White Grass Dude Ranch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
White Grass Dude Ranch
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Wyoming
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Grand Teton National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Moose, Wyoming |
| MPS | Grand Teton National Park MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000613 |
| Added to NRHP | April 23, 1990 |
The White Grass Dude Ranch is a historic place located in the beautiful White Grass Valley within Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. It was one of the first "dude ranches" in the Jackson Hole area. A dude ranch is a type of guest ranch where visitors, often called "dudes," can experience a taste of the cowboy lifestyle, including horseback riding and other ranch activities.
The ranch started in 1913 as a working ranch, owned by Harold Hammond and George Tucker Bispham. They combined two large pieces of land, each about 160 acres. In 1919, they changed it into a dude ranch. The White Grass Dude Ranch welcomed guests until 1985, when the National Park Service took over the property.
Contents
Exploring the White Grass Ranch Buildings
The White Grass Ranch is located in a scenic spot, overlooking the southern part of Jackson Hole. It sits close to the Teton Range on its western side. The ranch buildings are arranged around a central road.
Main Buildings and Cabins
The main buildings, like the dining hall and lodge, are in the center. Guest cabins are spread out to the north of the dining hall and along the road. All the buildings have a similar rustic style, made mostly from logs. Their roofs are either green or red.
The ranch has several important buildings:
- The Main Cabin: This building has the kitchen and dining hall. It is thought to have been Harold Hammond's first home.
- The Hammond Cabin: This was where the Hammond family lived.
- The Bachelors' Quarters and Girls' Cabin: These buildings provided housing for male and female employees.
- Guest Cabins: These were for the "dudes" or guests staying at the ranch.
The White Grass Ranch also used to have a concrete swimming pool. It was filled with water from a nearby stream called Stewart's Draw. This stream also fed a pond named Lake Ingeborg.
A Look Back at White Grass Ranch History
The story of the White Grass Dude Ranch is closely tied to its founders and their families. It shows how the ranch grew and changed over many years.
Founding and Early Years
Harold Hammond was born in 1891 and came to Jackson Hole when he was ten. He worked at the Jackson Lake Dam and later as a wrangler at another ranch called Bar B C. In 1919, Harold Hammond and George Bispham started running the White Grass as a dude ranch. They stopped most of the traditional ranching work.
By 1924, Bispham and Hammond sold the ranch to the Bar B C company but continued to manage it. Harold Hammond also started a fox farm on the ranch in 1925. He sold fox furs to the guests, which helped bring in more money. In 1928, Hammond and Bispham bought the ranch back. Soon after, Bispham sold his share to Hammond.
Growth and Family Ownership
Harold Hammond continued to expand the ranch. By 1930, it had 18 cabins. By 1936, he added private bathrooms to the cabins. This was a big change, as some long-time guests were used to outdoor toilets and water being brought to them! The main house also grew larger.
Harold married Marie Adele Ireland in 1922, but she passed away a few years later. In 1936, he married Marion Galey, a guest who had been visiting Jackson Hole since 1919. Marion's son, Frank Galey, Jr., started working at the ranch that same year.
Harold Hammond became ill and died in 1939. After his death, Marion and Frank Galey took over running the ranch. During World War II, it was hard to get supplies and workers. Frank Galey joined the military, leaving caretakers in charge.
Later Years and Park Service Acquisition
When Frank returned in 1946, the ranch needed a lot of work. He partnered with Norman Mellor to expand the ranch, making it able to host 55 guests. In the 1950s, Frank bought out his mother and Mellor.
In 1956, Frank Galey sold most of the ranch to the National Park Service. He was allowed to continue living there for the rest of his life. He closed the fox farm in 1966. Frank Galey passed away in 1985, and the ranch officially became property of the National Park Service.
The White Grass is important because it was one of the first dude ranches in Jackson Hole, along with the JY and Bar B C. Frank Galey operated it for many years, making it the longest-running dude ranch in Jackson Hole.
White Grass Ranch Today
After Frank Galey died in 1985, the dude ranch stopped operating. One of the cabins Frank had built in the 1940s burned down. The Grand Teton National Park, which owned the ranch, began to restore the land to its natural state. They removed some landscape features and buildings that were not listed as historic.
Preserving History and Training Future Experts
In 2002, the Park Service started looking into fixing up the ranch. They wanted to use it as a training center to teach people how to preserve historic buildings. In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service agreed to create a special program. This program would focus on preserving the rustic style of old western buildings.
The Western Center for Historic Preservation (WCHP/NPS) was created in 2006. It is based in Moose, Wyoming. The center has been working to restore the 13 original log buildings at White Grass. At the same time, they train Park Service staff and volunteers in the best ways to preserve and care for these old western buildings.
Preservation workshops began in 2016. The newly restored cabins are now used to house the trainees and volunteers. New programs have also been developed to teach visitors about the architecture and the lives of the people who lived there long ago. This gives new life to these historic buildings.
