Jackson Hole Antler Arches town square
— — four arches built from shed antlers.
Not only on a wall.
“Four arches stand at the corners of George Washington Memorial Park in downtown Jackson. Each is built from naturally shed elk antlers, gathered every spring by local Boy Scouts from the National Elk Refuge north of town. The first arch went up in 1953. The antlers weather pale silver in the Wyoming sun, then darken in winter under the snow. Most photographs of Jackson, taken at any season, include at least one.
Jackson Hole Antler Arches town square, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The four antler arches stand at the corners of George Washington Memorial Park, the small fenced square at the centre of Jackson, Wyoming. Each arch is built from elk antlers naturally shed each winter on the National Elk Refuge, the 24,700-acre refuge north of town that overwinters roughly 7,500 elk. Boy Scouts of Troop 67 have gathered the antlers since the 1960s and auction the surplus each spring. The first arch was raised in 1953. The square itself dates to 1932.
The arches turn with Jackson's seasons. In late winter the bulls drop their antlers across the refuge meadows; the Scouts collect them in April and May and the surplus is auctioned in the square on ElkFest weekend. Through summer the arches stand pale against the cottonwoods, and the square fills with stage performances and the nightly Town Square Shootout, a tradition since the 1950s. In autumn the cottonwoods turn yellow above the antlers. By December the arches stand in deep snow under strings of small lights.
The square sits at the intersection of Cache Street and Broadway, at the heart of downtown Jackson. The park is open every season and free to enter. The four arches stand at the four corners, each about twelve feet high. The Town Square Shootout runs Monday through Saturday in summer at 6 p.m. The annual antler auction is held on the square in May during ElkFest, with proceeds shared between the Boy Scouts and the National Elk Refuge.