History
of the area
Long before there were trains or tourists, the area around present-day West Yellowstone served as a gateway for wildlife and humans traveling to and from the Yellowstone Plateau. The Madison River Valley provided a natural route for these travelers, including Native Americans, trappers, prospectors, and adventurers. Their paths and the tracks they wore into the landscape became the basis of many subsequent roads and trails. In the 1860s, the earliest “pioneer tourists” ventured through this area, eventually known as the Hebgen Lake Basin, on their way to Yellowstone. Through what is now Highway 20 and the Diamond P Ranch, they came in wagons or on horseback, camping in the rough all the way. Many skirted Henry’s Lake and, starting in the 1870s, spent a night at Gilman Sawtell’s ranch before entering the valley via Targhee Pass.
1872 – Yellowstone National Park established as the world’s first national park.
1877 – Flight of the Nez Perce brought a fleeing band of Native Americans through the area.
1883 – First cyclists tour Yellowstone riding on penny-farthing bicycles. They made their way from Laramie via the Union Pacific Railroad and departed the train 85-miles from the west entrance in Beaver Canyon, Idaho.
1902 – Madison Forest Reserve established August 16th.
1905 – U.S. Forest Service formed from Bureau of Forestry and begins strong focus on protecting forests. USFS takes over management of Madison Forest Reserve.
1905 – E.H. Harriman, an executive of the Union Pacific Railroad, is invited to tour Yellowstone. At the time of his visit, the closest rail to the west entrance is in Monida. Immediately following his visit, Harriman authorized the Oregon Short Line, a subsidiary of the UPRR, to conduct surveys and prepare estimates for a line to Yellowstone’s west entrance. Construction of the Union Pacific’s Yellowstone Branch began in the fall of 1905.
1907 – Madison Forest Reserve is renamed Madison National Forest.
1907 – The “golden spike” is driven November 12th.
1908 – The first passenger train arrives to the area on June 11th and the community’s first businesses are there to accommodate visitors. In 1908, Madison National Forest grants leases at $10 a year to four enterprising men: Joe Clause, Sam Eagle, Charles Arnet, and L.A. (Dick) Murray. The west entrance quickly becomes the most popular entrance to Yellowstone National Park and remains as the most popular entrance over a century later.
1909 – Permanent depot in West Yellowstone completed in October.
1910 – Union Pacific’s construction of a generator building, installation of the generator, and construction of the water tower brought electricity and a new source of water to West Yellowstone.
1915 – On August 1st, Yellowstone National Park begins officially allowing automobiles to enter the park. Stagecoaches were phased out in 1917.
1916 – On August 25th, the National Park Service is created. The NPS took over control from the U.S. Army in 1918.
1925 – To accommodate the increasing number of tourists, Union Pacific hires Gilbert Stanley Underwood to design a new eating facility. Construction begins in 1925 and the Union Pacific Dining Lodge is finished in time for the start of the 1926 tourist season.
1931 – December 16th, entirety of Madison National Forest is distributed among three other forests: Beaverhead, Gallatin, and Deerlodge National Forests. Area in and around West Yellowstone becomes part of the Gallatin National Forest.
1959 – The largest earthquake ever recorded in the Rocky Mountains strikes, causing damage in the surrounding areas, including the National Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and West Yellowstone.
1960 – Following years of declining passenger service, the Union Pacific ends regular passenger service to West Yellowstone after the 1960 tourist season.
1960s – Union Pacific’s buildings deeded to newly-incorporated Town of West Yellowstone
1983 – The West Yellowstone Oregon Shortline Terminus Historic District is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
1988 – Historic, unprecedented fires sweep through the park.
1998 – A group of locals work together to form the Yellowstone Historic Center, a local non-profit focused preserving the historic district of West Yellowstone and preserving the history and cultural heritage of the town and surrounding area.
2014 – The Gallatin and Custer National Forests consolidate into one forest.
2022 – Begin construction of the Yellowstone Shortline Trail
2022 – Kamps of America (KOA), with the approval of the Montana DEQ, secretly constructs a 3.9 million gallon regional wastewater treatment system in the Hebgen Lake Basin, behind the historic Diamond P Ranch, along the Nez Pierce National Trail and Monida Yellowstone Stage Line.
2023 - The Diamond P Ranch, Rex Portmann, and Brandon S. Lewis file a lawsuit against the Montana DEQ for violations of the Montana Environmental Policy Act, challenging their permitting approval for the KOA to store and spray the wastewater from their RV park guests into the Hebgen Basin. Additionally, challenging a massive development plan that will destroy the beautiful scenery and wildlife habitat of the Hebgen Basin.