The Long Way
Sublette County
A rustic wooden cabin with a fence in the foreground.
Plate I. Sherman Guard Station and Bunkhouse. From recreation.gov

Sherman Guard Station and Bunkhouse

Big Piney, Sublette County, Wyoming. Cabin Nonelectric.

Details

Map. Big Piney, Sublette County, Wyoming. Larger map
Where
10418 S US Hwy 189, Big Piney, WY 10418. Directions
Season
Mid/late June-mid Sept (water/plumbing on); winter access by snowmobile, ski, or walk-in.
Access
Winter access is over the snow: snowmobile, ski, or walk in from the Horse Creek Parking lot.
Walk-in or reserve
Three reservable sites: Sherman Guard Station, Sherman Compound, Sherman Bunkhouse.
Phone
(307) 276-5800
Managed by
Bridger-Teton National Forest, Big Piney Ranger District.
Established
around 1929.

As the original Sherman Ranger Station built around 1929, this bunkhouse was used as a seasonal/summer headquarters for early Forest Service management of timber and rangelands. The Sherman Guard Station and Bunkhouse is nestled in the Horse Creek drainage in a beautiful mountain setting.

Notable Events

  1. 1905Sherman Ranger/Guard Station was a yearlong headquarters for the Teton Division of the Yellowstone Forest Reserve from 1905 until the Wyoming National Forest's creation on July 1, 1908. npshistory.com
  2. 1908The ranger station was one of a half-dozen original stations built on what was the Wyoming National Forest, established in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt. oilcity.news
  3. 1912Sherman served as the yearlong headquarters for the Sherman Ranger District from 1912 to 1930. oilcity.news
  4. 1926During the district-headquarters years the station gained a shop (1926) and a large four-room log dwelling (1929); both buildings were later removed. npshistory.com
  5. 1929One of the three older buildings that still stand, the log and earthen fruit cellar, was built about 1929. npshistory.com
  6. 1931The Sherman Guard Station barn was built in 1931, a good example of pre-CCC era Forest Service vernacular architecture. npshistory.com
  7. 1932The log generator shed was built in 1932, a year after the barn. npshistory.com
  8. 1933Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers stationed in the Bridger-Teton National Forest constructed three new buildings for the Sherman Guard Station, including an office, garage/shop, and an outhouse. livingnewdeal.org
  9. 1933The ranger station, originally a yearlong headquarters, became a seasonal work center by 1933. livingnewdeal.org
  10. 1934The Regional Office devised a landscaping plan with walkways, flowering bushes, gates, and fencing; other than the fences, few of these improvements remain. npshistory.com
  11. 1937Summer-headquarters use ended with the 1937 absorption of the smaller Sherman Ranger District by the larger Big Piney Ranger District. npshistory.com
  12. 1940The Forest Service sold and moved the log dwelling to Big Piney; it is unknown when they removed the shop. npshistory.com
  13. 1970sThe garage/shop was modified into a bunkhouse in the late 1970s. npshistory.com
  14. 2001Sherman Guard Station was the staging point for the 2001 Mule Fire. npshistory.com
  15. 2002The site served most recently as the staging area for fire crews fighting the Mule Forest Fire in 2002. livingnewdeal.org
  16. 2022The Big Piney Ranger District re-modeled the Sherman Guard Station in preparation for a public grand re-opening celebration to be held July 1st from 2-6pm, hosted with the Sublette County Historic Preservation Board. svinews.com
  17. A grand reopening celebration and open house was held from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday, July 1, hosted by the Big Piney Ranger District. oilcity.news
  18. After a remodel that included painted interiors, wood stoves, and historic photographs and maps from the Sublette County Historic Preservation Board, the two cabins opened for rent on Saturday, July 2. oilcity.news

People

  • Fred Graham, Sherman District ranger (1908 - 1917).
  • J.J. Albano, Sherman District ranger (1929 - 1937).
  • S.E. Cazier, District ranger of the Sherman Ranger District, headquartered at the Sherman Ranger Station (1927 - 1928).
  • George L. Nichols, Regional Architect whose standard plans guided the CCC-built office, garage/shop, and outhouse (1933 - 1934).

Sources

  1. recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/10190963
  2. fs.usda.gov/r04/bridger-teton/recreation/sherman-guard-station-cabin
  3. livingnewdeal.org/sites/sherman-guard-station-bridger-teton-national-forest-wy
  4. oilcity.news/community/2022/06/16/ranger-station-built-in-1908-opening-for-rentals-in-time-for-july-4-after-remodel-on-bridger-teton-national-forest
  5. svinews.com/2022/regional-news/64225/sherman-guard-station-to-celebrate-re-opening
  6. fs.usda.gov/land/staff/Documents/Bridger-Teton%20Administrative%20Facilities,%20History.pdf
  7. npshistory.com/publications/usfs/region/4/bridger-teton/hcs-2.pdf