Snake River Land Company Residence and Office facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Snake River Land Company Residence and Office
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 Location in Wyoming
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Moran, Wyoming |
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| MPS | Grand Teton National Park MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001036 |
| Added to NRHP | July 7, 2006 |
The Snake River Land Company Residence and Office are important buildings in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. They are connected to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a famous businessman. He bought a lot of land in Jackson Hole to help create the national park.
Rockefeller used a secret group called the Snake River Land Company to buy this land. Later, he gave the land to the National Park Service. This land became the Jackson Hole National Monument, and then Grand Teton National Park. The buildings are in the town of Moran. They were used as a home and office for important people from the company from 1930 to 1945. Today, the National Park Service still uses these buildings.
History of the Buildings
These ranch buildings were first built by John Hogan. He was a retired politician from the eastern United States. Hogan bought the land in 1926. He planned to use it as a guest ranch and a fox farm. Hogan built the main house and a blacksmith shop. Other buildings like guest cabins, a barn, and an ice house are no longer there.
The Snake River Land Company bought the property from Hogan in 1930. After buying it, they made the house bigger. They also built a new log garage.
What the House Looks Like
The main house is also called Building 117 or "Buffalo Dorm." It is a log building with 1 and a half stories. It was built around 1926. The original part of the house had a central roof that came to a point (gabled). On each side, there were parts with a sloping roof (shed-roofed). A stone chimney was in the middle of the eastern side.
Later, a new part with a sloping roof was added to the front. Another addition with a pointed roof was built on the western side. The main door opens into a large office. To the north is a living room. To the west are the kitchen and a pantry. There is also a sun room, which used to be a porch. The living room has a high ceiling. This high ceiling forms the floor of a storage area above. A large stone fireplace is the main feature of the living room. There are bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace.
The house has three bedrooms and a bathroom in the northwestern part. Upstairs, a central landing leads to two more bedrooms. There is also a storage area that was known for having bats. Many of the original furniture pieces are still inside the house. These items help show the history of the ranch.
Later Use and Restoration
In 1945, Harold and Josephine Fabian moved to another historic home nearby. The Jackson Hole Preserve took over from the Snake River Land Company. They used the house as a home for Sonny Allen. He was the manager of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Park. Later, the National Park Service used the house as a dormitory for park staff. After some time, it was left empty.
In April 2019, work began to restore the house. The goal was to make it ready for Park rangers to live in again. The Snake River Land Company Residence and Office were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. This means they are recognized as important historical places.
