Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Washburn Expedition of 1870, explored the region of northwestern Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

that a couple years later became Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

. Led by Henry Washburn

Henry D. Washburn

Henry Dana Washburn was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, Nathaniel P. Langford

Nathaniel P. Langford

Nathaniel Pitt Langford was an explorer, businessman, bureaucrat, vigilante and historian from St. Paul, Minnesota who played an important role in the early years of the Montana gold fields, territorial government and the creation of Yellowstone National Park.-Montana Gold Fields:On June 16, 1862...

and under U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

escort led by Lt. Gustavus C. Doane

Gustavus Cheyney Doane

Gustavus Cheyney Doane was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.-Early life:...

, the expedition followed the general course of the Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition made the previous year.

During their explorations, members of the party made detailed maps and observations of the Yellowstone region, exploring numerous lakes, climbing several mountains and observing wildlife. The expedition visited both the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins, and after observing the regularity of eruptions of one geyser

Geyser

A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...

, decided to name it Old Faithful

Old Faithful Geyser

Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Wyoming, in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Old Faithful was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name...

, since it would erupt about once every hour.

One member of the expedition, a Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

writer and lawyer named Cornelius Hedges, later wrote a number of articles for a Helena, Montana

Helena, Montana

Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...

based newspaper, describing the things the expedition had witnessed. In discussions with other members of the party, and in his writing for the newspaper, Hedges was a vocal supporter of setting aside the Yellowstone region as a National Park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

, an idea originally proposed by former acting Montana Territorial Governor Thomas Francis Meagher

Thomas Francis Meagher

-Young Ireland:Meagher returned to Ireland in 1843, with undecided plans for a career in the Austrian army, a tradition among a number of Irish families. In 1844 he traveled to Dublin with the intention of studying for the bar. He became involved in the Repeal Association, which worked for repeal...

Encouragement

The Washburn party was clearly inspired by the journals kept by Cook and Folsom, as well as their personal accounts. Immediately after the Cook expedition, David Folsom went to work as a surveyor for Henry Washburn. Additionally, Nathaniel Langford had personal connections with Jay Cooke

Jay Cooke

Jay Cooke was an American financier. Cooke and his firm Jay Cooke & Company were most notable for their role in financing the Union's war effort during the American Civil War...

of the Northern Pacific Railroad well before their expedition. Cooke was interested in the potential of the Yellowstone region to attract railroad business. After the expedition, Cooke financed Langford's early 1871 speeches in Virginia City, Helena, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. about the 1870 expedition on behalf of the Northern Pacific Railroad. On January 19, 1871 one of those speeches in Washington, D.C. was attended by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden

Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union Army during the Civil War.-Early life:Ferdinand Hayden was born in Westfield, Massachusetts...

who became insprired to conduct his next geological survey in the Yellowstone region. The result was the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871

Hayden Geological Survey of 1871

The Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that later became Yellowstone National Park in 1872. It was led by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden...

Members of the expedition

Civilian Members
- Henry Washburn - Elected leader, Surveyor-General of Montana
- Nathaniel P. Langford
  Nathaniel P. Langford
  Nathaniel Pitt Langford was an explorer, businessman, bureaucrat, vigilante and historian from St. Paul, Minnesota who played an important role in the early years of the Montana gold fields, territorial government and the creation of Yellowstone National Park.-Montana Gold Fields:On June 16, 1862...
  
  - former U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue, Montana Territory
  Montana Territory
  The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
- Truman C. Everts
  Truman C. Everts
  Truman C. Everts was part of the 1870 Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition exploring the area which later became Yellowstone National Park...
  
  - former U.S. Assessor for the Montana Territory
- Judge Cornelius Hedges - U.S. Attorney, Montana Territory
- Samuel T. Hauser - President of the First National Bank, Helena, Montana; later a Governor of the Montana Territory
- Warren C. Gillette - King and Gillette, Helena merchants.
- Benjamin C. Stickney Jr. - Plant, Stickney & Ellis (Freight Merchants) of Helena
- Walter Trumbull
  Walter Trumbull
  Walter H. Trumbull, Jr. was an American football player. He attended Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts before enrolling at Harvard University. He played at the tackle and center positions for Percy Haughton's Harvard Crimson football from 1912 to 1914...
  
  - son of U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull
  Lyman Trumbull
  Lyman Trumbull was a United States Senator from Illinois during the American Civil War, and co-author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Education and early career:...
  
  (Illinois)
- Jacob Smith - Montana Hide and Fur Co.
- Mr. Reynolds and Elywn Bean - Packers
- Two African-American cooks: Nute and Johnny
Military escort
- Lt. Gustavus C. Doane
  Gustavus Cheyney Doane
  Gustavus Cheyney Doane was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.-Early life:...
  
  - Escort leader, U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry, Fort Ellis
  Fort Ellis
  Fort Ellis was an early United States Army outpost established August 27, 1867 to the eastern side of present-day Bozeman, Montana. The fort was established to protect and support settlers moving into the Gallatin Valley. The post was named for Civil War Colonel Augustus van Horne Ellis who was...
  
  , Montana Territory
- Sergeant William Baker - U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry Fort Ellis
  Fort Ellis
  Fort Ellis was an early United States Army outpost established August 27, 1867 to the eastern side of present-day Bozeman, Montana. The fort was established to protect and support settlers moving into the Gallatin Valley. The post was named for Civil War Colonel Augustus van Horne Ellis who was...
  
  , Montana Territory
- Privates Charles Moore, John Williamson, William Leipler, and George W. McConnell - U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry, Fort Ellis, Montana Territory

Route and chronology of the expedition

Summarized from Langford (1871), Doane (1871) and Chittenden (1895)

August 16, 1870 - Nine civilians, headed by Henry Washburn depart Helena, Montana
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...

46°35′44.9"N 112°1′37.31"W en route to Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis was an early United States Army outpost established August 27, 1867 to the eastern side of present-day Bozeman, Montana. The fort was established to protect and support settlers moving into the Gallatin Valley. The post was named for Civil War Colonel Augustus van Horne Ellis who was...

just east of Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...

45°40′40"N 111°2′50"W
August 22, 1870 - The Washburn party departs Fort Ellis with a cavalry escorts commanded by Lt Gustavus C. Doane en route to the Yellowstone River via Bozeman Pass and Trail Creek. Camped just west of the river near Trail Creek45°30′11"N 110°50′52"W.
August 26, 1870 - After four days travel up the western shore and foothills of the Yellowstone River and past the Devil's Slide, the party arrived and camped near the mouth of the Gardner River
Gardner River
The Gardner River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long, in northwestern Wyoming and south central Montana in the United States. The entire river is located within Yellowstone National Park...

45°01′46"N 110°42′03"W. The party traveled up the west side of the Yellowstone along the ridges above the river for several days to Tower Creek near Tower Fall44°53′38"N 110°23′14"W.
August 29, 1870 - After several days of local exploration, the party leaves Tower Creek and ascends what they later name Mount Washburn
Mount Washburn
Mount Washburn el. is a prominent mountain peak in the Washburn Range in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The peak was named in 1870 to honor Henry D. Washburn, leader of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition...

44°47′51"N 110°26′00"W. From Mount Washburn the party can see south into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is the first large canyon on the Yellowstone River downstream from Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park...

, the Hayden Valley
Hayden Valley
Hayden Valley is a large, sub-alpine valley in Yellowstone National Park straddling the Yellowstone River between Yellowstone Falls and Yellowstone Lake. The valley floor along the river is an ancient lake bed from a time when Yellowstone Lake was much larger...

44°38′38"N 110°27′20"W and Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park, The lake is 7,732 feet above sea level and covers with 110 miles of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is 139 feet its deepest spot is at least 390 feet...

.
August 30, 1870 - The party reached the Yellowstone Falls
Yellowstone Falls
Yellowstone Falls consist of two major waterfalls on the Yellowstone River, within Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States. As the Yellowstone river flows north from Yellowstone Lake, it leaves the Hayden Valley and plunges first over Upper Yellowstone Falls and then a quarter mile ...

44°42′46"N 110°29′59"W and spent several days exploring the canyon and thermal features near the river.
September 3, 1870 - After crossing the Yellowstone river, the party proceeded up the valley to Yellowstone Lake, camping just east of the lake's outlet.
September 7, 1870 - By this date, the party had traveled south along the eastern shore of Yellowstone Lakes to its headwaters. During this time, Langford and Doane ascended peaks in the Absaroka Range
Absaroka Range
The Absaroka Range is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about 150 mi across the Montana-Wyoming border, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park and the western side of the Bighorn Basin. The range borders the Beartooth Mountains...

that were ultimately named for them: Mount Langford and Mount Doane.
September 9, 1870 - The party reached Two Ocean Pass
Two Ocean Pass
Two Ocean Pass is a mountain pass on North America's Continental Divide, in the Teton Wilderness, which is part of Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest. The pass is notable for Parting of the Waters, where one stream, North Two Ocean Creek, splits into two distributaries, Pacific Creek and...

44°02′28"N 110°10′03"W, near the headwaters of both the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...

and Yellowstone River. It was in camp the evening of September 9 that the party discovered that T.C. Everts was missing.
September 16, 1870 - After extensive unsuccessful searches for Mr. Everts, the party eventually traveled along the southern reaches of the lake to the West Thumb area.
September 18, 1870 - Most of the party departed the lake, traveling west over what is now called Craig Pass
Craig Pass
Craig Pass , is a mountain pass located on the Continental Divide in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The Grand Loop Road crosses the pass approximately east of Old Faithful Geyser....

46°26′30"N 110°43′11"W into the Firehole basin. Mr. Gillette, Privates Moore and Williamson remained behind to continue the search for Mr. Everts. About noon on the 18th, the party after having traveled down the upper Firehole River
Firehole River
The Firehole River is one of two major tributaries of the Madison River. It flows north approximately from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide to join the Gibbon River at Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park...

emerged upon Old Faithful44°27′37.81"N 110°49′41.18"W and the upper geyser basin.
September 19, 1870 - The party, having explored the upper geyser basin and named seven geysers, traveled down the Firehole to the Madison River
Madison River
The Madison River is a headwater tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 183 miles long, in Wyoming and Montana. Its confluence with the Jefferson and Gallatin rivers near Three Forks, Montana form the Missouri River....

camping at what is now known as Madison Junction 44°38′45"N 110°51′37"W. National Park Mountain Video
September 23, 1870 - After the party travels several days down the Madison, Lt Doane and his soldiers left the party on the Madison River near the trail to Virginia City and traveled back to Fort Ellis, arriving on the afternoon of the 24th. Washburn, Langford and the other civilians traveled back to Helena.
October 2, 1870 - Gillette, Private Moore and Williamson arrive at Fort Ellis having been un-successful in their search for Mr. Everts.
October 10, 1870 - Mr. Everts is found alive on the benches above the Gardner river by a three man search party organized in Helena.

Period Accounts by members of the expedition

The report of Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane upon the so-called Yellowstone Expedition of 1870, presented to the Secretary of War, February 1871
The Washburn Yellowstone Expedition, accounts of Trumbull published in the Overland Monthly, Vol 6, No 5-6, May-June 1871

Park features named by the expedition

As documented by Yellowstone Place Names, Aubrey L. Haines, 1996

Geysers
- Old Faithful
- Beehive Geyser
  Beehive Geyser
  Beehive Geyser is a geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. The tall cone resembles a beehive. Beehive's Indicator is a small, jagged cone-type geyser located about from Beehive.-History:...
- Giant Geyser
  Giant Geyser
  Giant Geyser is a cone-type geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Giant Geyser is the namesake for the Giant Group of geysers, which includes Bijou Geyser, Giant Geyser, Giantess Geyser and Mastiff Geyser. Giant Geyser is also the namesake for the Giant...
- Giantess Geyser
  Giantess Geyser
  Giantess Geyser is a fountain-type geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. It is known for its violent and infrequent eruptions of multiple water bursts that reach from . Eruptions generally occur 2 to 6 times a year. The surrounding area may shake from underground steam...
- Fan Geyser - Originally Fantail Geyser
- Grotto Geyser
  Grotto Geyser
  Grotto Geyser is a fountain-type geyser located in the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Grotto Geyser is the namesake for the group of geysers that includes Grotto Fountain Geyser, South Grotto Fountain Geyser, Indicator Spring, Spa Geyser, and Rocket...
- Castle Geyser
  Castle Geyser
  Castle Geyser is a cone geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. It is noted for the particularly large geyserite sinter deposits, which form its cone...
Waterfalls
- Tower Fall
Peaks
- Mount Washburn
  Mount Washburn
  Mount Washburn el. is a prominent mountain peak in the Washburn Range in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The peak was named in 1870 to honor Henry D. Washburn, leader of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition...

Park features named to honor members of the expedition