Philemon Beecher Van Trump (known as P. B. Van Trump; December 18, 1838 – December 27, 1916) was an American pioneering mountaineer and writer who lived in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He is best known for the first documented ascent of Mount Rainier in 1870.

Early life

Van Trump was born in

Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, in the south-central part of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,552. The city is near the Hocking River, about southeast of Columbus and southwest of Zanesville. It is ...

, on December 18, 1838. His father,

Philadelph Van Trump Philadelph Van Trump (November 15, 1810 – July 31, 1874) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1867 to 1873. Biography Born in Lancaster, Ohio, Van Trump attended a public school. He learned the art o ...

, and his maternal grandfather,

Philemon Beecher Philemon Beecher (March 19, 1776November 30, 1839) was an Anglo-American attorney and legislator who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. Biography Philemon Beecher was born in Oxford in the Connecticut Colony, ...

, represented the Ohio districts in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He was educated at

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

and the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Washington

In 1867, he moved to

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

as the private secretary to Marshall F. Moore, the seventh governor of the territory. Moore was Van Trump's brother-in-law. Van Trump first saw Mount Rainier in August 1867, and later recalled: He and Hazard Stevens made the first documented successful climb of Mount Rainier on August 17, 1870. They climbed the mountain via the Gibraltar Ledges route. Van Trump climbed the mountain at least five other times. Van Trump guided

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

to the summit of Mount Rainier in 1888. Muir describes this climb in a chapter of his book ''Steep Trails''. Muir and Van Trump kept in touch after the climb. Van Trump joined the Sierra Club in 1893 making him one of their first members outside

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He later served on the Sierra Club committee that campaigned for the creation of

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preservi ...

. After his wife died in 1907, Van Trump took a position greeting tourists at a summer tent camp at Indian Henry's Hunting Ground at Mount Rainier. He served briefly as a seasonal ranger and spent winters with the Longmire family.

Death and legacy

Failing health caused him to relocate to New York in 1915 to spend his final days with relatives. He died on December 27, 1916, and was interred at the Kattellvile Cemetery, Broome County, New York. He had a son and a daughter. The Stevens–Van Trump Historic Monument along the Skyline Trail in

was erected to commemorate the historic first ascent of the mountain. Van Trump Park (an alpine meadow), Van Trump Creek, and Van Trump Glacier, all in the national park, are named after him. Christine Falls were named for his daughter, Christine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Trump, P.B. 1838 births 1916 deaths American conservationists American mountain climbers Kenyon College alumni Mount Rainier New York University alumni People from Lancaster, Ohio Sierra Club people