San Bernardino Ranch
San Bernardino Ranch | |
Location | Cochise County, Arizona, United States |
---|---|
Nearest city | Douglas, Arizona |
Coordinates | 31°20′11″N 109°16′47″W / 31.33639°N 109.27972°W |
Area | 205 acres (83 ha) |
Built | 1822 |
NRHP reference No. | 66000170 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
Designated NHLD | July 19, 1964[2] |
San Bernardino Ranch is a historic
The site is also known as the Slaughter Ranch, for it was the home of the
The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964 for its association with Slaughter.[2][4] Today the compound includes the preserved ranch house, wash house, icehouse, granary, and commissary. Much of it is set up as a museum known as the Johnson Historical Museum of the Southwest.
History
The
Slaughter Ranch
In 1884,
Slaughter was elected sheriff of
Children were a large part of the ranch activities, and Slaughter loved children. There were enough children that the Slaughters built a schoolhouse, Slaughter School District No. 28. The children played in the natural artesian wells on the property and had picnics. Viola would bring the children ice cream from the icehouse. The kids loved swimming in the house pond, which was dammed by Slaughter for irrigation purposes. Slaughter loved technology. His was the first private home in southeastern Arizona to have a telephone. He owned six cars, yet never learned to drive.
From 1911 to 1920, the Slaughter Ranch Outpost for Camp Harry J. Jones in Douglas, Arizona was established on the ranch, on top of Mesa de la Avanzada overlooking the ranch house. Following the May 4, 1919 murder of Jesse Fisher by Manuel Garcia and Jose Perez, John and Viola moved to Douglas. John Slaughter died peacefully in his sleep on February 16, 1922. Viola sold the property around 1936 to a friend, Marion Williams.
In 1968 Paul and Helen Ramsower purchased the property. On August 7, 1964, the San Bernardino Ranch
Buildings
Today, the existing buildings at the San Bernardino Ranch have been carefully restored to their early 1900s appearance based on personal accounts and photographic records. The buildings include:
- Ranch house: An adobe structure with a hipped roof and redwood shingles, it contains six bedroom rooms, plus a living room/dining room, bathroom, kitchen, pantry, cowboy dining room, and porch.
- Ice house: Made of natural stone.
- Wash house
- Cook's room and commissary
- Granary
- Car Shed: Contains a fully restored 1915 Model T Ford
Museum
The Johnson Historical Museum of the Southwest is open to the public and is frequented by birdwatchers, school children, and people with an interest in Southwest history. It was the brainchild of Mr. Floyd Johnson, who established the museum "so that the youth of tomorrow may know what it was like yesterday."
The San Bernardino Ranch is located at 6153 Geronimo Trail, Douglas, Arizona 85608.
- Hours: Wednesday through Sunday 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)
- Admission: $5.00 per adult; under 14 free
- Closed on Christmas and New Year's Day
- No pets allowed
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Arizona
- Apache Campaign (1896)
- San Rafael Ranch
- Brown Canyon Ranch
- Faraway Ranch Historic District
References
- ^ "National Register Information System – (#66000170)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "San Bernardino Ranch". National Historic Landmark summary listing. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
- ^ Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 116-117
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination". National Park Service. 1986. San Bernardino Ranch / John H. Slaughter Ranch--Accompanying 11 photos of main house compound, from 1984.
External links
- Slaughter Ranch – official site
- Discover Southeast Arizona: Slaughter Ranch Museum