Yellowstone History: Mammoth Hot Springs

With year-round access, generally mild winters, and mineral hot springs, Mammoth remains a popular YNP location with historical significance and hosts Park headquarters at Fort Yellowstone.

Native American History

• 1877
  The Nez Perce Flight crosses Nez Perce Creek Otter Creek, Nez Perce Ford and Indian Pond.

Archaeological Resources

• 1920s
  Obsidian Cliff is 11 miles south of Mammoth Hot Springs, rising 150-200 feet above Obsidian Creek. A wayside exhibit highlights Obsidian Cliff projectile points found in Ohio.
• 1959
  Several wickiups exist in Mammoth (and along Bannock Indian trail), along with roasting pits, and the Obsidian Cliff quarry site. In 1959, a Clovis point dated more than 10,000 years old was found at the old Gardiner post office.
• 1996
  Obsidian Cliff is declared a National Historic Landmark.

Fort Yellowstone

• 1886
  After 14 years of civilian management, the Cavalry was called to manage and protect Park resources. The Cavalry built a temporary post, Camp Sheridan, near the Terraces. After an unexpected assignment duration, they built Fort Yellowstone. All the red-roofed, many-chimneyed buildings are part of historic Fort Yellowstone.
• 1891 - 1916
  The first permanent Fort Yellowstone building was the guard house. Overall construction occurred in three phases:
  The first set of clapboard buildings built in 1891.
  A second set of clapboard buildings built in 1897.
  Stone buildings built in 1909.
• 1916
  The National Park Service is established, and the civilians control Yellowstone again.

Roosevelt Arch

• 1903
  Before 1903, trains brought visitors to Cinnabar, Montana, near Gardiner and the first major Yellowstone entrance where people used horse-drawn coaches to enter YNP. In 1903, the railway comes to Gardiner, and visitors enter YNP via an enormous stone archway designed by Robert Reamer. During construction, President Theodore Roosevelt places the Arch cornerstone. Roosevelt Arch reads "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people," from the Organic Act of 1872, legislating Yellowstone as a National Park.