History
The site where the ranch is now located was used by Native Americans; pit houses and a ceremonial kiva dating from about 1050 have been found there. The earliest recorded visit by Europeans took place in 1869, when John Wesley Powell and his company camped at its beach. Prospectors began using the area in the 1890s, using mules to haul their ore. At the turn of the 19th to 20th century, the founders of the Grand Canyon Transportation Company began a project to exploit its tourism potential; they hired a crew to improve the trail from Phantom Ranch to the Canyon's North Rim. President Theodore Roosevelt traveled down the canyon to the camp during a hunting expedition in 1913; in honor of this visit, the site became known as Roosevelt Camp.
Roosevelt's enthusiasm for the Grand Canyon helped lead to its incorporation into the National Park System in 1919. The Fred Harvey Company was granted the concession for the camp in 1922; the company hired the American architect Mary Colter to design permanent lodging. Mary Colter suggested that its name be changed to Phantom Ranch. Construction presented a major challenge: all the building materials except rock had to be hauled down by mules. Meeting the challenges at this and other national parks led to the architectural style known as National Park Service Rustic, which features native stone, rough-hewn wood, large-scale design elements, and intensive use of hand labor.
During the Great Depression in the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps made a number of improvements to the ranch and its access trails. The 1920s and 1930s saw its popularity grow, and it was visited by many wealthy and notable guests. The Fred Harvey company made it a point to hire young, attractive, well-educated, and adventurous women to staff the resort.
As the Grand Canyon's popularity grew, so did Phantom Ranch's; during the weekend of Easter in 1964, about 1,000 people appeared with the intention of spending the night there. The National Park Service then instituted a permit system for overnight stays at the ranch.
Read more about this topic: Phantom Ranch
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