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North Entrance Road Historic District

North Entrance Road Historic District
Roosevelt Arch, October 2006
North Entrance Road Historic District is located in Montana
North Entrance Road Historic District
North Entrance Road Historic District is located in the United States
North Entrance Road Historic District
Nearest cityYellowstone National Park, Montana and Wyoming
Coordinates45°0′24″N 110°41′58″W / 45.00667°N 110.69944°W / 45.00667; -110.69944
Built1883
ArchitectCOE
MPSYellowstone National Park MPS
NRHP reference No.02000529 and 02000530
Added to NRHPMay 22, 2002[1]

The North Entrance Road Historic District is a historic district and road in Yellowstone National Park in Park County, Wyoming, and Park County, Montana in the United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Description

The former North Entrance Road winding around the Mammoth Spring Campground in Mammoth, Wyoming, August 2017

The district comprises Yellowstone National Park's former North Entrance Road from Gardiner, Montana to the park headquarters in Mammoth, Wyoming, a distance of a little over five miles (8.0 km). This original North Entrance Road was the first major road in the park, necessary to join the U.S. Army station at Fort Yellowstone to the Northern Pacific Railroad station at Gardiner. The majority of the road runs along the Gardner River. The road/district includes the Roosevelt Arch at the northern boundary of the park and winds through rolling terrain before crossing the Gardner River (twice) and joining the Grand Loop Road.[2]

History

The former North Entrance Road washout along the Gardner River after the June 2022 floods.

The road was planned in 1883 by Lieutenant Dan Kingman of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and later on improved by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the Corps.[3][4] It replaced the old Gardiner High Road which went from behind the Mammoth Hotel north over the ridges west of the river to the town of Gardiner. The first permanent entrance station to house rangers checking vehicle entering the park was constructed in 1921. It replaced temporary tents used by rangers at the Roosevelt Arch.[5]

The road was destroyed in the 2022 Montana floods.[6] Most of the road was washed away by the river.[7] On October 30, 2022, Old Gardiner Road was opened to regular visitor traffic between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs, to bypass the damaged former North Entrance Road.[8] Subsequently, the National Park Service designated Old Gardiner Road as the "North Entrance Road".[9] The two North Entrance Roads have a short concurrency at both ends.

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "North Entrance Road Historic District". National Register of Historic Places. Wyoming State Preservation Office. October 1, 2008.
  3. ^ Marcy Shivers Culpin; Christine Whitacre; Catherine Lentz; Lon Johnson (2001). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: North Entrance Road Historic District" (pdf). National Park Service.
  4. ^ Bartlett, Richard A. (1989). Yellowstone-A Wilderness Besieged. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press. pp. 75–80. ISBN 0-8165-1098-9.
  5. ^ Culpin, Mary Shivers (1994). The History of the Construction of the Road System of Yellowstone National Park 1872-1966 (Report). National Park Service. p. 299.
  6. ^ Clifford, Catherine (June 16, 2022). "Satellite photos show extent of devastating Yellowstone flood". CNBC. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Road washed out at Yellowstone National Park's north entrance, 9news.com, retrieved June 29, 2022
  8. ^ Warthin, Morgan (October 30, 2022). "Flood Recovery Updates: Yellowstone's North Entrance and road to Mammoth Hot Springs to open TODAY, Oct. 30". National Park Service. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "Yellowstone: Maps". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved February 26, 2025.

Further reading