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Creating a ‘pleasuring ground:' Federal act creating Yellowstone Park signed 150 years ago

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Creating a ‘pleasuring ground:' Federal act creating Yellowstone Park signed 150 years ago

BRETT FRENCH
Feb 26, 2022
Feb 26, 2022 Updated Mar 8, 2022
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9 min to read

Elk calf — Cow elk give birth to calves in the spring, often close to public areas in Yellowstone where they feel safer from predators.
LARRY MAYER, Billings Gazette

BRETT FRENCH

About seven years after the end of the Civil War, on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law creating Yellowstone National Park, the first of its kind in the world.

The act — This handwritten act was signed by President Grant, officially designating Yellowstone the first national park.
Yellowstone National Park

Grant — President Ulysses S Grant signed the act creating Yellowstone National Park on March 1, 1872.
Photographer unknown

Nathaniel P. Langford — Nathaniel P Langford, a member of the 1870 Washburn-Langford-Doane expedition, helped publicize the wonders of the Yellowstone region that eventually led to its protection.
Photographer unknown

Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone — Yellowstone's many wonders, including the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the upper and lower falls, were one of the reasons Congress agreed to preserve the region.
Neal Herbert, NPS

Moran's art — Artworks such as this painting by Thomas Moran helped convince members of Congress to protect the Yellowstone region.
Courtesy Yellowstone National Park

Early tourism — By 1908 when this photo was taken, tourists could stay at Wylie camps as they toured the park, one of the early concessions offered.
Photographer unknown

Hunters on Yellowstone Lake — Poaching, hunting and squatting inside Yellowstone National Park were some of the problems the Department of Interior faced in policing the area. This 1883 photo shows hunters on Yellowstone Lake with waterfowl and trout.
FJ Haines

Army in Yellowstone — The U.S. Army was called in to protect Yellowstone National Park from 1886 to 1918. The headquarters was at Mammoth Hot Springs, where the parade ground still exists along with some of the old Army buildings.
Petrach photo

Bear lunch counter — A "Lunch Counter - For Bears Only" at Old Faithful, southeast of the upper Hamilton Store, and Ranger Naturalist Walter Phillip Martindale were captured in this photo taken some time between 1921 and the mid-1930s. Feeding bears trash was a way for tourists to see the animals.
Photographer unknown

Yellowstone National Park visitation
Infogram

Lower falls of the Yellowstone River — A Piper Super Cub cruises over the 308 foot lower falls of the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park.
LARRY MAYER, Billings Gazette

Castle Geyser night eruption — Castle Geyser erupts at night as a father and son watch beneath a blanket of stars. Yellowstone's geysers are powered by the underlying supervolcano that heats the waters.
Jacob W. Frank, NPS

Bull bison — Bull bison graze along an ephemeral pool in the Lamar Valley. Bison were restored to the park after near extermination and are now thriving.
Jacob W. Frank, NPS

A National Park Service guide to visiting Yellowstone National Park

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