Saturday, October 23, 2010

Historic Site

Forgot about this cool house that was still standing just off the main highway on my way back to town. The Cunningham Ranch (Bar Flying U Ranch) was established in the 1880s. The location was chosen because of the surrounding soil and the near-by Snake River. It was the first structure Cunningham built. It's a "dogtrot" style, consisting of 2 small cabins joined by an open, covered breezeway.



Logs were secured and joined at the corners with saddle notches.



It's not pretty but it's still standing strong, which is more than I can say for some of the crap that's built today. Land was $1.25 an acre at the time, and Cunningham eventually had over 300 acres. In 1928, Cunningham sold his property to the Snake River Land Company, which was responsible for establishing (in 1926) the Grand Teton National Park. Soon after, John D. Rockefeller purchased the rest of the area (32,000 acres) and later donated that land to the government for the park.

That's your history lesson for the week!

2 comments:

Linda said...

This structure reminds me of the Lincoln Logs I had when I was a child. My mom and dad were so into keeping girls associated with "girlie" things (dolls, etc) that it is a wonder I ever had any of them. But I loved my Lincoln Log set. Thanks for the pictures and the very interesting information!

Get ready for some info on Amelia Earhart and Neil Armstrong when you get to Lafayette. Amelia once worked at Purdue and Neil went to school there. We're called the "Cradle of the Astronauts" since about 22 of the people who have gone into space attended the university, including Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee.

Send me an update on the kinds of food you are craving and I will scope the area out for a great restaurant for us. I'm really looking forward to seeing you! xoxo

Anonymous said...

Heard you had an earthquake up there today. Hope it didn't cause you any problems. Post again and let us know you're okay.

Julie