|
History of YBRA
Prof. Taylor Thom and Richard Field of Princeton's Geology
Department initiated the "Red Lodge Project" in 1930 for the
"furthering of fundamental geological science and the training of
students under exceptionally favorable conditions." There were 19
active participants that first year.
Red Lodge was chosen because of its superb geologic setting in an area
that was then relatively unknown. Dr. J. C. Fred Siegfriedt, a Red Lodge
doctor and mayor, known as an amateur paleontologist, owned some land
near Piney Dell, about five miles southwest of Red Lodge, which he
rented as a field station to Taylor Thom in 1931. That year 35
participants and the following year 42, together with family members,
occupied the one old house, small cabins, and tents at Piney Dell.
For the next 30 years, Roy Wadsworth, a giant of a coal miner -
carpenter, and his wife Florence served as repairman, caretaker, and
cook.
Participation by many geologists and students from 17 colleges and
universities during the first three years of the Red Lodge Project
forced the search for new quarters. A dude ranch, Camp Senia, 12 miles
up the West Fork valley provided space for the 1933-1935 field seasons.
In searching for a permanent location closer to Red Lodge, Thom learned
through the Northern pacific Railway Company in 1934 of a canceled
grazing lease available on the slopes of Mount Maurice. The total price
for the 120 acres would be $420. A newly formed Princeton Geological
Association (PGA) raised enough money to purchase the site (although
there is some question whether the funds were ever paid) and in 1935
construction on the new camp was begun. By the summer of 1936 Roy
Wadsworth and his helpers had finished the lodge, a shower house, and
fourteen other cabins. A reservoir was built along Howell Gulch, named
for Benjamin F. Howell of Princeton, who assisted Thom in choosing this
site. According to archival records, the total cost was just over
fourteen thousand dollars, including lumber, labor, furnishings, and
materials. To celebrate the opening, the 75 camp residents hosted 175
Red Lodge guests to a pig roast on July 17, 1936.
On July 14, 1936, the Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Association (YBRA)
was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in the state of
Montana. Although it never has exercised the option to do so, YBRA is
authorized to grant degrees. On November 21, 1936, a five-year lease on
the camp was granted to the YBRA by the Princeton Geological
Association.
During the early years financial support came from Princeton University,
Carter Oil Company, the Northern Pacific Railway, other universities,
and many private individuals. In June, 1941, the PGA gave the YBRA an
option to buy the camp for $4000. That option was accepted and on April
24, 1942 the camp property was transferred to YBRA. A resolution was
passed by the PGA to reduce the selling price to $1.00 because of
efforts already made by participants during past years.
During the first 50 years there were at least three dozen doctoral
theses produced out of this area by students from Cincinnati, Columbia,
Johns Hopkins, Minnesota, Princeton, Wisconsin, and Yale, among others.
Undergraduate students participated as field assistants in most of these
projects. Since the mid-1950s, undergraduate field courses have been
conducted at YBRA by numerous schools, including the Princeton-YBRA
field course (now the University of Houston-YBRA field course), Southern Illinois geology
and botany courses, the Penn State University geology program, the
Harvard/Yale geology program, and others.
Since the late 1970s, several universities have conducted alumni
colleges for their graduates and friends. These week-long programs have
introduced many non-geologists to the area's geology and natural
history. Begun by Princeton, alumni colleges have now been run by
Amherst, Franklin and Marshall, Southern Illinois, and Johns Hopkins
universities. In addition to their academic and social values, these
programs have made outstanding contributions to maintaining the
financial integrity of YBRA.
Although research has taken a secondary place to education during the
last few decades, numerous graduate and faculty research programs
continue to use the YBRA facilities for parts of every field season.
Summer institutes for teachers have been held at YBRA, conducted during
the 1970s and 1980s primarily by Prof. Erling Dorf of Princeton, and
Prof. Will Parsons of Wayne State University. Other uses of the camp
have included a writing conference by the American Geological Institute,
field conferences and symposium meetings of International Geological
Congresses and the Billings and Montana Geological Societies.
(Summarized by Marv Kauffman from oral history and various articles,
especially "The Red Lodge Project and the YBRA: The Early Years,
1930-1942" by William E. Bonini, Stephen K. Fox, and Sheldon
Judson; MGS-YBRA Joint Field Conference and Symposium, 1986) |