JACKSON, Wyo. — Eva Topping, who built and ran the Moose Head Ranch in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), was one of the last Wyomingites to secure land under the Homestead Act almost a century ago.
In 1924, Topping first came to the valley as a 21-year-old, riding in a Model T over the then-graveled Togwotee Pass road with her parents, Bert and Anna Rice Sanford, according to History Jackson Hole (HJH). The Sanfords were some of Converse County’s earliest settlers, homesteading in the Upper LaPrele area.
When Topping was 24, she took a job as a school teacher at the Spread Creek School in Elk, Wyoming, according to HJH. She taught first through eighth grade for three years, averaging up to 16 students. Despite being paid $90 a month (almost $10 more than she would have been in the surrounding counties), most of her wages went toward her rent.
Eva meets Fred
In 1927, Topping was able to secure a 120-acre homestead in the Spread Creek region, per HJH records. Seizing the opportunity to acquire the public land, she filed entry papers in May and established residence in November. Topping was one of the last individuals in Wyoming to make use of the Homestead Act before President Calvin Coolidge signed Executive Order #4685, removing over 1,280 acres of public land from homestead claims.
In that same year, Eva married Fred J. Topping in Riverton on July 24. Her husband, a cow hand and hunting guide, lost his first wife, Doris Coffin, to influenza during the 1918 epidemic. When Eva and Fred were married, they had homestead claims but no cabin to live in. During the fall of 1928, Fred built a small cabin and a barn was added the next year. The Toppings kept chickens, dairy cows and eight head of horses.
HJH records state that in 1930, Topping’s homestead was contested by the General Land Office because its officials believed it to have been illegal due to the closure of public lands. An inspector was sent to review the property and the application. The inspector found four cabins, a barn, chicken coop, garage and nearly 20 head of cattle and horses on the property. The homestead was ultimately determined to be in compliance, and a patent was issued on Dec. 16, 1931.
Beginning of Moose Head Ranch
With Topping tirelessly keeping up the homestead, and her husband’s growing reputation as one of the best hunting guides in the valley, they built what would become Moose Head Ranch. Despite the ranch opening during the Depression, the Toppings brought in a steady and loyal group of guests. Operations began to expand and, by 1937, they officially called themselves the Moose Head Ranch.
In addition to housing up to 40 guests at the ranch, Topping also worked as Elk’s postmaster. From 1932 until 1967, the Elk Post Office was stationed in its own cabin at the ranch.
Eva’s later years
The Toppings never sold their property to the National Park Service, so the ranch became an inholding in GTNP. The couple eventually sold the ranch to John Mettler in 1967 and moved to Jackson in 1969. Fred Topping died in 1971.
Topping remained active in the Jackson social scene, working for several organizations. On Nov. 20, 1972, she married William “Bud” Briggs. She died in 1988.
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