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The Hunter Hereford Ranch has a diverse history, extending from 1909 when James Williams homesteaded 160 acres, throughout the 1940s and 1950s when William Hunter, Eileen Hunter, and ranch foreman John Anderson developed the site into a prototype of Jackson Hole ''Hobby Ranches'', to the 1960s when the site and its plethora of log buildings and spectacular views was chosen as the town site in the western film The Wild Country. The historic district is significant for its association with the growth of hobby ranches and for its association with vernacular architecture and with architect-designed rustic architecture. After William Hunter's death, Eileen Hunter sold the property to the National Park Service in 1957 yet retained rights to the water, land, grazing, and buildings for the remainder of her lifetime. Management of the ranch remained in John Anderson's hands for over twenty years. Upon Eileen Hunter's death in 1989, the National Park Service leased the rights to Hunter Hereford and adjacent Smith-Talbot infrastructure to the Triangle X Dude Ranch. This lease agreement was terminated in 1991 and the buildings abandoned as part of the Park Service's long-term plans to return the area to its natural state.