Langford, Nathaniel Pitt, 1832-1911

Nathanial Pitt Langford was born in Westmoreland, New York, in 1832; he came to St. Paul in 1854. He was cashier in the banking house of Marshall and Company in 1855, and in 1858 he became cashier of the Bank of the State of Minnesota. On June 16, 1862, Langford left St. Paul with the Northern Overland Expedition led by Captain James L. Fisk to establish a wagon road into Montana Territory. Langford settled in Bannack, Montana Territory, where he established freightage, milling, and other enterprises in partnership with other businessmen. From 1864 to 1868 he was collector of internal revenue in Montana Territory, and was instrumental in the vigilance movement to combat lawlessness in the territory.

In 1870 Langford was one of the organizers of the Washburn-Langford-Doane expedition that explored the region that would become Yellowstone National Park. From 1872 to 1877 he served as the park’s first superintendent. He also served as national bank examiner for the Pacific states and territories, 1872-1884. He returned to Minnesota and began a career as an historian of the West, authoring numerous works, including Vigilante Days and Ways (1890) and Diary of the Washburn Expedition to the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers in the Year 1870 (1905). He served as president and member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Historical Society. He died in Ramsey County, Minnesota, October 18, 1911.

From the guide to the Nathaniel Pitt Langford and family papers., 1707-1942., (Minnesota Historical Society)