Mormon Row Historic District
Mormon Row Road, Grand Teton National Park, near Moose, WY
Moose, WY
A row of weathered pioneer barns on the open valley floor, with the Teton Range rising directly behind them.
Mormon Row is one of the most photographed places in Grand Teton National Park, a scattering of weathered homestead barns and cabins standing on the open floor of Jackson Hole with the Teton Range rising directly behind them. The pairing of hand hewn pioneer buildings and the sheer wall of the mountains has become an emblem of the American West, drawing photographers to the roadside before dawn to catch the first light on the peaks.
But the row is more than a photograph. It is the remains of a real community of homesteaders, largely families of the Latter day Saint faith, who settled this stretch of the valley in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They dug irrigation ditches, raised barns, and worked the harsh, dry land, and the buildings that survive are the record of their determined, difficult lives beneath the mountains.
What Guests Love
- The iconic barns framed against the jagged Teton skyline
- Sunrise light on the peaks behind the weathered wood
- The sense of pioneer history on the open valley floor
- Bison and pronghorn that often graze the surrounding flats
Worth Knowing
- Sunrise is the classic time to visit, when the peaks catch the first light behind the barns
- The buildings are fragile historic structures, so look but do not climb on or enter them
- The access road is dirt and can be dusty or muddy depending on the weather
- Wildlife including bison frequents the area, so keep a safe distance
Details
Moose, WY
Learn about Mormon Row Historic District
A homesteading community
Beginning in the 1890s, families largely belonging to the Latter day Saint church moved north into Jackson Hole and took up homesteads on this part of the valley floor. They settled close together in the pattern of their faith communities, clustering their farms along a road that came to be known as Mormon Row.
The settlers faced a hard environment of thin soil, short growing seasons, and long, cold winters. To make the land productive they hand dug an extensive network of irrigation ditches to carry water to their fields, an enormous labor that transformed the dry flats into workable farmland and made the community possible.
The barns and the mountains
The buildings that remain, including the much photographed Moulton barns, were raised by these homesteading families from local timber. Their simple, sturdy forms, weathered to soft grays and browns over the decades, stand on the open ground with nothing between them and the mountains behind.
That setting is what makes the row so striking. The Teton Range rises abruptly from the valley floor just to the west, so the barns appear to sit at the very foot of the peaks. The contrast between the modest human made structures and the immense wall of rock is the heart of the image that draws so many visitors.
Light on the peaks
Photographers prize Mormon Row above all at sunrise, when the rising sun strikes the east face of the Tetons and sets the peaks glowing above the still shadowed barns. On a clear morning the effect is unforgettable, and the roadside fills quietly with tripods before first light.
The scene changes with the seasons as well, from the golden grass and thunderheads of summer to the frost and snow of the colder months. The barns hold their ground through it all, a fixed point against the ever changing sky and mountains.
Preserved within the park
As Grand Teton National Park grew to encompass the valley, most of the homesteads were acquired and the farming families moved on, but the core of Mormon Row was preserved as a historic district. The surviving barns, cabins, and traces of the old fields are now protected as a record of the valley's settlement era.
Visiting means treating the buildings gently, admiring them from the outside rather than climbing on or entering the fragile structures. Together with the wildlife that grazes the surrounding flats, the row offers a vivid sense of both the human and natural history of Jackson Hole.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Moose
Kelly and the Gros Ventre River
About 3 miles south
A small community near the Gros Ventre River, with a nearby campground and the scar of a historic landslide on the valley wall.
Antelope Flats
Surrounding the row
Open sagebrush flats crossed by dirt roads, known for bison, pronghorn, and wide views of the range.
Menor's Ferry Historic District
About 6 miles southwest at Moose
A preserved homestead and reconstructed river ferry that tells the story of the valley's earliest settlement.