This stunning Christmas ornament captures Grand Teton National Park's essence. Grand Teton National Park, established in 1929, is a breathtaking expanse of rugged beauty in northwestern Wyoming, renowned for its dramatic Teton Range, pristine lakes, and abundant wildlife. Our collectible ornament vividly depicts its iconic snow-capped peaks, a rustic barn nestled in the valley, and a majestic elk standing in the foreground, symbolizing the park's rich biodiversity. The golden frame and banner proudly display "Grand Teton National Park Est. 1929," making it a perfect keepsake for nature lovers and holiday enthusiasts alike, celebrating the park's legacy of preserving natural splendor for generations to enjoy.
Details
Designed by and exclusive to: White House Holidays
Material: Solid brass
Origin: Made in the USA
Includes: Gift box, brochure and ornament
What the ornament celebrates
People have used Jackson Hole for at least 11,000 years, first Paleo-Indians and later tribes including the Shoshone, Bannock, Blackfoot, and Crow, who hunted elk and gathered plants in the valley. John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, is believed to have explored the area around 1807, making him one of the first non-Indigenous people to see it. Fur trappers followed in the 1820s and 1830s, including David Jackson, for whom Jackson Hole is named, along with Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger.
Conservationists first proposed protecting the Tetons in 1897, and the Teton National Forest was established in 1908. The push for a national park gained real momentum in the 1920s, with Yellowstone superintendent Horace Albright among its champions, and on February 26, 1929, Congress established Grand Teton National Park, protecting 96,000 acres of the Teton Range and six glacial lakes at its base. The valley itself, Jackson Hole, was left out. Through the 1930s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. quietly purchased more than 35,000 acres there and donated the land to the federal government; Congress folded it into an expanded Grand Teton National Park in 1950.
Unlike many mountain ranges, the Tetons have no foothills, they rise abruptly more than 7,000 feet above the valley floor along the Teton Fault, with Grand Teton peak itself reaching 13,775 feet. Today the Snake River winds through the valley below, past Jenny Lake, Jackson Lake, and Oxbow Bend, drawing more than 3 million visitors a year to a landscape still shared with bison, elk, moose, and grizzly bears.