National Parks Before 1900: Only Yellowstone (1872)

No U.S. national parks were established before 1872. Yellowstone became the world’s first national park on March 1, 1872. The next parks (Sequoia, Yosemite, Mount Rainier) came in 1890, still in the 19th century but after 1872. So, strictly “before 1900” includes Yellowstone (1872), Sequoia (1890), Yosemite (1890), and Mount Rainier (1899)—four parks total.