Copyright and Restrictions
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The various state privacy acts govern the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.
Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:
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non-commercial and non-profit study, scholarship, or research, or teaching
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criticism, commentary, or news reporting
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as a NPS preservation or security copy
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as a research copy for deposit in another institution
If a user later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the user may be personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement. This institution's permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document doesn't indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from this document without first obtaining permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.
Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained by the user separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g., employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright isn't necessarily the National Park Service. The National Park Service is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."
This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy or publicity law.
History
In 1914 a millionaire mountain climber, Stephen Mather, wrote the Secretary of the Interior complaining about the management of the national parks. In his response, the Secretary suggested that Mather come to Washington and run them himself. Mather went to Washington and within two years had promoted the idea of creating an agency for the management of the parks. On August 25, 1916 the president signed legislation for the creation of the National Park Service.
By direction of the Secretary of Interior, effective October 1, 1916 the army would abandon Fort Yellowstone and administration of the park was to be turned over to the newly created National Park Service. Many of the new rangers and maintenance personnel came directly from the army ranks. However, there was a great deal of public complaint about 25 rangers taking the place of 200 troopers. Some of these complaints came from members of the Gardiner community who were concerned about the economic impact of reducing the force in Yellowstone. Such complaints resulted in abolishing the original ranger force and the return of the military for the summer of 1917. However, the breaking in continuity resulted in poor performance by the cavalry in 1917. The rangers were reinstated and the army left Yellowstone permanently in 1918.
The collection of National Park Service Records in the Yellowstone Archives consists of documents created or received by the National Park Service in the administration of Yellowstone National Park from 1918 to the present using its own systems of record-keeping. The records in this collection provide a great deal of information on the history and management of Yellowstone National Park. The records are not complete due to a number of factors. First, prior to the creation of the National Archives in 1935, the preservation of administrative records was not systematic. Secondly, despite the creation of records disposition schedules compliance with the schedules has not always been exact. Thirdly, there were occasional communication breakdowns which resulted in records being mistaken for trash and consequently sent to the incinerator.
Through a 1978 cooperative agreement between Yellowstone National Park and the National Archives and Records Administration, Yellowstone National Park Archives became an affiliated archives of the National Archives. Affiliated status allows for permanent federal records created in the management of the park to remain in Yellowstone instead of following normal records disposition schedules, which would result in records being transferred to National Archives regional records centers.
Scope and Content
Collection: National Park Service Collection
1916-2007 (bulk dates: 1930-1980)
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CATALOG NUMBER
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VOLUME
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approx 1100 LINEAR FEET
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DESCRIPTION
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This collection contains records from the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916 to the present.
Records in this collection include routine correspondence, press and news releases, reports and daily logs from the various duty stations around the park, as well as reports on native and non-native flora and fauna, history and archaeology, planning, construction and development, interpretation, law enforcement, and concession operations.
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ORGANIZATION
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The National Park Service has used several different filing systems since it was created in 1916. The present filing system is alpha-numerical and groups all records into one of twelve broad series. These series are :
A—Administration and Management
C—Concessions
D—Development and Maintenance
F—Fiscal
H—History and Archeology
K—Interpretation and Information
L—Lands and Recreation Planning
N—Natural and Social Sciences
P—Personnel
S—Supplies, Procurement, and Property
W—Laws and Legal Matters
Y—Forestry
Within each series above, the records have not yet been arranged into numerical order following the file code system, nor have they been arranged by project. Currently, the records have only been organized by broad topic and as records are received they are added to the end of the most appropriate topical series.
The records have been inventoried and the following list represents the records in this holding. Though materials pertaining to a specific research topic might naturally be included under “L – Lands and Recreation Planning”, for example, it would be advantageous to refer to the other series inventories for related materials.
Record boxes are arranged alpha-numerically based on the current National Park Service filing system. For example, administrative records are numbered Box A-1, Box A-2, etc. Concessions records are numbered Box C-1, Box C-2, etc.
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PROVENVANCE
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In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Aubrey Haines was the park’s first Records Disposal Officer; his mission was to collect unused records (primarily pre-National Park Service records) that were stored under unsatisfactory conditions throughout the park. He did not keep exact records of what came from where, he was concerned with just collecting the records. From what he could recall, the records came from such places as the first-floor washroom of the old Administration Office (the Pagoda), the “red shed” that used to stand behind the Paint Shop which was used for storage by the naturalists, the former “rock room” geology storage room in the basement of the Museum Building (Albright Visitor’s Center), the engineering department, the fiscal department, and the NPS General Files.
With the title of Records Disposal Officer, Haines was allowed to go to the ranger stations and other offices to collect materials. Records were also turned over to him by employees upon leaving the park (Joe Joffe, former Assistant Superintendent, is the only employee Haines has noted).
Since Haines, records have been received by the archives at the end of projects, upon the retirement of personnel, when storage space is needed in administrative buildings, and as records reach their disposition at Federal Records Retention Centers. Currently, there is not a reliable schedule in place upon which to predict when records are turned over to the archives for permanent storage. The archives hold in-active records only. If a project is ongoing, it is most likely that the archives have not yet received the records from that project. Please check the inventories and finding aids online to determine the current NPS record holdings available to researchers.
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RESTRICTIONS
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YES. These are noted by folder and/or box when applicable.
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ASSOCIATED
MATERIALS
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Yellowstone National Park Archives: Additional records regarding Yellowstone National Park during the National Park Service period can be found at National Archive Repositories in Kansas City, MO, Washington, DC, and College Park, MD. Concessionaire records from the turn of the century to present are available within the Yellowstone Park Company record collection. Please see finding aids for each collection for further information.
Yellowstone National Park Research/Reference Library: Located in the Heritage and Research Center in Gardiner, MT, the park research-reference library has approximately 15,000 bound volumes, 100 feet of vertical files and 10 feet of manuscripts, amounting to approximately 20,000 items. This is a collection of material pertaining to the diverse natural, cultural and administrative topics associated specifically with Yellowstone National Park as well as some material on broader topics in history and natural resources. The YNP Library is open Tuesdays through Fridays, 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. For special assistance, call the Librarians at 344-2264.
Yellowstone National Park Historic Photograph Collection: Located in the Heritage and Research Center in Gardiner, MT, this collection includes over 90,000 images dating from the 1880s to the present. This collection is primarily flexible negatives and includes images which reflect the visitor use and administration of the park as well as documentation of the diverse resources within the park. Also available is the park slide collection which includes approximately 60,000 images in 35mm format (these are under the care of park photographer Jim Peaco). Scrapbooks, glass plate negatives and lantern slides are generally found in the museum collection.Appointments to use the historic photograph collection can be made by contacting the park's Museum Technician at 307-344-2565.
Yellowstone National Park Museum Collection: Located in the Heritage and Research Center in Gardiner, MT, the museum collection includes approximately 250,000 catalogued items relative to the natural and cultural history of Yellowstone. This includes natural history specimens ranging from geological to butterflies and cultural objects ranging from projectile points to
1988 firefighting equipment. Appointments to view the collection can be made by contacting the Park Curator's Office at 307-344-2662.
Buffalo Bill Historical Center- Cody, Wyoming (www.bbhc.org): In the McCracken Research Library, the Yellowstone National Park Collection consists of books, manuscripts, photographs, stereoviews, lantern slides, and pamphlets. In addition, the Historical Center has an extensive art and Native American museum collection, both of which contain items relative to Yellowstone National Park and regional history.
Burlington Northern Archives- St. Paul, Minnesota: Today's Burlington Northern is a result of a merger between the Burlington and the Northern Pacific Railroad. The collection within the resulting archives is a wonderful record of the railroad relationship with Yellowstone.
Denver Public Library- Denver, Colorado (denverlibrary.org): Known for its outstanding western history collection, Denver Public also has both primary and secondary sources pertaining to Yellowstone. Among this collection is the 1871 journal of Dr. Albert E. Peale who served as a mineralogist on the Hayden expedition.
Minnesota Historical Society- St. Paul, Minnesota (www.mnhs.org): The Society has the entire collection of the Northern Pacific Railroad records. Because of Northern Pacific Railroad’s development of the hotel and transportation concession in the park, these records are a valuable source of information on early travel and concessions in Yellowstone.
Montana Historical Society- Helena, Montana (www.his.state.mt.us): The Montana Historical Society has a variety of material relating to the park and region. Of primary significance is the Haynes photograph collection. While Montana State University has the Haynes business and library files, the Montana Historical Society maintains the original photograph collection. This facility also contains the state's major collection of newspapers, and there are thousands of references to Yellowstone Park in those.
Montana State University Libraries- Bozeman, Montana (www.lib.montana.edu/archives): The Special Collections and Archives Branch has one of the best Yellowstone National Park Collections outside of the park. The foundation for this collection is
the Haynes Collection, assembled by the F. Jay Haynes family, 1881-1968. This includes 3,000 bound volumes and the Haynes business files. Also available are microfilm copies of the Pre-1916 Yellowstone Park Archival Records and an assortment of other material relative to the natural and cultural history of Yellowstone and the region. In addition to the Yellowstone National Park Collection, the library has microfilm copies of Montana's newspapers dating back to the 1860s. Within these newspapers are numerous references to Yellowstone.
National Archives- Washington, D.C. (www.archives.gov): Within the National Archives there are several record groups which will provide information concerning Yellowstone National Park. These would include: Record Group 79, Records of the National Park Service; Record Group 48, Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior; Record Group 35, Records of the Civilian Conservation Corps; and Record Group 57, Records of the U.S. Geological Survey. Microfilm copies of selected records from Record Groups 48, 94, and 391 are available at the Heritage and Research Center. For information concerning specific troops assigned to Yellowstone during the army administration and specific records created in the operation of Fort Yellowstone refer to records relating to the U.S. Continental Commands, 1821 – 1920, in Record Group 393 (selected records from RG 393 pertaining to Fort Yellowstone have been microfilmed and are also available to researchers at the HRC).
U. S. Geological Survey- Reston, Virginia and Denver, Colorado (www.usgs.gov): While Record Group 57 of the National Archives contains much of the record for the
U. S. Geological Survey, contact with both the Reston and Denver office will generally yield valuable results when performing research on U.S.G.S. surveys of Yellowstone. Also here are the records of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
University of California- Los Angeles, California (www.library.ucla.edu/special/scweb/): The Department of Special Collections of the University Research Library maintains the Horace Marden Albright Papers. Identified as Collection 2056, this collection is Albright's personal files. Created between 1913, when he became Assistant to the Secretary of Interior, and his death in 1987, this collection consists of his personal correspondence, files on organizations associated with conservation and historic preservation as well as files on existing and proposed national park areas.
University of Oklahoma- Norman, Oklahoma (libraries.ou.edu): This university houses the Phillips Collection of Western History; an outstanding collection that includes many published sources concerning Yellowstone. As the nation's first school of the study of geology, OU's geology library has an outstanding collection of published materials, many of which pertain to Yellowstone's geology.
University of Wyoming- Laramie, Wyoming (ahc.uwyo.edu): The University of Wyoming Libraries have primary and secondary sources relating to the natural and cultural history of Yellowstone and the region. Many large personal collections which relate to Yellowstone (such as the Maynard Barrows papers) are housed within the American Heritage Center. Within the Wyoming Libraries is the Geology Library, which has numerous references to Yellowstone including copies of F.V. Hayden's maps of Yellowstone. Also housed in the University of Wyoming Libraries are the records from the Wyoming Historical Society- Laramie, Wyoming (www.wyshs.org): Like all state historical societies, the scope of collection is statewide. Here one will find both primary and published sources pertaining to Yellowstone.
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Hierarchy
| Series I: |
A—Administration and Management, 1916 - present
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| Series II: |
C—Concessions, 1916 - present |
| Series III: |
D—Development and Maintenance, 1916 - present |
| Sub-series A: |
Development and Maintenance Records, 1918 - 1940 |
| Series IV: |
F—Fiscal, 1916 - present |
| Series V: |
H—History and Archeology, 1916 - present |
| Series VI: |
K—Interpretation and Information, 1916 - present |
| Series VII: |
L—Lands and Recreation Planning, 1916 - present |
| Series VIII: |
N—Natural and Social Sciences, 1916 - present |
| Series IX: |
P—Personnel, 1916 - present |
| Series X: |
S—Supplies, Procurement, and Property, 1916 - present |
| Series XI: |
W—Laws and Legal Matters, 1916 - present |
| Series XII: |
Y—Forestry, 1916 - present |
Series Descriptions
Series I: A—Administration and Management:
Approximately 200 cubic feet of records concerning overall park management from 1916 to the present and include records on advisory boards, associations, reports, committees, complaints, commendations, public relations, conferences, meetings, instructions, orders, protection, and special events. Also included are records from the office of the park superintendent and assistant superintendent.
Series II: C—Concessions:
Approximately 40 cubic feet of records concerning the operation of various concessions in the park and include reports, contracts, audits, and correspondence on rates and services. Although the earliest records in this sub-series date to 1879, the majority are from 1916 to the present.
Series III: D—Development and Maintenance:
Approximately 140 cubic feet of records concerning the development and maintenance of physical facilities in the park from 1916 to the present, including roads, buildings, structures, utilities, signs, museums, and overall park planning.
Series IV: F—Fiscal:
Approximately 30 cubic feet of records concerning financial management of the park from 1916 to the present, including budget formulation and execution, audits, fees, revenues, expenditures, and appropriations.
Series V: H—History and Archeology:
Approximately 25 cubic feet of records concerning the history of the park, cultural resources, archeological and historic sites and structures, and the park archives, library, and museum collection.
Series VI: K—Interpretation and Information:
Approximately 85 cubic feet of records concerning interpretive and educational programs and services, press releases, newspaper and magazine articles, public relations, museums, and observations of the park’s thermal features.
Series VII: L—Lands and Recreation Planning:
Approximately 55 cubic feet records concerning recreational activities (camping, hiking, riding, climbing, water sports, winter sports), wilderness areas, geographic place names, boundary changes, land use in the park and surrounding areas, and possible impacts to the park from mining, oil and gas development, logging, and other activities.
Series VIII: N—Natural and Social Sciences:
Approximately 300 cubic feet of records concerning wildlife, plant life, geology, thermal features, weather and climate, air quality, backcountry management, and natural and social sciences research.
Series IX: P—Personnel:
Approximately 45 cubic feet of these records concerning employment, position classification, recruitment, certification, training, compensation, promotion, evaluation, awards, and appointment procedures. Inactive official personnel folders (OPFs) of former federal employees are managed by the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri and are not included in the park archives.
Series X: S—Supplies, Procurement, and Property:
Approximately 10 cubic feet of records concerning the acquisition, inventory, and disposal of property, the purchase of supplies, and contracts for various services.
Series XI: W—Laws and Legal Matters:
Approximately 135 cubic feet of records concerning legislation, regulations, law enforcement, litigation, ranger activities, accidents, injuries, and fatalities.
Series XII: Y—Forestry:
Approximately 30 cubic feet of records concerning the management of forest and structural fires, forest diseases and insects, and general forestry management activities.
CONTAINER LISTS
See links to inventories for each series on the previous webpage (http://www.nps.gov/yell/historyculture/archives.htm).
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