Elliott Cemetery
Located about a half-mile up Teton Pass, the Elliott Cemetery is located on the old John Elliott homestead. John lost two young sons to the 1902 diphtheria outbreak, and buried them on a bench behind the homestead. The current Elliott Cemetery is near the location of these two graves. John worked as a day laborer, […]
Allen Cemetery
The Allen Cemetery is located near the old town site of Moran, on the old Allen homestead. The Allens were some of the original homesteaders in the northern portion of the valley, with only a few neighbors before 1900. In 1902 Maria Allen named and operated the Moran Post Office on their ranch. The area […]
Kelly Cemetery
The Kelly Cemetery is located northeast of the town of Kelly. Located on a forgotten 40-acre tract of land that ended up in between two other 160-acre homesteads, the neighbors agreed it should be set aside for use as a cemetery. It was used sporadically from until May of 1927 when a massive flood flattened […]
Granite Ridge Cemetery
The Granite Ridge Cemetery is located in Teton Village, an area once known simply as “Teton.” Little has been written about this area of the valley, it was one of the last locations to be homesteaded due to poor soils. Stories circulate about tough, rocky dry soil interspersed with swampy marshes that bred mosquitoes en-masse. […]
Hunter Hereford Cemetery
In 1951, William “Bill” Hunter died of a heart attack while working in the field on his cattle ranch near Shadow Mountain. He was less than a year into retirement with his wife Eileen and had been ordered by his doctor to take it easy. For those that knew him, working in the hay fields […]
Western Center for Historic Preservation
In 1990, over forty years after the final expansion of Grand Teton National Park, it was estimated that over 70% of the buildings acquired by the Park had been removed. In 1996, the historic buildings in the park were nominated for the National Trust for Historic Preservationâs âMost Endangered Historic Placesâ list. Despite decades of […]
Aspen Hill Cemetery
Located in Jackson at the base of Snow King, between two ski trails, lies the Aspen Hill Cemetery. On July 8, 1920 Mayor Grace Miller and her all-female town council voted and signed the paperwork dedicating this site as an official cemetery. At this time, around 25 marked graves were already on the public land, […]
South Park Cemetery
Located on a bench off of South Park Loop Road, the South Park Cemetery has dramatic uninterrupted views of the Teton Range. This location was chosen specifically because of these views in 1891 when Sylvester Wilson lost two of his children to a diphtheria outbreak. Sylvester Wilson lead the first families into Jackson Hole, and […]
Square G Ranch
The Square G Ranch was homesteaded and owned by Albert and Lida Gabbey. The couple first moved to Jackson Hole in 1925 after hearing about the scenic valley from friends. They rented a cabin in Kelly the first winter and made the acquaintance of Homer Richards. Richards had a homestead near Jenny Lake and was […]
Kimmel Kabins
In 1937 when Geraldine Lucas died, she had spent the better part of the last decade rebuffing several offers to purchase her homestead. Located at the base of the Tetons, directly below the Grand Teton, it was in a valuable and scenic location. For years Harold Fabian of the Snake River Land Company had made […]
Jenny Lake Lodge
On September 19, 1930 Tony Grace sold his Danny Ranch to the Snake River Land Company. Grand Teton National Park had recently been created in 1929, and the Land Company had been in talks with the National Park Service over the future of the Danny Ranch. Early National Park Service policy held little value in […]
Danny Ranch
On June 3, 1922 Tony Grace filed on a homestead on the east shores of String Lake, just north of Jenny Lake. His intentions were to create a small, secluded guest ranch after having worked at two of the largest and most successful guest operations in the valley. During his employment at Ben Sheffieldâs Teton […]
Highlands
Harry and Elizabeth Sensenbach moved their young family from Pennsylvania to Jackson Hole in 1914. They settled and applied for land on the eastern boundary of Jimmy Mangesâ homestead. They attempted to raise barley and oats, but the poor soil on the western side of the Snake River proved difficult to cultivate. Once they received […]
Moose Head Ranch
In 1927, Eva Sanford became one of the last individuals to file for a homestead on Spread Creek. Later that same year Calvin Coolidge signed Executive Order #4685 removing over 1,280 acres of public land from homestead claims. In 1930 the Sanfordâs homestead was contested by the General Land Office, believing it to have been […]
Teton Science Schools Kelly Campus
Very little information remains on the early homesteading history of the Teton Science Schoolsâ Kelly Campus. It is known that Ransom Adams filed on a 160-acre homestead that is thought to have been first settled by Grant Shinkle. While Adamsâ claim remains in the patent issued by the General Land Office, Shinkleâs claim is undocumented. […]
The Manges Cabin
Jimmy Manges originally homesteaded the land that became the Elbo Ranch, just south of Jenny Lake. He applied for a patent in 1911, and it took him seven long years of hard work to clear just 42 of his 160 acres. The homestead cabin he built in 1911 became one of the first homesteads on […]
The Snake River Land Company Office
In 1918, William Carter received the patent for his homestead on a bend of the Snake River just east of the old town of Moran. By 1926 the property was sold to John Hogan who renovated the homestead to act as a summer residence and fox fur farm. He also built a few extra cabins […]
R Lazy S Ranch
In 1910, Elsie M. James (nĂ©e Olsen) received Homestead Patent #145265 for 151.33 acres along what is now known as the Moose-Wilson Road. The homestead was located just north of the White Grass Ranch Road. At the time the patent was given, the White Grass wouldnât be created for another three years. This would have […]
Jackson Lake Lodge
In 1955 the Jackson Lake Lodge opened and became the first example of modern, International style architecture in a National Park. The design was intended to express a sense of modernism and the creation of a new era after the close of World War II. The large, flat, concrete and glass structure was made to […]
Double Diamond Ranch
Joseph S. Clark, Jr., a future senator of Pennsylvania and mayor of Philadelphia, and Frank R. Williams, a wilderness guide, first met in 1923 on a pack trip. Clark was part of the group that Williams was leading. Like many before him, he quickly fell in love with the Jackson Hole landscape. A fast friendship […]
Leek’s Lodge
Steven Leek first entered the Jackson Hole valley working as a trapper in 1888. At 30 years old, he had immigrated to the United States as a child, received education in Illinois and worked on a ranch in Nebraska. Upon arriving in Jackson Hole, Leek resolved to stay in the isolated and empty mountain valley, […]
Wolff Ranch
In 1870, Emile Wolff emigrated from his native Belgium to the United States. He enlisted in the Army, and was stationed at Fort Hall in Idaho. During his service he ventured into Jackson Hole to deliver supplies to the doomed Lt. Gustavus C. Doane* expedition. Despite the foul winter weather, Wolff was impressed by the […]
Moose Entrance Kiosk
Built between 1934 and 1939, the Moose entrance kiosk was the first entrance station in Grand Teton National Park. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a government organization created by President Rooseveltâs New Deal plan. CCC workers arrived in Jackson Hole in 1933 and built a camp just south of Jenny Lake […]
JY Dude Ranch
In 1906 Louis Joy filed for 160 acres under the Desert Land Act of 1877 on the south side of Phelps Lake. After making the necessary improvements and receiving a patent for the land, he filed a cash entry on an adjacent 119 acre homestead. Only a year later, in 1908, the ranch hosted the […]
Jackson Hole Wildlife Park
In 1940 the Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. was formed out of the Snake River Land Company. The intention was to distance the Preserve from the bad press surrounding the Snake River Land Company and impending controversy over the creation of the Jackson Hole National Monument (1943). Those involved with the Preserve announced their new initiative […]
Colter Bay
colter bay When the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) arrived in Jackson Hole in 1933-1935, they set up several camps around the valley: at the base of Jenny Lake, and Leigh Lake, near Lizard Creek and a small isolated bay on Jackson Lake. The main camp was located at Jenny Lake, with a few buildings remaining […]
Beaver Creek Administration Area
For the last century, the Beaver Creek Administration area has been housing the administrative officials tasked with managing the federally protected lands in Jackson Hole. When the Teton National Forest was created in 1908, two small log buildings were constructed to house the forest rangers and their office space. The Stewart Ranger Station remained unchanged […]
AMK Ranch
The history of the AMK Ranch can be told in two parts: the homesteading era and the summer home era. It was first homesteaded by John Sargent in 1890. Sargent was one of the first settlers on the northern shores of Jackson Lake. After his suicide in 1913, the property would remain vacant and unused […]
Jenny Lake Campground
The campground at Jenny Lake dates to the early 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps arrived in the valley to complete several projects, but Jenny Lake has been used for campsites for thousands of years. The Native Americans were the first to arrive in the area and recognize the Lakeâs valuable resources and beautiful scenery. […]
Jenny Lake
The Jenny Lake area has been continuously used for thousands of years. Early Native Americans chose this ideal spot for their campsites, centrally located in the valley and with a plentiful water supply. It is no accident that the early European-American visitors who settled in the area also saw the same valuable resources in this […]
Circle H Dude Ranch
The Circle H Ranch was once part of the land that was originally split between homesteaders Louis Joy and William Grant. Joy owned a prosperous dude ranch at the base of Phelps Lake, and held a lot of the land in that area. The JY Dude Ranch (named for Joy) was the first to bring […]
Sky Ranch
Sky Ranch was the life-long dream of William Balderston II, who first arrived in Jackson Hole at 15 years old in 1912. The summer between his junior and senior high school years, Bill was working on a survey for the Oregon Short Line Railroad that held a right-of-way between Green River, Wyoming and Yellowstone’s south entrance. […]
Tourism in Jackson Hole
As early as 1890, Jenny Lake had been the center of recreational activities in the valley. Jenny Lake quickly became the most popular destination in the valley. The lake was centrally located and provided much of the recreational activities that drew visitors to the valley. The area provided access to the Tetons for climbing and hiking, […]
Dude Ranching in Jackson Hole
Beef was the valleyâs most important export, and dudes were the most important import. The first dude ranches established in the valley were the JY (1908) by Louis Joy and Struthers Burt, the Bar BC (1912) and the White Grass (1913) by Harold Hammond and George Bispham. While the JY was the oldest and largest, […]
Cattle Ranching in Jackson Hole
As early as 1884 cattle ranching began in the valley. As the homesteaders quickly discovered, their location wasnât well suited for cultivating large surpluses of grain to sell. Once again, geography plays an important role. Most western cattle ranches were made up of thousands of acres of grazing. These were where the cowboys worked, often […]
Homesteading in Jackson Hole
Land Ownership in the West *The Acts listed below were the most popular land entries made in the valley, there were several others that were enacted at the time but werenât as relevant to Jackson Hole. *Most individuals succeeded in acquiring the deed to their land, although some spent more than five years attempting to […]
Snake River Land Company
1915: Stephen Mather and his assistant, Horace Albright first travels to Yellowstone National Park to survey how it was run. On a whim they decided to travel south to look at the Teton Range and Jackson Hole. Both men are awe-struck by what they found, a sparsely settled valley bordered by the rugged Tetons. The […]
Kelly, Wyoming
Kelly, Wyoming was initially a modest but thriving rural town located on the banks of the Gros Ventre River. Around 1925 the town had many amenities: mercantile, Riverside Hotel, blacksmith, flour mill (1917-1921, burned), dance hall and sawmill (removed 1918). In 1904 the first school opened on the Warren Henry homestead. By 1909, families from […]
Kelly Flood
In 1895 William âBillyâ Bierer arrived in Jackson Hole to prospect for gold. He chose a site near what is now called Slide Lake, along the Gros Ventre River. After prospecting proved to be fruitless, he turned to homesteading, receiving a patent for his land in 1915. In the preceding years Bierer had spent a […]
Luther Taylor
In 1910, John Erwin first arrived in Jackson Hole and filed for 160 acres on the eastern side of the valley, just north of the community of Kelly. Located on the Gros Ventre Road, the property is a popular tourist destination today for its association with the western movie Shane. Known more often as the […]
The Elk Horn Hotel
Charles and Maria Allen, Frank Lovell, and Cap and Clara Smith were the first homesteaders in the area is now known as Moran. The three families arrived between 1895 and 1900. Reports show that the Smiths operated a roadhouse that burned in 1900. Shortly after the fire they sold their homestead along with neighbor Frank […]
Benjamin Sheffield & Teton Lodge Company
Captain Edward âCapâ Smith and his wife Clara were some of the first settlers in this region, prior to 1900. Frank Lovell had a homestead just next door. Cap and Clara Smith opened and ran a roadhouse when traffic started coming down the military road from Yellowstone in 1890-1892. It is thought that this modest […]
Moran, Wyoming
The town of Moran is Jackson Holeâs first true tourist town. In 1895, Benjamin Sheffield came to the area near Jackson Lake and knew it would make the perfect location for a hunting lodge. Coming from the hunting tourist industry in Montana, he knew he had found something promising. With Marion Lambert as his financial […]
John Sargent’s Merymere
In 1886 John Dudley Sargent first visited Jackson Hole and resolved to return to homestead. He returned home to Machias, Maine where he married Adelaide Crane and had two children, a son and a daughter. In 1889, the young family was in Jackson Hole and construction began on their 10-room house they named Merymere. Accompanying […]
Jackson Lake Dam
The first dam on Jackson Lake was built in 1906; it was intended for temporary purposes and built with temporary materials. The area around the outlet of Jackson Lake was not suitable for human habitation as high spring runoff from the mountains made much of the bottom lands too wet for building and susceptible to […]
Triangle X Ranch
In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order that expanded the Teton National Forest and eliminated the Yellowstone National Forest. As a result, lands in the eastern half of the valley that had been previously part of the Yellowstone National Forest were open for homesteading. In the next year there was a small land […]
The Elk Ranch
Josiah David âSiâ Ferrin first arrived in Jackson Hole in 1900 from Ogden Valley, Utah. He had been in the valley previously, during work as a cattle driver. His work took him through most of western Wyoming, but Jackson Hole had made an impression. He settled on land near Twin Creek on todayâs Elk Refuge. […]
Hatchet Ranch
John âJackâ Shive was discharged from his post at Fort Yellowstone in 1889, made his way south and claimed a homestead along the Buffalo Fork with squatterâs rights. Shive had originally joined the army in New York City when he was assigned to Fort Yellowstone. The land he was squatting on along the Buffalo Fork […]
Elk, Wyoming
Located in the northeastern portion of the valley, the Elk post office was created to service the families living in the Buffalo Fork and Spread Creek areas. The post office first opened on the Cunningham Ranch in 1899. In rural Jackson Hole, âcommunitiesâ were loosely based around which post office was closest, or the easiest […]
Cunningham Ranch
John Pierce Cunningham was one of the first homesteaders in Jackson Hole, arriving in 1885 from New York. Reports vary, but most claim that he hunted and trapped for a few years before finding a wife and settling down in 1888. In 1888-1889 John and his wife Margaret built a modest cabin, which still stands […]
Hunter Hereford Ranch
James Williams moved into the valley at 27 years old in 1908, and filed on his homestead north of Ditch Creek. He constructed a square log home with a hipped roof, and showed surprising skill in homebuilding for a younger man. By the time he received his patent in 1915, Williams had cultivated 100 acres […]
Grovont, Wyoming
One of the earliest communities in Jackson Hole was settled in 1896. It was called Gros Ventre, after the nearby river. In Jackson Hole homesteads were too far dispersed to be considered true communities. They were generally organized by which post office was the closest to reach, and âpost officesâ were often small boxes that […]
Thomas Perry Homestead
Thomas Perry was one of the first men to settle on Mormon Row in 1907. He arrived in the valley with neighbors from Idaho, returning home for the first winter. In 1908, he and Thomas Alma and John Moulton, along with Thomas Murphy returned to their claims and began the work to build homes. Perry […]
Thomas Murphy Homestead
In 1908, Thomas Murphy becomes one of the first men to settle on Mormon Row, traveling to the area with neighbors from Idaho, Thomas Alma and John Moulton. The community was officially called Grovont, and settled by 27 Mormon families. Their settlement in a Mormon âline villageâ gave them the nickname âMormon Rowâ by their […]
Thomas Alma Moulton Homestead
Thomas Alma âAlmaâ Moulton first homesteaded this property in 1907 as a bachelor. He came over Teton Pass with his brother John and neighbor Thomas Perry from Teton Basin, Idaho. The Moultons had moved to Idaho from Utah several decades ago. For the first few winters, Alma continued to return to the family holdings in […]
John Moulton Homestead
John Moulton first arrived in Jackson Hole with his brother, Thomas Alma in 1907. They filed for adjacent claims and began work to clear 80 acres of land, construct a cabin, barn, corrals and related fencing. In 1916, he received the patent for his land. John was well known in the valley for his dairy business, […]
Andy Chambers Homestead
Andrew Harrison Chambers was the last to settle on Mormon Row, after purchasing an open lot of land in 1912. Over the next four years he built a small log cabin and stable, cultivating 20 acres of land. In 1916 he received the patent for his land and constructed a two-story log house that still […]
White Grass Ranch
To learn more about the White Grass Ranch, visit www.whitegrass.org – a website completely dedicated to this spectacular ranch in partnership with the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum and the White Grass Heritage Project. — Harold Hammond was born in Idaho and came to Jackson Hole as a child in the early 1900s. From […]
STS Dude Ranch – Murie Ranch
STS Ranch 1922-1940 In 1914 Frances Mears came to Jackson Hole, yet another member of a wealthy Philadelphian family looking for a western adventure. Frances would certainly find hers at the Bar BC, where she stayed for four summers. Over those summers she met and fell in love with Buster Estes, a ranch employee working […]
Moose, Wyoming
Moose, Wyoming is centrally located in Jackson Hole, and was first homesteaded in 1892 when William âBillâ Menor filed for 160 acres on the banks of the Snake River. Until 1911, Bill Menor would have the only holding on the west bank of the Snake River. Because of this, the area was generally known as […]
Menor’s Ferry
Born in Ohio in 1857 in Ohio, William âBillâ Menor lived in several states before settling in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1894. He arrived in the valley and under the encouragement of Jack Shive and John Cherry, decided to open up a ferry service crossing the Snake River. Bill chose his parcel carefully, studying the […]
Maud Noble Cabin
Maud arrived in Jackson Hole in 1915 from a wealthy family in Philadelphia. She came out to stay with Mrs. George Woodward at the Bar BC Ranch. It is estimated that she was between 45 and 50 years old. She meant to stay only for the summer but decided to make the valley her permanent […]
Lucas-Fabian
LUCAS ERA: 1913-1938 Geraldine Lucas was born November 5, 1866 in Iowa. In 1885, she married Michael OâShea and became pregnant with a son. After two years of an unhappy marriage, Geraldine left OâShea and legally reclaimed her maiden name for both herself and her son, Russel. As a single mother she attended Oberlin College […]
The Elbo Ranch
The Elbo Ranch was located near the current Climberâs Ranch to the Cottonwood Creek pullout. Lining both sides of the road, this ranch had modest beginnings. The origin of the name and spelling of âElboâ is unknown, it appears as both âEl-Boâ and âElbo.â James H. âJimmyâ Manges filed a claim for 160 acres under […]
Bar BC Dude Ranch
Maxwell Struthers Burt, writer, novelist and poet who grew up on the East Coast journeyed to Jackson Hole in 1908 to help his colleague Louis Joy start up the JY Dude Ranch, the first dude ranch to open in Jackson Hole. Struthers Burt graduated from Princeton University in Philadelphia in 1904, and maintained his contacts […]
4 Lazy F Ranch
The 4 Lazy F Ranch is located on the western bank of the Snake River, just north of Moose and about a mile south of the Upper Bar BC Ranch. The ranch began as the Sun Star Ranch, under the care of Bryant Mears who arrived in the valley as a dude at the Bar […]