The Yellowstone National Park

The Yellowstone National Park

Historic Highlights of
the Old Faithful Area

Old Faithful Historic District

This designation applies to the developed area adjacent to Old Faithful Geyser, which contains many historic structures.

Old Faithful Inn

Built during the winter of 1903-04, the Old Faithful Inn was designed by Robert C. Reamer, who wanted the asymmetry of the building to reflect the chaos of nature. The lobby of the hotel features a 65-foot ceiling, a massive rhyolite fireplace, and railings made of contorted lodgepole pine. Wings were added to the hotel in 1915 and 1927, and today there are 327 rooms available to guests in this National Historic Landmark.

Old Faithful Lodge

Unlike the Inn, the current Old Faithful Lodge is a result of numerous changes dating back to the early days of tent camps provided by companies like Shaw and Powell Camping Company and Wylie Permanent Camping Company. These camps were erected throughout the park and offered shelter before hotels and lodges were built. Both companies had facilities at Old Faithful. By 1917, auto traffic into the park was increasing, and it was decided that some camps could be eliminated. Yellowstone Park Camping Company emerged and operated on the old site of the Shaw and Powell camp, the present day site of the Lodge. In 1918, a laundry was built on the site and construction continued on the facility until 1928 when the Lodge reached its present configuration.

Cabin-style accommodations are available at Old Faithful Lodge. Often confused with the other two hotels in the area, Old Faithful Lodge houses a cafeteria, gift shop, coffee shop, and the front desk where guests check in.

Lower Hamilton Store

Built in 1897, this is the oldest structure in the Old Faithful area still in use. The 'knotty pine' porch is a popular resting place for visitors, providing a great view of Geyser Hill. (The oldest building at Old Faithful was built as a photo studio in 1897 for F. Jay Haynes. Originally located 700 feet southwest of Beehive Geyser and about 350 feet northwest of the front of the Old Faithful Inn, it now stands near the intersection of the Grand Loop Road and the fire lane, near the crosswalk.)

Nez Perce Creek Wayside

This exhibit tells the story of the flight of the Nez Perce through Yellowstone in 1877. A band of 700 men, women, and children entered the park on the evening of August 23rd, fleeing 600 Army regulars commanded by General O.O. Howard. The Nez Perce had been told to leave their homeland and move to a reservation. They fled their ancestral home in the Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon on June 17, 1877, and by the time they entered the park, several battles, including a fight at Big Hole (another NPS site), had occurred.

During the two weeks they were in the park, the Nez Perce bumped into all 25 known people visiting the new park at that time, some more than once. Camps were plundered, hostages taken, and several people were killed or wounded.

After leaving the park, the Nez Perce tried reaching the Canadian border but were stopped by General Nelson Miles, who had reinforced General Howard's command. Some Nez Perce were able to slip into Canada, but the remaining 350 tribal members led by Chief Joseph surrendered to General Miles. This is where Chief Joseph gave his famous speech, 'I will fight no more forever.' The 1,700-mile flight that included Yellowstone National Park had come to an end. Today, Nez Perce Creek and the nearby wayside exhibit are reminders of their visit.

Howard Eaton Trail

Named for an early park outfitter and guide, the Howard Eaton Trail paralleled the Grand Loop Road in many places. Remnants of this old horse trail are maintained and used by hikers today. Here in the Old Faithful District, the trail provides a less traveled route to Lone Star Geyser from the developed area.

Historic Highlights of the
Canyon Area

Canyon Village

The Canyon Village complex is part of the Mission 66 project in the park. The Visitor Center was completed in 1957, and the new lodge was open for business in the same year. Though some people consider the development representative of the architecture of the time, none of the present buildings in the complex can be considered historic. There are, however, still remnants of the old hotel, lodge, and related facilities. These constitute the cultural resources of the district.

The Canyon Hotel (no longer standing)

The old Canyon Hotel was located about 1 mile south of Canyon Junction at the present site of the horse corrals. It was a huge building, nearly a mile around its perimeter. It was dismantled and burned in 1962. See Aubrey Haines' account of this in The Yellowstone Story, Vol. II. Photographs of the hotel are available for viewing in an album at the Visitor Center and in the park's historic photo collection. Little if anything is left of the hotel building itself, but the hotel's cistern and the dump remain. The winterkeeper's house, in which Steve Fuller (a concession employee) lives, is also from this era. The cistern is being studied for removal, the dump is an archeological site that must be evaluated before further action is taken, and the house is being considered for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Old Canyon Lodge (no longer standing)

The old Canyon Lodge was located at the present site of Uncle Tom's parking lot and in the meadows just east of the rest rooms. Remnants of this complex can still be found in the meadows.

Other Cultural Resources

The remaining cultural resources associated with earlier developments are far from the public eye and not easily accessible. One has to know where to look for them. They include, but are not limited to, the Ram pump on Cascade Creek, the concrete apron (for water supply) on Cascade Creek, the hotel water tank, and the water tank at the Brink of the Upper Falls. All are slated for some kind of mitigation, depending upon funding, staffing, and priority by the resource management staff.