12 Vintage Photos of Yellowstone National Park Rangers & Staff

NPS Staff George Grant on horseback at Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park.

On a historic March day in 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant’s signature transformed America’s breathtaking wilderness forever—creating Yellowstone, the world’s first national park.

Since then, it has drawn about 5 million visitors each year, making it one of America’s most popular. We have Yellowstone’s passionate park rangers to thank for creating such an amazing experience for visitors.

Scroll right for photos of Yellowstone’s passionate park rangers during the 1920s from the History Collection of the National Park Service.

Bill the Elk with NPS Director Stephen T. Mather & Superintendent Horace M. Albright

Stephen T. Mather, a successful borax industrialist turned conservationist, became the first Director of the National Park Service in 1917.

His close friend and partner Horace Albright started as Mather’s assistant, then ran Yellowstone National Park for 10 years (1919-1929).

He finally took over as the second leader of the National Park Service (1929-1933).

Superintendent Horace Albright eating pancakes with bears at Lake Lodge, Yellowstone

Lake Lodge, originally a tent camp site operated by the Wylie Camping Company, was transformed into a permanent structure in 1920 when Bozeman architect Fred Willson designed its central building.

Yellowstone scouts Jim Brooks and Raymon G. Little about to go on Winter Patrol

In the 1920s, Yellowstone park rangers had to be extremely self-reliant since communication with the outside world was limited.

They needed to be skilled in winter survival techniques and capable of handling extended periods in harsh conditions.

This included daytime temperatures hovering near 0°F and annual snowfall averaging 150 inches. Some of the higher elevations in Yellowstone received 200-400 inches of snow every year.

Occasional Chinook winds would also cause sudden temperature changes and snowmelt.

Burnt trees at Yellowstone National Park with a sign in front

Yellowstone rangers and lookouts used a network of telephone lines strung between towers to communicate about fires.

Firefighters on the ground relied on basic tools like shovels, axes, and pulaskis to create firebreaks and control fires manually.

The park also followed a strict “put out all fires” policy that started with the Army in 1886.

This required rangers to extinguish every fire by 10 AM the day after it was spotted, as they believed all fires were harmful to the park’s trees, plants, animals, and soil.

It would take many more years before scientists realized that some fires were natural and helpful for the forest’s health.

A visitor to Yellowstone shows his pass to a Park Ranger

Behind the visitor and park ranger is the Roosevelt Arch, the formal North Entrance to Yellowstone. It’s located in Gardiner, Montana.

The arch was named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a passionate supporter of national parks.

He personally laid the cornerstone during a special ceremony on April 24, 1903, where he gave a speech praising Yellowstone’s natural wonders.

Superintendent Albright and baby elk

According to the NPS asset description, “This baby elk was raised by rangers at Mammoth and Hot Springs and kept there to be seen by visitors at Yellowstone National Park.”

NPS Director Horace Alright Speaking During Yellowstone’s Anniversary

Yellowstone National Park celebrated its golden anniversary in 1922.

Bear hold-up in Yellowstone National Park

During the 1920s, Yellowstone National Park actually encouraged people to feed the bears. The park set up special feeding areas and even had park rangers bring food to bears to make sure visitors could see them.

The practice was very popular with tourists, but it was also dangerous. About 40-50 people were hurt each year from getting too close to bears.

 It wasn’t until the 1960s that the park finally stopped allowing bear feeding, and it was officially banned in 1970.

Joe Douglas, one of the buffalo keepers at Yellowstone in 1932

Yellowstone’s buffalo keepers worked mainly in the Lamar Valley area, where most of the buffalo lived. There were over 1,000 buffalo in the Lamar Valley from 1929 through 1932.

A park ranger examining sheep droppings as part of conservation work at Yellowstone

The biggest conservation work in Yellowstone during 1935 came from a special group called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

This was part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal program to give people jobs during the Great Depression.

The CCC had several camps set up around Yellowstone, including ones at Mammoth, Canyon, Lake, West Gallatin, Nez Perce, and Snake River

NPS Director Albright with Yellowstone Staff

According to the NPS asset description: “NPS director Horace Albright, along with other NPS staff and a woman, standing in front of the Yellowstone National Park Railroad station. A group of Native Americans are behind the gate as well.”