Did you know that President Chester A. Arthur is the only U.S. President to be represented in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s specimen collection? And that specimen? A mounted piece of fireweed, collected on his trip to Yellowstone National Park.

Buckrail writes that Arthur was the first president to visit the park nine years after it was established in 1872. He was invited to visit in an effort to gain protection for the park from commercial operations. During the three-week fishing expedition, Arthur also met with Chief Washakie of the Eastern Shoshone tribe and Chief Black Coal of the Northern Arapaho tribe, according to the Wyoming Historical Society. Both chiefs expressed their disapproval of a proposal to alter the reservation system and instead force tribes into private land ownership.

President Arthur’s visit to the park generated a lot of press, which helped Lt. Gen. Philip Sheridan and Sen. George Graham Vest of Missouri advocate for park protections. As a result of the trip, Sen. Vest passed a resolution requiring the Senate to approve and oversee all park concession proposals.

President Arthur’s preserved pinkish-purplish wildflower stands as a testament to the short, impactful trip.