Brown Canyon Ranch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brown Canyon Ranch |
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The Brown Canyon Ranch House in 2014.
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| Former names | Barchas Ranch |
| General information | |
| Location | Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, United States |
| Coordinates | 31°28′25.93″N 110°17′51.12″W / 31.4738694°N 110.2975333°W |
| Completed | 1907 |
Brown Canyon Ranch, once known as the Barchas Ranch, is a special historic place. It's a ranch located in the beautiful Huachuca Mountains in Arizona, near a town called Sierra Vista, Arizona. It's a great spot to visit and learn about the past.
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The Story of Brown Canyon Ranch
The land where Brown Canyon Ranch stands was first settled around 1880. A man named John Thomas Brown was the first to live there. He owned a hotel not too far away in Ramsey Canyon.
Over the years, the land changed hands many times. Eventually, two brothers, James and Tom Haverty, became the owners. Between 1905 and 1907, James and his brother built the main house. It was a simple three-room home made of adobe, which is a type of sun-dried brick. This house is now known as the Brown Canyon Ranch House.
James and his wife Lessie officially claimed the ranch as their home in 1912. This process is called homesteading. They lived there until 1921. After that, they sold the ranch to William and Margaret Carmichael.
Who Lived and Worked Here?
The Carmichaels owned a lot of land in the Sierra Vista area. They didn't live at the ranch house themselves. Instead, they rented it out to different people. One renter was a local miner named Harvey James. Later, a Yaqui Indian man named Chico Romero and his family lived there.
In 1946, the Carmichaels sold the ranch to Roy and Stella Rambo. The Rambos raised cattle on the ranch until 1957. Then, Samuel and Cecile Barchas bought it. The Barchas family also didn't live at the ranch. But they raised livestock there for a long time, all the way until 1997.
In 1998, the ranch became part of the United States Forest Service. This meant the land was now protected.
Protecting a Piece of History
Since 1998, people have been working hard to save and fix up the historic ranch house. They are also restoring the other old buildings around it. It's important to keep these places safe so we can learn about how people lived long ago.
Today, Brown Canyon Ranch is open to everyone. You can go hiking and have a picnic there. It's free to visit, but only during the day.
What You Can See at the Ranch
When you visit Brown Canyon Ranch, you'll find several interesting old buildings and other cool spots.
The Ranch House
The main building is the Ranch House. It's shaped like an "L" and has a metal roof. Inside, you can see the main living room, a kitchen in the middle, and a bedroom. It gives you a peek into what life was like over a hundred years ago.
Right next to the ranch house, there's a small, one-room adobe building. This was used as a storeroom.
Other Cool Spots
- Corral and Outhouse: You can see a wooden corral, which was used to hold livestock. There's also an old outhouse attached to it.
- Barn Ruins: You'll find the stone ruins of an old barn. It's a reminder of the ranch's farming past.
- Windmill and Ponds: There's a windmill connected to a small water tank. Near it are two man-made ponds. These ponds are now a special home for the endangered Chiricahua leopard frog. It's a great example of how old places can help protect wildlife!
- Old House Ruins: If you walk further up the trail, you'll find the ruins of another old house.
- Brown Canyon Cemetery: Close to the old house ruins, there's a small graveyard. It's called the Brown Canyon Cemetery.
- Pomono Mine: Even further up the trail, you can see what's left of the Pomono Mine. This was a mining operation from the early 1900s.
Photo Gallery
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The kitchen inside the Brown Canyon Ranch House.
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The living room.
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The bedroom.
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The corral, an outhouse and a windmill attached to the water tank.
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Ruins of the barn.
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One of the frog ponds.
