presentation at AAG-Great Plains Rocky Mountains Annual Meeting, Grand Forks, North Dakota, 10/14/2017

1. The Role of Cartography in the Promotion of Rail Travel
to Yellowstone National Park
-- Scott White, PhD --
Department of Geosciences
Fort Lewis College
Durango, Colorado
1904 1911 1911
GP/RM Division
Annual Meeting
Grand Forks, ND
October 14, 2017

2. The World’s First National Park
Forty-Second Congress of the United States of
America; At the Second Session, Dec. 4, 1871.
An Act to set apart a certain Tract of Land lying near
the Head-waters of the Yellowstone River as a public
Park.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and
Wyoming, lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone
River …
is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement,
occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and
dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people …
Forty-Second Congress of the United States of
America; At the Second Session, Dec. 4, 1871.
An Act to set apart a certain Tract of Land lying near
the Head-waters of the Yellowstone River as a public
Park.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and
Wyoming, lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone
River …
is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement,
occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and
dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people …
The Act was passed by Congress and signed into
law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.

3. http://wyomingplaces.pbworks.com
from:
Preliminary Report
of the
United States
Geological Survey
of
Montana
and
Portions of
Adjacent
Territories;
Being a
Fifth Annual
Report of Progress.
F. V. Hayden,
United States
Geologist
Washington: 1872

4. 1912?
Library of
Congress
Geography and
Map Division
Washington,
DC
G4262.Y4P3 190-
.P7 TIL
Waite (2006)
describes
more than
19 proposed
railroads to
gateway
towns as
well as to
locations
inside the
park.
The railroad
from
Gardiner to
Cooke City
shown in this
map was
never built.

5. “Tally-Ho” stagecoach at the Gardiner, Montana, Train Depot, 1904 (photographer unknown)
https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile

6. To Yellowstone by Rail
• 5 branch lines of main railroads reached Yellowstone
gateway towns…
1883/1903-1976
Cinnabar/Gardiner, MT
North Entrance
1912-1956
Cody, WY
East Entrance
1908-1960
W. Yellowstone, MT
West Entrance
1927-1961
Gallatin Gateway, MT
Northwest Entrance
1922-1934
Lander, WY
South Entrance

7. https://www.davidrumsey.com - Cartography Associates
1887
Printers and Engravers: Poole Bros. (brochure)/Rand, McNally & Co. (map on reserve)
approx. 8.25” x 3.75” (two panels)

8. https://www.davidrumsey.com - Cartography Associates
1887
Printers and Engravers: Poole Bros. (brochure on reverse)/Rand, McNally & Co. (map)
approx. 34.5” x 16.5” (unfolded)

10. “The logical and
convenient entrance to
the park (from natural
and geographical
standpoints), is from
the north by way of
Livingston, the Gate of
the Mountains, and
the Upper Yellowstone
River to Gardiner. The
Northern Pacific is the
only line to Gardiner,
the oldest and original
entrance to the park,
made impressive and
commanding as the
chief gateway to this
great pleasure ground
by the Government
Lava Arch.”
(“Yellowstone National
Park Via Gardiner
Gateway” brochure,
Northern Pacific, 1917)
https://archive.org/details/yellowstoneparkv300gnort

11. “When you plan to go, don’t think of
the Park alone. Investigate superiority
of route and train service and your
decision will lead you to Yellowstone
Station, the Western Entrance to the
Park, reached only by the Union Pacific
System, the popular and direct
Yellowstone Route.”
(“Yellowstone National Park” brochure,
Union Pacific System, 1917) - right
1915
https://archive.org/details/yellowstonenatio73yell
https://archive.org/details/yellowstonen1917302unio

12. Trip Preplanning using a
Railroad Network Map
from Burlington Route Timetables (Poole Bros. 1948)
http://streamlinermemories.info/Zephyr/B48TT.pdf

13. Trip Preplanning using a
Railroad Network Map
from Burlington Route Timetables (Poole Bros. 1948)
http://streamlinermemories.info/Zephyr/B48TT.pdf
• network maps were
most useful when viewed
along with timetables
• linear cartograms with
accurate geography
deemphasized
• visualization of railroad
network, connections,
stations, and hub cities
• rival railroads often not
depicted…

14. Trip Preplanning using a
Railroad Network Map
from Burlington Route Timetables (Poole Bros. 1948)
http://streamlinermemories.info/Zephyr/B48TT.pdf

15. Trip Preplanning using a
Railroad Network Map
from Wonderland 1904 (Book published by Rand McNally 1904; Map by Poole Bros. 1903)
Newberry Library Ayer F597 .W87

16. Touring in Yellowstone using a
Destination Map of the Park
Alice’s Adventures in the New Wonderland (Poole Bros. 1884)
approx. 25” x 18.5” (unfolded)
Newberry Library G4262.Y4 1884 .H3

18. Alice’s Adventures in the New Wonderland (Poole Bros. 1884)
approx. 25” x 18.5” (unfolded)
Newberry Library G4262.Y4 1884 .H3

19. Touring in Yellowstone using a
Destination Map of the Park
The Way to Wonderland
Yellowstone National Park
1924 (no publisher listed)
138.H.4.2F Box 1 1922-1925
Gale Family Library
Minnesota Historical Society

20. Touring in Yellowstone using a
Destination Map of the Park

21. Poole Bros. Inc.
Railway Printers
Chicago, Illinois
George A. Poole
(1843-1918)
Detail from Birds-Eye View of the Business District of Chicago (Poole Bros. 1898)
Newberry Library G4104.C6A3 1898 .P6
from
The Inland Printer (October 1918)
Established in Chicago in 1870 by George A. and
William H. Poole, Poole Bros. was at one time the
largest printer in the U.S. exclusively engaged in
printing for the transportation industry, mainly
the railroads. (The Inland Printer, 1918). The
company remained in business into the 1970s.

22. Poole Bros. Inc.
Railway Printers
Chicago, Illinois
https://archive.org

23. Poole Bros. Inc.
Railway Printers
Chicago, Illinois
Library of
Congress
Geography
and Map
Division
Washington,
DC
G4104.C6P33
1897 .P6

24. Yellowstone National Park. Northern Pacific Railroad (Chas. S. Fee/Poole Bros. 1895)
Library of Congress G4262.Y4 1895 .F4 TIL (https://www.loc.gov/item/97683606)

25. Where Gush the
Geysers.
Oregon Short
Line Railroad to
the Yellowstone
National Park.
(Poole Bros. 1910) https://archive.org/details/togeyserlandoreg00colb

26. https://archive.org/details/togeyserlandoreg00colb

27. https://archive.org/details/togeyserlandoreg00colb

28. Yellowstone National Park Picture Map (Poole Bros. 1928)
Newberry Library RMcN AE 190.34

29. Yellowstone National Park Picture Map (Poole Bros. 1928)
Newberry Library RMcN AE 190.34
https://archive.org/details/togeyserlandoreg00colb

30. Wonderland 1905
text by Olin D. Wheeler
Wonderland 1904
text by Olin D. Wheeler
Wonderland 1901
text by Olin D. Wheeler
Wonderland 1900
text by Olin D. Wheeler
Book published by Rand McNally.
Yellowstone map published by Rand McNally.
Newberry Library 5A 4755
Book published by Poole Bros.
Yellowstone map published by Poole Bros.
Newberry Library 5A 5236
Book published by Rand McNally.
Yellowstone map published by Rand McNally.
Newberry Library G 89 .971
Book published by Rand McNally.
Yellowstone map published by Rand McNally.
Newberry Library Ayer F597 .W87

31. Wonderland 1905
text by Olin D. Wheeler
Book published by Poole Bros.
Yellowstone map published by Poole Bros.

32. Decline of Rail Travel
Rise of Auto Travel
• Yellowstone visitors during the summer of 1915…
 44,477 arrived by rail
 7,418 arrived by private automobile (source: Runte, 1984)
photo source:
Gallatin History
Museum,
Bozeman, MT

33. Decline of Rail Travel
Rise of Auto Travel
• Yellowstone visitors during the summer of 1930…
 26,845 arrived by rail
 194,771 arrived by private automobile
Automobile stuck in dirt road, 1925 (photographer unknown)
https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile
(source: Runte, 1984)

34. Decline of Rail Travel
Rise of Auto Travel
Union Pacific Railroad - Poole Bros (1953)
author’s personal collection

35. Decline of Rail Travel
Rise of Auto Travel

37. Photograph by Andrew H. Brown, National Geographic Society, 1950
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/classic-yellowstone-photos/

38. Summary
• Railroads were integral to the development and promotion of
Yellowstone National Park for nearly 70 years (1880s-1940s).
• Network maps in brochures and timetables were useful for
trip preplanning by the potential tourist.
• Destination maps in brochures and booklets were useful for
routing and navigation once the tourist had arrived.
• Cartographic skill varied with the quality of the brochure or
booklet housing the maps. Poole Bros. of Chicago were one
of the most talented of the railway advertising publishers.
• The decline of rail travel after WWII can be seen in the
decline of railway travel promotional literature and their
accompanying maps.

39. References and
Acknowledgments
• Butler, W. B. 2007. Railroads in the national parks. Washington, DC: National Park
Service.
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/nps/railroads.pdf
• Runte, A. 1984. Trains of discovery: Western railroads and the national parks.
Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Press
• Trade Notes: George A. Poole Passes Away. 1918. Inland Printer 62 (1):85.
• Waite, T. 2006. Yellowstone by train: A history of rail travel to America’s first
national park. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co.
• Mapping, Text, and Travel: A National Endowment for the Humanities Summer
Seminar for College and University Faculty, July 11 - August 12, 2016, Newberry Library,
Chicago, IL
• Newberry Library, Chicago, IL: CB&Q Archives and the Edward E. Ayer Collection
• BYU Larsen Yellowstone Collection, Internet Archive (archive.org)
• Minnesota Historical Society, Gale Family Library, St. Paul, MN: Northern Pacific
Railroad Archives
• Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Washington, DC
• National Park Service, Yellowstone’s Photo Collection
(https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/slidefile)

40. Thank you.
Questions?
white_s@fortlewis.edu