Tour of the historic BarBC Dude Ranch with Betsy Engle (Cultural Resource Manager, Grand Teton National Park) for 2017 Field School faculty and students: Kylie Schroeder, Guha Shankar, Andrew Ross Garner, Lisa Gabbert, Randy Williams, Shelley Jones, Andrea Graham, Amelia Matthews-Pett, Bethany Budge, Rebecca Goodson.

The heyday of dude ranching was the 1920s and 30s, when wealthy Easterners would take the train out and spend the whole summer enjoying the scenery and weather, and the rustic but comfortable and relaxed hospitality. After a slowdown during World War II, dude ranching saw a resurgence in the 1950s as automobile and airline travel became easier and more affordable, and middle-class clientele could travel out West, although stays were usually just a week, instead of several months.

Dude ranchers, in general, supported the establishment and expansion of the Grand Teton National Park, because they knew that unspoiled scenery was the best hope for the future of the region and its economy. The business has seen a steady decline since the middle of the last century, as well as a shift to more resort-style amenities and less of a focus on horseback riding as the primary attraction. The Triangle X, however, has kept up the traditions of dude ranching with a focus on horseback riding, and the guests we interviewed all commented that this was the major attraction for them.

Detail of signage on side of the Triangle X float van, August 9, 2017

A number of the old ranches that were absorbed into Grand Teton Park were closed when the original owners’ leases ran out. Some of them were demolished, and some buildings were moved to other locations in the park. Two of them, the White Grass and the Bar BC, are still in existence, and the White Grass has been restored as a training facility. There are hopes that the Bar BC can be restored as well.

The Triangle X Ranch has been evaluated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, but only the barn is listed. Many of the buildings have been moved and modified, which is what happens on a working ranch, and that is part of the history and culture of the place, but the Register has strict rules about architecture being largely unmodified. There are several other categories on the National Register that might work better for the Triangle X, including cultural landscapes, and traditional cultural properties; the latter includes places that have “associations with the cultural practices, traditions, beliefs, lifeways, arts, crafts, or social institutions of a living community.” The structures need people to be fully understood, and need to still be in active use, which is certainly the case at the Triangle X.

As you might expect, the ranch’s relationship with the Park Service is complicated. They are technically a type of concessionaire, since the park owns the property, but as Harold Turner told us in an interview, a dude ranch is a reflection of its managers and hosts, it takes on their personality. And after 90 years with the Turners, the Triangle X has a definite personality of generous hospitality and old-time dude ranch traditions that could not be replicated by just any concession operator. We hope that our research this summer will add to the understanding of the culture and traditions of dude ranching in Jackson Hole, and its importance to Wyoming’s history as well as its unique living heritage.