Great Lodges of the National Parks
Grand Lodges: Old Faithful Inn
Lodge | Setting | Trivia
Trivia
The histories of Old Faithful Inn and Yellowstone National Park are rich with facts, tall tales and amazing true stories. Explore the unusual here:
Amazing Isa Lake
It's believed that Yellowstone's Isa Lake is the only lake on earth that drains, naturally, into two oceans backwards - the eastern drainage flows to the Pacific; the western side empties into the Atlantic. The lake, which straddles the Continental Divide, was probably named for Isabel Jelke of Cincinnati, although little else is known about her.
Gardiner... No Eden
The town of Gardiner was founded in 1883, when the Northern Pacific extended a line to the Park's north entrance. A period reporter described the town as "...a picturesque burb of 200 hardy souls, with 6 restaurants, 1 billiard hall, 2 dance halls, 4 houses of ill-fame, 1 milkman and 21 saloons." Roughly one saloon for every 10 residents.
Ghostly Guests?
The story goes that a newlywed couple stayed at the Inn, shortly after it first opened. They checked in, toured the geysers, and dined as normal. But when the housekeeping staff entered their room the next morning, the headless body of the bride laid on the bed. The search lasted for weeks, but neither the husband nor the wife's head could be found. This tale is often repeated - but George Bornemann, long-time manager of the Inn, admits he made up the myth, simply to satisfy ghost-seeking guests.
The Last Hold-Up
In 1914, Yellowstone had its last stagecoach robbery, at Shoshone Point, halfway between the Old Faithful Inn and Yellowstone Lake. A lone bandit, armed and masked, robbed 82 passengers on 15 coaches, taking $915.35 and about $130 in jewelry. Edward Trafton was convicted of the robbery (some said wrongly) and sentenced to 5 years in Leavenworth federal prison.
Native Species
- 50 varieties of mammals, including bears, bighorn sheep, bison, bobcats, beavers, elk, and deer
- 309 bird species, such as white pelicans, trumpeter swans, and sandhill cranes
- 18 types of fish
- 6 reptile species, including snakes
Poacher's Punishment
In March 1894, a Cavalry patrol surprised Ed Howell while he was scalping 5 freshly killed bison. Howell got the toughest punishment the law allowed: confiscation of the bison and banishment from the Park. But justice prevailed. Only 4 months later, Howell violated the banishment and was arrested while in the barber's chair of a Park hotel. He became the first person prosecuted under the Lacey Act, was convicted and jailed.
Windows of Mystery
A masterpiece of architecture, Reamer's design for the Inn still offers a few mysteries. For example, the front of the Inn has three rows of windows on the sloped roof. But the two windows in the middle row are false, with no inside access. No one knows whether these windows are a mistake, or were included for a reason.