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MLITARY ACTING SUPERINTENDENTS
OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, 1886-1916
Military Officer Start of Service End of Service
Capt. Moses Harris 20 August 1886 31 May 1889
Capt. Frazier A. Boutelle 1 June 1889 15 February 1891
Capt. George A. Anderson 15 February 1891 23 June 1897
Col. Samuel B.M. Young 23 June 1897 15 November 1897
Capt. James B. Erwin 15 November 1897 15 March 1899
Capt. Wilbur E. Wilder 15 March 1899 23 June 1899
Capt. Oscar J. Brown 23 June 1899 24 July 1900
Capt. George W. Goode 24 July 1900 8 May 1901
Capt. John Pitcher 8 May 1901 1 June 1907
Gen. Samuel B.M. Young* 1 June 1907 28 November 1908
Maj. Harry C. Benson 28 November 1908 30 September 1910
Col. Lloyd M. Brett 30 September 1910 15 October 1916
SOURCE: Haines, 2:477. *Young served as both acting superintendent (1897) and superintendent (1907-1908).
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NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION
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1. NAME OF PROPERTY
Historic Name: Fort Yellowstone
Other Name/Site Number:
2. LOCATION
Street & Number: N/A Not for publication: N/A
City/Town: Mammoth Hot Springs (WY); Norris (WY); Gardiner (MT) Vicinity: N/A
State: WY County: Park Code: 029 Zip Code: 82190
WY Teton 039
MT Park 067
ID Fremont 043
3. CLASSIFICATION
Ownership of Property Category of Property
Private: Building(s): ___
Public-Local: District: X
Public-State: Site: ___
Public-Federal: X Structure: ___
(Yellowstone National Park) Object: __
Number of Resources within Property
Contributing Noncontributing
40 6 buildings
2 0 sites
2 0 structures
0 1 objects
44 7 Total
Number of Contributing Resources Previously Listed in the National Register: 0
Name of Related Multiple Property Listing: N/A
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4. STATE/FEDERAL AGENCY CERTIFICATION
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify
that this X nomination ____ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for
registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional
requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property X meets ____ does not meet the
National Register Criteria.
Signature of Certifying Official Date
State or Federal Agency and Bureau
In my opinion, the property ____ meets ____ does not meet the National Register criteria.
Signature of Commenting or Other Official Date
State or Federal Agency and Bureau
5. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that this property is:
___ Entered in the National Register
___ Determined eligible for the National Register
___ Determined not eligible for the National Register
___ Removed from the National Register
___ Other (explain):
Signature of Keeper Date of Action
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6. FUNCTION OR USE
Historic: LANDSCAPE Sub: park
RECREATION AND CULTURE Sub: outdoor recreation
DEFENSE Sub: military facility
Current: LANDSCAPE Sub: park
RECREATION AND CULTURE Sub: outdoor recreation
7. DESCRIPTION
Architectural Classification: Late 19THand 20THCentury Revivals/Colonial Revival
Materials:
Foundation: Stone/Sandstone, Concrete
Walls: Stone/Sandstone, Wood/Weatherboard, Concrete, Brick
Roof: Other/Clay Tile, Wood/Wood Shingles, Metal/Metal Shingles
Other:
Describe Present and Historic Physical Appearance.
The Setting
Yellowstone National Park, the nation's first national park and the setting in which America's conservation
movement matured, is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extends into Montana on the north and
northwest, and Idaho on the west. Fort Yellowstone, the park's historic and current administrative headquarters, lies
in the northwestern part of the park, just east of the famous natural geothermal formations known as the Mammoth
Hot Springs terraces. The north entrance to the park at Gardiner, Montana, is approximately five miles north of this
area. Most of the Fort Yellowstone buildings are situated at the eastern edge of a level terrace, itself a natural
formation. The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, tourist cabins, and concession facilities operate on a portion of the terrace northwest of the headquarters. Housing for National Park Service employees lies below the terrace to the southeast in an area known as Lower Mammoth.
The layout of Fort Yellowstone is that of a typical western army post. A group of substantial two-and-a-half story double officers' quarters form an "Officers' Row" opposite an open parade ground to the west. The historic armyheadquarters and guard house lie at the south end of the post, facing a portion of the original road from Gardiner.
Barracks for enlisted men are located in the second row of housing, while cavalry stables and noncommissioned sergeants' quarters are found behind the troop quarters. Storage and service buildings are present in the southern part of the post. The last building erected by the army at Fort Yellowstone, the chapel, sits in a serene spot at the extreme southern end of the administrative area. North of Officers' Row, across the wide esplanade that leads fromthe northern entrance road into the park headquarters, are the office and residence of the U.S. Engineer, while the jail and office of the U.S. Commissioner lies west of the parade ground.
The location of the parade ground at the western end of the post differs from most forts, which featured centrallylocated parade grounds surrounded by housing and other military structures. As Horace Albright, former
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Yellowstone superintendent and director of the National Park Service, stated in 1960, "It is a typical cavalry post ofthe post-Indian warfare days. There are others in the west but this is where people can see it and it has always been a source of interest to the public."1
The Fort Yellowstone district encompasses the intact historic components of the army post developed during the1886-1918 period to facilitate the protection and preservation of the area's natural features and wildlife. The district includes a contiguous group of stone, frame, and concrete buildings of one- to three-stories; a parade ground; andsix discontiguous resources associated with the military development of the park. Discontiguous components are: acemetery, a powerhouse, an entrance arch, a snowshoe cabin, and two soldier stations. Within the district are fiftyoneresources, including forty-six buildings, two structures, two sites, and one object. Forty-four of the fifty-oneresources are contributing resources in the district, while seven resourcesare noncontributing. The resources of the district display excellent historic integrity of design, materials,workmanship, feeling, and association. None of the buildings within the district has been moved from its historic location, and the setting is remarkably intact, with only a few changes to the built environment since the period of significance.
Historic Development and Appearance of Fort Yellowstone2
In August 1886, members of Company M, 1st United States Cavalry, Fort Custer, Montana Territory, arrived at
Yellowstone National Park. The soldiers set up a tent camp headquarters on a terrace created by an extinct thermal
formation at the western foot of a small hill (Capitol Hill), just east of the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. Small
detachments were also assigned to patrol locations throughout the reserve. When the troops arrived, development
within the park included a motley variety of tourist accommodations, ranging from James C. McCartney's hostelry
consisting of several rough log structures at the foot of the terraces to the more luxurious first Mammoth Hot
Springs hotel, a huge frame building designed by L.F. Buffington that boasted electric lighting.3 The most
significant of the existing government buildings was a one-and-a-half-story log and frame headquarters building
topped by an octagonal turret built under the direction of Superintendent Philetus W. Norris in 1879. The
“blockhouse,” as it was known, was designed to withstand hostile attack and was built at the top of Capitol Hill to
provide sweeping views of both the Mammoth Hot Springs area and the approaches to the park.4
As the length of time the army would remain in the park was indefinitely extended, the tent camp was replaced in
the fall of 1886 by Camp Sheridan, a self-sufficient cantonment with a barracks, a storehouse, a guardhouse, a
cavalry stable, and a quartermaster stable. The army buildings were situated so that they were not visible from the
hotel terrace and did not block views of the formations, demonstrating an early concern for preservation of the
natural landscape and scenic vistas. All buildings were of temporary frame construction with board and batten
siding. The camp grew the following year with the addition of a hospital, double officers' quarters, and a
headquarters building. One structure, a magazine, was built of stone. The facilities were completed in time to
shelter the soldiers during one of the worst winters ever recorded in the Rocky Mountain region, with frequent
blizzards and temperatures reaching fifty degrees below zero.5
1Albright was writing in opposition to a rumored plan to demolish the buildings of Fort Yellowstone. Horace Albright to Conrad
L. Wirth, 10 February 1960, Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone National Park Archives, box H-19, folder H-30.
2In this discussion, historic buildings still standing are identified by the current building number assigned by the park. Buildings
not referenced by building number are no longer extant.
3The last of the McCartney buildings was destroyed by a fire in 1912. A portion of the 1883 hotel was incorporated into the new
dining hall built in 1936.
4The Norris blockhouse was removed in 1909.
5Camp Sheridan served various functions after 1909. The army realized that the cantonment had been located too close to the
terraces and, beginning in 1915, the buildings were torn down, eventually leaving little trace of their existence.
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In addition to Camp Sheridan, the army's presence in the park also resulted in the erection of facilities outside the
immediate environs of the Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. A cemetery, located southeast of the cantonment, was
established and received its first burial in 1888. To improve the ability of soldiers to protect wildlife and natural
features in remote areas, the army created outposts at facilities established throughout the park. By 1918, sixteen
soldier stations had been built for monitoring and patrolling the park. Expanding the concept of detached quarters
for the adequate protection of the park during the winter, six snowshoe cabins were constructed in 1890. 6 These
cabins were part of a system of outlying buildings, usually located about a day's travel apart, utilized for winter
patrols in remote areas. The rustic appearance of the cabins was similar to that of frontier dwellings built
throughout the West.
As it became apparent that the army role in administering the park would continue indefinitely, a permanent post
was established on 11 May 1891. Camp Sheridan, where soldiers had endured five cold, isolated winters, was
replaced with Fort Yellowstone. The site chosen for the fort was on the eastern edge of the terrace, northeast of
Capitol Hill and a short distance from the tourist facilities, about three-tenths of a mile northeast of Camp Sheridan.
Plans for the fort allowed for its eventual expansion as more troops were assigned to the park. Lt. Carroll A. Devol,
25th Infantry, supervised the civilian workers who built the new army facility. By the fall of 1891, twelve buildings
were completed at the new site, including an administration building (Building 8), a guard house (Building 9), two
double officers' quarters (Buildings 6 and 7), a sixty-man barracks, a commissary storehouse (Building 10), a
quartermaster storehouse (Building 11), a granary (Building 12), a bakery (Building 24, moved outside the district
in 1934), and a stable (Building 25). Acting Superintendent Capt. George Anderson judged that the new buildings
were a "sightly and attractive addition."7
The buildings were constructed from quartermaster general standardized plans, typical of western military posts of
the era. 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. The guard house was notable for its sweeping eaves and tiny cupolas that would be
repeated in later buildings. The two substantial double officers' quarters marked the first construction of what
became popularly known as "Officers' Row" facing the parade ground to the west. Two noncommissioned
sergeants' quarters (Buildings 31 and 32) were also completed, the beginning of a distinctive group of four houses
labeled "Soapsuds Row" by the troops. These charming frame dwellings were similar in appearance to middle class
houses built across the country during the late Victorian era and were notable for their porches with decorative
friezes and balustrades, shingled gable ends, hipped roof dormers, and large paired windows.8
By 1894, the fort also included a ten-bed hospital, a quarters for hospital personnel (Building 14), and a large hay
shed (Building 20). The first stone building within the district was completed in that year. The U.S.
Commissioner's Jail and Office and U.S. Marshal’s Residence (Building 49), which stood alone west of the parade
ground, was a one-and-a-half-story rock-faced sandstone dwelling with gable-on-hip roof with through-the-cornice
dormers and a full-width porch. The building was funded with the passage of the Lacey Act in 1894, which created
a means to arrest, try, and punish lawbreakers. The ground floor of the house contained the jail, office, and living
quarters. Bedrooms were situated on the second floor. The building was of a restrained and dignified design,
6Norwegian skis were known as "snowshoes" during the late nineteenth century.
7David G. Battle and Erwin N. Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report (Denver: National Park Service, May
1972), pp. 9; and Mary Culpin, "History of the Administration of Yellowstone National Park," National Park Service, Yellowstone National
Park, Wyoming, June 1999, ch. 3, pp. 13. Hereinafter cited as Culpin, followed by number of chapter and page number within chapter.
8Aubrey Haines reported that the “soapsuds” designation resulted from the fact the some of the noncommissioned officers' wives
were former laundresses. Aubrey Haines, The Yellowstone Story, vol. 2, (Niwot, Colo.: University Press of Colorado, 1977), pp. 162.
Hereinafter cited as Haines, 2.
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qualities which would typify the stone housing built at the fort in future years.9
Expansion of the fort to accommodate two troops of cavalry was completed in 1897. Two double officers' quarters
(Buildings 4 and 5), a second troop barracks (Building 27), a stable, two noncommissioned sergeants' quarters
(Buildings 30 and 33), a post exchange, and various service buildings were erected. These buildings were of frame
construction similar to those completed by 1894. The large troop barracks (Building 27) was especially notable for
its hipped roof with flared eaves that sheltered a wrap-around porch, multiple hipped roof dormers, and alternating
brick chimneys and cupolas. The expanded fort, with its predominantly white-painted frame buildings with red
metal diamond shingle roofs, boardwalks, and dirt roads "in a wasteland of disintegrating hot spring formation," was
described as "somewhat austere" by Yellowstone Park historian Aubrey Haines.10
The troops had traditionally utilized the broad area of undeveloped terrace west of the fort as an assembly, drill, and
parade ground. The location was convenient for the soldiers, and the military maneuvers and ceremonies conducted
there interested tourists, who had a fine view of the field from the concession area. In fact, the parade ground was a
focal point of daily life at the fort, where the troops received assignments in the morning and gathered for the
lowering of the flag in the evening. The terrace was barren, sandy and dusty, and the gray-white formation reflected
sunlight and had a harsh appearance. As horses passed over the ground, the hollow areas underneath caused their
hooves to echo and in some spots the ground trembled. At times hot springs broke out on the edge of the parade
ground.11 In February 1902, Lt. Col. Philip Reade described the site:
[The parade ground] is a crust of lime powdered, garish colored, dusty matter and has several holes in it, revealing
deep, unexplored caverns beneath. One of these holes was made by a cavalry horse during mounted maneuvers.
Some believe that numerous subterranean caves exist and some predict that area is a mere shell that may cave in
any day.12
Geologist Arnold Hague was consulted about the safety of the parade ground in 1902 and reported that, although the
surface could give way, it had "stood the strain without any accident" and there was no immediate danger. The
appearance of the parade ground was greatly transformed as a result of the completion of the new water system and
landscape work that began in the summer of 1902. Development of the landscape initially followed plans provided
by Boston landscape architect Warren H. Manning. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also laid out streets and
concrete sidewalks in the headquarters area during this period. In his annual report in June 1903, U.S. Engineer
Captain Hiram P. Chittenden noted that the long-desired irrigation and grass seeding of the parade ground had been
accomplished.13 One-half-foot of topsoil was spread over the entire parade ground, as was manure from the army
stables. The area was seeded with grass and provided with a system of irrigation ditches. The grounds around the
officers' quarters and barracks were also planted with grass, establishing the broad expanse of lawn that exists
today.14
9Haines, Yellowstone Story, vol. 2, 162.
10U.S. Army, Chief of Engineers, Report of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, Appendix GGG-Yellowstone National Park,
"Report of Capt. H.M. Chittenden, Corps of Engineers, Officer in Charge, for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1903," pp. 2889.
11Arnold Hague, U.S. Geological Survey, to Charles D. Walcott, Director, Dept. of the Interior, 15 February 1902, Yellowstone
National Park Archives, Item 21, Doc. 5126.
12Lt. Col. C.H. Heyl, Acting Inspector General, to Secretary of War, 1 February 1902, Yellowstone National Park Archives, Item
21, Doc. 5125.
13The quartermaster had no authority to expend money on improvements outside the military reservation, but Chittenden could
stretch his responsibilities to include landscaping of the parade ground.
14Before any landscaping was undertaken, the residence and barn of Yellowstone photographer F. Jay Haynes were moved from
the parade ground. Arnold Hague to Charles D. Walcott, Director, Dept. of Interior, 15 February 1902, Yellowstone National Park
Archives, Item 21, Doc. 5126; Haines, Yellowstone Story, vol. 2, 165; U.S. Army, Chief of Engineers, 2885-2889; and Battle and
Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report, pp. 37.
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In 1903, attention also turned to the northern entrance of the park at Gardiner, Montana. With the administrative
headquarters of Yellowstone well established at Mammoth Hot Springs and the Park Branch Line of the Northern
Pacific Railway completed, this entrance had become the most important admission site for visitors. To mark the
park entrance, a monumental arch was constructed of local basalt at the northern park boundary. A plaque
embedded in the arch repeated the words of the act that created Yellowstone National Park, "For the Benefit and
Enjoyment of the People." President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the structure in a ceremony held
on 24 April 1903. Chittenden noted that the purpose of the arch was "to give a dignified and pleasing entrance to
the Park at the point where the great majority of visitors enter it."15
Under Chittenden's leadership, another fine stone building was erected in 1903. Completion of the headquarters
office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Building 39), designed by the St. Paul, Minnesota, architectural firm of
Reed and Stem, signified the engineers' important role in the development of the road system and other
infrastructure features at Yellowstone. Gray sandstone for the building came from the Montana Sandstone
Company of Butte.16 Chittenden selected a site north of the existing fort buildings and east of the Mammoth Hotel
for the new office. The stone walls contrasted with the office's distinctive green roof tiles, and the bellcast eaves
lent the design an exotic appearance, earning it the nickname "the Pagoda." Park historian Aubrey Haines judged
that the building was "truly a show piece" due to the dignity of its design and the quality of its construction, which
included an interior richly finished with oak.17
Surveying the post, Chittenden viewed the buildings and landscaping in the vicinity of the Mammoth Hot Springs
terraces with pride:
This is the only point in the Park where an extensive transformation of natural conditions by the work of man has
been permitted. Yet it was unavoidable here, and in yielding to this necessity, the effort has been made to provide
a substitute that would be in harmony with the natural surroundings, and would itself be a feature of interest.18
In 1905, a new post exchange with a gymnasium (Building 35) replaced a previous facility with the same function.
The building's design differed from earlier construction at the fort in the Classical Revival influence of its columned
portico and entrance elaborated with a large fanlight, as well as its use of brick for a raised foundation. The
building's emphasis on architectural detail may have reflected the evolution of the exchange from the privatelyoperated
sutler's stores found at early army posts. The post exchange was one of the most important buildings at the
fort for the soldiers who sought entertainment and recreation during the long winters at Yellowstone. Amenities
within the exchange included a reading room, a canteen, and a barber shop.19
Extension of the railroad to Gardiner resulted in expanded visitation, and it became increasingly difficult to manage
the park with only a two-troop garrison. Facilities for a full squadron of cavalry (four troops) were recommended
by a variety of officials. In 1904, Captain John Pitcher, who served as post commander and acting superintendent,
15U.S. Army, Chief of Engineers, pp. 2889-2890.
16Battle and Thompson stated that "Chittenden apparently ran into a problem in quarrying stone for the building." They cite
(National Archives, RG77, Letters Received, No. 46204, Chittenden to Brig. Gen. G.L. Gillespie, February 23, 1903) copies of an
"emergency contract" sent to Washington which Chittenden had entered with the Montana company for the stone. By contrast, Haines
reported that the sandstone "had been prefinished at a Minnesota quarry and was shipped marked for reassembling into a headquarters
building...."
17A frame residence with stone trim (Building 40) erected behind the office during the same period is believed to have been the
house of the engineer. Haines, Yellowstone Story, vol. 2, pp. 165; Battle and Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report, pp.
260 and 270.
18Quoted in Battle and Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report, pp. 18.
19Rodd Wheaton, National Park Service, Denver, telephone interview by R. Laurie Simmons, 3 May 2000.
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expressed the hope that any new construction would take into account that "this post is seen and visited by many
distinguished people from all over the world, and for this reason if for none other it should be made a model post in
every way." In the same year the inspector general pointed out that the fort probably attracted more foreigners than
any other army post except West Point, and he suggested that "a more dignified shelter" for the troops would be
appropriate.20
By 1908 Congress, the Department of the Interior, and the War Department agreed that the capacity of the fort
should be enlarged and that the construction should be of the finest quality. Construction Quartermaster Captain
Joseph R. Castner proposed that the new buildings be of stone following the example of the Engineer's Office.
Castner provided several reasons for the use of stone: the post commander, General Samuel B.M. Young, favored
the material; stone was cheap, easily obtainable, and fireproof; and stone had architectural values. Castner
recommended that locally-obtained stone be cut rock-faced whenever possible, and that dressed stone for water
tables, sills, and lintels be obtained from the same quarry at Columbus, Montana, which had supplied such elements
for the engineer's building. Samples of stone from quarries near Fort Yellowstone were sent to the Quartermaster
General for examination. At the end of March, the Secretary of War announced that the new barracks should be "of
permanent character, and composed of local stone and concrete."21
Scottish stonemasons and a force of other workers began construction on seven large sandstone buildings utilizing
stone from a quarry located between the Gardner River and the present Mammoth Campground. Among the
buildings that enlarged the post to four-troop capacity were a massive three-story double barracks (Building 36), a
bachelor officers' quarters (Building 1), a double captains’ quarters (Building 2), a field officer's quarters (Building
3), two cavalry stables (Buildings 34 and 38), and a double stable guard and blacksmith shops (Building 37). To
secure against any of the buildings sinking into the terrace, all of the foundations were reinforced. As Aubrey
Haines later observed, almost a century of exposure to the elements has given the walls the same gray and tan color
as the cliffs of nearby Mount Everts.22
The buildings were of standard military plan and vaguely Colonial Revival in style, their outstanding feature being
their exceptional masonry. The buildings completed in 1909 followed the dignified themes established by earlier
construction and provided the fort with a distinctive, substantial character by which subsequent visitors have
identified the park headquarters. The quality and substance of the buildings at Fort Yellowstone represent the
army's attempt to put its best foot forward, to live up to a substantial commitment, and to provide a model post for
the thousands of visitors who traveled to the park.23
The largest building at Fort Yellowstone, the double cavalry barracks (Building 36) accommodated two companies
(200 men) of troops. The sandstone building's boxy U-shaped plan was relieved by a central three-story veranda
with stone columns on the first story and slender wood columns and balustrades on the upper two stories. The
barracks occupied a location in the second tier of buildings between Officers' Row and the cavalry stable to the east.
The quarters added along Officers' Row were ample sandstone buildings with hipped roofs (Buildings 1, 2, and 3)
that reflected elements of the Colonial Revival-design and boxy appearance that had evolved at the fort. The
bachelor officers' quarters (Building 1), today the park visitors' center, was the largest of the three, a two-story Tshaped
building with central hipped roof wing intersected by a central pediment with the tympanum ornamented
with a half-round window. The building had a broad porch with stone pillars and a solid balustrade. The double
captains’ quarters and the field officer's quarters (designed for the commanding officer who served as acting
20Quoted in Battle and Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report, pp. 21.
21Battle and Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report, pp. 23.
22Haines, Yellowstone Story, vol. 2, pp. 166.
23Battle and Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report, pp. 21.
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superintendent of the park) had red tile hipped roofs with dormers and projecting porches; the field officer's quarters
porch had stone columns, while the captains' quarters had porches with wood posts and exposed trusses.
Army construction at the fort was completed by 1913. In 1911, a new guard house (Building 13) and stone
hospital24 were added within the military reservation, and a new powerhouse (Building 56) was erected at the base of
a hill about a half-mile south of the headquarters area. The guard house (Building 13) differed from other buildings
at the fort in its concrete walls, projecting entrance surmounted by shaped parapet, and arcaded porch. The
powerhouse (Building 56) also represented a departure; it, too, had concrete walls representing permanence and
practicality, and its design reflected Mediterranean-style influences. The powerhouse was also notable for its large
semicircular arched windows and red tile roof.
A hospital annex with gray slate roof (Building 16) and a chapel (Building 17) became the finishing touches in the
district. The chapel, completed by January 1913, was the last building erected during the military period in
Yellowstone and reflected the fort's status as the center of a community as well as an army post. Previously,
religious services had been conducted in the troop mess hall, the post exchange, or private residences, as was
consistent with army policy. John W. Meldrum, U.S. Commissioner at Yellowstone, voiced his belief that it was “a
burning shame” there was no church where Sunday services and events such as burials could take place. Beginning
in 1905, Meldrum enlisted the support of the park acting superintendent, Wyoming senator Francis E. Warren, and
others in a campaign to acquire funding for the chapel. As military appropriations did not include such
construction, it was a departure from standard procedure and required a special appropriation from Congress. The
pleasing design of the building, reminiscent of ubiquitous small frame churches in New England, incorporated
lightly dressed native sandstone. The simple interior with plastered walls and exposed trusses resulted in a
harmonious composition, considered by many to be the most beautiful of the army buildings at Fort Yellowstone.
The chapel was operated on a nondenominational basis, a policy continued after the National Park Service took
control of the building.25
Few significant changes occurred within the Fort Yellowstone district boundaries after the army entrusted
Yellowstone to the Department of the Interior in 1918. Notably, the stone hospital and an 1891 troop barracks were
demolished in the early 1960s. The post bakery was relocated. Several minor sheds and other outbuildings were
removed. During the 1930s, a 1907 frame cavalry stable (Building 28) was dramatically shortened and altered to
make way for a new utility building. Three service buildings (Buildings 23, 46, and 79) were built within the
district during the 1930s. Natural vegetation now covers the parade ground, although much of the landscaping
around the buildings dates to the 1902-03 design.26
The buildings of Fort Yellowstone maintain high historic integrity, are in generally good to excellent condition, and
continue to function as the administrative heart of the park. Officers' Row stands as it did at the end of the military
period, and almost all of the stone buildings are still standing, as are many of the frame buildings that represent the
original construction of the fort. Together with outlying facilities erected by the army for the efficient management
of the park, including the powerhouse (Building 56), cemetery (Resource 981), Roosevelt Arch (Structure 9983),
Buffalo Lake snowshoe cabin (Building 234), and Norris and Bechler River soldier stations and Bechler River barn
(Buildings 111, 231, 232, respectively), these buildings represent the most tangible aspect of the enduring legacy of
the army at Yellowstone National Park.
24The hospital was demolished in 1965.
25Haines, Yellowstone Story, vol. 2, pp. 178; John W. Meldrum to Francis E. Warren, 27 November 1905, Yellowstone National
Park, Cultural Resource Files; F.E. Warren to John W. Meldrum, 16 December 1905; John W. Meldrum to Francis E. Warren, 24 March
1908; J.B. Aleshire to F.E. Warren, 1 May 1908; Capt. A.F. Prescott to Commanding Officer, 8 January 1913, all copies from the National
Archives, Record Group 393, Box 16, in the files of Yellowstone National Park.
26Battle and Thompson, Fort Yellowstone Historic Structure Report, pp. 74.
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