Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Grand Teton National Park
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Human history== ===Paleo-Indians and Native Americans=== [[Image:Shoshoni tipis.jpg|right|thumb|A [[Shoshone]] encampment in Wyoming in 1870, photographed by W. H. Jackson]] Paleo-Indian presence in what is now Grand Teton National Park dates back more than 11,000 years.<ref name=crockett1>{{cite web|last=Crockett |first=Stephanie |title=The Prehistoric Peoples of Jackson Hole |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs2.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 8, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112094314/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs2.htm |archive-date=November 12, 2012 }}</ref> Jackson Hole valley climate at that time was colder and more alpine than the [[semi-arid climate]] found today, and the first humans were migratory hunter-gatherers spending summer months in Jackson Hole and wintering in the valleys west of the Teton Range. Along the shores of [[Jackson Lake (Wyoming)|Jackson Lake]], fire pits, tools, and what are thought to have been fishing weights have been discovered. One of the tools found is of a type associated with the [[Clovis culture]], and tools from this cultural period date back at least 11,500 years. Some of the tools are made of [[obsidian]] which chemical analysis indicates came from sources near present-day [[Teton Pass]], south of Grand Teton National Park.<ref name=crockett1/> Though obsidian was also available north of Jackson Hole, virtually all the obsidian spear points found are from a source to the south, indicating that the main seasonal migratory route for the Paleo-Indian was from this direction.<ref name=crockett2>{{cite web|last=Crockett |first=Stephanie |title=The Early Archaic (8,000 to 5,000 BCE) |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs2a.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 8, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130085737/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs2a.htm |archive-date=January 30, 2011 }}</ref> [[Elk]], which winter on the [[National Elk Refuge]] at the southern end of Jackson Hole and northwest into higher altitudes during spring and summer, follow a similar migratory pattern to this day.<ref name=refuge>{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Bruce |title=Migratory Behavior of the Jackson Elk Herd |url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/ys4(3)part2.pdf |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 22, 2013 |year=1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123015743/http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/upload/ys4%283%29part2.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> From 11,000 to about 500 years ago, there is little evidence of change in the migratory patterns amongst the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] groups in the region and no evidence that indicates any permanent human settlement.<ref name=crockett2/> When white American colonists first entered the region in the first decade of the 19th century, they encountered the eastern tribes of the Shoshone people.<ref name=crockett3>{{cite web|last=Crockett|first=Stephanie|title=Protohistoric Period (A.D. 1700 to 1850)|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs2b.htm|work=A Place Called Jackson Hole|publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association|access-date=January 8, 2012|date=July 24, 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029222829/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs2b.htm|archive-date=October 29, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Most of the Shoshone that lived in the mountain vastness of the greater Yellowstone region continued to be pedestrian while other groups of Shoshone that resided in lower elevations had limited use of horses. The mountain-dwelling Shoshone were known as "[[Sheep-eaters]]" or "''[[Tukudika]]''" as they referred to themselves, since a staple of their diet was the [[Bighorn Sheep]].<ref name=crockett3/><ref>{{cite book|last=Hurlbut|first=Brian|title=Insiders' Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton|publisher=Insiders' Guide|isbn=978-0-7627-6477-8|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QlSIjH8IjI0C&pg=PA13|edition=8th|access-date=January 8, 2012|date=April 1, 2011}}</ref> The Shoshones continued to follow the same migratory pattern as their predecessors and have been documented as having a close spiritual relationship with the Teton Range. Several stone enclosures on some of the peaks, including on the upper slopes of Grand Teton (known simply as ''The Enclosure'') are thought to have been used by Shoshone during [[vision quest]]s.<ref name=jackson>{{cite web|last=Jackson |first=Reynold G. |title=Park of the Matterhorns |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs16.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 8, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112094218/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs16.htm |archive-date=November 12, 2012 }}</ref> The Teton and Yellowstone region Shoshone were relocated to the [[Wind River Indian Reservation]] after it was established in 1868.<ref name=crockett3/> The reservation is situated {{convert|100|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Jackson Hole on land that was selected by [[Washakie|Chief Washakie]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Chiefs|url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chiefs/rez.html|publisher=PBS|access-date=June 4, 2012|date=March 21, 2003|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228091722/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chiefs/rez.html|archive-date=February 28, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ===Fur trade exploration=== The [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] (1804–1806) passed well north of the Grand Teton region. During their return trip from the [[Pacific Ocean]], expedition member [[John Colter]] was given an early discharge so he could join two [[fur]] trappers who were heading west in search of beaver pelts. Colter was later hired by [[Manuel Lisa]] to lead fur trappers and explore the region around the [[Yellowstone River]]. During the winter of 1807/08, Colter passed through Jackson Hole and was the first Caucasian to see the Teton Range.<ref name=harris>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Burton|title=John Colter, His Years in the Rockies|date=March 1, 1993|publisher=Bison Books|isbn=978-0-8032-7264-4|pages=73–113}}</ref> Lewis and Clark expedition co-leader [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] produced a map based on the previous expedition and included the explorations of John Colter in 1807, apparently based on discussions between Clark and Colter when the two met in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] in 1810.<ref name=mattes>{{cite web|last=Mattes |first=Merrrill |title=John Colter, the Phantom Explorer—1807–1808 |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte1/chap3.htm |work=Colter's Hell and Jackson's Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=March 5, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208215929/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte1/chap3.htm |archive-date=February 8, 2009 }}</ref> Another map attributed to William Clark indicates John Colter entered Jackson Hole from the northeast, crossing the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|Continental Divide]] at either [[Togwotee Pass]] or [[Union Pass]] and left the region after crossing Teton Pass, following the well established Native American trails.<ref name=daugherty>{{cite web|last=Daugherty |first=John |title=The Fur Trappers |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs3.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108182117/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs3.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2012 }}</ref> In 1931, the [[Colter Stone]], a rock carved in the shape of a head with the inscription "John Colter" on one side and the year "1808" on the other, was discovered in a field in [[Tetonia, Idaho]], which is west of Teton Pass. The Colter Stone has not been authenticated to have been created by John Colter and may have been the work of later expeditions to the region.<ref name=daugherty/> [[File:Colter Stone.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The enigmatic Colter Stone, with the inscription "John Colter", was found in a field in eastern Idaho in 1931.]] John Colter is widely considered the first [[mountain man]] and, like those that came to the Jackson Hole region over the next 30 years, he was there primarily for the profitable fur trapping; the region was rich with the highly sought after pelts of [[beaver]] and other fur-bearing animals. Between 1810 and 1812, the [[Astorians]] traveled through Jackson Hole and crossed Teton Pass as they headed east in 1812.<ref name=kelsey>{{cite book|last=Kelsey|first=Joe|title=Climbing and hiking in the Wind River Mountains|date=January 1994|publisher=Pequot Press|isbn=978-0-934641-70-8|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fEz0T7HOJZsC&pg=PA56|access-date=January 14, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> After 1810, American and British fur trading companies were in competition for control of the [[North American fur trade]], and American sovereignty over the region was not secured until the signing of the [[Oregon Treaty]] in 1846. One party employed by the British [[North West Company]] and led by explorer [[Donald Mackenzie (explorer)|Donald Mackenzie]] entered Jackson Hole from the west in 1818 or 1819. The Tetons, as well as the valley west of the Teton Range known today as [[Pierre's Hole]], may have been named by French-speaking [[Iroquois]] or [[French Canadian]] trappers that were part of Mackenzie's party.<ref name=mattes2>{{cite web|last=Mattes |first=Merrrill |title=Le Trois Tetons: The Golden Age of Discovery, 1810–1824 |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte1/chap5.htm |work=Colter's Hell and Jackson's Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=March 5, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219152859/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte1/chap5.htm |archive-date=December 19, 2013 }}</ref> Earlier parties had referred to the most prominent peaks of the Teton Range as the Pilot Knobs. The French trappers' {{Lang|fr|les trois tétons}} (the three breasts) was later shortened to the Tetons.<ref name="moulton">{{cite book|last=Moulton|first=Candy Vyvey|title=Legacy of the Tetons: Homesteading in Jackson Hole|date=January 16, 2007|publisher=La Frontera Publishing|isbn=978-0-9785634-0-0|page=15|edition=2nd}}</ref> Formed in the mid-1820s, the [[Rocky Mountain Fur Company]] partnership included [[Jedediah Smith]], [[William Sublette]], and [[David Edward Jackson]] or "Davey Jackson". Jackson oversaw the trapping operations in the Teton region between 1826 and 1830. Sublette named the valley east of the Teton Range "Jackson's Hole" (later simply Jackson Hole) for Davey Jackson.<ref name="daugherty"/><ref name="hafen">{{cite book|last=Hafen|first=LeRoy R.|title=Trappers of the Far West: Sixteen Biographical Sketches|date=October 1, 1983|publisher=Bison Books|isbn=978-0-8032-7218-7|page=85}}</ref> As the demand for beaver fur declined and the various regions of the American West became depleted of beaver due to [[Animal trapping|over trapping]], American fur trading companies folded; however, individual mountain men continued to trap beaver in the region until about 1840.<ref name=daugherty/> From the mid-1840s until 1860, Jackson Hole and the Teton Range were generally devoid of all but the small populations of Native American tribes that had already been there. Most overland human migration routes such as the [[Oregon Trail|Oregon]] and [[Mormon Trail]]s crossed over [[South Pass (Wyoming)|South Pass]], well to the south of the Teton Range, and Caucasian influence in the Teton region was minimal until the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. Government]] commenced organized explorations.<ref name=daugherty/> ===Organized exploration and settlement=== [[File:Teton Range from the west 1872.jpg|thumb|right|upright|"The Three Tetons" as seen from west of the Teton Range by members of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1872. One of the earliest photographs of the Teton Range taken by William Henry Jackson in 1872.]] {{Main|Historical buildings and structures of Grand Teton National Park}} The first U.S. Government-sponsored expedition to enter Jackson Hole was the 1859–60 [[Raynolds Expedition]]. Led by U.S. Army Captain [[William F. Raynolds]] and guided by mountain man [[Jim Bridger]], it included naturalist [[Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden|F. V. Hayden]], who later led other expeditions to the region.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chittenden|first=Hiram Martin|title=The Yellowstone National Park Historical and Descriptive|date=April 1, 2005|publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC|isbn=978-1-4179-0456-3|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=My54IVh_QpMC&pg=PA56|access-date=January 14, 2012}}</ref> The expedition had been charged with exploring the Yellowstone region, but encountered difficulties crossing mountain passes due to snow. Bridger ended up guiding the expedition south over Union Pass then following the [[Gros Ventre River]] drainage to the Snake River and leaving the region over Teton Pass.<ref name=baldwin>{{cite web|last=Baldwin |first=Kenneth H. |title=Terra Incognita: The Raynolds Expedition of 1860 |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/baldwin/chap2.htm |work=Enchanted Enclosure The Army Engineers and Yellowstone National Park |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=November 15, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203014123/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/baldwin/chap2.htm |archive-date=December 3, 2009 }}</ref> Organized exploration of the region was halted during the American Civil War but resumed when F. V. Hayden led the well-funded [[Hayden Geological Survey of 1871]]. In 1872, Hayden oversaw explorations in Yellowstone, while a branch of his expedition known as the Snake River Division was led by James Stevenson and explored the Teton region. Along with Stevenson was photographer [[William Henry Jackson]] who took the first photographs of the Teton Range.<ref name=jackson/> The Hayden Geological Survey named many of the mountains and lakes in the region.<ref name=daugherty2>{{cite web|last=Daugherty |first=John |title=Explorers and Scientists |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs4a.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323062532/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs4a.htm |archive-date=March 23, 2010 }}</ref> The explorations by early mountain men and subsequent expeditions failed to identify any sources of economically viable mineral wealth. Nevertheless, small groups of prospectors set up claims and mining operations on several of the creeks and rivers. By 1900 all organized efforts to retrieve minerals had been abandoned.<ref name=daugherty3>{{cite web|last=Daugherty |first=John |title=Prospectors and Miners |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs5.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108013651/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs5.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2012 }}</ref> Though the Teton Range was never permanently inhabited, pioneers began settling in the Jackson Hole valley to the east of the range in 1884.<ref name=pitcher>{{cite book|last=Pitcher|first=Don|title=Yellowstone and Grand Teton: Including Jackson Hole|date=May 5, 2009|publisher=Avalon Travel Publishing|isbn=978-1-59880-160-6|page=157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPKRLRQ2lYkC&pg=PA157|access-date=January 14, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> These earliest [[Homestead Act|homesteaders]] were mostly single men who endured long winters, short growing seasons and rocky soils that were hard to cultivate. The region was most suited for the cultivation of hay and cattle ranching. By 1890, Jackson Hole had an estimated permanent population of 60.<ref name=daugherty4>{{cite web|last=Daugherty |first=John |title=The Pioneers: Homesteading in Jackson Role, 1884–1900 |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs6.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407063918/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs6.htm |archive-date=April 7, 2012 }}</ref> [[Menor's Ferry]] was built in 1892 near present-day [[Moose, Wyoming]] to provide access for wagons to the west side of the Snake River.<ref name=judge>{{cite web|last=Judge |first=Frances |title=Mountain River Men |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte/chap7.htm |work=Campfire Tales of Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=March 27, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108014552/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte/chap7.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2012 }}</ref> Ranching increased significantly from 1900 to 1920, but a series of agricultural related economic downturns in the early 1920s left many ranchers destitute.<ref name=daugherty5>{{cite web|last=Daugherty |first=John |title=Cattle Ranchers |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs10a.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108201356/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs10a.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2012 }}</ref> Beginning in the 1920s, the automobile provided faster and easier access to areas of natural beauty and old military roads into Jackson Hole over Teton and Togwotee Passes were improved to accommodate the increased vehicle traffic. In response to the increased tourism, [[Guest ranch|dude ranches]] were established, some new and some from existing cattle ranches, so urbanized travelers could experience the life of a cowboy.<ref name=daugherty6>{{cite web|last=Daugherty |first=John |title=The Dude Wranglers |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs14.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417003645/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs14.htm |archive-date=April 17, 2009 }}</ref> ===Establishment of the park=== [[File:Park Dedication in 1929 in Grand Teton NP-NPS.jpg|thumb|right|Grand Teton National Park Dedication in 1929]] To the north of Jackson Hole, Yellowstone National Park had been established in 1872, and by the close of the 19th century, conservationists wanted to expand the boundaries of that park to include at least the Teton Range.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yellowstone Fact Sheet |url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/factsheet.htm |work=Plan Your Visit |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=January 10, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111215937/http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/factsheet.htm |archive-date=January 11, 2012 }}</ref><ref name=daugherty7>{{cite web|last=Daugherty |first=John |title=Conservationists |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs17.htm |work=A Place Called Jackson Hole |publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=July 24, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103071756/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/grte2/hrs17.htm |archive-date=November 3, 2012 }}</ref> By 1907, in an effort to regulate water flow for irrigation purposes, the [[United States Bureau of Reclamation]] had constructed a log crib dam at the Snake River outlet of Jackson Lake. This dam failed in 1910 and a new concrete [[Jackson Lake Dam]] replaced it by 1911. The dam was further enlarged in 1916, raising lake waters {{convert|39|ft|abbr=on}} as part of the [[Minidoka Project]], designed to provide irrigation for agriculture in the state of Idaho.<ref name=reclamation>{{cite web|title=Jackson Lake Dam|url=http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Jackson+Lake+Dam|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Reclamation|access-date=January 14, 2012|date=July 13, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006103614/http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=Jackson+Lake+Dam|archive-date=October 6, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name=reclamation2>{{cite web|title=The Minidoka Project |url=http://www.usbr.gov/projects/ImageServer?imgName=Doc_1245093434100.pdf |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |access-date=January 14, 2012 |year=1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005083935/http://www.usbr.gov/projects//ImageServer?imgName=Doc_1245093434100.pdf |archive-date=October 5, 2012 }}</ref> Further dam construction plans for other lakes in the Teton Range alarmed Yellowstone National Park superintendent [[Horace Albright]], who sought to block such efforts.<ref name=creation>{{cite web|last=Skaggs|first=Jackie|title=Creation of Grand Teton National Park|url=http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/upload/creation.pdf|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=January 14, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107144552/http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/upload/creation.pdf|archive-date=November 7, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Jackson Hole residents were opposed to an expansion of Yellowstone, but were more in favor of the establishment of a separate national park which would include the Teton Range and six lakes at the base of the mountains. After congressional approval, President [[Calvin Coolidge]] signed the executive order establishing the {{convert|96000|acre|adj=on}} Grand Teton National Park on February 26, 1929.<ref name="besser">{{cite book|last=Besser|first=Brook|title=Wyoming Road Trip by the Mile Marker|date=March 23, 2010|publisher=NightBlaze Books|isbn=978-0-9844093-0-3|page=35}}</ref> The valley of Jackson Hole remained primarily in private ownership when [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] and his wife visited the region in the late 1920s.<ref name=daugherty7/> Horace Albright and Rockefeller discussed ways to preserve Jackson Hole from commercial exploitation, and in consequence, Rockefeller started buying Jackson Hole properties through the [[Snake River Land Company]] to later turn them over to the National Park Service. In 1930, this plan was revealed to the residents of the region and was met with strong disapproval.<ref name=daugherty7/> Congressional efforts to prevent the expansion of Grand Teton National Park ended up putting the Snake River Land Company's holdings in limbo. By 1942 Rockefeller had become increasingly impatient that his purchased property might never be added to the park, and wrote to the [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] [[Harold L. Ickes]] that he was considering selling the land to another party.<ref name="righter">{{cite book|last=Righter|first=Robert|title=Crucible for Conservation: The Struggle for Grand Teton National Park|date=June 1982|publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association|isbn=978-0-931895-54-8|pages=105–106}}</ref> Secretary Ickes recommended to President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] that the [[Antiquities Act]], which permitted presidents to set aside land for protection without the approval of Congress, be used to establish a [[National monument (United States)|national monument]] in Jackson Hole. Roosevelt created the {{convert|221000|acre|adj=on}} [[Jackson Hole National Monument]] in 1943, using the land donated from the Snake River Land Company and adding additional property from Teton National Forest.<ref name=record>{{Cite book|title=Congressional Record|publisher=U.S. Congress |volume=148, Pt. 13|edition=September 20, 2002 to October 1, 2002|date=August 16, 2006|page=17710|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pY5e3AMIdn0C&pg=PA17710|isbn=978-0-16-076774-6}}</ref> The monument and park were adjacent to each other and both were administered by the National Park Service, but the monument designation ensured no funding allotment, nor provided a level of resource protection equal to the park. Members of Congress repeatedly attempted to have the new national monument abolished.<ref name=righter2>{{cite book|last=Righter|first=Robert|title=Crucible for Conservation: The Struggle for Grand Teton National Park|date=June 1982|publisher=Grand Teton Natural History Association|isbn=978-0-931895-54-8|pages=114–115}}</ref> After the end of [[World War II]], national public sentiment was in favor of adding the monument to the park, and though there was still much local opposition, the monument and park were combined in 1950.<ref name=creation/> In recognition of John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s efforts to establish and then expand Grand Teton National Park, a {{convert|24000|acre|adj=on}} parcel of land between Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks was added to the National Park Service in 1972. This land and the road from the southern boundary of the park to [[West Thumb Geyser Basin|West Thumb]] in Yellowstone National Park was named the [[John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway]].<ref name=jodr>{{cite web|title=John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway |url=http://www.nps.gov/grte/jodr.htm |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 14, 2012 |date=November 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126163036/http://www.nps.gov/grte/jodr.htm |archive-date=January 26, 2012 }}</ref> The Rockefeller family owned the [[JY Ranch]], which bordered Grand Teton National Park to the southwest. In November 2007, the Rockefeller family transferred ownership of the ranch to the park for the establishment of the [[Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve]], which was dedicated on June 21, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve FAQs|url=http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/lsrpfaqs.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=June 24, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802085104/http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/lsrpfaqs.htm|archive-date=August 2, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Skaggs|first=Jackie|title=Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center Opens to the Public|url=http://gtnpnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/laurance-s-rockefeller-preserve-center.html|publisher=Grand Teton National Park News Releases|access-date=January 14, 2012|date=June 21, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213154251/http://gtnpnews.blogspot.com/2008/06/laurance-s-rockefeller-preserve-center.html|archive-date=February 13, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ===History of mountaineering=== [[File:Shive Spalding and Petersen on top of Grand Teton 1898.jpg|thumb|right|In this image taken by William O. Owen in 1898, his climbing partners John Shive, Franklin Spalding, and Frank Petersen are depicted on top of Grand Teton.]] During the last 25 years of the 19th century, the mountains of the Teton Range became a focal point for explorers wanting to claim the first ascents of the peaks. However, white explorers may not have been the first to climb many of the peaks and the earliest first ascent of even the formidable Grand Teton itself might have been achieved long before written history documented it. Native American relics remain including ''The Enclosure'', a human-made structure that is located about {{convert|530|ft|abbr=on}} below the summit of Grand Teton at a point near the Upper Saddle ({{convert|13160|ft|abbr=on}}).<ref name="rossiter2">{{cite book|last=Rossiter|first=Richard|title=Teton Classics: 50 Selected Climbs in Grand Teton National Park|date=January 1, 1994|publisher=Falcon Guides|isbn=978-0-934641-71-5|edition=2nd|page=30}}</ref><ref name="bonney">{{cite book|last=Bonney|first=Orrin H.|title=The Grand Controversy|date=May 2000|publisher=American Alpine Club|isbn=978-0-930410-45-2|author2=Lorraine G. Bonney|page=11}}</ref> [[Nathaniel P. Langford]] and James Stevenson, both members of the Hayden Geological Survey of 1872, found The Enclosure during their early attempt to summit Grand Teton. Langford claimed that he and Stevenson climbed Grand Teton, but were vague as to whether they had made it to the summit. Their reported obstacles and sightings were never corroborated by later parties. Langford and Stevenson likely did not get much further than The Enclosure.<ref name=jackson/> The first ascent of Grand Teton that is substantiated was made by [[William O. Owen]], Frank Petersen, John Shive and [[Franklin Spencer Spalding]] on August 11, 1898.<ref name=rossiter2/> Owen had made two previous attempts on the peak and after publishing several accounts of this first ascent, discredited any claim that Langford and Stevenson had ever reached beyond The Enclosure in 1872. The disagreement over which party first reached the top of Grand Teton may be the greatest controversy in the history of American mountaineering.<ref name=jackson/> After 1898 no other ascents of Grand Teton were recorded until 1923.<ref name="ortenburger">{{cite book|last=Ortenburger|first=Leigh N.|title=A climber's guide to the Teton Range|date=Nov 1, 1996|publisher=Mountaineers Books|isbn=978-0-89886-480-9|page=30|author2=Reynold G. Jackson}}</ref> By the mid-1930s, more than a dozen different climbing routes had been established on Grand Teton including the northeast ridge in 1931 by [[Glenn Exum]]. Glenn Exum teamed up with another noted climber named [[Paul Petzoldt]] to found the [[Exum Mountain Guides]] in 1931.<ref>{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Bruce|title=Outdoor leadership: theory and practice|date=January 10, 2006|publisher=Human Kinetics|isbn=978-0-7360-5731-8|page=16}}</ref> Of the other major peaks on the Teton Range, all were climbed by the late 1930s including Mount Moran in 1922 and Mount Owen in 1930 by [[Fritiof Fryxell]] and others after numerous previous attempts had failed.<ref name=ortenburger/> Both [[Middle Teton|Middle]] and [[South Teton]] were first climbed on the same day, August 29, 1923, by a group of climbers led by [[Albert R. Ellingwood]].<ref name=ortenburger/> New routes on the peaks were explored as safety equipment and skills improved and eventually climbs rated at above 5.9 on the [[Yosemite Decimal System]] difficulty scale were established on Grand Teton. The classic climb following the route first pioneered by Owen, known as the [[Owen-Spalding route]], is rated at 5.4 due to a combination of concerns beyond the gradient alone.<ref name=jackson/> [[Rock climbing]] and [[bouldering]] had become popular in the park by the mid 20th century. In the late 1950s, gymnast [[John Gill (climber)|John Gill]] came to the park and started climbing large boulders near [[Jenny Lake]]. Gill approached climbing from a gymnastics perspective and while in the Tetons became the first known climber in history to use gymnastic chalk to improve handholds and to keep hands dry while climbing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sherman|first=John|title=Stone Crusade: A Historical Guide to Bouldering in America|year=1994|publisher=Mountaineers Books|isbn=978-0-930410-62-9|page=3}}</ref> During the latter decades of the 20th century, extremely difficult cliffs were explored including some in Death Canyon, and by the mid-1990s, 800 different climbing routes had been documented for the various peaks and canyon cliffs.<ref name="jackson" /><ref name="routes">{{cite book|last=Ortenburger|first=Leigh N.|title=A climber's guide to the Teton Range|date=Nov 1, 1996|publisher=Mountaineers Books|isbn=978-0-89886-480-9|pages=18 and 418|author2=Reynold G. Jackson}}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Grand Teton National Park
(section)
Add topic