Head Homestead: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, El Malpais National Monument
Regions 6, 7, & 8 Park Cultural Landscapes Program. 2011. Head Homestead: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, El Malpais National Monument. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 975596. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Intermountain Regional Office, Santa Fe, New Mexico / CRIS-CL Database
Inventory Unit Description: The Head Homestead is a component landscape comprising approximately 565 acres of El Malpais National Monument. It is located on the east side of the malpais about five kilometers south of the Narrows in a broad valley called the North Pasture. Earl Head filed for his homestead on May 7, 1934 under the Stock-Raising Homestead Act after successfully contesting another person’s claim to the land. With help from his family, he constructed the major features between 1934 and 1937. He also raised crops and had a modest herd of cattle. By 1939, he had successfully “proved up” the land, meeting the requirements of the Homestead Act and received his patent in April of that same year. Three years later in 1942, Head sold his land to John or Juan Iriat, moved to California, and joined the Navy. The land changed hands several more times after that, with Iriat selling to M. E. Colclazier later in 1942, who then sold to Edward K. Warren in 1950. In turn, Warren sold to R. L. York in 1955. At some point after this, it became the property of the King Brothers. Between 1960 and 1963, the land was leased for natural gas exploration. It is not clear if any of the cultural manifestations within the homestead are related to these activities. The Head Homestead is significant as an excellent example of a Great Depression-era homestead in New Mexico. As such, it helps illustrate an important period of time in the evolution of New Mexico’s population, culture, and land use patterns. It is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A and D. The homestead retains its integrity as it has not been widely disturbed, built upon, or otherwise physically altered for several decades.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Regions 6, 7, & 8 Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2011-11-09
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- ELMA , IMR
- Keywords
- agriculture, archeology, Depression-era homestead, Earl Head, exploration - settlement, fencing, Great Depression, historic vernacular landscape, homestead, Homestead Act, irrigation system, livestock, malpais, New Mexico, subsistence agriculture, vernacular architecture