| Eatons' Ranch was one of the first dude ranches in the West, near Wolf, Wyoming. Howard Eaton (1851-1922) along with his brothers, Willis L. (d. 1929) and F. Alden (1859-1937) Eaton came to Dakota Territory from Pittsburgh in 1879. In 1882 they began operating a guest ranch, the Custer Trail Ranch, in the Badlands near Medora, North Dakota. It was during this time Howard met Theodore Roosevelt. The Eatons moved to Wyoming in 1904 and started a guest ranch near Wolf. Howard Eaton conducted guest tours into Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. (American Heritage Center) Howard Eaton "began taking groups of horseback travelers to Yellowstone in 1885. He thus became the park's earliest and longest continuous outfitter, making his last horse trip around Yellowstone not long before he passed away. When he died, the trail that he had used for so long was named for him, the Howard Eaton Trail." (Whittlesey and Watry) New trails constructed included several sections of the Howard Eaton trail, the name given to the trail system paralleling the loop-road system. The trail was named In honor of Howard Eaton, pioneer guide of Yellowstone and famous game conservationist, who died April 5,1922. (National Park Service, 1922) |
