If you fly into Jackson Hole, Wyoming, you'll get a quick view of where the "Hole" came from. It is a valley surrounded by foothills and is topped by mountains that are dominated by Wyoming's youngest mountain range, the Tetons. Around 10 million years old, these glacially carved mountain peaks are still growing.

Its earliest human inhabitants were hunter-gatherers who archeologists believe were there 12,000 years ago. Later, Native Americans, including the Shoshone, Black Foot, Crow, and Gros Ventre spent their summers in Jackson's valley.

During the first half of the nineteenth century, trappers and trade were the main elements in the area's history. John Colter was asked to encourage Wyoming's Crow Indians to trade at a fort on the Yellowstone River. Colter was followed by hunters and trappers at a time when beaver skins ended up as popular hats in the east.

Jackson did not become a town in Wyoming until 1901 and also was America's first town to be exclusively governed by women in the early twenties. The town's name originated with a mountain man named David Jackson who assisted William Sublette and Jedediah Smith in their exploration of new hunting areas, shipping of furs, and ongoing trade. The location was excellent for these purposes inasmuch as three beautiful rivers, the Snake, the Yellowstone, and Green were expeditious for both trapping and trade. By the latter half of the 19th century haberdashery fashions changed in the east, and fur trading was no longer profitable.

Few white people came to the area until the second half of the 19th century when scientific expeditions, most notably the Hayden expedition, came to map, photograph, and classify the flora and fauna around the Tetons and Yellowstone.

Ranchers and farmers dominated the next group of people moving to the area. Elk ate the hay grown for cattle, leading to the development of the National Elk Refuge. Instituted by the federal government in 1910, several thousand acres were purchased to help feed the elk during the winter and protect the ranchers' cattle as well.

At the same time similar attractions drawing today's tourists were bringing in fishing and hunting enthusiasts, as well as visitors captivated by the area's extraordinary scenery. Along with the development of tourism, it attracted artists and writers during the 20th century. It also had its share of outlaws, including Butch Cassidy. Today it attracts thousands of tourists who enjoy the town's shops, restaurants, and other attractions.