Faraway Ranch: Cultural Landscape Report, Parts One and Two: History, Analysis, and Treatment, Chiricahua National Monument, National Park Service
Erickson H, MacMillan Johnson L, University of Arizona School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, Mundus Bishop, Contractor. 2013. Faraway Ranch: Cultural Landscape Report, Parts One and Two: History, Analysis, and Treatment, Chiricahua National Monument, National Park Service. Cultural Landscape Report. NPS Intermountain Regional Office. Intermountain Regional Office
Faraway Ranch is located in southeastern Arizona within Chiricahua National Monument, under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS). This historic vernacular landscape, situated in Bonita Canyon, includes structures from the Homesteading (1878-1888), Ranching (1889-1916), and Guest Ranch (1917-1960s) Periods that define the landscape’s historical progression. The Stafford log cabin is the earliest structure at the site. Just west lies the Erickson ranch house complex, comprised of the main residence, three guest cabins, and associated structures and features including a barn, various sheds, a garage, a bunkhouse, wells, an earthen reservoir, and a corral. The complex also contains a swimming pool built in 1923, remnants of an orchard, and the former site of the family vegetable garden. Traces of field roads, cobblestone edged paths, and irrigation ditches cut lines through the landscape. Approximately one mile to the southwest is the Erickson family cemetery, consisting of two fenced rectangular enclosures, plantings, and four headstones. A military lookout used by the Buffalo Soldiers during the 1885-86 war with the Apaches lies south of the ranch. The 160-acre Stafford property was purchased by sisters Lillian and Hildegarde Erickson in 1918. When the Stafford land was subdivided (in 1945 and 1955), Lillian (Erickson) Riggs retained ownership of the parcel containing the Stafford cabin. Despite declining health and drought conditions, she would continue to own and operate the ranch with some assistance until her death in 1977. The period of significance for Faraway Ranch is identified as 1879-1977, beginning with the first homesteading activities by Ja Hu Stafford, including the final military campaign against the Apaches and the peak years of the guest ranch, and ending with the transfer of ownership to the NPS. The physical aspects of the ranch help express the roles it played in the developmental history of the area, as well as its relationship to the surrounding landscape. The property has significant associations with areas of archeology, historic agriculture, architecture, conservation, settlement, industry (cattle and guest ranching), military history, women's history, and social history. Based on the findings of the report, Faraway Ranch is more than a collection of historic buildings and can potentially support more comprehensive interpretation of history and the surrounding landscape. Beyond the guest house period, the site provides an access point to narratives of the Chiricahua Apache, early subsistence Anglo homesteading, and the Buffalo Soldiers. Additionally, the ranch can be viewed in connection to the development of the Chiricahua National Monument. Exploring these historic relationships can increase the value and relevance of the landscape to a greater range of visitors. Chiricahua National Monument was created in 1924, but the Faraway Ranch Historic District was not officially acquired for the park until 1978. National Register documentation for the ranch was completed in 1980. The purpose of developing a Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for the Faraway Ranch Historic District is to provide comprehensive documentation and landscape treatment recommendations, thereby assisting the NPS in managing the landscape in a way that retains historic integrity. The CLR Study Area aligns with the Historic District boundary as defined in the National Register nomination (amended 2009), and it addresses all portions of the Historic District except for building interiors. The CLR was produced for the NPS through a cooperative agreement with the University of Arizona School of Architecture and Planning, and through contract with Mundus Bishop. The resulting report is divided into two parts, with Part One focusing on documentation and the emphasis of Part Two being Treatment and Analysis.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Erickson, Helen; MacMillan Johnson, Lauri; University of Arizona School of Landscape Architecture and Planning; Mundus Bishop, Contractor
- Date of Issue
- 2013-08
- Publisher
- NPS Intermountain Regional Office
- Units
- CHIR , IMR
- Keywords
- "Wonderland of Rocks", Archeology, Architecture, Arizona, Bonita Canyon, Bonita Creek, Buffalo Soldiers, Bunkhouse, Cattle Ranch, Chiricahua Apaches, Civilian Conservation Corps, Conservation, corral, Ed Riggs, Erickson Ranch, Family Cemetery, Fire Management Plan, Garfield Monument Site, Guest Cabin, Guest Ranch, Historic Agriculture, historic district, Industry, Interpretive Landscape, Irrigation Ditch, Landscape Character Areas, Lillian Erickson Riggs, log cabin, Military history, Military Lookout, Native American Wars, Neil's Rock, Newton's Wash, Orchard, pioneer, Ranch House Complex, Rehabilitation, Settlement, Social History, Stafford Homestead, Subsistence Farming, Trace Road, Vernacular Landscape, Well, Women's History
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 850020: Faraway Ranch