While Estes Park began as a cattle ranch owned by Joel Estes in 1859, its natural spectacular setting made it an early tourist mecca. In 1864, William Byers, the owner and editor of the Rocky Mountain News, visited the area and named it Estes Park in honor of his host. Estes found the high altitude and short growing season made cattle ranching impractical, so he sold his homestead to Griff Evans who established a dude ranch. Large cattle ranches in the area were also established in the 1870s.  By the middle of the 1880s there were sometimes 200 tourists in the summer at Estes Park. The famous Stanley Hotel was built by F. O. Stanley who, like many others, came out West at the turn of the century seeking a cure for tuberculosis. The mountain air proved so beneficial that Stanley settled here and built the Stanley Hotel as a luxury travel stop. Because the climate was not overly conducive to ranching, slowly the ranches of the upper Colorado Valley converted to the tourist business, and dude ranching was the primary occupation by the 1930's. Estes is the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park which was designated by President Wilson on January 26, 1915. Today Estes Park is a major tourist destination for people from all over the world.