Jackson Hole Wyoming

Located in the Northwestern part of the state of Wyoming, Jackson Hole has been a destination spot since the great days of the early trappers.  Including those early explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.  It is believed that John Colter on his return journey home from the Pacific Ocean he traveled through the Jackson valley in hopes of opening up a new source for beaver pelts.  It is believed John Colter traveled through Crow territory to persuade them to  trap these beavers.  This was in the winter of 1807-08.

The fur trade of the early 1800’s was focused primarily on the beaver.  The fashionable top hats of the day were hand crafted from the prime beaver pelts that the fur trade harvested from places just like Jackson Hole.  Jackson Hole was one of the locations that for a period of time it was the center of the summer fur trade and men gathered from all over the region to trade their goods  as well as partake in a few good shots of drink and enjoy the merriment of the day.

Long before the likes of Lewis, Clark and Colter, this area was the summer home and hunting grounds for native tribes such as the Shoshoni, Crow, Blackfeet, Bannock, Nez Perce, and the Gros Ventre.  Others such as Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, William Sublette and David Jackson were among the first white men to discover, hunt and trap in this beautiful place.

Home to David Edward Jackson in the early 1800’s, Jackson Hole it is believed got it’s name from this early trapper.  In the winter of 1829 William Sublette and David Jackson spent the winter along the shores of Jackson Lake.  A hole was a high mountain valley surrounded by mountains and thus they started calling it Jackson’s Hole.

Later this valley saw the likes of people such as mountain guide and trapper Richard Leigh also known as Beaver Dick,  and photographer William Henry who was the first photographer to take photos of this area which later help convince the federal government to protect the Yellowstone basin and make it the world’s first National Park.   Hayden first photographed this area during the 1871 – 1872 Hayden Expedition.  Hayden took the first known photos of the Tetons and the Yellowstone area.

The history of this area continues on to this day.  In this beautiful part of American much of our western history was forged.  The event known as the Oregon Trail intertwined it’s  trails throughout the state of Wyoming and many of the trails passed right through this area.  Good and bad has happened here for hundred of years and today Jackson Hole and the Yellowstone basin is now one of the most visited places on earth.
From my first visit here in 1976 it was clear that there was something very special about this place.  Not so much the town of Jackson which is certainly a nice place to live and visit, but it was
more about the entire region.  Few places exist on earth that one can see and experience the shear magnitude of Mother Natures majesty.  I hope that through this website and blog , Jackson Hole Tim, I can share some of what so many people from past generation traveled here to find and hopefully we will continue to preserve this treasure for many future generations to see this part of our world.