Rockefelle
tou ed
Jackso
Hole
i
1926.
(Alamy
stock
photo)
I
the
1920s,
Jackso
Hole
i
Wyomi g
was
cha gi g
quickly.
Tou ism
was
g owi g,
developme t
was
sp eadi g
a d
wealthy
visito s
we e
a ivi g
i
the
valley
fo
a
authe tic
cowboy
expe ie ce.
At
the
same
time,
local
a che s
a d
busi essme
we e
becomi g
co ce ed
about
the
g owi g
umbe
of
cabi s,
gas
statio s,
da cehalls,
billboa ds
a d
acet acks
appea i g
ac oss
the
la dscape.Acco di g
to
Natio al
Pa k
Se voce,
the
push
to
p otect
Jackso
Hole
bega
to
take
shape
i
1923,
whe
local
eside ts
met
at
Maud
Noble’s
cabi .
Thei
aim
was
to
p ese ve
the
valley’s
ope
spaces
a d
p eve t
fu the
u wa ted
developme t.
A
few
yea s
late ,
the
co se vatio
effo t
gai ed
a
powe ful
suppo te
whe
busi essma
Joh
D
Rockefelle
J
visited
the
a ea.Rockefelle
tou ed
Jackso
Hole
i
1926
with
Yellowsto e
Supe i te de t
Ho ace
Alb ight.
He
was
imp essed
by
the
mou tai
sce e y
a d
bega
co side i g
a
pla
to
buy
p ivate
la d
ac oss
the
valley.
The
eve tual
aim
was
to
do ate
the
la d
to
the
fede al
gove me t
so
it
could
become
pa t
of
the
ow
G a d
Teto
Natio al
Pa k.
But
the
la d-buyi g
pla
was
ot
made
public
at
fi st.
Rockefelle
a d
Alb ight
wa ted
to
acqui e
la ge
a eas
without
eveali g
who
was
behi d
the
pu chases.
A
shell
compa y
was
c eated
i
1927
fo
this
pu pose.
It
was
called
the
S ake
Rive
La d
Compa y.
The
sec et
pu chase
I
Feb ua y
1927,
Alb ight
w ote
to
Rockefelle
outli i g
what
a
defi ite
pla
of
actio
fo
buyi g
la d
i
Jackso
Hole.
He
advised
Rockefelle
ot
to
eveal
the
la ge
pla
of
acqui i g
p ivate
holdi gs
i
the
valley.“Say
othi g,
at
the
p ese t
time,
about
the
la ge
o
ultimate
pla
of
acqui i g
all
of
the
p ivate
holdi gs
i
the
Jackso
Hole,”
Alb ight
w ote.He
also
suggested
that
the
pu chases
be
made
th ough
a
age cy
o
age cies
a d
p ese ted
as
pa t
of
a
pla
to
c eate
a
ec eatio
a d
hu ti g
club.
The
st ategy
was
i te ded
to
p eve t
la dow e s
f om
i c easi g
thei
p ices
afte
lea i g
that
Rockefelle
was
behi d
the
pu chases.
The
S ake
Rive
La d
Compa y
was
the efo e
set
up
i
1927.
It
p ese ted
itself
to
the
local
commu ity
as
a
ec eatio
compa y.Ha old
Fabia
ha dled
legal
matte s
fo
the
compa y,
while
Robe t
E
Mille ,
desc ibed
by
the
NPS
as
the
most
i flue tial
ma
i
the
valley
at
the
time,
bought
the
la d
di ectly.
Neithe
ma
k ew
the
ide tity
of
the
a o ymous
do o s
who
we e
p ovidi g
the
mo ey.I t esti gly,
Mille
was
k ow
to
disag ee
st o gly
with
Alb ight
a d
the
Pa k
Se vice
ove
thei
ideas
fo
co se vi g
Jackso
Hole.
Yet
he
was
the
pe so
pu chasi g
la d
o
behalf
of
the
compa y
whose
ultimate
pu pose
was
li ked
to
that
co se vatio
effo t.
Joh
D.
Rockefelle ,
J
(left),
wife
Abby
(ce te ),
a d
Supe i te de t
Wood i g
( ight)
o
a
visit
to
Jackso
Hole.
(Pictu e:
NPS)
A
35,000-ac e
la d
deal
The
S ake
Rive
La d
Compa y
bega
buyi g
la d
o th
of
the
G os
Ve t e
Rive
a d
co ti ued
its
pu chases
f om
west
to
east
ac oss
the
valley.
Acco di g
to
the
Natio al
Pa k
Se vice,
the
compa y
eve tually
acqui ed
mo e
tha
35,000
ac es
fo
$1.4
millio .
That
wo ked
out
to
about
$39.61
pe
ac e.The
p ice
was
a
ba gai
fo
Rockefelle ,
but
it
was
also
a
fai
p ice
fo
Jackso
Hole
at
the
time
because
the
a ea
was
goi g
th ough
a
ag icultu al
dep essio .The
scale
of
the
pu chase
is
st iki g
whe
compa ed
with
the
value
of
la d
i
the
same
a ea
today.
The
Natio al
Pa k
Se vice
says
acqui i g
the
same
amou t
of
Jackso
Hole
la d
today
would
cost
mo e
tha
$1
billio .The
la d
was
ot
bought
simply
as
a
p ivate
i vestme t.
Rockefelle
i te ded
to
give
the
p ope ties
to
the
fede al
gove me t
so
they
could
eve tually
become
pa t
of
a
p otected
atio al
pa k
la dscape.
Howeve ,
whe
the
t uth
eve tually
eme ged,
ma y
people
i
Jackso
Hole
felt
bet ayed.
The
evelatio
By
1930,
Rockefelle ,
Alb ight
a d
the
Pa k
Se vice
made
thei
pla s
public.
Reside ts
lea ed
that
the
S ake
Rive
La d
Compa y
had
bee
buyi g
la ge
a eas
of
the
valley
with
Rockefelle ‘s
mo ey
a d
that
the
lo g-te m
i te tio
was
to
t a sfe
the
la d
to
the
fede al
gove me t.The
evelatio
caused
dist ust
i
the
commu ity.
The
dispute
lead
to
seve al
i vestigatio s,
i cludi g
a
Se ate
i vestigatio
i
1932
i itiated
by
Wyomi g
se ato s.Acco di g
to
South
Dakota
Se ato
Pete
No beck,
“it
would
appea
f om
all
that
has
occu ed
he e
that
M
Rockefelle
is
havi g
a
mighty
ha d
time
of
it
t yi g
to
do
othi g
mo e
tha
give
away
a
couple
of
millio
dolla s
of
his
mo ey.”The
S ake
Rive
La d
Compa y
was
eve tually
exo e ated.
But
the
NPS
says
the
deceptio
c eated
a
lasti g
fou datio
of
mist ust
i
Jackso
Hole.
That
mist ust
affected
Rockefelle ‘s
pla s.
Yellowsto e
Natio al
Pa k,
1872
How
la d
became
G a d
Teto
The
c eatio
of
the
p ese t-day
G a d
Teto
Natio al
Pa k
took
seve al
mo e
yea s.
Co g ess
c eated
the
o igi al
G a d
Teto
Natio al
Pa k
i
1929
to
p otect
the
Teto
Ra ge
a d
seve al
lakes
at
the
foot
of
the
mou tai s.
I
1943,
P eside t
F a kli
D
Roosevelt
decla ed
additio al
la d
i
the
valley
as
Jackso
Hole
Natio al
Mo ume t.Rockefelle
co ti ued
to
hold
the
la d
pu chased
th ough
the
S ake
Rive
La d
Compa y.
I
1949,
he
do ated
the
la d
he
had
acqui ed
to
the
gove me t
so
it
could
be
i cluded
i
the
atio al
pa k.A
yea
late ,
i
1950,
Co g ess
combi ed
the
o igi al
atio al
pa k,
the
atio al
mo ume t
a d
Rockefelle ‘s
do ated
la ds
to
establish
p ese t-day
G a d
Teto
Natio al
Pa k.The
sto y
did
ot
e d
the e.
I
1972,
Co g ess
established
the
Joh
D
Rockefelle ,
J
Memo ial
Pa kway
betwee
Yellowsto e
a d
G a d
Teto .
The
pa kway
was
c eated
to
ho ou
Rockefelle ‘s
phila th opy
a d
his
commitme t
to
the
Natio al
Pa k
System.
