White Grass Dude Ranch
Encyclopedia
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 (64.7 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
.
, just to the west. The ranch complex is organized around its central road, with the dining hall and lodge near the center and the cabins disposed to the north of the dining hall and on either side of the one lane road. Structures share a consistent rustic character, varied chiefly by a choice of green or red asphalt roll roofing
. The White Grass once featured a concrete-lined swimming pool, fed by water diverted from Stewart's Draw, which also fed a pond called Lake Ingeborg after Galey's wife Inge. The cold water in the supply ditches was used to cool drinks for the dudes.
The ranch includes the Main Cabin, with kitchen and dining hall, and which is believed to have been the original Hammond residence. Other structures include the Hammond Cabin, occupied by the Hammonds, the Bachelors' Quarters and Girls' Cabin for male and female employees, and the guest cabins.
, arriving in Jackson Hole at the age of ten to live with his sister. In 1910 he worked for the Bureau of Reclamation at Jackson Lake Dam
, then worked as a wrangler for the Bar B C. Hammond was intermittently available at the ranch, probably working at the Bar B C in 1914 and enlisting in the U.S. Army for two years from 1917. After 1919 Hammond and Bispham operated the dude ranch in earnest, doing away with most traditional ranching operations. By 1924 Bispham and Hammond sold out to the Bar B C, but continued to manage the White Grass. Hammond set up a fox farm on the ranch which sold pelts to dudes in 1925, a revenue-increasing strategy employed by several other ranches, incorporating the operation in 1927. In 1928 Hammond and Bispham bought back the operation from the Bar B C Corporation, then Bispham sold out to Hammond in December. Hammond expanded to 18 cabins by 1930, adding private baths by 1936, apparently against opposition by some long-term customers who were accustomed to privies and bath water delivered by roustabouts. The main house expanded as well.
Hammond had married Marie Ireland in 1922, but Marie died a few years later. In 1936 Hammond married dude Marion Galey, a widow who had been coming to Jackson Hole since 1919, spending her summer that in 1919 at the Bar B C, then staying at the White Grass until Christmas. Her son, Frank Galey, began working at the White Grass the year of the marriage. Harold Hammond began to suffer from ill health and died in 1939. Marion and Frank then took over the operation. With the coming of World War II
the ranch suffered from a shortage of supplies and labor. Frank Galey enlisted in the military and left the ranch with caretakers. Returning in 1946 he found that the ranch had deteriorated. In partnership with Norman Mellor Galey expanded the ranch to handle 55 dudes. Galey bought out his mother and Mellors in the 1950s and in 1956 he sold the bulk of the ranch to the National Park Service
for $165,000 and a life estate
. In 1966 he closed the fox farm. Galey died in 1985 and the ranch became Park Service property.
The White Grass is significant along with the JY
and Bar B C
as one of the first dude ranching operations in Jackson Hole. After Hammond and Bispham converted it from a working ranch to a dude ranch, control passed to Hammond's son Frank Gailey who operated it until his death in 1985, the longest-active dude ranch in Jackson Hole.
project. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1990.
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
. The rustic
National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service rustic, also colloquially known as Parkitecture, is a style of architecture that arose in the United States National Park System to create buildings that harmonized with their natural environment. Since its founding, the National Park Service consistently has sought to provide...
log lodge, dining hall service building and ten cabins were built when a working ranch was converted to a dude ranch
Dude ranch
The guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism.-History:...
, and represented one of the first dude ranch operations in Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, originally called Jackson's Hole, is a valley located in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the western border with Idaho. The name "hole" derives from language used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along...
. The White Grass was established in 1913 by Harold Hammond and George Tucker Bispham, who combined two adjacent ranches or 160 acres (64.7 ha) each, and was converted to a dude ranch in 1919. Bispham had worked at the Bar B C
Bar B C Dude Ranch
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...
before moving out on his own. The dude ranch operation continued to 1985, when the ranch was acquired by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
.
Description
The White Grass overlooks the southern end of Jackson Hole, lying close to the southern Teton RangeTeton Range
The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. A north-south range, it is on the Wyoming side of the state's border with Idaho, just south of Yellowstone National Park. Most of the range is in Grand Teton National Park....
, just to the west. The ranch complex is organized around its central road, with the dining hall and lodge near the center and the cabins disposed to the north of the dining hall and on either side of the one lane road. Structures share a consistent rustic character, varied chiefly by a choice of green or red asphalt roll roofing
Asphalt roll roofing
Asphalt roll roofing or membrane is an inexpensive roofing material commonly used for buildings that feature a sloped roof pitch in North America. The material is based on the same materials used in asphalt shingles; an organic felt or fiberglass mat, saturated with asphalt, and faced with...
. The White Grass once featured a concrete-lined swimming pool, fed by water diverted from Stewart's Draw, which also fed a pond called Lake Ingeborg after Galey's wife Inge. The cold water in the supply ditches was used to cool drinks for the dudes.
The ranch includes the Main Cabin, with kitchen and dining hall, and which is believed to have been the original Hammond residence. Other structures include the Hammond Cabin, occupied by the Hammonds, the Bachelors' Quarters and Girls' Cabin for male and female employees, and the guest cabins.
History
Harold Hammond was born in 1891 in Blackfoot, IdahoBlackfoot, Idaho
Blackfoot is a city in Bingham County, Idaho, United States. The population was 10,419 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Bingham County. Blackfoot is self-designated the "Potato Capital of the World", because it claims to have the largest potato industry in the world...
, arriving in Jackson Hole at the age of ten to live with his sister. In 1910 he worked for the Bureau of Reclamation at Jackson Lake Dam
Jackson Lake Dam
Jackson Lake Dam is a concrete and earth-fill dam at the outlet of Jackson Lake in northwestern Wyoming, USA. The lake and dam are situated within Grand Teton National Park in Teton County. The Snake River emerges from the dam and flows about through Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to its...
, then worked as a wrangler for the Bar B C. Hammond was intermittently available at the ranch, probably working at the Bar B C in 1914 and enlisting in the U.S. Army for two years from 1917. After 1919 Hammond and Bispham operated the dude ranch in earnest, doing away with most traditional ranching operations. By 1924 Bispham and Hammond sold out to the Bar B C, but continued to manage the White Grass. Hammond set up a fox farm on the ranch which sold pelts to dudes in 1925, a revenue-increasing strategy employed by several other ranches, incorporating the operation in 1927. In 1928 Hammond and Bispham bought back the operation from the Bar B C Corporation, then Bispham sold out to Hammond in December. Hammond expanded to 18 cabins by 1930, adding private baths by 1936, apparently against opposition by some long-term customers who were accustomed to privies and bath water delivered by roustabouts. The main house expanded as well.
Hammond had married Marie Ireland in 1922, but Marie died a few years later. In 1936 Hammond married dude Marion Galey, a widow who had been coming to Jackson Hole since 1919, spending her summer that in 1919 at the Bar B C, then staying at the White Grass until Christmas. Her son, Frank Galey, began working at the White Grass the year of the marriage. Harold Hammond began to suffer from ill health and died in 1939. Marion and Frank then took over the operation. With the coming of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the ranch suffered from a shortage of supplies and labor. Frank Galey enlisted in the military and left the ranch with caretakers. Returning in 1946 he found that the ranch had deteriorated. In partnership with Norman Mellor Galey expanded the ranch to handle 55 dudes. Galey bought out his mother and Mellors in the 1950s and in 1956 he sold the bulk of the ranch to the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
for $165,000 and a life estate
Life estate
A life estate is a concept used in common law and statutory law to designate the ownership of land for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms it is an estate in real property that ends at death when there is a "reversion" to the original owner...
. In 1966 he closed the fox farm. Galey died in 1985 and the ranch became Park Service property.
The White Grass is significant along with the JY
Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve
The Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve is a refuge within Grand Teton National Park on the southern end of Phelps Lake. The site was originally known as the JY Ranch, a dude ranch. Starting in 1927, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased much of the land in Jackson Hole for the creation of Jackson...
and Bar B C
Bar B C Dude Ranch
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...
as one of the first dude ranching operations in Jackson Hole. After Hammond and Bispham converted it from a working ranch to a dude ranch, control passed to Hammond's son Frank Gailey who operated it until his death in 1985, the longest-active dude ranch in Jackson Hole.
Present use
The White Grass is presently being rehabilitated to become the home for the Western Center for Historic Preservation, a National Trust for Historic PreservationNational Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
project. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1990.
External links
- White Grass Dude Ranch at Grand Teton National Park
- Grand Teton Historic Resource Study: The Dude Wranglers National Park Service
- Western Center for Historic Preservation at the White Grass Dude Ranch
- Photographs of the White Grass Ranch at the National Park Service's NRHP database
- White Grass Dude Ranch at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
- White Grass Dude Ranch at the National Trust for Historic Preservation