Park History

The idea for the park started with Colonel S.B.M. Young, who proposed expanding Yellowstone southward to Jackson Hole.

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Park History Details

The idea for Grand Teton National Park started with Colonel S.B.M. Young, who was the active superintendent of Yellowstone in the early 20th century. He proposed expanding Yellowstone southward to Jackson Hole. Similar suggestions followed, yet no official action was taken. In 1916, the National Park Service, a new bureau within the Interior Department, was created. This brand-new bureau could promote ideas both locally and nationally through creation of a Washington D.C., office. A year later, the Park Service supported the notion of Grand Teton National Park as an expansion of Yellowstone's boundaries into Teton country. Wyoming Congressman Frank Mondell introduced the bill in 1918, and the House unanimously approved a revised bill in 1919. Ultimately, the measure failed because Idaho Senator John Nugent feared the loss of animal grazing permits with expanded Park Service jurisdiction. Other groups opposed park extension; these included regional U.S. Forest Service personnel, Jackson Hole businessmen, and several local ranchers. Ranchers worried that expansion of Park Service jurisdiction would reduce grazing allotments; Forest Service employees feared loss of authority over previously managed areas; and others has concerns over issues like hotel construction and concessioner monopolies. Over time and with considerable conversation, negotiation, high hopes, and high expectations, the groups began to work with one another and the National Park Service. In 1928, consensus was reached for park approval, and in 1929 President Calvin Coolidge signed the establishing legislation onto law. The result was a 96,000-acre park that included the Teton Range and six glacial lakes at the base of the peaks. The park expanded in 1943 after years of bruising political battles locally and in Washington. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., had purchased 35,000 acres of land with the intention of donating it to the National Park Service. Allegations of impropriety were made, and in a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rockefeller made it clear that if he could not gift the land, he would sell it. Roosevelt invoked his presidential power and in 1943 declared 221,000 acres as Jackson Hole National Monument. Acrimony ensued, with protests and legal actions in both Wyoming and Washington, D.C. After World War II ended, attitudes towards Grand Teton National Park began to change. Local citizens slowly began to realize that tourism offered an economic future for Jackson Hole. Eventually, interested parties gathered to work out a final compromise. Grand Teton National Park was finally established on September 14, 1950, when President Harry S. Truman signed a bill merging the 1929 park with the 1943 Monument to form a single 310,000-acre park. Preservation of the Teton Range, Jackson Lake, and much of Jackson Hole was finally entrusted to the National Park Service as a less-divided natural environment. Legislation for the 1950 Grand Teton National Park did contained significant compromises, including protection of existing grazing rights and stock driveways, reimbursement to Teton County for lost tax revenues, provisions for the controlled reduction of elk within park boundaries, agreement that in the future, presidential proclamation could not be used to create a national monument in Wyoming; and allowance for certain existing uses and access rights to forest lands and inholder (private) properties. Today the Grand Teton National Park is treasured for its humbling grandeur and stunning natural beauty. It is popular with hikers, campers, photographers, nature enthusiasts, and people throughout the world.

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