|
 | | 
(click above titles to go to that history section)
Goff Creek Lodge (now Creekside Lodge at Yellowstone) was founded in 1906 by John Goff, a hunting guide, trapper and close personal friend of
Theodore Roosevelt.
Goff met Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, when he led TDR on a big game hunt in the Meeker/Craig area of western Colorado.
Roosevelt wrote articles that appeared in Field & Stream and Outdoor Life about his exploits with John hunting mountain lion, bear and elk.
John moved his hunting operation to Cody, Wyoming in 1905 and leased the present site of Goff Creek Lodge from a Mrs. Palm.
In 1906, John built the original log building where the kitchen and dining room still exist today. John Goff continued his big game hunting business out of Goff Creek until 1912.
Theodore Roosevelt and John Goff had a lifelong friendship and letters from the then President Roosevelt to John Goff are still in the possession of the Lodge.
John Goff was reputedly the only person ever to have been granted a personal trapping license to help control a predator problem in Yellowstone National Park. Mt. Goff was given this commission by Theodore Roosevelt.
John Goff died in Cody, Wyoming on March 28, 1937 having lived 70 adventurous years in the wilds of Western Wyoming.
Click HERE to return to top of page
Lodge History from 1912 to 1950
Goff Creek Lodge was returned to Mrs. Palm in 1912.
She had planned to make the site a summer home, but instead sold the Lodge and its Forest Service lease in 1929.
A permit to operate Goff Creek Lodge as a commercial business was issued on June 3rd, 1929 to the North Fork Game Warden I.E. “Tex” Kennedy. It was the first Resort Permit issued on the North Fork.
Tex ran the establishment until 1936 as a hunting lodge and resort under the name of Kennedy‘s Game Lodge.
Tex Kennedy sold out to Ray and Irene Prante in May, 1936. It is rumored that the Lodge was exchanged for a bar in Cody and some cash.
The Prantes owned the Lodge until 1947. It was then sold to Lucille & Don Marquis and Helene & Clarence Byerly. Goff Creek was managed by the Byerly’s and Marquis’ until 1956.
The moose head that dominates the dining room was taken by a friend of the Marquis and left at the Lodge.
Cabins #5, #8, #12, and #14 were built during this time and indoor plumbing was installed throughout the Lodge. The water system was above ground and was piped directly out of Goff Creek
Cabin #8 was transported from another site. The logs were dismantled and numbered, then reconstructed in its new location next to the creek. The numbers on the logs can still be seen today.
In 1956 Frannie O. Weaver and Walter Trams bought Goff Creek Lodge and operated it until 1960.
Frannie was found dead in the snow next to Goff Creek during the winter of 1960. The cause of her death remains a mystery. It is said that some nights you can see Frannie Weaver walking along Goff Creek between the cabins and the old corrals.
Click HERE to return to top of page
1960 To Present
Bill Vehnekamp was a wrangler at Elephant Head Lodge in the late 1940's when he met a cabin girl working at Goff Creek Lodge named Edith. They were married in 1950, and worked in the area until eventually buying Goff Creek Lodge in 1960.
In 1964 they sold out to Paul and Gloria Schmitt, who operated the Lodge for 28 years.
Paul Schmitt was an outfitter and guide, specializing in elk, deer, bighorn sheep and moose hunts from the Lodge. He also set up wilderness camps for his hunting clients.
Paul died in 1990 and Gloria operated the Lodge for another eight years, finally selling to Gary and Joann Walrath, a couple from New York. The Walrath family operated the Lodge with the help of their sister and brother-in-law until the fall of 1999.
Currently ownership is by 3 individuals.
We welcome you to Creekside Lodge at Yellowstone and hope you have a fun-filled and memorable stay with us.
Happy Trails,
The Creekside Lodge Owners and Staff
Click HERE to return to top of page
|
