Nestled among the sagebrush along the western edge of the Wild and Scenic Snake River in Grand Teton National Park sits the second-oldest and best-known dude ranch in Jackson Hole—the Bar BC Dude Ranch. During its peak years, the Bar BC provided guests with an authentic cowboy experience while entertaining them in the evening with costume parties, original plays, and literary discussions. Today the site is a treasured destination and is very meaningful to generations of visitors.
The 763-acre Bar BC Dude Ranch was established in 1912 and is a central element of Jackson Hole’s cultural history due to its defining role in the dude ranching movement. Intended as a way for tourists to experience ranching life, the Bar BC entertained a well-heeled clientele due to the colorful reputations of the ranch’s hosts—Struthers and Katherine Burt.
Nationally recognized writers and silent film producers, their publications brought widespread fame to the Bar BC far beyond the Rocky Mountains. Struthers’s book, The Diary of a Dude Wrangler, singlehandedly popularized the dude ranch experience and inspired a new generation of wranglers in the West. As many as 50 dudes could stay at the ranch at a monthly rate of $300 each.
The Bar BC attracted such illustrious guests as Ernest Hemingway, Mrs. Grover Cleveland, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and William Faulkner. The 1930s saw the addition of a rustic airstrip, a plane to monitor cattle and horses from the air, and modern plumbing. Operation of the ranch remained in private hands until 1987, when the owners relinquished their life tenancy of the property to the National Park Service.
The buildings of Bar BC were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Since that time, Grand Teton has been unable to prioritize maintaining the historic buildings, resulting in significant deterioration. The lack of major funding for the two largest structures and social centers—the Main Cabin and Corse Cabin—remains the biggest opportunity to keep the heart of the ranch on the landscape for visitors to enjoy and appreciate.
With funding from Grand Teton National Park Foundation, Grand Teton National Park has begun a two-year project to restore these two structures so visitors can continue to experience this extraordinary place and its vibrant history well into the future.
To support the preservation of the historic Bar BC Dude Ranch, visit gtnpf.org/donate or call (307) 732-0629.
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