Philetus Norris

Philetus Norris was the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park and was the first person to be paid for that postion.

In June of 1878, Congress finally approved a salary for the park's superintendent, as well as minimal funds "to protect, preserve, and improve the Park." It was only $10,000 a year, but Norris made good use of it.

When Norris arrived in 1877 there were approximately 32 miles of roads and 108 miles of trails. By the time he left in 1882, there were five times as many roads and twice as many trails. The roads were crude and many described them as only "fair" wagon trails. Still, they provided access to "the land of wonders."

Norris was removed from his post in 1882 due to political maneuvering.

Reference

• Adapted from public domain text from [1] (http://windowsintowonderland.org/history/army&nps/page4.htm)