Eight

RANCHERS AND TOURISM

Almost all early Jackson Hole settlers became cattle ranchers. Some tried their hands at raising crops, but the climate and soil were not well suited for agriculture. The climate was also not suited to year-round open-range grazing due to the harsh winter months, so the settlers used the practice of mountain valley ranching. Ranchers would turn their herds out to graze during the summer and fall, then bring them back home for protection from the cold and snow. The size of the herd was dependent on the amount of hay they were able to cultivate for winter feed during the short growing season.

Few early ranchers relied solely on ranching for income. Most took other jobs to make ends meet. One resource the valley had in abundance was big game. Big-game hunters were the first true tourists to come to the valley. Enterprising ranchers capitalized on this by offering guide services to hunters and fishermen. With the depressed cattle market of the 1920s, ranchers looked to wealthy city dwellers willing to pay handsomely for an Old West experience. This ushered in the age of the dude wranglers, and ranchers built barebones cabins to accommodate guests. Dudes wanted an authentic cowboy experience. It was not until the 1930s that some ranches installed electricity and plumbing for guests. In addition to guided hunts, pack trips, and ranch work, ranchers entertained dudes with costume parties, dances, and rodeos.

Driving tours and vacations became increasingly popular as more and more people were able to afford automobiles. The lure of the scenic mountains—with their climbing and skiing challenges, wildlife, fishing, and proximity to Yellowstone National Park—continued to increase tourist traffic into the valley. The uncertainties of farming and ranching gave way to the tourist economy, and now, more than three million people visit the park each year.

This cowboy on the Elk Ranch is possibly bringing the herd into its winter enclosure. The 160 acres allowed under the Homestead Act of 1862 and additional 160 under the Desert Land Act of 1891 did not provide enough acreage for grazing large herds of cattle. The Stock-Raising Act of 1916 increased the allowed acreage to 640, and herd sizes grew.

These riders are heading out on a pack trip from the Stephen Leek Ranch in South Park. The Leek Ranch and Leek’s Camp on Jackson Lake are considered by some historians to be the first dude ranch in Jackson Hole. (Courtesy Stephen Leek Collection, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.)

Stephen N. Leek (right) holds a mackinaw trout as he stands on the shore of Jackson Lake with an unidentified man. Leek arrived in Jackson Hole in 1888 and established himself as a hunting and fishing guide. In 1927, he built cabins and a lodge to provide outdoor experiences for boys—Leek’s Camp was located near the present-day site of Leek’s Marina.

Hunters rest with their elk antlers and bear pelts at one of Leek’s hunting camps. Although Leek was a hunter, he abhorred the wanton killing of elk for their eyeteeth and was instrumental in establishing the National Elk Refuge. (Courtesy Stephen Leek Collection, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.)

Early settlers John Holland (above, far left) and Cal Carrington (above, far right) pose with unidentified hunters displaying their trophies. Carrington was a hunting guide rumored to have been a horse thief before settling near Sheep Mountain. He told people he had no name. On a hunt he was guiding, a wealthy English hunter named Carrington asked his name, and he replied that he did not have one. Further prompting revealed he had run away from his adoptive father and refused to be known by the man’s name. The Englishman gave Carrington his surname and suggested Cal for a first name, as the guide frequently talked about going to California. Not all early hunters were men, as shown by the unidentified woman below standing over her bull elk kill.

Improvements in transportation made it possible for more people to visit Jackson Hole. The first automobile arrived in the valley, driven by tourists over Togwotee Pass, in 1908. Togwotee Pass (its 1921 dedication is pictured above) became one of the main routes to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. The first airplane (below) to fly into Jackson Hole arrived on August 19, 1920, piloted by H.H. Barker. Local businessmen saw the airplane as an opportunity to expand winter sports. A small airstrip located at the Jackson rodeo grounds served as an airport until 1946, when construction was completed on a commercial airport southwest of Blacktail Butte. Jackson Hole Airport is the only airport within a national park and is now the busiest airport in Wyoming.

Louis Joy is pictured in 1901 on horseback at the future site of his JY Ranch. In 1908, Joy and Struthers Burt started the first dude ranch in Jackson Hole, according to the definition set forth by the Dude Ranchers’ Association established in 1926. Guests enjoyed horseback riding, pack trips, hunting, fishing, and swimming (in nearby Phelps Lake). After the property was purchased for the park in 1932, it became the Rockefeller family’s retreat.

Struthers Burt broke off his partnership with Louis Joy and opened the Bar BC with Horace Carncross in 1912. The ranch became one of the most well-known in the West in the golden age of dude ranching from 1919 to 1929. Dude ranchers did not accept overnight travelers, and many, like the Bar BC, required potential guests to present references. (Photograph by Harrison Crandall.)

Some dudes fell in love with the Tetons and never left. Polish countess Eleanor “Cissy” Patterson Gizycka (right) purchased Cal Carrington’s ranch after a stay at the Bar BC. Carrington stayed on to run the ranch, and the two were rumored to be romantically involved. Owen Wister, author of The Virginian, first visited the JY Ranch with his family in 1911. In 1912, he purchased a 160-acre homestead for a ranch along today’s Moose-Wilson Road. Wealthy associates from his native Philadelphia were his main clientele. Wister sold the property in 1920, and it became the R Lazy S dude ranch. When the property became part of Grand Teton National Park, the house (below) was dismantled and moved from the R Lazy S to Medicine Bow, Wyoming.

In 1913 and 1915, Harold Hammond and George Tucker Bispham, intent on cattle ranching, took up neighboring homesteads near Buck Mountain and formed a partnership. Their plans were interrupted when Hammond enlisted in the Army at the start of World War I. Upon his return, the partners built the White Grass Ranch lodge (pictured above), cabins, and a rare, concrete-lined swimming pool and began dude wrangling instead of cattle ranching.

The White Grass Ranch may have experienced financial difficulties. In 1924, Hammond and Bispham sold to the Bar BC but continued managing the ranch until 1928, when they purchased it back. After buying back the ranch, they started the White Grass Silver Black Fox Ranch, raising silver foxes (left) for the fur industry. The White Grass was an operating dude ranch until 1985.

Dudes came from the city to get an authentic cowboy experience at the Jackson Hole ranches. In addition to hunting and horseback riding, they often did work on the ranch. The dudes sitting on the fence are watching Triangle X ranch hands brand cattle.

Fred (kneeling at left) and Eva Topping (kneeling at center) opened the Moosehead Ranch in 1937. They also operated a fox and mink farm. These guests are enjoying dinner cooked over the campfire. In 1932, the Elk Post Office moved to the Moosehead, and Eva was the postmaster until it closed in 1967. The ranch is still in operation today.

The Elbo Ranch was located south of Jenny Lake and west of the Snake River at the base of the Teton Range. It was advertised as a dude ranch by partners Chester Goss, J.M. Goss, and James G. Scott but operated more as a tourist accommodation and entertainment facility. The facility included cabins, a store, a gas station, and rodeo grounds complete with a grandstand and racetrack. The Elbo Rodeo provided popular entertainment for guests of the local dude ranches. Above, the Bar BC Stage brings dudes to the Elbo Rodeo around 1925. Below, onlookers and participants enjoy the greased pig contest at the rodeo.

Above, a man stands on the porch at the Moose Store and gas station, with horses at left and cars at the pumps. The store sign advertised “Tackle for Fly Fishermen.” Although it had a post office, Moose was never a true town—it developed as an area that catered to passing tourists. Below, dudes are going to church at the Chapel of the Transfiguration sometime in the 1930s. The chapel was built in 1925. The window behind the altar frames the Cathedral Group of the Tetons. Dornan’s, at Moose, started out of Evelyn Dornan’s home and grew into the tourist complex of restaurants, accommodations, and activities that it is today. The new Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center and Menor’s Ferry are also located at Moose. (Above, courtesy Hartgrave Collection.)

In this c. 1927 image, Jack Knori (left) and Slim Lawrence stand outside the Jenny Lake Inn. Like Moose, Jenny Lake was not a true town but rather a collection of tourist businesses located on popular Jenny Lake. It offered a gas station and store, equipment rentals for outdoor activities, boat rentals, and mountain climbing guided by Glenn Exum and Paul Petzoldt.

The ski party pictured here in 1929 includes, from left to right, Jack Berry, Walt Feuz, Mattie Piquet, Noble Gregory, Bert Turner, Frank Coffin, and Carlos Johnson. Winter sports that had previously only been enjoyed by locals attracted tourists soon after the first airplane flew into Jackson Hole in 1920, making it easier for visitors to arrive in winter.

John Shive (at left above), Franklin Spalding (center), Frank Peterson, and William Owen (not shown because he was taking the photograph) made the first documented ascent of the Grand Teton on August 11, 1898. A lull in climbing lasted for about 25 years until Horace Albright contacted mountaineering clubs in hopes of raising support for his national park proposal. As the sport grew in popularity, more climbers ventured to the Grand Tetons. Eleanor Davis became the first woman to climb the Grand Teton in 1923. She was followed by Geraldine Lucas (pictured at left with Jack Crawford sitting near her feet) in 1924, the first local woman to ascend the Grand Teton, which she did at the age of 59. Today, the Grand Tetons are considered a premier climbing destination in the United States. (Above, photograph by William O. Owen; left, photograph by Harold P. Fabian.)