Cunningham Cabin

A violent dark side to the ranch involves a gunfight in April of 1893. Two wranglers from Montana approached Pierce Cunningham in the fall of 92 looking to buy hay for their horses. A deal was struck that included the strangers wintering over on the ranch. Rumors spread that the two men were horse thieves. In the spring a man claiming to be a U.S. Marshal along with deputies rode into Jackson from Idaho. They gathered a posse from Jackson to try and apprehend the alleged rustlers. Under the cover of darkness they surrounded the Cunningham cabin and waited for daybreak. As morning approached and the alleged rustlers left the cabin they were gunned down in a hail of bullets. While Cunning ham was never involved with the incident he did feel the brands on the horses had been altered. The truth of the Marshall's identity and the allegations were never proven.