Ketchum was founded in 1879 as a mining camp and in its early decades mining, agriculture, and sheep farming sustained the town. But in 1936, the Union Pacific Railroad developed the Sun Valley Resort which began the transformation of Ketchum into a top-tier ski and outdoor recreation destination. As Ketchum’s status grew in the post-war years, its built environment began to reflect popular styles of the era. Often architect-designed and utilizing local building materials, banks, hotels, and homes in the Contemporary, Shed, and Swiss Revival styles proliferated.