NATIONAL PARK SERVICE The Research Station's Place in History

A meeting early in 1946 at Jackson Lake Lodge gave birth to the idea of a wildlife park to popularize the Jackson Hole National Monument. Consequently, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Park was established by the Jackson Hole Preserve, Incorporated in cooperation with the New York Zoological Society and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. It was established as a non-profit Wyoming corporation and early members of the Board of Trustees were Laurance S. Rockefeller (Chairman), Lester Bagley, Kenneth Chorley, Alfred Ely, Harold Fabian, Gilbert Housley, Carl Jorgensen, Fairfield Osborn and Foster Scott (Simon 1948). James R. Simon was appointed as the first Director in October, 1946 (Fig. 13). A Wildlife Park Advisory Board formed in 1947 consisted of the following members: Dr. L. Floyd Clarke, University of Wyoming; Charles C. Moore, President of the Dude Ranchers Association of Dubois, Wyoming; W.J. Dinneen, Wyoming Highway Commission; and Robert Latta, Secretary of the Casper Chamber of Commerce.

Fig. 13. James R. Simon.

The land for this program was leased from the Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Park, Inc. The Wildlife Park consisted of 1,500 acres of varied habitat immediately east of Moran, Wyoming, bounded by the Snake River on the south, Pacific Creek on the east, U.S. Highway 187 on the west and U.S. Highway 287 on the north (Fig. 14). As first envisioned, the project was to last 5 years and was only to include a wildlife park for tourist observation of wildlife and for conservation education (Simon 1977). Instead, Simon (1947) foresaw a greater need and stated ". . . the purpose in forming the organization is to further conservation through education and research. This objective can be accomplished by (1) keeping game animals for observation and with various demonstrations and displays (2) establishing a research center for study of wildlife and other conservation problems." To achieve these goals, 400 acres of the Wildlife Park were enclosed to display big game animals (buffalo and elk). Also, a biological field station was established with laboratory facilities, reference collections and library (Simon 1948).

Fig. 14. Jackson Hole Wildlife Park (Simon 1948).

The formal dedication ceremony for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Park was held July 19, 1948 (Fig. 15). A promotional booklet sketched the geographical, zoological and botanical features of the Wildlife Park and was used as a program for the event (Simon 1948).

Fig. 15. Jackson Hole Wildlife Park Dedication Ceremony, July 19, 1948. From left to right: Lester Bagley, Fairfield Osborn, Carl Jorgensen, Foster Scott, Lester Hunt, James Simon and Laurance Rockefeller (Dorothy Simon photo collection).

As Director of the Wildlife Park, Simon moved into the former Hogan Place near the Buffalo Fork in 1946. The Hogan Place had been used as summer quarters by Harold Fabian. Besides the house, the Hogan facilities included a double garage, an electric power plant and wash house, a small cabin and a barn. A log house (later known as the Fairfield Osborn house) was built in the late 1940's (Simon 1977).

The Wildlife Park employed a maintenance crew in the summer who first boarded at the Elk Ranch. Some were young boys from the East who came to Wyoming for experience. Myron and Helen Seaton lived at the Hogan Place in the winter and in the summer, at the Grimmesey Place. Myron fed and tended the animals in the wildlife enclosure and Helen cooked for the researchers and part of the crew in the summer. Archie Chambers and Leo Ross were the first year-round employees. Archie's father, Jim Chambers, was a Jackson Hole Preserve employee and foreman of the Elk Ranch (Simon 1977).

Probably the most remembered maintenance man and caretaker is Noble Gregory (Fig. 16) who started working for Jim Simon at the Wildlife Park in 1950. From 1952 until 1978, "Nobe" was the full time maintenance man in charge of all the Research Station facilities. Under his care, everything operated properly and he was always able to appear with the proper fixture or tool when needed.

Fig. 16. Noble Gregory (L. Floyd Clarke photo).

The legal work for the Wildlife Park and the Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. was done by Harold P. Fabian from the Salt Lake City law firm, Fabian and Clendenin. The bookkeeping was done by the Jackson Hole Preserve's accountants, Ken Nielsen and Bob Barton, who were based in Moran in the summer but were from the Salt Lake City firm, Lincoln F. Kelly, Company (Simon 1977).

A fenced, 400 acre enclosure held big game animals as a live exhibit for travelers to view in the Wildlife Park. A drive to the area was maintained. The upper meadow near the Oxbow of the Snake River was the summer pasture and the lower winter pasture contained hay sheds for the winter feeding of the animals. Hay was stocked from the Elk Ranch and sleds were used to distribute the hay (Gregory 1977). An Exhibit and Information Center was built in the Oxbow parking area after the Dedication and was equipped with a telescope to observe the animals. Eventually, this log structure was moved to the Huckleberry Hot Springs Road by the Park Service after the Wildlife Park was turned over to the National Park Service (Simon 1977).

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department used the Wildlife Park facilities to save and to care for young wildlife, i.e., antelope, deer fawns, a moose calf and even a grizzly bear cub. The grizzly cub and some elk were shipped to the Bronx Zoo.

Pursuing his idea of establishing research activities in connection with the Wildlife Park, Jim Simon obtained the use of the Grimmesey property to house researchers, starting in the summer of 1947. Prior to that time, Harriet and Raymond Peterson lived at the Grimmesey Place during World War II (Peterson 1978). R.H. Denniston (1978), a researcher from the University of Wyoming, stayed a short time with Whiteman in the summer of 1947. The Herbert Whiteman Place was made available to the researchers following Whiteman's death in 1947.

The facilities available for the researchers at the Grimmesey Place were the main residence (Fig. 17) which served as a kitchen/dining room, a bunkhouse for men, a cabin used as a girl's dormitory (Denniston stayed in an attached shed), and a garage. Tents were used by some researchers (Denniston 1978).

Fig. 17. M.R. Grimmesey residence (Harriet and Raymond Peterson photo collection).

The Wildlife Park paid a monthly charge to the Teton Lodge Company for the researchers' use of the showers at Moran. There was running water at the Grimmesey Place but no plumbing (Simon 1977). Margaret Altmann (1977) came to the Station in 1948 to study animal behavior (Fig. 18) and lived at the Grimmesey Place in a tent. She remembers the daily trip of Myron Seaton to Moran to fill milk cans of water for use by the researchers. Margaret recalls Charlie Pelton's using the Grimmesey/Whiteman pasture for his horses and she, on occasion, helped him on the hay wagon.

Fig. 18. Margaret Altmann (L. Floyd Clarke photo collection).

The researchers, like the Wildlife Park, had unusual pets. Margaret Altmann had her trail horse, Bernice, and R.H. Denniston watched over Susie, a baby moose. Robert Enders, among the first researchers, and his family had a pet sloth and a mink and there were many others.

After drilling a well which produced an excellent artesian flow of water, Simon proceeded to build the Research Station on its present site (Fig. 19). Dean Driskell and Bob Wiley, Jackson general contractors, constructed a laboratory, 3 cabins, a powerhouse and 2 outhouses starting May 1948 and finishing that summer (Driskell 1978). A small cabin used as the first entrance station at the Wildlife Park big game enclosure was moved to the Research Station and was placed behind the laboratory for use as a library (Altmann 1977). As of 1977, these facilities were still being used by researchers.

Fig. 19. Research Station (Dorothy Simon Photo collection).