Celebrating the Roosevelt Arch a Centennial History of an American Icon Window Into Gardiner

Yellowstone Science A quarterly publication devoted to the natural and cultural resources

Celebrating the Roosevelt Arch A Centennial History of an American Icon Window Into Gardiner

Volume 11 Number 3 A Monumental Idea

“The entrance to the Park gives one the impression of space—breadth, height and vastness. And the imagination fancies Nature in the personification of a mother standing with open arms to welcome her children home. It is home to the freedom-loving soul, and one wishes that no others save those who love Nature in all her moods, might ever pass through the massive stone archway marking the entrance to the Nation’s fairyland, ‘For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People,’ —for so is the Park dedicated.” —from the journal of visitor Dorothy Brown Pardo, 1911

Societies build monuments to celebrate greatness. Some pay tribute to great men and women of history, such as the presidents carved in stone at Mount Rushmore or the yet-unfinished like- ness of Crazy Horse nearby. Other monuments glorify great achievements or events of the time, such as Paris’s Arc d’Triomphe proclaiming vic- tory at war. Still others memorialize those who gave their lives in such conflicts, like the Viet- nam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. In Yellowstone, the stately stone structure that stands at the park’s North Entrance cel- ebrates an idea. A good idea. A great idea. A monumental idea. The world’s first national park has come to represent a great societal act of foresight and altruism, preserving for all of time our first best place. That is why, when I approach the stop sign at U.S. Highway 89 and Gardiner’s Park Street, I still find myself, most often, turn- ing sentimentally right. I choose to drive through the Roosevelt Arch, sensing that that something monumental it represents can somehow give us the strength and wisdom to fulfill our charge— our promise to future generations. So, the next time you find yourself in the vicinity of Yellowstone’s North Entrance, whether coming or going, take the extra time to pass beneath this monument of native stone. If you’re arriving, you’ll be joining countless others who have come before you to pass through this portal to a Wonderland beyond. If you’re departing, the view from the arch can serve as a steadfast reminder of all that lies beyond this historic point of entry—the area we know today as the Greater Yellowstone. Either way, just as Dorothy Brown Pardo found upon her arrival by train in 1911, you won’t be disappointed.

RJA COURTESY SUSAN AND JACK DAVIS

b Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 c Yellowstone Science A quarterly publication devoted to the natural and cultural resources

Volume 11 Number 3 Summer 2003

Contents

The Roosevelt Arch A centennial history of an American icon 2 TR’s Dedication Day speech 14

COURTESY SUSAN AND JACK DAVIS The Gardiner depot and other improvements 16 Today’s arch as symbol and conscience 18 by Lee H. Whittlesey and Paul Schullery

Editor Window Into Gardiner 25 Roger J. Anderson by Alice Wondrak Biel Assistant Editor and Design News and Notes 31 Alice Wondrak Biel Barmore Book Published • YNP Lynx Presence Confirmed • Assistant Editors Popular Bear Hit by Car in Park Tami Blackford Beth Taylor Virginia Warner Printing Artcraft Printers, Inc. Bozeman, Montana Special Color Issue!

Yellowstone Science is published quarterly. Submissions are welcome from all investigators conducting formal research in the Yellowstone area. To submit proposals for articles, to subscribe to Yellowstone Science, or to send a letter to the Cover, “Roosevelt Arch,” watercolor by editor, please write to the following address: Lynn Bickerton Chan, 2003. Editor, Yellowstone Science, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. You may also email: [email protected]. Left, “Roosevelt Arch at Gardiner, Support for Yellowstone Science is provided by the Yellowstone Association, a non-profit Montana,” watercolor by Gustav Kroll- educational organization dedicated to serving the park and its visitors. mann, 1936. For more information about the Association, including membership, or to donate to the production of Yellowstone Science, visit Above, F.J. Haynes photo, published by www.yellowstoneassociation.org, or write to: American News Company and printed Yellowstone Association, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. in Germany, 1903. The opinions expressed in Yellowstone Science are the authors’ and may not reflect either National Park Service policy or the views of the Back cover, “Northern Pacific Arch,” Yellowstone Center for Resources. poster and back cover for North- Copyright © 2003, the Yellowstone Association ern Pacific Railway brochure; artist for Natural Science, History & Education. Yellowstone Science is printed on recycled paper with a soy-based ink. unknown, 1912. b Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 c The Roosevelt Arch A centennial history of an American icon

by Lee H. Whittlesey and Paul Schullery

Visitors throng at the North Entrance to watch ceremonies celebrating the official Opening Day of the 1924 season. COURTESY HAYNES FOUNDATION COLLECTION, MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY “Stranger, look at yon beautiful arch, erected by Uncle Sam out of hexagonal blocks of basalt! That marks the entrance to the Wonderland of the World.” —Herbert Quick, Yellowstone Nights, 1911

The Roosevelt Arch, the formal North of Engineers in Yellowstone; with the like most Yellowstone landmarks, espe- Entrance to Yellowstone National Park conservation achievements and irrepress- cially those that date to the time when at Gardiner, Montana, has grown rich in ible personality of Theodore Roosevelt; the park was still commonly known as historical associations over the course of with the honored traditions of the Masons Wonderland, it has enjoyed the affection, its first century.1 Its creation and career of Montana; and with the communities, admiration, and curiosity of generations are intertwined with the Northern Pacific colorful characters, and business interests of park visitors. Railway (NPR) and the story of regional of Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs. The impulse behind the arch’s con- transportation; with the work of renowned Like most architectural monuments, the struction was a matter of inspiration, army engineer Hiram Chittenden and the arch’s legacy is a combination of original convenience, and opportunity. Strange long involvement of the U.S. Army Corps intent and accumulated experience. And, as it may seem today, there was a con-

2 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 3 cern among park administrators, and his longest and most intense immersion in dent, Major John Pitcher, if he might some in the Gardiner community, that the wonders of Yellowstone.4 Indeed, it participate in one of the mountain lion this most important entrance to Yel- was part of what remains even today one hunts conducted to control that species. lowstone National Park, nestled in an of the most ambitious domestic presiden- If not in the park, he wondered, might he arid mountain basin, lacked sufficient tial trips ever undertaken. In eight weeks, go along on a hunt just outside the park’s visual fanfare to serve as the gateway to “he was scheduled to travel fourteen boundary?6 America’s first and most famous national thousand miles through 25 states, visiting At that time, predators were lawfully park. At the same time, and on a more nearly 150 towns and cities and giving an (if mistakenly) regarded as vermin, and prosaic and commercially urgent level, estimated two hundred speeches.”5 With were seen as a threat to the park’s more the Northern Pacific’s tracks had just such a hectic schedule, it is little wonder popular and publicly favored grazing spe- reached Gardiner, and the town needed a that he saw his Yellowstone time as so cies, so in principle at least, such a hunt depot. And, most serendipitously, just as precious. Though Yellowstone was the might have seemed within reason. But work got underway to satisfy these local focus of his greatest recreational inter- TR was quickly learning that as president needs, President Theodore Roosevelt est on this trip, Roosevelt made briefer the solitary hunting adventures he had decided to have a two-week outing in the (though memorable and of great local enjoyed for so many years were a thing wilds of Yellowstone National Park. This significance) visits to the Grand Canyon of the past, replaced by media-infested combination of factors, circumstances, and Yosemite National Parks, camping picnics in which the hunter could not and urges served as the impetus behind in Yosemite with mountaineer and writer escape from his entourage long enough “Gardiner’s big day” in the history of the John Muir. to find any game. Worse in this case West.2 was the risk of public As that day approached, COURTESY DORIS WHITHORN disapproval if the lion in the middle of all this ambi- hunt was perceived tion and attention, though as special privilege still only a promise of future granted to a powerful grandeur and service, was politician—he could not the unconstructed arch, soon afford the appearance to be immortalized by a of being allowed to presidential dedication. hunt where no other citizen was. Recogniz- “A fortnight’s rest:” ing these obstacles, Roosevelt’s Yellowstone Roosevelt backed away vacation begins from the idea of the A strictly chronological hunt. telling of this story would To further dis- probably settle right down tance himself from in the technical architectural any public unrest, as and engineering details of well as to ensure him- the arch. But the drama— self good company, and the fun—of the arch’s Roosevelt appears before a crowd at Livingston, Montana, Roosevelt invited his prior to arriving in Yellowstone. history revolve primarily old friend John Bur- around human personalities, roughs, the beloved and none was more powerful or engag- It was a trip long in the planning Catskills nature writer, to join him on ing than that of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th and, for all the studied casualness of the the trip.7 For many years, Burroughs’s president of the United States. Roosevelt president’s time in the park, carefully cal- gentle tales of woodland life had enter- (if you must use a nickname, call him culated in its details. Yes, it was a vaca- tained a huge American audience that “TR;” his close friends knew better than tion, but with presidential purposes. TR’s had no special interest in hunting. It was to refer to him by the diminutive and longstanding concern with the wildlife of apparently (and accurately) assumed that slighting “Teddy”), elevated to office by the West, especially with the glamorous Burroughs’s presence on the trip would the assassination of William McKinley big game species, drew him to the park signal to the public that Roosevelt would less than two years before, was enor- for a first-hand look at its famous and not hunt. mously popular in the West, where he increasingly controversial elk herd and Roosevelt’s train, the Elysian, made claimed many friends and cherished other large mammals. its way across the West with great public many memories from his Dakota ranch- Even this seemingly innocent interest attention.8 The “pilot train” and the “spe- ing days.3 had caused a stir of scandal when, some cial train of the President of the United Roosevelt had been to the park on a time before his visit, Roosevelt discreetly States” made their way up the Yellow- few earlier occasions, but this was to be inquired of the park’s acting superinten- stone River valley on April 8, 1903, with

2 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 3 an almost triumphal mood.9 In his public evelt was riding north through the park for anyone to enter Wonderland while the remarks along the way, TR emphasized following an extended elk hunt at Two president is there.”13 his own sense of homecoming, and the Ocean Pass, south of the park. He and a Considering Roosevelt’s aforemen- local papers editorialized in glowing companion encountered then-Lieutenant tioned concern that his activities in the terms on the character and qualities of Pitcher and a troop of cavalry camped in park not seem to smack of special privi- this adopted son. “I am on my way to try a geyser basin along the Firehole River lege, Pitcher’s announcement requires to get a fortnight’s rest,” he told a cheer- and gratefully accepted their hospitality, some explaining. This was by no means ing crowd during a whistle-stop speech enjoying a long evening of storytelling as draconian an edict as it might at first in Livingston, Montana. “For the last 18 around a campfire in the snow.12 seem to all of us who are accustomed to months I have taken everything as it came Pitcher gave the president’s schedule year-round access to some park roads. In from coal strikes to trolley cars, and I feel to the Livingston Post newspaper. Troop fact, it might even be characterized as I am entitled to a fortnight to myself.”10 B, scheduled to accompany TR on his largely bluster. At this time, the park had The presidential party reached Cinna- trip, would always be available to the only one brief tourist season: summer. bar a little after noon (until the Gardiner president in its full strength, said Pitcher. Public visitation did not begin until well depot was complete, the NPR’s Yellow- Local guide Billy Hofer (whom Roos- into June, when a combination of spring stone terminus remained north of Gar- evelt knew at least by reputation as one of thaws and the limited snow-removal techniques of the day allowed the opening of some roads. Thus, Pitcher could easily “close” the park, because in April it was not yet formally open to visitation anyway, and wouldn’t be for nearly two COURTESY DORIS WHITHORN months. The very light traffic on a few park roads in winter and spring was all local, and under constant watch by soldiers and scouts who knew that almost all poaching of park animals was conducted by their less savory neighbors during this off season.14 But even if “closing the park” for the president wasn’t much of an issue, it was still true that he had Yellowstone completely to himself in April 1903, and he must have loved it. Roosevelt’s secretary Wil- liam Loeb stated that his own The Elysian, Roosevelt’s train, arrives at Cinnabar, Montana, April 8, 1903. orders were to “give absolutely nothing [to the press] concerning Mr. Roosevelt’s diner, at Cinnabar, Montana). Among the the park’s leading woodsmen) and the six movements. The president will be lost, many to greet them was C Troop of the park scouts were to accompany his party. as far as the world at large is concerned,” Third Cavalry and Major John Pitcher, There was to be no strict itinerary, Pitcher said Loeb.15 commanding officer of Fort Yellowstone announced: “The president will go where As the elderly John Burroughs was at Mammoth Hot Springs, who also held he pleases and when he wishes.” Pitcher loaded into an army ambulance for the the civilian title of Acting Superintendent also cautioned the reporter from the five-mile trip up the hill to Fort Yel- of Yellowstone National Park. “My dear Post that “no person will be permitted lowstone (he assumed he’d ride a horse Major,” said Roosevelt, “I’m back in my to approach the president’s camp. There like the others, but happily climbed into own country again.”11 will be no person with him except his the ambulance as if he expected it), and It was a cheerful reunion for these two escort and John Burroughs.” As to secu- the Elysian, with its presidential staff old friends, who had previously encoun- rity, Pitcher said that “the approaches to and various other local dignitary pas- tered each other in a Yellowstone blizzard the Park are all guarded by soldiers and sengers, was withdrawn to a sidetrack a 12 years earlier. On that occasion, Roos- pickets…it will be absolutely impossible few miles north of Gardiner in Cinnabar,

4 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 5 COLLECTION OF ROGER ANDERSON Roosevelt and Pitcher frankest confessions, the most set off on horseback with telling criticisms, happy char- the soldiers. They were acterizations of prominent delayed repeatedly so political leaders, or foreign that the naturalist-president rulers, or members of his own could admire and count Cabinet; always surprising by various groups of prong- his candor, astonishing by his horn (he referred to them memory, and diverting by his as “prongbuck”), bighorn humor.21 sheep, mule deer, white- tailed deer, and ducks, as And while the presidential well as the small captive party was making its exuberant bison herd near Mammoth way across the Yellowstone Hot Springs (informally landscape, plans were forming known as “Mammoth”).16 back in Gardiner that would With these absorbing dis- apply some of that exuberance tractions, it took the party to the memorialization of a two hours of rambling here growing local landmark. and there across the roll- ing slopes of the Gardner Design and construction of River valley to cover the the arch five miles to Fort Yellow- Visitors approaching Yel- stone.17 lowstone National Park from Fort Yellowstone, at the north travel up the Yel- Mammoth, was Roos- lowstone River valley between evelt’s first stop, as prepa- Livingston and Yankee Jim rations were completed Canyon—a beautiful area for his park tour. Clarence rightly known as Paradise “Pop” Scoyen related to Valley. All along this route, Frontispiece from the 1907 edition of John Burroughs’s Camping & the Reverend Merv Olson Tramping with Roosevelt. The President is shown at they are treated to vistas of in 1970 that he was pres- Yosemite National Park’s Glacier Point. a classic, high western val- ent at Mammoth in 1903 ley flanked by magnificent when President Roosevelt rode in. “I was was not). He gathered the notes and ideas mountain ranges. After making the wind- eight years old…my brother, mother, and for his long, stirring essay on wilderness ing passage of Yankee Jim Canyon, they I watched him ride into Mammoth on reserves. Perhaps best of all, he provided enter a much narrower valley, featuring horseback,” said Scoyen. “I shook his his small group of companions with rugged mountain peaks, colorful rock hand, and he remarked to my mother, unforgettable days in the presence of (in outcroppings, and a shining river that ‘I’ve got a couple of boys like that back Burroughs’s words), “the most vital man seems perpetually posed for calendar home too.’”18 on the continent, if not on the planet.”20 photography. It is a landscape in which Roosevelt’s time visiting Yellowstone Burroughs’s description of time spent the modern eye easily finds beauty, wild- is not the subject of this article, except around the presidential campfires is more ness, and the nearly mystical excitement as it bears on his time in Gardiner, and it evocative than any detailed itinerary of of mountain scenery. But it was not is a tale well-told in other publications.19 their days: always seen that way. It is enough to say that for two weeks, The arch was, along with the monu- the president tramped, rode, and skied While in camp we always had a big mental rustic architecture of the Old his way through some of Yellowstone’s fire at night in the open near the Faithful Inn that was completed only a most beautiful country. He savored the tents, and around this we sat upon year later, the product of the aesthetics sight of thousands of elk and hundreds logs or campstools, and listened to of its time. In the century since its con- of other animals, soaking up the western the President’s talk. What a stream of struction, nature appreciation has evolved wilderness scenery and spirit that had it he poured forth! and what a varied dramatically; landscapes once perceived meant so much to him in younger times. and picturesque stream! —anecdote, as “barren,” or as “wastelands,” or even He captured and, in the best naturalist history, science, politics, adventure, “evil,” have been re-imagined with deep- tradition of the time, prepared the skin literature; bits of his experience as a ened respect for their special ecological of a species of mouse that had not previ- ranchman, hunter, Rough Rider, legis- and geological virtues.22 For all our devo- ously been identified in the park (he’d lator, civil service commissioner, police tion to the arch as an historic structure hoped it would be a new species but it commissioner, governor, president—the and symbol, it should be admitted that it

4 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 5 would neither seem necessary nor have visitor experience and to the landscape.26 raphy of Reamer, cannot confirm it a chance of being built today. Modern Chittenden was also a leading historian either.32 Reamer was certainly involved landscape architects and park plan- of the American West, and author of the in the design of the depot, and it could be ners approach park settings much more first important history of the park.27 In that his involvement there became con- accepting of the inherent beauties—how- his distinguished career in Yellowstone, fused over time with the paternity of the ever challenging those qualities may be to he oversaw road construction and related nearby arch. Or, it could be that Reamer the uninitiated—of the unadorned native work during two key periods, 1891–1893 contributed his thinking to the plans for topography. and 1899–1906.28 It was only natural, the arch because it was part of the same It is reasonably certain that the arch then, and in keeping with the established entrance-area landscape. The frequent was the idea of Hiram Martin Chit- order of things, that Chittenden should connection of Reamer’s name to a for- tenden, who believed that such a com- play a key role in the development of mer home just north of the arch, known manding structure would compensate such an important landmark as the arch locally as the “Arch House,” which now for what was then seen as the relatively at the North Entrance. It was likewise houses the Yellowstone Association’s uninspiring character of the surrounding certain that the arch would be a product North Entrance Education Center in country at the park’s North Entrance. of Chittenden’s view of how a national Gardiner, might have further contributed Because Mammoth was park headquar- park should best honor the natural scene. to the confusion. Both the Arch House ters, and because the North Entrance The idea of an arch at the North and a nearby apartment house have was originally the only place where a Entrance dates at least to November 13, been informally attributed to Reamer as railroad approached the natural features 1902, when the Gardiner Wonderland designer or builder or inspiration, though and hotels of the park, Chittenden, now reported that in addition to the train depot documentation is lacking to support such remembered as the most influential of then being planned, “on the rise of ground statements.33 the early Corps of Engineers officers to the east will be erected the stone lodge A number of other sources reiterate to work in Yellowstone, said that the for the squad of soldiers to be stationed the shaky claims of Reamer’s involve- North Entrance was “the most important here, and the stone archway through ment in designing the arch. David of any [entrance], and this importance it which the coaches will pass.”29 Planning Leavengood, an architectural historian will probably always retain.”23 Although for the arch’s construction was underway who worked for a time on a biography ultimately wrong on that last point, Chit- by early 1903, and crews had started of Reamer, stated, “By 1902, Reamer tenden added, “it has been thought fit- work on it before the president arrived was working on the Old Faithful Inn at ting, therefore, to provide some suitable on April 8. Historian Doris Whithorn has [Harry] Child’s request as well as on the entrance gate at this point. This was more stated that Gardiner merchant Charles B. Roosevelt Arch for the U.S. Army Corps important because the natural features of Scott obtained the contract for rock deliv- of Engineers.”34 Historian Anne Farrar the country at this portion of the bound- ery on February 19, and “at once had men Hyde also makes this claim, as do David ary are about the least interesting of any and teams at work delivering the massive Naylor and Win Blevins, all of whom cite part of the Park, and the first impression stones to the site.”30 How Scott got this Leavengood or Haines.35 Unfortunately, of visitors upon entering the Park was contract and from whom he got it is not Leavengood’s two cited sources are an very unfavorable.”24 known. oral history interview that draws strictly From 1886 to 1918, the U.S. Cavalry In fact, although Chittenden’s role on hearsay and Haines’s uncited com- was responsible for protecting the park as originator of the idea seems sure, ment in The Yellowstone Story. and overseeing public enjoyment of its much remains uncertain about the plan- Because Aubrey Haines has almost wonders, and historians have now demon- ning, design, and construction of the invariably proven to be correct about this strated the critical importance of the mili- arch. Historian Aubrey Haines wrote kind of historical information through the tary period in shaping the park’s public that the design for it was “worked up years, our inclination is to at least tenta- image and policies.25 But the U.S. Army from his [Chittenden’s] notes by Robert tively accept his judgment on the matter. Corps of Engineers had begun its Yellow- C. Reamer, architect of the Old Faithful But barring further documentation, the stone career even earlier, in 1883, and in and Canyon Hotels.”31 Reamer, perhaps extent of Robert Reamer’s involvement some very practical ways its historic role the most noted professional architect to in the design of the arch must remain an in the park was even more far-reaching. It work in Yellowstone and the mastermind open question. was, in effect, the Corps’s responsibility of some of the park’s most beloved struc- Whatever cast of characters played to see that the needs of public transporta- tures, does seem the sort of distinguished whatever precise set of roles, the work tion in the park were satisfied by means professional who might be recruited for was done efficiently and well. On March harmonious with the park’s goals of such an important park project. 19, 1903, the Gardiner Wonderland news- nature protection. Historians have praised Unfortunately, Haines provided no paper published “The Entrance Arch,” fur- the “aesthetic conservation” efforts of citation for this information on Reamer’s ther announcing the project.36 The editor, Hiram Chittenden and his fellow road-, involvement in the arch, and we have who evidently had an inside track with bridge-, and facility-builders, recogniz- been unable to confirm it. Ruth Quinn, the contractor to get such information, ing their surprising sensitivity both to the long a researcher working on a biog- noted that the arch was to cost $10,000,

6 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 7 COURTESY DORIS WHITHORN

A rare photo of the arch under construction, summer 1903.

and that $1,000 had already been spent “For the benefit and enjoyment of the for the establishment of the park in 1872 hauling hundreds of tons of rock for it: people.” On one tower, “Yellowstone (he was thirteen at the time) or, even National Park” and on the other: more improbably, that he was the first The width of the opening through “Created by act of Congress March explorer of the park area.38 which teams and vehicles will pass 3d [sic.] 1872.” The entire structure In late March, railroad contractor will be twenty-five feet, with a height will be built of unhewn basaltic rock Walter J. Bradshaw passed through somewhat greater. A tower rises on and will present a grand and imposing Livingston on his way to Gardiner and each side of the arch to a height of 52 appearance in rustic.37 told the Enterprise that the federal gov- feet, and from near the base of the tow- ernment and the Northern Pacific were ers the arch begins to make its circle, It is worth emphasizing that the cooperating on a project to build a depot the centre [sic.] wall of which rises to reporter was correct in ascribing the quo- and a stone archway there near the park within a few feet of the height of the tation, “For the benefit and enjoyment of boundary. On March 28, in an early towers. On the outside of the towers the people,” to the Yellowstone National announcement of the project based at the wall from the base is carried up on Park Organic Act of March 1, 1872. least in part on information provided by a perpendicular, thus jutting beyond Among the more intriguing folklore to Bradshaw, the Enterprise noted that the the tower at the top. With a graceful have built up around the arch is the local new “entrance or gateway to the Park will curve wings droop from this line to an “common knowledge” that this phrase be a handsome arch” made from rocks of outer post something like forty feet on was first uttered by Theodore Roosevelt. the vicinity. “The contractors have been each side. These towers are thirteen Perhaps this error originated because TR ordered,” said the newspaper, “not to feet square at the base and are drawn used the phrase during his dedication remove the moss from the rocks used in until at the top they are perhaps speech (see box). Whatever its source, it in the construction of the arch, so that it half this size. Over the center of the joins other Roosevelt-related mythology may present as natural an appearance as arch carved in rustic letters will be a relating to Yellowstone, including the possible.” Apparently, Bradshaw told the quotation from the act of dedication: belief that he was personally responsible editor more, for the paper proclaimed that

6 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 7 the new park decorations would include a the arch to the depot describes a circle Construction of the arch began some- miniature waterfall near the arch (never and within this circle a small artificial time in early April, and continued during built), a lake, and rustic houses and lake is being constructed and around summer 1903. Traveler Grace Hecox saw stores.39 the lake will be a beautiful lawn with both the new depot and the arch under So far, our search of the official records all sorts of shrubbery and plants. construction on July 15, and opined that for construction of this project has From this lake a pipe will carry the Gardiner would soon “be a pretty place not yielded full

clarification of the WHITHORN DORIS COURTESY precise chain of command. As with the relative roles of the designers, there is uncertainty about who oversaw construction, and we are uncomfortably at the mercy of newspaper accounts for many of the details. On April 30, however, the Livingston Post stated that “Captain Chittenden” and his “force of craftsmen” were the ones erect- ing the arch. Thus, it appears that the U.S. Army Engineers (led by Chittenden) may have combined forc- A two-horse surrey approaches the arch shortly after its completion. es with the Northern Pacific Railway contractors (perhaps led by Bradshaw) to large overflow under the track and when everything is finished…A very produce the arch. While Chittenden and into a[nother] lake of several acres in pretty arch of native stone is being built Bradshaw at least worked on the arch, it extent that will be made on all the low to form the main entrance to the Park. A appears that N.J. Ness, an architect from ground within the loop [never built]. small engine is used to hoist the stone. St. Paul who was quite well known for The water for these lakes will come We watched the derrick as it worked. Sev- his work on a number of other railroad from the Gardiner [sic., river] in the eral colors are being used in the arch.”43 depots, was also somehow involved in its ditch now being made and will come Historian Whithorn has stated that even actual design.40 through the arch in covered pipes and when the arch was still incomplete and On April 9, the Wonderland published burst forth in a waterfall [never built] surrounded with scaffolding, wagons an extended description of the grand over the rocky cliff just beyond where were allowed to pass through it.44 plans emerging for Gardiner’s arch, com- the driveway forks. The surrounding On August 15, 1903, workmen fin- plete with the artificial waterfall already hillsides will all be terraced and laid ished the arch. The Gardiner Wonder- mentioned and an additional lake that was out in a most artistic manner.41 land reported that “last Saturday [August never built: 15] witnessed the tearing down of all Notwithstanding these extravagant the scaffolding, and the arch now stands A stone wall, running almost at right dreams of landscape architects and engi- alone in all its magnificence.”45 Calling angle with the arch, will extend west- neers, the aridity of the Gardiner area it the “great arch, which has become so ward from the north wing a distance made it impossible not only to build the noted throughout the United States,” the of about 200 feet. From the south waterfall and the extra pond at the arch, newspaper ran a huge woodcut drawing end wing a like wall, about ten feet but ultimately to have any pond there at of the new structure.46 In addition to the in height[,] will follow the contour all. Nor could enough water be conveyed arch, Chittenden built “an artificial body of the hill and extend around to the to keep alive the trees and shrubbery that of water” between it and the depot and west side of the new depot a distance workmen so lovingly planted there in made provision for “the irrigation of of about 800 feet. The driveway from 1902 and 1903.42 grounds around it.”47 After describing

8 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 9 the new turnaround loop of the railroad the forefront of conceiving and planning it. Though the relative significance of that backed up to the turnaround loop the April 24, 1903 ceremony, including the various “players” in instigating the of the stagecoach road, he described the the hoped-for involvement of President event remains uncertain, together this new arch: Roosevelt (a member of Matinecock group of people launched the ceremony Masonic Lodge #806, Oyster Bay, New successfully. About 30 feet above the level of the York). In addition to Miller, they were [railroad] station grounds, a masonry Henry Klamer, Alex Lyall, W.A. Hall, Preparations for the ceremony arch has been constructed of columnar George Trischman, and C.C. Brandon, The Masons, the railroad, Gardiner basalt found in the vicinity. The width all of Livingston Masonic Lodge Number and Livingston citizens, Major Pitcher, of the opening is 20 feet, the height is 32. These men sent a letter dated April and Captain Chittenden all combined 30 feet, and the maximum height of the 13 to Major Pitcher (also a Mason), Cap- their efforts to make the event happen. structure is 50 feet. Two wing walls, tain Chittenden, Harry Child of the hotel The NPR engaged 40 stagecoaches at 12 feet high, run out laterally from the company, and Robert Walker, apparently Livingston to take overflow passengers arch to a distance of 50 feet from the a concession executive. Chittenden pre- (who couldn’t get on the train) to Gar- center, where they terminate in small sented the letter to President Roosevelt diner, and the town of Gardiner hired the towers which rise about 3 feet above while he was in camp near Yancey’s Livingston Volunteer Fire Department the wall. From these towers and par- (the meadow near present Tower Junc- band to play.53 “Gardiner is appropriately allel to the two branches of the loop, tion, current site of nightly chuckwagon decorated for the occasion,” announced walls 8 feet high extend to the Park cookouts during the summer). The presi- the Bozeman newspaper on the big day, boundary. Three tablets in concrete dent accepted the invitation, and upon with “flowers in profusion beautifying are built into the outer face of the arch, receiving his reply the Masons referred the vicinity of the arch…now eight feet with the following inscriptions: Above the matter to “Grand Master Smith” at high.”54 Photos of Gardiner that day show the keystone, “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People;” on the WHITHORN DORIS COURTESY left of the opening, “Yellowstone National Park,” and on the right “Created by Act of Congress, March 1, 1872.”48

The cornerstone ceremony It is no surprise that Masons felt a special stake in Yellowstone and its new architectural enterprise. From the park’s earliest days, Masons had played a prominent role in its fortunes. Both Charles Cook and David Folsom, who visited the Yel- lowstone in 1869 in an attempt to verify or refute claims of its wonders then drifting around, were Masons. Nathaniel Langford, first superintendent of the park (1872–1877), was Grand Master of Masons in Montana Gardiner on Dedication Day, decorated for the occasion. in 1870, when he was a leading member of the Washburn exploring party in what would become the park, and his Phillipsburg, Montana, who was appar- numerous American flags and red, white, companion Cornelius Hedges, another ently already involved.51 and blue bunting decorating some of the important member of that group, held the This “Grand Master” was Frank E. storefronts. same office next.49 Smith, who indicated his role many years Many prominent Masons arrived in According to the Gardiner newspaper later by stating, “it was at my instigation Gardiner on Thursday evening’s train, at the time, Charles W. Miller of the that [Roosevelt] was invited to participate and held an evening meeting in the Yellowstone Park Association (the hotel on that occasion and make the address.”52 Masonic Hall to arrange the details of the company) originated the idea of laying This seems to suggest that Smith was next day’s activities. E.C. Day of Helena the arch’s cornerstone with Masonic involved even before the April 13 let- addressed the Masons and gave a speech ceremonies.50 Indeed, Masons at Mam- ter of invitation was sent, and had had about President Roosevelt that was moth Hot Springs appear to have been in something to do with the idea of sending described as “eloquent.” Billings, Red

8 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 9 more at Horr (near present LaDuke Hot Springs) and Cinnabar (about three miles downstream from Gardiner). Upon reaching Gardiner at around noon, the hungry, thirsty, early crowd rushed for the town’s 60

COURTESY DORIS WHITHORN hotels, saloons, and restaurants. At about 2:00 p.m., stage drivers ushered a line of ten or more four-horse coaches out of the park and lined them up to be photographed by the eastern photographers who were present.61 When the second train, carrying the Masons and almost as many people as the first, arrived at 2:30 p.m., the town of Gardiner was “simply overwhelmed.”62 So great was the throng that many would have gone hungry had they not had the foresight to bring their own lunches.63 Estimates of the size of the crowd ranged from 2,000 to 4,000, but the Livingston Visitors and local residents gathered for the arch dedication, April 24, 1903. This photo Post’s “careful estimate” (done by divid- was taken from the hill just south of the present site of the arch, looking back at the town of Gardiner. The crane used to lower the cornerstone is visible at far left. ing the crowd into “lots” and performing the math) was probably the best one, and Lodge, Big Timber, and Miles City all the train pulled out of Livingston,” pro- it gave 3,700 as the likely attendance.64 sent delegations.55 Captain Hiram Chit- claimed a reporter who was there, “with Security was in evidence, no doubt tenden had charge of the arrangements the band playing a lively air and the heightened by memories of the assas- for the laying of the stone.56 people cheering themselves hoarse.”59 sination of President William McKinley Along the route, the train stopped less than two years earlier. The Enter- Gardiner’s big day: April 24, 1903 to receive more people. More than 100 prise noted that “guards were posted all At least three regional newspapers crowded on at the small town of Frid- around the spot at points of vantage on covered the occasion: the Livingston ley (today’s Emigrant), and about 400 the closely surrounding hillsides,” and Post, the Livingston Enterprise, and the 57 Gardiner Wonderland. This account WHITHORN DORIS COURTESY of the festivities is taken primarily from those three long newspaper articles. “The flashing swords of the officers, the martial music of the band, and the lusty cheering of the assembled multi- tude,” gushed one reporter, “gave the scene an aspect which would inspire enthusiasm and patriotism in the breast of a cynic.” April 24 dawned clear and warm in Gardiner, a “magnificent” day for such an inspiring celebration.58 In Livingston that Friday morning, the city was “swarming with visitors Parkward bound.” The first train (12 cars in length) departing (10 a.m.) to Gardiner was besieged by anxious celebrants who scrambled all over each other for seats. Beleaguered railroad officials had to recruit four additional cars and a second engine to carry the horde, which included Livingston Mayor Charles Garnier and the Livingston band in the first cars. Troops B and C of the Third Cavalry lead Roosevelt’s party into town, possibly led by a “There were 1300 people aboard it when Lieutenant Lesher, Captain Johnson, and a local canine resident.

10 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 11 COURTESY DORIS WHITHORN DORIS COURTESY the roped pathway to the speakers’ stand was “lined with cavalrymen and a lot of special deputy sheriffs were scattered all over the grounds.”65 Around 3:30 p.m., dignitaries began to move into place. Troops B and C of the Third Cavalry, led by Captain John- son and Lieutenant Lesher, trotted into town from Mammoth Hot Springs and lined up on the road east of the arch to await President Roosevelt. The Masons formed at Holem’s store with the band, and all marched to the arch and found their roped-off space. Masonic Grand Master Frank E. Smith and other Masons climbed onto a raised platform immediately below the cornerstone, which was swinging from a double-poled crane decorated with a flag and bunting. Pho- tos show that many of the Masons were wearing their characteristic white aprons Gardiner “Mayor” James McCartney (riding with five-year-old Paul Hoppe on his lap), President Roosevelt, and Major John Pitcher arrive at the dedication ceremonies. at the laying of the stone, and a Masonic writer later noted, “those who were to have speaking parts had provided them- still half mile distant, and a mighty cheer personnel office, Roosevelt rode west selves with Prince Albert coats and silk broke forth.”67 Said the Enterprise, “All down Park Street to the platform at the hats.”66 were splendidly mounted and the caval- incomplete arch. A photo of him and At about 4:10 p.m., the president’s cade came down the road at a sweeping Major Pitcher taken as they were riding entourage arrived from Mammoth. “The gallop.” Accompanied by Major Pitcher, west reveals that another man accom- eager eyes of the crowd,” said the Post, and apparently using the route that cur- panied them. He was probably Gardiner “discerned his approach when he was rently passes in front of the Xanterra “Mayor” James McCartney, who carried five-year-old Paul Hoppe on the saddle in front of him.68 Roosevelt wore a black coat, military trousers, and a soft black hat. An observer noted that the president appeared to be in the best of health and was riding the gray horse named Bonaparte that he had ridden into the COURTESY DORIS WHITHORN park sixteen days earlier.69 As he reached the entrance to the roped aisle in front of the platform, the cavalry presented sabers in a salute to the president. The band struck up “Hail Columbia” (in 1903, “Hail to the Chief” was not yet being played). Accompanied by Captain Hiram Chittenden and Major Pitcher, Roosevelt walked up the aisle, passing between the two sides of the large crowd. “Cheer upon cheer greeted his appearance,” proclaimed the Post, and Roosevelt “walked swiftly, with hat raised in acknowledgment of the salute.”70 Masonic Grand Master Smith pre- The flag-draped crane used to lift the cornerstone is prominent in this photo of the sided over the occasion (he “conducted speakers’ stand and assembled dignitaries. The photo was taken looking to the North– the ritualistic ceremonies of the order”), Northeast, roughly from the present site of the arch’s south tower. along with Sol Hepner (Deputy Grand

10 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 11 gress setting it apart for the purpose.74 Research by historian Doris Whithorn NPS PHOTO revealed that the Bible belonged to Rev. Edward Smith of the Livingston Meth- odist Church.75 One of the reporters said that the newspapers included were the Livingston Enterprise, Livingston Post, Left, Close-up of cornerstone Gardiner Wonderland, and Montana today. Record. This reporter also said that several photographs of park scenes taken at Below, President Roosevelt watches as the cornerstone is the time were included, as was a portrait manipulated. of President Roosevelt. The reporter continued, saying that all these items were “placed in the depository to serve as a record in the event of the destruction of the arch by the elements in the centuries which are to come.”76 The stone is eas- COURTESY DORIS WHITHORN ily identified today. As you enter the arch from the Gar- diner side, the stone is low on the inside (i.e., park side) Master), Cornelius Hedges corner of the right (Grand Secretary), Lew Cal- tower of the arch. laway (Grand Senior Warden), The stone is more Samuel Nye (Acting Grand obviously “worked” Secretary), D.A. McCaw (Act- and more squarely ing Grand Junior Warden), and finished than the “other officers.”71 The corner- stones around it, stone was suspended on heavy which were inten- block and tackle from a large tionally left rough bunting-bedecked derrick of and irregularly two wooden poles, each topped angular to display with an American flag. the rugged natural In preparation for the event, contours of indi- the Masons gathered a collec- vidual stones and to tion of items to be placed in the Washburn party of 1870, also preserve as much as a “canister” that would then go into a of Cornelius Hedges member of possible of the colorful appearance of the “depository.”72 Modern Masonic pro- the same party, who first suggested natural rock with its coating of lichens.77 cedures also refer to this as a “box” or making a National Park; Measured in place today, the stone is a “casket,” but its precise character is • Original articles by the latter pub- 211⁄2 inches deep, 15 inches wide, and not known.73 According to the Proceed- lished in the Helena Herald soon 201⁄2 inches high. On the “inside” surface ings of the Grand Lodge of Montana, after the return of the party in 1870; (that is, the side facing across the inner the following items were placed in the • Copies of the Livingston daily arch), are incised, “Apr 24,” with “1903” container: papers; directly underneath. • Sundry coins of the United States; There has been some uncertainty in • Copy of the World’s Almanac, 1903; and historical writing about the placement of • Copy of the Proceedings of the • Copy of the Holy Bible. the box of memorabilia. As quoted earli- Grand Lodge of Montana for 1902; er, at least one contemporary account did • Copy of Northern Pacific Railway Several things prepared for the depos- say that the box was placed in the corner- descriptive pamphlet, 1903; it had to be omitted on account of the size stone itself. However, also as quoted, the • Copy Masonic Code of Montana; of the box, such as the Memorials of the same reporter on other occasions referred • Pictures of Hon. N.P. Langford, first Montana Legislature asking for the estab- to a “depository” as the resting place of Superintendent of the Park, one of lishment of the park and the act of Con- the box. Historian Aubrey Haines ana-

12 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 13 lyzed the sequence of events as described the audience.81 The cornerstone was then wall.” Accompanying him were Secre- in the newspaper accounts and concluded “tested by the implements of Masonry tary William Loeb, Captain Chittenden, that in fact the depository was a “recess” and pronounced well-formed, truly laid Major Pitcher, John Burroughs, “Mayor” in the stone upon which the cornerstone and correctly proved.”82 J.C. McCartney, and “others.” The crowd was laid.78 This is plausible. The base The sense of history among many cheered the president as he passed to the stonework was already completed at this onlookers was palpable, and not only stand, and he lifted his hat and smiled. corner of the pillar, and is slightly visible because they were witnessing a presiden- Pitcher then introduced McCartney, in photographs; Haines’s scenario sug- tial event in their little community. “Con- who was to introduce the president. But gests that the “depository” was a space spicuous among the Masonic grand lodge McCartney, apparently suffering from cut or left in this lower stonework, into officers who conducted the cornerstone stage fright, “was only able to mutter

which the box was placed, ARCHIVES NPS and upon which the cornerstone was then lowered. This makes for a sequence of events that matches the newspaper reports and the Masonic records. For example, the Livingston Post reporter specifically stated, “Prior to the lowering of the stone, a canister containing numerous articles was placed in the depository.”79 Photographs of that stage of the ceremony show the stone, encumbered by its hooks and tackle, still suspended over the heads of the men. The men may have been able to reach the cornerstone as it hung there, but it seems an unlikely and undignified time for them to be placing anything inside it. Also, though the President Roosevelt addresses the crowd. Hiram Chittenden stands at Roosevelt’s left. Starting third photographs do not show from his right are John Burroughs, James McCartney, and Major John Pitcher. all sides of the cornerstone at this stage, the sides they do show reveal no indication of a cavity laying,” noted the Gardiner Wonderland, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, President Roos- in the stone itself. “was one who played a most important evelt.’”86 All of these logistical details aside, part in the history of the park—Judge “As the president came forward, the now that the preliminaries were complete, Cornelius Hedges of Helena.”83 The Gar- crowd broke into a prolonged cheer,” the big moment had come. Now that the diner newspaper lamented the fact that proclaimed the Post reporter approvingly, box was in place, it was time to prepare David Folsom of the 1869 Folsom-Cook- “which echoed back from the hills and the surface and lower the stone. With Peterson party had been unable to attend rolled in mighty waves up to the speak- the cornerstone suspended above them, the festivities.84 Though subsequent his- ers’ stand. The president stood some few Grand Master Smith passed the trowel to torians would show that Hedges was not seconds before he could begin.”87 Some the president, who “spread the mortar on the first to suggest making Yellowstone a accounts suggest that he made a few the bed that was to receive the stone and, national park (he was probably preceded remarks before beginning his prepared at the proper moment in the ceremony, even by Folsom), there is no question that speech (see box, next pages).88 the huge block of basalt was lowered the audience was justified in their mood According to the Post, the text of the into place.”80 The Masons poured corn, of a momentous occasion.85 speech was published as “an exact copy wine, and oil upon the stone, these being The President then ascended the of the speech that the president prepared “the elements of consecration” whose speakers’ stand, which had been “built in advance. While he said all that is above meaning was at this point explained to eight feet above the ground on the arch quoted, he said many other things that do

12 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 13 not appear in the printed speech. He Farragut Post No. 7. And he made humor- the charm is the word, ‘Montana.’ The constantly interpolated remarks which ous references to his days of “punching presentation was made by Grand Mas- occurred to him upon the spur of the cattle” in North Dakota.90 It was all a ter Smith, who, with the other officers moment.”89 If this is the case, it may great success. The Gardiner Wonderland of the grand lodge, gathered around the mean that a copy, prepared in advance, editorialized that “The president met and president in the speakers’ stand after the was distributed to the press, or perhaps captured this entire country. The boys all speech of the day had been finished.”92 was made available afterward. In at least say that his equal is not to be found in Before leaving the stand, Roosevelt one photograph made during the speech, these United States.”91 recognized some of the men who had the president is holding in his hand some Following the speech, there was a been his companions during his park kind of document or paper, which may “presentation by the Masonic Grand stay. Spotting James McBride (one of the have been his text. Lodge to the president of a beautiful park scouts, later chief park ranger) in the When the speech was concluded, the Masonic charm. The background of the crowd, Roosevelt called out, “Mac, oh president made a number of other “off charm is a Montana gold nugget. On the Mac! Come up here. I want to see you.” the cuff” remarks. He praised the people face of the nugget the Masonic square McBride went up and the president shook of the West and decried idleness. He and compass have been placed and at his hand and thanked him for his help on cheered the old soldiers who were repre- the top is a plate bearing the inscription, the park trip. Roosevelt then turned to the sented by Thomas Mains of Livingston’s ‘T.R. 1903.’ On a plate at the bottom of two troops of U.S. Cavalry and thanked

r. Mayor; Mr. Superintendent, and My Fellow whole can secure to themselves and their children the enjoy- Citizens: ment in perpetuity of what the Yellowstone Park has to give, M I wish to thank the people of Montana gener- is by assuming the ownership in the name of the nation and ally, and those of Gardiner and Cinnabar especially, and more jealously safeguarding and preserving the scenery, the for- especially still all those employed in the Park, whether in civil ests, and the wild creatures. When we have a good system of or military capacity, for my very enjoyable two weeks holiday. carriage roads throughout the Park—for of course it would It is a pleasure now to say a few words to you at the lay- be very unwise to allow either steam or electric roads in the ing of the corner stone of the beautiful arch which is to mark Park—we shall have a region as easy and accessible to travel the entrance to this Park. The Yellowstone Park is something in as it is already every whit as interesting as is similar territo- absolutely unique in the world so far as I know. Nowhere ry of the Alps or the Italian Riviera. The geysers, the extraor- else in any civilized country is there to be found such a tract dinary hot springs, the lakes, the mountains, the canyon and of veritable wonderland made accessible to all visitors, where cataracts unite to make this region something not paralelled at the same time not only the scenery of the wilderness, but [sic.] elsewhere on the globe. It must be kept for the ben- the wild creatures of the Park are scrupulously preserved, as efit and enjoyment of all of us; and I hope to see a steadily they were the only change being that these same wild crea- increasing number of our people take advantage of its attrac- tures have been so carefully protected as to show a literally tions. At present it is rather singular that a greater number of astonishing tameness. The creation and preservation of such people come from Europe to see it than come from our own a great national playground in the interests of our people as a eastern states to see it. The people near by seem awake to its whole is a credit to the nation; but above all a credit to Mon- beauties; and I hope that more and more of our people who tana, Wyoming and Idaho. It has been preserved with wise dwell far off will appreciate its really marvelous character. foresight. The scheme of its preservation is noteworthy in Incidentally, I should like to point out that sometime people its essential democracy. Private game preserves, though they will surely awake to the fact that the Park has special beauties may be handled in such a way as to be not only good things to be seen in winter; and any hardy man who can go through for themselves but good things for the surrounding commu- it in that season on skis will enjoy himself as he scarcely could nity, can yet never be more than poor substitutes, from the elsewhere. standpoint of the public, for great national play grounds such I wish especially to congratulate the people of Montana, as this Yellowstone Park. This Park was created, and is now Wyoming and Idaho, and notably you of Gardiner and Cin- administered for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. nabar and the immediate outskirts of the Park, for the way The government must continue to appropriate for it, especial- in which you heartily co-operate with the superintendent to ly in the direction of completing and perfecting an excellent prevent acts of vandalism and destruction. Major Pitcher has system of driveways. But already its beauties can be seen with explained to me how much he owes to your co-operation and great comfort in a short space of time and at an astonishingly your lively appreciation of the fact that the Park is simply small cost, and with the sense on the part of every visitor that being kept in the interest of all of us, so that everyone may it is in part his property; that it is the property of Uncle Sam have the chance to see its wonders with ease and comfort

THEODORE ROOSEVELT COLLECTION, HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY and therefore of all of us. The only way that the people as a at the minimum of expense. I have always thought it was a

14 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 15 them as well.93 Service quickly grabbed him by the neck was about to depart Yellowstone, Roos- Descending the platform, Roosevelt and shoved him back ten feet. Seeing that evelt confided that “I have really enjoyed passed through the crowd to his horse the man meant no harm, the president the past two weeks in the Park, but to the while the throng cheered him wildly. reached out his hand. The man took it next six I look forward with blank hor- Mounting up, the president rode slowly to and grinned at having been mistaken for ror.”97 On the day of the arch’s dedica- Cinnabar and his train, accompanied by a dangerous person.95 tion, he wrote a long letter to his friend, Major Pitcher and the cavalry. Along the After Montana Congressman Dixon conservationist George Bird Grinnell, way, he responded repeatedly to cheers boarded the train and introduced some concluding that “Tomorrow I go back to from people lining the road. At the train, other dignitaries to Roosevelt, the the political world, to fight about trusts Roosevelt dismounted and shook hands president’s train left Cinnabar at 6 p.m. and the Monroe Doctrine and the Philip- with Captain Johnson and Lieutenant It proceeded slowly to Livingston, arriv- pines and the Indians and the Tariff…”98 Lesher of the cavalry and others, bidding ing at 9:15 p.m., and then on to Billings, Theodore Roosevelt never returned them all goodbye and thanking them for Montana.96 to Yellowstone, so he never visited or their help.94 Yellowstone had provided Roosevelt passed through the completed arch that At the train, a rough-looking man a rare respite, and his gratitude was evi- would eventually bear his name. Accord- approached Roosevelt. Not knowing dent in his remarks about his return to the ing to a recent biographer, Roosevelt who he was, Frank Tyree of the Secret world of politics. In a letter written as he started his western trip in a state of

liberal education to any man of the east to come west, and lar places, is its essential democracy—it is the preservation he can combine profit with pleasure if he will incidentally of the scenery, of the forests[,] of the wilderness life and the visit this park—and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and wilderness game for the people as a whole instead of leaving the Yosemite, and take a sea voyage to Alaska. Major Pitcher the enjoyment thereof to be confined to the very rich who reports to me, by the way, that he has received invaluable can control private preserves. I have been literally astounded assistance from the game wardens of Montana and Wyoming, at the enormous quantities of elk and at the number of deer, and that the present game warden of Idaho has also promised antelope and mountain sheep which I have seen on their win- his hearty aid. tering grounds and the deer and sheep in particular are quite The preservation of the forest is of course the matter of as tame as range stock. A few buffalo are being preserved. I prime importance in every public reserve of this character. wish very much that the Government could somewhere pro- In this region of the Rocky mountains and the great plains vide for an experimental breeding station of cross-breds [sic.] the problem of the water supply is the most important which between buffalo and the common cattle. If those crossbreds the home maker has to face. Congress has not of recent years [sic.] could be successfully perpetuated we should have ani- done anything wiser than in passing the irrigation bill; and mals that would produce a robe quite as good as the old buf- nothing is more essential to the preservation of the water sup- falo robe with which twenty years ago everyone was iamiliar ply than the preservation of the forests. Montana has in its [sic.], and animals moreover which would be so hardy that water power a source of development which has hardly yet I think they would have a distinct commercial importance. been touched. The water power will be seriously impaired if They would, for instance, be admirably suited for alaska [sic.], ample protection is not given the forests. Therefore this park, a territory which I look to see develop astoundingly within like the forest reserves generally, is of the utmost advantage the next decade or two, not only because of its furs and fish- to the country around from the merely utilitarian side. But eries, but because of its agricultural and pastoral possibilities. of course this Park, also because of its peculiar features, is to In conclusion let me thank you again for your greeting. be preserved as a beautiful natural playground. Here all the It has been to me the most genuine pleasure again to see this wild creatures of the old days are being preserved, and their great western country. I like the country, but above all I like overflow into the surrounding country means that the people the men and women.1 of the surrounding country, so long as they see that the laws are observed by all, will be able to insure to themselves and to —President Theodore Roosevelt, April 24, 1903, their children and to their children’s children much of the old Gardiner, Montana. time pleasures of the hardy life of the wilderness and of the hunter in the wilderness. This pleasure, moreover, can under 1transcribed verbatim from Wonderland article. The Livingston Post version of this same speech varies in a few specifics, such as a few different words and several changes in comma location, and such conditions be kept for all who have the love of adventure also differs in omitting the paragraph that begins, “ I wish especially to congratulate the people and the hardihood to take advantage of it with small regard of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, and notably you of Gardiner and Cinnabar. . . .” for what their future may be. I cannot too often repeat that the essential features of the present management of the Yellowstone Park, as in all simi-

14 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 15 COURTESY HAYNES FOUNDATION COLLECTION, MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

F.J. Haynes photo of the newly-completed Gardiner Depot and arch, with Chittenden’s pond, 1903. The W.A. Hall store (today’s Cecil’s), at center rear, is also newly completed.

The Gardiner depot and other improvements Railway director of advertising and historian Olin The Northern Pacific Railway extended its tracks Wheeler described it and the surroundings for the rail- to Gardiner in 1902.1 By June 20 of that year, practice road’s colorful promotional booklet, Wonderland 1904. trains ran all the way into Gardiner, and on July 3, For all its adjectival excesses, Wheeler’s description was the Gardiner newspaper reported that the regular train fundamentally correct, and in keeping with the some- unloaded passengers “for the first time” in Gardiner.2 what breathless rhetoric so popular among both promot- However, there was not yet a depot, nor was there a ers and the tourists themselves at the time: track loop to allow trains to turn around. Historian In 1903, the Northern Pacific having extended the railway Whithorn says trains had to be backed to the “Y” at Cin- from Cinnabar to Gardiner, a railway station was constructed nabar for another year until workmen could construct a that, with its surroundings, is one of the most unique, cosey loop at Gardiner.3 In early 1903, Northern Pacific offi- [sic], and attractive to be found in the United States. From the Bitterroot valley and mountains, selected pine logs were cials began planning for construction of a depot. In late brought which, with the smooth, richly colored bark on, were April, the Gardiner Wonderland newspaper announced fashioned into a symmetric, well-proportioned, tasteful, and that railroad officials had awarded architect Robert rustic building, the interior of which, with its quaint hard- Reamer the contract to build the structure.4 On July 2, ware, comfortable, alluring appointments, and ample fireplace the depot was “so nearly completed that it was expected and chimney, is in keeping with the inviting exterior. to unload passengers there on Saturday,” but last minute The whole combination of railway and train, rustic station, touches were delaying that. The Wonderland reported lake, town, arch, and landscape, added to the chattering throng that the depot’s new sign, reading “Gardiner,” was cast of humanity, full of life and laughter as it hustles aboard the by the Herzog iron works of St. Paul and “is a skeleton line of waiting coaches with their champing, impatient horses, affair frame, with letters about three feet long.”5 is full of interest and enthusiasm, and a very fitting prelude to the wonderful trip ahead.7 On July 11, the Livingston Enterprise noted that the depot was “nearing completion,” and on August 6, the 1The Park County Republican noted on May 10 that the Park Branch was soon to be Wonderland bragged that the finished depot was the extended to Gardiner and that the extension would cause “a loss to Cinnabar which best in the West: will knock that town into a cocked hat.” “Will Be Extended,” Park County Republi- can, May 10, 1902. See also “Gardiner the Terminus,” Gardiner Wonderland, May The depot at this place is now completed and stands alone as 17, 1902. the most unique and attractive building of the kind in the 2“Passengers Transferred at Gardiner,” Gardiner Wonderland, July 3, 1902. west. In workmanship and finish it is something to be proud 3Whithorn, Twice Told, vol. I, p. 44. of and it is an attraction that tourists never tire of examining. 4Gardiner Wonderland, April 30, 1903. 5“The New Depot,” Gardiner Wonderland, July 2, 1902. The long sidewalks are covered with shades on a framework of 6Livingston Enterprise, July 11, 1903. Gardiner Wonderland, August 6, 1903. No logs, all of which is supported on a central tree not less than two detailed study of the depot’s construction using NPR records at Minnesota Histori- feet in diameter. The roofs are all painted green.6 cal Society has been attempted here. 7Olin D. Wheeler, Wonderland 1904 (St. Paul: NPR), 1904, p. 34-35. Chester Lindsley At the completion of the depot, Northern Pacific has stated that the logs of the depot were firs. Lindsley, The Chronology of Yellow- stone National Park (Mammoth: YLMA), 1939, p. 179.

16 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 17 fatigue, and the trip gave him new ener- would not have recognized, though they inspiring scenery in the immediate neigh- gy. Yellowstone remained on his mind.99 understood its meaning), they saw Yel- borhood. Standing at the arch today, and A long-time follower of the park’s fate, lowstone’s wild, forested topography as looking up to the heights of Electric Peak, Roosevelt had always been keenly aware a natural “manager” of the annual release Sepulchre Mountain, Mount Everts, and of the importance of the idea of the of water to surrounding agricultural the other nearby eminences, and observ- park’s “essential democracy,” an idea he lands.102 Thus, for early conservationists, ing the ecological treasures of the area, it stressed in his speech. In other words, as Yellowstone performed tremendous prac- is difficult to sympathize with these peo- he expressed it in the speech, the parks tical and economic services to society at ples’ need for a more inspiring setting, were essentially democratic because they the same time that it acted as a kind of but they reflected the attitudes of their ensured that large tracts of wild, beautiful living museum of an earlier America. In time. From the arch, a new, improved nature would always be available to the his vision of Yellowstone, Roosevelt was “avenue” into the park extended east to general public, not just to the the Gardner River, and along it COURTESY SUSAN AND JACK DAVIS wealthy who could afford to Chittenden planted two border- buy and maintain their own ing lines of trees. He boasted that private reserves. because all of his improvements To Roosevelt, Yellow- were supplied with irrigation stone and the other national water, “the whole effect will be parks did not represent the to give a dignified and pleasing mainstream of American nat- entrance to the Park at the point ural resource management; where the great majority of visi- that was found in the national tors enter it.” 103 forests and other public and These were admirable plans, private lands whose resourc- but within a few years only the es—whether timber, minerals, arch and the depot would stand. water, wildlife, or others—were A Fred Mikesell photograph to be intelligently consumed in shows the rocked-in, heart-shaped a way that would permit their pond and neatly landscaped area perpetuation. Roosevelt was between the arch and the depot the Progressive Era’s fore- with its irrigated shrubs about most preacher of the “gospel 1903.104 A suggestion had it that of efficiency.”100 But Yellow- colors would be added to the stone and its sister parks held pond with goldfish in one side a special place in Roosevelt’s and whitefish in the other, but that heart precisely because of appears never to have happened, their difference. They were and Chittenden’s landscaped to be used in a new way, to arrangement lasted for only a few allow Americans to enjoy years. Keeping the pond supplied something else, something with water, the foliage around it very non-commercial that he green, and the trees along the ave- obviously saw as precious: a nue irrigated proved impossible in glimpse of, and a chance to the aridity of the Gardiner area. engage with, the natural heri- Besides, some of Chittenden’s tage of the North American chosen ornamental vegetation continent.101 seemed particularly ill-adapted And, like some other for- W.S. Berry postcard of the arch, 1907. to such a dry climate; among ward-looking conservation- Note the long-since-gone shrubbery and pond. his choices were “half a dozen ists of his time, he was able to sequoias” from California.105 take a broader view of what a Gradually, the pond dried up, and park contributed, in utilitarian terms, to fully aware of both kinds of values: the so did Chittenden’s bushes and trees. 106 the region around it. Roosevelt, Grinnell, immediate, economic ones, and the long- This almost immediate decline was and a few others saw that Yellowstone term, aesthetic and spiritual ones. perhaps a precursor of things to come; National Park served as a reservoir for what seems most remarkable about the wildlife whose seasonal migrations could The Arch since 1903 arch’s life, at least for its first half cen- perpetually restock game-lands beyond In building the arch, Chittenden and tury or so, is how quickly it went from park boundaries. Thinking even more in his colleagues were attempting to over- being perceived as very nearly a wonder terms of ecosystem process (a term they come what they saw as a shortage of of the world to seeming nearly expend-

16 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 17 able. While visitors detraining at the arch would witness all of these changes, to the old Cinnabar townsite and on to depot must have enjoyed the moment or and welcome countless motorists after Corwin Springs, Montana, and points two it took to approach the arch and then Mr. Seiler. north. Rerouting of the state highway to leave it behind, and while the many thou- We have not found any contemporary Gardiner (now U.S. 89) in 1929 moved sands who had this experience may well notice, either in official records or in the arch off the main road to Gardiner. have admired or photographed the fine regional newspapers, of the arch’s 25th Ever since then, drivers wishing to pass masonry and generous sentiment of the anniversary. Two years later, in a remod- through the arch have had to go a little out arch’s great quotation, there are indica- eling for which we have yet to find any of their way to do so, (even if they may tions that the arch very quickly had little explanation, the wing wall that extended not know it, because a road sign points mystique, as of a sacred monument, in its from the main arch wall toward Gardiner them in that direction). Today, drivers local image. was removed. Judging from photographs entering Gardiner on U.S. 89 and cross- Another especially notable day in of the street layout at the time and later, ing the Yellowstone River bridge proceed the North Entrance’s early years—and this removal could have been to facilitate to the T at Park Street and then turn right certainly one of the big days in the park’s realignment of the road connecting Gar- (west), driving the length of Park Street history as well—was July 31, 1915. On diner’s business district with the arch. until the arch is reached around a little that day, Mr. K.R. Seiler, of Redwing, At the time the arch was built in 1903, hairpin curve that lines them up to pass Minnesota, led a small group of auto- it was in a direct line with all traffic to through the arch.108 mobiles into the park, to become the the north entrance; hence all visitors from The indignity of neglect was com- first officially permitted visitors to bring the north (except delivery vehicles using bined with a genuine threat to the arch’s their cars into Yellowstone (August 31 the “truck gate” located closer to conces- existence in 1947. This must, at least had been set as the big day for this huge sioner buildings along the Gardner River) symbolically, serve as the low point in change in the Yellowstone experience, passed through it. The main road from the arch’s history. On July 8 of that year, but the superintendent, nervous about Livingston was, at that time, the equiva- National Park Service Acting Director the crowd of vehicles that might show lent of today’s “Old Yellowstone Trail,” Hillory A. Tolson sent a memorandum up, let a few in the day before). Mr. known locally as quite startling

Seiler’s Ford carried immense historical the Stephens Creek NPS PHOTO but at the time symbolism of its own; it was the leader of Road, that runs west was apparently a flood of new visitors, new commercial from the arch, on not unimagi- opportunities for park concessioners, and the west side of the nable: new ways to enjoy Yellowstone.107 The Yellowstone River

Today’s arch as symbol and conscience the American bison.2 In the past two decades, the Roosevelt Arch has enjoyed The march aimed to a heightening public awareness of its original symbolism. call attention to the The power of this renewed symbolism was surely evident slaughter, by man- on January 12, 1995, when a small convoy of National Park agement agencies, Service vehicles passed through the arch with eight Canadian of Yellowstone-area wolves, each in its individual crate. There was no doubt of bison that left the the instant at which the new wolves entered Yellowstone park attempting to National Park and thereby made wolf recovery seem like a follow historic migra- reality; it happened precisely as the trailer containing them tion routes. Joseph passed under the Roosevelt Arch. The road was lined with a Chasing Horse, a large crowd of wolf-recovery supporters, Gardiner schoolchil- Lakota Sioux leader dren, media, and other observers for what was perhaps the of the group, said The first restored wolves arrive in Yellowstone, most historic and highly visible event involving the arch since January 12, 1995. that, “Long ago, the its dedication in 1903.1 buffalo gave his blood Another event of perhaps even greater drama and meaning for us; Today we give occurred on February 27, 1999, when about 100 members of our blood for him.”3 The usefulness of the arch’s symbolism various Native American tribes concluded a 500-mile march will no doubt be heightened as more such events occur. from the Black Hills of South Dakota with a ceremony just The arch’s famous inscription, “For the benefit and enjoy- inside the park near the arch. Representatives of the Lakota ment of the people,” has drawn the attention, interpretation, Sioux, Algonquin, Apache, Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Crow, and debate of several generations of people since the arch Navajo, Nez Perce, Northern Cheyenne, Southern Ute, and was completed. Like all rhetoric that invokes some vaguely Tuscarora tribes were present during a ceremony honoring defined “people” or “public,” the arch’s inscription is regu-

18 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 19 memo to Yellowstone Superintendent Edmund Rogers, noting in his cover memo that there seemed to be some good reasons not to dismantle the arch, at least not yet. Rogers responded in the same vein, agreeing with Merriam that although the arch had to some extent been marginalized by the new traffic route, the local people would disapprove of its removal:

While the unrest that was created by Gardiner residents last year over rout- ing outgoing traffic around the Arch resulted in hard feelings of only a few local businessmen, we are confident COURTESY HAYNES FOUNDATION COLLECTION, MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY that any proposal to dismantle the Arch and ship the cornerstone to some other area would result in a very strong North Entrance station and arch from just inside the park, 1922. and united protest by all residents of Gardiner and a large group of people Now that a national memorial park has laid by Theodore Roosevelt used in throughout Montana.110 been established for Theodore Roos- the proposed monument in Medora, N. evelt and the legislation establishing Dak., particularly since the Roosevelt On the other hand, Rogers said that if a the area provides for a monument to be Arch is not well located. Please let us new north entrance road was constructed erected in Medora, North Dakota, we have your and Superintendent Rogers’ and the local traffic problem solved, then believe that thought should be given to comments regarding this proposal as “it is doubtful that much criticism would the dismantling of the Roosevelt Memo- soon as practicable.109 be encountered locally to the dismantling rial Arch, North Entrance, Yellowstone of the Arch. We do contemplate, howev- National Park, and the cornerstone Merriam dutifully forwarded the er, that strong pressure would be brought

larly put to use to justify or defend a wide variety of political, them away, destroyed natural hot spring formations to pipe social, and economic positions, from the most strident to the their water into bathing pools, or otherwise favored treat- most mild-mannered, from the most destructively intrusive ments of Yellowstone’s natural wonders that we now see as to the most light-on-the-land sensitive. In the park’s earliest heavy-handed, short-sighted, or simply foolish. days, “benefit and enjoyment” were often implicitly and sim- In a way, the arch’s inscription is itself a kind of challenge plistically interpreted to mean “profit and convenience” or to us. Each generation must reconsider the definition of Yel- “advantage and entertainment.” As the decades have passed lowstone, as our generation is doing right now—in the ongo- since the park was established, however, the idea and ideals ing controversy over the bison that want to migrate beyond behind national parks have continued to develop and evolve. the arch to historic winter ranges farther north. This con- This has resulted in many other interpretations of these tinuing reconsideration of Yellowstone is a painful and trying terms, interpretations that are both more challenging and, it social process, but it is also an essential one if Yellowstone is seems, more rewarding. to remain vital and best able to provide each new generation For example, as Yellowstone’s world significance as a the kinds of benefit and enjoyment they regard as fitting. healthy, wild ecosystem became better known, especially in The quotation on the arch remains as essential a guiding the past half-century, the public’s “benefit and enjoyment” principle as it was a century ago, but its meaning never was of the park came to depend more heavily on that ecological simple, and probably never will be completely agreed upon. condition. A Yellowstone without its natural processes func- tioning (which was the case when fires were suppressed, for 1For a summary of events leading up to that day, see Michael K. Phillips and Douglas W. Smith, The Wolves of Yellowstone (Stillwater, Minn.: Voyageur Press, 1996). example, or when predators were destroyed) is, in effect, less 2”Indians march from across U.S. to protest bison killings,” Billings Gazette, February 28, able to teach and inspire than a Yellowstone in which those 1999. 3”Indians protest killing of buffalo,” (Louisville, Kentucky) Courier Journal, February 28, processes are thriving. Previous definitions of benefit and 1999. enjoyment led to garbage-fed bears, encouraged the slaughter of thousands of trout by fishermen who then simply threw

18 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 19 NPS PHOTO to bear to have the Yellowstone, just then Arch relocated on the about to get underway, new highway.”111 If would be an especially Rogers’s assessment appropriate occasion of the local mood to begin such an inter- was correct, the arch pretive development. was not quite dispos- Though nothing able, but it might be so ambitious was portable. undertaken that sum- Of course, none mer, park officials of these proposed or did hold a rededica- imagined changes were tion ceremony for ever made. In 1953, the arch on Sunday, the 50th anniversary June 18, 1972. Mason of the arch also passed Grand Master Arnold with no celebration G. Beusen led the in the park, though ceremony, along with the appearance of an other Masons. So as extended newspaper not to disrupt traf- article in the Park Arch Park, spring 2003. fic flow at the arch, County News for officials held the April 16, 1953, full of details about the By 1972, when the arch was examined ceremony at the small park nearby. original festivities, suggested consider- by staff from the National Park Service’s Following a parade that included early able interest in the history of the arch Historic Preservation office at the Den- Yellowstone stagecoaches, Congress- and of Gardiner’s “greatest day.”112 The ver Service Center, it was described as man Richard G. Shoup read greetings article stated, “no formal celebration of “generally intact,” except for the loss from President Richard Nixon and then the fiftieth anniversary of the arch is of the wing wall removed in 1930.115 rain forced onlookers to reconvene at planned, but the traveling public will be There was “some deterioration of the Gardiner’s Eagles Hall. The day’s activi- reminded of the anniversary in Montana concrete cap and two lower tablets.”116 ties concluded with a barbecue sponsored travel literature and special publicity More important, the historic structures by the Gardiner American Legion Post. throughout the 1953 park season.”113 The report said that “The structure has lost An interesting addition to the activities newspaper account is especially revealing much of its significance due to the fact was the display of a full miniature model of the sense of tradition that had by this that large numbers of visitors no longer of the arch designed by a member of the point already grown up around the arch: come to the park by train into Gardiner, Montana Masons.119 In the mid-1980s, “Members of virtually every race and and consequently the handsome railroad the arch finally received much-needed country on the globe have passed through station no longer stands and the park maintenance and stabilization.120 the Roosevelt arch [sic.] at Gardiner in [today’s Arch Park, now restored] is The site between the arch and the the past half century on their way to view virtually gone. Additionally, much of depot eventually became a town park. By the wonders of Yellowstone, and they the automobile traffic now by-passes the 1972, the Park Service had erected a rus- will keep on entering the park through arch, and there are currently plans for a tic amphitheater here for evening inter- the arch for many ages to come”114 new road alignment into Gardiner which pretive programs, and Gardiner residents Photographs of the arch show changes would virtually eliminate all auto traffic used the spot for picnic-type festivities. in fencing and shrubbery over the years, through this structure.”117 In 1999–2000, a partnership of govern- as well as suggesting that at times, at least But unlike some earlier observers, ment agencies including the National for special occasions, the arch was even who saw lack of continued public use Park Service built the (much-improved) gated. The small walkways, or “pedes- as justification for elimination of the “Arch Park” picnic pavilion on the site trian portals,” on both sides of the main arch, the authors of the historic structures for $129,000, and equipped it with inter- arch were boarded up at various times report suggested that the arch be “devel- pretive wayside exhibits describing the and in various ways. For many years, oped as a wayside historical exhibit history of the area.121 the entrance station, from which rangers commemorating the establishment of Last, it is a remarkable footnote to the greeted visitors and collected entrance Yellowstone as the first National Park. history of the arch that it did not gain list- fees, was located on the west side of the The monumental scale of the structure ing on the National Register of Historic road just within the park from the arch at and the sentiments expressed on it would Places until 2002. After many years of the current site of the sign that announces seem to make it particularly appropriate intermittent paperwork on behalf of this one’s arrival in Yellowstone National for this purpose.”118 The authors further well-earned distinction, the arch was Park. stated that the centennial celebration of listed not for itself but as a contributing

20 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 21 structure to the North Entrance Road past. They may already have begun to Drew Ross, of St. Paul, Minnesota, provided helpful architectural history. 122 Historic District as of 2002. fade by 1915, when that first Model T The manuscript was read and commented on by Roger Ford drove into the park. Or perhaps they Anderson, Elaine Hale, Marsha Karle, and Alice Remembering what the arch meant peaked much earlier, on an April day Wondrak Biel, Yellowstone Park; Leslie Quinn, Ruth in 1903 Quinn, and Jim Sweaney, Gardiner, Montana; and in 1903, when an energetic American Jeremy Johnston, Powell, Wyoming. These readers Construction of the arch in 1903 solid- president climbed the low, raw stone- contributed many substantial improvements to this ified Yellowstone’s somewhat abstract work of an incomplete pillar to speak article; any remaining errors are ours. northern entry point into a place more of wilderness, and democracy, and the Endnotes defined and tangible, especially when the promise of the West. But peak they had. 1For purposes of this article we will refer to the arch as arch combined with the new train pres- The tracks, trains, and log depot are gone the Roosevelt Arch. As will be shown below, it was referred to as the Roosevelt Arch as early as 1905 ence and its symbol, the Reamer depot. today. The pond, shrubbery, and trees are and was at least occasionally also referred to as the Completion of these structures seemed to gone. Most visitors no longer enter the Theodore Roosevelt Arch and the Roosevelt Memorial usher the park formally into the 20th cen- park through the arch; in fact, some may Arch. Other names, such as the North Entrance Arch, Gardiner Arch, Gardiner Entrance Arch, and Chitten- tury, literally and symbolically—literally not even notice the arch as they follow den Arch, seem also to have appeared now and then, because it was 1903 and symbolically another road past the historic structures if only in local conversation. The name seems never because the arch represented a step into that now house park and Xanterra staff to have been completely settled on in local usage, and seems to have evolved over time. The popular Haynes modernity: trains now came right to the and offices. The ambience has changed at Guides (considered for many years to have been the park boundary. Yellowstone’s North Entrance. “official” guidebook to Yellowstone) seem to have For visitors of 1903 and many years But in 1903, the new arch represented been a prominent force in that evolution. Editions of the Haynes Guide to Yellowstone National Park for afterward, these edifices may have made a beginning: a gateway to adventure and 1904 through 1909 referred to the structure only as Yellowstone seem a little less wild. But at wonder. The magnificent, 50-foot high “The Arch at Northern Entrance” (for example, 1904, the time they were constructed, the arch basalt monument offered those who p. 14). Beginning with the 1910 edition (p. 11), author Jack Haynes referred to it as the “Northern Entrance and the depot probably did what Chit- passed through it a promise of excitement Arch.” A 1924 newspaper headline (Livingston Enter- tenden hoped: make the North Entrance strangely combined with a sense of com- prise, June 21, 1924) makes clear that the name “Roos- to the park more interesting as a place to fort. For those who know its history and evelt Arch” was then in use, at least by that newspaper (which mentioned a “ceremony in the shadow of arrive. The visitor alighting from a train honor its legacy, the Roosevelt Arch still Roosevelt Arch”). In 1939, “North Entrance Arch” experienced a foreshadowing as he or she offers that same affectionate, hope-filled was first used in the Haynes Guides (1939, p. 36). In stared at the arch. It is probably not strain- welcome. 1942, “Theodore Roosevelt Arch” was first used in the guides (1942–43, p. 36), and the guides used this lat- ing the bounds of historical interpretation Acknowledgments ter name continuously through the last (1966) edition to say that for many visitors, just then Roger Anderson, leader of the Resource Information (p. 38). We find no evidence, so far, that any of these arrived in a strange new place, the depot and Publications Team at the Yellowstone Center for names was ever formally preferred over any other. Resources, supported this work in many ways, includ- The passing of a century has not settled the question in and the arch were an inspiring presage of ing helping with photograph research at the Montana favor of any single name, though it is our impression wonders to come, even a portent of magic Historical Society and researching architectural that “Roosevelt Arch” is the most popular name today. 2 and mysteries that might lie in store for planning drawings in Yellowstone National Park’s The phrase is from “Gardiner’s Big Day,” Gardiner Maintenance Division files. In the Yellowstone Park Wonderland, April 23, 1903. 3 them beyond this designated threshold, Research Library, librarians Alissa Cherry, Tara Cross, Background on Roosevelt’s life is found in many this newly anointed entryway. and Barb Zafft, and archival specialist Harold Housley biographies, including Edmund Morris, The Rise of By participating in its dedication, assisted with tracking down various documents. In Theodore Roosevelt (New York: Coward, McCann & the Yellowstone Park Museum Collections, curatorial Geoghegan, 1979). 4 Theodore Roosevelt elevated the histori- assistants Sean Cahill and Steve Tustanowski-Marsh Paul Schullery, “A partnership in conservation...Roo- cal stature of the arch far beyond the fair- researched additional photographs. In the Yellowstone sevelt & Yellowstone,” Montana the Magazine of Park Public Affairs Office, Stacy Vallie retrieved Western History, Summer 1978, 28(3): 2–15. ly lofty ambitions of its designers. It was 5 several key newspaper articles relating to recent events Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex (New York: Random no longer just a grand portal into a magi- involving the arch. House, 2001), 214. 6 cal landscape; it was an important object At Montana State University, Special Collections Librar- Jeremy Johnston, “Preserving the Beasts of Waste and of American culture, swept along in the ian Kim Allen Scott assisted with locating additional Desolation: Theodore Roosevelt and Predator Control research materials. in Yellowstone,” Yellowstone Science, Spring 2002 tide of change that Roosevelt himself was At the Montana Historical Society, Photo Archivist Lory 10(2): 16–17. The episode of Roosevelt’s proposed attempting to direct in American society Morrow and Assistant Photo Archivist Becca Kohl mountain lion hunt is based on this article, and on facilitated our search of Haynes and other photographs Schullery, “A partnership in conservation.” and the world. As Roosevelt was perhaps 7 of the arch. Burroughs later confided that though he was apparently our greatest conservationist president, the Doris Whithorn, of Livingston, Montana, besides hav- seen as a gentling influence on the sportsman Roos- arch, through intimate identification with ing herself published the most thorough documentary evelt, he also would have liked to hunt a mountain his legend, could not avoid becoming history of the events surrounding the dedication of lion. John Burroughs, Camping and Tramping with the arch, provided many images from her famous Roosevelt (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1907), 6. For the a powerful symbol of that good cause. collection of early Park County and Yellowstone history of predators in Yellowstone National Park, see And, as Roosevelt himself was a tireless photographs. Paul Schullery and Lee Whittlesey, “Greater Yellow- campaigner on behalf of the physical and Jim Sweaney, of Gardiner, Montana, provided us with stone Carnivores: A History of Changing Attitudes,” several key historic documents relating to Montana in Tim W. Clark, A. Peyton Curlee, Steven C. Minta, spiritual benefits of the wilderness, the Masonic activities. Adeline Moulton and B.J. Thomas, and Peter M. Kareiva, Carnivores in Ecosystems: The arch has come to stand for Yellowstone’s of Gardiner, Montana, provided first-hand recollec- Yellowstone Experience (New Haven: Yale University tions of road alignments and planned changes in roads Press, 1999), 11–49. role as source of serenity and reflection. 8 along the Yellowstone Park/Gardiner boundary since Morris, in Theodore Rex, 215, described the Elysian as The glory days of the arch are long the mid-20th century. “seventy feet of solid mahogany, velvet plush, and 20 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 21 sinkingly deep furniture. It had two sleeping chambers 29Gardiner Wonderland, November 13, 1902. “Some Park Gossip,” Livingston Enterprise, August with brass bedsteads, two tiled bathrooms, a private 30Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 2, 18; Haines, The Yel- 15, 1903. 44 kitchen run by the Pennsylvania Railroad’s star chef, a lowstone Story II, 229. In this matter, as in others Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 44. 45 dining room, a stateroom with picture windows, and an dealing with the arch, the administrative record of the Gardiner Wonderland, August 20, 1903. 46 airy rear platform for whistle-stop speeches.” park held in the Yellowstone Archives, usually such Ibid. 9 47 Northern Pacific Railway Company, Office of Superin- an excellent source of such information, is regrettably Chittenden, Annual Reports, 2889. 48 tendent, Montana Division, schedule of the pilot train silent. Ibid. 49 and the presidential train for April 8, 1903. One-page 31Haines, The Yellowstone Story II, 229. Robert E. Miller, The Hands of the Workmen, A History typescript, from collection of Doris Whithorn, Livings- 32Ruth Quinn, communication with the authors, June 3, of the First 100 Years of the Grand Lodge of Montana, ton, Montana. 2003. Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons. (Helena: The 10 “Glorious Welcome for Teddy,” Livingston Post, April 33We have not seen the Arch House or the neighboring Centennial Committee, 1966), 205. 50 9, 1903, quoted in Doris Whithorn, Twice Told on building attributed to Reamer in print, but attribution is Gardiner Wonderland, April 30, 1903. 51 the Upper Yellowstone, volume I (Livingston: Doris and for some time has been made in informal conver- “Dedicate the Arch,” Livingston Enterprise, April 18, Whithorn, 1994), 5. sations among Gardiner residents. 1903, in Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 14. Hall lived 11 Ibid., 8. 34Leavengood, “A Sense of Shelter: Robert C. Reamer at Gardiner, while the others all lived at Mammoth 12 Theodore Roosevelt, The Wilderness Hunter (New in YNP,” Pacific Historical Review 1985: 497, citing except for Brandon, whose residence is unknown. York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893), 434–435. interview with Harry Child’s granddaughter Jackie Klamer and Lyall ran stores at Old Faithful and Mam- 13 “Glorious Welcome,” in Whithorn, Twice Told Tales Nicholas-Lowe, and Haines, The Yellowstone Story moth. Hall was a Gardiner store owner; Trischman was I, 9. II, 229. Leavengood, p. 509, states: “Reamer helped post wheelwright at Fort Yellowstone. 14 52 Secretary of the Interior, Regulations and Instructions shape the northern entrance to the park and, in 1902, Smith was certainly involved in Masonic arrangements for the Information and Guidance of the Officers and designed the Roosevelt Arch.” for the ceremony and was present at it with Roosevelt, Enlisted Men of the United States Army, and of the 35Anne Farrar Hyde, An American Vision: Far Western even sitting on the speakers’ platform. In 1940, he Scouts Doing Duty in the Yellowstone National Park Landscape and National Culture, 1820–1920 (New wrote letters to attorney Oscar O. Mueller, of Lew- (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, York and London: New York University Press), 1990, istown, Montana, about these events. On January 3, 1907), 19, insisted that “All persons traveling through 255; David L. Naylor, “Old Faithful Inn and Its Leg- 1941, Mueller wrote to park concessioner Jack Haynes the Park from October 1 to June 1 should be regarded acy: The Vernacular Transformed,” Master’s thesis, and quoted from two of the letters at length. The Smith with suspicion.” Cornell University, 1990, 25; Winfred Blevins, Road- quote given here is said by Mueller to be part of an 15 “Glorious Welcome,” in Whithorn, Twice Told Tales side History of Yellowstone Park (Missoula: Mountain excerpt from a March 30, 1940, letter from Smith to I, 11. Press, 1989), 5. We are indebted to Ruth Quinn for Mueller. Through Mueller, Smith’s letters give us 16 “Theodore Roosevelt, “Wilderness Reserves, Part I,” much of this information about Reamer and the arch. good information on some peripheral details about the Forestry and Irrigation, June 1904, 10, 251–255; 36“The Entrance Arch,” Gardiner Wonderland, March planning of the event. More important, they identify “Glorious Welcome,” in Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 19, 1903 fifteen persons in two of the photographs. See Frank E. 9; “President Roosevelt Has Honored Us by His Pres- 37Ibid. Olin Wheeler agrees in Wonderland 1904, (St. Smith, remarks included in [Roosevelt Arch Dedica- ence,” Gardiner Wonderland, April 9, 1903. Roos- Paul: Northern Pacific Railway), p. 34, that the cost of tion], letter of Oscar C. Mueller to Jack E. Haynes, evelt’s Forestry and Irrigation article was reprinted in the arch was $10,000. January 3, 1941, in Yellowstone Research Library, Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter (New York: 38Our thanks to historian Jeremy Johnston for encourag- vertical files. Here is the relevant text of Smith’s let- Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1905), 287–317. ing us to call attention to these misunderstandings. ters quoted by Mueller. First, here are two paragraphs 17 Roosevelt, “Wilderness Reserves,” 251. Author Whittlesey has often heard local people and from the March 30, 1940 letter: 18 Merv Olson, oral history interview with Clarence Scoy- visitors make the claim that TR established Yellow- “With reference to the laying of the cornerstone of en, audiotape 70–1, October 6, 1970, YNP archives. stone. Author Schullery first heard that TR conducted the Northern entrance to Yellowstone Park, I would 19 Schullery, “A partnership in conservation;” Johnston, the original explorations of Yellowstone from a Yel- say that I was personally acquainted with Theodore “Preserving the Beasts of Waste and Desolation;” lowstone visitor in about 1975. Roosevelt when [I was] quite a young man and while I Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I. 39All quotes in this paragraph from “Local Layout,” was attending the Albany School, the law department 20 Burroughs, Camping and Tramping, 60. Livingston Enterprise, March 28, 1903, in Whithorn, of Union University, and he was a young member of 21 Burroughs, Camping and Tramping, 51–52. Twice Told Tales I, 2. the N.Y. legislature. Some of his classmates at Harvard 22 Max Oelschlaeger, The Idea of Wilderness from Prehis- 40“President Roosevelt at Gardiner,” Bozeman Avant were classmates of mine at Albany, and we several tory to the Age of Ecology (New Haven: Yale Univer- Courier, April 24, 1903; “The Stone is Laid,” Livings- times visited with him in his committee room at the sity Press, 1991). ton Post, April 30, 1903. Gardiner Wonderland, April capitol building. 23 Hiram Chittenden, Annual Reports upon the Construc- 9, and Livingston Enterprise, April 18, both reported “He and John Burroughs, the great naturalist, were tion, Repair, and Maintenance of Roads and Bridges that work on the arch was being performed under visiting the Park to see its winter beauties, and it was in the Yellowstone National Park; and the Construc- the auspices of N.J. Ness, an architect from St. Paul. at my instigation that he was invited to participate on tion of Military Road from Fort Washakie to Mouth of Interestingly,the Railroad Gazette credited Hiram that occasion and make an address. Burroughs is the Buffalo Fork of Snake River, Wyoming, in the charge Chittenden with both designing and building the arch. man ambuscaded in the great beard on the stand while of Hiram M. Chittenden, Captain, Corps of Engineers, “Unique Passenger Station on the Northern Pacific,” Roosevelt was speaking.” U.S.A.; being appendices GGG and KKK of the Annu- Railroad Gazette 36 (April 29, 1904): 316. Nels J. From a May 8, 1940 letter from Mueller to Haynes: al Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1903 (Washing- Ness was a prominent “stone contractor” and builder “It is hard for me to recollect or recognize those ton, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903, 2889. who was active in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1883 to surrounding me at the time of the laying of the corner- 24 Ibid. 1905, and then moved to Helena, Montana. Patricia stone of the Entrance Arch of Yellowstone Park. How- 25 Aubrey Haines, The Yellowstone Story Volume II (Boul- Harpole, Chief of the Reference Library, Minnesota ever, if you will look at page 38 of the booklet of the th der: Colorado Associated University Press, 1997), Historical Society, letter to Lon Johnson, Deputy State 25 Anniversary, you will follow what I can remember 3–255; H. Duane Hampton, How the U.S. Cavalry Historic Preservation Officer, Montana Historical of those who were present. First, in the picture in the Saved Our National Parks (Bloomington: Indiana Uni- Society, May 29, 1986. top, right hand corner, the first Steward with staff is versity Press, 1971). 41“Work Around the Depot,” Gardiner Wonderland, W.R.C. Stewart, acting as W.G. Steward. (Afterward 26 Haines, The Yellowstone Story II, 209–255, Paul Schul- April 9, 1903. The Enterprise published a very similar [he was] District Judge of the Bozeman District for lery, Searching for Yellowstone (Boston: Houghton description nine days later in “Will Be Beautiful. many years, and brother of the later Governor.) Next Mifflin Company, 1997), 115–116. The essential Extensive Landscape Work at the Entrance to the to him was Frank Kennedy, Junior Steward, acting; source for the history of road building in Yellowstone Park,” Livingston Enterprise, April 18, 1903. immediately back of Kennedy and partly obscured, National Park is Mary Shivers Culpin, The History of 42Workmen constructing the stone wall south of the stands Cornelius Hedges, Grand Secretary; the next the Construction of the Road System in Yellowstone depot, fencing the new lake, and setting out trees and two to the right I cannot recognize, but think one was National Park, 1872–1966, I: Historic Resource Study shrubbery are reported in “The New Depot,” Gardiner Finley McRae, W.G. Sword Bearer; then my picture (Denver: Rocky Mountain Region, National Park Wonderland, July 2, 1902. Apparently these improve- appears first one in the group wearing a silk hat; next, Service, 1994). ments occurred almost a year before the building of to the left, stands Sol Hepner, Deputy G.M.; next to 27 Hiram Chittenden, The Yellowstone National Park: the arch. him, I think, is D.A. McCaw, acting G.J. Warden; and Historical and Descriptive (Cincinnati: Stewart and 43Grace Hecox, “Trip Thro’ Yellowstone Park, “ 1903, last to the left of the group is L.L. Callaway, G.S. War- Kidd, 1895). in Doris Whithorn’s “Women’s Stories of Early Trips den. That ends that group on the speaker’s platform. 28 Haines, The Yellowstone Story II, 465–466. Through Yellowstone Park,” YNP Library, 4. See also “Then in the bottom picture, to the right stands LINE DRAWING TOM ROBERTS 22 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 23 Col. [sic., Captain] Chittenden, U.S. Army, Supt. of 1903. Mentions of photographers, and the obvious the same manual, 3.8.9, includes the words, “May the the building of the arch; next is President Roosevelt presence of cameras in photographs of the crowd, are structure here to be erected, be planned with Wisdom, delivering his address; next to him Sol Hepner; next to intriguing to historians today. There is every indica- supported by Strength, and adorned in Beauty, and him is Rev. Bro. F.B. Lewis, acting Grand Chaplain; tion that a great many photographs were taken of this may it be preserved to the latest Ages, a monument to next to him is John Burroughs, the great naturalist, a event, but that some large percentage of them have the energy and liberality of its founders.” In winter and member of Roosevelt’s party in the park; the next one been lost, or have not found their way into public col- spring 2003, arch centennial event planners decided I recognize is myself on the extreme left. Those inter- lections. National Park Service museum staff in Yel- that it seemed clear from these statements that, unlike vening were members of the President’s party. lowstone National Park would welcome information the more popularly known “time capsule,” which is “Across from the speaker’s platform, is the lower- about sources of photographs that might so far have widely perceived as having been buried or otherwise ing tackle used in dropping the stone into place; next eluded the attention of historians. set aside for the express purpose of its being opened party I do not recognize, but immediately to his left is 62“The Stone is Laid,” Post. at some definite or even prescribed time in the future, G.S.W. Callaway. 63Ibid. The Enterprise varies by saying the second train the contents of the cornerstone depository were placed “When I received notice that the Grand Lodge had left Livingston at noon and arrived in Gardiner at 3 there more or less in perpetuity. They were, in other been asked to lay the cornerstone, I took the matter up p.m. Lew Callaway, Early Montana Masons (Billings: words, placed in the arch against the chance of the with the Grand Secretary at Helena, as he was where Litho-Print Press, 1951), 38, says the Masonic train destruction or eventual aging and deterioration of the he could contact people much better than I. I requested left Livingston at 12:30 p.m. structure. Author communication with Yellowstone him to arrange for the President to come out of the 64Ibid. National Park Chief of Public Affairs Marsha Karle, Park and deliver the address. He made all the arrange- 65“Was a Great Day,” Livingston Enterprise, April 25, May 1, 2003. ments, and a large special train bearing brothers from 1903. 77“Local Layout,” Livingston Enterprise, March 28, 1903, the Western part of the State came through, and I met 66“The Stone is Laid,” Post; Photos in Whithorn, Twice in Whithorn, Twice Told, 2, seems to say that a desire it at a point on the N.P. and went with them to Livings- Told Tales I, 21; Callaway, Early Montana Masons, to preserve the original natural surface of the arch ton. I was careful not to have my name mentioned to 38. included protecting lichens (referred to as mosses) that the President, as it had been so long since I had known 67“The Stone is Laid,” Post. had grown on the surface of the rock. him, I thought he had probably forgotten me, and I did 68Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 17, identifies McCartney 78Haines, The Yellowstone Story II, 235. not wish to intrude myself upon him. When he and and Hoppe in photograph with Roosevelt. “Mayor” is 79The Stone is Laid,” Post. It is also probable that many party arrived from the Park we were all arranged upon in quotes because Gardiner, an unincorporated town, people, such as those who have been quoted as stating the left platform, ready to proceed with the work. I has never had an official mayor, that is, one elected that some specific item was in the cornerstone, were directed the Grand Marshal to bring him upon the plat- or appointed to head city government. McCartney not as concerned with precision of language as we form. However, he declined to come up, stopping 20 to was long referred to in the newspapers as “Mayor” might be today. 30 feet in front of us. of Gardiner, but that was a strictly honorary title that 80“The Stone is Laid,” Post. “He looked hard at me and I knew he was studying apparently recognized his longevity in the area. He 81Miller, The Hands of the Workmen, 215. According to me. When the stone was laid, the President was con- was present at the town’s founding in 1880 and could the Montana Masonic Manual, 3.8.8, the corn is the ducted to the other and higher platform. arguably be called the town’s founder, as he settled “emblem of Plenty,” the wine the “emblem of Joy and “He immediately directed that I be brought to his there in 1879, before it was a town. Gladness,” and the oil the “emblem of Peace.” platform I went over, and was grasped heartily by the 69“The Stone is Laid,” Post; “Was a Great Day,” Livings- 82Miller, The Hands of the Workmen, 216. hand and congratulated upon the fine way we had per- ton Enterprise, April 25, 1903; photo in Whithorn, p. 83“The Corner Stone Was Laid,” Gardiner Wonderland. formed the ceremony. Then, still holding my hand, he 17. It is also said that the president’s horse’s name was 84“The Stone is Laid,” Post; “The Corner Stone Was said, ‘I know you, where and when was it?’ I reminded “Bob.” See Ed Nowels, “April 24th 50th Anniversary Laid,” Wonderland. The Wonderland reporter added: him of our early acquaintance in New York twenty Arch Dedication,” Park County News, April 16, 1953. “It was Judge Hedges who suggested that the Yellow- years before that time. He threw his arm across my 70“The Stone is Laid,” Post; Livingston Enterprise, April stone country be set apart by the federal government shoulder and rung my hand harder than ever and said, 25, 1903. as a national reserve.” A Masonic writer noted many ‘Now I remember,’ and was most hearty in his greet- 71“The Stone is Laid,” Post. years later: “It must have been a soul-stirring satisfac- ing.” 72Ibid. tion for Cornelius Hedges as R.W. Grand Secretary, to 53“Gardiner’s Big Day,” Gardiner Wonderland, April 23, 73Miller, The Hands of the Workmen, 216; Montana participate with the Grand Lodge officers and Presi- 1903, in Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 14. Masonic Manual (Helena: Montana Masonic Grand dent…Roosevelt in laying the cornerstone.” Callaway, 54“President Roosevelt at Gardiner,” Bozeman Avant Lodge, 1974), 3.8.5. Early Montana Masons, 11. See also LeRoy Aserlind, Courier, April 24, 1903. 74“Special Communication of the Grand Lodge A.F. & “Masonic Connotations in the Formation of Yellow- 55Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 15–17. A.M. of Montana, Held at Gardiner, April 24, 1903;” stone as a National Park,” undated clipping in Yellow- 56“Was a Great Day,” Livingston Enterprise, April 25, Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Montana, Septem- stone National Park Research Library, Vertical Files. 1903. ber, 1903, 5. 85Paul Schullery and Lee Whittlesey, Myth and History in 57“The Stone is Laid—Corner Stone of Entrance Gate 75Whithorn conducted an oral history interview with the Creation of Yellowstone National Park (Lincoln: Placed in Position by President Roosevelt,” Livingston members of the Edward Smith family, who told her University of Nebraska Press, in press, 2003). Post, April 30, 1903; “Was a Great Day—Gardiner’s that “Uncle Edward’s Bible is in the cornerstone.” 86Long-time local Ed Moorman recalled this moment, as Place in History Assured,” Livingston Enterprise, Whithorn, p. 19. quoted in Haines, The Yellowstone Story II, 237. April 25, 1903; and “The Corner Stone Was Laid,” 76“The Stone is Laid,” Post. The Post account says the 87“The Stone is Laid,” Post. According to a later Mason, Gardiner Wonderland, April 30, 1903. The Bozeman items were placed “in the cornerstone.” Whithorn’s William Campbell, Cornelius Hedges kept the official Avant Courier mentioned that the event was about to photo caption, p. 21, says, “a depository was enclosed minutes of the proceedings, and in them he wrote: “the occur in its edition of April 24 (“President Roosevelt at in the stone.” It was, incidentally, this repeatedly President delivered a stirring and appropriate address, Gardiner”), the very day of the festivities, but did not expressed hopefulness for the longevity of the arch setting forth the purposes of the Park, its dedication run a story about the concluded affair in the following that became a primary factor in the decision of to the pleasure and instruction of all the people of the edition of May 1. The Montana Record probably also National Park Service arch centennial event planners, country and of the world who are to be its guardians covered the activities, but copies of it are not known to in 2003, not to open the cornerstone to retrieve the and protectors while the general government will have survived except possibly for the one said to have materials placed therein one hundred years earlier. continue its bounties to make it correspond with the been placed in the arch cornerstone. In the Montana Masonic Manual, 3.8.5, under the future greatness of the country.” William C. Campbell, 58“The Stone is Laid,” Post. According to a short article heading of “Deposit of Memorials,” the Grand Master “Rededication of Historic Arch at Yellowstone Nation- in The New York World, April 28, 1903, “Small-Pox officiating at the laying of a cornerstone is to say, in al Park,” New Age Magazine 80 (October 1972): 53. Scare in President’s Path,” the dedication ceremonies, part, “It has ever been the custom, on occasions like 88Haines, The Yellowstone Story II, 237; “The Stone is or at least Roosevelt’s part in them, were almost can- the present, to deposit within a cavity in the stone, Laid,” Post, in Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 23–24; celled due to an outbreak of smallpox. We have seen placed in the northeast corner of the edifice, certain The Wonderland account does not make mention of only this one report of the scare. memorials of the period at which it was erected; so any preliminary remarks, or any remarks following the 59“The Stone is Laid,” Post. The number of train cars, the that in the lapse of ages, if the fury of the elements, formal conclusion of the speech. information on the Masons, and the “swarming” quote or the slow but certain ravages of time, should lay 89“The Stone is Laid,” Post. In at least one photograph are all in the Enterprise account. bare its foundation, an enduring record may be found of Roosevelt taken during his speech, he seems to 60Ibid. The rush to Gardiner hotels and saloons is in the by succeeding generations, to bear testimony to the be holding paper, which perhaps was the text of his Enterprise account. energy, industry and culture of our time.” As well, the speech. See Schullery, “A partnership in conserva- 61“Was a Great Day,” Livingston Enterprise, April 25, act of consecration of a cornerstone, as presented in tion,” 12–13. We have not researched the possibility

22 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 23 that the text survives in one of the collections of Roos- ter, National Park Service, May, 1972, p. 300. In his 121Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 46. Author Whittlesey’s evelt manuscripts, such as at the Library of Congress Report of the Acting Superintendent of the Yellowstone conversation with Eleanor Williams Clark, Landscape or the Widener Library at Harvard University. National Park to the Secretary of the Interior 1905 Architect, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 90 A more complete text of these remarks is quoted in (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1905, February 24, 2003. As for where the park boundary is Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 23–24. The Mains affair p. 3), Pitcher elaborated on the source and location of located at the arch, Hiram Chittenden noted in 1907: is mentioned in the Enterprise account. the short-lived sequoias: “Some time since 12 small “A good deal of search was made to establish correct 91 “The Corner Stone Was Laid,” Wonderland. An irresist- Sequoia trees (Sequoia gigantea), from the giant for- lines when the walls at the little park near the [NPR] ible alternative opinion was expressed about the arch ests in Sequoia National park, Cal., were, by direction station were built, but I am quite certain that they are just a few years later, by F. Dumont Smith, Book of a of the Department, shipped to this place with a view to not both exactly on the [park boundary] line. As I Hundred Bears (Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, their propagation in the park. Six of these trees have remember, the center of the little tower at the end of 1909), 218. Describing his arrival in Gardiner, he said, been planted near the Roosevelt Arch and the remain- the east wall [is] on the line, but that the outer edge of “I tied my horse in front of the ‘Bucket of Blood,’ the der in suitable places on the plateau at the Mammoth the base of the other tower, and not the center, is on most palatial of Gardiner’s business houses, and had Hot Springs. If we are successfully in growing these the line. I directed at that time that a careful record be a commercial transaction with its urbane proprietor trees, they will in the future be a matter of great inter- made and put on file in the [U.S. Engineer’s] office, which left me feeling as though I had swallowed a live est to the tourists.” showing exactly what the relation of these two towers 106 wire. I saw the granite ‘Gateway,’ that is not a gateway Yellowstone National Park botanist Jennifer Whipple was to the line and it ought to be somewhere in the at all, because no one ever passed through it. It is a stated to the authors in 2001: “there is a reason why office.” Chittenden to E.D. Peek, November 18, 1907, hideous structure of boulders that was built solely as the land there [at Gardiner] looks like it does [barren archive document 8576, YNP Archives. an excuse for someone to make a speech. It is getting and with only certain plants able to grow].” That rea- 122Robert Giles, Acting Director, Midwest Region, so in this fair land of ours that anything is an excuse son was and is aridity. Historian Aubrey Haines, The National Park Service, letter to Wesley Woodgerd, for a speech.” Yellowstone Story II, 338–339, has pointed out that the Chief, Recreation and Parks Division, Montana 92 “The Corner Stone Was Laid,” Wonderland. aridity of the North Entrance led to greater difficulties Department of Fish and Game, received June 28, 93 “The Stone Was Laid,” Post. The Enterprise men- than the failure of Chittenden’s ornamental plantings 1972, with enclosures relating to the qualifications of tions this event involving McBride, but does not give around the arch. Haines reported that “a delegation of the arch for National Register listing; Lon Johnson, Roosevelt’s exact words as the Post does. Gardiner townspeople” met with Roosevelt on April Deputy SHPO/Rehabilitation, letter to Richard Strait, 94 “The Stone is Laid,” Post; “Was a Great Day,” Livings- 24 and persuaded him to grant their petition to the park Association Regional Director, National Park Service, ton Enterprise, April 25, 1903. for a diversion of water from the Gardner River for the July 25, 1984, concurring in the eligibility of the arch, 95 “The Stone is Laid,” Post. town’s use. The previous year a similar petition had with attached “Assessment of Effect Form” on the 96 Ibid. been turned down by the Secretary of the Interior, but arch. Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park, 97 Elting Morison, ed., The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt the townspeople needed water, and were persistent. memorandum to Associate Director, Cultural Resource (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1951–1954), Chittenden’s ditch providing water to the road work Stewardship and Partnerships, no date, enclosing the 3: 465. around the arch was their chance, and they sought National Register nomination for the North Entrance 98 Ibid., 470. access to it, and the right to draw water for municipal Road Historic District, prepared by Mary Shivers 99 Morris, Theodore Rex, 222–223. purposes from it. Roosevelt, somewhat shortsight- Culpin in 2001. 100Samuel Hays, Conservation and the Gospel of Effi- edly it now seems, consented, and ordered it to be so. ciency (New York: Atheneum, 1979). This led to a long-lived ditch that followed the north 101Theodore Roosevelt, “Wilderness Reserves, Part II,” entrance road “for more than one-half mile.” It was, as Forestry and Irrigation, July 1904, 10: 309. Haines said, “an unsightly evidence of commercializa- 102Schullery, Searching for Yellowstone, 78, 197–200. tion of park waters” that survived for decades. 103Chittenden, Annual Reports, 2890. The planting of 107Haines, The Yellowstone Story II, 256–275, tells the trees along what the Gardiner Wonderland called a story of the growing pressure to allow cars and the way “new road” east of the arch was reported in the edition they changed tourism. Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, of May 21, 1903. 44, says that automobiles, admitted in 1915, were at 104Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 45. first not permitted passage through the arch and had to 105David G. Battle and Erwin N. Thompson, Yellowstone pass the soldiers’ station on the inner road, but numer- National Park Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure ous early photos show autos passing through the arch, Report. Historic Preservation, Denver Service Cen- so we regard this as an unsettled question so far. 108Edmund Rogers to Regional Director, August 11, 1947, in vertical files (YNP-History-General [Rogers], YNP Library. 109Hillory Tolson to Regional Director, July 8, 1947; Rogers to Regional Director, August 11, 1947. 110Rogers to Regional Director, August 11, 1947. 111Ibid. 112Nowels, “April 24th 50th Anniversary Arch Dedica- tion.” 113Ibid. 114Ibid. 115National Park Service/Historical Research Associates, Inc, “National Park Service - Historic Structure Survey Form, North Entrance Arch,” 1999; David G. Battle and Erwin N. Thompson, Yellowstone National Park, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report (Denver: Paul Schullery is former editor of Yellow- National Park Service Historic Preservation, Denver stone Science and the author or editor of Lee H. Whittlesey is the historian for Service Center, 1972), 301. many books about the American West, 116Battle and Thompson, Fort Yellowstone, 301 Yellowstone National Park. He is the natural history, and outdoor sport, includ- 117Ibid., 301. ing ten about Yellowstone. For his work author, co-author, or editor of eight books 118Ibid., 302. as a writer and historian, he is recipient and more than 25 journal articles related 119William C. Campbell, “Rededication of Historic Arch to Yellowstone, including the recent at Yellowstone National Park,” New Age Magazine 80 of an honorary doctorate of letters from Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their (October 1972): 50–53. For a photo of the miniature Montana State University and the Wal- Discovery. Lee holds a J.D. from the Uni- arch, see Whithorn, Twice Told Tales I, 48. lace Stegner Award from the University of versity of Oklahoma, and was awarded 120During the period 1983–1985, stabilizing activities Colorado Center of the American West. an Honorary Doctorate of Science and occurred to strengthen the old arch. Information on His article on trout feeding behavior Humane Letters from Idaho State Univer- these renovations is in box D-237, file “Stabilize,” appeared in the Spring 2003 issue of sity in 2001. YNP Archives. Yellowstone Science.

24 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 25 Window into Gardiner by Alice Wondrak Biel ALL PHOTOS NPS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED OTHERWISE UNLESS NPS PHOTOS ALL

Top, approaching Gardiner on U.S. Highway 89. Bottom, approaching from the old railroad bed north of Gardiner.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about itself, with the tracks running through arch serves as a harbinger that one is how we see the arch today, and it topography that rose higher than its cars. approaching something tremendously occurred to me to wonder, literally, just What this meant, as can be seen in the important. Its geographic situation, with how we see the arch today, as opposed to bottom photo, was that a rail traveler’s the town on one side and a large open in the past. To sate my curiosity, I drove first view of the park’s North Entrance space—instant wilderness—on the other, about 1.5 miles out on U.S. Highway 89 featured the arch as its single focal reinforces the sense that after one passes and took the photo that appears on the point, appearing as the light at the end through it, the familiar will be deci- top above. Then, I drove over to the Gar- of a tunnel. It was the arch that bore the sively left behind. Somehow its presence diner School and walked about the same sole responsibility of announcing one’s evokes anticipation, and its appearance distance out the old Northern Pacific arrival in Yellowstone at long last; the here, in southwest Montana, rather than railroad bed, on the opposite side of the town surrounding it was revealed bit in the heart of a European city, seems to river from the highway, to see the arch by bit, anticlimactically, as the train only increase its symbolic meaning, add- as I would have seen it if I had ridden wound along the riverbank for the last ing a degree of mystery along the way. the train into Gardiner. The photo on the few minutes of the ride, looking for all But still, the arch looks a little weird, bottom shows that view. the world as though it might just carry its standing alone and rather out of the way. I had expected a more dramatic dif- passengers right through the arch and off It almost gives the impression of an ference. But there are a couple of sig- into the park (as Northern Pacific owner architectural severed limb, suggestive of nificant points to be made about these Jay Cooke had so desperately wanted!). some far grander built landscape belong- images. One, when the arch comes into In the old days, the arch was, unquestion- ing to the past. Which, from the Gardiner view from the road, it appears along ably, the star of the show. side, is exactly what it is—a single, relict with the rest of the town, as part of an Of course, it still is, just to a slightly link of an infrastructural chain that once expansive vista spread wide in front of lesser degree. It’s still the most dominant took people by train to and from Livings- and below today’s vehicles. There are sight on the horizon after one crests that ton, Montana, but today transports us by no secrets here; this is Gardiner in all its last rise on U.S. 89, an eye-magnet of imagination into the history of Gardiner. glory, and you’re driving down into it. startling power. Whatever its designers’ In reality, Gardiner’s history is not The view from the railroad bed plays intent, be it just to spruce up the North something that’s been cached away in its cards a lot closer to the chest. The Entrance a bit or to lend Yellowstone books and sepia photographs. It’s omni- train made its final approach to Gardiner some of the formal dignity signified present, flashing by as momentary feel- at roughly the same altitude as the town by similar structures in Europe, the ings, hiding around corners, and visually

24 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 25 Gardiner’s “Old West” past is written in the facades of Park Street. informing everyday experience. On page and present are ubiquitous in the daily that the present owner didn’t know was 11 of this issue of YS, for instance, Lee lives and landscape of Gardiner’s resi- there, suggesting that the house has a Whittlesey and Paul Schullery write that dents; the arch is just the most prominent more storied past than even they knew. when Gardiner “Mayor” James McCart- and perhaps most important example. Take a look at the storefronts on ney rode into town on the arch’s Dedica- Past collides with present most visibly in Park Street, self-consciously recalling tion Day, he had little Paul Hoppe bounc- local housing. Gardiner is full of struc- Gardiner’s rough-and-ready Old West- ing on his lap. Hoppes and McCartneys tures that had previous lives in the park ern past for residents and tourists alike. are still Gardiner friends today, the and came down to town to retire. An Check out the campy old basement of latter descended from Show-Me State eagle-eyed walk around town reveals old the Two-Bit saloon; picture the curve McCartneys who hearkened from within ranger stations, hotel cabins, and main- of the school’s track, ghosting the tracks 100 miles of James McCartney’s family tenance buildings, to name a few; some that once brought railroad passengers there and, coincidentally(?!), living in are free-standing, others incorporated here. Think a minute on the big, nascent the house that stands on the lot where into more contemporary structures. Strip history container that will be the park’s James McCartney lived at the turn of the a few layers of plaster and lath off the Heritage and Research Center, which 20th century. inside of a Gardiner home and you might now fills the viewshed through the arch Although not all so seemingly pre- find beaded wood that was salvaged after as one drives out of the park (to the cha- destinate as these, links between past a hotel fire, or original log construction grin of more than one local resident). Aside from its large collection of emigrant wooden buildings, Gardiner’s defining architectural composition is local rock similar to that of which the arch is constructed. In that sense, the arch seems to rise almost organically from the surrounding land and town, as inseparable from Gardiner as it is from Yellowstone. In a way, the arch is like one of those old buildings that have been given new life and purpose. No longer the grand and formal signifier of both Yellowstone’s most visited entrance and the glory of the Northern Pacific Railway, the arch today (along with its its own attendant park) is the keystone of Gardiner’s vernacular landscape, playing host to weddings, receptions, horseshoe tournaments, Gardiner’s brewfest, and the endpoint of the Park-to-Paradise The Gardiner School’s track recalls the path by which trains triathlon. As an image and sign, the arch used to pull up to the depot. pops up all over town, subtly encourag-

26 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 27 One of Gardiner’s historic stone homes. ALICE WONDRAK BIEL

Above, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the teddy bear, the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site asked NPS employees to volunteer to host a teddy bear dressed as TR, photographing him at important NPS sites. Here, TR’s effigy bear visits the Roosevelt Arch.

Banners flying throughout the town of Gardiner highlight important features of the area. This one depicts the arch and the Yellowstone River.

Construction of the new Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center has changed the view through the arch from inside the park.

26 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 27 The arch appears all over town as a symbol of what makes Gardiner unique—and what makes it, simply, Gardiner. ing people to express their affinity for it there is a sneaking pleasure that comes in perhaps, but still more than the sum of its by shopping, rafting, washing clothes, the vicarious experience of crossing that parts and open to interpretation, the arch staying at a certain hotel, and even just threshold for the first time, of being as still embodies its own message—benefit visiting Gardiner itself. caught up in the moment of one’s arrival and enjoyment to the people. Of course, equally significant as in Yellowstone as a new bride and groom the arch’s vernacular presence is its standing at the edge of their future. With- Thanks to Kerrie McCartney and Virginia Warner for contributing ideas for this essay. symbolic power as a representation of out the arch there would be no more con- the national parks, their meaning, and crete immortalization of “For the Benefit mission. The arch’s symbolic meaning and Enjoyment of the People,” either as has not only endured for a century, but a welcome to visitors or an invitation also become increasingly complex along to politicization (“it doesn’t say a word the way—to the point where the arch about grizzly bears,” declared a woman as a physical structure and architectural in 1983, at a public meeting about the symbol has become deliciously conflated imminent closure of the Fishing Bridge with the literal message it communicates, campground). And we would be absent each one calling to mind the other while either a friendly monolith, daily remind- simultaneously acting as empty vessels ing many of us of just what we’re doing that can be filled with a host of different here, or an apt representation of a mono- interpretations. It seems appropriate, in lithic government—again, all depending this context, that no one has ever been on one’s perspective. able to settle on a name for the arch— Taken together, these different uses, Roosevelt? Gardiner? North Entrance? meanings, temporal compressions, and The arch’s metaphysical importance reproductions make for a structure of in Gardiner is easily evidenced by the layered complexity. And that is why, act of closing one’s eyes and envisioning in addition to its physical qualities, the Alice Wondrak Biel is a writer-editor for the North Entrance without the arch. No Roosevelt/Gardiner/North Entrance Arch the Yellowstone Center for Resources. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from more RVs clogging up the approach from has outlived the wooden arch that once the University of Colorado at Boulder town, their excited occupants scattered marked the Gallatin Gateway, as well and lives in Gardiner, Montana, with her all over the road, fixing the arch in their as the railroad depot that the Roosevelt husband Mark and Pepper the dog. Her camera lenses. Those of us simply trying Arch was built to complement. Symbol work has previously appeared in the pages of Cultural Geographies, Montana to drive around town may claim this as an to the world and indispensable local the Magazine of Western History, and annoyance (not to mention a danger), but landmark, a little less than it once was, Yellowstone Science.

28 Yellowstone Science 7th Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Beyond the Arch Community and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone and East Africa

he goal of the conference is to generate, in non-technical language, a publicly-oriented discussion of issues that Tdraw together national parks in the Greater Yellowstone and East Africa. We will make comparisons and foster dialogue across boundaries marking the intersections of global and local, private and public, natural and cultural, and scientific and social spheres. anagers, scientists, policymakers, and the public will come together to discuss and consider the Minterdependence of both nature-society relations and natural and cultural history in local and global contexts. The conference will promote understanding of the ecological and social challenges facing parks in the Greater Yellowstone and East Africa, and initiate the development of useful strategies for sustaining the national park idea at the dawn of the 21st century.

October 6–8, 2003 Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming

Featured speakers will include

Dr. Richard Leakey, leader in fighting political corruption and the destruction of Kenya’s natural resources, and global spokesperson for conservation Dr. Steven Sanderson, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society Dr. A.R.E. Sinclair, Professor of Zoology and Director of the Centre for Biodiversity Research at the University of British Columbia Dr. Robin Reid, Systems Ecologist and Program Coordinator for the People, Livestock and the Environment Program of the International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya Dr. Dan Flores, A. B. Hammond Professor of Western History at the University of Montana at Missoula

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please visit www.nps.gov/yell/technical/conference.htm for information about registration, accommodations, and a preliminary agenda.

Sponsors of this special event include: National Park Service w Yellowstone Association w Big Sky Institute, Montana State University w American Studies Program, School of Environment and Natural Resources, & Research Office, University of Wyoming w Draper Museum of Natural History, Buffalo Bill Historical Center w Global 28 Yellowstone Science Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program, USAID Conference Fees Conference Option A Conference Option B Includes tickets to the opening reception, luncheons, Includes admission to opening reception, paper sessions, and banquet, as well as admission to all sessions. roundtables and displays only.

Before September 8 After September 8 Before September 8 After September 8 General $185 $220 General $135 $170 NPS employee $160 $195 NPS employees $110 $145 Student $110 $145 Student $60 $95 Spouse* $60 $95 One day only $110 $145 One day only $60 $95 *Includes tickets to opening reception, luncheons, and banquet when accompanying a registered conference participant.

Dining The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Restaurant will close to the public on Monday, October 6. After that, the hotel and restaurant will be open only to registered conference participants choosing Option A. For attendees choosing Option B, the nearest restaurants, grocery, and hotel accommodations are located five miles north of Mammoth in Gardiner, Montana. Lodging Rooms with private bath: $93/night, plus tax* Rooms without bath: $71/night, plus tax* *These rates are for 1 or 2 persons. Extra persons age 12 and older are an additional $10 each per night. Check-in time is 4:00 p.m. Check-out is 11 a.m. Registration package (choose one) Option A Registration Form General $ Beyond the Arch NPS employee $ Community and Conservation in Student $ Greater Yellowstone and East Africa Spouse $ One day $ October 6–8, 2003 Vegetarian meals? yes Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming Option B General $ Dr./Ms./Mr. (circle one) NPS employee $ Name on Badge Student $ One day $ Affiliation on Badge Lodging: Nights needed Mailing Address October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 Room with bath $93 × nights = $ City without bath $71 × nights = $ State/Province Number of persons extra person fee $ Zip Country TOTAL $

Registration payment, cancellation, and refund information: To confirm your Phone (day) (evening) registration, payment of registration fees must be received by September 8, 2003. Fax Number If registering after September 8, a credit card payment will be required at the time of registration. Registration fees will be refunded only if cancellation is made E-mail Address BEFORE September 8. Requests for registration fee refunds should be made in writing to Xanterra Special Reservations. Please register online at: www.nps.gov/yell/technical/ Lodging payment, cancellation, and refund information: To confirm your lodging at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, a deposit payment (first night’s cost) must be conference.htm received by September 30 or reservation will be cancelled. If you pay with a credit Or mail or fax this completed form and payment to: card, the deposit will be charged on September 30. Lodging cancellations must be made BEFORE September 30. Requests for lodging deposit refunds should be Beyond the Arch conference made in writing to Xanterra Special Reservations. Xanterra Reservations Department Credit card type Attn: Special Reservations Visa MasterCard Discover American Express P.O. Box 165 Diner’s Club Expiration Date: Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 Phone: (307) 344-5437 Credit card # Fax: (307) 344-7456 30 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 31 Name as it appears on card E-mail: [email protected] NEWS notes

Increased Thermal Activity at Norris than water and steam. A portion of the 200° F. Temperatures had not decreased Geyser Basin Requires Temporary trail system has been closed to allow the since the temporary closure of Back Closure assessment of any potential steam erup- Basin trails. Due to high ground temperatures tions. and increased thermal activity that could Norris is the hottest and most seismi- Three Rivers Close to Fishing in affect visitor and employee safety, a por- cally active geyser basin in Yellowstone. Yellowstone National Park tion of the Back Basin at Norris Geyser Recent activity in the Norris Geyser On July 22, due to high water tem- Basin on the west side of the park has Basin has included formation of new peratures, the Madison, Firehole, and been temporarily closed. Yellowstone’s mud pots, an eruption of Porkchop Gey- Gibbon Rivers (up to Gibbon Falls) and more popular features within the Norris ser (dormant since 1989), the draining of their tributaries were temporarily closed Geyser Basin, including Steamboat and several geysers, creating steam vents and to fishing until further notice. Echinus Geysers and all of Porcelain significantly increased measured ground Water temperatures in these rivers Basin, remain open to the public. temperatures of up to 200° F. (Because are unusually high, primarily due to the The temporary closure, effective the altitude of Norris Geyser Basin is unprecedented warm temperatures in July 23, is clearly marked and covers 7,500 feet, 200° F is the approximate the region. Temperatures in the Firehole most of the western portion of the Back boiling point at Norris.) Additional River, as measured by the USGS Fire- Basin trail starting at the Norris Museum. observations include vegetation dying hole gauging station, have been above There are approximately 12,500 feet of due to thermal activity and the changing 79° F since July 10. Temperatures at trails in the Norris Geyser Basin, with of several geysers’ eruption intervals. the Gibbon gauging station have been approximately 5,800 feet affected by the Vixen Geyser has become more frequent above 73° F almost every day since July temporary closure (see inset). and Echinus Geyser has become more 10. Water temperatures of 77° F can Park staff have measured ground regular. be lethal to trout. In addition, as water temperatures of 200° F in the closure Historically, Norris is one of the temperatures rise, incidental-hooking area—an unacceptable level for visitor more dynamic areas in the park, and mortality increases, further affecting fish and employee safety. Also, many thermal is constantly monitored by scientists. populations. features in the Back Basin have heated up However, recent eruptions of Steamboat These rivers will remain closed to as indicated by expelling steam, rather Geyser and the formation of new thermal fishing until the daily maximum tempera- features have heightened tures decrease to below 73° F (22.7° C) the attention on Norris in for three consecutive days and the seven- recent months. Most current day weather forecast predicts lower maxi- changes in thermal activ- mum daily temperatures. ity at Norris began July 11, 2003, when a new mud pot YNP Lynx Presence Confirmed and other thermal features Wildlife technicians have confirmed were formed in the Back the presence of a female Canada lynx Basin area, and Porkchop and her kitten in the central portion of Geyser (dormant since 1989) Yellowstone National Park. DNA evi- erupted on July 16. dence of the rare cats was found while Park staff continue conducting a survey to detect lynx in the to monitor temperatures park’s interior. and thermal features in This finding is important because lynx the area. When conditions are rare in the Greater Yellowstone Eco- have returned to acceptable system. The Yellowstone Lynx Project ground temperatures and has been seeking to determine whether stable surface conditions Yellowstone has a resident population of have improved, the trail will this elusive animal, and the discovery of be reopened. As of July 29, this female and her offspring is evidence temperatures in the Norris that the animals are resident rather than Back Basin trails continued transient. to indicate relatively con- During this past winter, project tech- stant temperatures of about nicians identified a lynx family using

30 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 31 measurements and plaster casts 2003. The 12-year-old bear of their tracks in snow as well as received multiple injuries, photographs that revealed the size including a broken back, and of the cats’ footprints and bed had to be euthanized early sites. Based on the disparate size Sunday morning at 4:45 a.m. of the large and small print tracks Bear 264 frequented the they left, it was determined that at area between Mammoth and least two animals were traveling Norris, and was observed together—one adult and one juve- by hundreds—if not thou- nile. In early May 2003, the Uni- sands—of park visitors each versity of Montana’s Carnivore year. The bear and her cubs Conservation Genetics Laboratory were an especially popular confirmed that the DNA from hair subject of wildlife photog- and fecal samples collected along New publications available from the raphers from around the the tracks were lynx. One sample, Yellowstone Center for Resources. area. Bear 264 had several apparently the kitten’s, was from litters of cubs during her life New Publications Available a male lynx. span—first in 1997 (two cubs), again in While this female lynx and her kitten Ecology of Ungulates and Their 1999 (two cubs), and a third and last litter represent the best evidence found thus Winter Range in Northern Yellowstone (2 cubs) in 2000. The only litter to sur- far, Yellowstone Lynx Project personnel National Park, Research and Synthesis vive was the 2000 litter, now subadults made other discoveries leading up to this 1962–1970, by William J. Barmore, and on their own. one. Hair samples were collected from a Jr., has been published by the Yellow- Park staff were notified of the inci- female lynx at a rubbing station—a hair stone Center for Resources. The book dent at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday collection device—in summer 2001, and documents eight years of fieldwork con- evening. They found the bear close to the from another lynx just outside the park ducted by Barmore during his tenure as Norris Campground. The bear appeared this past winter. Both hair samples were a Yellowstone park ranger and research to have a broken back, along with other confirmed by the Carnivore Conservation biologist from 1962–1970. This unique injuries. Park staff were able to immobi- Genetics Laboratory to be from lynx. document is an in-depth record of a lize the 260-pound bear and move her by Canada lynx are among the most pivotal time in the history of ungulate gurney to a culvert trap. Bear 264 was endangered mammals in the Greater Yel- research and management in Yellow- taken to Mammoth Hot Springs for an lowstone Ecosystem. U.S. Forest Service stone. Also available are the Yellowstone initial assessment and then to a veterinar- and Wyoming Game and Fish biologists Wolf Project Annual Report 2002 and the ian in Bozeman, Montana, where x-rays monitored a small lynx population in the Yellowstone Fisheries and Aquatic Sci- confirmed a broken back and paralysis in adjacent Bridger–Teton National Forest ences Annual Report 2002. Copies can be the lower portion of her body. during the late 1990s, but this population obtained by contacting Virginia Warner The driver of the vehicle and other seems to have disappeared from that area. at (307) 344-2230. witnesses state that the bear darted out In 2000, the Canada lynx was federally in front of the vehicle. The driver braked listed as a threatened species under the Popular Bear Hit by Car in Park and swerved to try and miss the bear, but Endangered Species Act. A female grizzly bear, popular with hit it with the car’s right front tire. The The Yellowstone Lynx Project is pri- visitors, was hit and seriously injured by driver immediately stopped and reported marily funded by a grant from the Yel- a motor vehicle near the Norris Geyser the incident. It was determined that speed lowstone Park Foundation. Basin on Saturday evening, June 14, was not a factor in the incident. NPS PHOTO NPS

Bear 264 and her cubs.

32 Yellowstone Science Summer 2003 33 Roosevelt Arch Centennial Celebration!

Please join Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis and the Yellowstone staff for a public event to celebrate the Centennial of the Roosevelt Arch and rededication of the Arch by the Montana Masonic Lodge on Monday, August 25, 2003

10:00 a.m. – Musical Program 10:30 a.m. – Celebration Ceremony, including remarks by Theodore Roosevelt, IV 11:30 a.m. – Masonic Rededication with President Roosevelt Re-enactor

All events to take place at the North Entrance of

TOM MURPHY Yellowstone National Park at Gardiner, Montana

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