White Grass Dude Ranch
Grand Teton National ParkWhite Grass Dude Ranch
The National Park Service works to stabilize a cabin at the White Grass Dude Ranch. Learn More
White Grass Dude Ranch
View of Grand Teton National Park from the main cabin at White Grass. Learn More
This Place Matters!
The White Grass Dude Ranch historic district encompasses approximately thirty acres and thirteen buildings, including the main cabin, the Hammond cabin, 10 guest cabins and the shower/laundry building. Learn More
It has been said that dude ranching is "the single most unique contribution of the Rocky Mountain West to the tourism industry." White Grass Dude Ranch is one of the last great pioneer dude ranches in the Jackson Hole. Homesteaded in 1913 by Harold Hammond and George Bispham, White Grass operated as a dude ranch from 1919 until 1985, when it was acquired by the National Park Service. The White Grass Dude Ranch historic district encompasses approximately thirty acres and thirteen buildings, including the main cabin, the Hammond Cabin, 10 guest cabins and the shower/laundry building.
Did you spend time at White Grass as a guest or employee? Did you ride into the Teton’s or out to Phelps Lake? Share your story with us »
History of the White Grass Dude Ranch »
Raising the Hammond Cabin to make room for a new foundation.
Credit: Western Center for Historic Preservation
Vanishing Cultural Landscapes
The Vanishing Cultural Landscapes Program was launched as a partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Grand Teton National Park to help address the deferred maintenance needs of historic rustic architecture in Grand Teton, Yellowstone and the surrounding area. A key part of this initiative is the rehabilitation and preservation of the historic White Grass Dude Ranch. Once rehabilitated and fully operational, the historic cabins at White Grass will provide seasonal housing and training facilities to support the work of the new Western Center for Historic Preservation. The purpose of the Center is to teach park staff, outside contractors, volunteers and students how to restore, use and maintain historic rustic buildings. White Grass will also be used to house individuals who will undertake cultural resource research for Grand Teton and the Greater Yellowstone Area, including the preparation of National Register nominations, historic structures reports, cultural landscape surveys and historic resource studies.
Utilizing volunteers will enable the Park Service to complete the rehabilitation of the 13 cabins at White Grass for $2 million. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has agreed to raise up to $950,000 in private funds to match federal funds for the White Grass project. Money raised by the National Trust will be used to assist in the restoration of the Hammond Cabin and 9 smaller former guest cabins. Once restored, the Hammond cabin will become a research library/meeting space, community kitchen and housing for the seasonal onsite volunteer caretaker. The former guest cabins will be used for seasonal housing for park staff and volunteers working with the Center to decrease the historic structure maintenance backlog in GTNP. To date, the National Trust has raised $474,000 for the rehabilitation of the Hammond Cabin and the Triple Cabin.
New log sill installed over the Hammond Cabin's new foundation.
Credit: Western Center for Historic Preservation
Scope of Work
The rehabilitation of the White Grass Ranch will be phased over a five year period encompassing several treatments to adaptively use the buildings for the Western Center for Historic Preservation (WCHP). Work will be completed by the park preservation staff and will include hands-on capacity building for NPS Intermountain Region staff, volunteers, and contractors. The work will occur in four phases:
- Stabilize all thirteen White Grass Ranch buildings, which will include roofing, temporary door and window coverings, and shoring of any structural walls or roof components.
- Contractors and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) maintenance staff will install basic utility infrastructure.
- Preservation Center's crew will rehabilitate the main cabin, Hammond cabin, and the shower/laundry building.
- Preservation Center's crew and volunteers will rehabilitate the remaining White Grass Ranch buildings.
The construction season in the Jackson Valley is short and will have an effect on the amount of work that can be completed in a given year. It is estimated that six months of on-site work can be completed from May to October, depending on snow accumulation. During the winter, mill work for architectural features, such as doors, windows, and interior components, will occur in the shop at park headquarters in Moose, Wyoming.
Preservation Timeline of the White Grass Dude Ranch »
Contact
National Trust for Historic Preservation Mountains/Plains Office
The Mountains-Plains Office serves Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Barbara Pahl, Director
535 16th Street, Suite 750
Denver, Colorado 80202
Phone: 303-623-1504
Fax: 303-623-1508
mpro@nthp.org
www.preservationnation.org/mpo
Mary Gibson Scott, Superintendent
Grand Teton National Park
P.O. Drawer 170
Moose, Wyoming 83012
307-739-3410
