History

Human history at Mount Rainier goes back to 15,000 years ago, when the mountain was still largely covered in snow and ice. Some time between about 9,000 and 8,500 years ago, the permanent snowpack disappeared on the mountain's mid-slope, and plant and animal communities similar to the ones that live in today's subalpine environment developed. By 4,000 years ago, various Native American tribes, who called the mountain "Tacoma" or "Tahoma" (meaning "mother of all waters"), were hunting and gathering at places like Sunrise and in other mid- to upper-elevation landscapes. The park's first archaeological site, dating to around 1,200 years ago, was discovered in 1963, and included animal remains as well as tools. In 1899, President William McKinley authorized the park's creation, making Mount Rainier the nation's fifth national park and the first to be created from a national forest. Famous preservationist and Sierra Club founder John Muir played a vital role in the park's establishment. In its early days, only one road went to the newly established park, the so-called Mountain Road, which was built by James Longmire and a crew of Native American laborers in 1893. Longmire had a lengthy association with the area, guiding two separate parties to the base of the mountain for the first two successful ascents in 1870. He ascended Mount Rainier himself in 1883 and discovered the mineral springs and natural clearing that would later bear his name. By 1889, Longmire had built some cabins and two bathhouses, and was advertising Longmire's Medical Springs in a Tacoma newspaper. He opened a two-story hotel on site in 1890 and supported the effort to see the area turned into a national park, although he did not see it accomplished, dying in 1897.