San Bernardino Ranch facts for kids
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San Bernardino Ranch
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Main ranch house, 1985
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 Location in Arizona
Location in the United States
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| Location | Cochise County, Arizona, United States |
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| Nearest city | Douglas, Arizona |
| Area | 205 acres (83 ha) |
| Built | 1822 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000170 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHLD | July 19, 1964 |
The San Bernardino Ranch is a very old ranch house located in the southern San Bernardino Valley. It's close to the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge in the far southeast part of Cochise County, Arizona, United States. This ranch is important because it shows where cattle ranching first started in southern Arizona and northern Mexico. The land here is also where the Yaqui River begins.
This place is also known as the Slaughter Ranch. This is because it was the home of a famous Old West lawman named John Horton Slaughter. He lived here from the 1880s until he passed away in 1922. During a time of conflict called the Border War in 1911, the United States Army set up a camp at the ranch. It was called Camp San Bernardino Ranch, or the Slaughter Ranch Outpost.
The ranch was named a National Historic Landmark in 1964. This was because of its connection to John Slaughter. Today, you can visit the ranch house, a wash house, an icehouse, a granary, and a commissary. Many of these buildings are now part of a museum. It is called the Johnson Historical Museum of the Southwest.
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History of the Ranch
The San Bernardino Valley was originally home to Southern Athabaskan Native American tribes. The first Europeans to visit were Spanish missionaries. One of them was Father Eusebio Kino, who came in 1694. Later, a fort called the San Bernardino Garrison was built there. It was used from 1775 to 1780.
The large piece of land, about 73,240 acres (29,640 ha), where the San Bernardino Ranch is today, was bought by Ignacio Perez in 1822. He paid 90 pesos for it. However, local Apache people forced him to leave his land in the 1830s.
In 1846, the Mormon Battalion traveled through the property on their way to California. You can still see a historical marker about their journey near the ranch's front gate. Many explorers and pioneers also passed through the valley in the 1840s and 1850s. They were also heading to California. On June 8, 1854, the valley officially became part of the United States. This happened after the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.
The Slaughter Ranch Era
In 1884, John Horton Slaughter bought about 65,000 acres (26,000 ha) of land from Perez's family. He paid around $80,000. Two-thirds of his property was in Mexico, and the rest was in the Arizona Territory.
There are still old ruins on the property. These ruins are now owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. One interesting ruin is where a Mormon employee of Slaughter's built a home. It was called the Mormon House. This house was built right on the U.S.–Mexico border. This allowed him to have one wife in the United States and another in Mexico. The house had two rooms, one on each side of the border. A breezeway connected them.
Slaughter was elected sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona in 1886. He served two terms until 1890. He became famous for bringing order to towns like Tombstone, Arizona. This happened after the well-known 1881 Gunfight at the OK Corral. The jail in Tombstone was even called the "Hotel de Slaughter." He helped make the Arizona Territory safer. He was known for returning from chasing outlaws with only their horses and equipment.
John Slaughter lived at the ranch for many years with his second wife, Viola Slaughter. Her parents, Amazon and Mary Ann Howell, also lived there. Slaughter's children from his first marriage, Addie and Willie, were there too. In 1887, a big earthquake in Bavispe, Sonora, destroyed the Howells' home on the property. The Howells then managed the ranch until Slaughter finished his second term as sheriff.
Slaughter had as many as 500 people living and working on the ranch. This included many foster children. One special child was an Apache toddler named Apache May Slaughter. John Slaughter adopted her after her parents left her. This happened while Slaughter was tracking her group, who were involved in conflicts in Arizona. Slaughter and the girl loved each other very much. She called him "Don Juan." Sadly, she died at age 6 from burns when her dress caught fire. She is buried in the cemetery on what is now the wildlife refuge.
Children were a big part of life at the ranch. John Slaughter truly loved children. There were so many children that the Slaughters built a schoolhouse. It was called Slaughter School District No. 28. The children played in the natural springs on the property. They also had picnics. Viola would bring the children ice cream from the icehouse. The kids loved swimming in the house pond. Slaughter had built a dam to create this pond for irrigation.
Slaughter was also very interested in new technology. His ranch was the first private home in southeastern Arizona to have a telephone. He owned six cars, but he never learned to drive them himself!
From 1911 to 1920, the Slaughter Ranch Outpost was set up on the ranch. It was for Camp Harry J. Jones in Douglas, Arizona. This outpost was on top of Mesa de la Avanzada, which overlooked the ranch house. After a sad event on May 4, 1919, John and Viola moved to Douglas. John Slaughter passed away 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 bought the property. On August 7, 1964, the San Bernardino Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark. The Ramsowers gave the ranch to The Nature Conservancy in 1980. The buildings were bought in 1983 by the Johnson Historical Museum of the Southwest. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service bought most of the remaining land. Out of the original land, 131 acres (53 ha) belong to the museum. The rest belongs to the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge and ranch are home to two endangered fish species. These are the Yaqui Topminnow and Yaqui Chub. They are only known to live in this valley.
Ranch Buildings Today
Today, the buildings at the San Bernardino Ranch have been carefully fixed up. They now look like they did in the early 1900s. This was done using old photos and stories from people who lived there. The buildings you can see include:
- Ranch house: This building is made of adobe. It has a sloped roof with redwood shingles. Inside, there are six bedrooms, a living room/dining room, a bathroom, a kitchen, a pantry, a cowboy dining room, and a porch.
- Ice house: This building is made of natural stone.
- Wash house
- Cook's room and commissary
- Granary
- Car Shed: This shed holds a fully restored 1915 Model T Ford car.
Visiting the Museum
The Johnson Historical Museum of the Southwest is open to everyone. Many people visit, including birdwatchers, school children, and anyone interested in the history of the Southwest. Mr. Floyd Johnson had the idea for this museum. He wanted to create it "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; children under 14 are free.
- Closed: On Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
- Pets: No pets are allowed.
See Also
