Harold Pegram Fabian
- Cornelius Amory Pugsley National Medal Award, 1964
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- Harold Pegram Fabian (1885-1975) received the national level Pugsley Medal in 1964 "for his contributions to establishing Grand Teton National Park and the Utah state park system, and to the National Parks Advisory Board." Fabian was a member of a pioneer, non-Mormon Western family. His father was a banker in Salt Lake City where Fabian was born. After attending grade schools in Salt Lake City, he was educated in the East at Mercersburg (Pennsylvania) Academy; at Yale University (AB 1907); and at Harvard Law School from which he graduated in 1910.
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- After graduation, Fabian began practicing law in the firm of Dey, Hoppaugh and Fabian. He remained in Utah throughout his life. During World War I, Fabian was a major in the infantry, with responsibility for training soldiers at Fort Lewis, Washington.
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- Upon his release from the service, he joined the law firm of Bayley, Fabian, Clendenin and Judd which subsequently became the firm of Fabian and Clendenin in which he was the senior partner.Through his partner, Beverly Clendenin, Fabian met Horace Albright, the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, around 1920 and formed a lasting friendship. At the same time a group of Jackson Hole residents was making plans to preserve the Teton Mountains from unrestricted development and had recruited Albright to their cause. Albright, in turn, impressed John D. Rockefeller, Jr. with the vision of their plans. Rockefeller was on a tour of the West in 1926. Superintendent Albright took Rockefeller to view the Teton Mountains and Jackson Hole, and Rockefeller quickly began to organize a preservation plan. The firm of Fabian and Clendenin was contacted to act as counsel, and Fabian became the Western representative of Rockefeller and the person responsible for organizing and operating the Snake River Land Company. The Snake River Land Co. was incorporated in 1927. It was formed to acquire property for eventual inclusion in the Grand Teton National Park. Fabian was not at first aware that Rockefeller was the program's sponsor but probably knew by 1929, by which time the purchasing program was earnestly underway.
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- Fabian was an outdoor enthusiast and recreationist who was inspired by the local Wasatch Mountains and the neighboring Rockies. He was attracted to the field of natural conservation at an early age. Because of his knowledge of the Jackson Hole and Teton area, and his legal training, his Pugsley citations notes "he was obviously the most experienced, dedicated, and competent man to supervise the acquisitions of these lands by John D. Rockefeller Jr."
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- A fledgling bill approving a 96,000 acre park comprising the Teton Range and six glacial lakes at the base of the peaks was signed in 1928, but this excluded all the lands in the Jackson Hole area which conservationists regarded as key to sustaining the area's ecosystem. Hence, Fabian was responsible for purchasing 35,000 acres of old homesteads, ranch lands, etc in the Jackson Hole area to expand the original boundaries. He did this by using the Snake River Land Company as a purchasing agent to mask any association with the Rockefeller family and keep land prices affordable, since landowners would have undoubtedly inflated their asking prices had they known of the Rockefeller involvement.
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- In addition, Fabian was responsible for taking care of these properties until the NPS was authorized to take them over. This was a substantial responsibility since this did not occur until 1943. Horace Albright characterized this as "a very difficult task" and it was controversial. Some local residents, especially cattle ranchers, resented what they considered to be a takeover by wealthy Easterners and tyranny by the NPS. This disgruntlement led to several investigations. One of the most critical for the fledgling organization arose from allegations that the Snake River Land Company used illegal tactics during the purchase of properties. A Senate subcommittee convened hearings in 1933 to investigate. It reported the allegations groundless and exonerated the company.
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- By 1933 the Snake River Land Co. had acquired over 32,000 acres which fulfilled the majority of its purchasing program. With purchases mostly complete, the company concentrated on management. It had acquired several ranches that were used to produce hay for the elk refuge, wildlife park and local market. It required a great deal of effort to refurbish, maintain and operate these ranches. There were encroachment problems and leases to negotiate and a good deal of intercourse between the company and the Jackson Hole community to handle.
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- To facilitate tourism to the area, there needed to be an assessment of infrastructure. In 1930, the Teton companies were formed under Fabian's direction to provide lodging and transportation for tourists in cooperation with the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The Teton Investment Co. was organized in 1930 and in turn organized the Teton Lodge Co. and the Teton Transportation Co. The Lodge Company consisted of the Teton Lodge at Moran and the Jackson Lake Lodge on Jackson Lake. The Transportation Company provided the over-the-mountain connection between Jackson Hole, the Union Pacific Railroad and Yellowstone National Park. In 1936, reorganization merged the separate entities into the Grand Teton Lodge and Transportation Co., and in 1956 reorganization led to the creation of the Grand Teton Lodge Co. The corporate changes reflected the growth in tourism and the need for facilities to accommodate that growth.
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- Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc. was also formed to accommodate changing conditions. In 1940 the Land Company transferred its holdings to what soon after became the Jackson Hole National Monument. The new organization was formed to carry on the role of preservation. Property supervision continued, but increasingly more effort was directed toward enhancing the quality of the preserved area. The restoration of Menor's Ferry was the first such effort. Fabian was deeply involved in this project to reconstruct the ferry and ranch buildings. Beyond the physical reconstruction, he especially wanted to remember the pioneers of the area and their history. A wildlife park, constructed in 1946, was another effort to preserve the original beauty of Jackson Hole.
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- In the 1950s, Fabian became the leader of a movement to establish a state park system in Utah, one of the three or four states that did not yet have such a system. He was successful in securing authorizing legislation; and was then appointed by the state's governor as chair of the state park commission which made notable progress in establishing both scenic and historic parks under Fabian's leadership.
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- In 1958, Fabian was appointed by the Secretary of Interior to a six year term on the Advisory Board on the National Parks, Historic Sites, Building and Monuments and was its chair for the last two years of his term. Subsequently, he remained involved with the NPS when the Secretary of Interior requested him to participate in a review of long-range plans for the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
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- Fabian held leadership positions in many civic and business organizations in Salt Lake City, but retired from these when he retired from his law business in 1954. However, for the remaining 20 years of his life, he continued to actively work for conservation and historic preservation at both national and state levels.
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- Sources:
Harold P. Fabian Papers, 1927-1981, Rockefeller Archive Center.
Harold Fabian Collection, University of Utah Library.
Harold P. Fabian Advisory Board Collection, (1961-1973), National Park Service.