Kimmel Kabins

Kimmel Kabins was a rustic tourist camp established in 1937 by J.D. and Lura Kimmel in what is now Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Located south of Jenny Lake along Cottonwood Creek, the property was designed in the motor-court tradition that became popular with automobile travelers in the early and mid-twentieth century. Its principal built features included a rustic lodge and eleven cabins arranged on either side of the creek, creating a small-scale lodging complex integrated into the surrounding landscape. The camp formed part of the early tourism infrastructure in the Grand Teton region. Before the development of larger and more formalized visitor facilities, motor courts, cabins, stores, and roadside camps provided travelers with relatively informal accommodation close to scenic destinations. Kimmel Kabins also eventually included a store and a post office, extending its role beyond lodging and making the site a service point for visitors and nearby users of the park. The property was strategically situated near Jenny Lake and benefited from the growth of automobile-based tourism in the national park. In 1944, the Kimmels sold the property while retaining a life estate, allowing them to continue using it during their lifetimes. Following Lura Kimmel's death in 1962, the cabins were repurposed as seasonal residences for National Park Service employees. The lodge, store, post office, and other non-cabin structures were subsequently removed, leaving the cabins as the principal surviving elements of the historic complex. Kimmel Kabins is historically notable because it is identified as the only remaining example of a motor-court-style camp in Grand Teton National Park. The park once contained as many as twelve comparable establishments, but most disappeared through removal, redevelopment, or changes in park management. The surviving cabins therefore illustrate an earlier phase of visitor accommodation and the transition from privately operated tourist camps to a more centrally managed national-park landscape. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1990. It is best understood today as a historic place and cultural resource rather than an active lodging brand. There is no indication in the available reference material that Kimmel Kabins continues to operate commercially, maintains a separate corporate owner, or markets contemporary hospitality products. Its significance rests on its association with early automobile tourism, the architectural character of its rustic cabins, its relationship to Grand Teton's visitor history, and its survival as a rare example of a once-common park accommodation type.

Kimmel Kabins originated in 1937, when J.D. and Lura Kimmel constructed a small tourist camp south of Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton region. The development consisted of a rustic lodge and eleven cabins positioned on either side of Cottonwood Creek. Its arrangement reflected the motor-court model that emerged with the expansion of automobile tourism: individual or semi-independent cabins clustered around a shared service building and located near a major travel or recreational destination. The camp operated during an important period in the development of Grand Teton tourism. Visitors increasingly arrived by car and required overnight accommodation, food, mail, and other basic services near the park's scenic attractions. Kimmel Kabins eventually included a store and a post office, indicating that it served a broader local and visitor-service function than a simple collection of sleeping cabins. Its location near Jenny Lake made it strategically valuable within the park's emerging tourism network. In 1944, the Kimmels sold the property in exchange for a life estate. This arrangement transferred ownership while preserving the couple's right to use the property for the remainder of their lives. After Lura Kimmel died in 1962, the buildings no longer functioned as a private tourist camp. The cabins were used seasonally as residences for National Park Service employees, while the other buildings associated with the original operation were removed. The loss of the lodge, store, post office, and other structures changed the physical character of the site, but the surviving cabins retained evidence of the camp's original organization and construction. The property became particularly significant because it represents the only remaining motor-court-style camp in Grand Teton National Park. Historical accounts identify as many as twelve former establishments of this general type, making Kimmel Kabins an unusually rare survivor of an earlier visitor-accommodation system. Kimmel Kabins was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1990. Its historic importance derives from its association with the development of automobile tourism, its representation of rustic park lodging, and its ability to document a type of visitor facility that has largely disappeared from Grand Teton. The site is now a historic resource rather than an operating commercial accommodation brand. Available material does not identify a current operating company, active booking service, contemporary product range, or continuing commercial management.

• 1990

  National Register listing

  [1]Kimmel Kabinsen.wikipedia.org

  Kimmel Kabins was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1990.

• 1962

  Cabins converted to seasonal employee residences

  [1]Kimmel Kabinsen.wikipedia.org

  After Lura Kimmel's death, the cabins were used seasonally by National Park Service employees and the other buildings were removed.

• 1944

  Property sold with life estate reserved

  [1]Kimmel Kabinsen.wikipedia.org

  The Kimmels sold the strategically located property while retaining a life estate.

• 1937

  Tourist camp established

  [1]Kimmel Kabinsen.wikipedia.org

  J.D. and Lura Kimmel built a rustic lodge and eleven cabins along Cottonwood Creek south of Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton region.

• Store and post office added

  [1]Kimmel Kabinsen.wikipedia.org

  The camp eventually expanded its visitor and community functions with a store and a post office.

A historic, rustic motor-court-style tourist camp associated with early automobile travel and visitor accommodation in Grand Teton National Park.

• Historic cabin lodging · 1937

  Kimmel Kabins

  The core offering was a group of eleven rustic cabins arranged around Cottonwood Creek as part of a motor-court-style tourist camp. The cabins provided informal accommodation for automobile travelers visiting the Grand Teton region. After commercial operations ended, they were used as seasonal residences for National Park Service employees rather than continuing as public lodging.

• Visitor accommodation and service building · 1937

  Rustic lodge

  The camp's lodge functioned as a shared building within the tourist-camp complex. It supported the lodging operation and formed part of the rustic architectural ensemble. The lodge was later removed, so it survives as part of the site's historical record rather than as an active offering.

• Visitor and community services

  Store and post office

  Kimmel Kabins eventually included a store and a post office, broadening the property from a lodging camp into a service point for visitors and people using the surrounding area. These facilities were subsequently removed along with the other non-cabin buildings.

1. 1Kimmel Kabinsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Kimmel Kabins — Wyoming State Historic Preservation Officewyoshpo.wyo.gov
3. 3Grand Teton Historic Resource Study: Touristsnps.gov