Fort Yellowstone was a U.S. Army fort, established in 1891 at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone was designated in 1872 but the Interior Department was unable to effectively manage the park. Administration was transferred to the War Department in August 1886 and General Philip Sheridan sent a company of cavalry to Mammoth Hot Springs to build a cavalry post. The army originally called the post Camp Sheridan in honor of General Sheridan but the name was changed to Fort Yellowstone in 1891 when construction of the permanent fort commenced. The army administered the park until 1918 when it was transferred to the newly created National Park Service. The facilities of Fort Yellowstone now comprise the Yellowstone National Park headquarters, the Horace Albright Visitor Center and staff accommodations.
Between the years 1891 and 1913, a total of 60 structures were made at Fort Yellowstone, of which 35 were still in existence one hundred years later. The fort was built in two major construction waves. During the first construction period from 1891 to 1897, mainly wood-framed buildings in what has been referred to as "cottage style" were built. A few of them had Colonial Revival architectural elements. A second construction wave began in 1908 and concluded in 1913. These structures were primarily built from locally quarried sandstone. Many of the structures from the later construction period are now used as administrative offices, residences for National Park Service employees, museums and a visitor center. Beyond the immediate confines of the fort, cabins were constructed for use by small detachments of army personnel while on patrol throughout the park.
Besides the buildings of Fort Yellowstone, the army left a legacy of policies and practices that served as precedents for the future National Park Service management of national parks. The army military commanders implemented backcountry patrols, wildlife protection and management, and protection of natural features. Army educational programs were later adopted by the National Park Service as part of their resource management. The army effectively implemented law enforcement priorities and developed a ranger force that provided for prosecution and punishment of those engaged in illegal activity in the national parks. The National Park Service carried over a version of the campaign hat worn by members of the army during the last years of their management of Yellowstone National Park for use by Park Rangers.
History
More than 40 years before the creation of the National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park was established on March 1, 1872, as the world's first national park. Between 1872 and 1886, the park was administered by the Interior Department and was managed by a civilian superintendent with limited resources or legal authority to maintain and protect the park's natural features and wildlife, or to deal with poaching, vandalism and other destructive activities. Over the next decade, special interest groups such as concessionaires, railroad and mining interests attempted to commercialize and privatize park lands. The poorly funded Interior Department was unable to prevent degradation of the park and in some circumstances, was complicit with special interest groups. Senator George Vest led efforts to prevent railroads and other special interests from misusing the resource, and along with other members of Congress believed that only the military could effectively protect the park. A study of the situation and amendments to the Yellowstone Park Act proposed by Senator Vest resulted in the Sundry Civil Appropriations Bill of 1883 which allowed the Interior Department to transfer control of the park to the War Department, thereby protecting Yellowstone from schemes to commercialize the park.
In August 1886, Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan sent Company M, 1st U.S. Cavalry to the Park, where they established Camp Sheridan, named after General Sheridan, at Mammoth Hot Springs. Camp Sheridan consisted of an arrangement of temporary facilities at the base of Capitol Hill just east of the Mammoth Hot Springs travertine terraces. None of the facilities that comprised Camp Sheridan remain as they were all removed over the years.
Congress appropriated funds for the establishment of a permanent fort in 1891, and the Interior Department allocated land just north of Camp Sheridan for permanent facilities. Camp Sheridan was renamed Fort Yellowstone on May 11, 1891. The army continued to use Fort Yellowstone until they turned over control of the park and the fort to the newly formed National Park Service in October 1918.
Fort Yellowstone is a National Historic Landmark District that has 40 contributing buildings, two contributing structures, and two contributing sites. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 2003 for its significance in conservation, military, politics and government from 1888 to 1918. With The fort, along with concessionaire facilities that were built after the National Park Service assumed management of the park, comprise what is collectively known as the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District.
Facilities
Fort Yellowstone was constructed between 1891 and 1913 on the eastern edge of the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces, southeast of the present Mammoth Hotel, at a cost of approximately $700,000 ($16 million in 2013 dollars). By 1905, three more troops of cavalry had been added to the original Company M contingent of 50 soldiers, and during this period the fort facilities were almost continuously expanded to meet the requirements of park administration, ordinary cavalry training, and growing numbers of visitors.
The initial wave of construction between 1891–97 was representative of typical army posts of the period. Like other western military posts, the earliest buildings erected at Fort Yellowstone were constructed according to quartermaster general standardized plans. In design, they were of a generally spartan appearance with a few Colonial Revival style domestic elements, described by the army as "cottage style". The buildings were of one to two-and-a-half stories in height, and of frame construction with drop siding and stone foundations, with evenly spaced double-hung sash windows and prominent porches.
A second phase of building and upgrades started in 1908 which resulted in the prominent architecture visible at Fort Yellowstone in the 21st century. Built from locally quarried sandstone,The stone was obtained from a quarry approximately halfway between Gardiner and the Mammoth campsite. See: these buildings defined Fort Yellowstone. The most prominent of the structures built in the later period is the Horace Albright Visitor Center which was originally the bachelor officers' quarters (Bldg 1). Each historic building in the fort and the park was assigned an official number, with the original bachelor officers' quarters being building number 1.Building numbers reflect official National Park Service numbering of buildings in Yellowstone as listed in Culpin, Managing the Matchless Wonders, Appendix A, Government-Built Buildings Constructed in Yellowstone National Park 1879–1973, 2006. Architects Reed and Stem and Robert Reamer along with the U.S. Army Office of the Chief Quartermaster, Department of Dakota participated in the design of many of the facilities. Engineer facilities and landscaping were designed by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Initial construction period (1891–1907)
The first building constructed at Fort Yellowstone was the guardhouse (Bldg 9) at the southwest corner of the fort. In 1891, visitors traveled the lower Mammoth road through what is now the main residential area for park personnel. The guardhouse was the first building they encountered in the Mammoth area and there was always a sentry on duty to check visitors entering the park. The building is now a private residence. The original fort administration building (Bldg 8) was located immediately next to the guardhouse and is now also a private residence. Of the twelve buildings constructed in 1891, the most prominent are two of the four double officers' quarters (Bldgs 6 and 7) which front the old parade ground. Other buildings constructed in 1891 included a 60-man barracks, a commissary storehouse (Bldg 10), a quartermaster storehouse (Bldg 11), a granary (Bldg 12), a bakery (Bldg 24), a stable (Bldg 25) and the first two of four non-commissioned officers' (NCO) quarters (Bldgs 30 and 33). These NCO quarters became known as "soap-suds row' because many of the NCO wives were former army laundresses who supplemented their husbands' income by doing laundry for post personnel.
A number of significant buildings were added to the fort from 1893 to 1899 including a 10-bed hospital, quarters for hospital personnel (Bldg 14), and a large hay shed (Bldg 20) which were constructed in areas behind officers' row in 1894. Of these structures, only the hospital quarters building remains and is now used as a private residence. The most significant building constructed in 1895 was the U.S. Commissioner's office, which included a jail and residence for the U.S. Marshal (Bldg 49). The first commissioner was Judge John W. Meldrum who served the army and National Park Service until 1935 from this building. Located well west of the rest of the fort, this was the first stone building within the fort. It was a one-and-a-half-story rock-faced sandstone dwelling with gable-on-hip roof, through-the-cornice dormers and a full-width porch. The ground floor of the house contained the jail, office, and living quarters while bedrooms were situated on the second floor. The structure is used today as a private residence. The building was funded with the passage of the Lacey Act of 1894. Sponsored by U.S. Representative John F. Lacey, the Lacey Act was "An Act To protect the birds and animals in Yellowstone National Park, and to punish crimes in said park, and for other purposes."
Construction during this period also included two double officers' quarters (Bldgs 4 and 5) which completed "officers' row" in 1893. Two NCO quarters (Bldgs 31 and 32) were added to "soap-suds row" in 1897 and the distinctive cavalry barracks (Bldg 27), which now houses administrative offices, was constructed in 1899.
Captain Hiram M. Chittenden was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers senior engineer in Yellowstone from 1899 to 1906. The Corps had been responsible for road and other infrastructure construction within the park since 1883. In 1901, in cooperation with Captain John Pitcher, Acting Park Superintendent, he began a series of projects to improve the quality of life at the fort. Chittenden had a reservoir built in 1901 to provide a consistent supply of water for irrigation, human consumption and fire fighting. The engineers oversaw a project during 1901 which cleared, manured and seeded the area immediately in front of officers' row to create a grassy parade ground and seeded areas around the various buildings to reduce perennially dusty summer conditions. Fort Yellowstone transitioned from oil to electric lighting in 1902 after Chittenden completed a 100-kilowatt powerplant east of the fort. The powerplant and reservoir no longer exist, but most of the grassy areas around Fort Yellowstone that Chittenden planned remain.
In 1903, Captain Chittenden oversaw the design and construction of the second stone building in Yellowstone, the engineers headquarters (Bldg 39), often called the "Pagoda" because of its design. This structure is in a prominent but isolated location just north of the fort. In 1918, after the National Park Service began administration of the park, the engineer's headquarters building became the first official park headquarters.