Gibbon Falls - History

History

The falls were first described by William Henry Jackson during the second Hayden geological survey of 1872. There is no historical record as to how they got their name, but by the mid-1880s, they were routinely referred to as Gibbon Falls in both government and commercial accounts of the park.

In 1883, in his The Yellowstone National Park-A Manual for Tourists, Henry J. Winser described the falls:

Falls of the Gibbon-These are situated four miles from the entrance to the canón, and are reached by a trail on the right of the road. The descent is quite steep, but the stalwart tourist wlll not regret the strain upon his muscles after a sight of the magnificent falls. The water tumbles over them in a foamy sheet, full eighty feet in depth, making a charming picture, full of life and vigor, which is in striking contrast to its setting or grim rocks and dusky pines. After leaving the falls and the foaming river, the road soon crosses Canón Creek, passing for the next eight miles over a succession of pine and fir clad terraces, the charms of which are apt to cloy, before the next attractive point is reached.

— Henry J. Winser, 1883.

In 1895, Hiram M. Chittenden described Gibbon Falls in his Yellowstone National Park-Historical and Descriptive. In 1895, the road was on the opposite side of the river from where it runs today.

Gibbon Falls (8.5 miles) is a waterfall of very irregular outline, but withal one of much beauty. The road hangs on the side of the cliff far above it, and affords a lovely view of the forest-covered valley below.

— Hiram M. Chittenden, 1918