Philetus Walter Norris (August 17, 1821 – January 14, 1885) was an American pioneer, businessman, Union Army officer and politician who was the second superintendent of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

and was the first person to be paid for that position. He fought in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, served as a spy behind

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

lines, and rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He was elected to the

Ohio Legislature The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet ...

and founded the town of Norris in Wayne County (now within

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

), where he ran a real estate business.

Mount Norris Mount Norris, elevation , is a mountain peak in the northeast section of Yellowstone National Park in the Absaroka Range of the U.S. state of Wyoming. In 1875, the peak was named for and by Philetus Norris, the park's second superintendent from ...

in Yellowstone is named after him.

Early life

Philetus Walter Norris was born in

Palmyra, New York Palmyra () is a town in southwestern Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 7,975 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the ancient city Palmyra in Syria. The town contains a village also named Palmyra. The town is ab ...

on August 17, 1821, the son of John Norris, Jr. and Azubah Phelps.Senator Robert P. Griffin
placed into the Congressional Record on June 26, 1972. His father was a pioneer mill-builder, and had fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. In the early 1820s, the family moved to Allegheny County in New York.Norris family genealogy
/ref> In 1826, they bought in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, moving there soon thereafter. There, they survived through the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

and several

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

plagues. John Norris fell ill, and Philetus was forced to help his mother support their rather large family.

Pre-Yellowstone years

Norris left school early to become a

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and wildlife man ...

.A spirit of Detroit
Sandra Svoboda, ''Metro Times,'' May 14, 2008 He traveled all around the midwest to trap and trade. In 1838, Norris settled in northwest Ohio near the home of a good friend. In 1845, Norris married Jane K. Cottrell of

Fayette, Ohio Fayette is a village in Fulton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,305 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was incorporated as a village in 1872 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office called Fayette has bee ...

. Once married, the couple became two of the original settlers of

Pioneer, Ohio Pioneer is a village in Williams County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,429 at the 2020 census. History Pioneer was platted in 1853. A post office has been in operation at Pioneer since 1851. From 1903, the village was the terminus ...

. They had four children: Edward, Aurelia, Ida and Arthur. In Pioneer, Norris built a steam mill and worked as a land agent. In the span between 1850 and 1860, Norris also travelled to the western states. When the

began, Norris joined the Union troops, eventually rising to the rank of Colonel. He served as a spy behind Confederate Lines and Captain of the West Virginia Mountain Scouts. While fighting near Laurel Mountain, West Virginia, Norris's horse was shot out from underneath him, severely injuring his shoulder and spinal cord. After his injury, Norris returned to Pioneer and was elected to the

. Later, he became a member of the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private Aid agency, relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the Ameri ...

, caring for the wounded at the

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 18 ...

, and also served at the Confederate prison on Kelley's Island. After the Civil War, Norris moved to

, where he managed land which belonged to officers and soldiers of both the Union and Confederate armies as part of a federal contract. In 1873, he founded the town of Norris, now within the boundaries of

but then in Wayne County and built the Two Way Inn, which was originally the village's jail and general store. He lived there for a few years until he built a nearby house, which is now on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. There he ran a real estate business. To ensure the success of his community, Norris drained the creek that ran through the area to open up land for farming. He also recruited the railroad to run through the area and maintained the plank road that ran between Detroit and Mount Clemens, operating a

tollbooth A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a Toll (fee), toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll p ...

located in the village. In 1870, Norris again traveled west, entering the Yellowstone Park area; he returned again in 1875. During this time, Norris wrote a series of articles on "The Great West" which were published in the Norris, Michigan ''Suburban''.Aubrey L. Haines
''Yellowstone National Park: Its Exploration and Establishment'' Preface

Yellowstone

In 1877, Norris became the second superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, a position he held until 1882. It was only in June 1878, however, that Congress finally approved a salary of $10,000 a year for the park's superintendent, as well as minimal funds "to protect, preserve, and improve the Park." Yellowstone History Norris hired

Harry Yount Harry S. Yount (March 18, 1839May 16, 1924) was an American Civil War soldier, mountain man, professional hunter and trapper, prospector, wilderness guide and packer, seasonal employee of the United States Department of the Interior, and th ...

to control poaching and vandalism in the park, leading Yount to be considered the first National

Park ranger A ranger, park ranger, park warden, field ranger, or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands and Protected area, protected areas – private, national, state, provincial, or local parks. Their duties include ( ...

. When Norris arrived in 1877 there were approximately 32 miles (51 km) of

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and 108 miles (173 km) of

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s. 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." While superintendent, Norris published five annual reports. Three mountain peaks, including

, one geyser basin, and one pass in Yellowstone are named after Norris.

Afterward

Norris was removed from his post at Yellowstone in 1882 due to political maneuvering. In 1883, he published a volume of verse entitled, ''The calumet of the Coteau, and other poetical legends of the border. Also, a glossary of Indian names, words and western provincialisms. Together with a guide-book of the Yellowstone national park.''Norris, Philetus W.
''The calumet of the Coteau'', 1883, J.B. Lippincott & co., Philadelphia (Library of Congress entry.) Afterward, he worked in

ethnological Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropology, so ...

research for the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. In 1885, Norris fell ill in Rocky Hill, Kentucky, while working for the Smithsonian. After a brief illness, he died in Rocky Hill, on January 14, 1885. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit three days later, and shortly thereafter his body was moved to

Woodmere Cemetery Woodmere Cemetery is at West Fort Street and Woodmere Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, in the neighborhood of Springwells Village in what was originally the township of Springwells. Woodmere Cemetery is operated by the Midwest Memorial Group. Hist ...

References

External links