Grand Teton National Park encompasses approximately 310,000 acres of wilderness and some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the western United States. The original Grand Teton National Park, set aside by an act of Congress in February 29, 1929, included only the Teton Range and eight glacial lakes at the base of the mountains.
The Jackson Hole National Monument, decreed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt through presidential proclamation in 1943, combined Teton National Forest acreage, other federal properties including Jackson Lake and a generous 35,000-acre donation by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The Rockefeller lands continued to be privately held until December 16, 1949 when impasse for addition to the National Park was resolved.
On September 14, 1950, the original 1929 Park and the 1943 National Monument (including Rockefeller's donation) were united into a "new" Grand Teton National Park, creating present-day boundaries. Today, there are approximately 100 miles of paved roads and nearly 200 miles of hiking trails in the park .
Archeological studies established human occupation of the Jackson Hole area for at least 11,000 years. Knowledge of early people is extremely limited. Data suggests that they used the area from spring to fall, based on seasonal availability of resources. Prehistoric people crossed the passes into Jackson Hole en route to seasonal hunting grounds in the region. In historic times, Indian tribes such as the Shoshoni, Gros Ventre, Flathead and Blackfeet occupied the Teton country.
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