Rail-based tourism added significantly to Montana's economy at the turn of the century, with tourists spending $500,000 in the state each year from 1900 through 1910. The railroad-related buildings near the entrance to Yellowstone Park reflect that West Yellowstone was created because of the railroad. The construction and dedication of this pylon in 1910 marked the completion of the railroad terminus and the beginning of Union Pacific development to accommodate tourists traveling to the park. Two cement shields of the 1904-1912 Union Pacific logo are mounted on a base of randomly placed welded tuff. The same shield, adopted in 1905 by the newly created U.S. Forest Service, still identifies that agency today. The West Yellowstone pylon symbolizes tourism in its infancy, when railroad travel made the national parks more accessible to all.