Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch
Encyclopedia
The Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch is a guest ranch located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area
of the U.S. state
of Idaho
, between the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountain ranges. The 900 acres (3.6 km²) ranch property is located in Custer County
, sixty miles north of the Ketchum
and Sun Valley
resort area and 9 miles (14.5 km) south of Stanley, Idaho, which had a population of 100 at the 2000 census.
is named after the pioneer, who was a part of the first ascent team in 1934.
In 1929 the property was acquired by Winston Paul, a New York Frigidaire distributor, who began building the Idaho Rocky Mountain Club to serve as a private hunting club.
Ranch Construction began in the fall of 1929 with the snaking of logs up Williams and Gold Creek, to the Big Meadow chosen as the Lodge site. A crew of 60 men, among them a blacksmith and stonemason, camped on the Ranch property for 3 months until they were forced to leave by severe winter weather. The crew returned in the spring of 1930 to complete construction, and the Idaho Rocky Mountain Club opened that summer as an invitation-only guest facility. A hydroelectric plant, the log structure still standing at the willowed bend in the pond, generated power for the IRMC, providing the first electricity in the Sawtooth Valley. The construction project proved a welcome source of income for the men during the years of the Great Depression.
Austrian clothing manufacturer Josef Lanz purchased the IRMC from Paul, but the guest ranch was forced to close at the outbreak of World War II.
In 1951, Edmund A. Bogert, an automobile dealer from Pocatello, Idaho
, purchased the lodge and changed the name to the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch. Mr. Bogert began a program of leveling, fertilizing and planting, and earned the 1958 Custer County Grassman of the Year Award.
In 1977 Edmund's daughter Rozalys Smith began her proprietorship of the IRMR. The 54 year stewardship of the Smith family continued until February 2005 when a new family of preservationally concerned owners purchased the IRMR.
as a historic district
. Twelve buildings and two other structures at the club qualified as contributing properties
. It is currently one of thirty-seven places listed on the Register in Custer County.
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area located in central Idaho, within the Boise, Challis, and Sawtooth National Forests. The recreation area is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and includes the Sawtooth Wilderness...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, between the Sawtooth and White Cloud Mountain ranges. The 900 acres (3.6 km²) ranch property is located in Custer County
Custer County, Idaho
Custer County is a rural mountain county located in the center of the U.S. state of Idaho. Established in 1881, it was named for the General Custer Mine, where gold was discovered five years earlier . The population was 4,342 at the 2000 census; it is estimated to have fallen to 4,166 by 2007...
, sixty miles north of the Ketchum
Ketchum, Idaho
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States, in the central part of the state. The population was 3,003 at the 2000 census. It is in the Wood River Valley, adjacent to Sun Valley; the two communities share many resources and both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its...
and Sun Valley
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
resort area and 9 miles (14.5 km) south of Stanley, Idaho, which had a population of 100 at the 2000 census.
History
The Ranch property was originally part of Stanley Basin pioneer and Swiss guide Dave Williams’ homestead. Williams came to the Sawtooth Valley and opened his own dairy and butcher shop, delivered the mail up and over the 9000 ft (2,743.2 m). Galena Summit, and worked the Vienna Mine south of Stanley near the Smiley Lodge. Nearby Williams Peak (Idaho)Williams Peak (Idaho)
Williams Peak, at high is the 6th highest peak in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho and is located within the Sawtooth Wilderness portion of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area . The peak lies at 44.15240°N / 115.0057°W and is .75 miles north-northwest of Thompson Peak, the highest peak in the...
is named after the pioneer, who was a part of the first ascent team in 1934.
In 1929 the property was acquired by Winston Paul, a New York Frigidaire distributor, who began building the Idaho Rocky Mountain Club to serve as a private hunting club.
Ranch Construction began in the fall of 1929 with the snaking of logs up Williams and Gold Creek, to the Big Meadow chosen as the Lodge site. A crew of 60 men, among them a blacksmith and stonemason, camped on the Ranch property for 3 months until they were forced to leave by severe winter weather. The crew returned in the spring of 1930 to complete construction, and the Idaho Rocky Mountain Club opened that summer as an invitation-only guest facility. A hydroelectric plant, the log structure still standing at the willowed bend in the pond, generated power for the IRMC, providing the first electricity in the Sawtooth Valley. The construction project proved a welcome source of income for the men during the years of the Great Depression.
Austrian clothing manufacturer Josef Lanz purchased the IRMC from Paul, but the guest ranch was forced to close at the outbreak of World War II.
In 1951, Edmund A. Bogert, an automobile dealer from Pocatello, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, purchased the lodge and changed the name to the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch. Mr. Bogert began a program of leveling, fertilizing and planting, and earned the 1958 Custer County Grassman of the Year Award.
In 1977 Edmund's daughter Rozalys Smith began her proprietorship of the IRMR. The 54 year stewardship of the Smith family continued until February 2005 when a new family of preservationally concerned owners purchased the IRMR.
National Register of Historic Places
In 1994, the Idaho Rocky Mountain Club was placed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as a historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
. Twelve buildings and two other structures at the club qualified as contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
. It is currently one of thirty-seven places listed on the Register in Custer County.
External links
- Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch - official site