Last outfitting cabin in Jackson Hole sits in limbo on Red Hills Ranch

JACKSON, Wyo. — In 1929, Aktor Nelson and Charlie Smith built a small cabin for their mining operation on Crystal Creek. Today the single room, 17 sq. foot cabin is the last structure standing related to the outfitting era in Jackson Hole and sits on the recently listed Red Hills Ranch.

According to a Wyoming Historical Society , in response to an influx of out-of-state hunters in the late 1800s, a Wyoming law passed in 1899 required non-residents to hire a resident hunting guide to hunt within the state's borders. Outfitting, along with Dude Ranches were amongst the early tourist activities that popularized Jackson Hole as a tourist destination.

In August, the 190-acre Red Hills Ranch was listed for $65 million by the estate of former Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl. Kohl passed away in December 2023 at the age of 88; he served for 24 years as a U.S senator and was the heir to his family's business, Kohl's Corporation, owners of Kohl's department stores. He was one of the wealthiest U.S. Senators and owned the property on the Gros Ventre for over 40 years.

The property is listed with Live Water Jackson Hole by owner and agent Latham Jenkins. According to the listing, the cabin is used as staff housing "but could be converted into a writing studio, exercise space, or meditation room."

"Red Hills Ranch is a turn-key private guest ranch and horse operation and also offers new owners several additional opportunities for building and development," states the listing. "The only scenario that does not require permission from the county is to subdivide the Ranch's 190 acres into five 35-acre parcels."

"Scenarios that are possible but would require Teton County approval include, but are not limited to: creating 16 smaller parcels while simultaneously conserving 70% of the Ranch as open space with an easement; and transitioning part of the property into a commercial guest ranch."

The cabin, known as the Wort-Stilson Pucci Cabin, or any variation of those names, gets its name from its many owners and was originally listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Through a collective effort from the Teton County Historic Preservation Board (TCHPB) and Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, a National Register Nomination amendment was recently submitted.

According to the recent TCHPB report submitted to the Teton County Board of County Commissioners, "while the National Register listing does not legally protect the structure, the most up to date professional research and listing may encourage the new owner(s) to keep the cabin, allow preservation efforts, or move the structure to avoid demolition."

The TCHPB said their goal is to correctly document and share the property's history with the public, and "most importantly, the last outfitting cabin in Teton County will not be lost, even if it is demolished."

Samantha Ford, owner of Turn Stone Research, wrote the recently submitted amendment, adding context to the history and various locations in which the cabin has stood.

According to the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form , filed in May 1990, the property was submitted to the national register with "significant reservations by the Historic Preservation Officer of the USDA Forest Service." The report claimed that the cabin was of "marginal value" because it was moved several times, the original sod roof was replaced prior to 1940, and electricity was wired into the cabin. Its connection to early outfitting operations and the fact that it is the last structure standing, along with its ties to John Wort, strengthened its bid and ultimately got it placed on the national register.

In January, the TCHPB sent a letter to the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) supporting the amendment and noting the historical significance of the cabin. They addressed the past review stating, "It is our understanding that this cabin had been previously subject to a troubled review process, despite its clear significance and eligibility for the National Register."

According to the National Register documents, Nelson and Smith sold the cabin to John Wort and Steven Callahan in 1930 for their outfitting operation, Wort's Hunting Camp.

The cabin was used at the basecamp and housed the kitchen, a popular method amongst outfitters at the time because it kept food safe from wildlife better than canvas tents. All the other cabins that once existed were taken down or moved away when the outfitting businesses closed.

In a phone interview between John Wort and Carl McWilliams in June 1989, Wort stated that he visited the cabin three or four years ago and that "it looked pretty much the same to me then as it did back in the thirties," the National Register documents note.

Around 1935, Billy Stilson bought Callahan's share of the outfitting business and then in 1938 or 1939, bought the business from Wort. Wort allegedly used the funds from the sale of the outfitting business and the Wort Lodge & Camp on Jackson Lake, which later became Signal Mountain Lodge, to finance the Wort Hotel in Jackson.

The Stilson family moved the cabin from the hunting camp location in 1942 or 1943, following complaints from ranchers that it held up cattle drives. It was taken apart and reassembled about a mile east of Crystal Creek and was used for the renamed Stilson Hunting Camp. In 1976 they sold the cabin and outfitting license to Gaspari " Gap" Pucci, a Sicilian-born immigrant turned outfitter who built and ran his business, Crystal Creek Outfitters, until he retired in 2008, along with the cabin, making it the longest-used and only remaining outfitting cabin in Jackson Hole. Pucci and his wife Peg worked with the Wyoming SHPO to get the cabin listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1990s.

In a letter to the SHPO dated May 1991, Peg wrote, "Gap and I are SO PLEASED to receive the plaque for the cabin!! Thank you all so very-much! It will look GREAT mounted, and we will be very proud to put it up. It surely represents a lot of determination and struggle, doesn't it!" Peg went on to describe their commitment to preserving and restoring the cabin.

In 2017, a land swap between Bridger-Teton National Forest and Kohl transferred the cabin to private ownership on the Red Hills Ranch, where it sits today.