Mormon Row

Recently my wife and I had a chance to explore an area north of Jackson Hole Wyoming. This windswept sage infested area between Moose and Kelly, Wyoming was nicknamed Mormon Row because of the multiple Mormon families that homesteaded the area between 1890-1950. Doing a bit of research revealed that the soil in that area also known as Antelope Flats was better for growing crops than other soils in the Jackson Hole valleys. Further investigation showed that several Mormon families formed a rather larger homesteading parcel of the area that was named Gros Ventre after the indigenous Native American's that had pre-dated the arrival of the Mormons. As history serves, it's patrons the stories of homesteading in the vast wilderness areas of Wyoming are told for those that can hear the long lost voices on the wind.

As the day unfolded for Patty and me, the dawn broke with a heavy culmination of billowy cloud formations that made for a dramatic scene. With the background of the Grand Teton Mountains in the distance, Mormon Row took on a whole different atmosphere than we had expected. The snow capped peaks with parts of sunlight streaming through broken cumulus clouds lighting the mountain with rays set a picture on my camera that would make a painters dream come true. We walked the path that leads to the oval-roofed barn, and as we strolled along through the sage prairie, you could feel the vast immensity that others must have felt as they pioneered that portion of America. Back in the day, the soil would have been cut with teams of horses and mules using old worn plows. Clearing the land would have been the order of the day and to this chore would be the climate weather that rolls over the tops of the Tetons and snows as late as July in some years. Add this to the ever present danger of marauding predators both animal and human alike and you had a real homesteading adventure.

As I started taking pictures the first thing Patty asked me was, "Were all the buildings set on loose rock foundations?" Apparently the answer was yes. They used river stones from the nearby Snake River. You can see the stones packed into place that stood the foundations from that day until the present. Hauling these large stones from the rivers edge through the forested landscape and out onto the prairie would have been an arduous task that only people with great fortitude could have endured. While we were taking in the day, thoughts of how the pioneers might have survived came to life in our minds. Food would have been the foremost necessity. With long winters and short summers for growing crops, I would think that wild game would have been required on a weekly basis for survival. That would have put the homesteaders in grave danger at times. This area was home to the king of the beasts being the Grizzly bear and ravenous packs of wolves that prowled the prairie areas looking for anything that might fall prey. With firewood being the fuel of choice for cooking and heat, these tough pioneers would have been frequenting these timbered forests on a regular basis and accidents and mayhem would have been a daily occurrence.

As our day ended and we made our way to the truck, Patty and I were left with many questions and few answers. Where did all the families go and why is this valley not full of farming and agriculture? The homesteads are all abandoned, and the only people that live in this area are some Native Americans on a small reservation over in Gros Ventre nearly seven miles away from Mormon Row. The answers to our questions might be staring us in the face, and we might have already answered them with a gaze out into the vast expenditures that await the traveling soul. This beautiful but hard land must have bent and worn the plow shears, the livestock, the minds, and hearts of the saints that tried to tame it. With the Grand Tetons in the setting, a person could be lulled into a sense of Grandeur and ease, but the reality of the rugged, vast Wyoming landscape would send family after family packing for a new and tamer life somewhere out of that darn Wyoming wind.