White Grass Dude Ranch - Jackson Hole Historical Society (original) (raw)

WELCOME TO THE WHITE GRASS HERITAGE PROJECT!

The White Grass Heritage Project Collection, established in 2011, contains historic documents, photos, oral histories, videos, artifacts and published dude/wrangler stories starting when the ranch was homesteaded in 1913. The Heritage Project’s aim is to collect, protect and preserve the history of the White Grass Ranch in Moose, Wyoming. A representative sample of its collection is on this website.

So, whether you are a former dude, wrangler, a friend of the White Grass Ranch, or a stranger, we invite you to explore our website.

All pieces of the collection are property of the White Grass Heritage Project and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission of the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum. Contact us for questions, suggestions, donations or volunteering.

ABOUT

The historic White Grass Ranch, established in 1913, is Jackson Hole’s third oldest dude ranch. Following its closure, cabin furnishings and entire buildings were sold and removed from the property. Decades of deferred maintenance damaged the remaining historic buildings. In 2003, the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation partnered to rehabilitate the ranch and find a new use for the 13 remaining historic structures. The National Trust leveraged private philanthropy in order to fund the rehabilitation project while the National Park Service formed the Western Center for Historic Preservation (WCHP) to complete the preservation work and create a training and education center.

Today, the Western Center for Historic Preservation operates the White Grass Ranch as a training facility for National Park Service and other federal, state and local government staff, historians, preservationists, architects, anthropologists, contractors, students, and volunteers. WCHP provides classroom and field instruction in historic preservation, focusing on traditional building trades and preservation management skills required to maintain the vernacular architecture prevalent throughout our western National Parks.

The White Grass Heritage Project was a byproduct of the successful rehabilitation of the White Grass Ranch. As preservation work peeled back layers of history, the White Grass Community stepped forward to explain that history. The ephemera, photographs, memories and stories are compiled here for future generations to cultivate an appreciation of White Grass’s long history and bright future.

The White Grass Heritage Project website is run and managed by the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum. Please contact us with any comments or questions.

The White Grass Heritage Project is in partnership with the Jackson Hole Historical Society, the Western Center for Historic Preservation, and Grand Teton National Park.