Gateway to Yellowstone: The Raucous Town of Cinnabar on the Montana Frontier

by Lee Whittlesey, Lee H. Whittlesey

Overview

By 1883 when the rail lines of the Northern Pacific reached the tiny town of Cinnabar, Montana Territory, newspaper and magazine stories of the wonders to be found in Yellowstone National Park had been firing the imaginations of eager potential visitors around the world for a decade. Once the railroad completed that critical bit of their route, the world was poised to actually see the magic of Yellowstone, and the prospect of a trip was no longer just exciting—it was a possibility. It seemed like everyone who could afford the ticket—from middle class residents of New York City to Army Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan to President Chester A. Arthur—wanted to ride the train to see Yellowstone. Their jumping off point for their journey into “Wonderland” was the town envisioned by Hugo Hoppe, a raucous Wild West town poised for greatness as the Gateway to all of Yellowstone’s offerings. The town of Cinnabar, Montana, no longer exists, but when it did, it served as the immediate railroad gateway for a generation of visitors to Yellowstone National Park. Visitors passed through its streets from September 1, 1883, through June 15, 1903 This book tells the story of its place in the West, and the legend of the town and its promoters. Its story is one of aspiration and dreams in the American West and its place in the legend and lore of Yellowstone has kept the spirit of Cinnabar alive for more than a hundred years since the town itself faded away.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493010660
Publisher:	TwoDot
Publication date:	03/01/2015
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Lee H. Whittlesey is a professional historian for the National Park Service at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming-Montana-Idaho. He is the author of ten published books, four of them by the presses of University of New Mexico, University of Nebraska, and University of Utah. His most well-known book is probably Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park. He lives and works in Yellowstone.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction xi

1 Before Cinnabar: Puzzling Out the Parcels 1

2 Cinnabar: The Name and the Founding 7

3 Dreams of Striking It Rich: J. Hoppe's Life before Cinnabar (1848-1881) 15

4 "What a Bonanza for a Freighter!": Hugo Hoppe Moves to the Upper Yellowstone River(1881-1882) 33

5 Freighting, Farming, and Politics: Hugo Hoppe Fancies Owning Cinnabar (1883-1892) 53

6 A Dream Realized: Hugo Hoppe Finally Owns the Cinnabar Hotel (1892-1895) 67

7 The Town Itself: Life at Cinnabar (1883-1903) 75

8 "The Only Little Girl in Cinnabar": Hoppe's Niece and Her Daughter Arrive (1894) 117

9 Hoppe Plats the Townsite, Reorganizes His Company, and Dies, but Cinnabar Lives On (1895-1903) 127

10 "Wail of a Cinnabarite": The Death of Cinnabar (1902-1903) 155

11 Old Cinnabar: The Struggle to Preserve It Forever (1919-1932) 171

12 Tussles over the Triangle: President Hoover Adds the Cinnabar Triangle to Yellowstone National Park (1932 to Present Time) 183

13 Conclusions 195

Notes 199

Index 285

About the Author 303