With the Homestead Act of 1862, settlers were allowed to hold title to free undeveloped land and make a life there.  One such homesteader was J. Pierce Cunningham and his home was called the Bar Flying U Ranch in Jackson Hole, WY.  Mr. Cunningham moved to Jackson Hole from NY in his twenties, working the area as a trapper. Because he knew the area, he selected this site because it had good quality soil and was close enough to the Snake River to dig irrigation ditches.

This was the first shelter he built.  A cabin in “dogtrot” style.  It was made of logs and had two rooms separated by a breezeway.  Dirt mortar was put between the logs to keep out the chill and a roof framed with sapling poles had earth piled on top for insulation and to keep out the rain.  The floor was made by wetting it, packing it down and sweeping it.  The cabin is the only structure still remaining.

Yes, they had a beautiful view of the Tetons and the Snake River and the Jackson Hole Valley, but those times must have been harsh.

Those pioneers built buck and rail fencing made from trees they cut down themselves, dry weather had to be overcome, outlaws and cattle rustlers, making enough hay to feed their herd through the long, harsh winters with so much snow.   We really felt grateful for those brave men and women who had the guts to start with almost nothing and make a new way of life out here. Gradually, with strength, grit and determination, those pioneers weren’t just pioneers anymore — they were ranchers.

When Yellowstone National Park was created, J. Pierce Cunningham and another rancher wrote a petition “that the entire Jackson Hole should be set aside as a recreational area… for the education and enjoyment of the Nation as a whole.”  The Snake River Land Company was created John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and the area of Jackson Hole was included with the mountains to become the Grand Teton National Park that we can enjoy today.