Darwin Ranch | |
   | |
| Location | 1 Kinky Creek Rd., Teton County, Wyoming |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Cora, Wyoming |
| Coordinates | 43°24′44″N110°09′41″W / 43.41222°N 110.16139°W Coordinates: 43°24′44″N110°09′41″W / 43.41222°N 110.16139°W |
| MPS | Ranches, Farms, and Homesteads in Wyoming, 1860-1960 MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 100005445 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 27, 2021 [1] |
The Darwin Ranch in Teton County, Wyoming near Cora, Wyoming is a guest ranch which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. [1]
It is a remote inholding within Bridger-Teton National Forest and provides easy access to forest lands and to the Gros Ventre Wilderness. [2]
It has rental log cabins which, in 2021, command rental rates around $6,000/week. [2]
It was home of Fred Dorwin, a trader and fur trapper, and came to be called Darwin Ranch following appearance of it as that, by a typo, on a map. [2]
It was managed for more than 50 years by Loring Woodman, after his parents purchased the ranch in 1964. [3]
The property includes 15 log buildings and 9 structures. [4] The buildingsand structures were "all hand-constructed with logs, that are a combination of historic and a few modern structures designed to match the original buildings. Buildings on the site include the main lodge, guest cabins, and working ranch outbuildings. The site is surrounded by pine-tree covered mountains, with Kinky Creek and the Gros Ventre River winding through the property." [4]
The property was deemed significant "for its representation of historic events related to Commerce and Settlement. As a homestead property, the ranch is an excellent example of early settlement in the American West. Early ranch residents supplemented their income in order to maintain the place with trapping in the surrounding mountains; an important form of early white settlement. The Darwin Ranch has more recently been sustained, though, as a guest or “dude” ranch, also an important commerce example. Guest ranches have long been a popular form of recreation. In the case of the Darwin Ranch, recreation is also extended to the use of the property by wealthy families for private seasonal enjoyment. Both uses of the ranch, as a commercial guest ranch and for private use, are important examples of how the commercial landscape of Teton County and other scenic areas in Wyoming developed to modern day." [5]
It was also deemed significant for "its excellent example of Western Craftsman Architecture. The buildings and structures, both historic and more modern, maintain a high level of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association for this unique western architecture. The combined western architecture with the traditional use of commerce from the settlement homestead era, create an excellent example of a significant historic property." [5]
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Darwin Ranch has a subarctic climate, abbreviated "Dfc" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in was 87 °F (31 °C) on July 12, 2002, while the coldest temperature recorded was −53 °F (−47 °C) on December 30, 1978 and January 1, 1979. [6]
| Climate data for Darwin Ranch, Wyoming, 1991-2020 normals, extremes 1974-present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 49 (9) | 51 (11) | 62 (17) | 70 (21) | 78 (26) | 83 (28) | 87 (31) | 85 (29) | 80 (27) | 74 (23) | 62 (17) | 49 (9) | 87 (31) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 41.0 (5.0) | 43.2 (6.2) | 49.9 (9.9) | 58.5 (14.7) | 68.7 (20.4) | 76.1 (24.5) | 80.4 (26.9) | 79.4 (26.3) | 75.0 (23.9) | 65.5 (18.6) | 51.5 (10.8) | 40.7 (4.8) | 81.1 (27.3) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 26.4 (−3.1) | 28.7 (−1.8) | 36.2 (2.3) | 42.8 (6.0) | 53.9 (12.2) | 64.0 (17.8) | 72.1 (22.3) | 70.9 (21.6) | 62.4 (16.9) | 48.3 (9.1) | 34.5 (1.4) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 47.1 (8.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 10.4 (−12.0) | 12.3 (−10.9) | 20.7 (−6.3) | 29.5 (−1.4) | 39.8 (4.3) | 47.7 (8.7) | 53.8 (12.1) | 52.3 (11.3) | 45.0 (7.2) | 33.6 (0.9) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 10.2 (−12.1) | 31.3 (−0.4) |
| Average low °F (°C) | −5.6 (−20.9) | −4.1 (−20.1) | 5.2 (−14.9) | 16.1 (−8.8) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 31.5 (−0.3) | 35.5 (1.9) | 33.7 (0.9) | 27.6 (−2.4) | 18.8 (−7.3) | 6.3 (−14.3) | −4.8 (−20.4) | 15.5 (−9.2) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −32.1 (−35.6) | −30.4 (−34.7) | −21.1 (−29.5) | −5.1 (−20.6) | 11.2 (−11.6) | 21.5 (−5.8) | 27.2 (−2.7) | 24.4 (−4.2) | 14.6 (−9.7) | −0.3 (−17.9) | −19.6 (−28.7) | −31.8 (−35.4) | −37.1 (−38.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −53 (−47) | −49 (−45) | −40 (−40) | −21 (−29) | −9 (−23) | 10 (−12) | 15 (−9) | 15 (−9) | −2 (−19) | −22 (−30) | −46 (−43) | −53 (−47) | −53 (−47) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.07 (27) | 1.12 (28) | 1.24 (31) | 1.39 (35) | 1.67 (42) | 1.82 (46) | 1.20 (30) | 1.39 (35) | 1.88 (48) | 1.52 (39) | 1.19 (30) | 1.23 (31) | 16.72 (422) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 14.5 (37) | 15.7 (40) | 16.0 (41) | 13.3 (34) | 5.2 (13) | 1.4 (3.6) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.9 (4.8) | 8.6 (22) | 15.1 (38) | 16.9 (43) | 108.6 (276.4) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.3 | 8.8 | 9.5 | 10.2 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 10.5 | 111.2 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 8.6 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 4.3 | 7.7 | 9.4 | 57.6 |
| Source 1: NOAA [7] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service [6] | |||||||||||||
The Murie Ranch Historic District, also known as the STS Dude Ranch and Stella Woodbury Summer Home is an inholding in Grand Teton National Park near Moose, Wyoming. The district is chiefly significant for its association with the conservationists Olaus Murie, his wife Margaret (Mardy) Murie and scientist Adolph Murie and his wife Louise. Olaus and Adolph Murie were influential in the establishment of an ecological approach to wildlife management, while Mardy Murie was influential because of her huge conservation victories such as passing the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 and being awarded with the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for her lifetime works in conservation. Olaus Murie was a prominent early field biologist in the U.S. Biological Survey and subsequent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before retiring and becoming the president of the Wilderness Society, He was a prominent advocate for the preservation of wild lands in America.
Moran is an unincorporated village in south central Teton County, Wyoming, United States: as the community has had two different names, the Board on Geographic Names officially ruled in favor of "Moran" in 1970. It lies in Grand Teton National Park, 29 miles northeast of the city of Jackson, the county seat of Teton County, just northwest by side road of the intersection of U.S. Routes 26, 89, 191 and 287. Its elevation is 6,749 feet (2,057 m) and includes one of the principal entrance-fee collection stations for the Park. Moran also has the post office serving ZIP code of 83013, and a public elementary school; and no other services or businesses.
The Cunningham Cabin is a double-pen log cabin in Grand Teton National Park in the US state of Wyoming. It was built as a homestead in Jackson Hole and represents an adaptation of an Appalachian building form to the West. The cabin was built just south of Spread Creek by John Pierce Cunningham, who arrived in Jackson Hole in 1885 and subsisted as a trapper until he established the Bar Flying U Ranch in 1888. The Cunninghams left the valley for Idaho in 1928, when land was being acquired for the future Grand Teton National Park.
Mormon Row is a historic district in Teton County, Wyoming, United States that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Menor's Ferry was a river ferry that crossed the Snake River near the present-day Moose, Wyoming, United States. The site was homesteaded by Bill Menor in 1892-94, choosing a location where the river flowed in a single channel, rather than the braided stream that characterizes its course in most of Jackson Hole. During the 1890s it was the only homestead west of the river. Menor's homestead included a five-room cabin, a barn, a store, sheds and an icehouse on 148 acres (60 ha), irrigated by a ditch from Cottonwood Creek and at times supplemented by water raised from the Snake River by a waterwheel. Menor operated the ferry until 1918, selling to Maude Noble, who continued operations until 1927, when a bridge was built at Moose.
The Highlands Historic District in Grand Teton National Park is a former private inholding within the park boundary. The inholding began as a 1914 homestead belonging to Harry and Elizabeth Sensenbach, who began in the 1920s to supplement their income by catering to automobile-borne tourists. In 1946 the property was purchased by Charles Byron, Jeanne Jenkins and Gloria Jenkins Wardell, who expanded the accommodations by one or two cabins a year in a U-shaped layout around a central lodge. The lodge and cabins are constructed in a rustic log style, considered compatible with park architecture. The Highlands was neither an auto camp, which encouraged short stays, nor a dude ranch, which provided ranch-style activities. The Highlands encouraged stays of moderate length, providing a variety of relatively sedentary amenities. It was the last private-accommodation camp to be built in the park before the Mission 66 program created concessioner-operated facilities on public lands.
The 4 Lazy F Ranch, also known as the Sun Star Ranch, is a dude ranch and summer residence in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, built by the William Frew family of Pittsburgh in 1927. The existing property was built as a family retreat, not as a cattle ranch, in a rustic style of construction using logs and board-and-batten techniques. The historic district includes seven cabins, a lodge, barn corral and smaller buildings on the west bank of the Snake River north of Moose, Wyoming. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Andy Chambers Ranch is a historic district in Teton County, Wyoming, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Bar B C Dude Ranch was established near Moose, Wyoming in 1912 as a dude ranch by Struthers Burt and Dr. Horace Carncross, using their initials as the brand. Rather than converting a working ranch, Burt and Carncross built a tourist-oriented dude ranch from the ground up, using a style called "Dude Ranch Vernacular", which featured log construction and rustic detailing. As one of the first dude ranches in Jackson Hole, the Bar B C was a strong influence on other dude ranches in the area, and employed a number of people who went on to establish their own operations. It was acquired by the National Park Service and incorporated into Grand Teton National Park upon the expiration of a life estate. The ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The AMK Ranch is a former personal retreat on the eastern shore of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. Also known as the Merymare, Lonetree and Mae-Lou Ranch, it was a former homestead, expanded beginning in the 1920s by William Louis Johnson, then further developed in the 1930s by Alfred Berol (Berolzheimer). Johnson built a lodge, barn and boathouse in 1927, while Berol added a larger lodge, new boathouse, and cabins, all in the rustic style.
The Double Diamond Dude Ranch Dining Hall was built in 1945 as the centerpiece of a dude ranch operated by Frank Williams and Joseph S. Clark, Jr. in Grand Teton National Park. The ranch was opened in 1924 with a dozen tent cabins and log buildings for a kitchen and dining hall, lounge and commissary. In 1943 Williams built log tourist cabins, followed by the larger dining hall in 1945. The 1985 Taggart Lake Fire destroyed much of the ranch, sparing only the dining hall and five cabins. The dining hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an example of rustic architecture. Since 1970 the Double Diamond property has been a hostel for mountain climbers in the Teton Range, and is known as the Climbers' Ranch.
The Wort Hotel was built in downtown Jackson, Wyoming, United States by brothers John and Jess Wort, who were significant figures in the transformation of the economy of Jackson Hole from ranching to tourism. The somewhat Tudor-style building was the first luxury hotel in Jackson. The two-story building features brick facing, with half-timbering and stucco on the second floor and a series of gables facing the street.
The Ramshorn Dude Ranch Lodge in Grand Teton National Park was built after 1935 by mountaineers Paul Petzoldt, founder of the National Outdoor Leadership School, and Gustav Koven. The property that became the Ramshorn Ranch was originally established by Ransom Adams at the mouth of Gros Ventre Canyon near Ditch Creek. By 1921 the property was acquired by Jack and Dollye Woodsman, who established the Flying V dude ranch, featuring a large central lodge. In 1932 the lodge burned, prompting the Woodsmans to sell the ranch to Koven and Petzoldt in 1935, who planned to expand the dude ranch as a climbing school and hunting camp. Petzoldt withdrew from the partnership in 1937 after suggesting the name be changed to the Ramshorn Ranch. The present lodge was completed in 1937 by the Woodward brothers, who took over operation. A variety of owners and partners ensued until 1956, when the ranch was sold to the National Park Service. The Park Service then leased the ranch back to concessioners who operated it as the Elbo Ranch until 1973, replacing the former Elbo Ranch purchased by the Park Service. The Teton Science School was established on the property in 1974 under a special use permit.
The Manges Cabin in Grand Teton National Park, also known as the Old Elbo Ranch Homestead Cabin, Mangus Cabin and the Taggart Creek Barn, was built in 1911 by James Manges. Manges was the second settler on the west side of the Snake River after Bill Menor, setting up a homestead near Taggart Creek. James Manges arrived in Jackson Hole in 1910, where he cut wood for Charles or William Wort. Manges' cabin is stated to have been the first two-story structure in the northern part of the valley. A root cellar was excavated beneath. The log and frame structure features wide eaves to keep the winter snow away from the walls. It was heated in winter by a single stove, with one room on each level.
The White Grass Dude Ranch is located in the White Grass Valley of Grand Teton National Park. The rustic log lodge, dining hall service building and ten cabins were built when a working ranch was converted to a dude ranch, and represented one of the first dude ranch operations in Jackson Hole. The White Grass was established in 1913 by Harold Hammond and George Tucker Bispham, who combined two adjacent ranches or 160 acres (65 ha) each, and was converted to a dude ranch in 1919. Bispham had worked at the Bar B C before moving out on his own. The dude ranch operation continued to 1985, when the ranch was acquired by the National Park Service.
The Jenny Lake Ranger Station Historic District comprises an area that was the main point of visitor contact in Grand Teton National Park from the 1930s to 1960. Located near Jenny Lake, the buildings are a mixture of purpose-built structures and existing buildings that were adapted for use by the National Park Service. The ranger station was built as a cabin by Lee Mangus north of Moose, Wyoming about 1925 and was moved and rebuilt around 1930 for Park Service use. A store was built by a concessioner, and comfort stations were built to Park Service standard plans. All buildings were planned to the prevailing National Park Service Rustic style, although the ranger station and the photo shop were built from parts of buildings located elsewhere in the park.
The Hunter Hereford Ranch was first homesteaded in 1909 by James Williams in the eastern portion of Jackson Hole, in what would become Grand Teton National Park. By the 1940s it was developed as a hobby ranch by William and Eileen Hunter and their foreman John Anderson. With its rustic log buildings it was used as the shooting location for the movie The Wild Country, while one structure with a stone fireplace was used in the 1963 movie Spencer's Mountain. The ranch is located on the extreme eastern edge of Jackson Hole under Shadow Mountain. It is unusual in having some areas of sagebrush-free pasture.
The Snake River Land Company Residence and Office are structures associated with John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s acquisition of land in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, United States. Under the guise of the Snake River Land Company, Rockefeller bought much of the land that he eventually donated to the National Park Service, first as Jackson Hole National Monument and a year later as Grand Teton National Park. The buildings are located in the park, in the community of Moran. They served as the residence and office for SRLC vice president Harold Fabian and foreman J. Allan from 1930 to 1945. The buildings are still used by the National Park Service. The property was owned from 1926 to 1930 by John Hogan, a retired politician from the eastern United States. The Snake River Land Company bought the property in 1930.
The historical buildings and structures of Grand Teton National Park include a variety of buildings and built remains that pre-date the establishment of Grand Teton National Park, together with facilities built by the National Park Service to serve park visitors. Many of these places and structures have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The pre-Park Service structures include homestead cabins from the earliest settlement of Jackson Hole, working ranches that once covered the valley floor, and dude ranches or guest ranches that catered to the tourist trade that grew up in the 1920s and 1930s, before the park was expanded to encompass nearly all of Jackson Hole. Many of these were incorporated into the park to serve as Park Service personnel housing, or were razed to restore the landscape to a natural appearance. Others continued to function as inholdings under a life estate in which their former owners could continue to use and occupy the property until their death. Other buildings, built in the mountains after the initial establishment of the park in 1929, or in the valley after the park was expanded in 1950, were built by the Park Service to serve park visitors, frequently employing the National Park Service Rustic style of design.
The Caroline Lockhart Ranch was established in 1926 by Caroline Lockhart, who purchased a 160-acre (65 ha) homestead near Davis Creek at the foot of the Pryor Mountains in Carbon County, Montana, while in her fifties. Lockhart expanded the ranch, adding buildings, land and grazing rights until the ranch comprised about 7,000 acres (2,800 ha). The region, known as Dryhead Country, is one of the most isolated places in Montana.
