What is the difference between a ghost town and a vacated historic site? Is there one?
Recently, back up in the Tetons, I ventured with a couple of friends to visit
Map of Mormon Row drawn by Craig Moulton, courtesy of Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum
Mormon Row, a four mile stretch of homesteads and ranch houses just southeast of Black Tail Butte in the valley of Jackson Hole. Here were solid, but decaying, remnants of a community that once thrived, was vibrant with life, if not exactly prosperous by today’s way of understanding. The National Park leaves its historic buildings to decay naturally, which I daresay means that, with time, they’ll be gone. But for now, the buildings stand as a monument to what people do to secure a better life, to survive, perhaps also a monument to what really matters in life. Continue reading
Andrea Downing 