This history explores the conflicted creation of Yellowstone National Park in late nineteenth-century America. The author examines the American myths and late-Victorian values behind the movement both to preserve the Yellowstone wilderness and to extract its natural resources. He introduces the tastemakers, stewards, financiers, and boosters who jockeyed to protect the wilderness, commodify the scenery, and exploit valuable natural resources. The major cultural and economic force in the Yellowstone story was the Northern Pacific Railroad.
To increase its passenger and freight traffic, the Northern Pacific simultaneously invested in tourist facilities, promoted the consumption of the scenery, and encouraged the harvesting of raw materials. Park defenders successfully battled hunters and miners within Yellowstone boundaries, but they challenged neither park tourism nor nearby industrial development. The consequences now threaten the parks ecological health. Using f! ifty-four photographs, illustrations, and maps, the author demonstrates how the railroad and advertisers helped to codify the ultimate American landscape.
