Photography by R.J. Caputo

From Art To Act Hayden’s 1871 expedition excited the scientific community and aroused even more national interest in Yellowstone. The wonders of the area, shown through Jackson’s photographs, Moran’s paintings, and Elliott’s sketches, caught the imagination of Congress.

Convinced of the value—both scientific and aesthetic—of the region, Congress put forth a bill to establish Yellowstone National Park (and purchased one of his most famous paintings, Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone, to hang in the US Capitol). On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law, creating the nation’s and world’s first national park.

“That the tract of land…lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone river…is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale…and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people…”—The Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, March 1, 1872

(Via Yellowstone NP on Facebook)