The Snake River Land Company or the Snake River Cattle and Stock Company was a

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

purchasing company established in 1927 by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The company acted as a front so Rockefeller could buy land in the

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unit ...

valley in

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

without people knowing of his involvement or his intentions for the property, and have the land held until the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

could administer it. The company launched a campaign to purchase more than 35,000 acres (142 km²) for $1.4 million but faced 15 years of opposition by ranchers and a refusal by the Park Service to take the land. Allegations that the company conspired with the Park Service by using illegal land purchasing tactics led to

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

subcommittee meetings in 1933 during which the company and the service were exonerated. Hard times during the Great Depression alleviated opposition by ranchers to sell. Discouraged by the stalemate, Rockefeller sent a letter to U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

telling him that if the federal government did not accept the land that "it will be my thought to make some other disposition of it or to sell it in the market to any satisfactory buyers". Soon afterward on March 15, 1943 the president declared 221,000 acres (894 km²) of land as Jackson Hole National Monument. The land, however, did not enter federal stewardship until December 16, 1949 when it was added to the monument. The next year the monument was merged into the expanded

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton ...

References

National Park Service Publication: Creation of Grand Teton National Park
by Jackie Skaggs History of Wyoming

See also

References