Stage coaching began in 1879 with stagecoaches operated by Gilmer & Salisbury
operating out of Spencer, Idaho. Gilmer & SalisburyÕs operations were part of a mail route to Yellowstone National Park. This mail service lasted only a year but other stage operations by Gilmer & Salisbury continued for several years. Credit for the first commercial stagecoach tour is given to Marshall & GoffÕs Passenger and Express Line of Virginia City, MT conducted on October 1st, 1880.

During the thirty six-years of stage coach operations in Yellowstone National Park numerous companies came and went such as Wakefield & Hoffman; Yellowstone Transportation Co.; Yellowstone National Park Transportation Co.; Monida & Yellowstone Stage Lines;
Cody-Sylvan Pass Co.; the Wylie Way Camping Co.; Shaw & Powell Camping Co.; The
Basset Brothers; The Bryant Way and probably several companies that did not last long
and did not leave material that we know of.

In 1893 the Yellowstone National Park Transportation Co. bought out several smaller companies and operated until 1898 when they were re-organized as the Yellowstone
Park Transportation Co. This company had the rights to carry Northern Pacific passengers arriving at Gardiner, MT and convey them throughout the Park stopping at the hotels.
The Monida Yellowstone Stage Line was formed in 1898 and had the rights to carry Union Pacific passengers from Monida, MT, west of the park, and convey them through the park via the hotels also. The Wylie Way and Shaw & Powell remained as camping companies carrying passengers from both entrances and staying at cabin camps throughout the park.

In late 1915 the automobile was allowed into Yellowstone National Park for the first time. This spelled the end of the stage coaching era. 1916 would be the last year of stage coach operations. The following year would see both the arrival of the new yellow buses for commercial transportation and ever increasing numbers of private autos.