America now has 84 million acres of National Parks. The national parks follow the democratic idea that the natural wonders of the land should be available to all and not just the rich or privileged The story of the national parks is one of sacrifice by those willing to devote their lives to the preservation of these natural wonders in America
YOSEMITE
Yosemite was discovered in 1851 by Lafayette Bunnell. He mistakenly named it Yosemite thinking it was the name of the local Indians but the word really meant, "They are killers." The valley was called Ahwahnee, which meant, "gaping mouth" because of the look of the valley
James Mason Hutchings visited Yosemite in 1855 and returned in 1859 wanting to build a hotel and draw tourists.
By the
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Nathaniel Langford was with Washburn and worked for the railroad. He saw great potential for the area and the Northern Pacific railroad. On their way back home they discovered the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone. PAGE 4 Creation of the World's First National Park
In 1871 Ferdinand Hayden led the first group of scientists to Yellowstone to determine the value of the land. He also took artists and photographers. Hayden told Congress that if they did not protect Yellowstone it would become another private mess like Niagara Falls did.
In 1872 Ulysses S. Grand, President of the United States, signed a bill creating Yellowstone National Park. Yosemite was still under the care of the State of California so Yellowstone was the First National Park in America
Yellowstone is over 2 million acres. It needed protection and Nathaniel Langford was offered the job of superintendent. He did not do a very good job and for only visited the park twice in five years. He was also waiting for the Northern Pacific Railroad to get to the area, which it did in 1883 bringing many tourists. The company allowed overseeing the park; The Yellowstone Park Improvement Company was taking timber, deer, elk and digging up some of the hot in for commercial use. They were ruining the park before it even got