Rediscovering Wonderland

In the nineteenth century people could gain fame and fortune by discovering and documenting things that were already known to exist like the source of the Nile and the North Pole. For decades trappers and prospectors had told about the wonders of the area that became Yellowstone Park but no credible person had written about the falls canyons and geysers there. An ambitious politician Nathaniel P. Langford decided to make his name by promoting an expedition and publicizing its activities in 1870. An army lieutenant named Gustavus Doane maneuvered to lead the expedition's army escort for the same reason. Their written accounts of the big discovery of Wonderland were the basis for the park's founding in 1872. Rediscovering Wonderland brings together the words of these men along with images of the expedition to provide historical context for the exploration and founding of America's first national park.