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Elk Ranch
Josiah David Ferrin, nicknamed "Uncle Si," represented the closest Jackson Hole came to a cattle baron.
Plan Around Elk Ranch
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Elk Ranch Details
Josiah David Ferrin, nicknamed "Uncle Si," represented the closest Jackson Hole came to a cattle baron. He ranched near the town of Jackson until 1908, when President Roosevelt opened lands in the Buffalo Valley to homesteaders. Ferrin's wife, Edith, dispatched a messenger to alert her husband at his String Lake camp. Ferrin immediately saddled his horse and galloped east, fording a dangerous section of the Snake River, to stake his claim. Ferrin purchased adjacent properties and secured a lucrative contract to supply beef to Reclamation Service crews building Jackson Lake Dam. By 1920, his family owned the largest outfit in Jackson Hole, with 2,000 cattle on 400 acres -- an empire earning him the nickname "Cattle King of Wyoming." However, in 1928, an agricultural depression motivated him to sell to the Snake River Land Company. Today, the grasslands seen from the roadway remind us of the herds of cattle that once roamed this land.
Difficulty
Low
Distance
N/A
Estimated time
Region
Teton Park Road
Nearby Parks Around Elk Ranch
Compare nearby parks around Elk Ranch when deciding whether to expand the route after this stop.
Nearby Points of Interest Around Elk Ranch
Use nearby POIs to quickly expand your options beyond Elk Ranch while the map context is still fresh.
0.0 mi away
Elk Ranch Flats Turnout
Offers views across the grasslands to forests with the mountains rising above and framing the landscape.
2.2 mi away
Moran Junction
Where Highway 89/191 meets with Highway 26/287 near the Snake River.
2.4 mi away
Moran Entrance Station
The Moran Entrance Station is located in Moran Junction. A fee or valid pass is required for park entry.
2.7 mi away
J.P. Cunningham Cabin
One of the valley's few remaining structures from the homesteading era.
2.8 mi away
Cunningham Cabin
An easy walking loop to a historic homestead.
