Rare Historical Photos of America’s National Parks From 1870-1920

The first movement to build a national park in the United States came amidst the civil war when some soldiers entered the Yosemite Valley to pursue Indians in 1851. Claims on the valley lands were filed and tolls charged. Haphazard tourism began even as the fame of the valley spread to a wondering and suspicious East. In 1964 Congress took the land from alienation and handed over the valley and a nearby grove of giant sequoias to California as a public park. California state-managed until 1906 when it was merged with Yosemite National Park.

Eight years later, Congress established the world’s first national park. Instrumental in its creation was the Northern Pacific Railroad, beginning a fifty-year period during which railroads became the most profound influence on establishing these reserves and on the development of tourism in them. President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service on August 25, 1916. Today, the National Park System has grown to include 418 natural, historical, recreational, and cultural areas throughout the United States, territories, and island possessions.

#1 The Annie, reportedly the first boat ever launched on Yellowstone Lake, 1871.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#2 A group of Yosemite tourists and their guide, 1900.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#3 Tourists slide down a slope in Yosemite, 1903.

1 Point

Upvote Downvote

#4 Tourists pose on Glacier Point above the Yosemite Valley, 1887.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#5 The gateway arch at Yellowstone, 1900.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#6 President Theodore Roosevelt pays a visit to Yellowstone, 1903.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#7 President Theodore Roosevelt addresses a crowd at the entrance to Yellowstone National Park, 1903.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#8 A member of a government geological survey stands next to Old Faithful in Yellowstone, two years before its designation as a National Park, 1870.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#9 Tourists look out over the Grand Canyon, 1900.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#10 A geological surveyor explores the lower basin of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone, 1870.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#11 Tourists peer over a cliff into the Grand Canyon, 1880.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#12 Tourists drive their car on a dirt road along the Yellowstone River, 1899.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#13 The Geyser Basins at Yellowstone, 1900.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#14 Tourists skate on a frozen lake in Yosemite, 1910.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#15 A party of tourists in Mt. Rainier National Park, 1911.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#16 Tourists ride through Mt. Rainier National Park, 1909.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#17 Tourists and guides picnic in Yellowstone, 1903.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#18 Tourists ride up a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, 1909.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#19 Tourists boat across Crater Lake, 1912.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#20 Tourists climb Paradise Glacier in Mt. Rainier National Park, 1911.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#21 Tourists watch the scalding water from the Excelsior Geyser flow into the Firehole River in Yellowstone, 1917.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#22 1Tourists ride through Yosemite, 1900.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#23 A wild elk near Tower Falls in Yellowstone, 1907.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#24 Tourists pose for a picture in front of Yosemite Falls, 1900.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#25 A tourist stands on Glacier Point with Yosemite Falls in the background, 1902.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#26 Tourists ride the Glacier Point trail in Yosemite, 1901.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#27 Tourists at Old Faithful in Yellowstone, 1901.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#28 1The view of Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point, 1902.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#29 Tourists look from Clouds Rest over the Little Yosemite Valley to Mount Clark, 1902.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#30 Tourists on Clouds Rest in Yosemite, 1902.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#31 Tourists at Mirror Lake in Yosemite, 1902.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#32 A tourist looks out over the Yosemite Valley, 1902.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#33 Climbers scale Mt. Rainier, 1910.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#34 A man stands behind the “Pulpit Terrace” formation at the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone, 1904.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#35 A rider on a trail at Glacier National Park, 1916.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote

#36 Kitty Tatch and friend dance on the overhanging rock at Glacier Point in Yosemite.

0 Points

Upvote Downvote