Trail of the Shadows: Settling Into History Exhibit Panel

This is the first exhibit panel moving counterclockwise along the Trail of the Shadows.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Trail of the Shadows, Longmire

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Title: Settling Into History

Main Text

A pioneer from the East, an explorer of the West, and a local mountain guide, James Longmire, at the age of 63, successfully climbed Mount Rainier. On this same journey, he fortuitously located the mineral springs in this meadow, and announced to his family that he had found his fortune. 

Longmire and his sons cleared a rough trail through virgin timber from their home in Yelm, 60 miles away, to this meadow. Here, at the end of the trail, the Longmire Medical Springs Resort, an equivalent to a modern-day health spa, was opened in 1890. 

With the trail as their guide, guests arrived, and the legacy of James Longmire and his family was established. 
 

Secondary Text

"On the return trip from the summit he [James Longmire] found that the horses had wandered away. He located them in a meadow and found the mineral and hot springs thee. This gave Grandfather the idea of establishing a mineral claim and building a hotel up there in the wilds."
- Len Longmire, Jame's grandson, 1933

Exhibit Panel Description
A single monotone historic photo fills the exhibit panel. In the foreground of the photo, a bedroll with several bags and boxes of supplies sit on the ground next to stone well. On a slight rise on the right side of the photo sits a two-story wood building. A fence trails across the width of the photo connecting the two-story building on the right to a small cabin surrounded by grazing horses in the center of the photo and to a large barn on the left edge of the photo. Dense forest covers the hillsides behind the buildings with a faint view of a mountain peak in the distance. The main text stretches across the top third of the panel oriented on the left, with the secondary text quote is in the lower right corner. In the upper right corner of the panel is an oval portrait of an unsmiling man wearing a suit and bowtie. His cheeks and jaw are clean shaven except for a long beard jutting from the edge of his chin. A caption next to the portrait reads "James Longmire, 1820-1897."

Visit This Exhibit Panel
This exhibit panel is located in Longmire along the Trail of the Shadows, a short trail that starts across the street from the National Park Inn. Longmire is open year-round.