Browns Park and Jarvie Ranch

Vermillion Cliffs--Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Utah



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Browns Park and John Jarvie Ranch

Your invitation to the 2008 Summer Jarvie Family Festival!

Everyone is invited to the John Jarvie Ranch Summer Festival!

Learn the history of the ranch and allow yourself to step back in time. Bring a picnic lunch and sit on a quilt, while enjoying activities from long ago. There is live music, cowboy poetry, blacksmithing, wool spinning and mountain men. Or, mingle around the ranch and participate in old time activities such as stick horse racing, rope making, leather crafting, rubber band target contest, or take a horse-drawn wagon ride. The choice is yours and there are lots of choices throughout the day!

Browns Park

Explore where the wild west is still wild and where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out from the long arms of the law. This region was filled with outlaws, guns, and traders.

In 1880, John Jarvie, a Scotsman built a ranch along the Green River to offer store goods to those that lived or traveled in this wild territory. At the ranch, you can visit the ranch's museum, where you'll discover relics from the frontier days. Developed camping is available at Bridge Hollow or Indian Crossing campgrounds nestled along the Green River, adjacent to the ranch. There you’ll have several launch points for floating the Green River. If you're a fisherman, you won't want to miss the blue ribbon fishing opportunity from the Flaming Gorge Dam down to the Colorado State line.

John Jarvie Ranch

This historic property built in 1880 provides a glimpse of turn-of-the-century frontier life in Brown's Park. John Jarvie, a business man from Scotland, chose this particular one because of the naturally occurring river crossing. For years it had been used by Indians, fur trappers, travelers, and local residents. Jarvie figured it would be an excellent spot to establish a business. At its height, the Jarvie ranch operation included a store, post office, river ferry, and cemetery.

At the historic ranch, you’ll find the stone house, which is a one-room, rectangular building. It was built by outlaw Jack Bennett, using masonry skills he learned in prison. This is also the museum where displays decorate the walls and a video of the history of the ranch can be viewed. You’ll also get to duck inside the two-room dugout where John and his wife Nellie first lived. It is build into a hillside with a south-facing entrance overlooking the Green River. You can stroll over to the blacksmith shop and corral, which were constructed using hand-hewn railroad ties which drifted down from Green River, Wyoming, during high water. Finally, you get to pretend shop at the general store where Mr. Jarvie sold goods, which is a replica of the original which was built in 1881. It is furnished with many artifacts from the Jarvie period and also contains the original safe which was robbed from the men that murdered John Jarvie.

Visitor Information

River Safety--The Green River can fluctuate daily from 830 to 4500 cubic feet per second or higher, depending on the time of year. Life jackets are required for boaters on the river. This portion of the river, Flaming Gorge Dam to the Colorado State line is closed to motorized watercraft.
Camping/Picnicking--Indian Crossing and Bridge Hollow developed (fee) campgrounds, adjacent to the Jarvie site, include picnic table, fire rings, drinking water, and restrooms. Pets must be on a leash at the site.
Permits--Permits are required for commercial float boating only. No permits are required for personal use from the Flaming Gorge Dam to the Dinosaur National Monument at Lodore Canyon in Colorado.
Fishing--Fishing is limited to artificial bait only. All fish between 13 and 20 inches must be released. You may keep two fish under 13 inches and one fish over 20 inches.
Telephone--A credit card/collect-call-only telephone is located at the Bridge Hollow boat ramp.
Accommodations/Supplies--Gas, food, and lodging can be obtained in the towns of Green River and Rock Springs Wyoming; Maybell, Colorado; and Vernal, Manila, and Dutch John in Utah. Gasoline, food, and phone services are available at the Browns Park Store in Colorado. Extra gas should be carried. Other equipment, such as tire chains, food, water, and a shovel, are recommended.

Historic Site Contact Information:
Park Ranger (435) 885-3307

For additional information contact:
Bureau of Land Management
Vernal Field Office
170 South 500 East
Vernal, Utah 84078
(435) 781-4400


                                                                                                Horse racing!