View source for Jackson Lake Ranger Station

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
 | name = Jackson Lake Ranger Station
 | nrhp_type = 
 | image = Jackson Lake Ranger Station.jpg
 | caption = 
 | nearest_city = [[Moose, Wyoming]]
 | coordinates = {{coord|43|52|18|N|110|34|14|W|display=inline,title}}
 | locmapin = Wyoming#USA
 | area =
 | architect = U.S. Forest Service
 | architecture =
 | added = April 23, 1990<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>
 | mpsub = [[Grand Teton National Park MPS]]
 | refnum = 90000620
}}

The '''Jackson Lake Ranger Station''' is the last [[Great Depression|Depression]]-era [[U.S. Forest Service]] ranger station in its original location in [[Grand Teton National Park]].  When first established, the park comprised only the mountainous terrain above [[Jackson Hole]], while the remainder of what would eventually become the park was administered by the Forest Service as part of [[Bridger-Teton National Forest|Teton National Forest]]. The Jackson Lake Station was built in 1933 as close as possible to Park Service property as possible as a kind of resistance to the park's expansion.  The station was one of five Forest Service stations in the area, and was taken over by the [[National Park Service]] when [[Jackson Hole National Monument]] was established in 1943, later becoming an enlarged Grand Teton National Park.  It is the only such station not to have been moved or altered by the Park Service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=433|date=2008-08-12|work=National Register of Historic Places|title=Jackson Lake Ranger Station|publisher=Wyoming State Preservation Office}}</ref>

==Description==
The ranger station building is a 1-1/2 story log structure typical of the rustic bungalow style used by the Forest Service for its buildings of the era. An outhouse, 1-1/2 story garage and 2-1/2 story barn complete the grouping. The site is on the Teton Park Road overlooking the Willow Flats and [[Jackson Lake (Wyoming)|Jackson Lake]]. Of the five Forest Service ranger stations in the area, the Jackson Lake station is the only one not to have been moved or rebuilt after the Park Service takeover.<ref name=nrhpreg1>{{cite web|last=Mehls|first=Steven F.|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Jackson Lake Ranger Station|url={{NRHP url|id=90000620}}|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=22 April 2011|date=August 30, 1988}}</ref>

==Forest Service vs. Park Service==
The enlargement of Grand Teton National Park was the subject of bitter disagreement in the local population and of resentment in the Forest Service, which had opposed the transfer. When the Forest Service vacated the Jackson Lake station in 1943 it took all of the station's furnishings and fixtures, interpreting "movable equipment" to include piping, plumbing fixtures, doors and cabinets. A four-foot wide hole was cut in the floor to remove an underground water tank, leaving the building in poor condition.  In advance of a visit by congressmen in 1943 a live skunk was placed in the building, dying there. Public opinion blamed Forest Service personnel who did not wish the congressional delegation to see the damage.<ref name=apcjh17d>{{cite web|title=Chapter 17: Conservationists|url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/grte2/hrs17d.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040830153632/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/grte2/hrs17d.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 30, 2004|work=A Place Called Jackson Hole|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=22 April 2011}}</ref>

The Jackson Lake Ranger Station was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on April 23, 1990.<ref name="nris"/>

==See also==
* [[Historical buildings and structures of Grand Teton National Park]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Jackson Lake Ranger Station}}
*[http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/NationalRegister/Site.aspx?ID=433 Jackson Lake Ranger Station] at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office

{{NRHP in Grand Teton NP}}
{{NRHP in Teton County, Wyoming}}

[[Category:Rustic architecture in Wyoming]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Grand Teton National Park]]
[[Category:National forests of Wyoming]]
[[Category:Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming]]
[[Category:National Park Service ranger stations]]
[[Category:United States Forest Service ranger stations]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Grand Teton National Park]]
[[Category:1933 establishments in Wyoming]]