To Preserve the View

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A "Tour" in Text and Pictures of Historic Sites Relating to the Establishment of Grand Teton National Park By Tamsen Emerson Hert

Picture a dance hall on the east side of Jenny Lake or Begin at Park Headquarters in Moose. Directions to 400 summer homes dotting the shores of . the next site follow each swnmmy. Some of the roads Imagine scores of fast food restaurants, motels and curio you will be traveling on are dirt and by looking at the shops lining Highway 191. This sight could have been map you can find altemath.·e routes if you wish to seen were it not for the strong commitment to remain on paved roads. conservation that a number of Jackson Hole residents demonstrated between 1920 and 1950. Concern for Directions: Leave the parking lot at th e Visitor the preservation of the Tetons as well as the view from Center. Tum towards the Park Entrance Gates. Your east of the Snake River pitted neighbors against each en fly fee is good for seven days at both Grand Teton­ other. Nathaniel Burt. son of Struthers Burt, gave Yellowstone National Parks. Go north on the Teton tribute to those concerned individuals: "To those like Park Road. Turn right at the road to the Chapel ofth e my father and hi s friends who loved the country as Transfiguration and Menor's Ferry. they had first known it, but who recognized that the tourist was coming, some sort of special preservation MAUD NOBLE CABIN scheme was imperative. Letting human nature take its course meant ruin." 1 This is where it all began. On July 26, 1923. Horace At times even those on the same side disagreed over Albright, Superintendent ofYellowstone National Park, practices and plans for the Park. John D. Rockefeller, received an invitation to meet with local residents and Jr., entered the scene early on and without his conservationists Struthers Burt, Horace Carncross, Jack involvement, the Park certainly would have been Eynon, Joe Jones, Dick Winger and Maud Noble. These smaller.2 individuals discussed their concerns about the future 1 Nathaniel Burt, Jackson Hole Journal. (Norman: University This tour will guide you to some of the scenes, and of Oklahoma Press, 1983 ), 132. 2 discuss some of th e individuals, that were most The story of the struggle is quite involved. Robert Righter has provided !he full story in his book, Crucible for Conserva­ significant in the park debate. A few ofthe sites simply tion: The Struggle for Grand Teton National Park (Boulder: Colo­ provide a little history about the Jackson Hole region. rado Associated University Press, 1982). 3ummc•r I qqq 15 of th e va ll ey. Comm ercializati on threatened the th e Teton as a bac kdrop. i one of the most destructi on of wildlife as well as th e scenic beauty. photograp hed sites in Wyomin g. Stru th er Burt, a writer and dude rancher, stated th e Other residents of Antelope Flat too k th e opport unity plan : " It would be a mu se um on th e hoof - native to ell th eir land s to John D. Roc kefe ll er Jr. 's Snake wild life. cattle, wranglers. all li vi ng aga in for a brief Ri v ~.:r Land Company. Man y people. in cl udin g Gov. tim e each summer the life of th e early West with its Fra nk Emerson were unh appy about th ese sales. They glamour. romance and charm ."3 The majority felt th at believed good, arabl e land s hould not be part of th e thi proposal was sound . A "recreati onal area" rellected land purchase. 1-l O\\ ever. cttl cr in Mo rm on Row their preference for protecti on but not the limitat ions want ed to se ll . The Snake Ri,·er Land Co mpany of pre ervation as then exi sted in Yc ll owstone. They purcha ed the land for SSO an acre. Homesteads th at wan ted to provi de for trad iti onal ac ti vities such as had not been improved in th e r~.: q uircd amount of time hunting, grazing and dude ranchin g. were terminated by th e Ge neral La nd Offi ce." The plan of ac ti on required one or more wea lth y Today the Park Se rvi ce d o ~: not have plans Cor thi s individuals to quietly purchase land north of Jackson's area. There is potential here. as with oth er areas Hole. The individual( s) would th en hold th e land until throughout th e Park. to r a ''livin g hi story" program. Co ngress would reimburse th e land owner and tum the land over to th e National Park ervice. Those concerned DirectiOil.\': Re1um to the A ntelo11e Flo!s mud und people att ending thi s hi storic m~.:ctin g had no idea th at 1111'11 cas/. Log stmctlln' s stood on !he north side r!f'the they would need onl y one indi vidual to accomplish their rood This \\'US the Pji.'i(er lromcstewl. The original dream. buildings hcre \t·erc h/i In decoy and hurncd in o The plan first di sc us cd at thi ite has been ll'ildjire in / 99 -1. Joe P_fi_>(/i.!r Clllllc! 10 Jackson 's Hole accompli shed by th e creati on of Gra nd Teton National ji-mn Montano in 1910 and li1·ed here. ll 'itlui/11 uny Park . A plaque on th e doorway re ads: "The broad moda n com ·eniences, until his deu!l! in I Y6 .J Cunlinue vi sion and patriotic fore sight of those who met here on !h e Anleloec Flo!s Rood Bcj(m' reaching th e th at Jul y evening in 1923 will be increasingly Sclnriering Slllllio. luke !he old )'e/lmrs!onc Wugnn apprec iated by our co untry with th e pa ss in g years." • Rood and lrm ·cl nonh

rin H. an d Lorraine G. Bonn e), Bo11ney ·s Gmde Grund Directions: Tour the Jlt.!nor ·s Fern· area nml \'isil Tcron Xanrmal Pork and Jucksvn·s /!ole (Houston: Orin H. and !he Clwpel ojihe Transjlguralion. Tr(/\·e/ easllo 1\/ovse Lo rr :~i n e G. Bonney. 1%1, 1970). ,'6. Junclion. Tum nor!h on 1-fig lnt ·r~\ ' 191. Dril·e a short ' Robert Ri gh ter . ..J Tero11 Cou11 rn · .·lmholo,t..'1 ' (Bou lder: Rob­ distance to A ntelojJe Flats Rood 111m righ1. A !lhef irsl ert . Rinehart Inc .. 1990). 173. dirt rvad (Kelly). tum sou/h. This area is knmm us ~ Ri ghter. Crucible for Co11sermrum. 6-l . 1\/onnon Rmr. MORMON ROW

Morm on Row wa s settled around the turn of th e century by se\·eral Mormon fami li e movin g into th e area from Id aho. May. Moulton, and Chambers are j u t a few of th ose early sett lers - many of their de ce ndants res id e in Jack so n today. A schoo L church and other buildings are all th at remain . John Moulton and hi wife Ba rth a. home tended here in 1908. Wh il e provin g up on th e land, John worked on other ranchc and trapped beaver and coyotes. The Moulton homestead wa so ld to the Na ti onal Park Service in ! 953 with a lease on the land until John Moulton's death. The Moulton Bam, on th e west side with Site of P.fc({er Homestead. ! 998. Photo hy J en :1· 1\rois 16 Annals of :The Wyoming History Journal

Poslcard, Kimmel Kabins and Jenny Lake Store, Jackson Hole, c. 1940. Author's collection

HEDRICK'S POINT

John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and his family visited Horace J. Pierce Cunningham lived in Jackson Hole for 40 Albright in Yellowstone in July 1926. Albright took years. This homestead, established in 1890, formed the the family on a tour of the Jackson Hole area. The nucleus ofhis Bar Flying U Ranch. Cunningham served spectacular scenery of the Tetons made an impression as postmaster, game warden and justice of the peace. on Rockefeller and his wife. Both were disturbed by When Teton County was organized in 1923, he was the commercial developments encroaching on the chosen as one of the commissioners. From the parking Leigh-String-Jenny Lake region. area there is a short trail to the buildings. A guide to On the return trip to Yellowstone Albright stopped the area is available. 7 near this point on the bluff overlooking the Snake River. Reports of a horse stealing operation based in Red (See photograph. page 14). Albright described it: Lodge, Montana, appeared in many newspapers during 1892. In April 1893, two suspected horse thieves, It was particularly lovely that afternoon. The shadows George Spenser and Mike Burnett, who had wintered of the Tetons were already reaching across the river bottoms, but Antelope Flats, the lands around Blacktail at Cunningham's Spread Creek Ranch, were shot by Butte and the di stant hills cutting off Jackson from the posse members. Later investigation revealed that the Gros Ventre were still bathed in sunshine from a clear leaders of the posse were not U.S. marshals.8 sky. As we stood on this little "rise" and absorbed the Directions: Continue north on 191 to Moran beauty of the scene spread before us, I told Mr. and Junction. Turn west and continue to the Oxbow Bend Mrs. Rockefeller of the meeting at Miss Noble's cabin Turnout. three years earlier and the plan to protect and preserve for the future this sublime valley. 6 OXBOW BEND

Rockefeller's commitment to preservation of the Laurance Rockefeller inherited his father's love of valley may have come from stopping at Hedrick's Point. nature and interest in conservation. He took over the That winter, Rockefeller requested Albright's report Jackson Hole Project in 1945 and developed tourist and map discussing the proposal outlined at this point attractions that would appeal to those visitors in the overlooking the Snake. Rockefeller made his decision valley for only a short visit. One of these attractions - acquire lands throughout the valley to protect the 6 Letter, Horace M. Albright to Mr. Wilford Neilson, "History scenery and preserve the wildlife. of the Snake River Land Company and of !he Efforts to Preserve The Snake River Land Company was incorporated !he Jackson Hole Country for the Nation," (Jackson: Snake River on August 25, 1927. and purchase of the lands began. Land Company, 1933?), 24. 7 Cunningham Cabin Self-Guided Trail. (Moose: Grand Teton Directions: Continue north on the wagon road until Natural History Association, 1985). you rerum to Highway 191. Tum right (north) and 8 Elizabeth Wied Hayden, "Shoot Out at Cunningham's Cabin," then turn left at the Cunningham Cabin Historic Site. Teton 8:29-31. .3umnwr 199Q 17 \ as th e Jac kson Hole Wildlife Park located at th e Regional Director of th e ati onal Park Service. Oxbow Bend. Laurence C. Merri am. arri\ cd in Jackson Hole to The Wildlife Park was to be a fenced area containing over ee th e changing of th e guard. A description of buffalo. elk. deer. antelope. black bear, beaver and other \\hat he fo und is reported by Ri ghter. native spec ies. The plan suggested that such an attraction would serve as "a gath ering point for When the Forest Sef\ icc evac uated in Jun e. 1943 it naturalists and wild-life enthusiasts. and an area for was not done with \\hat one mi ght ca ll a spirit of scientific study in wild-life conservation. propagation. camarade ri e. No t onl y were the furni ture and and management on a scale unparall eled in the nation."0 equipment taken fro m the Jackson Lake Ranger Station. but ;ill th e plumbi ng in th e basemen t. kit chen, and Such a park would ensure visitors a view of \\·estern bathroo m was remo,·ed. Ewn door , cupboard s, wildlife. dra,Y er . and cab in ets. plus the acc omp anyin g This "zoo" (as it was referred to by some) incited hard\rare. were considered "mo\'able eq uipm ent." another battle between already warrin g fac ti ons. Well tubing \\ as remo\'ed. and an underground tank Conservation groups were especiall y upset at thi s plan. unearthed and packed a'' ay. To compl ete the task a Olaus Murie. wildlife biologist and supporter of the four- foo t squ are hole wa s cut in th e li\'ing room. park plan, was vehemently opposed to such a "park." se \'ering not onl y th e tloor ing but th e tl oor joists as In an arti cle in Nmional Parks Alaga=ine in 1946. Muri e wel l. In short. the stati on \Ya s unin habi tab le.12 wrote: The Forest Service agreed to make th e necessary I ga,·e ,,·hole- hearted upport to the creati on of the repairs and provide replacements of iixtures to make Jackson Hole Nati onal Mo nument. with the thought th e structure li va ble. Today thi s infamous stmcture is that the area woul d gi,·e protec ti on to the intangibl e a residence for park employees. \'alues that are so import ant in thi s ,·all ey. I want to Directions: Continue north on 89 ro Jackson Lake make it clear th at I did not advocate a road-s ide zoo in Lodge. th e mid st of the grandeur of Jack so n Hole. On the contrary. it is thi s kind of intrusion \\hich must be kept 1 & LUNCH TREE HILL out of the ,·all ey. " Lun ch Tree Hill is the spot fro m which John D. Supporters of the wildlife park argued that it would Rockefell er, Jr. first viewed the Teton Range in 1926. erve as an educational in stmment. In the end, Laurance A plaque on top of th e hill reads: backed off and the fences came down. This locati on was also the original site of the Thi s tablet is placed here in tribute to 1VIr. John D. University ofWyoming! Research Roc kefe ll er, Jr., "hose ,·ision. genero it y, and loYe of Cent er. The buildings were relo cated to the AMK country ha,·e mad e possible the pre erY ati on of thi s Ranch wh en it became th e research cent er. region in its pristine beauty and grandeur. Here the Directions: Continue on Highll'ay 89 past tlz e spell of th e magnifi ce nt Teto n Mo unt ain s and th e Jackson Lake Junction. Stop at the ll'il!oll· Flats bea utiful ,·alley th ey gua rd first capti ,·ated him. He Turnout. Across the road i the former Jackson Lake has sin ce co me often to thi s hi lltop for rene\Y ed Ranger Station. in spirati on. The ori gi nal reso rt was the Amoretti Inn. built in JACKSON LAKE RANGER STATION 1922. Located onl y 1/2 mile from Moran, it was one of th e largest of earl y touri st resorts. It s name was changed This was the site of th e most phys ica l battle in th e to Jackson La ke Lodge a short time after it was built. struggle to create Grand Teton National Park . President Purchase of Jackson Lake Lodge by Roc kefell er Franklin Roosevelt established Jac kson Hole National interests was not part of the ori gin al plan. Howewr. Monument March 15, 1943 -withdraw in g a porti on th e owners wa nted to sel l. They received $40.000 in of acreage from the Teton Nati onal Forest. This did Teton In vestm ent Company stock and $35.000 in cash not bode well with th e U.S. Forest Service. As Robert Ri ghter desc ribed it. "From th e beginning the Forest 0 Olau J. 1\ turie, ··Fenced Wild life for Jackson Hole ." .\'a- Service had openl y or covertly oppo ed National Park tiona/ Parks A!aga=ine. 20. Jan.-March 1946. 8. Service obj ecti ves in Jackson Hole. ow it was difficult 10 Ibid.. 9. to admit defeat and graciously turn over some 130,000 11 Righler. Crucible for Conservation, 121. ac res of land and lakes. " 11 I~ Ibid. 18 Annals of Wyo ming :The Wyoming History Journal for the lodge. Tourist facilities were not encouraged in miles south of this lodge and was among the earliest the original plan for park expansion, but following the dude ranches in the valley. establishment of the larger park, it became necessary Leek is remembered for his involvement with the to provide overnight facilities. Jackson Hole elk herd. During the 1890's and 1900's It took nearly three years to build the present Jackson he witnessed the winter starvation of the elk. He used Lake Lodge. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. carefully selected a portion ofhis hay harvest to feed the elk and prevailed the site - adjacent to Lunch Tree Hill. The main on neighbors to do the same. The Jackson elk herd lounge picture window, 60 feet wide and 2 stories high, became his crusade. Telling photographs and lectures frames the Tetons. According to Bonney's Guide, in the East brought national attention to the plight of Rockefeller had a scaffold erected to the exact level of the elk. He aroused enough attention that in 1912 the the lounge floor - he wanted to be sure that "America Jackson Hole National Elk Refuge was established. saw the Tetons in the perspective he saw them." The Leek also served as a guide and outfitter to hunters. Lodge was dedicated June II, 1955, "both as a gift to It was not until 1926-27 that he built his hunting lodge. the American people and a pilot project in park He was both architect and builder. The nomination of development."' 3 Leek's Lodge to the National Register ofHistoric Places While the view is inspirational, the architecture has reads: been debated. Some claim that the poured concrete Leek's name stands in a prominent place among the structure, supposed to resemble wood-grain, does not organizers and workers of the nation's earliest blend with the environment. conservation efforts. This lodge should also be Take time to enjoy the view from the lounge or the preserved as a memorial to a man who, given only a limited formal education, became, in the interest of patio. Moose .and beaver are frequent visitors to the wildlife preservation, a self-educated biologist, an willow flats. Don't miss the murals in the dining room! author, a lecturer, [and] photographer and still remained Directions: Leave the lodge area and head north on a frontiersman. 191 & 287. Travel past Colter Bay. Turn left at the exit for Leeks Marina. Leek's Lodge remained in use as a recreational facility for visitors through 1974-75 and was removed in 1998. LEEK'S LODGE All that remains today is the stone fireplace. 14

Stephen N. Leek ( 1858-1943) arrived in the Jackson 13 "Jackson Lake Lodge Dedication," June II, 1955, foreword. Hole area in 1888 and became one of the first settlers 14 "Park Officials Want Leek's Lodge Removed," Casper Star to establish a pennanent residence. His ranch is thirty Tribune, July 7, 1995, 83. ~--~~r..~~~~~~-----,~~~

The stone fireplace, all that remains of Leek's Lodge, 1998. - ·-

Summer l 999 I q DirecTions: NorTh of Leek's Lodge is a pm·ed road story structure with windows looking out at Jackson leading to the Unh·ersity of Wroming/Notional Pork Lake. Today. the master bedroom serves as a research Sen·ice Research Cemer. library for the University of Wyoming. Alfred Berol was notified in 1938 that the AMK could UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING- NATIONAL be condemned as part of the proposed extension of PARK SERVICE RESEARCH CENTER Grand Teton National Park. As executor ofhis father's estate. Kenneth Berol deeded the AMK to the United 1 The original ranch was established in 1890-91 by John States in 1976 for $3.3 rnillion. " Dudley Sargent (descendant of artist John Singer The University of Wyoming- National Park Service Sargent) and Robert Ray Hamilton (descendant of Research Center relocated to the AMK property July A lexander Hamilton). Marymere. Sargent"s name for 15, 19 77. Research is conducted here on all aspects of the ranch, was among the early attempts at dude the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Recently. the focus ranching. has been on the aftem1ath ofthe 1988 forest fires. Many strange events occurred during Sargent's Directions: Lem·e the Leeks ,\farina area and go residence here. In 1891 Hamilton disappeared while south 0 11 191 & :l87 to the Jackson Luke Junction A hunting. After several days. searchers found his museum and \'isitor celller is located at Co lT er Bm •. At drowned body two miles below the Jackson Lake outlet. the Jackson Loke Junction. take the Teton Park Rood There is speculation that Sargent \Vas involved in the to . Th ere is a small parking area death but this was never proven. Six years later, a very on the south side of the dam. ill Mrs. Sargent was taken from the ranch so she could receive medical treatment. Adelaide Sargent died April JACKSON LAKE DAM & MORAN TOWNSITE 11. 1897. There are many conflicting stories about this episode. Some imply that Sargent beat her: others that When the original dam was proposed by the Bureau she'd had some sort of accident and her husband was of Reclamation. not one word of protest was raised. treating her illness the best he could. Sargent \Vas The first dam on Jackson Lake was a crude rock-filled. scheduled to stand trial for the murder of his wife in log-crib structure erected in 1906. This darn washed April 1900 but the case was dismissed due to conllicting out in 1910 and was replaced by a reinforced concrete testimony and the lack of substantial evidence. dam in 1911. The second dam \\as barely finished After the death of Adelaide. Sargent renamed when instructions were received to raise the lake le\ el Marymere the Pinetree Ranch. A few years later. he an additional ten feet - this was completed in 1916. remarried. Most people considered his new wife crazy During the 1980's additional work was done on the because she would set in a tree completely naked. play darn. her violin and eat peanuts. 15 John D. Sargent lived here The argument against the dam arose when park until his suicide in 1913. The ten-room cabin was tom expansionists wanted to inc Jude Jackson Lake. Some down several years later. resi dents felt that the dam itself was a violation of Pinetree Ranch \Vas sold for $600 to cover delinquent wilderness. The National Parks Association argued that taxes. Lou Johnson. a sales executive for the Hoover to include a reservoir was a violation of the sanctity of Vacuum Cleaner Company. purchased Sargent's ranch a national park. Bob Righter states "'the damming of in 1926. The Johnson home, built the following year, Jackson Lake was an act of environmental desecration is a two-story building because Johnson's wife was second only to the inundation of Yosemite's Hetch 17 afraid to sleep in a ground floor room with bears in the Hetchy Valley." area. Several other buildings in cluding a boathouse were Amo Cammerer, Director of the N PS argued in favor constructed at this site. The Johnson's named their of including the reservoir: "' ... the construction of a new residence on Jackson Lake the Mae-Lou Lodge. reservoir which means violation of another great scenic Following the death of Lou Johnson in 1931, Slim Lawrence became caretaker of the Mae-Lou property. 15 Est her Allen. "Strange 1\ lusic atl\lerrymere." Telon. 9 ( 1976). Alfred Berol of the Eagle Pencil Company (became 16. 1 the Berol Corporation in 1969) purchased the ranch in " "Through !he Years at th e AI\IK," Teton. 10 ( 1977 ). 2-5 & 1936 for $24,300. Construction began on the Berol 61-64; Kenneth L. Diem, A Tale of Dough Gods. Bear Grease. Cmualoupe and Sucker Oil: Jlarymcre!Pine/reel.\!ae-Lou/A.\IK Lodge in 193 7. A new name was adopted - - AMK Ranch. (Moran: Uni\ersit;. of \\'yoming-National Park SerYice Ranch- representing the first letters of the first name Research Center, 1986). of each family member. The Berol home is a single- 17 Ri ghter, Crucible for Conser\'alion, I 0. 20 Annals of Wyoming:Tbe Wyo ming History Journal area, is a very different thing from the attempt to save In an address prepared for, but not read, at the a previously violated area from further exploitation ... 18 dedication of the Teton National Park on July 29, I 929, In the end, park extension won the battle for inclusion Jackson discussed the numerous times he visited the of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. area and the conditions in which he worked. He The original town of Moran was located just east of concluded: the Jackson Lake dam. In 1928 the Snake River Land I have returned here frequently in the meantime, for Company purchased the land and all buildings from pleasure instead of profit, for there is - on our Ben Sheffield for $106,425. The town was dismantled continent, no grander or more satisfYing prospect than in 1957- buildings were destroyed or relocated to other the one now before us in which beauty, as well as 1 sites and the natural environment has reclaimed the area. majesty, are combined. q Directions: Continue south .fi"om the dam. To the Directions: Return to the highway and continue right is Signal Afozmtain Lodge. Tum east at the Signal driving south. Turn west at the North Jenny Lake Alozmtain Scenic Drive exit. This is a five-mile drive Junction. This is a one-way road to the south. There to the summit of Signal Alountain. are several turnouts for photo opportunities.

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN DRIVE JENNY LAKE DRIVE

The naming of Signal Mountain stems from the The boundaries of the Park established in 1929 Sargent- Hamilton partnership. When Robert Hamilton included the Tetons and the eastern edge of Leigh, was reported lost in 1891, searchers agreed to light a String and Jenny Lakes. Ideally, Grand Teton National signal fire on the summit ofthis mountain (elev. 7,731 Park was to be the first "wilderness" park. No hotels or ft.) when his body was found. facilities were to be included in park boundaries- not Pioneer photographer William Henry Jackson because Jackson residents were committed to wilderness accompanied the 1871 Hayden scientific expedition of but because they wanted to protect private and to Yellowstone. Jackson's photographs contributed to commercial interests. While there was little opposition the establishment of Yellowstone National Park. 8 Hayden and Jackson returned to the area in I 872. ' Ibid. , 91. 10 William H. Jackson, "Address Regarding First Photograph­ William H. Jackson first recorded the majesty of the ing of the Tetons," Annals of H~voming. 6 (July-October 1929), ,Tetons- from the summit ofthis mountain in 1878. 189.

Lucas-Fabian Cabins. 1990. ·-1

:3ummer 1999 .n to preserving the mountains, the battles began when Fabian was instrumental in the Jackson Hole Oral conservationists and John D. Rockefeller, Jr.. expressed Hi story Project and has written about the area's history. an interest in protecting the view. Directions: Return to the Teton Park Row/ and go Over the next 14 years Rockefeller's Snake River south. Th e exit to th e Bar B C Ranch is on the left Land Company purchased some 35,000 acres in order (east). ({(you reach the Cottonwood Creek turnout. to protect the area. In 1942. after numerous attempts at you \ ·e gone too far). park expansion, Rockefeller threatened to sell the acreage if the Government did not want it. On March BARB C RANCH 16. 1943. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Jackson Hole National Monument. Rockefeller deeded Struthers Burt, a writer from Philadelphia, and Dr. his 35.000+ acres as a gift to the federal government Horace Carncross, a psyc hiatrist, established the Bar on December 6, 1949. After protracted disputes, BC in 191 0 after a lengthy search for the ideal site for Congress established the present Grand Teton National a dude ranch. They both agreed on this site directly Park in September 1950 by combining the 1929 Park east of the Grand Teton and on a curve on the west and 1943 Monument. bank of the Snake River. Zoe Hardy wrote: "It was a To acknowledge the Rockefeller's contribution to the place that could support the practical needs of a ranch preservation of Jackson Hole. Congress authorized the - water, grazing land, trees and bountiful hunting and transfer of 24.000 acres of Forest Service land as the fishing. It had two additional ingredients for a John D. Rockefeller. Jr., Memorial Parkway. Robert successful dude ranch: isolation and exceptional beauty ... 22 Righter states that the purpose of this land tran sfer was twofold: "To commemorate the many significant The BarB C was the second dude ranch in the valley. contributions to the cause of conservation in the United ··Dudes" tlrst arrived here in 1912. In the early years States by Rockefeller, and to provide both a symbolic there were dances. costume balls. trapshooting, rodeos and desirable physical connection between the world's and horseback riding. Nathaniel Burt recalled: first national park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Teton The principal occupation of the ranch and of its dudes National Park." 20 was riding ... To take care of all thi s riding there was a Directions: Along this drh·e are Jenny and String complex of constructions. There were two big corrals. Lakes: Jenny Lake Lodge: and the Jenny Lake Ranger a long lo\\ saddle shed (never "tack room") open on Station and Store. Co ming out at South Jenm· Lake one side ... hitching fe nce opposite th e saddle shed. and Junction. continue dri\·ing south. Just south of the back beyond all this the bam and blacksmith shopY Glacier Gulch turnout a dirt road goes \\'est to the Struthers Burt supported the idea of park expansion. Lucas-Fabian Site. The BarB C and the Three Rivers Ranch ho sted people supporting both sides of th e argument. Struther's son, LUCAS - FABIAN SITE Nathaniel remembered se veral heated discussions between 1930 and 1950. In Jackson Hole Journal he Mrs. Geraldine Lucas was the first Jackson area su mmed up the differing viewpoints. "The opposi ti on woman to climb the Grand Teton and she did that at was funda-mentally based on plain instinctive hatred the age of 59 . A hardy individual, Mrs. Lucas bathed of government encroachment. The support was based daily in Cottonwood Creek which tlows just north of on equally insti nctive hatred of commercial the Lucas cabin. encroachment. "24 Opposed to park extension and Rockefeller's land Burt and Carncross gave up the Bar B C in 1930. purchases. Lucas promised that she would never leave The Burt family moved farther north to the Three Ri vers her land. According to Bonney 's Guide, she told Ranch. Irving P. Corse controlled the BarB C after Rockefeller "you stack up those silver dollars as high that. The Snake River Land Company purchased it as the Grand Teton and I might talk to you." When she and provided a lifetime lease to Corse and his second died in 1938, her ashes were buried on the property.21 It is ironi c that her adversaries, Harold and Josephine '" Ri ghter. Crucible for Consermtion. 1-18 . Fabian, president and secretary of the Snake River Land " Orin and Lorrai ne Bonney. Bonney's Guide, 82-83. " Zoe Hardy. "The Li fe Span of a Dude Ranch: The Bar B C Company, occupied the ranch after Mrs. Lucas' death. 1912-1989," Teton, 21 (1989). 21. The Fabians were responsible fo r planning and 13 Nathaniel Burt, Jackson Hole Journal. 3-1-35 . completing the restoration of Menor's Ferry. Josephine " Ibid .. 129-1 30. Annals of \'ryoming:The \'('_vom

Bar BC Ranch in 1990

wife. He died in 1953 and Mrs. Corse operated the the Teton Science School and to other groups. The ranch, run-down as it was, until 1986. This historic Murie home is now part of Grand Teton National Park dude ranch is now part of Grand Teton National Park.25 though Mardy Murie holds a lifetime lease. Directions: Return to the Teton Park Road and go Directions: Return to the Moose- Wilson Road and tmmrd the Jt.Ioose Visitor Center. After passing through go south. This road, H'hile pm·ed, is narrow and has the Park gates, take the Moose- Wilson Road south. The several curves. At the poimwhere the pavement ends private road to the Jt.1urie home is on the east. is the gate to the JY Ranch.

MURIE HOME J Y RANCH

Margaret (Mardy) and Olaus Murie moved to Jackson The West, the new summer playground of America. Hole when Olaus was appointed head of the National A veritable invasion of eastern tourists has followed Elk Refuge in 1927. Both were avid conservationists the opening of thi s beautiful country which offers the and supported the idea of park expansion. Dr. Murie is vacationist, known in the parlance of men ofthe range recognized as the foremost authority on North American as "dude," a solution for the summer vacation problem. elk and caribou. Olaus' private convictions often clashed with the policies of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Louis Joy arrived in Jackson Hole in 1907 and Service- his employer. He retired in 1945 to become established his homestead in 1908. The JY Ranch was national director of the Wilderness Society, a position the first dude ranch in the area. Struthers Burt partnered he held until 1962. Righter described Olaus Murie as with Joy until Burt established the BarB C farther north a "man who combined scientific knowledge and love along the Snake River. Owen Wister stayed at the JY of the wilderness with honesty and openness."26 As while his cabin was constructed at the R Lazy S Ranch mentioned earlier, it was Olaus who was vehemently just to the south. (The Wister cabin was dismantled opposed to the Jackson Hole Wildlife Park. and reconstructed at Medicine Bow, Wyoming, in the Mardy Murie was the first female graduate of the mid-1970s). University of Alaska. A well-known conservationist, A Pennsylvania businessman, Henry Stewart, Mrs. Murie continues her crusade. Autobiographical purchased the JY in 1920. Stewart recognized the books, Two In Th e Far North and Wapiti Wilderness, recreational value of Jackson Hole and was an active describe her life in Alaska and Jackson Hole.

Olaus' "naturalist's studio" and some research notes ~ 5 "Records and History on the Bar B C Ranches," Jackson have been retained by his widow in their log home south Hole Museum Newsletter, 4 (August 1986), 2-3. 20 of Moose. Mardy frequently gives talks to students from . Righter, Crucible for Conservation, 128. ,_ i

:3ummer 1999 supporter of the idea discussed at Maud Noble 's in range encompassed th e surrounding mountains as far 1923. Under Stewart's ownership. the JY prospered. north as Yellowstone. During th e winter months the The boundaries of th e 1929 Grand Teton National elk would congregate in th e Jackson vicinity. Dean Park included the JY Ranch. Stewart asked $250.000 Krakel II ha s pointed out th at the elk population was 3 for the ranch when the Snake River Land Company kept in check by di sease. predators and starvation. " first approached him. He received $90.000 in 1932. With th e arri \·al of settlers in th e region. much ofth e Considered the "most scenic" of all dude ranches in traditional range of the herds was use d for li vestock Jackson Hole, Rockefeller and his so ns favored it. and crops. Fences blocked th e age-old mi gration routes. Roc kefeller reques ted that the JY be retained by hi s There was not sufficient amounts of gra ss left to feed family·. Rockefeller wrote: th e elk so thousands starved. The winter of 1910-1 1 \\ as particularly harsh - thus My children are grea tl y interested in thi s ranch and th e message sent by Stephen Leek to communities are anx ious that I should retain it, for the present at throughout Wyoming. Three days later the first load of leas t. for the general use of the family. Thi s I shall hay arrived. Leek was among the first to help feed th e pres um ably do. However, so long as the Park line remains as it is. it would be po ssible for me to give the elk . With hi s photographs and lectures. he brought whole or any part of thi s land to the Park at an y time in attention to th e decimation of th e elk . the fu ture ,,·ithout any go\'emment action. On the other After federal invest igati on concernin g th e staf\ing hand. if our family should permanently retain it , no elk. a refuge project was initiated. The National Elk ham1 \\ Ou ld be done Y Refuge wa s established August I 0. 19 12 . for the care and preservati on ofthe elk . From 2.800 acres in 1912. The JY remains in th e possession of the Rockefeller the refuge has in creased to 23. 754 acres. Elk may be fa mily today. This "special treatment" has left some the primary reason for th e refuge but oth er \\ildlife bitter feelings. Nath aniel Burt expressed just such a benefit as well. Moose. mul e deer, bighorn sheep and a sentiment. " ... the fac t that the Rockefeller family itself small fl ock of trumpeter swans I i\'e here. bought and kept th e old JY Ranch ... in stead of se lling it to the Snake River Land Company as my t:1th er sold This "tour" di scussed only a fe\\ of the pl aces hi s ranch - this too has not been popular. .. The JY significant to th e creati on ofGrand Teton National Park. Ranch is well kept and in good hands; but private There are many more scattered throughout th e Park but holdings of that kind in th e park \Vere not supposed to th eir ex istence is ignored by th e National Park Sef\·ice. be enc ouraged. "cR Many of these, such as Leek's Lodge and th e Pfeifer The JY and Bar BC ranches led the way for others to Homestead. ha\ e been lost in the la st fiYe wars. provide services for the dudes. As Nathaniel Burt wrote. Nonetheless. remaining hi storic sites help tell th e story "Though the two ori ginal s, th e Bar B C and the JY . no of the struggle to preserve th e view. longer operate as true dude ran ches, their descendants. whether as private ranches or as active dude ranches. '' Righ ter, CruClbl<' for Cons<'ITa!i on. 9. " ~athaniel Burt, Jackson Hoi<' Journal, 142. still pro] i ferate. " cQ '" Ibid. 68. Directions: Rerum to Jackson Hole. Either continue 10 Ri ghter. A Teton Cou111ry ..J.mholngy. I 65 . on th e dirt portion of the .\loose-Wilson Road or 11 Dean Krakel I I. Season o( th <' Elk. (Kansas Cit): Lo'' ell backtrack to Moose and return to Highway :78 7. Th e Press, I 976 ). 5 I. 1 ' Ibid., 53. final stop of this tour is at the Xational Elk Reji1ge.

NATIONAL ELK REFUGE Tamsen Emerson Herr is th e 11·)'0Jning Bibli­ JA CKSON. Wyo . Feb. 7, 1911. - Unl ess fed. fi\'e ographer at the Unit·ersity of Wroming Li­ thousand elk will peri sh within two \Yeeks. braries. She lz olds masters degrees in library S.N. LEEKl0 Jackson Hole and the surrounding mountains are science and Americall historyfrom Emporia home to the largest elk herd in the world. Th eodore State Unit·ersity in Kallsas. A regular coil­ Roosevelt referred to the Jackson area as the "home of tributor to Annals. this article stems from her all homes for the elk."31 illferest in historic srmctures in national It is th ought that there were 60,000 or more elk in parks. the Jac kson Hole area in the 19th century. Summer