Flat Creek Ranch, formerly a working ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a guest ranch. The original ranch was established by Cal Carrington between 1901 and 1918 at the base of Sheep Mountain, also known as the "Sleeping Indian". In 1923 a new owner, socialite and journalist Cissy Patterson, built the present structures. The transition from working ranch to vacation retreat foreshadowed a movement of the Jackson Hole economy away from traditional ranching to tourism, which is documented by the Flat Creek Ranch. Carrington had worked at the Bar B C Dude Ranch from 1912 on, and established Flat Creek as a

dude ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...

. Cissy Patterson appeared in Jackson Hole 1916 as "Countess Gizycka", on the rebound from a failed marriage to a Polish count. Carrington and Patterson toured Europe together in 1922. Through Patterson's influence with US Senator

Francis E. Warren Francis Emroy Warren (June 20, 1844November 24, 1929) was an American politician of the Republican Party best known for his years in the United States Senate representing Wyoming and being the first Governor of Wyoming. A soldier in the Union A ...

, Carrington obtained a homestead patent on the ranch and then sold it to Patterson for $5000. In 1923 she built seven cabins, a barn and a lodge on the property. Currently, the property is owned by journalists

Joseph Albright Joseph P. Albright (November 8, 1938 – March 20, 2009) was an American jurist who first served on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from 1995 to 1996. In November 2000, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals for a full ...

and Marcia Kunstel. Albright, the former husband of the late

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...

, is the son of Cissy Patterson's niece Josephine Patterson Albright (daughter of

Joseph Medill Patterson Joseph Medill Patterson (January 6, 1879 – May 26, 1946) was an American journalist, publisher and founder of the '' Daily News'' in New York. At the time of his death the ''Daily News'' maintained a Sunday circulation of 4.5 million copi ...

), who inherited the property at Patterson's death in 1948.Blackman, Ann: ''Seasons of Her Life: A Biography of Madeleine Korbel Albright'', p. 187. Simon & Schuster, 2000.

References

External links

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Flat Creek Ranch
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office Buildings and structures in Teton County, Wyoming Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Dude ranches in Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Teton County, Wyoming {{Wyoming-NRHP-stub