History of the White Grass Dude Ranch
White Grass Dude Ranch
The main cabin at the White Grass Dude Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. Learn More
White Grass was homesteaded in 1913 by Harold Hammond and George Bispham. It was not until 1919 that Hammond and Bispham welcomed their first dudes to the ranch. White Grass operated as a dude ranch from 1919 until 1985, making it the longest operating dude ranch in the valley. In 1920 there were just four log buildings on the ranch—a main house, barn, storehouse, and bunkhouse—along with corrals and fencing. By 1922 Bispham had added three cabins, presumably for guests. Five years later White Grass could accommodate up to 25 guests. A year later Bispham retired and sold his share in the ranch to Harold Hammond. In the 1930s, despite the Great Depression, Hammond boosted his capacity to 35 guests by constructing more cabins, each with a private bath. The experience must have been satisfying because most guests were repeat visitors and some even convinced ranch owners to allow them to build their own family cabins which they returned to every summer.
After Harold Hammond's death in 1938, Marion and Frank Galey, Hammond's second wife and her son, took over ranch operations. Frank bought out his mother in the 1950s, and in 1957 he sold the ranch to the National Park Service retaining life estate. Frank died in 1984, and in 1985 control of the property transferred to the national Park Service. After the transfer, the White Grass cabins received little to no maintenance.
It was in 1987 that individuals who had been associated with White Grass as former dudes or employees began to voice their concerns about the fate of the ranch to the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. All plans were dismissed based on the park's belief that protecting these places "contradicts the value which Congress sought to preserve the park."
It was not until the mid 1990s that the park's stance towards historic preservation began to change. In 1996, the Grand Teton's cultural resources were nominated to the National Trust's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places List.
In August 2002, National Trust President Richard Moe and Karen Wade, director of the Intermountain Region of the national Park Service visited the White Grass Dude Ranch. They were accompanied by Steve Martin, the new superintendent of Grand Teton, and Barbara H. Pahl, director of the Mountains/Plains Office. After seeing the neglect and lack of maintenance, Wade suggested that White Grass be rehabilitated for use as a preservation training center, as a way to attract resources to address the park's other preservation needs.
Plans have been developed and work is underway to rehabilitate the 13 remaining historic cabins at White Grass for the Western Center for Historic Preservation. The center’s primary purpose is to preserve the rustic park architecture and address the deferred maintenance backlog of historic structures in Grand Teton and other national parks in the Intermountain Region. The goal is to have the ranch rehabilitated and fully operational for the centennial celebration of the 1916 Organic Act.
Use of Structures
The rehabilitation of the main cabin, Hammond cabin, and the shower/laundry building will provide for a fully functional Western Center for Historic Preservation. The main cabin will be used as a classroom facility and office space for the center's employees. The Hammond cabin will become a research library/meeting space, community kitchen and housing for the seasonal, on-site volunteer caretaker. The cabins will provide lodging for volunteers and seasonal historic preservation crews and cultural resource researchers working in the park. The old shower/laundry building will be used to house utility services for the ranch. The main cabin, a secondary cabin and the Hammond cabin will be accessible.
Rather than completely restore and rehabilitate all 13 White Grass buildings at once, the preferred alternative chosen by the National Park Service is to rehabilitate the main cabin, the Hammond cabin and the shower/laundry building. The cost of rehabilitating these three buildings and bringing utilities to the site is $1.7 million. The remaining buildings will be rehabilitated by the WCHP preservation crew working with volunteers. Once completed, the total value of the project will be $4 million.
Operations
The preservation center will operate seasonally at the White Grass Ranch for a maximum 7-month period, with most activities taking place between late April and September. The center will accommodate 15 to 30 daytime users. Ultimately about 12 to 15 overnight users, including the volunteer site manager, could be accommodated as additional cabins are rehabilitated by the preservation crew and volunteers. The main carpentry and masonry shop for the preservation center will be located in the Moose maintenance area (park headquarters) housed in the 5,000 square foot shop recently moved from the JY Ranch to the park.
