Moran (also Moran Junction) is an
unincorporated village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in south central
Teton County,
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, United States: as the community has had two different names, the
Board on Geographic Names officially ruled in favor of "Moran" in 1970.
It lies in
Grand Teton National Park, 29 miles northeast of the city of
Jackson, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Teton County, just northwest by side road of the intersection of U.S. Routes
26,
89,
191 and
287. Its elevation is 6,749 feet (2,057 m) and includes one of the principal entrance-fee collection stations for the Park. Moran also has the
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
serving
ZIP code of 83013, and a public elementary school; and no other services or businesses.
Moran is part of the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
's Jackson, WY–
ID Micropolitan Statistical Area; and it is known as the state's coldest continuously inhabited place, with a record low of -63 °F (-52 °C) registered in the winter of 1933. The high altitude at which the village is located, as well as the effects of radiational cooling, cause particularly severe conditions in the winter.
Education
Public education in the community of Moran is provided by
Teton County School District #1. Schools serving the community include Moran Elementary School (grades K-5), Jackson Hole Middle School (grades 6–8), and
Jackson Hole High School (grades 9–12).
History
Ed "Cap" Smith and Clara Smith established a homestead at Moran in the 1890s, but found themselves catering to travelers on the road to
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...
to the north, or to Idaho on the Marysville Road. The Smiths built a two-story log hotel. Their neighbors, the Allens, built the Elkhorn Hotel, which housed the post office and a store.
The Smith hotel burned around November 1900.
The town was named by the Allens after
Mount Moran
Mount Moran () is a mountain in Grand Teton National Park of western Wyoming, United States, USA. The mountain is named for Thomas Moran, an American western frontier landscape artist. Mount Moran dominates the northern section of the Teton Rang ...
, which is one of the largest and most prominent peaks of the
Teton Range
The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park, ...
and lies directly west of Moran across
Jackson Lake.
Mount Moran is itself named after painter and explorer
Thomas Moran, who visited the region in the 1870s.
Moran began to grow after 1903, when Ben D. Sheffield bought two homesteads on the
Snake River
The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...
and built up an outfitting business at the location, called the Teton Lodge Resort. A toll bridge over the Snake, possibly operated by Sheffield, was a major link in the local transportation network. Sheffield also operated the Moran post office from 1907 to 1919. His brother Edward ran the
Flagg Ranch farther north, just outside Yellowstone National Park. The Sheffield ranch's lodge, which housed the post office, burned in 1916. A replacement lodge was built ''circa'' 1922. The Sheffield complex of cabins comprised the bulk of the town. In 1928, Sheffield sold out to the
Snake River Land Company (SRLC), which renovated and expanded the facility, in part to head off new development in the area. The SRLC established the Teton Lodge Company to operate the ranch, which expanded to a capacity of 200 guests. The main lodge was destroyed by fire in 1935. The remaining cabins, and thus most of the community, were moved to
Jackson Lake Lodge in 1955.
The construction of
Jackson Lake Dam from 1910 to 1916 temporarily made Moran a much larger town, with a construction encampment built by the
Reclamation Service to the north of the Sheffield ranch.
[
During the location shooting of 1930's '' The Big Trail'', the cast and crew travelled to Wyoming. The location was quite primitive and the only lodging available to them were a couple of trappers cabins. The crew set about building more cabins (which would be needed for specific scenes as well as lodging), and John Wayne helped build some of those cabins. The site later became the village of Moran.
]
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Moran has a subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
, abbreviated "Dfc" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Moran was on July 5, 2007, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 9, 1933.
See also
References
External links
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Teton County, Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park
Unincorporated communities in Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming micropolitan area