Star Valley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Star Valley lies in the Rocky Mountains between the peaks of the Salt River Range in western Wyoming and the Webster Range of eastern Idaho. Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks as well as the Jackson Hole area are an easy day trip from Star Valley.
Altitudes range from 5,600 feet to 7,000 feet with the mountains rearing to over 10,000. Three major Wyoming rivers, the Salt River, the Greys River and the Snake River meet at Alpine Junction to form the Palisades Reservoir which along with many streams and small mountain lakes provides ample fishing for Cutthroat trout, German Browns, Brookies, Rainbows and Mackinaw. The reservoir also provides boating, water skiing and jet skiing, while the Snake River has white water rafting and kayaking. Big game included Moose, Elk, Mule Deer, Bear and the Mountain Lion. Geese, Ducks, Sandhill Cranes, Trumpeter Swans, Osprey and Grouse also enjoy the valley.
Star Valley was settled in the late 1870s by hardy Mormon pioneers, it was proclaimed the "Star of All Valleys" for its natural beauty.
Another theory about the name Star Valley comes from Starvation (Starve) Valley, a name the area gained during bitter winters in the late 1880s. Indeed, settlers lost many cattle in the severe winter of 1889. That March over 40 inches of snow fell in two days.
Star Valley was inhabited mainly by Shoshone Indians in the summer and fall months until the early 1800s. The natives were drawn to the valley for its abundant game and the pure salt deposits found near the present town of Auburn. No doubt they enjoyed the scenery as well.
White explorers are known to have traveled through the area as early as 1812, seeking new routes to the West coast. Canadian and American trappers followed, frequenting the area through the 1840s. The 1850s and 1860s saw many emigrants passing through the upper Star Valley area via the Lander Trail. White settlement of the area didn't begin in earnest, though, until the late 1870s when Mormon Apostles Moses Thatcher and Brigham Young, Jr. chose the valley for colonization. Archibald Gardner and several of his extended family arrived after 1882, building and operating five mills of various types in the valley.
The pioneers first enjoyed some mild winters then were caught off guard by some incredibly harsh winters during which large numbers of livestock were lost and the settlers suffered many hardships. Accounts of their lives dealing with snow 8 feet deep on the valley floor demonstrate the courage and tenacity of these early settlers whose descendents still inhabit the valley today.
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[edit] Afton
Afton, the largest town in Star Valley, was founded by Mormon settlers along the Lander cutoff of the Oregon Trail. The Lander Trail, which passes near Afton, was the first government-built wagon road in the West. Wagon trains used the Lander Trail as a cutoff from the Oregon Trail to the California gold fields. You can drive to many points along the trail and walk through portions of the trail rutted by wagons and see tree carvings left by early pioneers. Today the trail is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Afton is home of the World's Largest Elkhorn Arch. Spanning 75 feet across the four lanes of US Highway 89, the arch consists of 3,011 elk antlers and weighs 15 tons.
Elk Horns are shed annually. They are collected and sold by the Boy Scouts and others for their artistic and purported medicinal value.
[edit] Periodic Spring
A periodic spring is Afton's main water supply, which cycles on and off during the summer, fall, and winter at 12 to 18 minute intervals. During the spring the flow never stops due to increased water supply from the melting snowpack. At full flow the Periodic Spring discharges up to 285 gallons per second. It is located 5 miles east of Afton, a short hike from the end of Swift Creek Road.
[edit] Butch Cassidy's Gang
Butch Cassidy and his band of outlaws had a camp in Star Valley. Like some Mormon polygamists, they found refuge in this isolated valley. Cassidy's gang robbed the Montpelier Bank of $16,500 on August 13, 1896, and escaped up Montpelier Canyon. An unmounted pack horse carried the loot out from under the nose of the posse.
