Albright Visitor Center

Built in 1909, [the Bachelor Officers' Quarters] had a mess or club, kitchen, sitting room, and apartments for six single officers.  Temporary visitors were housed here too.  It is now the Albright Visitor Center. 

--from NPS booklet, Fort Yellowstone Historic District Tour Guide, The Army Years 1886-1918

The Albright Visitor Center is a beautiful stone and red-roofed building, dating from the US Army's tenure in Yellowstone National Park.  Once we found a parking space somewhat nearby we strolled over to the building, passing many elk along the way (as has previously been documented).

There were no restrooms accessible from inside the building--they are located on the lower level, via a staircase beside the main set of stairs up into the building.  I enjoyed the sign encouraging patrons to wash their paws before leaving the restrooms as "germs are on the prowl."

Once inside I stamped my passport book, which was getting quite full of Yellowstone stamps.  The sign tells people that this stamp is NOT for official passports or tourist visas.  I wonder how many foreign tourists make that mistake.

Who doesn't like a large bison head on the wall?

Early Exploration of the Yellowstone1869-1871
First reports of the "wonders" of the upper Yellowstone by trappers and mountain men were ridiculed and dismissed as "tall tales."  Sixty years passed before formal expeditions penetrated the region. 

Before you is a composite camp scene of the Folsom-Cook-Peterson Expedition of 1869, the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition of 1870 (both privately funded), and the U.S. Government-sponsored Hayden Expedition of 1871. 

Some of the key members of these expeditions, their equipment, and their words remind us of these historic days. 

--from exhibit signage

1916...The Beginning of the National Park Service

President Wilson, on August 25, 1916, used the pen below to sign the National Park Service Act into law.  The transition from Army management of Yellowstone to the National Park Service was a smooth one.  Many Park Service traditions, including the uniform, date from these early Army days.

The letter beside the pen was sent from the President's Office to Stephen T. Mather, first Director of the National Park Service (pictured on the right).

Mather appointed Horace Albright (pictured on the left) Superintendent of Yellowstone in 1919.  Later, Albright served as Director of the National Park Service from a929 to 1933.  We honor him here in the Horace Albright Museum.

[The pen used by President Wilson to sign the National Park Service Act into law on August 25, 1916, has been returned to the National Park Service History Collection in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  The pen will be displayed in a special exhibit celebrating the National Park Service Centennial in 2016.]--from exhibit signage

The museum was filled with depictions of different historical personages and animals that inhabited the region.

Of course I had to take a picture of a wolf.  I was still excited that I'd gotten to actually see a live wolf a couple days earlier.

I'm not sure about the significance of this trunk, but I thought it looked interesting, so I took a picture.

We didn't see any cats in the wild.

I don't think we saw any big horn sheep until we got to the Badlands National Park.

We saw plenty of young animals, but no fawns.

I'm not sure if it is operational, but I had to take a picture of yet another Yellowstone fireplace!

After we finished touring the visitor center we headed outside to take a walking tour of old Fort Yellowstone.  More about that next time.

~Matt

PS