SOLD – Bar Cross Ranch, Cora, Wyoming

Being Iconic

Bar Cross Ranch fits every definition of “Iconic” but takes the entire discussion up a notch with its dual agricultural and pop-culture pedigree.

Few properties come close to matching its privacy, extensive views, well-blocked access to USFS, highly diverse wildlife, blue-ribbon quality fishing, very high conservation values, and a viable and productive livestock operation.  Add a colorful backstory featuring prominent personalities, a President’s son, and a connection to one of Rock and Roll’s most legendary bands.

As if it needed more, it’s a one-hour drive from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, one of the premier year-round resort towns in the U.S., and sits in the heart of a major migration route for antelope and deer.

Still not convinced?

Let’s explore how Bar Cross Ranch takes the term “Iconic” to a new level.

Wyoming’s Icon – The Bar Cross Ranch

Framed by the majestic peaks of the Wind River Mountain Range, the Bar Cross Ranch operates on over 35,000 acres. Located in Sublette County, just 15 miles north of Pinedale and 60 miles south of Jackson Hole, the ranch comprises 12,035± essentially contiguous deeded acres.

One of Wyoming’s historic reputation ranches, the Bar Cross offers the highly sought-after combination of a robust and productive cattle operation, world-class fishing and hunting, and direct “out the gate” access to millions of acres in the adjacent Bridger Teton National Forest and Bridger Wilderness. Rich in water resources, there are two-and-a-half miles of New Fork River frontage offering blue-ribbon quality trout fishing, around eight miles of Willow Creek, one quarter-mile of frontage on Willow Lake, and numerous ponds throughout – including a 40± acre lake.

Historically run as a balanced cow/calf operation, the ranch has recently transitioned into a yearling operation. In 2021, they could run around 2,300 yearlings for the grazing season plus 205 pairs for others for varying periods of time. They also were able to produce over 500 tons of hay. Their current program is to lease a ranch in California where they run around 2,500 yearlings during the winter, which they bring to the ranch for the grazing season.

The Bar Cross is home to year-round populations of pronghorn, sage grouse, moose, coyote, eagles, and hawks. Elk tend to come onto the ranch in the late fall, with trophy quality animals available primarily for the late season. However, one has good private access to large areas of the National Forest that adjoins the ranch. The river, creeks, and lake attract hundreds of birds and waterfowl – including a resident pair of trumpeter swans, plus five other nesting pairs of swans, sandhill cranes, and multiple duck species.

Foundations and Folklore – Hidden Gems

This is where things get interesting. Places become more than property when you add people.  Iconic locations aren’t usually too far from iconic people.

Originally assembled and owned by P.W. Jenkins, the Bar Cross saw its share of famous visitors and folklore.  Much of it at the hands of his grandson John Perry Barlow, a songwriter, a digital free speech advocate, and Wyoming ranching royalty.  Cowboy State Daily columnist Rod Miller referenced him as “probably the only Renaissance man that Wyoming ever produced.”

Mother American Night: My Life in Crazy Times

“an often unbelievable (yet entirely true) story of an American icon. Born into a powerful Wyoming political family, John Perry Barlow wrote the lyrics for thirty Grateful Dead songs while running his family’s cattle ranch.

  He hung out in Andy Warhol’s Factory, went on a date with the Dalai Lama’s sister, and accidentally shot Bob Weir in the face on the eve of his wedding. As a favor to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Barlow mentored a young JFK Jr., and the two then became lifelong friends.”

Here is your proof.

Some say that signatures are hidden away on one wall in the house, featuring Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Janis Joplin, John F. Kennedy Jr., Marlon Brando, and Dennis Hopper.

The “Mark”

The original cowboy hieroglyphics.

Cattle branding goes beyond livestock identification; it’s a unique language. Though it still serves to mark ownership and deter theft, it also allows ranchers to express their personality and a bit of creativity.

The Bar Cross brand originally belonged to P.W. Jenkins, a mathematician, and astronomer, who had studied, taught, and was working on his doctorate at Columbia University. When considering brands, his mathematics background yielded the simple, one-iron brand: – + (bar, cross).   Rumor has it that the minus sign above a plus sign symbolized the economic difficulty of keeping the operation in the black.

“I wanted it to have its own independent identity so that a variety of people could pass through there, and it would be the Bar Cross. And it was hard for me to give the brand up, you know, for sentimental reasons, but I felt like the one thing that I wanted to do was to gift that institution with some of its own identity if I could.” ~ John Perry Barlow

Beyond Iconic: Environmental Energy

Some Native Americans call it “orenda,” “wakan,” or “Karenna,” a lifeforce, the energy resident in people and places.

There’s everything you see… and everything you feel. Iconic ranches have a different resonant frequency, an energy that draws you in.

To the pronghorn, sage grouse, moose, coyote, eagles, hawks, elk, waterfowl, and hundreds of birds, it’s a safe environment with lush vegetation, abundant water, and safe pathways.  The ranch is a critical part of the second-largest migration in North America.

This is one of the most significant wildlife events in North America. The Red Desert to Hoback mule deer migration route traverses the ranch bringing hundreds, if not thousands, of mule deer through the area annually. Because of the lakes and the natural geography, there is a “choke point” in the migration corridor on the ranch. This makes it critically important that it be protected from development.

The lucky few who have experienced the Bar Cross “orenda” have benefited from an energy that fosters creativity and exploration. Musicians include Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Janis Joplin. The film industry chipped in with Marlon Brando and Dennis Hopper. John F Kennedy Jr. worked the ranch as Barlow’s protégé and lifelong friend.

It is the place that transformed a rancher into a songwriter, an internet guru, and a digital rights advocate.

Broker’s Insight: It Takes One to Know One

The impression an Iconic Ranch makes is indelible.

Hall and Hall’s icon, Jim Taylor, had this to say about Bar Cross:

“The Bar Cross Ranch has privacy, extensive views, well-blocked access to USFS, highly diverse wildlife, blue-ribbon quality fishing, very high conservation values, and a viable and productive livestock operation.

The real icing on the cake is that it is an easy one-hour drive to Jackson Hole – a world-class, year-round resort town where U.S. residents are flocking for the quality of life and taking advantage of Wyoming’s favorable tax climate.”

Experience Bar Cross: contact Jim Taylor to schedule a viewing.