Montana's Scenic Wonder Receives Official Status

This Date in History: May 11, 1910

Encompassing over a million acres of some of the world’s most breathtaking scenery, Glacier National Park finally received Congressional attention after wading through nearly thirty-five years of public appeals. The campaign to set aside this scenic wonder began as early as 1876 when George Bird Grinnell, Editor of Forest and Stream magazine began documenting the area’s beauty in his publication. When the Audubon Society was established in 1886, Grinnell again intervened to promote the area as one worth preserving for future ages. Despite teaming with Theodore Roosevelt the next year in forming the Boone and Crockett Club, Grinnell’s pleas went unheard.

Finally, when the Great Northern Railroad (GNR) headed westward and started planning a route near the grand mountains about which Grinnell had long been exclaiming, national attention was drawn to the matter. Railroad officials saw the establishment of a national park as a lucrative means of driving traffic and profits to their newly established line, and before long, the GNR was on board with Grinnell’s petitions. Finally, on May 11, 1910, President William Howard Taft signed a Congressional bill that created Glacier National Park. As America’s fourth largest national park, Glacier features 1,000 miles of hiking trails, over 200 lakes, and mile after mile of pristine roadless areas.