Historical Archeology of Tourism in Yellowstone National Park
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Corbin • Russell Corbin Annalies Corbin Matthew A. Russell Editors Editors When the Land Meets the Sea Historical Archeology of Tourism in Tourism of Archeology Historical Historical Archeology of Tourism in Yellowstone National Park Historical Archeology of Tourism in Yellowstone National Park WHEN THE LAND MEETS THE SEA: An ACUA and SHA Series Series Editors: Annalies Corbin, PAST Foundation, Columbus, OH, USA J.W. Joseph, New South Associates, Inc., Stone Mountain, GA, USA HISTORICAL ARCHEOLOGY OF TOURISM IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK edited by Annalies Corbin and Matthew A. Russell A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please visit the series online at www.springer.com/8370 Annalies Corbin · Matthew A. Russell Editors Historical Archeology of Tourism in Yellowstone National Park 123 Editors Annalies Corbin Matthew A. Russell 1929 Kenny Road, suite 300 National Park Service Columbus, OH 43210 12795 W. Alameda Parkway 614-340-1208 Lakewood, CO 80228 303-378-6282 [email protected] [email protected] 614-292-7775 Published in cooperation with the Society for Historical Archeology and the Advisory Council on Underwater Archeology ISBN 978-1-4419-1083-7 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-1084-4 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-1084-4 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2009935073 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Cover images:(Top) Figure 2.12 from book: Jean D (left) and Zillah (right) on shore at Lake, about 1922 (Yellowstone NP Archives photo no. 36372-1). (Bottom) Figure 2.13 from book: Rental boats at Lake (Yellowstone NP Archives photo no. 18771). Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) For Rick Sprague, Larry Murphy, and Dan Lenihan – mentors & friends When the Land Meets the Sea – Series Introduction Far too often in the field of archeology, the wheel of understanding and insight has a narrow focus that fails to recognize critical studies. Crucial information regard- ing pivotal archeological investigations at a variety of sites worldwide is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. The majority of archeological analysis and reporting, at best, has limited publication. The majority of archeological reports are rarely seen and when published are often only in obscure or out-of-print journals – the reports are almost as hard to find as the archeological sites themselves. There is a desperate need to pull seminal archeological writings together into single issue or thematic volumes. It is the inten- tion of this series, When the Land Meets the Sea, to address this problem as it relates to archeological work that encompasses both terrestrial and underwater archeology on a single site or on a collection of related sites. For example, despite the fact that we know that bays and waterways structured historic settlement, there is a lack of archeological literature that looks at both the nautical and terrestrial signatures of watersheds influence on historic culture. By addressing these types of overarching themes of interest on a specific topic under one cover the Society for Historical Archeology (SHA), the Advisory Council on Underwater Archeology (ACUA), and Springer will provide academic institutions, cultural resource management firms, and mandated archeological programs within governing agencies a set of power- ful reference tools that more closely bind the discipline and elevate the standard of access. With this in mind, it is our pleasure to introduce the first volume of this new series. “Historical Archeology of Tourism in Yellowstone National Park” explores the growing interest in the archeology of historical tourism as more and more cities, municipalities, historic districts, local, state, and national parks worldwide are being preserved and re-invented to interpret the historic role of tourism in the area. Nowhere is the idea of worldwide historical tourism more pertinent to plan- ning and resource management than in national parks and preserves. In the USA, our first national park, Yellowstone National Park, has received extensive study of both environmental and cultural resources, both terrestrial and nautical. In both cases, one of the primary issues concerning park management is tourism – modern and historic. With this in mind, a volume on the Archeology of Tourism and its interplay vii viii When the Land Meets the Sea – Series Introduction between both terrestrial and underwater archeological sites was clearly seen as a theme worthy of publication in this new series. Annalies Corbin, PAST Foundation, Series Co-Editor J. W. Joseph, New South Associates, Inc., Series Co-Editor ∗∗∗∗All of the references cited above are listed in the volume bibliography. Preface: Archeology in Wonderland Centuries before the idea of the world’s first national park was discussed around a frontier campfire, the Yellowstone Region was the focus of human activity. Amer- ican Indian groups had long moved through the area, hunting and living along the shores of the high-altitude, volcanic lakes, rivers, and valleys. Evidence indicates a long history of human occupation and use of the unusual areas associated with the Yellowstone region. The earliest European American activities in the area mirrored those of American Indians, including hunting and trapping. These activities shifted toward scientific studies in the 1870s and, before the end of the century, included recreation, with heavy influence from concessionaires catering to the growing tourist trade. The activities of both indigenous groups and European Americans left behind a rich material record for archeologists to study. Until recently, however, archeologists have struggled to find an appropriate con- text to apply to Yellowstone’s historical sites. This is due in part to the relatively immense scale of the nearly state-sized study area (3,472 mile2/8992.5 km2) and an extremely diverse historical archeological record. The problem is compounded by historical archeological projects in the park that are typically driven by construc- tion or natural disaster and are therefore necessarily short in duration and narrow in scope. As a result, Yellowstone has been subjected to a constantly changing field of investigators with little time to become familiar with the park, the historical land- scape, and regional history. In an attempt to address these issues, a Treatment Plan was developed for Yellowstone’s historic archeological sites (Hunt 1993). Drawing from Yellowstone National Park’s 1872 enabling legislation as “a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people,” the plan utilizes tourism as the most logical context to study, assess, and interpret most historic sites within the park boundaries. Although unprecedented as a subject of historical archeological inquiry, tourism has been a topic of anthropological inquiry for more than 30 years and its appeal to the discipline is both basic and quite timely (Bodine 1981; Nash 1981; Crick 1989). Tourism represents the single largest movement of human populations outside wartime and is a powerful force for culture contact and change (Crick 1989:309–310). Furthermore, the form and goals of tourism are culturally deter- mined, shift through time, and vary between cultures (Graburn 1989). As archeology has traditionally directed the greater portion of its research toward issues of culture ix x Preface: Archeology in Wonderland change, tourism would seem a natural and entirely valid subject for archeological inquiry. This volume contains three studies that trace the history of tourism in Yellow- stone National Park through material remains discovered in both terrestrial and underwater archeological sites. A research approach with an archeological founda- tion opens new avenues of inquiry not available by using historical documents alone. Incorporating archeological materials into our interpretations of historical tourism in Yellowstone can help counter research biases that hamper use of a sometimes- fragmentary archival record. Archeology gives voice to people otherwise missing from written history, and therefore gives us the broadest view of the past. A Geological Wonderland Arguably the most popular tourist attractions in Yellowstone National Park are its natural wonders, largely the result of a complex and dynamic geological setting (this discussion draws heavily on Bradford et al. 2003). Western geologist F. V. Hayden (1872, 1873, 1883) pioneered geological studies in the Yellowstone area as early as 1871 followed by A. Hague’s classic studies done between 1883 and 1902 (Hague 1899, 1904). However, the area’s complexity was