** 151 Pages - Softcover - Printed in Color ** Nature and Culture at Fishing Bridge A History of the Fishing Bridge Development in Yellowstone National Park One of the major visitor stops within Yellowstone is the Fishing Bridge and surrounding area. The actual Fishing Bridge has colorful past history. Located at the spot where Yellowstone Lake drains into the Yellowstone River, it is not only a major route between the East Entrance and the rest of the Park, but also a major service area where you'll find a general store, full-service station, amphitheater, visitor center, RV Park, and much more. In the early years, fishing from the bridge was allowed and anglers would line up and drop in their line in search for the much-coveted Cutthroat Trout. Like all of Yellowstone National Park’s developed areas, the Fishing Bridge area has a colorful and surprisingly complicated history. And, like each of the others, Fishing Bridge’s story is unique: Geophysically , the area is a product of Yellowstone Lake’s volcanic and hydraulic restlessness. - Ecologically , the area has become recognized as an elegantly complex crossroads of biological forces. - Culturally , the area is distinguished as Yellowstone National Park’s most consistently occupied setting, where humans have made themselves comfortable more or less continually for 10,000 years. Fishing Bridge is an extraordinarily important archeological site, certainly one of the richest and most revealing in Yellowstone National Park . The site, designated 48YE1, was one of the first two officially designated by the Smithsonian Institution Missouri River Basin Survey in 1948; its boundaries have been repeatedly enlarged by later investigators. Two separate human burial sites, discovered in 1941 and 1956, resulted in a series of controversial analyses over the identity and place of these ancient residents in the area’s history. The remains were repatriated to regional tribes in 2006. The first crude road reached the outlet of Yellowstone Lake in 1879. It was built by Superintendent Philetus Norris, who in 1881 also identified the route over the Abasaroka divide now known as Sylvan Pass (contrary to popular belief, Buffalo Bill Cody was not a significant presence in the exploration or selection of the route of the East En- trance Road). The site of the present bridge was not considered a desirable location for a bridge until later, when interest in a route to the Bighorn Basin necessitated a direct link with the north and west shores of Yellowstone Lake. The first bridge was designed by Hiram Chittenden and completed in 1902 and was rebuilt in 1919 due to flood and ice damage. This rebuilt bridge is known as the “second” Fishing Bridge. It lasted until 1937, when the present structure, a much wider bridge that better accommodated pedestrians and anglers, was completed. The name “Fishing Bridge” was first officially applied to the bridge in 1914, but it was a decade later before the name “Fishing Bridge” gained general formal acceptance as the name of the development that sprang up along the road just east of the river. At first apparently perceived as a kind of suburb of the older Lake Area development, Fishing Bridge specialized in lower-cost accommodations, including an auto campground, tent cabins, and wooden cabins. The buildings in the present Fishing Bridge Historic District, including the bridge itself, mostly date from the period 1925–1937. Come along and enjoy the rich history and present-day activities in this benchmark area of Yellowstone! Click that Add To Cart Button Now!