Open Door

Eaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, sent parties from the Salt Lake Valley to establish new communities and... more

by Kathleen Struckle

Title

Open Door

Artist

Kathleen Struckle

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

eaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, sent parties from the Salt Lake Valley to establish new communities and support their expanding population. Mormon homesteaders, who settled east of Blacktail Butte near the turn of the 19-century, clustered their farms to share labor and community, a stark contrast with the isolation typical of many western homesteads. These settlers first arrived in the 1890s from Idaho establishing a community (named Grovont by the U.S. Post Office) known today as �Mormon Row.�

Homesteaders established 27 homesteads in the Grovont area because of relatively fertile soil, shelter from winds by Blacktail Butte and access to the Gros Ventre River. Despite the harsh conditions of Jackson Hole, Mormon settlers grew crops by using irrigation. These hardy settlers dug ditches by hand and with teams of horses, building an intricate network of levees and dikes to funnel water from central ditches to their fields between 1896 and 1937. Water still flows in some of these ditches.

Mormon Row Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as an Historic District.

How to get there: Drive north from Jackson on highway 191 past Moose Junction and turn right onto Antelope Flats Road. Follow the road about 1 � miles until you see a north-south running dirt road marked by a distinctive pink stucco house on the left with a small dirt parking area. A trail brochure and interpretive sign can be found at the parking lot.

John Moulton Barn

John Moulton barn

Moulton Barns

Today, two picturesque barns highlight Mormon Row. Settlers John and Thomas Alma (T.A.) Moulton built these barns on adjacent homesteads. After nearly 30 years of working the land, John replaced his log home and barn with a new carpenter-constructed, pink stucco frame house and impressive, two-story gambrel barn north of Antelope Flats Road. South of John�s homestead, T. A. took over 30 years to build his gable-with-shed style barn. Photographers from around the world stop by T. A. Moulton�s barn to capture this iconic historic structure with the Teton Range in the background.
Mormon Row-Grand Teton National Park-Wyoming First Place Contest winner,featured in everything Manufactured Group,Barn Lover's Group and Nature Photography Lady Photographer and Art Group

Uploaded

March 14th, 2013