Grand Teton A Place Called Jackson Hole A Historic Resource Study of Grand Teton National Park

. . . we believe the entire Jacksons Hole should be set aside as a recreation area . . . .

—1925 Petition, signed by 97 Jackson Hole landowners.

The two reasons which have moved me to consider this project are: 1st, The marvelous scenic beauty of the Teton Mountains and the Lakes at their feet, which are seen at their best from the Jackson Hole Valley; and 2nd, The fact that this valley is the natural and necessary feeding place for the game which inhabits Yellowstone Park and the surrounding region.

—John D. Rockefeller Jr., A Contribution to the Heritage of Every American: The Conservation Activities of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1957

Establishment of the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole became necessary as homesteaders took up the prime land in the valley. which had previously been winter range for elk. Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum

When John Holland and John Carnes settled in Jackson Hole in 1884, they followed a tradition ingrained in the American character by 300 years of history. The worth of natural resources correlated directly to their utility to people. Americans exploited resources wantonly with little regard for future needs or their intrinsic value. Ironically. abundant natural resources reinforced these values and patterns of use. Americans deceived themselves into believing these resources inexhaustible. The continent's natural wealth underpinned America's astounding industrialization and growth in the late nineteenth century, generating the "myth of super abundance," a widely shared view in the Gilded Age. [1]

Disturbing examples countered this fallacy. Commercial loggers had deforested many areas in the upper Midwest, leaving bared lands and damaged watersheds. The decimation of the North American bison, more commonly known as the buffalo, provided another startling example. Once numbering more than 60,000,000 fewer than 1,000 bison were known to exist in the United States and Canada following the great slaughters of the 1870s and 1880s. No sooner had the bison been almost exterminated than ranchers introduced cattle on the vacated lands, turning their livestock loose to graze on the open range. This resulted in serious depletion of the grasslands. [2]

Perceptive individuals were appalled by these events and pushed for reform. The conservation movement was born in the late nineteenth century, galvanized by the wasteful use of resources. This movement coincided with the rising importance of science and technology in American society and was, in fact, "a scientific movement," led by people educated in hydrology, forestry, and geology. Conservation's "essence was rational planning to promote efficient development and use of all natural resources." Rather than prevent the development and use of natural resources, conservationists believed that scientific practices applied to resource exploitation would open new opportunities. The utilitarian conservationists' viewpoint influenced federal policy in the late nineteenth century and achieved dominance during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. [3]

Utilitarian conservation emerged from the movement to develop water reserves in the West by building dams and irrigation systems. This culminated in the Carey Act of 1894, a failed attempt to promote water development through private and public partnership. The Reclamation Act of 1902 created a federal bureau and provided authority for federal financing of water projects. Concerned over the depletion of forest watersheds and forests through intensive lumbering, Congress passed an amendment known as the Forest Reserve Act in 1891, which gave the president the authority to withdraw forest lands from the public domain. These laws shaped the history of the West in a profound way. The Reclamation Service launched four projects in 1903; by 1910, 24 projects were in progress. Through the Forest Reserve Act alone, 13,000,000 acres of land were set aside by President Benjamin Harrison. [4]

Another faction of the conservation movement favored withholding lands from commercial use, or at least limiting such use; this group became known as preservationists. Their spokesman in the late nineteenth century was John Muir who, through books and articles, publicized the need and validity of setting aside preserves for recreational and aesthetic purposes. After 1900, preservationists and utilitarians clashed dramatically over the proposal to build a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The dam's purpose was to store water for domestic use in San Francisco. The fight elevated conservation issues to a national level, and although the dam was built, Americans for the first time entertained serious doubts about the benefits of development as opposed to preservation of wildlands. [5]

The emergence of the conservation movement coincided with frontier settlement in the 1890s. In general, western citizens opposed conservation practices, because they usually involved prohibiting or restricting activities on public lands. Americans had been used to a federal policy devoted to handing over the public domain to the private sector; westerners viewed with suspicion and hostility policies reserving lands. Yet conservation has a long history in the Jackson Hole region, preceding settlement by 12 years. In 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park, a 2,000,000-acre preserve "reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale . . . and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people . . ." This law represented a radical departure from previous land laws passed by Congress. [6]

The first homesteaders had been in Jackson Hole a mere seven years when Congress passed the Forest Reserve Act of 1891. Even though the law failed to define the function of the new reserves and provide for their protection, it did withdraw selected lands from settlement or other transfer to private ownership. Consequently. some scholars consider the 1891 law among the most significant pieces of conservation legislation in American history. President Harrison, exercising his new authority, issued a proclamation that established the Yellowstone Timber Reserve. Comprised of more than 1,000,000 acres of forest land situated around Yellowstone National Park, the southern part of the reserve included a portion of Jackson Hole. [7]

Congress passed the Forest Management Act of 1897 to administer the forest reserves. The law empowered the Secretary of the Interior "to regulate the occupancy and use" of the forests. General Land Office employees administered the reserves initially. They were experts in public land law, not forest or range management. Nevertheless, the division launched management activities later followed by the Forest Service such as fire suppression and prevention, timber sales, grazing permits, tree planting, and even timber management plans. [8]

Meanwhile, President Grover Cleveland created 13 new forests, among them the Teton Forest Reserve in 1897. The new 829,410-acre forest included the northern section of Jackson Hole. In 1898 or 1899, Charles "Pap" Deloney, the valley's pioneer merchant, was appointed the first supervisor of the forest. Forest Superintendent A. D. Chamberlin gave Deloney classic instructions: "As I have no rangers in that portion of the reserve there is nothing for you to do as far as I am concerned but go up there and take it." The reserve received an appropriation in 1898 and Deloney set to work. In 1900 the Forty-Mile Fire burned in the Hoback area through the summer. For the first time, the Forestry Division hired crews to suppress a wildfire in the Jackson Hole area. A heavy snowfall finally extinguished the fire in the fall, although a telegram to Washington reported "through our heroic efforts the fire has been put out." Deloney resigned in 1902, turning the duties over to W. Armor Thompson, a local settler. [9]

Events demonstrated that forest personnel needed to become more professional and active in the field. Artist and Cody rancher A. A. Anderson grew increasingly alarmed over the squandering of resources such as overgrazing, poaching, and forest fires, some allegedly started by sheep grazers. Anderson traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for an expanded Yellowstone reserve, along with sufficient funding to manage it. President Roosevelt agreed and issued an order creating the Yellowstone Forest Reserve in 1902. Anderson was appointed special forest superintendent of the gigantic reserve, which encompassed 8,329,000 acres. He divided it into four divisions, the Shoshone, Absaroka, Wind River, and Teton. Robert E. Miller was appointed supervisor of the Teton Division. In 1905, Congress transferred all forest reserves from the Interior Department to the Department of Agriculture and changed the name of the Bureau of Forestry to the Forest Service. Three years later in 1908, President Roosevelt issued another executive order carving seven national forests out of the Yellowstone reserve. This order established the forests in the region as they generally exist today. Comprising nearly 2,000,000 acres, the new Teton National Forest included most of the mountains and forests around Jackson Hole. [10]

Anderson created an organization to manage the Yellowstone reserve. Division heads such as Miller reported directly to Anderson and, in turn, rangers reported to the division supervisors. Recruiting a staff posed a significant problem. The first rangers were hired primarily for their skills as wranglers, packers, and outdoorsmen rather than professional skills in range management or forestry. Desired technical skills included land surveying and timber measurement. In a real sense, forest rangers or "government men" represented a new breed of frontiersman—the resource manager. These individuals brought the theories of conservation into practice in the field. Forest Service employee C. N. Woods recalled administering a Civil Service exam in 1908, probably in Jackson Hole:

There were no definite educational requirements. Some passed the examination who had never completed the eighth grade in school. If one could read and write and knew a little arithmetic, and if he could ride and pack a horse, run a compass line, and do the simplest surveying, he stood a good chance of passing the examination. Practical experience was the principal requirement. A knowledge of woods work and of the handling of livestock on the ranges, helped.

Professional foresters were scarce in the early years. For example, in 1905, American universities had produced only 115 foresters, most of whom joined the Forest Service. [11]

Special Forest Supervisor Anderson launched several major projects. First, he initiated a boundary survey. Ten men, using 35 saddle and pack animals, performed the survey in three months, no mean feat considering the rugged terrain and size of the 13,000-square mile reserve. Second, he continued to direct the establishment of a permit system for grazing and timbering. W. C. Deloney had issued the first grazing permits in 1901, arousing the ire of local settlers accustomed to free run of the range. It is unclear if there was a fee. By 1906, when complete records were kept for the first time, the Forest Service charged ten cents per head for cattle up to 100 head and 20 cents per head for numbers in excess of 100. Horses cost 20 cents. The first recorded timber permits were issued in 1904. Ben Sheffield purchased 1,920 poles, 30 cords of wood, and 32,400 board measures of saw timber at a cost of $49.50 on June 7. A week later, Ed Blair purchased 100,000 board measure of timber for his mill near Wilson. In addition, the Forest Service sold native hay to Louis Joy and Ben Sheffield. [12]

The new permit systems met resistance, especially from ranchers. When the Forest Service mailed out instructions for permits in 1901, they "aroused quite a protest from settlers." After a season, however, Jackson Hole ranchers accepted the system and even seemed to support it, for they circulated a petition in the fall of 1901 urging an expansion of the existing reserve. [13]

Game warden Charlie Peterson in the doorway of a "tusker's" cabin, ca. 1920. Poaching patrol was a daily routine for rangers in the early twentieth century. Elks Club members used elk teeth for ceremonial jewelry, which made poaching a profitable enterprise. Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum

Cattlemen supported the new grazing restrictions because, in their view, the system would keep sheep out of the reserve. Local ranchers resented the intrusion of "tramp sheep" in their area, because they believed sheep destroyed the range, and sheep ranchers often ranged their sheep far from their home ranch. When Anderson received reports of 60,000 sheep from Utah trespassing on the reserve, he assembled 65 rangers on Horse Creek near Jackson Lake, all "armed and well mounted," to drive them off the forest. Because 40 armed sheep herders guarded the herds, violence was a real possibility. Anderson's company confronted them and served sheep owners with injunctions prohibiting them from trailing or grazing sheep on forest lands. This confrontation ended peacefully, while Anderson succeeded in enforcing the authority of the Forest Service. Violence erupted in the Green River Valley when cattle ranchers slaughtered 800 sheep and burned a herder's camp. Smaller ranchers opposed grazing permits originally because they feared that large cattlemen would squeeze them out. Their fears failed to materialize, for of 56 permits issued in 1906, only four exceeded 300 head, while the overwhelming majority of permittees owned fewer than 100 head of cattle. [14]

The new bureau joined forces with state game wardens and local lawmen to drive tuskers and poachers out of Jackson Hole. Elk and beaver were particular targets of poachers. Tuskers killed elk for their eyeteeth, which were used for jewelry. In particular, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks mounted eyeteeth on watch fobs as an unofficial badge. Appalled at the slaughter, the Elks Club became a potent force in protecting the animal, and stopped using elk teeth as a badge. Prices ranged from $10 to $25 per pair, but contemporary accounts record prices as high as $100. These prices tempted a number of people to become tuskers. "Poacher" patrol became a routine duty of the forest ranger. It proved hazardous duty. Once, an unknown sniper took a shot at ranger Al Austin. On another occasion, south of Yellowstone National Park, Anderson blundered into three tuskers he had previously ordered out of the reserve. Putting on a "bold front," he gave them a week to pack their camp and move out. He expected to be shot as he left, but nothing happened. "I was playing in luck," he recalled. In September 1907, Rudolph Rosencrans spent 12 days traveling and serving as a witness against tuskers Binkley and Purdy at their trial at Fort Yellowstone. [15]

It was a long and often bitter struggle to create the Grand Teton National Park we know today. Shown here is the 1929 dedication of the original Grand Teton National Park. Horace Albright, director of the National Park Service, is speaking to the crowd. Grand Teton National Park

The Forest Service made improvements that benefited the residents of Jackson Hole and defused resentment. For example, by 1909 the Forest Service had built telephone lines that connected isolated areas of the valley with Jackson and Victor, Idaho. Rangers also improved transportation links in the valley, cutting trails in the forest and building bridges. In 1904, C. N. Woods, John Alsop, and Rudolph Rosencrans built a bridge on the Buffalo Fork near its confluence with the Snake. In 1908, Rosencrans repaired the same bridge during the winter. [16]

Settlers in Jackson Hole also accepted the Forest Service because local residents filled the ranks of the organization. Bobby Miller, first the division supervisor, and then supervisor of the Teton National Forest from 1908 to 1918, was among the first homesteaders in the valley and a lifelong resident. In a real sense, the Forest Service, though a federal bureaucracy, was part of the community. Even "government men" from outside the country assimilated quickly.

Supervisor Miller directed local policy and operations during the important formative years. A. C. McCain took over as supervisor in 1918 and served until 1936. McCain directed the Teton National Forest through a tumultuous period that included the controversy over the creation of a Grand Teton National Park, the Great Depression, and the implementation of New Deal programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933.

To administer the reserve, employees constructed ranger stations, patrol cabins, and fire lookouts. The first cabin was built in the fall of 1899 on the shores of Jenny Lake. The cabin existed as late as 1922, but was removed sometime after that date. By 1908, forest ranger Al Austin had built the Stewart Ranger Station at Beaver Creek. After the creation of Grand Teton National Park in 1929, the building was used alternately as the park headquarters and a residence. The Park Service built major additions in 1938. The building is used as office space today and is the oldest known Forest Service building in the park. The Arizona Guard Station was another early Forest Service building located on Arizona Creek near Jackson Lake. Built in 1919 according to park records, the rustic cabin was relocated to the Lizard Creek Campground in the 1960s where it is used as a camp-tender's station today. [17]

Fire suppression was a significant job of the Forest Service. To help fulfill this responsibility, the Forest Service built fire lookouts on high locations and staffed them during the fire season (usually June through September). In the 1930s, the Forest Service built fire lookouts at six locations, among them Blacktail Butte and Signal Mountain. In 1940, they built a 79-foot steel lookout tower on the knoll west of Spaulding Bay, along with a small quarters at its base. The Blacktail Butte Lookout was a simple frame building with windows on three sides. The Signal Mountain Lookout was an attractive building made with stone walls and sliding easement sash on all four sides. Both lookouts had a pyramid-shaped roof covered with wood shingles. All three had been removed by the mid-1960s. [18] Two complexes associated with early Forest Service administration remain extant in the Teton National Forest; one is the Rosencrans' Blackrock Ranger Station, and the other is the Huckleberry Mountain Lookout tower. Both are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. [19]

Spaulding Bay fire lookout, built c. 1940. Fire suppression was a goal of early wilderness management. However, the fuels build-up that this suppression created would have a devastating effect by the 1980s, when fires raged out of control throughout northwest Wyoming. Grand Teton National Park.

The Reclamation Service followed the Forest Service into Jackson Hole. Through the Reclamation Act of 1902, the federal government became involved in water development projects in the West. Reclamation Service surveyors entered Jackson Hole in the fall of 1902 seeking suitable sites for water storage. They evaluated Jackson Lake and other large lakes. Engineers returned and completed a temporary log crib dam at the outlet of Jackson Lake by 1907. After this dam failed in 1910, the Service launched an even larger project, building the present concrete dam over the winter in 1910-1911. By 1916, the concrete structure had been built up and an earthen dike extended to the north. The dam and dike raised the water level of Jackson Lake 39 feet, impounding 847,000 acre feet of water. The dam was part of the Minidoka Project, a large-scale water reclamation program designed to irrigate arid lands in Idaho. As documented in a previous chapter, the construction of the dam influenced the history of Jackson Hole in several ways, but most important, it remains the largest water reclamation project in the valley's history and left a profound environmental impact. [20]

Elk generated the first local support for conservation. When homesteaders arrived in Jackson Hole in the 1880s, an estimated 25,000 animals comprised the Jackson Hole elk herd. Whether or not the first pioneers adopted a conservation ethic toward the herd is questionable, for sources suggest a wasteful attitude toward wildlife. Mrs. Mae Tuttle, the former Mary White, recalled anything but a conservationist's ethic: "There was so much game wasted in those days . . . it makes me shudder to think of the times we have shot down a fat elk and taken only the hams and the loins and left the rest to the coyotes." She also recalled an occasion when settlers gathered along the Snake River to participate in a fishing contest sponsored by a manufacturer of fishing line. "Do you remember Mr. White caught two gunnysacks full of trout? . . . Most of the fish were wasted though everybody ate all they could." [21] Further, as settlers preempted lands that made up elk migratory routes and winter range, conflicts developed. As a result, elk raided haystacks during the winter. Ranchers tried different tricks to frighten off the elk, but offenders were sometimes shot, albeit as a last resort.

The Wyoming territorial government implemented game protection laws as early as 1869, but there was little effective enforcement. Despite a law prohibiting the killing of game animals for anything except food, "game hogs" and hide hunters raped the territory. Laws protecting wildlife were enacted by the state of Wyoming after 1900, but again with little effect. The state appointed a state game warden in 1899 to enforce hunting laws. [22]

The first well-known effort to enforce hunting laws provoked the so-called "Indian Scare of 1895." The incident resulted from a long-simmering dispute over Native American hunting rights in Wyoming. The Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 guaranteed members of the Shoshone and Bannock tribes hunting rights on public lands in Wyoming, rights exercised by the tribes. Settlers perceived that the Indians threatened their livelihood, for by 1895, "perhaps two dozen families . . . had come to depend on guiding for their support." Moreover, elk was a mainstay in the diet of most homesteaders. Not only did settlers resent Indians hunting in violation of state laws, but rumors circulated that they slaughtered elk for their hides. During the summer of 1895, Constable William Manning led several posses after hunting parties from Fort Hall, Idaho. On July 11, a posse arrested a group of Bannocks, including women and children, at Battle Mountain in the Hoback Canyon. Accounts of what happened next are unclear, but the Indians may have panicked in fear of being massacred, and broke for the forest. Manning's posse killed one Bannock and wounded one other.

Panic swept through the valley as settlers forted up at the ranches of Pierce Cunningham, R. E. Miller, and Erv Wilson. Alarming reports reached the outside world of massacred settlers in Jackson Hole. All were false. The only casualties were Sylvester Wilson, who died of a heart attack, a calf killed during the night, mistaken for a warrior bent on retaliation, and "Old Capt. Smith," who was wounded. Mae Tuttle "always believed that the idiot shot himself." The incident precipitated a case that went to the Supreme Court. John H. Ward vs. Race Horse affirmed the rights of states to regulate hunting and wildlife, which proved to be a landmark case. Economic self-interest, fueled by racial animosity, motivated the settlers' actions. [23]

Contemporary sources demonstrate that state hunting laws were not applied uniformly, nor enforced in some cases. In 1897, Col. S. B. M. Young, the acting superintendent of Yellowstone, complained to the Secretary of the Interior about the slaughter of elk in Jackson Hole. Young considered state protection inadequate and recommended extending the authority of the military into Jackson Hole to protect the elk herd. A. A. Anderson reached similar conclusions. He recalled the occasion when he caught a young man red-handed for killing deer out of season. Though young, the poacher was no fool. He requested a trial by his peers and, after deliberating, a six-man jury concluded that, "he did it, but we won't find him guilty this time." [24]

In 1902, Outdoor Life published letters critical of lax wildlife protection in Wyoming and, in particular, Jackson Hole. A letter from William L. Simpson of Lander, Wyoming, appeared in the January issue, titled "Game Conditions in Wyoming." Simpson witnessed incidents in the fall of 1901 that left him "unutterably surprised at the conditions confronting the wild game of the state. . . . At Jackson's Lake, I personally observed elk teeth trafficked in violation of the law, and in the presence of a deputy game warden." He complained that game protection was a farce in western Wyoming and laid the blame on unqualified wardens directed by Albert Nelson, the Wyoming state game warden at the time. In December of that year, the magazine published a letter written by Harvey H. Glidden, the owner of the Elka Ranch in Jackson Hole. Glidden leveled serious allegations against forest rangers, game wardens, and justices of the peace, accusing them of incompetence, corruption, and violating game laws. Holding these positions were prominent citizens, among them Pierce Cunningham, Webster LaPlante, Albert Nelson, and D. C. Nowlin. He singled out Capt. Edward Smith as a notorious poacher and illegal trader in trophies, whose violations wardens ignored. "It is commonly known Old Cap shed more elks' blood than would float any house and barn in the valley if all were put in a tank." Referring to Constable Manning as "Old Hungry Bill," Glidden perceived that "...bumptious Bill has been sucking the public teat for many seasons past, giving nothing but evil for the good money he has received..." As a result of lax enforcement and tusking, Glidden wrote that "elk teeth are the coin of the realm, all over Jackson's Valley and vicinity, for the purchase of supplies of all kinds, particularly whiskey." [25]

The venom in Glidden's letter casts suspicion on his objectivity. His allegations are difficult to reconcile with the good reputations of Cunningham and Nelson. Perhaps personal or political feuds, forgotten today, motivated Glidden. He did express hope that the elections in 1902 would bring change. Taken alone, the letter should be ignored; yet taken in context with the observations of Mae Tuttle, William L. Simpson, A. A. Anderson, and Col. Young, it cannot be ignored. Together, they indicate that typical frontier attitudes prevailed in the valley.

By 1902, tuskers were entrenched in Jackson Hole and had slaughtered elk for about five years. About 1906, a group of more than 20 conservation-minded citizens formed a vigilance committee to oust tuskers from the valley. At a meeting in the town of Jackson, Otho Williams warned that anyone not willing to hold the end of a rope should leave. They elected three representatives to deliver fair warning to William Binkley and Charles Purdy, both notorious tuskers, and their henchmen. William Seebohm, Bill Menor, and Charles Harvey confronted Binkley at his ranch (today part of the Teton Valley Ranch) and passed on the message to clear out, if he and his partners valued their lives. The tuskers heeded the warning. This extra-legal act marked the beginning of change. [26]

The winter of 1908-1909 marked a turning point, when human impacts on wildlife habitat wreaked havoc on the Jackson Hole elk. After 1900, more settlers entered the valley, preempting the elks' winter range or blocking migratory routes. Exterminating natural predators such as the wolf eliminated one form of population control, aggravating the problem. In 1908-1909, several factors combined to cause a massive die-off: the elk population had increased, the winter was especially severe, and much winter range had been settled. Some ranchers donated hay once the extent of the disaster became apparent, but several thousand elk perished. Appalled at the disaster, local settlers clamored for action on the part of the state and even the federal government.

Stephen Leek, in particular, led the effort to save the elk herd from future disasters. He took glass-plate photographs of starving and dead elk, which he used for lectures, articles, and tours to publicize the dilemma. In 1909, the state of Wyoming allocated $5,000 for winter feed, and Congress followed by providing $20,000 in 1911. Yet, without adequate winter range, a healthy elk herd appeared remote. Congress acted again in 1912, authorizing the creation of a national elk refuge. The government carved the nucleus of the refuge out of 1,000 acres of public land and 1,760 acres of purchased private land in the Flat Creek area north of the village of Jackson. R. E. Miller sold his ranch in 1914, a key acquisition in the new reserve, and Guy Germann followed in 1916, selling 250 acres. The Izaak Walton League donated purchased lands and, later, John D. Rockefeller Jr. added parcels. Today. the National Elk Refuge comprises over 24,000 acres.

The establishment of the elk refuge represented a significant achievement for conservation, and it owed its existence to the support of local citizens. The elk brought many pioneers such as Leek and Miller into the conservationist camp. Even more important, most citizens supported the government buy-out of homesteads for the refuge, signaling a dramatic change in beliefs. It was now acceptable for government to reserve public land in the name of resource conservation. [27]

The stage was set for the entry of the National Park Service. In 1929, an act of Congress created Grand Teton National Park. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation through the Antiquities Act of 1906 establishing the Jackson Hole National Monument. In 1950, Congress enacted new legislation merging the park and monument. These are simple facts that fail to illuminate a struggle that spanned 50 years. Contrast this with the time span taken to create Yellowstone, a mere two years from idea to establishment. The story of Grand Teton National Park is the story of strong personalities, often pitted against each other—John D. Rockefeller Jr., Bill Simpson, Struthers Burt, Robert E. Miller, Harold Fabian, Clifford Hansen, Dick Winger, A. W. Gabbey, and Horace Albright. Further, the history of this park is the story of conflicts between institutions and ideologies. Conflicts occurred, or were perceived, between utilitarian conservationists and preservationists, the Forest Service and the National Park Service, national interests and state and local concerns, the wealthy and the common man, East and West. [28]

The effort began with the creation of a new bureau—the National Park Service. During the summer of 1916, Stephen T. Mather, the future director of the new bureau, conducted a promotional tour of Yellowstone in support of the pending legislation. During this trip, Mather and his assistant, Horace Albright, drove a party to Jackson Hole. Awestruck by the mountain scenery. Mather and Albright determined that the Teton Range and Jackson Hole should become part of the park system. On August 25, 1916, Congress approved the enabling legislation to create the National Park Service. [29]

The idea of a national park in Jackson Hole was not new. In 1897, Colonel S. B. M. Young proposed extending the authority of the military to cover the migratory routes of elk in Jackson Hole. This proposal did not include the mountains. A year later, Charles D. Walcott, head of the U. S. Geological Survey, made a similar proposal, except that the Teton Range should be included to protect them. In addition, he suggested the creation of a "Teton National Park." Neither the Interior Department nor Congress acted on either suggestion. This changed when Albright and Mather established the new bureau. [30]

Albright and Mather affirmed their commitment to adding the Teton Range in 1917, when Albright prepared the first annual report to Secretary of the Interior Lane. Adding part of the Tetons, Jackson Lake, and the headwaters of the Yellowstone River to Yellowstone National Park was one of seven "urgent needs facing the Park Service." Later in the year, Albright wrote a draft document proposing policy objectives for the new organization. He distributed the draft for comments, then submitted a final to Mather for approval. Mather supported it, and Secretary Lane signed it as a letter to Mather on May 13, 1918. Albright described it as "a landmark for those early years and became our basic creed." Regarding expansion of the park system, "you should study existing national parks with the idea of improving them by the addition of adjacent areas. . . . The addition of the Teton Mountains to the Yellowstone National Park, for instance, will supply Yellowstone's greatest need, which is an uplift of glacier-bearing peaks." Working with the Wyoming congressional delegation, Mather and Albright drew up a bill to expand the boundaries of Yellowstone into the Teton country. Wyoming Congressman Frank Mondell introduced H.R. 116651 in April 1918. To protect the extension area pending legislation, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation prohibiting any sort of entry or disposal of public land without Park Service approval. [31]

Mondell introduced a revised bill in the House of Representatives in February 1919. The House approved the bill unanimously, but in the Senate, John Nugent of Idaho killed it, responding to pressure from Idaho sheep ranchers, who feared losing grazing permits. As historian Bob Righter noted, "an opportunity had been lost. Never again would park extension be so non-controversial." This failure allowed opposition in Jackson Hole time to organize against the Yellowstone extension. Four groups in particular opposed the extension—local Forest Service employees, ranchers, dude ranchers, and Jackson business men. [32]

On July 10, 1919, Horace Albright assumed his duties as the new superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. Not only did he guide activities in Yellowstone for a decade, but being near Jackson Hole allowed him the opportunity to promote the park idea. At first, this advantage backfired. On August 25, 1919, Albright traveled to Jackson Hole with Governor Robert Carey of Wyoming to participate in a meeting with local residents about the proposed Yellowstone extension. Albright made "a serious tactical mistake in not carefully checking the attitudes of the citizens before going to the meeting." [33] Persuaded by Governor Carey and dude rancher Howard Eaton, Albright entered the meeting blissfully ignorant. He believed that he could gain support for the park by proposing to build modern roads, a ploy that had worked elsewhere. He was wrong, later recalling that it was "about the most disagreeable evening of my life." [34]

In a meeting packed with opponents, Albright was argued and shouted down. Ranchers opposed any extension because it would reduce grazing allotments. Dude ranchers, notably Burt and Carncross of the Bar BC, opposed the plan because they did not want improved roads and hotels. Further, they expressed the general resentment against monopolies exercised by concessioners in Yellowstone, and against the regulations imposed by the army, which had administered the park. Jackson Hole residents also vented their dislike of railroads, which puzzled Albright, but which reflected that era's widespread backlash against the railroad companies. Worst of all, "the cattlemen succeeded in winning Governor Carey over to their side of the case." A supporter of the expansion when he entered the meeting room, the governor wrote Albright later that he opposed any extension at all, although he left the door open for further discussions. [35]

Other events in 1919 proved timely for park supporters. During that year, a plan surfaced to construct a dam at the outlet of Jenny Lake. Damming the flow of Cottonwood Creek would have raised the water level of Jenny Lake 20 feet and Leigh Lake ten feet. Many Jackson Hole residents were appalled at the proposal, particularly dude ranchers. Opponents of the project objected to the commercial spoilation of the pristine mountain lakes. The Jackson Lake Dam had left a monumental eyesore along the shores of the lake because the Reclamation Service failed to cut down trees in the inundated area. As a result, the water flooded several thousand acres of forest, killing the trees. The dead and fallen trees made an unsightly mess. Struthers Burt called Jackson Lake "an example so good that it is constantly being used as an object-lesson by the enemies of stupid spoilation."

In addition to spoiled scenery, the dam aroused opposition for other reasons. In 1921, the Courier published an editorial titled "Remember Jacksons Lake," which specified reasons for opposing dams on Jenny Lake and other lakes in the valley. Also, "using the Snake River for a ditch," benefitted only Idaho farmers and damaged property in Jackson Hole. The editorial recalled the 1917 flood that washed out the approaches to the Snake River bridge. Local residents blamed the Reclamation Service for releasing too much water in this incident. [36]

While the Forest Service acquiesced to the proposed dam on Jenny Lake and approved dams at the outlet of Emma Matilda and Two Ocean Lakes, the National Park Service blocked the projects. Based on correspondence and reports, historian Robert Righter characterized the Park Service as "downright pugnacious" on the issue. Horace Albright, using the veto power granted by the 1918 executive order, provided the spine. The Park Service stand against dams in Jackson Hole was an important turning point. Opponents of the projects, contrasting the position taken by the Forest Service with the Park Service, came to view, albeit over time, a national park in Jackson Hole favorably. Valley residents such as Joe Jones, among the first to support the park, and Struthers Burt began to correspond with Albright. Thus began an alliance between Albright and important local figures. [37]

Meanwhile, Albright lobbied hard for an extension of Yellowstone's boundaries into Jackson Hole. He corresponded with people having political influence, as well as with renowned authors. Whenever possible, he brought influential visitors to Jackson Hole to promote his vision for a park. Albright made a special effort to get to know people in Jackson Hole, seeking allies and taking the measure of opponents. Homesteader and Jackson businessman Joe Jones gave Albright important information in these years. At the 1919 meeting it became apparent that Struthers Burt could be an articulate and formidable opponent of extension. Albright believed Burt's and Carncross's motives were based on self-interest—they wanted to keep the public out of Jackson Hole to protect the wilderness setting of their dude ranch. But the dude ranchers and Park Service found common interests in protecting the valley from commercialization. By 1920, Burt and Albright were exchanging letters and, on September 26 of that year, Albright visited Burt at the Bar BC. [38]

National Park Service and local interests merged at the well known meeting at Maud Noble's cabin on July 26, 1923. Albright was invited to the meeting. Present were Joe Jones, Dick Winger, Struthers Burt, Jack Eynon, Horace Carncross, and Maud Noble. The group considered ways to preserve the valley from commercial exploitation. They devised what has come to be known as the Jackson Hole Plan. Although the plan varied somewhat, depending on the source of information, the group decided to do two things. First, seek private funds to purchase private lands in Jackson Hole. To that end, the group decided to raise travel money to send a small delegation east to solicit funds. Second, create a reserve or recreation area that would preserve the "Old West" character of the valley, or "a museum on the hoof."

Specifically. lands were to be purchased north of the village of Jackson. Rustic log architecture would prevail, and Jackson would be preserved as a frontier town. Ranching would continue in Spring Gulch and in areas south of Jackson. Indigenous wildlife such as antelope would be reintroduced, wildlife range protected, and the wilderness character of the valley protected.

The participants did not support a national park or an extension of Yellowstone's boundaries, "because they wanted the traditional hunting, grazing, and dude-ranching activities to continue." Though the plan fell short of his dream, Albright generally supported it, seeing it as a way to protect the valley from commercialization. Further, this meeting set the course of events that led to the involvement of John D. Rockefeller Jr. Yet a national park seemed best suited to the central aim of the so-called Jackson Hole Plan. Joe Jones had supported a park extension as early as 1909, and Burt seems to have embraced the idea by 1923. In a letter to Albright dated September 11, 1923, Burt wrote exuberantly:

For God's sake let's put this thing over—It is the biggest idea of its kind since the actual inception of Yellowstone itself—a natural history museum on the hoof the only thing of its kind in the world. A park that of itself would finance all the other parks in the country; And a monument to the men who would help it along, with the Grand Teton as their headstone—that's big enough to fire any man's imagination. [39]

During the 1920s, two events occurred that cleared the way for the establishment of Grand Teton National Park. The President's Committee on Outdoor Recreation created the Coordinating Commission on National Parks and Forests to evaluate proposed park extensions and resolve boundary disputes between the Park Service and Forest Service. The Teton Range and Jackson Hole were among a number of areas studied by the commission. In October 1925, they issued a report and recommendations. They recommended the creation of a separate park to include the main portion of the Teton Range, about 100,000 acres, but believed the bulk of the proposed 600,000-acre Yellowstone extension of 1918-1919 should remain national forest. [40]

Two years later, a sub-committee of the Senate Public Lands toured Yellowstone to study the proposed boundary changes. On July 22, 1928, the subcommittee conducted a meeting in the upstairs hall of the Clubhouse in Jackson. Seventy-seven people attended the meeting. A show of hands, save one, favored the park. Pioneer William Manning disapproved of any legislation that would remove land from the tax rolls of Teton County. After being reassured that the park would include only national forest land, he withdrew his objection. That evening at the JY, a small group of opponents approached Senator John B. Kendrick to request another meeting. The senator agreed reluctantly. The small delegation included William C. Deloney, state representative, R. C. Lundy, state senator, and pioneer Stephen Leek. After expressing objections to the park proposal, they conceded it would be established and agreed to support it if an amendment was added to prohibit the construction of new roads and hotels in the new park. [41]

The Coordinating Commission's recommendation and the 1928 hearings provided the momentum for the introduction of a bill to establish Grand Teton National Park. On February 26, 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill, creating a 96,000-acre park that included the Teton Range and the scenic alpine lakes at the base of the range. Though less than proponents hoped for, it represented a significant victory. [42]

Controversy dogged the new park. Later, a story surfaced that Albright promised that no further extension would be considered if a park bill was approved. In a 1933 letter to Wilford Neilson, Albright denied making such a commitment. "What doubtless happened was that I agreed that there should be no more Yellowstone park extension agitation. . . ." Nevertheless, antagonists have perpetuated this story for years as an example of Horace Albright's perfidy. [43]

Meanwhile, to implement the Jackson Hole Plan, Burt and Albright raised $2,000 to locate a wealthy benefactor. Jack Eynon and Dick Winger traveled east in 1924 to visit well-heeled Jackson Hole dudes. Eynon met with members of the influential Hanna family, who expressed interest in the plan, but in the end offered no help. Although Eynon and Winger "could not have worked harder nor more conscientiously," they failed. Without financial support, the plan appeared dead.

John D. Rockefeller Jr. entered the picture in this period. In 1924, he brought his three sons west to visit Glacier, Mesa Verde, and Yellowstone National Parks. The Park Service made their travel arrangements. Wanting to mix with the public without undue attention, Rockefeller traveled under his middle name—Davison. Albright and his counterparts at Glacier and Mesa Verde were instructed not to discuss park business with Mr. Davison. Although Albright obeyed, he scheduled a visit to Jackson Lake. He told Rockefeller about "a small hill above Jackson Lake that offered a fine view of the lake and the Teton Range," where Rockefeller enjoyed a picnic amidst the rugged scenery. The site was Lunch Tree Hill.

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr. on a boat ride on Jenny Lake, 1931. The Rockefellers were so moved by the beauty of the valley that they provided the financial support for a plan to buy up private lands and donate them to the National Park Service. Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum

In 1926, the Rockefeller family returned to Yellowstone for a 12-day vacation. The party included John D., Mrs. Abby Rockefeller, and sons Laurence, Winthrop, and David. Albright arranged their lodging and itinerary. Unrestricted this time, Albright conducted the family through Yellowstone and Jackson Hole. They arrived at the Jackson Lake Lodge (Amoretti Inn) about noon. They hiked up Lunch Tree Hill near the lodge and ate box lunches on the summit, watching evening descend over the mountains.

The next day, the Rockefeller party drove down the road from Moran to Jenny Lake. Rockefeller asked why telephone lines were placed west of the road, detracting from the view of the Teton Range. Never one to lose an opportunity, Albright explained that the Forest Service built the line, despite his suggestion that the lines be placed east of the road. Near Jenny Lake they passed a "wobegone-looking old dancehall, some dilapidated cabins, a burned-out gasoline station, a few big billboards" and other eyesores such as a "bootleg joint." Albright recalled that Mrs. Rockefeller grew increasingly upset. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rockefeller expressed dismay over the unsightly commercial developments in this area and asked if there was some way to stop them. Albright explained that virtually all buildings were on private property, thus would have to be bought out. Somewhere enroute to the JY, Rockefeller asked Albright to submit a map and list of the offending properties, as well as estimated costs to buy them. Elated, Albright promised to do so.

The group stopped at the Bar BC to visit the Burts, then drove on to the JY, owned by Henry Stewart. After lunch, they returned to Yellowstone via an old wagon road that took them past Menor's Ferry and the Bar BC. At "a high point along this bluff from which one can view the entire valley in all directions," the entourage stopped to enjoy the scenery. "As we stood on this little 'rise' and absorbed the beauty of the scene spread before us, I told Mr. and Mrs. Rockefeller of the meeting at Miss Noble's cabin three years earlier and the plan to protect and preserve for the future this sublime valley." Neither offered any response nor did Albright pursue the subject any further.

The location of this high point has been a source of debate, because some historic significance has been attached to Albright's disclosure of the Jackson Hole Plan. First, the site has been confused with Lunch Tree Hill, which it was not. Second, Albright's recollections do not provide a precise site. In his 1933 letter to Neilson, written closest in time to the 1926 trip, Albright described their route as an old wagon track overlooking the Snake. Not only did it offer a good view of the Teton Range, but Antelope Flats and the lands around Blacktail Butte were "still bathed in sunshine." In an interview conducted in 1967, Albright recollected the following:

I took them back up to near Menors Ferry and then on a road, I don't remember where it went but it went up around where the Oliver [4 Lazy F] place is and beyond the Bar B-C. I fooled along the river, showing it [to] them. Then to a point well above the Bar B-C. I think to Hedricks Point or near what's called Hedricks Point.

Based on this description, Hedricks Point was the site. The problem is that this location is situated on the east side of the Snake River. To get there, Albright would have had to cross Menor's Ferry and then take the maintained county road to Hedricks Point. In no source or interview does he mention crossing the Snake. It is likely from his description that the Rockefeller party traveled north along the old wagon road west of the Snake River to a point near Burned Ridge. [44]

At any rate, the Rockefeller visit proved to be a turning point in the history of Jackson Hole. Albright contacted Dick Winger, who assembled maps, a list of properties, and property values in the Jenny Lake area. In the winter of 1926-1927, Albright traveled to New York and delivered the material to Rockefeller. After perusing the maps and list, Rockefeller said, "Mr. Albright, this isn't what I wanted from you." Confused, Albright reviewed their discussion that day. It became clear that Albright misunderstood Rockefeller. Rather than limit his program to the Jenny Lake area, the millionaire philanthropist was only interested in the "ideal proposal," a buy out of all private lands north of Jackson and Spring Gulch. Elated, Albright requested more maps and cost estimates from Winger. [45]

After reviewing the new proposals, Rockefeller turned the project over to an aide, Colonel Arthur Woods. Albright, acting on the advice of Burt and Winger, outlined a general strategy for the program. Rockefeller would purchase the property and eventually donate it to the National Park Service. But first, and most important, Albright recommended secrecy—if news of Rockefeller's involvement and the purpose of the program leaked out, land prices would inflate and opponents would work hard to thwart the program. He suggested that a hunting-and-recreation company be formed to buy the land. Albright recommended that Woods hire the Salt Lake City law firm of Fabian & Clendenin to run the company. [46]

Rockefeller's agents formed the Snake River Land Company, a Utah corporation, in the summer of 1927. Kenneth Chorley, Rockefeller's chief agent at Colonial Williamsburg, orchestrated its organization with Woods and remained active over the years. They chose Vanderbilt Webb, a New York attorney, to serve as president of the company, Harold P. Fabian of the Salt Lake firm as vice president, and Robert E. Miller as field agent in Jackson Hole. Miller seemed a curious choice, because he was known to oppose park extension. On the other hand, as Albright conceded, he was a pioneer and "knew Jackson Hole lands through long experience as a banker in Jackson." [47]

The company launched an ambitious program, seeking to buy more than 30,000 acres for around $1,000,000. Although the company incorporated in 1927 and had engaged Miller by May of that year, the first purchases were not made until 1928. In April, the Courier reported that the Snake River Land Company had purchased 7,000 acres, all situated east of the Snake River. Miller remained secretive, stating only that the game herds attracted the money and that the land would remain in private hands. People have speculated over the years that Miller may have known the true intent of the scheme and of Rockefeller's involvement. No documented information has ever affirmed these rumors. It is difficult to conceive that so bitter an opponent of the Yellowstone extension would have worked knowingly for the Jackson Hole Plan. Miller maintained that he had no knowledge of the ultimate goal of the Snake River Land Company. In the 1933 Senate hearings, he testified that Vanderbilt Webb assured him that the company had no connection with park expansion in Jackson Hole. [48]

Papers related to the Snake River Land Company indicate that the principal characters expected to buy the targeted lands and turn them over to the Park Service within several years. Burt believed that income from leases would defray annual expenses, such as property taxes, during the interim. No one anticipated that 20 years of bitter controversy would pass before the settlement of 1950, and no one could have predicted the direction the Snake River Land Company and its successor, the Jackson Hole Preserve, would take in these years.

Further, the intense hostility aroused by the company's activities surprised Rockefeller and company officers. Hostility on a local and even state level stemmed from several sources. First, some opposed the extension of a park into Jackson Hole, period. Second, activities of the company generated opposition. Third, perceptions of the company's motives, regardless of their inaccuracy, influenced local attitudes as much as the company's actions. Finally, the Snake River Land Company was a business. Its officials managed it as such. Kenneth Chorley recognized years later that "good public relations . . . were not the forte of the Jackson Hole Preserve" nor its predecessor, the Snake River Land Company. [49]

The first crisis occurred within two years, and were centered on the activities of R. E. Miller, the company's purchasing agent. Webb, Chorley, and Fabian grew concerned at the slow pace of the purchase program. This was not necessarily Miller's fault, as Webb and Chorley were too optimistic about the time needed to buy lands. More specifically, Miller concentrated on buying out properties east of the river. This was contrary to the priority of buying up lands west of the river, along the critical scenic corridor between Menor's Ferry and Jenny Lake. Webb, Chorley, and Fabian suspected that Miller bought properties with mortgages held by his Jackson State Bank. In 1929, Fabian reported that Miller held just over $88,000 in mortgages for properties on the purchase schedule. This was not extraordinary because, being the only bank in Jackson Hole, Miller was bound to hold a number of mortgages. Furthermore, as a banker, Miller had made some enemies, earning him the nickname "Old Twelve-Percent." Personal antagonism on the part of some locals toward Miller hindered the program. Miller's contract with the Snake River Land Company also encouraged him to drive a sharp bargain; by achieving lower total prices, he stood to gain significant bonuses. Finally, Miller failed to communicate regularly with Fabian, Webb, and Chorley. Exasperated, they eased Miller out and replaced him with Dick Winger and Mrs. H. H. Harrison; Miller's contract expired at the end of 1929. [50] Nevertheless, the company made significant strides prior to 1930. The Ferrins, who controlled several thousand acres, including the Elk Ranch, were bought out. The company also bought the resort and land of Ben Sheffield at Moran for $100,000 early in 1929, a very important acquisition. [51]

Miller's successor, Dick Winger, soon ran into trouble. Webb and Chorley, always accountable to Rockefeller, expressed dissatisfaction with Winger's progress. For reasons that remain uncertain, Chorley always had reservations about Winger. Fabian shared those feelings at first, but concluded that "he is the one man whom I have been able to tie to there with absolute confidence." Albright supported Winger fully, admiring his "fine mind and world of courage." Fabian found him a sensitive, yet pugnacious man. As such, Winger had made enemies in Jackson Hole, among them R. E. Miller. Winger's running battles with Miller and other opponents, such as Roy Van Vleck, Bill Simpson, and A. C. McCain, certainly influenced the controversy. At any rate, Winger remained the company agent. He was paid a commission at first and later an annual salary of $3,600, until he left the company in 1946. [52]

During this time, it is difficult to gauge the level of support versus opposition to the park, for the views of valley residents fluctuated, and vocal minorities can raise a noise far out of proportion to their numbers. In general, opinions seemed to have swung from opposition in 1919 to support in the 1920s. In 1926, Struthers Burt estimated that 40 percent of Jackson Hole's populace favored the Yellowstone extension. A year later, Burt believed 80 percent. Early support peaked in 1929 with the establishment of Grand Teton National Park. Opposition increased in the 1930s with the exposure concerning Rockefeller's involvement with the Snake River Land Company.

Proposed Extension, Grand Teton National Park, 1938. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window) National Park Service

One myth has persisted over the years that landholders opposed selling their homesteads and ranches, but sold out of economic necessity or were coerced to sell. While the economy was a factor, little evidence exists to hint at coercion. The agricultural depression of the 1920s laid ranchers low and influenced their decision to sell. This was a significant factor. In July 1919, Joe Markham, William C. Thompson, George H. Whiteman, and H. C. McKinstry wrote a letter to Albright in which they went on "record as being in favor" of the extension since Albright had addressed their concerns. In a subsequent letter, Markham advised the superintendent that most people in the northern end of the valley would support the extension if certain privileges could be preserved, such as the right to carry fire arms and exterminate wolves and coyotes. [53]

As depressed cattle prices impacted ranchers and the valley's economy, gloom characterized the mood of people. In 1920, Albright met pioneer rancher Bill Crawford. Over lunch, Crawford informed Albright that he and all the other ranchers opposed any extension unless their ranches were bought out. "He said nobody would make a living on these properties, that the climate was too cold, the soil too barren, and that people were destroying the lives of themselves and their families by trying to ranch in this country." Crawford hoped the government or private parties could finance such a scheme. In 1921, J. D. "Si" Ferrin and Bill Kelly discussed a similar plan with Albright. [54]

Albright's papers from the early 1920s contain numerous letters concerning the economic dilemma of ranchers in Jackson Hole. In late 1923, he informed Hal Evarts that "practically every ranchman in Jackson Hole is broke and in debt up to his ears. There is no hope of these poor people getting out of debt." Separate observations tend to confirm Albright's assessments. In 1924, George Ryter composed a 113-page letter to Mrs. Rose Crabtree, while wintering as the caretaker at Cissie Patterson's Flat Creek Ranch. Discussing conditions in the valley, Ryter believed "many ranchers would be glad to go." More than a few owed taxes going back several years. If the Jackson Hole Plan failed to materialize, he believed most ranches would "pass into the hands of the few. Perhaps moonshine-booze/hilarity will make us forget our troubles." [55]

Hard times seem to have peaked in 1925. In that year, ranchers circulated a petition supporting a buyout of private lands in response to anti-park agitation in Jackson Hole. Si Ferrin and Pierce Cunningham reputedly authored most of the petition and circulated it for signatures. The authors expressed concern that opponents of the Yellowstone extension had deliberately misrepresented facts, which had been repeated in editorials throughout the Wyoming press. The authors also stated that the Yellowstone extension involved little more than a transfer of public land from one federal agency to another, and numerous public documents presented facts regarding the extension. The petition went further, proposing "that the entire Jackson Hole should be set aside as a recreational area, or should be administered as a recreational area, through whatever agency, state or national, is considered best fit to do it." Based on hard experience at ranching, signers believed "that this region will find its highest use as a playground. . . . The destiny of Jackson's Hole is as a playground, typical of the west, for the education and enjoyment of the Nation, as a whole." They not only pledged themselves to cooperating to further the project, "but we will at any time . . . sell our ranches at what we consider a fair price." What is remarkable about this petition is that 97 landowners endorsed it; and many were Jackson Hole's first pioneers and had a reputation for being park opponents. These people owned more than 27,000 acres, much of it in the area encompassed by the Jackson Hole Plan. The 1925 petition indicates that significant support existed for the plan. It is clear that economics were an important motive. [56]

As the Snake River Land Company officers began organizing in 1927, supporters urged haste. Burt, believing 1927 might be a good year for ranchers, feared some might be less willing to sell, developing a crimp in their backs as usual." Burt also observed that "each summer more and more rich Easterners are buying places on this side of the river and this means more and more land the Government will not be able to control." In October, he repeated the urgency of purchasing parcels as soon as possible. Jackson Hole was no longer in a dejected state of mind. "The Kelly flood has been forgotten, the cattlemen, for the first time in years, expected to make money, and the recent buying up of numerous ranches by rich men had whetted the appetite of every one." [57] Still, available documents indicate that a significant number of ranchers were ready to sell, although their motives were complex. A few like Tony Grace were willing to sell for altruistic reasons; others such as Si Ferrin wished to sell for personal financial reasons. [58]

Another charge leveled against the Snake River Land Company concerned prices paid for land. Stories have persisted over the years that the company paid less than fair market value. In a letter to Wilford Neilson dated April 6, 1933, Harold Fabian revealed total purchases up to that time. The Snake River Land Company had paid a total of $1,400,310.04 for 35,310.396 acres of land. This included payments to homestead applicants in exchange for relinquishing claims to the United States. The company paid an average of $39.66 per acre, or $6,345.60 for 160 acres that usually contained improvements. [59] These figures compare favorably with other real estate transactions during this period.

Several variables determined the appraisals made by Dick Winger and R. E. Miller. Buildings, fences, the condition of improvements, ditches, cultivated land, irrigated land, pasture, wasteland—all were factors in determining fair market value. No appraisal records survived in the company files kept by Fabian and Chorley. Individual appraisal records probably remained with Winger and Miller. Prices for individual properties differed according to these variables, along with their condition. For example, Roy Nipper received $4,000, or $25 per acre, for a dryland farm and ranch buildings in poor condition. His neighbor, Norm Smith, received more than $12,000 for a well-kept homestead and irrigated acreage. Also, the fact that the Smith property was located near Menor's Ferry may have given it some strategic importance. [60]

A significant cause of bitterness on the part of some landowners revolved around higher prices paid for properties in "scenic areas" as opposed to viable agricultural lands. Company agents considered land west of the Snake River the most scenic, and the most threatened. As such, the company offered higher prices for this land. Ranchers and farmers on Mormon Row could not comprehend why land worthless for agriculture should be worth so much more than their well-kept farms. For example, the Snake River Land Company targeted 1,545 acres in the township that included Jenny Lake. They estimated the cost to be $174,376, or $112.82 per acre. But more than 6,000 acres in the Mormon Row-Antelope Flats area was projected to cost $247,867.62. Strictly hay meadows and pasture, this land averaged $40.88 per acre. Although the company adopted a policy of not disclosing prices, people had no such policy. More was probably known about prices the company paid than Fabian, Webb, and Chorley could have imagined. Frank McBride sold his 480-acre ranch for $12,000 in April 1928. Two years later, he learned that some neighbors had received $40 per acre, while he had received $25. McBride wrote a letter to the company, not angry or especially bitter, asking for an additional $15 an acre, "beaing [sic] that the Co. is all well-to-do people." He had been forced to sell, because the Jackson State Bank threatened to foreclose on a $1,000 mortgage dating from 1918. Being a businessman, Fabian, of course, denied the request. [61]

In an interview years later, Harold Fabian recalled that John D. Rockefeller Jr., "had always said that he would rather pay more than less." Yet, the Snake River Land Company operated in a business-like manner. Estimates were made, price schedules drawn up, and budgets allotted. Webb, Chorley, Fabian, and Winger managed Rockefeller's money carefully. None liked to feel they got the wrong end of a sharp bargain. They were expected to work within budgets, and Winger had to secure approval to make offers higher than the scheduled amount. For example, Fabian gave Winger the authority to offer Joe Jones $10,000 for his homestead, well over the projected $7,300 price. However, Fabian instructed Winger to use the $3,400 saved on the purchase of the Herb Whiteman place at Moran. After Mary Cowles accepted an offer of $35 per acre for 468 acres on the Buffalo Fork, Fabian informed Winger that the offer was no longer good as the land was worth no more than $17.50 per acre. In this case, hard negotiating backfired. Cowles sold to the Cockrells, who started a cattle outfit on the property that continues to operate today. In 1929, the owner of the JY and park supporter Henry Stewart asked Fabian to re-convey title of 160 acres to Harold Brown and his wife. According to Stewart, the couple sold under duress, as Mrs. Brown had been ill and required surgery. Members of the Dupont family, friends of the Browns, determined to help them out and pay their bills. Fabian reported Stewart as being very adamant, believing the Browns sold for too little money. He hoped the company would reconvey title or, in lieu of that, pay a higher price for the land. Fabian passed the request on to Chorley, but wrote "Mr. Miller says to forget it and I agree with him." The company refused Stewart's request, but did give the Browns a short-term lease to enable them to continue operating the Moose Post Office at the property. In 1929, Struthers Burt complained to Kenneth Chorley about Miller's high handedness toward some landowners, suggesting that local resentment had increased as a consequence. [62]

In general, the company treated landowners fairly, both in prices paid and in other matters. In 1935, Winger had property lines surveyed. A survey of the Gottfried Feuz property showed his fences being several hundred feet off of the actual property lines. Feuz was "about sick" over the mistake, but Winger assured him the company had no intention of ordering him to move fences and buildings. Some locals were poor neighbors to the company. In the same letter, Winger reported serious incidents of vandalism and theft at the Elk Ranch. A horse had been shot, fences broken down, boards stolen from ditch headgates, and a long list of tools and gasoline stolen. "Midnight salvage crews" stole virtually anything on unoccupied company properties. [63]

Another cause of resentment stemmed from the company's practice of removing structures and improvements. The purpose of the buyout was to remove unsightly development and restore the natural landscape. Further, by eliminating improvements, the company reduced property taxes. Dr. E. M. Fryxell recalled watching buildings being moved tortoise-like down the Jenny Lake Road in the late 1920s and early 1930s. When the company tore down a barn on the old Manges homestead, Jimmy Manges vowed never to construct a solid building again on the X Quarter Circle X. He kept his vow. In some cases, improvements were sold; in other instances, buildings were burned, such as the Nipper property. By 1936, a geographer reported "a large part of the settlement has now been removed from this territory, removed so completely that only when viewed from the air or from the summit of one of the buttes can the faint traces of occupance be discerned." Based on homestead records, the company removed as many as 200 or more buildings in this period. [64]

Sentimental value is impossible to appraise. The dramatic change in the landscape aggravated the emotional trauma some settlers experienced in selling. Some had poured years of sweat into their homesteads, raised families, and lived through the usual assortment of life crises such as illness or the death of a family member. No wonder people found it a gut-wrenching experience. These emotions fueled ill feelings toward the Snake River Land Company and Rockefeller. [65]

Friends of the Jackson Hole Plan and park extension sometimes received more consideration than others in terms of prices paid for their land. Jack Eynon held out for $12,000 for his 160-acre ranch, considerably more than the appraised value. He justified the price based on his "hard and constant" work for the project. Webb, Chorley, and Fabian deliberated over the price for some time, aware of the problem of inflating prices and vulnerability to charges of favoritism. In the end, they paid Eynon's asking price, which was $7,200 above appraised value. Joe Jones, among the first park advocates, received $10,000 for his parcel, more than its appraised value. John and Maytie Turner were paid $20,000 for 320 acres. Although the homestead was in excellent condition, the price was very high compared to other land in the Spread Creek area. Winger himself filed a timber and stone entry for which he received $10,000, clearly more than its real value. In the end, Fabian, Chorley, and Webb may have agreed to pay these prices rather than risk losing valuable allies. [66]

After the company began buying land in 1928, Miller, Winger, and Fabian grew concerned about speculators buying land and holding out for higher prices. H. C. Ericcson was an attorney from Kansas, who filed a 640-acre stock-raising entry in July 1926 near Deadman's Bar. He began purchasing other tracts in the valley, clearly engaging in land speculation. In March 1930, Ericcson wrote to Fabian informing him that he secured an option to buy 323 acres from Charles "Beaver Tooth" Neal for $13,460, or $41.67 per acre. Ericcson offered to sell it to the company for $50 per acre, a modest profit of $2,690. In lieu of that, Ericcson proposed to "establish adequate accommodations for the general traveling public." [67]

Before initiating the Jackson Hole Plan, Rockefeller's agents also had to eliminate more than 20,000 acres of public domain available for settlement. Kenneth Chorley conferred with Secretary of the Interior Hubert Work and Chief Forester W. B. Greeley to explain the company's project, and discuss the problem that public land available for settlement would cause the company. Out of this meeting came the executive order of July 7, 1927. President Coolidge withdrew thousands of acres from settlement, ostensibly to protect elk habitat. This executive order, coupled with five additional orders withdrawing smaller tracts, ended the homesteaders' frontier in Jackson Hole. More important for the company, it prevented speculators from appropriating public lands. [68]

Both the Park Service and company agents corresponded with the General Land Office, challenging the validity of pending homestead entries. General Land Office agents generally favored entrants when interpreting the legal requirements to secure title to public land. The Park Service and Snake River Land Company encouraged land office agents to investigate entries closely. In 1929, Chorley complained to Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur about a number of timber and stone entries considered "bogus." He cited entries made by Dick Winger's wife, Marta Winger, Wilford Neilson, a supporter of the Jackson Hole Plan, and Dr. Charles W. Huff In 1931, Fabian asked Winger to determine if Fred and Eva Topping had resided on their entry (the Moosehead). Winger promptly replied, "There can be no possible objection to the issuance of the patent as the Toppings have continuously lived there" and exceeded requirements for final proof. The main exception occurred when the Government Land Office denied A. W. Gabbey's claim to a stock-raising entry in response from pressure from Albright and the Park Service. [69]

As the purchase program progressed, Albright recommended the company adopt Struthers Burt's recommendation that purchased properties be operated to defray operating expenses and property taxes. From the outset, leases became very important. Believing the Triangle X to be an ideal location for a dude ranch, the company leased it back to John "Dad" Turner in 1930. By 1931, income from hay production and leases and rentals made up two-thirds of the company's income. As the controversy over the extension of a park into Jackson Hole dragged on into the 1940s, leases became more extensive and entrenched. Management became more complex. In 1941, Winger complained about problems in harvesting hay. Aside from being rained out, Winger found the crews to he "undependable, untrustworthy, and incompetent. At least, one third of my crew gets drunk every night—locals as well as floaters." [70]

The Snake River Land Company also found itself in the tourist business. A myth has persisted over the years that Rockefeller bought lands in Jackson Hole to enter the tourist business and monopolize it. Nothing could be further from the truth. When the company acquired Sheffield's Teton Lodge at Moran, they decided to continue operating it for two reasons. First, virtually no accommodations existed between Jackson and the great old lodges in Yellowstone. Travel was slower on poor roads in much slower vehicles, making Moran a logical stop. Second, company agents feared that closing Moran would hurt the land acquisition program. They reasoned "if the operation at Moran is stopped other places will spring up and flourish and give us no end of trouble." Operating tourist facilities took Rockefeller and his agents in unexpected directions. To run the operation at Moran, Fabian orchestrated the formation of the Teton Lodge Company and the Teton Transportation Company. These later merged to form the Teton Investment Company.

Moran required a considerable investment to improve and repair guest cabins, bathrooms, and the lodge. The Snake River Land Company advanced the Teton Lodge Company $35,000 to repair the tourist village. By 1933, the land company had in vested $173,712.01 in Moran and the Jackson Lake Lodge. In return, the company received $28,707.36, which included $15,000 repaid on the $35,000 advance. Rockefeller owned none of the Teton Investment Company. Profit proved no motive for the land-holding company's venture into the tourist business. [71]

The Congressional Appropriation Committee visited Jackson Hole in 1931, and posed for a photograph by Jackson Lake Lodge. Harold Fabian, the local administrator of the Rockefeller-financed Snake River Land Company, is in the top row, second from left. Grand Teton National Park

In his letter of February 16, 1927, to Rockefeller, Albright suggested that a company be formed ostensibly to buy land for a recreation and hunting club. Albright stressed that the ultimate goal of turning the land over to the Park Service should be kept secret to avoid opposition. Further, Rockefeller should work through agents to avoid being associated with the project, thus raising prices and suspicions. However, Rockefeller's association could have been discovered at the time the Snake River Land Company was formed. On August 23, the Courier reported President Coolidge's executive order withdrawing 23,617 acres from settlement to promote elk conservation. Chorley was mentioned as being involved in the withdrawal. A little detective work would have revealed Chorley's employer. In April 1928, the editor of the Courier reported the first purchases of the Snake River Land Company. Bringing up Chorley's name in connection with the 1927 withdrawal, the editor suspected that all were connected. In June 1929, Albright received a letter from Walter B. Sheppard, an occasional visitor to Jackson, concerning the future of Jackson Hole. In the letter, Sheppard asked, "How far will Mr. Rockefeller go?" Alarmed, Albright passed the letter on to Chorley. In August, the Courier reported that the Snake River Land Company intended to turn the land west of the Snake River over to the Park Service. Because people were getting dangerously close to the truth, the company issued a press release on April 6, 1930. Revealed were Rockefeller's involvement, the role of Albright and the National Park Service, and the objective of the Snake River Land Company. [72]

The revelation galvanized opposition. William Simpson, Roy Van Vleck, and R. E. Miller spearheaded the anti-park forces. A. C. McCain, the forest supervisor, opposed the program as much as he dared. The local Lions Club served as a gathering place for opponents. After the Jackson's Hole Courier came out in favor of the park plan, opponents established an anti-park paper, the Grand Teton, described as a "vindictive, spunky, devil-may-care, master-of-insults newspaper." Choreographed by the "Three Musketeers"—Winger's reference to Simpson, Van Vleck, and Miller—opponents of the Jackson Hole Plan agitated until the Senate passed a resolution to investigate the activities of the National Park Service, the Snake River Land Company, and the Teton Investment Company. This resulted in Senate subcommittee hearings in August 1933. [73]

The Snake River Land Company suspended buying land pending the hearings. By that time, they had acquired more than 35,000 acres and spent more than $1,400,000. In retrospect, it was a remarkable accomplishment. But the company's internal correspondence indicates that Webb and Chorley grew increasingly impatient with the slow progress of the program after 1929. In 1930, Chorley wrote to Webb "extremely concerned due to a lack of progress last fall and winter." He perceived Winger's performance in acquiring six properties in six months as too slow. "This situation must change. I have assured Mr. Rockefeller that we should be able to practically clean up the situation by the end of this year." Chorley asked Webb to take the matter up with Fabian. [74]

Several developments influenced the company program after 1929. As noted earlier, Dick Winger replaced Miller as purchasing agent in 1929. And, as the company leased and disposed of properties, other activities conflicted with real estate negotiations. For example, in 1930, Chorley wrote to Albright expressing concern about the slow-moving pace of land acquisition. "Confidentially between ourselves, I am inclined to think that Harold [Fabian] has become so immersed in other activities, especially the Teton Lodge Company, the acquisition of the Jackson Lake Lodge, the reconstruction of Moran, the entertainment of the Fox Film people . . . that he has temporarily lost sight of the fundamental purpose; namely the acquisition of property." Indeed, responding to Webb and Chorley's concern about Winger, Fabian expressed disappointment in his "complete absorption in the work he is doing for the Fox people." Fabian blamed himself for giving Winger "too much rope" by letting him organize housing at Moran and supervising camps and supplies for the Fox Film Company, while they filmed "The Big Trail." [75]

Chorley had "very distinct misgivings with regard to Winger," while Fabian and Albright were strong advocates. In a 1931 letter, Fabian reminded Webb and Chorley that Winger bailed them out in 1929 "when Miller flopped on us." Fabian, in a series of letters, pointed out that Winger worked against serious obstacles. The revelation of the company's plan and financier aroused opposition, and people tended to hold out for higher prices. Further, in 1929, the company deleted Mormon Row farms and ranches from the project at the behest of Governor Frank Emerson, who had been led to believe the landowners opposed the sale. This occurred after Winger optioned many of the properties. After some Mormon Row residents complained, the lands were returned to the schedules, but the damage had been done. Fabian noted that "remaining parcels were the tough nuts to crack." The tough nuts included hold-outs such as Geraldine Lucas, Pete Karppi of the Half Moon, Henry Gunther, and the Wolff family.

Finally, some worked against Winger to stymie the project, or out of personal spite toward him. Fabian knew "that Miller with all his influence and canniness has been and still is fighting Winger as hard as he can." In May 1931, Winger learned from Dr. Charles Huff that Miller advised Geraldine Lucas to hold out for $100,000. The previous winter, Winger had learned from settler Joe Heniger that Dr. Huff had been counseling Mormon Row settlers to keep their prices high. Heniger believed Huff acted to secure a higher price for his land. [76]

As the controversy continued, the company and its successor, the Jackson Hole Preserve, continued to purchase land, eliminating the "tough nuts" as opportunities presented themselves. One of the most important purchases occurred in 1944, when Fabian acquired the Lucas property. Geraldine Lucas had died in 1938 and willed the ranch to her son, Russell Lucas. He promptly sold the estate to J. D. Kimmel, who intended to subdivide the land for residential lots. Fabian and Kimmel became acquainted and fast friends in the intervening years.

In 1944, Kimmel invited Harold and Josephine Fabian for a drive up the Gros Ventre River valley. Josephine Fabian recalled vividly the following conversation: "Fabian, I can ruin your whole damn project," said Kimmel. Fabian replied, "I know you can Uncle Kimmel." Knots must have twisted Harold Fabian's stomach at the thought of a subdivision at the foot of the Teton Range. After a few minutes of silence, Kimmel said ". . . but I ain't a goin' to." Kimmel proposed to sell the Lucas place and his holdings at Jenny Lake—tourist cabins, gas station, store—for what he paid in exchange for a lease. True to his word, Kimmel sold out in 1944. The sale brought critical parcels under federal ownership. [77]

Meanwhile, events important to park extension occurred in 1933. First, Horace Albright, who had served as director of the National Park Service since 1929, resigned to accept a lucrative offer to serve as president of the United States Potash Company. Nevertheless, he remained active in conservation issues, the Park Service and, especially, the park extension in Jackson Hole.

Wyoming Senators John B. Kendrick and Robert Carey with Superintendent Woodring, 1931. Grand Teton National Park

Second, the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Surveys convened its hearings on August 7, which lasted through August 10. Company agents and the Park Service prepared well for the hearings. Most important, Albright, Fabian, and J. H. Rayburn, president of the Teton Investment Company, prepared histories of their activities. The histories were presented in the form of letters to Wilford Neilson, the editor of the Courier, who published them in the spring of 1933. The letters were compiled into a booklet and published as "Mr. John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Proposed Gift of Land for the National Park System in Wyoming." The hearings attracted a lot of publicity, in part because of Wyoming Senator Robert Carey's sensational allegations of illegal tactics employed by the Snake River Land Company, such as burning fences and homes. Carey asserted that events in Jackson Hole had elements similar to the Teapot Dome scandal. However, by the conclusion of the hearings, it was apparent that the allegations against the National Park Service and the Snake River Land Company had no foundation.

The only questionable practice concerned Park Service pressure on the General Land Office to scrutinize pending homestead entries. The Park Service believed many of the entries were "fraudulent and not in good faith," and asked the General Land Office to inspect certain entries to assure compliance with the law and cancel any fraudulent or improper applications. Inspectors evaluated 56 pending entries in Jackson Hole; they approved 47 in favor of the settlers and rejected only nine entries, most of which were abandoned and, therefore, rightly cancelled. One exception concerned the stock-raising entry of Albert W. Gabbey, near String Lake. The General Land Office disapproved his entry, stating that the land was not classifiable as stock-raising. Yet, other stock-raising entries in the area had been approved, notably the entry of Harrison Crandall adjacent to Gabbey's claim. Eventually, Gabbey secured title to his stock-raising claim in 1940, on the grounds that the law had been applied inconsistently.

Other complaints surfaced such as charges of manipulating the location of the Moose Post Office to further the land purchase program, but the hearings exonerated the National Park Service and Snake River Land Company. Further hearings were cancelled, and press accounts derided the whole event. The Denver Post characterized the affair as less than "a tempest in a teapot. . . . It was not even a 'squall in a thimble.'" [78]

The 1933 hearings opened the door to a settlement. Indicative that the park extension was no longer such a contentious issue, Bill Simpson resigned as editor of the Grand Teton and the paper shut down in 1934. In June of that year, Senator Robert Carey introduced a bill in the Senate to expand the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park. Among other compromises, the bill proposed to reimburse Teton County for the loss of taxes incurred by the extension. The federal government was to pay an annual sum to the county for 20 years after the purchase of property. A federal organization, the Bureau of the Budget, hamstrung the bill at the 11th hour. Reluctant to establish a precedent of paying counties in lieu of taxes for federal lands, the bureau added an amendment requiring compensation from sources other than the Treasury Department. The bill died in the House of Representatives. [79] In 1935, Carey introduced another bill (S. 2972), which in no way resembled the 1934 bill. For one thing, Jackson Lake was excluded, along with other land. Further, the issue of reimbursing the county for lost taxes had not been resolved. This bill died in committee after the Park Service withdrew support. [80]

The tax issue remained the most serious hurdle in the 1930s. Teton County officials and citizens refused to give up revenue, especially in a tax-poor county. And, during this period, opposition to the park extension seemed to gain strength again. Objections to a park in Jackson Hole surfaced from unexpected quarters. The National Parks Association, a preservationist organization, opposed including Jackson Lake. The association believed it was a bad precedent to consider conveying national park status to a dam and reservoir. The sagebrush flats east of the river also did not meet national park standards in association members judgment. Fear of setting these precedents threatened to kill the grand plan. [81]

The National Park Service seized the initiative again in 1937-1938. The bureau prepared a 16-page pamphlet titled "A Report by the National Park Service on the Proposal to Extend the Boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming." The document outlined the history of park extension and extolled the benefits of tourism, but most important included a bill to extend the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park.

The reaction in Jackson Hole was swift and harsh. New leaders emerged to direct anti-park activities. The new editor of the Courier, Charles Kratzer, wrote weekly editorials railing against the plan, while Felix Buchenroth, Peter Hansen, A. C. McCain, and Millward Simpson organized opposition. They orchestrated a meeting with Governor Leslie Miller, at which 162 of 165 voted against the plan. Politically, the issue grew hotter, prompting the Wyoming congressional delegation to call for hearings. [82]

A Senate Subcommittee convened hearings in Jackson on August 8, 1938. The Jackson Hole Committee prepared their anti-expansion case very well. They beat the Park Service and Snake River Land Company to the punch, arranging food, entertainment, and lodging. Millward Simpson, an implacable foe, conducted the hearings. Simpson assembled an impressive array of statements, petitions, and witnesses against the park extension. He even presented a letter written by Struthers Burt to Congressman Frank Mondell in 1919, detailing his opposition to the old Yellowstone extension. Burt, of course, had become one of the strongest proponents of the plan! The Jackson Hole Committee gave the pro-park faction an old-fashioned beating. The result: the Wyoming delegation would not support expansion legislation, and Congress would not pass a bill against the Wyoming solons' wishes. [83]

It seemed a national park embracing Jackson Hole would remain a dream. On October 27, 1938, Horace Albright composed a short letter to Harold Fabian. Regarding Jackson Hole, he wrote:

When you get a chance write me again telling me how things are going, and give us any suggestions that you have as to what we should do in the Jackson Hole country. In a talk with J.D.R. Jr. I detected a note of discouragement. In fact, he asked whether we thought we could get fifty cents on the dollar if we sold the land. If he ever loses interest in this project it is gone for good. This is confidential, of course.

In 1942, John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s growing discouragement and impatience culminated in his well-known November 26 letter to Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. Rockefeller concluded, reluctantly, that if the federal government did not want the gift of land or could not "arrange to accept it on the general terms long discussed . . . it will be my thought to make some other disposition of it or to sell it in the market to any satisfactory buyers." The National Park Service and Secretary Ickes determined to persuade President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to create a national monument out of public lands in Jackson Hole. Through the Antiquities Act of 1906, the chief executive could "declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" located on public lands to be national monuments. It offered a way to circumvent the stumbling block of Congress, which would not act against the Wyoming delegation. On March 5, 1943, Ickes presented a memorandum on the subject to the president, along with a proclamation to create Jackson Hole National Monument. Understanding that the proclamation might be unpopular, Roosevelt nevertheless signed it on March 15. Jackson Hole National Monument was now a fact, a 221,000-acre addition to the national park system. [84]

Generally, it has been interpreted that Rockefeller was serious about divesting himself of the Jackson Hole lands. Harold Fabian recalled hearing Rockefeller state, in Chorley's office on one occasion, "if the Government won't accept it as a park, then I'm going to put the whole place up for sale." Further, it has been accepted that his letter generated the concept of a national monument. Available documents indicate otherwise. The idea of a national monument had surfaced in the late 1930s. By early 1939, the National Park Service had prepared a draft proclamation, which Rockefeller agents rejected as a poorly prepared document and too controversial. Robert Righter, after examining evidence and interviewing principal characters, believes that Rockefeller "was not prepared to abandon the Jackson Hole project" and the November 27 letter was sent to provoke action. Indeed, Rockefeller indicated his determination to see the project through. After Rockefeller's 1931 visit to Jackson Hole, Superintendent Sam Woodring wrote the following in his monthly report: "Mr. Rockefeller is thoroughly convinced of the ultimate need of enlarging this park, and stated that he intended for the Snake River Land Company, his agent to carry out the extension plan even though its completion might require many more years." [85]

The anti-park forces mobilized opposition. They did not seem to have known of the national monument option and the proclamation caught them by surprise. Since it occurred during the midst of World War II, opponents likened Roosevelt's action to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or the German Anshchluss in Austria. Opponents criticized the monument as a blatant violation of states rights. Despite specific policy statements assuring the protection of private property, the regional press, the Courier and the "Committee for the survival of Teton County" circulated information that private landowners in the monument would be condemned and displaced. This was incorrect. Governor Lester Hunt wrote a letter to President Roosevelt that specified state objections to the monument. Opponents believed the monument would destroy the local economy and county, as taxable land would be removed from the rolls. Ickes endorsed a policy statement, written in late March, that addressed fears of Wyoming citizens, but to no avail. Local groups published pamphlets and documents filled with misinformation. One must conclude that much of it was deliberate. [86] On May 2, 1943, a group of ranchers, heavily armed, gathered near the monument and trailed some 500 cattle across it, possibly hoping for a confrontation. The Park Service ignored the stunt, and little would have come of it but for the participation of Wallace Beery, the famous Hollywood actor. The drive focused national attention on the monument. Many were unaware that ranchers had a right to trail cattle across the monument. Moreover, Governor Hunt raised the issue at a governor's conference, and the Wyoming delegation rallied their colleagues in Congress. Considering that the nation was engaged in a world war, the monument drew much attention in Congress. [87]

As the controversy grew more vocal and bitter, Wyoming Congressman Frank Barrett introduced a bill to abolish the Jackson Hole National Monument. In the spring of 1943, the House Committee on Public Lands conducted hearings on the monument. In August, a Senate Committee visited the valley and, at a hearing in Jackson, sentiment overwhelmingly was against the monument. Barrett's bill passed both the House and Senate but, as expected, President Roosevelt exercised a pocket veto to kill it. [88]

Opponents took the issue to the courtroom. The state of Wyoming filed suit against the National Park Service, seeking to overturn the proclamation. Judge Blake T. Kennedy heard testimony from August 21-24 at the Twelfth District Court in Sheridan, Wyoming, and issued a ruling on February 10, 1945. In the State of Wyoming vs. Paul R. Franke (superintendent of Grand Teton National Park), Kennedy found for the defendant, the Park Service, although he refused to rule on the merits of Jackson Hole as a national monument. Instead, he found the issue "to be a controversy between the Legislative and Executive Branches of the Government in which, under the evidence presented here, the Court cannot interfere." [89]

Jackson Hole National Monument survived these onslaughts, although like a storm-battered ship. For example, amendments attached to Department of Interior appropriations prohibited the National Park Service from spending money to administer the monument. Also, the proclamation transferred 130,000 acres of land from the Teton National Forest to the National Park Service. It was an uneasy transition, because local and regional Forest Service administrators opposed the monument. The Park Service took over U.S. Forest Service ranger stations. The Forest Service removed all fixtures from the Jackson Lake and Kelly Ranger Stations, essentially gutting them. "Movable equipment, as local Forest Service officials interpreted their instructions, included plumbing, bathroom fixtures, doors, cupboards, drawers, cabinets, and hardware. At the Jackson Lake Ranger Station, the Forest Service removed an underground water tank, which required cutting a four-foot-square hole in the floor. At Kelly, a kitchen range, hot water tank, pipes, and a built-in dinette and hutch were removed. As of 1945, both buildings were in poor condition. Forest Supervisor Kozoil was transferred, allegedly for these actions. Two years later, Grand Teton Superintendent Franke reported that local gossip circulated that Kozoil's promotion and transfer was a reward for this "active opposition" to the monument. Franke recalled another incident that occurred during the congressional investigation of August 1943, "which greatly aided our cause." About August 15, someone placed a live skunk in the Jackson Lake Ranger Station, which died in the building. Franke placed no blame, but an investigation indicated the culprit had a key to the building. "We made no statement of any kind, but a leak occurred somewhere, and the public placed blame on the Forest Service," believing they did it to prevent the congressmen from viewing the gutted building. However, Franke praised recent cooperation between the two agencies and urged Washington to let local offices resolve their differences quietly. [90]

Local supporters of the national monument also faced tough times. It took courage to openly support the extension. Olaus Murie, who emerged as a rational and articulate spokesman for the park in these years, recalled that: "card parties, dinner parties had their embarrassments if certain ones on the other side were present. In some inexplicable way an atmosphere was created in which one felt inhibited from even mentioning the subject. There was no such thing as getting together and talking it over." In 1948, Harold Fabian received a fourth-hand report that two businesses, Lumley's and Fred's Market, had been threatened with a boycott for their pro-park support. [91]

After the war, the time seemed ripe for compromise, although Congressman Barrett continued anti-park agitation. Between 1945 and 1947, he introduced three bills in Congress to destroy the monument, directly or indirectly. Two bills never left committees, and Barrett's H.R. 1330 died on the floor of the House. Hearings held on the last resolution indicated changing attitudes, as more than half of the statements favored the monument. In Jackson Hole, a local poll showed a shift; while 182 people still opposed the monument, 142 supported it, and a whopping 234 offered no opinion!

The rhetoric and misinformation distributed by park and monument opponents haunted them. Dire predictions, such as Governor Hunt's fear that "a large community will be disrupted and many people compelled to start anew in some other place," failed to materialize. Further, after the war, it became apparent that tourism pointed the way to the future. Roosevelt's prediction "that the resumption of tourist travel will result in a great deal more money flowing to Teton County and the State of Wyoming" was proving more realistic than the predictions of doom. [92]

The staff of the newly created Grand Teton National Park, 1929. Left to right: Fritiof Fryxell, Superintendent Samuel Woodring, Julia Woodring, Edward Bruce, and Phil Smith. Grand Teton National Park

In 1949, interested parties gathered in the Senate Appropriation Committee chambers and hammered out a compromise. The agreement resulted in the creation of a new Grand Teton National Park on September 14, 1950. The new park included most of the 1929 park and Jackson Hole National Monument. The law contained three significant concessions. Section Four protected existing grazing rights and stock driveways. Section Five allowed the federal government to reimburse the county for lost tax revenues, eliminating the most vexing stumbling block to compromise. Section Six provided for a controlled reduction of elk within the park boundaries, though this has been a contentious issue over the years. On December 16, 1949, with a solution apparent, John D. Rockefeller Jr., conveyed a gift of 32,117 acres to the United States government and its citizens. [93]

The new Grand Teton National Park of 1950 represented the culmination of 50 years work, often marred by bitter controversy. A small group of individuals had determined that it was in the national interest to preserve the Teton Range and much of Jackson Hole as a part of the National Park System and, eventually, they prevailed.

During this entire time, while the political controversy simmered and occasionally boiled over, the National Park Service endeavored to administer the park, beginning with the 96,000-acre Grand Teton National Park of 1929. First, the National Park Service had to establish a presence. Albright selected Samuel Woodring, the chief ranger of Yellowstone, to serve as the first superintendent. The first budget to talled $11,750. Edward Bruce became the first permanent ranger, and Julia Woodring, the superintendent's wife, worked as clerk. The two first seasonal rangers were Phil Smith and Fritiof Fryxell. Avid mountaineers, they completed many of the first ascents of the peaks in the Teton Range and picked a number of names for topographic features in the area, especially peaks. [94]

The staff resided and worked out of the old Elbo Ranch until they moved headquarters to the Stewart Ranger Station and developed an administrative and maintenance area. The superintendent's residence, rustic log houses, garages, and three maintenance buildings were constructed between 1934 and 1937 with New Deal funding and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) labor. The CCC added wings onto the Stewart Ranger Station in 1939, which served as park headquarters. Known as Beaver Creek, this area remained the headquarters until the fall of 1958, when operations were shifted to the new buildings at Moose. [95]

Landscape architect Thomas C. Vint (far left), head of the National Park Service Design Bureau, on a visit to Grand Teton soon after the park was created. Superintendent and Mrs. Sam Woodring are on the far right. Grand Teton National Park

In 1930, the park received funds to improve roads, trails, and campgrounds at Jenny and String Lakes. Comfort stations with running water were to be built at the campgrounds. The Park Service allocated $66,800 for administration and developments in 1930. Woodring, using staff or contractors, built the patrol cabin at Moran Bay and one of the comfort stations at Jenny Lake, along with a water and sewer system in 1930. In addition, Woodring hired local workers to dismantle the Lee Manges cabin at Windy Point and move it to Jenny Lake. The Snake River Land Company had donated it to the park. By May, it had been reassembled for use as a temporary museum and office. The Jenny Lake Ranger Station served as the park's first visitor center and is used as a ranger station today. [96]

Between 1930 and 1932, the National Park Service constructed the Leigh Lake patrol cabin, which may have been built of logs salvaged from Stephen Leek's "clubhouse" at the north end of Leigh Lake. The String Lake comfort station was built in this period. It may have been moved to its present site after 1932. In 1932, a snowshoe cabin was built in Death Canyon for packers and the trail crew. One year later, a second comfort station was built at Jenny Lake. [97] Park Service architects designed buildings and structures specifically to conform to the landscape, launching a golden age of rustic log architecture, dubbed in recent years "parkitecture."

In 1931, the park received $74,427. In addition, $108,000 was spent on approach roads in Jackson Hole to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Concerned over the eyesore caused by dead trees along Jackson Lake, the Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation each put up $50,000 to begin a cleanup. [98]

During this period, the park issued permits to its first concessioners. Most were centered at Jenny Lake. A. C. Lyon conducted a saddle and packhorse outfit, Charles Wort rented boats for use on Jenny Lake, and Karl Kent operated the Jenny Lake Inn, known locally as the "Nest." Kent's operation was removed around 1931 or 1932. In 1931, photographer Harrison Crandall moved his rustic log studio from his former homestead near String Lake to Jenny Lake. Through a concession permit, he operated a photographic studio until the 1950s. The Teton Transportation Company, running bus service from the rail terminus at Victor, secured a permit to travel to Moran via the Jenny Lake Road. Other vintage concession buildings at Jenny Lake include the Wort boathouse and Kenneth Reimer's cabin, built about 1936. [99]

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp NP-4 at Jenny Lake operated from 1934 through 1942. Crews worked throughout the park, building roads, trails, houses, and other infrastructure. The two large buildings to the left still stand at the south end of Jenny Lake. Grand Teton National Park

The road from Menor's Ferry, past Jenny Lake, to Moran was a main highway through the valley, especially after the Bureau of Public Roads improved it and completed the bridge at Menor's Ferry in 1927. Grand Teton National Park widened, graded, and oiled portions of this road during these years and built at least seven vistas on the road along Jenny and Leigh Lakes. For example, in 1932, the park improved 12 miles of road in the park, including six miles oiled along the lakeshore and two miles oiled outside the north entrance. The most infamous road was the Leigh Lake Road. Woodring decided to build a road along the east shore of Leigh Lake to Bearpaw Lake. His superiors approved, for surveys began in September 1930. The road was built to the end of Leigh Lake about 1932. However, this road violated the 1929 enabling legislation, which prohibited the construction of new roads in the small park. Consequently, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes ordered its removal. By 1940, it was gone, angering a number of local people. [100]

Constructing trails was the highest of Superintendent Woodring's priorities. He envisioned a series of high standard trails for horse use. This did not sit well with either Phil Smith or Doc Fryxell, who believed primitive hiking trails more appropriate. Trails already existed, but were poorly developed and maintained. Indians and trappers had used trails in the Berry Creek drainage over Conant and Jackass Passes. Struthers Burt frequently rode a horse trail into Death Canyon. At the head of Death Canyon, a sheep drift crossed Fox Creek Pass and cut through a portion of the park. In 1921, the Forest Service improved the trail in Death Canyon, providing a route to the summit of the range. Crews packed a compressor into the canyon to drill holes for blasting. The Forest Service cut the Pemble Trail from south of Phelps Lake to Beaver Creek after the turn of the century. [101]

Inspecting trails in 1929, Woodring found them in fair condition, but believed they required "a great deal of maintenance" to meet Yellowstone standards. Horseback riders trekked regularly up to the Teton Glacier on a steep and hazardous trail. Woodring made the trip and scouted a new route. He noted, "There are wonderful possibilities for one of the best trail systems in the country at a reasonable cost." In the fall of 1929, a party of park employees and dude ranchers packed over the proposed Skyline Trail, scouting a route. [102]

The following spring, the park initiated work on the south loop of the Jenny Lake Trail, scouted and flagged by Fryxell. Another was to be built along the west shore of String Lake and connect with the now obliterated Leigh Canyon Trail at the outlet of Leigh Lake. The park planned a new trail to Amphitheater Lake and Teton Glacier. By the end of September, the Jenny Lake Trail had been completed, a quarter-mile trail connecting with the String Lake Trail. Also built was a 104-foot bridge across the String Lake outlet. In addition, more than four miles of switchbacks had been graded to Teton Glacier. Forest Service trails in the Bradley-Taggart Lakes area had been upgraded and realigned in some places. A log bridge, 96 feet in length, had been built near Bradley Lake. [103]

The superintendent's residence under construction by the CCC. The National Park Service Design Bureau in San Francisco designed the park's rustic buildings, which were carefully crafted to complement the natural setting. Grand Teton National Park

By the end of July 1931, the park had built or reconstructed 60 miles of trails and built dozens of bridges. The Valley Trail extended 20 miles from Phelps Lake to Leigh Lake. The Jenny Lake Trail had become very popular since its construction. In July 1931, a crew finished the 81-foot bridge at Taggart Creek. As many as 90 men were employed on trail work in 1931. This involved a considerable amount of rock work, requiring the use of compressors and explosives. [104] By the end of 1932, 50 miles of new trail, four-feet-wide, had been constructed over three seasons. In June 1933, crews connected the Cascade Canyon and Death Canyon Trails, completing a loop known as the Skyline Trail. By 1935, Grand Teton National Park had a well-developed trail system, totaling 90 miles. [105]

Grand Teton National Park was established just prior to the onset of the Great Depression. Despite tight budgets, the National Park Service managed to complete an extensive trail system, roads and a number of buildings, before Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the New Deal. This program provided new funds and an important source of labor, the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was one of many programs intended to lift the nation out of the depression. Young men between the ages of 17 and 25 enlisted to perform conservation work on public land. Civilian Conservation Corps crews attacked projects that required intensive labor. Camps were set up at several locations in the valley, at Leigh Lake, Lizard Point, and "Hot Springs" near Colter Bay. In 1934, Camp NP-4, the most prominent camp, was built at the south end of Jenny Lake. CCC crews manned this camp through 1942.

When the Bureau of Reclamation built Jackson Lake Dam, the shoreline trees were flooded and killed. One of the biggest undertakings by the CCC was to clear the thousands of acres of downed trees ringing the lake. Grand Teton National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps laborers worked on a variety of projects. The Superintendent's Report for August 1936 listed the following: landscaping headquarters; improvement and development of a campground at Jenny Lake; construction of fireplaces; construction of barriers at Jenny Lake campground; construction of table and bench combinations at Jenny Lake; construction of permanent employees' dwellings headquarters; extension of water system; Jackson Lake shore cleanup; trail construction at Phelps Lake-Granite Canyon and Teton Glacier-Garnet Canyon; telephone line construction at the headquarters at Death Canyon; maintenance and lakeshore cleanup; and general trail maintenance.

Without doubt, the most significant accomplishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Jackson Hole was the cleanup of dead and downed trees along the shores of Jackson Lake. Contractors worked on the project in 1931 and 1932. The CCC finished the job of cleaning up the bulk of 7,000 acres between 1933 and 1937. In September 1936, the superintendent of Grand Teton National Park reported that CCC crews were finishing the last 85 acres. "By next summer, Jackson Lake will present to the tourist a clean, natural beach," it was reported. Soon after, the United States entered the war in 1941, and the CCC program ended. The camps were dismantled. Several buildings from Jenny Lake, intended to be a temporary measure, were moved to other locations and remain in use today. [106]

During the struggle to add Jackson Hole to the park, the modern environmental movement emerged, led by people such as Aldo Leopold, Robert Marshall, Sigurd Olson, Howard Zahniser, and David Brower. In 1927, the Jackson's Hole Courier announced the arrival of a young biologist-naturalist named Olaus Murie. He had arrived fresh from Alaska, where the Biological Survey had employed him. The bureau instructed Murie "to make a complete study of the famous elk herd in Jackson Hole." His wife, Margaret (Mardy), and two babies followed him into the valley. Through his experience in Alaska and Jackson Hole, he moved from scientist to conservationist. In 1945, disenchanted with the lack of challenging projects and policies of the Biological Survey, Murie was ready for change. Offered the post as director of the Wilderness Society, he accepted, after an agreement was reached that he could work half time at half salary. But more important, he could direct the society's affairs from his ranch at Moose, Wyoming. Olaus and Mardy Murie had pooled their resources with his brother Adolph and Louise Murie to purchase the STS Dude Ranch.

Olaus and Mardy Murie at their home near Moose. Both were respected wildlife authors who gained national prominence as leaders in the wilderness movement. Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum

From here, assisted by Mardy, Olaus Murie directed the Wilderness Society through a number of significant environmental battles until his death in 1963. Over the years, innumerable politicians and environmentalists have visited the ranch to formulate policy and discuss issues. Two Wilderness Society Council meetings were held at the ranch in 1949 and 1955. Living at the ranch, the Muries organized conservation lobbying efforts and political activities. He worked tirelessly for the establishment of an Arctic Wildlife Refuge and was a leader in the effort to stop the proposed Echo Park Dam in Dinosaur National Monument. He lobbied hard for years in behalf of national wilderness legislation, but died one year before the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Murie attained national stature, helping set the course of the modern conservation movement. He was one of "a small coterie of trained leaders" whose studies, ability as a spokesman, and writings "earn him a prominent position in the ranks of American preservationists." Since 1963, Mardy Murie has stepped into the breach as a leader in the modern conservation movement. She continues to be active in environmental affairs today. [107]

It is a giant step from the Murie place to the first hints in 1897 at an extension of Yellowstone's boundaries into the Teton country. Conservation, represented by federal agencies such as the Forest Service and Park Service and the philanthropy of John D. Rockefeller Jr., is arguably Jackson Hole's most important historic theme, because of its impact on the character of this valley. For those who fought for conservation, Struthers Burt suggested the most suitable tribute, a national park as "a monument to the men who would help it along, with the Grand Teton as their headstone—that's big enough to fire any man's imagination." [108]

1. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 17-18.

2. Hays, Conservation, pp. 27-28 and 49-51; and Park, The World of the Bison, pp. 37-51.

3. Hays, Conservation, pp. 1-3.

4. Ibid., pp. 5-48; and Roderick Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967), pp. 133-134.

5. Nash, Wilderness, pp. 122-140 and 181.

6. John Ise, Our National Park Policy: A Critical History (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1961), pp. 15-20; and Haines, The Yellowstone Story, p. 471.

7. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 20.

8. Hays, Conservation, pp. 37-38.

9. Jackson's Hole Courier, February 17, 1949; Esther B. Allan, "History of Teton National Forest," pp. 109-110; and Jackson Hole Guide, October 7, 1965.

10. Jackson's Hole Courier, February 17, 1949; A. A. Anderson, Experiences and Impressions (New York: MacMillan Co., 1933), pp. 90-95; Harold Steen, The U.S. Forest Service: A History (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1976); and Allan, "History of Teton National Forest," p. 143.

11. Anderson, Experiences, p. 95; Allan, "History of Teton National Forest, pp. 113-114; and C.N. Woods, excerpts from "Thirty-Seven Years in the Forest Service," no date, no publisher, in Pamphlet File, Grand Teton National Park.

12. Anderson, Experiences, pp. 94-95; and Jackson's Hole Courier, February 7, 1949.

13. Jackson's Hole Courier, February 17, 1949.

14. Ibid., and Anderson, Experiences, pp. 100-104.

15. Anderson, Experiences, pp. 108-113; Jack Ward Thomas and Dale E. Toweill, eds., Elk of North America: Ecology and Management (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1982), pp. 540-544; "Diary of Rudolph Rosencrans," K. C. Allan Collection, 7636, University of Wyoming Archives. American Heritage Center; and Al Austin, "Biography, no date, acc. no. 1037, Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, Jackson, Wyoming.

16. Jackson's Hole Courier, January 28, 1909 (reprinted in Jackson's Hole Courier, January 29, 1948); Woods, "Thirty-Seven Years;" "Diary of R. Rosencrans," K. C. Allan Collection, University of Wyoming Archives.

17. Jackson's Hole Courier, February 17, 1949; Allan, "History of Teton National Forest," pp. 165-166; Elizabeth Wied Hayden Collection, Subject File, #5, Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum; Jackson's Hole Courier, October 10, 1922; and Grand Teton National Park, Building Maintenance Files.

18. Grand Teton National Park, Building Maintenance Files.

19. Jackson Hole News, January 9, 1980.

20. U.S. Reclamation Service, "Reconnaissance, Jackson Lake, 1902," Survey Books, 4 vols., and "Jackson Lake Reservoir Highline Traverse, Lowline Traverse, and Section Ties, 1909" Survey Books, 8 vols. (volume 1 of both surveys were missing), State of Wyoming, Archives, Museums and Historical Department; and John Markham, "The Temporary Jackson Lake Dam."

21. Mae Tuttle to Mrs. Cora Barber, September 5, 1951, acc. 65, Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum Files.

22. Larson, History of Wyoming, pp. 75, 215-216, and 385.

23. Hayden, From Trapper to Tourist, pp. 40-42; Saylor, Jackson Hole, pp. 138-142; and Tuttle letter, September 5, 1951, Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum.

24. Saylor, Jackson Hole, p. 159; and Anderson, Experiences, pp. 113-114.

25. William L. Simpson, "Game Conditions in Wyoming," Outdoor Life 9(1902); and Harvey H. Glidden, "The Wyoming Game Situation," Outdoor Life 10(1902):

26. Hayden, Trapper to Tourist, pp. 53-54; Al Austin, "Biography," Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum; and Hayden Collection, William Seebohm letter, Subject File, #5, Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum.

27. Hayden, Trapper to Tourist, pp. 53-54; Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 8-9; and Jackson's Hole Courier, March 9, 1916:

28. Righter, Crucible for Conservation: Histories of Jackson Hole included sections about the creation of Grand Teton National Park, but none offered a complete story. Moreover, errors were common. Robert Righter recognized a good story untold, and researched and wrote a manuscript in the 1970s, which was published in 1982.

29. "Mr. John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s, Proposed Gift of Land for the National Park System in Wyoming," no publisher, no date, p. 4; and Horace M. Albright, as told to Robert Cahn, The Birth of the National Park Service: The Founding Years, 1913-1933 (Salt Lake City, UT: Howe Brothers, 1985), pp. 39-40.

30. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 22-23.

31. Albright, The Birth of the National Park Service, pp. 65-74; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 28-29.

32. Righter, Crucible for Conservation.

33. Albright, Birth of the National Park Service, pp. 94-99.

34. Yellowstone National Park Archives, Horace M. Albright Papers, 1919-1922, Horace Albright to Stephen T. Mather, October 21, 1919.

35. Ibid., Jackson's Hole Courier, October 16, 1919; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 30-31.

36. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 32-33; Struthers Burt, Diary, p. 121; and Jackson's Hole Courier, January 6, 1921 and January 13, 1921.

37. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 32-33; see Albright correspondence for 1921 in his papers from 1919-1922 in Yellowstone Archives.

38. Horace Albright to Stephen T Mather, October 16, 1919, and September 23, 1920, HMA Papers, 1919-1922, Yellowstone Archives.

39. "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 15-17; Erwin Thompson, Maud Noble Cabin: Historic Structures Report, History Section (Washington D.C.: National Park Service, 1970), pp. 11-27; Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 33-34; Albright, Birth of the National Park Service, p. 154; and Struthers Burt to Horace Albright, September 11, 1923, HMA Papers, 1923-1927, Yellowstone Archives.

40. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 35-37; Albright, Birth of the National Park Service, p. 189; and "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 19-20.

41. U.S. Congress, Senate, "Hearings Before the Committee on Public Lands and Pursuant to S. 237," 70th Cong., 2nd sess., Part 2.

42. Leo H. Dietrich, et al., Jackson Hole National Monument, Wyoming: A Compendium of Important Papers Covering Negotiation in the Establishment and Administration of the National Monument, 4 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Dept. of the Interior, ca. 1945, 1950), 2, Part 1, No. 7; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 40-41.

43. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 40; and "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s. Gift," p. 32.

44. "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 16 and 23-24; "Interview with Mr. Horace Albright by Assistant Superintendent of Grand Teton National Park Haraden and Chief Naturalist Dilley at Jackson Lake Lodge, September 12, 1967," Grand Teton National Park Library, pp. 33-34; Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 46; Albright, Birth of the National Park Service, p. 164; and Marian Schenck to John Daugherty, September 4, 1986, personal correspondence.

45. "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s. Gift,"p. 25; and "Albright interview," 1967, p. 41.

46. Horace Albright to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., February 26, 1927, HMA Papers 1923-1927, Yellowstone Archives.

47. "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s. Gift," p. 27; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 49-51.

48. Jackson's Hole Courier, April 12, 1928; and "Hearing on S. Res. 226," 1933, pp. 36-40.

49. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 52 and 130.

50. Rockefeller Archive Center, Harold P. Fabian Papers, 1V3A7, Box 1, File 4, Financial Reports, 1929-1932, 1942; Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 51; and "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," p. 59.

51. Fabian Papers, RAC, Box 23, Files, Sheffield, Parcel 109, 1928-1931; Box 21, Files 220-221, Ferrin, Parcel 70, 1927-1938; Box 21, File 218, Ferrin Parcel 68, 1919-1930; Box 24, File 268, Ferrin, Parcel 115, 1928; Box 24, File 271, Ferrin, Parcel 118, 1929.

52. Fabian Papers, RAC, Box 5, File 34, Correspondence-Richard Winger; Contract, March 8, 1930; Horace Albright to Harold Fabian, November 13, 1929; H. Fabian to Vanderbilt Webb, July 17, 1931; H. Fabian to Kenneth Chorley, August 10, 1931.

53. Joe Markham to Horace Albright, July 29, 1919 and Markham to Albright, August 9, 1919, in Albright Papers, 1919-1922, Yellowstone Archives.

54. "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 11-12.

55. Horace Albright to Hal Evarts, September 25, 1923, Albright Papers, Yellowstone Archives; and George Ryter to Rose Crabtree, March 25, 1924, MS 872, Wyoming State Archives. This is a voluminous 113-page letter, written over the winter of 1923-1924.

56. "Hearing on S. Res. 226," 1933, pp. 266-268; and Jackson Hole Guide, October 6, 1955.

57. Struthers Burt to Horace Albright, July 18, 1927, and Burt to Albright, October 14, 1927, Albright Papers, Yellowstone Archives.

58. Ibid.

59 "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," p. 78.

60. Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 17, File 165, Nipper, 1928, Box 20, File 198, Smith, 1930-1932.

61. Ibid., Box 16, File 127, Plans, Ca. 1934, Box 18, File 173, McBride, 1928, Frank McBride to Snake River Land Company, November 12, 1930.

62. Ibid., Box 53, File 501, transcript, interview with Harold P. Fabian by Ed Edwin, July 11, 1966; Box 18, File 175, Jones, 1929-1930, Harold Fabian to Dick Winger, July 30, 1930; Box 20, File 209, Brown, 1929-1930, Fabian to Kenneth Chorley, August 5, 1929, Fabian to Joe Allen, October 28, 1929; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 60.

63. Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 16, File 135, Feud 1933-1935, Dick Winger to Harold Fabian, November 1, 1935; Box 7, File 44, Elbo Ranch, 1929-1934, Sam T. Woodring to Harold Fabian, May 14, 1931.

64. Superintendent's Monthly Report, July 1930, Grand Teton National Park; Jackson's Hole Courier, May 7, 1931, and June 4, 1931; interview with Marvel Lesher by John Daugherty, September 2, 1982; interview with Dr. F. M. Fryxell by John Daugherty, September 14, 1983, Grand Teton National Park; and Preston James, "Regional Planning in the Jackson Hole Country," The Geographical Review, 26 (July 1936):449.

65. Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 16, File 141, Harthoorn, 1931-1933; Box 58, File 543, May 1950.

66. Ibid., Box 22, File 235, Eynon, 1930-1931; Box 18, File 175, Jones, 1929-1930; Box 22, File 232, Turner, 1929-1936; Box 22, File 240, Winger, 1929-1931; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 60.

67. Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 21, File 227, Ericsson, 1929-1930; Box 22, File 230, Ericsson, 1929-1931; Box 22 File 239, Ericsson, 1928-1931; Box 16, File 131, Neil, 1928-1930, H. C. Ericsson to Harold Fabian, March 5, 1930.

68. "Hearing on S. Res. 226," 1933, pp. 76-79.

69. Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 16, File 126, Pending Entries, Eva S. Topping, 1930-1931; Box 16, File 123, Pending Entries, 1928-1933; "Hearing on S. Res. 226," 1933, pp. 302-330; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 83.

70. Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 7, File 51, Elk Ranch, 1939-1941, Dick Winger to Harold Fabian, August 8, 1941; Box 16, File 128, and Permits, 1936-1941; Box 58, Files 544-551, Leases 1946-1949.

71. Ibid., Box 32, File 363, "Chronology of Events," March 6, 1929-October 18, 1932; Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 57-59; and "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 56-57 and 81-91.

72. Horace Albright to John D. Rockefeller Jr., February 16, 1927, Albright Papers, 1923-1927, Yellowstone Archives; Jackson's Hole Courier, August 23, 1927, and April 12, 1928; Rockefeller Archive Center, Kenneth Chorley Papers, IV 3A3, Box 29, File 258, Miscellany A-Z, Walter B. Sheppard to Horace Albright, June 6, 1929; Jackson's Hole Courier, August 15, 1929; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 64-65.

73. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 66-78.

74. Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 5, File 634, Correspondence, Richard Winger, 1930-1933, Kenneth Chorley to Vanderbilt Webb, June 13, 1930.

75. Chorley Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 26, File 223, Real Estate, Agent, Winger, 1930-1935, 1941-1943, Kenneth Chorley to Horace Albright, June 17, 1930, Harold Fabian to Vanderbilt Webb, June 17, 1930.

76. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, 64; and Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 5, File 34, Correspondence, Winger, Harold Fabian to Vanderbilt Webb, July 17, 1931; Box 6, File 35, Schedules, Dick Winger to Harold Fabian, May 4, 1931; Box 5, File 34, Correspondence, Winger, H. Fabian to Kenneth Chorley, August 10, 1931, and D. Winger to H. Fabian, November 19, 1930.

77. Josephine Fabian, "The Lucas Place, 1914-1975," unpublished ms., ca. 1978, Grand Teton National Park; and Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 59, File 562, Kimmel Purchase, 1946-1947.

78. Albright, Birth of the National Park Service, 304-305; "Hearing on S. Res. 226," 1933, pp. 222 and 30-330; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 76-84.

79. Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 1, Nos. 8-9; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 85-87.

80. Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 1, No. 10.

81. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 88-92.

82. Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 1, No. 1; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 92-96.

83. Righter, Crucible for Conservation pp. 96-97; and "Hearing on S. Res. 250," 1938.

84. Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 2, Nos. 13 and 14; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, p. 110.

85. Jackson Hole Guide, October 12, 1972; Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 106-110; and Superintendent's Monthly Report, October 1931, Grand Teton National Park

86. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 111-113; and Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 2, Nos. 17 and 18.

87. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 114-115; and Ise, National Park Policy, pp. 498-504.

88. "Hearing on H.R. 2241," 1943; and Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 116-118.

89. Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 3, No. 42; and State of Wyoming vs. Paul R. Franke, Judge's Memorandum, February 10, 1945.

90. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 121-123; Superintendent Paul R. Franke to Assistant Director Arthur Demaray, June 30, 1945, Jackson Hole National Monument, Federal Records Center, Denver, CO.

91. Murie, Wapiti Wilderness, p. 121; Fabian Papers, Rockefeller Archive Center, Box 42, File 425, Supt. of Properties, 1948, Guy Robertson to Harold Fabian, March 6, 1948.

92. Righter, Crucible for Conservation, pp. 123-127 and 142-151; and Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 2, No. 17. President Roosevelt made this prediction in a letter to Governor Lester Hunt, dated April 29, 1943.

93. Dieterich, Jackson Hole Compendium, 2:Part 4, Nos. 56-60.

94. "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 38-39.

95. "Hearing on S. Res. 250," 1938, pp. 420-421; Superintendent's Monthly Reports, August 1929 and November 1931; Jackson's Hole Courier, July 13, 1931; Building Maintenance Records, Grand Teton National Park; Superintendent's Annual Report for 1932, Grand Teton National Park; and Superintendent's Monthly Report, November 1958, Federal Records Center, Denver, CO.

96. Jackson's Hole Courier, January 30, 1930; Superintendent's Monthly Reports, April, May, June, July, August, 1930, Grand Teton National Park; and "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 38-39.

97. Superintendent's Annual Report, 1932; Superintendent's Monthly Report, Special Memorandum to the Director, June 29, 1932.

98. "John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Gift," pp. 38-39.

99. Superintendent's Monthly Report, March 1930; Superintendent's Monthly Report, Special Memorandum, June 26, 1931; and Superintendent's Monthly Rept., July 1936, Grand Teton National Park

100. Superintendent's Annual Report for 1932; Superintendent's Monthly Report, September 1930, Grand Teton National Park; and A. W. Gabbey to Fritioff Fryxell, January 15, 1941, Fryxell Collection, 1438, D-Box 4, Correspondence, University of Wyoming Archives.

101. Fryxell Interview, September 14, 1983, Grand Teton National Park; Struthers Burt, Diary, pp. 73-75; and Jackson Hole News, November 2, 1977.

102. Superintendent's Monthly Reports, June, September, and October 1929, Grand Teton National Park.

103. Jackson's Hole Courier, May 29, 1930; Superintendent's Monthly Reports, September and October 1931, Grand Teton National Park

104. Superintendent's Monthly Reports, July and August 1931, Grand Teton National Park

105. Superintendent's Monthly Report, August 1932, Special Memorandum, August 15, 1932, and Superintendent's Monthly Report, June 1933, Special Report, June 29, 1933, Grand Teton National Park; and Grand Teton National Park brochures, 1935 and 1941.

106. Superintendent's Monthly Reports, August 1936 and September 1936, Press Memorandum; Photograph Files, Grand Teton National Park; and Building Maintenance Files, Grand Teton National Park.

107. Nash, Wilderness, p. 200; interview with Margaret Murie by John Daugherty, February 13, 1984, Moose, Wyoming; Frank Graham Jr., "Mardy Murie and Her Sunrise of Promise," Audobon 82 (May 1980):106-127; Gregory D. Kendrick, "An Environmental Spokesman: Olaus J. Murie and a Democratic Defense of Wilderness," Annals of Wyoming, 5D(Fall 1978):213-302; and Murie, Wapiti Wilderness.

108. Struthers Burt to Horace Albright, September 11, 1923, HMA Papers, 1923-1927, Yellowstone Archives.