Heirs of Robert Bruce Porter are dividing the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch, which could have wide-ranging implications on how or whether hundreds of acres in South Park are developed.

The division also is a landmark moment in a storied valley agricultural institution that has roots stretching back to the late 1800s and involving pioneers including Porter, Stephen Leek and members of the Wort family, among others.

Ranch land in the Porter Trust is being divided between the families of Porter’s grandson, Robert Gill, and granddaughter, Elizabeth Lockhart, said Gill’s attorney, Bill Schwartz. Gill plans to continue ranching the property, Schwartz said, which may impact how planners and valley residents think about those lands during review of the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan.

The Porter Trust holds 900 acres in South Park and is the largest single tract adjacent to the Town of Jackson. Its red barn headquarters marked with the OVO brand that sits near the corner of High School Road and U.S. 191, plus beaver slide hay stackers, open pastures, cattle and hay ricks, have been part of the charm and character of Jackson Hole for 111 years.

In recent decades, the property has been eyed as a place for development, including affordable housing. Jackson voters, in a referendum, defeated an effort to annex a large portion of the ranch to the town of Jackson in 2002. The annexation plan called for 1,850 homes and 475,000 square feet of commercial space.

Now the families of Gill and Lockhart will operate their separate shares of the ranch property. Gill will retain the Hereford Ranch name on his land.

“The pending conveyance of ownership of the Porter Trust ranch lands to two separate families represents a changed reality that should be taken into account as the planning process moves forward,” Schwartz said in a letter. “Among other things, the separate ownership could have important implications on planning for interconnectivity between the ranch parcels, other parcels and public roadways, as well as the future location of density, open space and public facilities.”

Thomas Long, attorney for Elizabeth Lockhart and her husband, Kelly, said he had nothing to add. “All I can really say is that I view that to be the private business of the Gills and the Lockharts,” Long said. “It would not be my place to comment on it.”

Families guard privacy

Although Ralph Gill, patriarch of the inheritors, was a co-founder of the Jackson Hole News in 1971, the families have guarded their privacy closely in recent decades as a wash of development surrounded their homes. Gill held a variety of public political positions, including mayor of Jackson, and Kelly Lockhart served for years on the Teton County Planning Commission.

Gill was husband to the late Jeannine Porter Gill, one of two Porter children. No children survive from the marriage of her sister, the late Roberta Porter.

Now Robert Gill has outlined the division of the ranch. Schwartz made no mention of other property the Porter Trust might have owned or how it might have been divided.

“He just wants the public and planning officials to understand that this is his land going forward,” Schwartz said of Robert Gill. “The Lockharts don’t speak for [the Gills], and [the Gills] don’t speak for the Lockharts.

“People need to start getting that into their heads,” Schwartz said. “We’re dealing with two different families now who may do things quite differently.”

The ranch’s storied history dates back to at least 1898, when pioneer rancher, conservationist and photographer Stephen Leek homesteaded 80 acres at the site of Jackson Hole High School, according to county land records. Leek’s homestead patent was issued in Lander, site of a federal office, but the property at the time was part of Uinta County.

Leek didn’t record his title for 23 years, and when he did in 1921, Uinta’s northern half, including Jackson Hole, had become Lincoln County.

Leek’s photos of Jackson Hole elk starving in the winter stirred public interest nationwide. Among his pictures were some of animals that died adjacent to hay stacks whose content had been stockpiled for cattle and fenced from wildlife.

His pictures and articles were instrumental in the establishment of the National Elk Refuge and the first winter feeding of elk in 1912. Leeks Canyon, which climbs east from the red OVO barn south of Snow King Mountain, was named after him.

In 1934, there was a series of transactions between Leek and other members of his family – Holly, Lester and Helen. Leek had commercial dealings with the Wort family, which developed the Jackson hotel that still bears their name.

Robert Bruce Porter bought the property in 1938. By this time, Lincoln County had itself been divided and Jackson was the county seat of Teton County. Porter assembled other properties into the sprawling ranch during that era.

The Hereford Ranch was operated for decades as a cow-calf operation that produced a new generation of calves each spring. Operators owned grazing rights in Grand Teton National Park.

Years of selective breeding and a select bloodline came to an end in 2004, long after Porter’s death, when brucellosis was discovered in the herd. Owners believe it came from South Park elk. The disease caused federal officials to send much of the herd to slaughter, as prescribed by regulations.

Trust set up in 1960

Porter establish the trust in 1960 for his daughters, Jeannine Porter Gill and Roberta Porter, and upon their death, for the benefit of his grandchildren, Schwartz said.

Under the terms established by Porter, upon the death of his children, all remaining trust assets are to be distributed equally to his grandchildren, Schwartz said.

Porter’s daughters are both deceased, leaving Robert Gill and his sister, Elizabeth Lockhart, as the only surviving grandchildren and the sole beneficiaries of the Porter Trust.

Gill and Lockhart have been dividing up the trust assets in equal shares. Schwartz said. The ranch includes northern and southern parts that are not connected.

The western side of the upper ranch and the southern portion of the lower ranch will be conveyed to Gill or his designees. The eastern side of the upper ranch and the northern  part of the lower ranch will be conveyed to Lockhart or her designees. Until the land is actually conveyed, Schwartz said, he can’t provide the number of acres that will go to each heir.

Schwartz said there are a few complications regarding the acreage calculations, particularly regarding the lower ranch where the west boundary of the property is the thalweg, or main channel, of the Snake River.

Schwartz said his client wanted to make this information public because the community has been discussing these lands during the comprehensive plan review as one large piece of property.

“With two separate ownerships involved, I think that is going to create some potential planning issues that it would be better for people to understand sooner rather than later,” he said.

For his part, Gill has no immediate plans to develop, Schwartz said.

“He’s not a developer,” Schwartz said. “He intends to keep doing what he’s been doing his whole life: ranching the property.” Still, future development is not off the table.

“They may not be interested in what the community may need,” Schwartz said. “It’s hard to say, but that’s why we think it’s important they at least keep as many options on the table as possible.”

County Planning Director Jeff Daugherty said he doesn’t believe dividing the property among the two heirs will have a significant impact on future planning. But what’s notable is that 35 acres of the northern ranch near Cottonwood Park is zoned suburban, which would allow up to 140 units, far more by right than elsewhere in rural Teton County. According to maps that Schwartz provided, the two families will split those suburban lands.

Hank Phibbs, chairman of the county commission, agreed with Daugherty.

“The face of ownership may be divided, but that doesn’t change the nature of the land itself,” he said. “The comprehensive plan looks at land resources in terms of community values and community decisions rather than who owns it.”