in 1912 “One of the largest business buildings constructed In the county thls year is the mammoth hotel at Monida, built by the genial J. J. Smith, the pioneer hotel man of that city. The hotel is constructed of red brick and, situated on the very summit of the continental divide, it commands a wonderful outlook. The name, "The Summit,’* is most appropriate. Although Monlda cannot boast of electric lights, city water or a central heating plant, this hotel has all of them, and they are superior in many ways to similar systems In most large cities.” [15Dec1912, Anaconda Standard] Monida is located on the crest of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of around 7,000 feet. The town became a large railhead for the shipment of sheep and livestock raised in the vast Centennial Valley. As many as 48,000 head of cattle and 100,000 head of sheep were shipped out annually. The town reached a population of 75-100 people at its prime. The departure of the M-Y stage line traffic in 1908 and the increased use of large truck and trailers for livestock shipping caused the rail traffic to decline, along with the population. A few buildings still exist in the town, including at least one of the original Monida-Yellowstone stage barns. Monida & Yellowstone Stage Company Monida became significant in Yellowstone's history in 1898 when the Monida and Yellowstone Stage Co. was organized by F.J. Haynes and W. W. Humphrey and began stage service through the west entrance of Yellowstone. The route to the park skirted along the edge of the beautiful Centennial Valley, past Red Rock lakes, through Alaska Basin, over the divide to Henrys Lake and over Targhee Pass to the west entrance. Stagecoach travelers would stay at the Grayling Inn, as known as Dwelles, for the first night, prior to entering the park. (See map at top of page) The company conducted tours of the park from Monida until the summer of 1908, when the Oregon Short Line completed a branch line from Idaho Falls to the west entrance of the park. The company moved its operation to Riverside, a location a few miles inside of the west entrance f Yellowstone. A small town soon sprung up at the end of the rail line and west entrance of the park. The town was originally known as Riverside, but changed to Yellowstone in 1909. It did not become West Yellowstone until 1920. For additional information, check out my Monida & Yellowstone web page. Top Left: One of the barns used by the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co., 1957. YNP #33409 Top Right: Same barn about 50 years later. Photo by author 2008 Left: Logo of the Monida & Yellowstone Stage Co. The name later changed in 1913 to Yellowstone & Western Stage Co.
- Bios Bibliographies | Geyserbob.com
Yellowstone Bibliographies Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. [1g] Adare, Sierra, "Celebrating Cody's Centennial". Wild West Magazine, June '96. [2] Augspurger, Marie M. "Yellowstone National Park - Historical and Descriptive". The Naegele-Auer Printing Co. 1948 [2m] Austin, Bruce, 1999 conversations and data provided by him. Independent researcher, bus historian and restorer. Loma Linda University, Calif. [3] Anderson, H. Allen, "Ernest Thompson Seton in Yellowstone Country". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 34, No.2, Spring '84. [4] Baldwin, Kenneth H., "Enchanted Enclosure: The Army Engineers and Yellowstone National Park - A Documentary History". Office of the Chief Engineers, US Army, 1976. [4m] Barnes, Christine, “Great Lodges of the West”. Published by W.W. West, Bend Oregon, Copy. 1997. [5] Barnett, LeRoy, "Ghastly Harvest - Montana's Trade in Buffalo Bones". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol.XXV, No. 3, Summer '75. [6] Barringer, Mark Daniel, "Private Empire, Public Land: The Rise and Fall of the Yellowstone Park Company". Texas Christian Univ. Thesis, Dec. 1997 [8] Bartlett, Richard A. "Those Infernal Machines in Yellowstone...". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XX, No. 3, Summer 1970. [10] _______________. "Yellowstone - A Wilderness Besieged". University of Arizona Press, 1985. [12] Beal, Merrill D., "The Story of Man in Yellowstone". Caxton Printers, Ltd, 1949. [14] Brown, Mark H., "The Plainsmen of the Yellowstone - A History of the Yellowstone Basin". University of Nebraska Press, 1969. [14a] _______________, "Yellowstone Tourists and the Nez Perce". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XVI, No.3, Summer 1966. [14m] Brust, James S., & Whittlesey, Lee H., "Thomas J. Hine - One of Yellowstone's Earliest Photographers". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol.49, No.2, Summer 1999. [14u] Burlingame, Merrill G., "The Montana Frontier". Big Sky Books, Montana State University, 1942. [15m] Child, Harry W. Jr., “History of Dates and the Child Family in Yellowstone”. An unpublished chronology, 1999. [16] Chittenden, Hiram Martin, "The Yellowstone National Park". (written 1895] University of Oklahoma Press, Norman Publishing, 1964. [16m] Clemensen, A. Berle, “Historic Structure Report – Historic Data Section – O.F. Inn”. Denver Historic Preservation Branch, National Park Service, Dept. Interior, Denver, Co. [16t] Cody Country Magazine, 1996 [17] Culpin, Mary Shivers, "The History of the Construction of the Road System in Yellowstone National Park - 1872-1966". Historic Resource Study Vol.1, Rocky Mtn. Region, National Park Service, 1994. [17t] Diem, Kenneth L. & Lenore L., "A Community of Scalawags, Renegades, Discharged Soldiers & Predestined Stinkers? A History of Jackson Hole and Yellowstone's Influence, 1872-1920. Grand Teton Natural History Asso, 1998. [18] Dittl, Barbara H. & Mallman, Joanne, "Plain to Fancy...The Lake Hotel, 1889-1929". Montana – The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXXIV, No. 2, Spring 1984. [18a] _______________, "The Story of the Lake Hotel". Published by Roberts Rinehart, Inc., 1987. [18m] Dolph, James A. & C. Ivar, “The American Bison: It’s Annihilation and Preservation”. Montana – The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXV, No. 3, Summer 1975. [18t] Eagle, Sam & Ed, “West Yellowstone’s 70th Anniversary – 1908-1978”. Published by Eagle Co., West Yellowstone, Mt. Copy. 1978. [19] Encarta Encyclopedia 99, Microsoft. [21] Flagg Ranch Resort, “Flagg Ranch History”, Company website http://www.flaggranch.com/history.shtml 9/25/00 [22] Fontenot, Britt, "Striking Similarities: Labor Versus Capital in Yellowstone National Park". Yellowstone Science magazine, Vol. 5, No.4. [23] Frost & Richard, “Over the Cody Trail to Yellowstone Park”. Advertising brochure for Frost & Richard Camping Company, ca 1906-16. [24] Galusha, Hugh D. Jr., "Yellowstone Years". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. IX, No. 3, July 1959. [24m] Geyser Gazette, “Train or Stagecoach – The Only Ticket to Yellowstone in the Early 1900’s.” Vol. 5, Issue 1, Summer 2000. [25] Glacier Park Foundation, “The Inside Trail” Newsletter. Fall99G “Glacier on Wheels: A History of the Park Buses (Part 1: 1913-1927), by Ray Djuff. Fall99H “Gearjamming in Glacier – An Anthology” [25g] Goss, Robert V., “Yellowstone – The Chronology of Wonderland”, 2nd Edition, Copy 2002, Self- Published. [25h] _______________, “A Tale of Two Sisters – Pryor & Trischman in Yellowstone”. Annals of Wyoming, Spring 2002, Vol. 74, No.2. [25i] _______________, “Yellowstone’s George Whittaker – Soldier, Scout and Storekeeper”. Copy 2002, selfpublished. [25j] _______________, “Yellowstone’s First General Store – A Legacy of Jennie Henderson and Her Family”. Publication pending, copyright 2003. [25k] _______________, “Serving the Faithful in Yellowstone – Henry Klamer and the General Store in the Upper Geyser Basin”. Self-published, copyright 2003. [26] Goulans, Fred R., "A Fur Trade History of Yellowstone Park". Mountain Grizzly Publications, 1989. [26b] Gowans, Fred R., "Rocky Mountain Rendezvous: A History of the Fur Trade Rendezvous 1825-40". Gibbs-Smith Publisher, 1985. [28] Gray, John S., "Trials of a Trailblazer...P.W. Norris and Yellowstone". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXII, No. 3, Summer 1972. [30] Haines, Aubrey L., "The Yellowstone Story". Vol. I, Yellowstone Library and Museum Association, 1996. [31] _______________, "The Yellowstone Story". Vol. II, Yellowstone Library and Museum Association, 1977. [32] _______________. "Yellowstone Place Names - Mirrors of History". University Press of Colorado, 1996. [32a] _______________, "The Bannock Indian Trail". Yellowstone Library and Museum Asso., 1964. [32d] _______________, “Tales from the Yellowstone: Steamboats in the Rockies”. Part 1 of a 3-part series. The Yellowstone Postcard Exchange, Vol. 5, No.1, Winter 2000. [33] _______________. "Norris Soldier Station - Yellowstone National Park - Historic Structures Report". With Charles Pope & Erwin Thompson. Dept. of Interior. Sept. 1969. [36] Hampton, Duane H., "The Army and the National Parks". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXII, No. 3, Summer, 1972. [37] _______________, "How the U.S. Cavalry Saved our National Parks". Indiana University Press, 1971. [39-12] Haynes, Frank J. “Haynes Official Guide”, 1912, 26th Edition. [39-15] Haynes, Frank J. “Haynes Official Guide, 1915, 29th Edition [39-20] Haynes, Jack E. “Haynes Guide – The Complete Handbook”. 1920, 32nd Edition. [39-23] Haynes, Jack E. “Haynes New Guide” 1923, 35th Edition. [40] Haynes, J.E., "Haynes New Guide and Motorists Complete Log of Yellowstone National Park". J.E. Haynes, Publisher, 36th edition, 1924. [42] _______________, "Haynes Guide - The Complete Handbook". Haynes Picture Shops, Inc. 44th revised edition, 1936. [43] _______________, "Haynes Guide - The Yellowstone National Park". Haynes, Inc., 48th Edition, 1946. [43a] _______________, “Haynes Guide – A Handbook of Yellowstone National Park”, 49th Edition, 1947. [44] Hert, Tamsen Emerson, "Resort on the Rim: Yellowstone's Grand Canyon Hotel". The Yellowstone Post Card Exchange, Vol.3, No.3, Fall 1998. [44b] Hilburn, Dorothy K., "The Old Faithful Inn - A National Historic Landmark". Camelback/Canyonlands Venture, 1997. [45a] Historical Research Associates, "Historic Structures Report - Lake Lodge". Prepared by James R. McDonald Architects, July 1997. [45b] _______________, "Historic Structures Report - Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel". Prepared by James R. McDonald Architects, Nov. 1995. [45c] _______________, "Historic Structures Report - Old Faithful Lodge". Prepared by James R. McDonald Architects, Nov. 1995. [45d] _______________, "Historic Structures Report - Old Faithful Inn". Prepared by James R. McDonald Architects, May 1994. [45e] _______________, "Historic Structures Report - Roosevelt Lodge". Prepared by James R. McDonald Architects, Dec. 1993. [45m] Hughes, J. Donald, “The Story of Man at Grand Canyon”. Grand Canyon Natural History Asso., 1967 [45t] Ise, John, “Our National Parks Policy – A Critical History”. Published for Resources for the Future, Johns Hopkins Press, 1961. [46] Karle, Marsha, Managing Editor, "A Yellowstone Album - A Photographic Celebration of the First National Park". Commentary by the Yellowstone Staff. The Yellowstone Foundation,1997. [47m] Jackson, Steven B., "Joshua Crissman, Yellowstone's Forgotten Photographer". Montana – The Magazine of Western History, Vol.49, No.2, Summer 1999. [48] Jackson, W. Turrentine, "The Creation of Yellowstone National Park". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. Seven, No. 3, Summer 1957. [50] _______________, "The Washburn-Doane Expedition of 1870". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. Seven, No. 3, Summer 1957 . [51] Johnston, Fred T., "An Analysis of the Business of Hamilton Stores, Inc. in Yellowstone National Park". NPS Vertical Files, Y.N.P. [52] Joyner, Newell F., "History of Improvements in Yellowstone National Park". US Dept. of Interior, NPS, 1929, File No.11011-02, YNP Vertical Files - "Structures". [54] Jurale, James A., "History of Winter Use in Yellowstone National Park". University of Wyoming, Dec. 1986. [55] Karmizki, Kenneth W., "Suspected Site of the Hobart Hotel - Report of Research & Testing". Montana State University, 1997. YNP Files - "Structures". [56] Langford, Nathaniel Pitt, "The Discovery of Yellowstone Park". University of Nebraska Press 1972. (Text from author's 1905 Edition). [57] Livingston Enterprise newspaper [58] Malone, Michael P., "The Gallatin Canyon...and the Tides of History". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXIII, No. 3, Summer 1973. [60] Malone, Michael P., & Roeder, Richard B. , Editors, "The Montana Past - An Anthology". University of Washington Press, 1969. [60e] Markoff, Dena S., “The Dudes are Always Right – The Utah Parks Company in Zion National Park 1923-72”. Zion Natural History Association, 1980. [60g] Mattison, Ray H. “Report on Historical Structures in Yellowstone National Park.” 10/3/60. Yellowstone Archives, Vertical Files. [61] McCarter, Steve, “Guide to the Milwaukee Road in Montana”. Montana Historical Society Press, Helena, 1992. [62] Merrill, Andrea & Jacobson, Judy, "Montana Almanac". Falcon Publishing Company, 1997. [62m] Monteith, Joanita, “Pahaska Tepee – The Gem of the Rockies”. Points West magazine, 1998 Winter Issue. [62n] _______________, “The Irma – Just the Swellest Hotel That Ever Happened”. Points West magazine, 1998 Fall Issue. [63] Motor Coach Today, “Buses in Yellowstone National Park”. By Bruce Austin, Robert Goss, Gerald Pesman, edited by Eli Bail. April-June 2000, Vol.7, No.2. [64] National Park Service, "Yellowstone Roads and Bridges - A Glimpse of the Past". Brochure produced by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), 1989. [64p] _______________, “Press Releases” [66] _______________, "The Army Years, 1886-1918". Brochure produced by the Yellowstone Park Foundation and the Yellowstone Association. [68] Nolan, Edward W., "Northern Pacific Views - The Railroad Photography of F.J. Haynes, 1876-1905". Montana Historical Society Press, Helena, 1983. [70] O'Brien, Bob Randolph, "The Yellowstone National Park Road System: Past, Present and Future". University of Washington, Thesis, 1965. [72] Pesman, Gerald and Helen, "Yellowstone National Park - Mile-by-Mile Guide". Yellowstone Park Co., 1975. [72a] _______________, "Drivers and Tour Guides' Commentary Handbook for Yellowstone National Park". 2nd Edition. Copy. 1979, Yellowstone Park Co. [72b] _______________, “Yellowstone”. Draft copy of article to appear in Motor Age magazine in year 2000. [73] Petersen, Gwen, "Yellowstone Pioneers - The Story of the Hamilton's Stores and Yellowstone National Park". Hamilton Stores, Inc. 1985. [74] Quinn, Leslie J., "The Wranglers' Handbook". Roosevelt Edition. TW Recreational Services, 1997. [74a] _______________, "The Wranglers Handbook". Canyon Edition. TW Recreational Services, 1997. [78] Randall, L.W. (Gay), "Footprints Along the Yellowstone". The Naylor Company, Copy. 1961. [78t] Reese, Craig, “N.P.Ry - First of the North Transcontinentals – An Overview and Chronology”; “N.P.Ry – Park Branch Construction”; “N.P.Ry – Park Branch Operations”. A 3-part article originally published in the ‘Mainstreeter’, the publication of the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Asso. [79] Reeves, Thomas C., "President Arthur in Yellowstone National Park". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Summer 1969. [79g] Rzeczkowski, Frank, “The Crow Indians and the Bozeman Trail”. Montana – The Magazine of Western History, Vol.49, No.4, Winter 1999. [79d] Ridge, Alice A. & John Wm., “Introducing the Yellowstone trail – A Good Road from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound”. Yellowstone Trail Publishers, Altoona, Wisc. Copy. 2000. [80] Runte, Alfred, "Trains of Discovery - Western Railroads and the National Parks". Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1990. [80a] _______________, National Parks – The American Experience”. University of Nebraska Press, 1979. [82] Russell, Carl Parcher, “One Hundred Years in Yosemite”. Yosemite Natural History Asso., Yosemite National Park, 1959. [84] Schullery, Paul, "Yellowstone's Ecological Holocaust". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Montana Historical Society. Aug. 1997. [85] _______________, "Searching for Yellowstone - Ecology and Wonder in the Last Wilderness". Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. [86] _______________, "Buffalo Jones and the Bison Herd in Yellowstone: Another Look". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXVI, No. 3, Summer 1976. [87] Saunders, Richard L., "Glimpses of Wonderland - The Haynes and Their Postcards of Yellowstone National Park". Saunders 1997. [88] Saylor, David J., "Jackson Hole, Wy. - In the Shadow of the Tetons". University of Oklahoma Press, 1970. [90] Scofield, Susan C., "The Inn at Old Faithful". Crowsrest Associates, 1979. [91] Scott, Kim Allen, "A Missing Piece of a Yellowstone Puzzle: The Tangled Provenance of the Cook-Folsom-Peterson Yellowstone Expedition Diary". Yellowstone Science magazine, Vol.7, No.1, Winter 1999. [92] Selmeir, Lewis W., "First Camera on the Yellowstone - A Century Ago". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol.XXII, No.3, Summer 1972. [93] Shankland, Robert, “Steve Mather of the National Parks”. Alfred A Knopf, New York, 1951. [94] Shaw, S. Rose, & Paladin, Vivian A., "Yellowstone Park by Camp: The Shaw & Powell Camping Co. - A Photo Essay". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXII, No. 3, Summer 1972. [96] Schullery, Paul, "Old Yellowstone Days". University of Colorado, 1979. [96e] Silliman, Lee, “A Ride to the Infernal Regions: An Account of the First Tourist Party to Yellowstone”, Yellowstone Science Magazine, Yellowstone Association for Natural Science, History & Education. Winter 2000, Vol. 8, No.1 [97] The Yellowstone Postcard Exchange (TYPE), Quarterly Newsletter by J. Michael Bodell. [97e] Tilden, Freeman, "Following the Frontier with F.J. Haynes". Alfred A. Knopf, 1964. [97p] Topping, E.S., "The Chronicles of the Yellowstone - An Accurate, Comprehensive History". Ross & Haines, Inc. 1968. [97u] University of Montana Bozeman, Mt. Renee Library, “The Eagle Family Collection”. [98] US Dept. of Interior, NPS, "Yellowstone National Park Wyoming". Government Printing Office, 1937. [99] US Dept. of Interior, National Park Service, “Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)” and “Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)”. Located through American Memory, Library of Congress website. [99g] ________________, “Golden Gate Viaduct”, HAER WY-3, [99n] ________________, “Norris Soldier Station”, HABS No. WYO-21, John DeHass, Jr. [100] Van West, Carroll, "A Travelers' Companion to Montana History". Montana Society Press, 1986. [106] Whithorn, Bill and Doris, "Photo History of Gardiner, Jardine, Crevasse". The Park County News, 1972. [106m] _______________, “Images of America – Paradise Valley on the Yellowstone”. Published by Arcadia Publishing, Chicago, Ill, 2001 [107] _______________, "Yankee Jim's National Park Toll Road and the Yellowstone Trail". April 1989. [108] _______________, "Twice Told on the Upper Yellowstone". Vol. I, Published by Doris Whithorn 1994. [108a] _______________, "Twice Told on the Yellowstone". Vol. II, Published by Doris Whithorn 1994. [110] Waite, Thornton, "Yellowstone Branch of the Union Pacific - Route of the Yellowstone Special, 1994. [110h] West Yellowstone Historical Society, “West Yellowstone Historic District”. Walking Guide ‘Oregon Short Line Terminus Historic District’. [110m] Wheaton, Rodd L., “Architecture of Yellowstone – A Microcosm of American Design”. Yellowstone Science magazine, Vol. 8, No. 4, Fall 2000. [113] _______________, "Yellowstone Place Names". Montana Historical Society Press, 1988. [114] _______________, "Wonderland Nomenclature - A History of the Place Names of Yellowstone National Park". Montana Historical Society Press. [116] _______________, "Marshall's Hotel in the National Park". Montana - The Magazine of Western History, Vol. XXX, No. 4, Oct. 1980. [118] _______________, "Yellowstone's Horse-and-Buggy Tour Guides: Interpreting the Grand Old Park". National Park Service, 1996. [119] _______________, "In Yellowstone Park, 1886-1889, George Tutherly's Reminiscences". Montana -The Magazine of Western History, Winter 1997-98. [119m] Wonderland newspaper, Gardiner, Montana. [119w] Wylie Permanent Camping Company, “Yellowstone Park”. Advertising brochures for the 1914-15 seasons. Printed by Poole Bros. Chicago. [119y] Wyoming Wildlife, “Ned Frost – Inventing the Wilderness Hunt”. Sep/Oct. 2001 [120] Yochim, Mike, "Why the National Park Service Originally Allowed Snowmobiles into Yellowstone". Yellowstone Commentary, Winter 1997-98. TW Recreational Services Print Shop. [120a] _______________, "The Development of Snowmobile Policy in Yellowstone National Park". Yellowstone Science, Vol.7, No.2, Spring 1999. [121] Yellowstone Science Magazine, Yellowstone Association for Natural Science, History & Education. [123] Yellowstone National Park Library/Archives Files. “Vertical Files’. [123a] Ibid., "List of Buildings Owned by Interior Dept. Located at Mammoth Hot Springs, 1/21/18. Vertical Files: History: YNP [123b] Ibid., “History Files, “Bassett Bros. Files”. [130] Yellowstone National Park Service Press Releases.
- Geyser Bob - Stage Driver | Geyserbob.com
Robert Edgar - Stage Driver The "Real" Geyser Bob Copyright 2024 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author.
- Hotels & Lodges | Geyserbob.com
This is an introduction the varied histories of the hotels in Yellowstone Park from 1872 to the late 1900s. Yellowstone's Hotels & Lodges Click on Link above to begin your tour.
- Northern Pacific RR | Geyserbob.com
Early history of the Northern Pacific's "Yellowstone Park Line" to Cinnabar and Gardiner, Montana, and their providing access to Yellowstone Naional ark from Livingston, Mt. Yellowstone's Supporting Railroads Northern Pacific RR Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. The Northern Pacific Railroad - Yellowstone's First Rail Access A Pictorial History of the Early Days Jay Cooke Jay Cooke, born in 1821, was an American financier, whose firm raised more than $1 billion in loans for the federal government during the American Civil War. After the war Cooke undertook to raise $100 million for the projected route of the Northern Pacific Railroad from Duluth, Minnesota, to Tacoma, Washington. Cooke became head of the Northern Pacific RR in 1868 and served until 1873. However, the financial burden was too great, and the firm went bankrupt, thus precipitating the panic of 1873, which brought rail building to a standstill until 1879. Cooke's firm never reopened, but Cooke, through mining investments, repaid his creditors and accumulated another fortune within seven years. Frederick Billings took control of NPRR in 1879 and rail building began again at a rapid rate. He was suceeded in 1881 by Henry Villard who oversaw the completion of the rail line in August of 1883. A Last Spike Ceremony was held at Gold Creek, Montana, 59 west of Helena, on September 8. Prior to the 1870 Washburn Expedition, Cooke hired Nathaniel Langford as a sort of publicity agent to help spread the word of the wonders of the western lands that the railroad would be passing through. Cooke City was named after Jay Cooke by the miners in that area in an attempt to attract a rail line to the gold mines there. The Northern Pacific Railroad . . . The NPRR was formed in 1864 when the company was awarded the rights to build a rail line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. As incentive, Congress granted them about 10 million acres of land along the proposed route. Construction began in 1870 but progress was halted for six years when the Panic of 1873 caused most all rail construction in the US to come to a standstill. The line finally reached Livingston Montana in the fall of 1882 and was completed across Montana to the West Coast in early fall of 1883. That year the Park Branch Line was built from Livingston to Cinnabar and became the first rail access to the park on September 1. Cinnabar was about 3 miles north of Gardiner. A land dispute between the railroad and 'Buckskin Jim' Cutler prevented the rail line from coming all the way into Gardiner. The railroad was the owner or part owner of the hotels in the park until 1907 when H.W. Child acquired all the remaining shares. Beginning in 1883 the railroad attempted to build a line along the northern end of the park to the gold mines of Cooke City. The controversy over the proposal raged on for over 10 years before the railroad finally backed off on the plan. Cinnabar, Mont. Station. Both photos courtesy Burton Holmes Travelogues, 1905 The company was reorganized in 1896 and became known as the Northern Pacific Railway (NPRy). They continued to provide loans and financial backing for the construction and operation of the hotels and transportation fleet in Yellowstone into the mid-1900’s. In June 1902, the company extended their Yellowstone Park Line to Gardiner, with the first passenger train arriving in early July to a temporary depot and loading platform. A rustic log depot was erected in Gardiner at the end of Northern Pacific’s ‘Yellowstone Park Line' in 1903. Robert Reamer, architect of the Old Faithful Inn, designed the building and the firm of Deeks & Deeks was awarded the $20,000 construction contract on April 27, 1903. The rail line was extended into Gardiner and opened June 20, 1902. A temporary depot was used until the new edifice was completed. Visitors exiting the building looked upon a pond and the new stone Arch built at the entrance to the park that same year. The Gardiner Wonderland newspaper commented on July 3rd that, “For the first time the regular passenger train on the Park branch ran into Gardiner and unloaded its passengers at the temporary depot and platform erected in the western part of town. Many of our citizens went down to greet the train and witness the fruition of their long deferred hopes, It may be said now that Gardiner is the terminus.” The Roosevelt Arch Located at the north entrance to Yellowstone. It was built near the Gardiner Depot in 1903. The Arch was constructed out of native stone from a design by architect Robert Reamer. Theodore Roosevelt dedicated it on April 24, 1903 and by September visitors were able to drive through the Arch via stagecoach to enter the park. A stone gatehouse was built near the Arch in 1921 and used as a check-in station until it was razed in 1966. The Arch is also known as the North Entrance Arch. Top Left: Construction of Roosevelt Arch 1902. YNP #16174 Top Right: Roosevelt Arch, 1904. YNP #29448 Gardiner Depot A temporary depot was used until the new edifice was completed in 1903. The rustic log depot building erected at the terminus of Northern Pacific’s ‘Yellowstone Park Line' was designed by Robert Reamer, architect of the Old Faithful Inn. The firm of Deeks & Deeks was awarded the $20,000 construction contract. Upon completion, visitors exiting the new depot could gaze upon a pond and the new stone Arch built at the entrance of Yellowstone Park. Left Top: Construction of the depot in 1902. YNP #16174 Left Bottom: Depot & Arch, Haynes Sepia Post Card, ca1905 Right Bottom: Stages in front of depot. Real-Photo post card, undated. Goss Collecction An excerpt from a 1904 edition of the Railroad Gazette boasting about the new NPRR Depot: "The station at Gardiner was designed to harmonize with the other structures [Arch, etc]. It is essentially rustic and is built of native materials. The foundations and lower parts of the walls are rough boulders. The walls above, including the platform shelters are made of unbarked logs. The roof trusses, gables and ceilings are finished with similar material. The interior contains a large waiting room with fireplace, ticket office, express office, baggage room and toilet rooms. The rustic effect is also carried out in the interior, the doors, windows, settees, chandeliers, hardware, etc., all being in keeping with the general design. The projecting ends of logs are smoothed and polished, and where lumber is used for finishing it is of high grade and finely polished. Wrought nails, bearing on their heads the trade-mark of the company, are used wherever they will show. The fireplace at the end of the waiting room is broad and forms a pleasing feature of the interior." The Northern Pacific RR adopted the Monad Logo 1893. It was patterned after the Chinese Yin-Yang symbol. The two comma shaped halves represent the dual powers of the universe – two principles called Yang and Yin. Their primitive meanings were: Yang, light; Yin, darkness. Philosophically, they stood for the positive and the negative. The bottom of the logo reads "Yellowstone Park Line". The company's headquarters were in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Wonderland of the World The Northern Pacific Railroad began publishing "The Wonderland of the World" guidebook of Yellowstone in 1884 in order to advertise their services. It featured imaginative colored images on the covers. The brochures were supplemented with photos by F.Jay Haynes, Official Photographer of the Northern Pacific RR. It published yearly until 1906 with articles on Yellowstone and other points of interest along the NPRR’s route through the Northwest. Covers from the 1885 and 1897 issues of Wonderland. The Northwest Improvement Company The Northern Pacific Railway sold their interest in the hotels in Yellowstone to their subsidiary, the Northwest Improvement Co. in 1898, making that company the sole owner of the Yellowstone Park Association stock. NWIC continued to be the front company for the NPRy’s financing of H.W. Child’s enterprises in the park for many years. In 1917 financial backing was done jointly with the NPRy, Union Pacific, and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroads NWIC was also responsible for the opening of the travertine quarries near Gardiner in the 1930’s. The last railroad loan was obtained in 1937 and was paid off by 1955. Yellowstone Comet A Depression-era train between Chicago and Seattle, the Yellowstone Comet was a joint operation of the Northern Pacific and Burlington railroads. Splitting at Billings, Montana, the train offered access to the park via either Gardiner or Cody, Top Left: Yellowstone Park ad from the Wonderland brochure in 1900. Top Right: Poster art from the Northern Pacific's "Yellowstone Park Line." Bottom Left: Brass fob for the Yellowstone Park Line. Bottom Right: Conductor's Badge worn on the Yellowstone Park Line.
- Canyon Hotel & Lodges | Geyserbob.com
History of the Canyon Hotel & Canyon Lodge that operated from 1886-1957 in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone - Canyon Hotels & Lodges Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author. Canyon Hotel 1st Canyon Hotel This crude wooden structure was located in thick timber above Lower Falls, near the current Brink of Lower Falls parking lot. It was built in 1886 by the Yellowstone Park Association (YPA). This building housed the office, dining room, kitchen, and lobby. About 70 guests could be housed in nearby tents. It was permitted by the Army for the 1886 season only, but remained in use until a larger hotel was opened in 1890. [Photo courtesy of Montana State University, Haynes Photo Collection] 2nd Canyon Hotel This hotel was located on the hill above the Grand Canyon, near where the current Xanterra horse operation is operated. The building contained 250 guest rooms and featured steam heat. Problems with the foundation necessitated repairs in 1896 and 1901. Twenty-four rooms were added in 1901. The hotel was in operation until 1911 when it was incorporated into the construction of the new Canyon Hotel. Top Left: Front of 2nd Canyon Hotel, Haynes post card No. 144 Top Right: Close-up of front of 2nd hotel, Wyoming State Archives, Stimson Collection Bottom Left: Colorized slide of the image to the right. Bottom Right: Haynes Photo, YNP #143227 3rd Canyon Hotel This grandiose structure opened in 1911 with 375 rooms that accommodated 500 guests. It incorporated the 2nd Canyon Hotel into its floor plan, located on the left end of the hotel. The hotel was designed by Robert Reamer and construction continued through the winter of 1910-11. The cost was over $750,000 and financed by the YP Hotel Co. and Harry Child, who obtained loans from the Northern Pacific RR. Capacity was expanded to 600 guests in 1922 and a new wing was added in 1930-34 increasing total capacity to 900 guests. The perimeter was reported to be one mile long, and orchestras played nightly in the expansive lounge area. The hotel closed down after the 1958 season and guests were forced to stay in the new Canyon Village Lodge cabins. This magnificent building burned down in 1960 during demolition, the cause of which was never officially determined. Magnificent New Hotel in Yellowstone Opened Butte Miner, August 5, 1911 (Special Correspondence to the Miner.) Grand Canyon Hotel, Yellowstone Park, Wyo., Aug. 2 - The formal opening of the great lounging room of the new Canyon hotel in Yellowstone park, which marks the completion of the $700,000 structure, was celebrated tonight by a ball, in which the guests of the hotel, campers in the park, fisherman, hotel employees and everybody else within a radius of 50 miles, joined. The hotel is unique among all the resort hotels in the world, and the mammoth lounging room is the most striking feature. This room, 186 feet by 95 feet in dimensions, is finished in natural birch and furnished with large upholstered and willow pieces of original patterns designed by Mrs. H.W. Child. The floor coverings are rugs, especially made in Austria, the large middle rug being 56 feet by 25 feet. The color scheme is green and brown, with an occasional dash of red. The lighting effects are secured by a series of specially designed lanterns suspended from the great beams overhead.. . . [The hotel] was built under incredible difficulties, and every pound of material within this great structure, which stretches along the mountain side for 700 feet and is full five stories in height, was brought in by freight wagons and sleds from Gardiner, 40 miles away, and for several months through snow drifts 10 to 12 feet in depth, with the thermometer far below zero for weeks at a time. The hotel has 450 rooms, 75 bath rooms and every modern convenience, including electric elevators. Left Top: Exterior View, Detroit PC 71062 Right Top: Exterior view, Bloom Bros. PC YP60 Left Middle: Entrance ramp, Haynes PC No.220 Right Middle: Lounge from Office, Haynes PC No.10172 Left Bottom: Tea Room, Haynes PC No.217 Right Bottom: Hotel Office, Haynes PC No.10150 Canyon Camps & Canyon Lodge The Canyon Camp was built on the Shaw & Powell Camping Co. site, located near the current Uncle Tom's Parking Lot. It was operated by the Yellowstone Park Camping Co. from 1917-1919, the Yellowstone Park Camps Co. under Howard Hays from 1920-24, and taken over by Vernon Goodwin that year, who retained the same name. In 1928, Harry Child bought out all the camps operations and they began being called ‘Lodges’ with the name changing to Yellowstone Park Lodge & Camps Co. until 1936. Goodwin was retained and managed the camps operation. The hotel, transportation, boat, and camps operation’s were reorganized and the name was changed to Yellowstone Park Co. Top Left: Canyon Lodge Exterior, Haynes PC 15040 Top Right: Canyon Lodge Cafeteria, 1951. YNP #29658 Bottom Left: Canyon Lodge Lobby, YNP #133440 Bottom Right: Canyon Lodge Demolition, late 1950s. YNP #59672 New tent cabins were erected in 1923-24 and the log lodge building was greatly expanded in 1925. Twenty-four new 12’x14’ cabins and five 12’x12’ permanent lodges were constructed in 1927. The lodge and cabins were closed down in 1957 with the opening of the new Canyon Village. The area was later cleaned up and rehabilitated and only a few relics can now be found in that area. Many of the cabins were moved to the Lake area. When Canyon Lodge was closed in 1957, many of the structures were moved to other locations in park, while some were demolished, and others were sold off, as was the case of the old Lodge Lobby, which was disassembled and moved to Nevada City (Virginia City), Montana by Charlie Bovey as part of his historic restoration/recreation of a historic Montana mining town. This modern new lodge was built, and opened in 1957 under the provisions of the Mission 66 plan, mandated by the Interior department. Yellowstone Park Co financed the construction to the tune of 5 million dollars and 500 boxy, flat-roofed cabins were eventually built. The lodge building featured a lounge, coffee shop, cafeteria, gift shop, and modern decor. The lodge is still in operation and is run by Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Quite a few of the original cabins have been demolished, while many others have been remodeled. Canyon Village This modern new lodge was built, and opened in 1957 under the provisions of the Mission 66 plan, mandated by the Interior department. Yellowstone Park Co financed the construction to the tune of 5 million dollars and 500 boxy, flat-roofed cabins were eventually built. The lodge building featured a lounge, coffee shop, cafeteria, gift shop, and modern decor. The lodge is still in operation and is run by Xanterra Parks & Resorts. Quite a few of the original cabins have been demolished, while many others have been remodeled. Left Top: Canyon Village Main Lodge. Haynes PC K57157. Left Middle: Lodge Lounge. Haynes PC K57060 Left Bottom: Lodge Lounge, Haynes PC 57069 Right Top: Lodge Dining Room, Curteich PC 8C-K595 Right Middle: Lodge Cafeteria, Haynes PC K57120 To provide additional guest rooms, Cascade Lodge was built in 1992 containing 37 rooms and is located in the cabin area. Dunraven Lodge was constructed nearby six years later and features 44 rooms. Since then, three additional lodges have been added, Washburn Lodge, Moran Lodge, and Rhyolite Lodge, replacing many of the old 1957 cabins.
- Yellowstone Bios I-J-K-L | Geyserbob.com
Yellowstone Biographies from Last Names I through L Yellowstone Biographies I - J - K - L Copyright 2020 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. Ingersol, Truman Ward. T.W. Ingersoll was one of the most important photographers and producer of stereoviews in Yellowstone National Park. He also published over 4000 different US and world-view stereos. His views produced in the 1880’s were of the highest quality. There were four different series featuring Yellowstone views during that time. He attempted to compete with larger commercial stereoview publishers such as Underwood & Underwood and the Keystone View Company with lower quality copy views. Buyers however, were not fooled and sales suffered. Between the years 1905-10 he produced three higher quality new black & white stereoview series, under the names Ingersoll View Company and High Grade Original Views. Ingersoll also sold the right to some of his views to other publishers such as Sears Roebuck & Co. and the American Novelty Company. He later sold the commercial part of his St. Paul photography business to Buckbee Mears Company. After his death June 9, 1922 in St. Paul, his negatives passed on to the Keystone View Company. Today they are part of the Keystone Mast Collection at the University of California at Riverside. Ingersoll was born February 19, 1862 in St. Paul and had studios under the names of Zimmerman & Ingersoll, Ingersoll View Company, and Juul-Ingersoll Company. In 1883 Ingersoll accompanied a man named Brooks from Connecticut who built a boat in Livingston, Montana and attempted to make a 4,000 mile river voyage to Louisiana. It is not currently known if either man completed the voyage. [Helena Independent; 9/22/1883] [The Yellowstone Stereoview Page] [Minnesota Historical Society Website - Directory of Minnesota Photographers] Jackson, David. David Jackson was an early fur trapper and co-owner of the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. in 1826. Jackson's Hole and the town of Jackson, Wyoming were named after him. Jackson was born in 1788 to parents Edward and Elizabeth Jackson in Randolph County in what is now West Virginia. He spent his early life in the wilds west of the Shenandoah Mountains. Jackson died in 1837 at age 49. [25L;57] [Wikipedia] Jackson, George J. George Jackson received a permit to operate a stage station in 1882 at Soda Butte and shared the homestead with Jim Cutler. Supt. Conger gave George verbal permission to live on Rose Creek (current Buffalo Ranch) in 1882. However, Supt. Carpenter kicked them, along with other squatters in the area, out of the park in the fall of 1884. The site became the location of the Buffalo Ranch in 1907. [113] [30] Jackson, William Henry. William Henry Jackson (W.H. Jackson) was born in Keeseville, New York in 1843, he became a self-taught artist. He later moved to Vermont and enlisted for the Civil War in 1860. While present at the Battle of Gettysburg, he saw no action. He went west in 1866 and was photographing the progress of the UPRR in 1869 when he met Ferdinand Hayden. Hayden asked Jackson to accompany him in 1871 on his expedition to Yellowstone. Jackson took most of the first photographs of the park that were used in the effort to convince Congress to set aside Yellowstone as a park. Photographer Joshua Crissman of Bozeman accompanied Jackson on this trip, and the two took many pictures side by side. Crissman actually had his negatives printed and viewed first, but he never received the acclaim that Jackson did. Jackson also accompanied the Hayden expeditions of 1872 and 1878. In 1879 he moved to Denver and opened a new photographic studio and founded the Jackson Photo Co. He joined the Detroit Publishing Co. in 1897 and assigned his stock of negatives to them in exchange for cash and company stock. Detroit began publishing Private Mailing Cards (predecessor of post cards) with Jackson’s Yellowstone images in 1898-99. He worked for them until 1924 when the company went out of business. Jackson died on June 30, 1942 at age 99 and has been credited with producing over 54,000 negatives. [25g] [79u;Jackson] [119b] Jump, William ‘Billy’ . Billy Jump opened a mail station in Harry Yount’s old cabin at Soda Butte in 1883. He had received permission to do so by Supt. Conger in the spring of 1882. In 1884, Jump, George Jackson, Jim Cutler, and other squatters in the area were asked to leave the park by park authorities. The buildings were reportedly burned. Jump moved to Jackson Hole for a time, but at least by 1899 he was tending bar at the Pisor Saloon in Horr. One of his customers was Calamity Jane. By 1902 he was married with two sons, Bill and Tom. Jump also tended bar in Jardine and did carpenter work, assisting with the construction of the officer's frame houses at Mammoth. [106d] [114] [71c] Kammermeyer, Fred E. F.E. Kammermeyer was Transportation Superintendent for H.W. Child and the Yellowstone Park Transportation Co. (YPTCo) from 1917 to the 1940’s. He had been a military transport officer during WWI and was hired by Child to set up and organize the operation of the new fleet of 117 White Motor Co. buses in 1917. These buses replaced the stagecoaches that had been used up until that year. He retired Sept. 30, 1948 as Manager of Transportation Div., Yellowstone Park Co. Fred E. Kammermeyer was born June 30, 1888 in Burlington, Iowa to parents Fred Christian Kammermeyer and Lidia Wilhelmina Tillman. Sometime after 1920 Fred married Evelyn Johnson, born 1888 in Ohio. In the fall of 1924 Fred was an Engineering Extension Student with the University of Wisconsin. In a letter to the college Extension Division, Fred commented upon his employment in Yellowstone that summer: “We handled nearly 150,000 tourists this season, and I supervise six garages and 322 busses and trucks with all the grief that goes with it; so you can readily understand that I could not give study any concentrated thought – much less time – as I put in about 18 hours a day trying to keep up with the problems.” The Polk Guides list Fred’s residence as Livingston in 1943, Billings, 1944, and Bozeman in 1950. According to the Allday family website, Fred died of a gunshot wound to the head on December 21, 1967 at Sun City, Arizona. He was buried in the Sunland Cemetery. Evelyn died March 20, 1969 in Glendale, Arizona. [39-49] [25g] Karst, Pete. Pete Karst founded Karst Stage in 1902 to haul freight and loggers from Bozeman to a logging camp on Taylor Creek in the Gallatin Canyon area. In 1908 he built the Karst Stage Stop Inn about 35 miles south of Bozeman, Montana. It became the first ‘dude ranch’ in the canyon and transported mail, freight, and passengers from Bozeman and surrounding areas to his ranch. He also operated tours in Yellowstone. He motorized his fleet in 1917 when stagecoaches were no longer allowed on park roads. He established the Gallatin Canyon Bus Line in 1924. “Gail’s Golden Guide of the Beartooth Mountains” of 1935 lists Karst’s Kamp as having guest cabins, coffee shop, general store, garage, indoor plunge, and orchestras playing on Saturday nights. Karst sold the business in the early 1950’s and although the dude ranch is no longer in business, Karst Stage, Inc. still operates and provides bus service to the western US and Canada. [25g] [Karst Stage website] Kayser, Albert. Albert Kayser was the owner of the German language newspaper “Oakland Journal” and began issuing postcards, then known as ‘mailing cards’, with mostly California views. One card printed in 1897 featured eight different Yellowstone images on it that appeared to be F.J. Haynes photos. It is suspected that he did not have Haynes’ permission for the images. This card is believed to be the 1st known postcard using Yellowstone images. In 1898 Kayser sold his business and Edward H. Mitchell, a San Francisco publisher of western-image postcards, acquired the postcard portion. Mitchell reissued the Yellowstone card in 1898. [97;Vol.2;No.3,Michael Bodell] Keeney, Elias Joseph. Joe Keeney was a miner and long-time pioneer in the Yellowstone-Cooke City-Boulder country. He was born Aug. 22, 1847 in Linn Co, Oregon Territory. His father, Jonathan Keeney, was a trapper with William Sublette, Kit Carson and Jim Bridger in the Yellowstone, Snake and Columbia River drainages. Joe came to Montana in 1875 with a herd of wild horses and ended up in the Gallatin Valley. Because he did not have a bill of sale for the horses, he was suspected of being a horse thief. Attracting the attention of the Vigilantes, he soon left town. In 1877 he became the first man to locate mining claims on the Boulder River in the Independence area. He also owned land with George Huston that became the townsite of Cinnabar. Joe operated a hotel, restaurant and saloon in Cinnabar for a time. He filed numerous claims in the Cooke City and Clark's Fork area in the 1880's. Keeney was an assistant superintendent in the park around 1882, but got into political trouble when he tried to arrest a judge for leaving a campfire burning. His diligence ended up getting him fired. He died Sept. 25, 1938 at the age of 91 in Livingston Mt. [Thanks to Joe's great-grandson Greg Keeney for this information] Killion, R.T. R.T. Killion owned the Yellowstone Park Ice Co., which was incorporated January 26, 1959 to operate ice plants and ice vending machines in the park. He subcontracted to Yellowstone Park Co. to operate the ice plant and ice vending machines at Fishing Bridge, Lake, West Thumb, Old Faithful, Mammoth, and Canyon. [25L;60] Kingman, Lt. Daniel. Lt. Dan Kingman was with the Army Corps of Engineers when they arrived in Yellowstone in August of 1883. Kingman was placed in charge and was responsible for the design, planning, and construction of the basic park road system until 1887. He was responsible for the basic figure-8 design that is still used today. He designed and built the wooden trestle and road through the Golden Gate Canyon in 1883 that bypassed the steep and harrowing Snow Pass road. The next two years he rerouted the Gardiner to Mammoth ‘high road’ to the route currently used along the Gardiner River. He left the park as a Captain. He had a boat called the U.S. Pinafore, which was test run on Swan Lake in 1885. Kingman retired from army service in 1916 as a brigadier general, and died in November of that year. [25L;60] For a detailed history of the Yellowstone Park road system, visit this NPS Road History website. Klamer, Henry Ernst. Henry Klamer was born in 1858 in Kahoka, Clark Co. Missouri, he moved west at least by the early 1880’s. He was a member of the road crew in the park under Supt. Norris in 1881. He applied to be an Asst. Park Superintendent in 1882, but was passed over for the position. When George G. Henderson assumed control of the Marshall Hotel in 1885, he brought Klamer into the deal with him. They built cottages, a new store, and renamed it the Firehole Hotel. The Cottage Hotel Association, run by the Henderson family in Mammoth, may have taken over the operation in 1886. The Yellowstone Park Association (YPA) came into possession of the property sometime in 1886, by unknown means. Klamer managed the park beef herd for John Harvat in 1890 and the next year received the beef contract to supply the hotels and camps in the park himself. He brought the herd into the park in the spring, pasturing them on Swan Lake Flats, with the slaughterhouse near Indian Creek. This business continued through the 1890’s until Van Dyke & Deever of Gardiner took over the contract in 1901. Klamer married Mary Henderson, daughter of G.L. Henderson in 1892, and in 1897 they established the H.E. Klamer general store at Old Faithful. They were granted a 10-year lease and 2 acres of land to operate the business. The original building was a rather plain, frame-style 2-story building. General merchandise, tourist supplies, Indian goods, and curios were sold and a post office was also located in the store for a short period of time. In 1899 they received permission to establish bathing facilities for the tourists. The distinctive rustic portion of the store facing Old Faithful was added in 1903-04 and featured 20-inch diameter upright logs for porch supports. It was around that time that the log braces were installed around the eaves of the roof, adding to the rustic character. They expanded the store with a 16’ addition in 1913-14, but Henry died that last year on August 12. Mary and her brother Walter Henderson operated the business until 1915 when she sold it to Charles Hamilton, who received financing from Harry Child. Huntley Child, Harry’s son, had an opportunity to buy the business, but turned it down. Hamilton built a large addition in 1923-24 and the store continues to do a booming business. As of 2003, the Hamilton stores came under the ownership of the Delaware North Parks Co. [25k] For additional information, please visit my Klamer General Store page. Klamer, Mary. Mary Klamer, nee Mary Rosetta Henderson, wife of Henry Klamer. (See ‘Henderson, Mary’) Knowles, John S. John Knowles came to Montana in 1876 and worked a claim at Emigrant Gulch. By 1882 he began mining on Crevice Creek, which feeds into the Yellowstone River near the North Entrance to the park, and built his cabin there around 1898. He was told to move out when it was discovered his cabin was within the park boundaries. In a letter to the park superintendent in 1899, Knowles claimed he built his cabins before the park was established and had occupied them since 1880. However, since the park was formed before he even came to Montana, he obviously exaggerated those time periods in order to claim legitimacy for his holdings, as he was trying to sell them to the government. He listed 18’ x 20’ and 12’ x 16’ houses, a 16’ x 18’ cabin, a stable and shed. He was asking $200 for the lot of them, which were located near the mouth of Crevice Creek. [113] [YNP Army Files Doc.2631] LaDuke, Julius J. (Jules). Julius J. LaDuke (originally spelled LeDuc) and his family built the LaDuke Hot Springs resort in 1902. Located a few miles north of Gardiner along the Yellowstone River, it was the site of a small resort with hot springs soaking and bathing facilities. The river was crossed by means of a boat and later cable ferry and swinging bridge. The business only lasted until around 1908 when they could no longer compete with the nearby Corwin Springs Hotel and the family moved to Livingston. Water rights to LaDuke Hot Springs were transferred to the new company at Corwin Hot Springs and a ditch was dug to supply the hotel and plunge. Sons Julius and Albert LaDuke had previously moved to the Aldridge area by 1907 and operated the tramway between Aldridge and Horr. Julius LaDuke Sr. owned business properties in Livingston that included the Bucket of Blood saloon and the LaDuke Pool Hall. Ugly divorce proceedings in 1914 caused Julius to lose his residence and most of his business properties. Eventually becoming a broken man, Julius died in the Livingston Poor House December 8, 1927 and was buried in the Livingston Mountain View Cemetery. [Goss, Taking the Cure at LaDuke Hot Springs] Click Here for detailed history of La Duke Hot Springs Langford, Nathaniel Pitt N.P Langford was a member of the Washburn Expedition of 1870. He helped promote the idea of preserving Yellowstone as a public park (under sponsorship of the Northern Pacific RR) with a series of tours and lectures. While accompanying the Hayden Expedition of 1872, he claimed to have scaled the Grand Teton with James Stevenson. He was the 1st superintendent of the park in 1872, but served his five years without pay and spent little time actually in the park. [25L;64] Larkin, G.A. The Yellowstone Park Fuel Co. was organized in 1929 by Jack Haynes to supply firewood to the auto campgrounds and housekeeping cabins. He owned 41 shares and G.A. Larkin owned 15 shares and acted as president. E. M. Allen had 1 share and was secretary. The business incorporated in Minnesota on April 18 and operated under yearly permits. In 1934 Haynes sold his shares to Larkin who then had 55 shares. Mrs. Larkin became secretary with one share and Mrs. Vernon Goodwin owned the other share. [25L;64] Lindsley, Chester A. Chester Lindsley began service in the park as a civilian clerk for the Interior department in 1894, holding that position until 1916. On October 16, 1916 he was appointed as Acting Supt of the park and served until 1919 when the transition between the Army and Park Service rule ended. Horace Albright became park superintendent and Lindsley served as his assistant until 1922. He served as Postmaster at Mammoth from 5/21/1922 to 11/24/1935. He died in Livingston on Nov. 24, 1938 at age 66. Lindsley was born around 1872 in New York to parents who were natives of that state. He was married to Maude B. Lindsley who was also a native of New York. They had one daughter named Marguerite Lindsley who was born around 1902 in Wyoming. Nicknamed "Peg", she became the first female naturalist in the National Park Service. [US Census 1920 & 1930, Wyoming] [39-49; p.163] Link, Lawrence. Lawrence (Larry) Link came to Montana from his father’s farm in Wisconsin to work on the Northern Pacific RR’s new tunnel on the Bozeman Pass. With the advent of the Park Branch Line to Cinnabar in 1883 he established a freighting and contracting business with 6-horse teams to furnish supplies to Ft. Yellowstone and later to Cooke City. By 1892 he was operating a saloon in Cinnabar with a combination pool and billiard table. He married Florence Bigelow in Nov. of 1893. Knowing that the NPPR line would eventually be extended to Gardiner, he purchased property in town. He built the stone house on E. Main St., next to the VanDyke house on the corner in 1903. The following year he supervised the construction of the stone community Union Church on the street behind the W.A. Hall store. Link, Hall, Holem, Scott, and LH Van Dyck were all active in the fundraising and building of the church. Link was also in the fuel business, acted as secretary/treasurer of the VanDyck meat packing company, and was manager of the Gardiner Electric Light & Water Co. He served as a County Commissioner from 1906-1908. He was instrumental in the formation of the Gardiner Opera House (Eagles Hall), the Eagles Lodge, and the fire department. Around 1914 he and Frank Holem built a second story addition to the stone school house. He died of a heart attack on Oct. 8, 1918 at about 54 years of age, after a bout of influenza. He was a member of both the Livingston and Gardiner Elks Club. [LE;6/4/1892] [L. Link bio, YNP Vert. Files, Biography] Lowe, Herrick. Herrick Lowe was the son-in-law of Wm. Nichols and was added to the Board of Directors of Yellowstone Park Co. in 1959. He became Chairman of the Board and president of the firm in 1962. [25L;65] Ludlow, William. Capt. William Ludlow, a career engineer in the military, was chief engineer of the Department of Dakota and lead a scientific expedition to Yellowstone in 1875 that included George Bird Grinnell and "Lonesome Charley" Reynolds, who was guide and hunter for the expedition. He was ordered to make a "Reconnaissance from Carroll, Montana, on the Upper Missouri, to the Yellowstone Park and Return." He later authored "Exploration of the Black Hills and Yellowstone Country." Ludlow was born November 27, 1843 to William H. and Frances L. (Nicoll) Ludlow on Long Island, New York. He attended colleges in New Jersey and New York, graduated West Point in June of 1864, and served in the Civil War 1864-65. He oversaw numerous civil and military engineering projects during his life and from 1888-93 was military attaché to the US embassy in London, and military governor of Havana from 1898-1900. He achieved the rank of brigadier-general in 1900. [Richard Bartlett, A Wilderness Besieged; Who's Who in America, 1902] Lyall, Alexander. Alexander Lyall was born June 24, 1861 of Scottish parents. Lyall constructed Jennie’s Ash’s new store and post office at Mammoth in 1895-96. He married Jennie’s sister Barbara Henderson in 1898. He operated a contracting business and worked on several of the government buildings at Mammoth. Alexander went into business with Jennie and became Postmaster at the store in 1906. In 1908 Jennie transferred ownership of the business to her brother Walter Henderson and Alexander, who operated it until 1913 under the name of Lyall & Henderson. They sold the store and post office business to George Whittaker in 1913. The building is the former Hamilton’s store. After the sale Lyall moved to his residence in San Diego with his family. [25j] [1900 Federal Census, YNP] Click Here for my web history of the Henderson-Ash store at Mammoth. Lycan, Alfred. Alfred Lycan operated the Lycan Camping Co. in the park for most or all of the years between 1895 and 1913. For more information check out my web page on the Smaller Camps.
- Historic Bridges of Yellowstone | Geyserbob.com
Short histories of many of the prominent historic bridges in Yellowstone National Park. Historic Bridges in Yellowstone Copyright 2024 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from th e author. INTRODUCTION Bridges and river causeways have been an integral part of Yellowstone’s history since 1871 when Jack Baronett built the first known bridge in Yellowstone near the current Tower Junction. Due to the rugged wilderness conditions of early travel in the first decade of the Park’s official establishment (1872-1882), journeys were of necessity limited to horseback, pack trains and foot travel. When Philetus Norris became Yellowstone’s 2ndSuperintendent in 1877, existing roads were crude at best, totaled about 32 miles with approximately 108 miles of trails. He began an extensive campaign of road and bridge building that continued until his departure in1882. The roads were described by many as only "fair" wagon trails. Nonetheless, they still provided improved access to the many wonders of Yellowstone. By the time he left there were five times as many roads and twice as many trails. He also constructed countless bridges, including several on Cascade Creek, the forks of the Gardiner, Firehole and Gibbon rivers, Crystal Falls at Canyon and others. Regardless, fording streams was still quite common during those years. Succeeding superintendents continued bridge and road building and improvements/repairs. In 1883 the roads had improved enough that the Wakefield & Hoffman Stage Co. began running tourist stages from the NPRR depot at Cinnabar, Mt to Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris, Old Faithful and Canyon. The Yellowstone Transportation Company took over the stage lines in 1886 and sub-leased the actual stage operations to Wakefield & Hoffman. Coach service was extended to Lake from Canyon and after 1891 the road opened from Old Faithful to West Thumb and Lake Hotel. Top: Jack Baronett's Bridge over the Yellowstone River near Tower Junction. Photo by FJ Haynes, 1871. Below: P.H. Norris On March 3, 1883, the first phase of military presence began in Yellowstone. The Army Corps of Engineers arrived to take charge of the construction and improvements to the Park's road system. Three years later, the U. S. Cavalry would join the Engineers and assume the role of administrating the Park. In August, 1883, 1st Lt. Dan C. Kingman, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, escorted by members of the 6th Infantry, arrived at the Mammoth Hot Springs headquarters. He began establishing the first official road and bridge standards for the park and continued his work until 1890. Some of his bridge accomplishments include the 1st trestle bridge through Golden Gate canyon and the 2nd wooden bridge over Crystal Falls. In 1891, Hiram M. Chittenden of the Army Corps of Engineers took over road construction until 1892, returning in 1899 and serving until1906. Some of his major works included the Melan Arch at Canyon (Chittenden Bridge), the 2nd Golden Gate viaduct, road and spiral bridge over Sylvan Pass, Fishing Bridge and the Roosevelt Arch at the North entrance. Improvement continued through the years and even today it remains a challenge to keep up with the ever-increasing traffic and wear & tear. Although there are and have been countless numbers of bridges in Yellowstone, I have selected the following that I thought of historical interest - many are still in use, some are in existence but no longer utilized, and some that have been removed from the landscape. Tower Area Built in the spring of 1871 by Collins Jack Baronett, his bridge is believed to be the first bridge built across the Yellowstone River. “Yellowstone Jack” also went by John H. Baronett, sometimes spelled Baronette, Gone for over 100 years now, the bridge was located about 200 yards upstream from where the Lamar River empties into the Yellowstone. It was built as a toll bridge for the miners, hunters, and freighters traveling to the mines of Cooke City. The operation, including Baronett’s nearby cabin & outbuildings cost about $4,000. During the Nez Perce war of 1877, much of the log work was burned. Baronett and P.W. Norris partially rebuilt the bridge in the following year. During much of this period of time Baronett was off on many gold prospecting expeditions in various parts of the West, and partners John Ponsford and J.L. Sanborn operated the toll bridge for him. In 1880 Baronett replaced the stringers, floor braces, and iron work at a cost of $2,000. In the early 1890s the government later refused to issue him a permit to continue operating the bridge and the Army summarily took possession of the structure in 1894. It continued to be used until a new bridge was constructed upstream in 1903. The old bridge was finally burned around 1906 and torn down in 1911. After a prolonged and expensive legal battle, Baronett received $5,000 from the government for his bridge. Traces of the old Baronett Bridge remain today, along with the old road into Yancey’s Hole. Baronett's Bridge after the rebuilding & engineering a Queen Post Truss design by Norris, Baronett, and Ponsford between 1878 and 1880. It was now capable of handling wagon traffic. Tower Junction Bridge I In 1903, a new and much larger bridge was constructed over the Yellowstone River near the current Tower Junction. Located farther upstream, the new “Baronett Bridge” replaced the original Baronett's bridge. The 130’ steel deck truss bridge was completed in the spring and designed by the American Bridge Co. At the time, it was considered the longest single-span steel bridge in the park. Fifty years later in 1963, the Tower Bridge was replaced and widened with a 604’ bridge at a cost of $435,000. Canyon Area The Crystal Falls wooden bridge was built over Cascade Creek and Crystal Falls in 1880 by Supt. Philetus Norris. At some point in time, the bridge was improved & rebuilt. In an 1889 report to the Secretary of War, Major Allen noted there was a 40' single-span King and Queen post-truss bridge with a trestle approach of 30’ that spanned Cascade Creek. Its height above low water was 20'. At some point prior to 1889 wooden ladders were placed to provide access to Grotto Pool, below the bridge. They were reported to be in use as late as 1916. In 1903-04, the steel arch Cascade Creek Bridge (below right)was erected farther upstream to replace the Crystal Falls Bridge. It had a 120’ span with approximately 60’ approaches on either side and sat about 80’ above the creek bed. This bridge over Cascade Creek eliminated two bad hills and sections of road where sliding clay slopes made it extremely difficult to maintain a road. The junction of the Norris and Lake roads were changed to conform to the new road over Cascade Creek. The new road from the bridge passed through the middle of the Wylie Camp ,which was moved to an area near the current entryway to the Upper Falls parking lot. After WWII an earth-filled causeway was built a short ways upstream (current location) and replaced the old bridge. Left: Late 1800s stereoview depicting Crystal Falls and the wooden ladders reaching down to Grotto Pool. Right: 1903-04 steel arch bridge over Cascade Creek. Postcard with Crystal Falls with the 2nd wooden bridge and Cascade Creek steel bridge upstream. Tammen PC #8395 Unnamed Creek Bridge . Along the road from Upper Falls to the Soldier Station, a bridge was constructed in 1880 over an unnamed tributary of Cascade Creek. In 1889 a trestle bridge, 14’ wide and 115’ long replaced the earlier bridge. The bridge was replaced in 1914 with a steel reinforced concrete culvert and is still in use today. Canyon Bridge at Jay Creek The 1st Canyon Bridge, constructed between 1893 and 1894, was a wooden arch truss bridge and the largest bridge built in the park at that time. The bridge, crossing Jay Creek near its mouth at the Yellowstone River, consumed half of the 1893 park appropriations budget and was finally completed in 1895. It was replaced by the 2nd Canyon Bridge built in 1914 under contract by the Army Corps of Engineers. This new bridge was a reinforced concrete rib arch design with open spandrels, 210’ long and supported by a 145-foot arch. It opened to the public on June 16, 1915, and still exists today for foot/bike travel. Left: Jay Creek Bridge, Steel,' Chittenden Bridge in background. Tammen PC #8127 Right: Jay Creek Bridge - Concrete, Tammen PC #4274 Chittenden Melan Arch - Canyon Left: Chittenden Bridge Construction 1903, NPS Right: Chittenden Bridge, Haynes PC ca1915 Hiram M. Chittenden, of the Army Corps of Engineers, built a bridge over the Yellowstone River in 1903, just upriver from Upper Falls, so that tourists could safely visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was constructed out of concrete using a Melan Arch design. It was the second bridge built over the Yellowstone River, the first being Baronett’s Bridge at Tower. “The exact form was a matter of careful study in order to get the lines which would appeal to the eye as meeting the artistic requirements. The span of the bridge is 120 feet and the rise of the arch is 15 feet. The height of the roadway at the center is 43 feet above low water in the river. The abutments are natural rock. The arch contains ten steel girders, which give it great strength. The body of the structure is solid concrete. The forms for the ornamental railing were manufactured in St. Paul, but the railing itself was molded in rich Portland cement mortar in place.” [Hiram Chittenden, 1915] The completed structure, a graceful arch over the rapids, had a 120' span with a total length of 160'. The rise of the steel arch girders at the center of the bridge was 15'. The bridge surface also had an arched form, with the center 2'-6" higher than the ends. The center point of the roadway was approximately 43' above low water. The structure's full width was 18'-6" with the roadway itself 14'-6" wide. The design included a narrow walkway on either side, with an iron guard rail between the walks and the roadway. [HAER] Chittenden Memorial Bridge By 1960 time had taken its toll on Chittenden's 1903 bridge and an inspection deemed the structure unsafe. It was closed to the public immediately and plans were made to replace the bridge. A more modern design eliminated the visibility hazard created by the arched road surface in the Melan Arch design. Drivers of modern cars sat much lower inside the vehicle than drivers of stagecoaches or early model automobiles. Demolition of the old bridge and construction of a new bridge on the same site began in 1961. The new bridge, called the Chittenden Memorial Bridge, and was completed in 1963. [Diane Papineau Canyon Village Thesis, 2008] Chittenden Bridge 1994, NPS Jim Peaco Lake - Sylvan Pass Area "Tex" Holm Camping tour on wooden Spiral Bridgeca1915. Tammen PC #1698 Spiral Bridge after concrete tunnel and rock fill installed, ca1920s. NPS Corkscrew Bridge - Sylvan Pass This term describes wooden bridges that were built to pass over themselves in order to avoid steep inclines on mountain passes. The wooden Corkscrew Bridge, also known as the Spiral Bridge, was built on Sylvan Pass in 1905. The bridge was improved in 1917, with a new 60-foot timber trestle and rock fill at the abutments. In 1919, the wooden trestle was replaced with a concrete arch/tunnel. By 1929, the bridge was bypassed by a new road constructed along the cliffs on the slopes above. The increasing power and speed of automobiles had rendered the spiral design obsolete. No doubt the new road also eliminated much snow removal from the road in the bottom of the canyon. The bridge remains in the bottom of the canyon just east of Avalanche Pass and can be seen from a viewpoint along the present road. The bridge is still in remarkably good condition after all these years. Fishing Bridge This bridge, designed by Hiram Chittenden, was built over the Yellowstone River near its head at Yellowstone Lake in 1902. The name Fishing Bridge was officially affixed to it in 1914. Rebuilt in 1919, the bridge featured walkways on each side of the roadway. According to Hiram Chittenden, the 1902 bridge was “built on piles in 16-foot bents; total length 360 feet. In order to avoid a heavy embankment on the eastern approach to the bridge. At the same time, to give rowboats ample space to pass under it at high water, the bridge was given a curved profile, so as to raise the center about 3 feet above the ends.” The bridge reached directly across the river at right angles to the shore lines. In 1927 a boathouse with floating dock, office, and sleeping quarters was built at Fishing Bridge. The structure may have been mobile, attached to the bridge itself, and moored in different locations over the years. This first boathouse and dock served until 1935, when a much grander facility was constructed. Architect Robert Reamer designed this new 26’ x 54’ boat house, and it continued in service until 1963.The old Fishing Bridge was replaced in 1936-37. According to Supt Rogers, the new bridge was, “532 feet in length consisting of 19-28 foot spans, cost approximately$100,000 or about $188 per lineal foot. It furnished a 24-foot roadway with the two 5-foot sidewalks and an overall width of 42 feet. The entire contract including the parking areas and supplemental work totaled about $140,000.” Fishing from "Fishing Bridge" was officially prohibited after the 1973 season. Old Faithful Area Riverside Geyser Bridge In 1897, a new bridge was built over the Firehole River near Riverside Geyser, providing access to Old Faithful from Biscuit Basin and points north. This bridge also offered access from Biscuit Basin and Morning Glory Pool to Old Faithful Geyser basically following the current pedestrian path A bridge inspection report in 1909 described this Bridge No. 9 thusly: “The present bridge consists of a two-truss wooden span on wooden piers and abutments. This bridge is entirely too light for the service required at this point. It is located at one of the most important points in the park, and in addition to the vehicle traffic, is at times loaded with sightseers viewing the Geysers. It is recommended that, owing the importance of the bridge, and its location, it should be made an attractive appearing structure, and further recommended that two 32' plate girder spans with curved effect underneath be used resting on concrete piers and abutments, and that the roadway be 20' in width so as to accommodate the sightseers without interference with the vehicle traffic.” Top Right: Original bridge in 1893, w/Minnesota nat' Guard. FJ Haynes Photo. Left: Riverside Bridge, 1916. NPS Photo Bottom Right: Riverside Bridge, 2017. Author Photo In 1909, Captain Wildurr Willing of the Corps of Engineers proposed a reinforced concrete structure believing that, “. . . since this was one of the most visited areas in the park, it was necessary that the bridge be of an aesthetic design.” However, because of high construction costs, a 65-foot steel arch bridge was built by the Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company. The bridge at left, was rebuilt in 1935 as part of the reconstruction of the Madison Junction to Old Faithful road project. The bridge consisted of one span of 53’ with total length of 58’. The deck width extended 33’-0", and the bridge roadway width 26'-2". The rigid-type bridge had masonry abutments, concrete deck, and steel hand rails. The rails were vertical steel posts with channels cupping downward framing into these posts near the top and bottom. The concrete deck had an asphalt surface. McLaughlin Construction Company of Livingston, Mt, built the bridge at a total cost of $19,677.19. Gibbon River In 1894, a new road [Mesa Road] was completed from a point on the old road near Gibbon Canyon and below the Falls. It ran south across the plateau toward the Firehole River, and connecting with the main loop road at the exit of the Firehole Cascades scenic byway. A bridge was first erected at this site around 1901 just south of Gibbon Falls. A 1909 Bridge Report stated that Bridge No. 5 crossed the Gibbon River near the Wylie and Shaw & Powell camps, “The present structure consists of one pier in the middle of the stream, and two log abutments with log stringers spanning the space between. The bridge was built about eight years ago [ca1901] and is in a fair condition, but too light in construction for the travel it has to carry. It is recommended that it be replaced by a 40'steel plate girder span, resting on concrete abutments.” Top Left: 1914 Log Bridge by old Wylie Camp. NPS Photo Top Right: 1912 Topo Map Excerpt, NPS Bottom Left: 2nd Gibbon Bridge. YNP Photo Based on recommendations in the 1909 Bridge Report, a 40' steel arch bridge was built over the Gibbon River in 1914 near the Wylie Camp, seventeen miles from the West Entrance. In 1930, “realignment of the Norris Junction to Madison Junction road resulted in two steel bridges across the Gibbon River approximately 9 1/2 miles below Norris Junction being abandoned. It was proposed that both would be removed, however one bridge, which served the old stage road (Mesa Road) to the Firehole Cascades, was still needed as diverted traffic used this route while the new road was being completed.” At some point afterward the Mesa Road bridge (Bridge No. 5) was removed. As of 2008 traces of its existence still remained. [GRAND LOOP ROAD HAER No.WY-55] Mammoth - Gardiner - Corwin Springs Golden Gate In the narrow and beautiful rock-walled pass through which Glen Creek passes and along the steep walls of Golden Gate Canyon, Engineer Lt. Dan Kingman built a 228’wooden trestle bridge in 1883. This new road up to Swan Lake Flats bypassed the treacherous Snow Pass road and was completed in 1885. Chittenden replaced the wooden structure in 1900-01 with a new concrete viaduct supported on concrete arches. The road was 16’ wide with a 42” parapet wall. Left: 1885 Wood Trestle. NPS Right: 1901 Concrete Bridge. NPS During the winter of 1932-33, an attempt was made to drive a tunnel through a protruding portion of the canyon walls. Close to completion in May of 1933, the tunnel caved in and all work on the project ceased. Later in 1933, the bridge was rebuilt and widened. The new 24’ wide viaduct had been built over the old bridge, however, it was independently supported. The old structure was removed in the fall of 1976, and a new concrete bridge erected that was 30’ wide and 327’long. The Pillar of Hercules, an iconic monolithic rock formation, was moved with each renovation and reset at the bridge entrance on a concrete platform. Chittenden Bridge, 1970s. YNP #174626 Left: Sheepeater Canyon Bridge over Gardner River, ca1905. Original negative, Copyright Robert V. Goss. Right: 2nd Sheepeater Canyon Bridge over Gardner River, 1917 NPS photo. Sheepeater Canyon Bridge - Gardner River Around 1880, Supt. Norris had a crude road built from the main road just south of Camp Sheridan at Mammoth east to the Middle Gardner River and Sheepeater canyon. There a small log bridge crossed the river and the road wound up the steep slopes of Bunsen Peak, past Ospey Falls, meeting up with the main road just above Rustic Falls. This is believed to be the 1st secondary road built in the park and remains today as a scenic hiking & biking byway. In 1903-04, the 2nd Sheepeater Canyon bridge was fabricated over the Gardiner River near the base of Bunsen Peak to access Tower Falls and Cooke City. Located located upstream of the current bridge site, it became the largest bridge in the park at that time. Consisting of five steel arch spans, 76’ each, and two approaches of 15’, the bridge totaled 410’ in length. The deck floor was about 70’ above the river surface. Traces of its approaches and old access road remain to this day. Also known locally as the “High Bridge,” the new Gardner River bridge - 3rd Sheepeater Canyon bridge - was completed in Nov. of 1939 at a cost around $247,000. At 205’ tall, it was the highest bridge in the park. It crossed the Gardner River just east of Mammoth along the road to Tower. It replaced the older and much lower bridge built in 1903-04, closer to the base of Bunsen Peak. There were 4 spans 184’ length with a total length of 962’ and a deck width of 28’. The decking was rebuilt and other repairs effected in 1978 under a contract with COP Construction of Billings, Montana for $888,293. Sheepeater Cyn Bridge over Gardner River. Ca1960s, HAER Gardiner Yellowstone River Bridge A steel bridge was built over the Yellowstone River in Gardiner about a ½ mile below the current site in 1893 at a cost of $10,700. In 1930, a new concrete bridge was erected over the Yellowstone River at the present site at a cost of $57,000. To commemorate the opening, a community dance and picnic was held on the bridge. Located near the old jail, the structure had a total length of 409’ with the longest span 192’. The roadway width between curbs was 38’ with a total width of 50’. It was rebuilt and widened in1975. !st vehicle bridge over the Yellowstone River. Photo courtesy Yellowstone Gateway Museum 2nd Yellowstone River Bridge. Photo Courtesy HAER Gardiner Swinging Bridge In 1914, a swinging foot bridge was built over the Yellowstone River and remained in use until April of 1930 when construction of the new bridge began. It was located near the location of the current bridge and provided pedestrian access to the growing developments on the north side of the river. YNP Photo #37086 Two young ladies from Denton, Texas described the Swinging Bridge in Gardiner in 1915 while preparing to join a Yellowstone Park tour with the Shaw & Powell Camping Co.: “We are warmly greeted at the hotel and enjoy our stay overnight. The following morning we walk over the village, and one interesting place we visit is an extension bridge over the Gardner river. It is built for pedestrians and is said to hold up to four people, but wait until you walk out to the center, where the bridge swings up and down with each step, while the rushing, foaming water beneath roars until you do not know whether you are going up or down; then you think it will not hold one.” [Denton Record-Chronicle (Texas) Aug 12 1915] Corwin Springs Bridge The Corwin Springs hotel was built on the east side of the Yellowstone River about 7-1/2 miles north of Gardiner in 1909 by the Electric Hotel Co. The bridge was built at the same time with Park County and the Hotel Co. splitting the $13,500 cost. Northern Pacific Ry trains from Livingston enroute to Yellowstone stopped at Corwin Springs and guests could walk across the bridge to the hotel. The length of the longest span was 216’ with a total length of 294’. The deck was 17.4’ wide with a clearance of 14.5’. The hotel featured 72 rooms, a large swimming pool, private plunges, and Spray, Needle, and Shower baths that were fed with hot water piped in from LaDuke Springs. Corwin Springs Hotel & Bridge postcard. Author's Collection This historic and picturesque bridge was ignobly removed and replaced with a rather mundane-looking concrete structure in 2008. The new bridge, a 3-span, prestressed concrete structure, measures 294’ in total length, with a 30’ roadway and 32.5’ wide deck. Honorable Mentions The numbers are reference locations on the map below. Numbers 9 & 12 are Fishing Bridge & Gardiner River Bridges, discussed earlier on this page. All photos courtesy Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) 1989 The numbers are reference locations on the map Numbers 9 & 12 are Fishing Bridge & Gardiner River Bridges, discussed earlier on this page. All photos courtesy Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) 1989 Copyright 2024 by Robert V. Goss. All rights reserved. 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