Ketchum / Sun Valley:

KETCHUM RANGER DISTRIC COMPLEX
The Ketchum Sun Valley Historical Society Heritage and Ski Museum stands on what was formerly the Ketchum Ranger District Complex at the corner of First Street and Washington Avenue in Ketchum. The site's early history dates back to the 1880's, when Bob Koeninger, a German immigrant, used the property to grow hops and barley for his brewery located on nearby River Street. The Sawtooth National Forest was established in 1905, and the first ranger station was built in Adams Gulch in 1909. Ranger Arthur Berry who ran the station lived in Ketchum and wanted the station nearer his home. In 1929, on land purchased from Mrs. Walter Leflang and land donated by Fred Pothier, Berry and one other helper constructed the middle warehouse building, using wood cut from local forests. In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the remaining two warehouses and the living quarters. The complex served as headquarters for the Sawtooth National Forest/Ketchum Ranger District. With the exception of the brick walkways the layout of the 1933 complex remains unchanged.

Where the Pioneering Spirit Lives On Since the middle of the 19 th Century, the Ketchum Sun Valley area has been transformed from a wilderness used by Native American bands and the occasional trapper, to a booming mining and smelting center, a major sheep-raising and shipping area and finally into one of the nation’s premiere winter and summer destination resorts.

Archaeological evidence indicates that Native American peoples were making use of the valley’s natural resources at least 10,000 years ago. Local native groups in the area at the time of the arrival of the first Europeans were called Tukudeka or “sheep-eaters” and were mostly Shoshone/Bannock in origin.

Although trappers and mountain men traveled through the area, it was still chiefly occupied by the Tukudeka. It wasn’t until the Bannock War and the Sheepeater campaigns of 1878 and 1879 ended with the removal of the local natives to the Fort Hall reservation that prospectors began to drift into the Wood River Valley.

One of the earliest prospectors in 1879 was David Ketchum. Although in the area only a short time, he built the first structure in what it now Ketchum. By the end of May 1880, several hundred people had established a tent city, with permanent buildings soon following. When the U.S. Post Office turned down the name “Leadville” because too many other Leadvilles peppered the West, citizens of the new town decided to name it after David Ketchum.

Smelters were needed near the mines to process ore into metal. In 1881, construction began on the Philadelphia Smelter off Warm Springs Road. Known as the most advanced smelter in the West, it processed more than 1.5 million dollars of lead and silver in its first year. It operated until the early 1890’s.

The Oregon Shortline reached Ketchum in 1884. Horace Lewis, son of a City Founder, Isaac, had his Ketchum Fast Freight wagons ready to distribute supplies from the railhead to mining areas to the east and north and to carry their ore production to the smelter in Ketchum. By the end of 1884, Ketchum boasted 13 saloons, 4 restaurants, 2 hotels, 3 blacksmith shops, 6 livery stables, 7 stages per day, 2 banks, a drug store, a bookstore, a weekly newspaper, a brewery, a ski maker, a lumber yard, Guyer Hot Springs Resort, several fruit stands, and many establishments euphemistically referred to as “female boarding houses.” Life wasn’t dull in Ketchum’s boom days. The Ketchum Keystone reported nonchalantly in 1885: “A great week for killings and births. The former in preponderance!”

The silver market collapsed in 1894 resulting in a rapid mining industry decline throughout the West. Most of Ketchum’s residents left to find other work. Because of its railway service, Ketchum was able to hang on, but lost nearly 90% of its boom-time population.

After WWI, sheep ranching boomed. By the late 1920s, Ketchum had become one of the world’s leading sheep-shipping centers, and said to be second only to Sydney, Australia.

Since most of the herders were Basque immigrants, the sheep industry brought a substantial Basque influence to the valley.

In 1935, Union Pacific Chairman, Averell Harriman hired Count Felix Schaffgotsch to scout the American West for the best site on which to build a destination ski resort. When none fit Harriman’s criteria, the Count began his return journey to New York. An Idaho official of U.P. contacted him and asked him to check out one last site-Ketchum. Within 3 days of arriving in Ketchum, the Count wired Harriman: “Among the many attractive spots I have visited, this combines more delightful features of any place I have seen in the United States, Switzerland or Austria for a winter sports resort.” In early February, Harriman authorized the purchase of the Brass Ranch, one mile east of Ketchum. Construction got underway in May. The Sun Valley Resort, with an invitation list of eastern millionaire socialites and Hollywood stars, opened to international publicity on December 21, 1936, just 11 months and 5 days after the arrival of Count Schaffgotsch.

World War II brought a temporary halt to leisure travel. On July 1, 1943, the Sun Valley Lodge was commissioned as a Naval Convalescent Hospital. The Navy administered three types of treatment: medical, surgical, and neuropsychological. The maximum occupancy was reached shortly before V-J day when there were 1,603 patients. By December 1945, Sun Valley was decommissioned as a Naval hospital, four months after the war ended.

When at last ready to welcome guests again, the resort had a new focus. Instead of appealing only to the rich and famous, Sun Valley hoped to put its ledgers in the black by attracting a greater number of people from a wider range of social levels. Families and fun-loving recreationists joined the beautiful people.