The Tetons are remarkably rich in historic traditions. The Grand Teton
itself has been referred to by an eminent historian as "the most noted
historic summit of the West."
Up to 1800, Indians held undisputed sway over the country dominated by
the Three Tetons. Jackson Hole was literally a happy hunting ground,
and, while the severe winters precluded permanent habitation, during the
milder seasons, bands of Indians frequently came across the passes into
the basins on warring or hunting expeditions.
The Tetons probably first became known to white men in 1807-8, when the
intrepid John Colter, originally a member of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, explored the region for the fur trader, Manuel Lisa. On his
return trip he became the discoverer of the geyser and hot-spring area
of what is now Yellowstone National Park.
The Astorians, the first Americans to go overland after Lewis and Clark,
passed through Jackson Hole in 1811 and crossed the Tetons on their way
to the mouth of the Columbia.
The decades that followed are frequently referred to as the "Fur Trade
Era," for then Jackson Hole was a veritable crossroads of the Rocky
Mountain fur trade and the scene of intensive exploration and trapping
activities by both British and American fur interests. Explorations by
such "mountain men" as Robert Stuart, Jedediah Smith, Jim Bridger, and
Kit Carson helped to insure the acquisition of "Oregon Territory" for
the United States.
The picturesque name of "Jackson Hole" for this high mountain valley
dates back to 1829, when Capt. William Sublette named it for his fellow
trapper and partner, David E. Jackson, when he found him in camp on the
shore of "Jackson's Lake" after the Wind River rendezvous of 1829.
The Rocky Mountain fur trade declined sharply after 1839, and during the
period of the great migrations to Oregon, California, and Utah in the
1840's and 1850's via South Pass, the Jackson Hole country was largely
deserted. There were brief flurries of interest in 1860, when Jim
Bridger guided the Raynolds' expedition through Jackson Hole, and in
1863, when Montana prospectors searched the gravel bars of Snake River
for gold.
In the period from 1872 to 1880 several Government expeditions explored
the valley and named most of the geological features of the surrounding
country. Thomas Moran, the famous artist, and William H. Jackson, the
"Pioneer Photographer," painted and photographed the Tetons during some
of these expeditions.
The first settlers came to Jackson Hole in 1884, and began building
homes at what later became the villages of Jackson, Moran, and Wilson.
During these days of early settlement Jackson Hole acquired a reputation
as the hideout of many of the outlaws of the West. No doubt some did use
this secluded valley as a hideaway, but undoubtedly these stories were
exaggerated, as Jackson Hole sometimes is confused with the "Hole in the
Wall" and other known sanctuaries of Wyoming "bad men."