Trailside
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(Written by Kari with excerpts from various printings of the Buffalo Bulletin and her own personal knowledge.)


There are very few locals who can remember when Trailside wasn't there along the roadside nestled in the mountains as you climb Highway 16, west of Buffalo. Trailside was my home when I was growing up and I have many fond memories of it. The spring water that supplied our house, raising and breaking horses and riding the surrounding hills, finding the perfect Christmas trees for our living room, hunting the wild game for food for our table, sleeping out under the stars in the summer, arrowhead hunting. running the gas station and gift shop. Life was good back then.

1934

The property was originally purchased from Antone Silva by Fred Dodson for $9.00 per acre. The basement for the building was begun in Sep, 1934 by Mr.Dodson and his wife, using logs that were hauled out of the mountains by the Gray boys-Claude, Harry and Kenneth. The logs were chinked by a mixture of wheat flour and raw linseed oil with yellow ochre for color and have remained pliable and during the job it was meant to do all the following years.
TrailsideTrailside is located 8 miles west of Buffalo, WY and 2000 feet higher in elevation than Buffalo. Because of the steep climb in elevation, the automobiles were overheated by the time they had come that far and Mr. Dodson recognized a natural business opportunity. The highway boys had piped mountain spring water directly across the road from what became the front yard and water was available to the thirsty traveler and his radiator for $1.00 a car. Dodson was making $18-$20 a day in 1934 when wages were $30 a month, if you could find a job!
Mr. Dodson was a talented photographer and later changed the name to Trailside Studios when he began displaying his work. There was also a gas station and gift shop included. He printed up a brochure in the late 1930's which included 57 of the most frequently asked questions by tourists. They included questions about sheep and cattle, the mountains, the environment, the animals, and the history of the area.

1956

Buffalo Bulletin Aug. 30, 1956
TRAILSIDE TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION

"Mr. and Mrs. Grainger MacKenzie, who have operated Trailside for the past two years, announced this week that the place will be sold at auction to the highest bidder, along with all furniture and equipment, on Saturday, Sep 15.
Mr.Mr. MacKenzie announced that his reason for selling is because of ill health. Trailside includes a modern, fully equipped mountain home of two stories. It has a basement and double garage.
The filling station, gift shop and established business will be sold to the highest bidder. Household furnishings and equipment will be sold separately. William M Leibee is the sale auctioneer and Sam K McBride is clerk. Mr. MacKenzie said that a large advertisement with complete listing will be published in later issues of the Buffalo Bulletin."

1960

FredFred and Pat Gray bought Trailside in 1960 and operated it as a business until 1973. They raised their five children (Carrie Connor, Stephen Connor, Robin, Anthony & Randy Gray) there, traveling the mountain canyon year around. Fred drove the children to school daily because there was no bus service. Wintertime was sometimes treacherous, but he had no accidents during those years.
In the mid-1960's Fred, and his brother Larry, added a 27'x 34' room to the east of the existing building and that became a new gift shop, with the original studio becoming a snack bar, serving beer, pop, ice cream, etc to the tourists. The gi ft shop was stocked with unusual gifts for the gift shop, including such things as bee’s wax candles, Native American made items and primitive decorative arts.
Trailside also included acreage of land that abuts the Big Horn National Forest and provided ample room for horses, dogs and a variety of other animals that the children grew up with, along with room to run, breathe clean mountain air, drink fresh spring water that was piped into the house by gravity. The Grays lived on wild game in the area...deer, elk, antelope, fish. The grocery store in town was used to supply the other items needed for life.
There was no phone service or television and any emergency was handled by themselves, sometimes taking a trip down the mountain to summon the police. Any danger to themselves was handled by themselves, also. Each child had been trained to shoot and rifles were available for such a purpose.

1980

In 1980, Fred and Pat Gray divorced and Pat received ownership of Trailside in the settlement. Pat died in Jan, 1989 and left Trailside in trust to her five children. In 1996, the children dissolved the trust and sold the property back to Fred.

PRESENT DAY

It has remained in the Gray family until present day 2010, but the original home was dismantled by Fred. The newer addition was moved down the mountain and was placed on land to the east of Buffalo. The other buildings were destroyed and removed. Fred built a new cabin behind the original and lives there during the warm months of the year.
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