The Museum of the Yellowstone is housed in the former Union Pacific Depot in West Yellowstone, Montana. The building, designed by Gilbert Stanley (known for his rustic style of architecture in the national parks) was built between 1908 and 1909. The depot was constructed with rhyolite volcanic stone quarried in the Warm River Canyon.
The concept of Yellowstone National Park began with the railroads, more specifically with the Northern Pacific Railroad which hired Nathaniel P. Langford in 1870 to explore the Park and give a series of lectures promoting the idea of a national park in Yellowstone. The Park was officially created in 1872 and Langford was appointed as Park Superintendent.
Initially, tourists were brought to the Park’s northern entrance by the Northern Pacific Railroad. Tourism proved to be a lucrative business for the railroad.
In 1907, the Union Pacific Railroad extended its tracks to the western Park boundary and the community which would become West Yellowstone grew up at the railroad’s terminus. The Union Pacific carried its first tourists to Yellowstone in 1908. Because of snow, the passenger trains only serviced West Yellowstone from mid-June until mid-September.
The year prior to the arrival of the Union Pacific, only 4,105 tourists arrived in the Park through the west entrance. During the railroad’s first year, this rose to 7,171 and by 1915 the number had risen to 29,706.
Shown above in the Yellowstone Special in 1910.
Shown above is the depot in 1930.
The Museum of Yellowstone has a series of displays telling the story of the Union Pacific and Yellowstone National Park.
Shown above is railroad china designed specifically for children: the railroad saw children as potential future customers. The “clown china” shown above is rare and was only used for a short time in the early 1950s.
The “Beanery Queens”:
Tourists often have to be fed. Union Pacific passengers could get a hearty meal at the railroad’s dining facility. In 1911, a larger facility known as the “Beanery” was built. In 1925 this was replaced by the Dining Lodge. The Dining Lodge was a 7,000 square foot dining room that was 35 feet in height. The kitchen contained an enormous wood-burning stove and food storage rooms cooled by ice. The 1959 earthquake damaged the Dining Lodge. It was immediately repaired but never reopened.
The Dining Lodge (shown above) is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The town of West Yellowstone has owned the Dining Lodge since 1969.
The kitchen staff and waitress were known as Beanery Queens. They prepared and served up to 1,000 meals per day. According to the display:
“A summer in West Yellowstone—just the season and place for a dream job for the lucky young women hired to work in the Union Pacific Dining Lodge. But not just anyone got the job—most of those hired had an ‘inside’ connection with the Union Pacific Railroad. These jobs were in great demand—not because of the pay but because of the ‘experience’ that went with it!”
Shown above is a Beanery Queen uniform. Each waitress had to purchase her own dress, collar, apron, cuff, and bandettes.
Panama-Pacific Exposition:
At the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, the Union Pacific heavily promoted its connection with Yellowstone National Park. At the Exposition, the Union Pacific Railroad constructed a titanic topographical map of Yellowstone National Park, complete with erupting geysers and flowing waterfalls. In addition, there was a full-scale replica of the Old Faithful In that operated was a restaurant which could serve lunch and dinner to 2,000 people.
The replica of the Old Faithful Inn is shown above.
Fishing:
hown above is the Charles Church collection of American Fly Tackle.
