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 The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal gover ...

officially ruled in favor of "Moran" in 1970. It lies in

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States 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. G ...

, 29 miles northeast of the city of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, 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 Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 191 for this ye ...

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 Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth, took ...

, 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 Jackson Lake Dam is a concrete and earth-fill dam in the western United States, at the outlet of Jackson Lake in northwestern Wyoming. The lake and dam are situated within Grand Teton National Park in Teton County. The Snake River emerges from t ...

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 Big Trail'' is a 1930 American epic pre-Code Western early widescreen film shot on location across the American West starring 23-year-old John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh. It is the final completed film ...

'', 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.

References

External links

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Teton County, Wyoming Grand Teton National Park Unincorporated communities in Wyoming Jackson, Wyoming micropolitan area

Education

History

Climate

See also

References

External links