History
DC Bar Guest Ranch

This is the area which became the favorite of Fur Trappers and Mountain Men. This is the area that was so special it inspired these men to preserve this area and the United States forest service policy was developed. See more about this era under; "Hunting History."

The Fur trade starts to dwindle off in 1837, with 1840 being the last of the Rendezvous. The Oregon trail (which cuts right through our valley) begins to get a lot of activity, until the railroad is finally connected from coast to coast. In the early 1900's the Pinedale area is being settled.

A few years later 5 brothers decide to work together and start a Guest Ranch in the Upper Green River Valley. By 1923 they have proved up on their homestead and President Calvin Coolidge signs the land over to them.

In 1932 the DC Bar Guest Ranch is in full swing. Ms Dew would go East in the winter and visit the girls schools where she promoted summer long adventures to young ladies. They would come out west by train, and Cliff Cole would meet them at the rail station in Rock Springs with the DC Bar Guest Ranch bus, and bring them the rest of the way up to the ranch.

You can imagine the excitement in the upper Green River Valley with all these eastern girls. Sunday Rodeos at the ranch brought in cowboys from all over the range and gave them the chance to show off in front of the girls. Dances after the rodeo allowed everyone to meet and mingle a bit (chaperoned of course). Today you can still walk around town and meet many ladies in their 80's who met their husbands at a DC Bar Guest Ranch Rodeo.

Part of the rodeo was the pack horse race.

Martin Skinner was the cook at the ranch for a while and he had his two daughters come and help him,.  One of his daughters, Audrey, married Herb Moritz.  Herb and Audrey had a daughter in June of 1939 which was born on the ranch - 2 months premature.  One of the ranch hands ran to town to get the doctor, but the doctor was convinced there was no way a 2 month premature baby could survive, so rather than going up to the ranch- he filled out a death certificate and sent it to the ranch instead.

That 2 month premature baby survived by some miracle.  You can see her, Judy, on the sled wrapped in a blanket which was given to her by ranch clients - the Dupont Sisters.  When Judy visited us at the ranch this year she told us she still has that blanket.

Ranch clients Patsy and Ann Dupont

Slim Bartlett.  Bartlett creek located by one of our back country hunting camps is named after him.   He had a secret mine that no-one knows much about, but that he spent a lot of his time working on. Almost everyone says this mine was blown up and now lost, but I found it while hunting one year.  It's still there, at least the hole is still there,  but I was too afraid to go in and explore it.

One of the few pictures taken of the Bartlett mine.

The first transfer of title for the DC Bar Guest Ranch outside of the family was to me. I am the current owner and operator of the ranch because I can't think of any place I'd rather be, nor anything else that I'd rather be doing. This is truly a spectacular, wildlife abundant, sportsman's paradise.

Come out and join us in one of the last wild spots of America.