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The Geraldine Lucas-Fabian Place Historic
District in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming is significant as the 1913 home of Geraldine Lucas, a
single woman pioneer in a harsh environment. It later became the
home of Harold Fabian, vice president of the Snake River Land Company,
which assembled much of the land that became Jackson Hole National
Monument for John D. Rockefeller, Jr..[2]
The district includes nine buildings, about 4.5 miles north of
Moose, Wyoming
at the base of the Teton
Range near Garnet Canyon. The site offers views of the Cathedral
Group.
Geraldine Lucas was born in 1866 in Iowa City, Iowa and, following an
unsuccessful marriage and with a degree from Oberlin
College, became a teacher in New York. She retired in 1912 and
sought a retirement home. She joined two brothers and a sister in
Jackson Hole and built a cabin in 1913. She filed for a homestead
claim, which was granted after a series of difficulties, in 1922.
Through a series of deals, she eventually expanded her holdings to
428 acres. She was also the second woman to ascend Grand Teton, making the
climb in 1924.[3]
During her lifetime, Geraldine was resolutely opposed to the
activities of the Snake River Land Company, which was buying land
in Jackson Hole on behalf of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who
planned to donate the land for the creation of what would become
Grand Teton National Park. Acquisition of the prime Lucas property
was a major aim for the company. After Geraldine's death the land
was purchased by J.D. Kimmell, with the idea of subdividing and
developing the land. He was, however, friends with Harold Fabian of
the Snake River Land Company, and in 1944 sold the property to what
had become the Jackson Hole Preserve in exchange for rights at Jenny Lake. Fabian and
his family moved into the Lucas place in 1946, spending summers
there until Harold's death in 1975, under a deal with the Park
Service.[3]
See also
References
External
links
Extensive documentation of the Geraldine Lucas Homestead is
available at the Historic American
Buildings Survey
- Geraldine Lucas Homestead,
Geraldine Lucas Cabin, West bank Cottonwood Creek, 2.5 miles
downstream, Moose vicinity, Teton County, WY: 5 photos, 6 data
pages, 1 photo caption page, at Historic American Building Survey
- Geraldine Lucas Homestead,
West bank Cottonwood Creek, 2.5 miles downstream, Moose vicinity,
Teton County, WY: 3 photos, 32 data pages, 1 photo caption
page, at Historic American Building Survey
- Geraldine Lucas
Homestead/Fabian Place Historic District at the Wyoming State
Historic Preservation Office
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