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 A
clap of thunder, a flash of lightning and the threat
of rain made the old Reavis Ranch house a haven to
weary hikers, horsemen and cattlemen who rode or
walked the trails of the eastern portion of the
Superstition Wilderness Area for almost three
decades. This old skeleton of a ranch house survived
almost thirty years alone in the heart of the
Superstition Wilderness Area with little or no
maintenance. Many friends of the old Reavis Ranch
house tried desperately to help the old ranch house
limp into the Twenty-first Century.
The Friends of the Reavis Ranch cleaned, cleared,
hauled trash off and repaired the old ranch house
for more than a decade. Their effort was a labor of
love, nothing more. We all understood the character
and spirit of this old house after spending a few
days in it. The roar of the fire place, the clanging
of the tin roof, the wind blowing through the breeze
way and the attic, the squeaking of a door hinge
were sounds all of us were familiar with. The beauty
and solitude of this valley has made it a popular
destination for hikers and horseman.
Since 1956, I have traveled to and from the Reavis
Ranch on foot, horseback and by vehicle on many
different occasions. I can recall the old road and
how rough it was between Castle Dome Corral, up
through Windy Gap and on to Plow Saddle. I can
remember t he
friendly smile of Alice Stone and the strong hand
shake of Floyd “Stoney” Stone when welcomed to their
mountain ranch. I can recall the closing of the road
and Mary Leonard’s article in the Arizona Republic
about the old ranch in 1967. Only those who have
spent a weekend or a month at the old ranch in
Reavis Valley know what we have lost. The Reavis
Valley is a pristine ecological niche of the Upper
Sonoran Desert with the old ranch serving as a
window for human kind.
The Reavis Ranch house burned down sometime around
Thanksgiving 1991. The old ranch house has been gone
for more than sixteen years. The old house was
constructed about 1937. The ranch was patented by
the Clemans Cattle Company in 1919. William J.
Clemans purchased the ranch from John J. Fraser in
1909. Fraser had acquired the ranch shortly after
the death of the old hermit “Elisha” Marcus Reavis
in 1896.
Clemans and his two sons, Earl and Mark Twain ran
the ranch from 1910-1946. Billy Martin Sr. served as
foreman of the Clemans Cattle Company from
1915-1946. Prior to Martin, William “Billy” Knight
served as foreman from 1891-1915. Still to this day
there are old catch pens deep in the forest made
entirely of wood, not one nail or a piece of wire
was used in their construction. The range was so
brushy the Clemans’ cowboys had to trap a lot of
their cattle.
The Reavis Ranch road was started in 1910 by a group
of Mesa promoters who wanted to sell lots in the
pines south of the Reavis Ranch. They never
completed the road. Bacon and Upton purchased the
ranch from the Clemans Cattle Company around 1946.
The road was completed by Bacon and Upton in 1948.
Floyd Stone, Bacon’s son-in-law, and Kenneth
Lockwood purchased the ranch in 1955 from John A.
Bacon and Upton. Stone and Lockwood sold the ranch
to the United States Department of Agriculture in
1966 for $80,000 and twenty acres of patented land
near the Apache Trail.
Shortly after the government purchased the Reavis
Ranch they closed the access corridor. The reason
for the closure of the road was the extreme
maintenance cost and the danger to vehicular travel.
After the road was closed in 1967 only hikers and
horseman were able to access the Reavis Valley and
the ranch.
When news of the Reavis Ranch fire spread among
those who had visited the old ranch over the years a
sort of sadness prevailed. I suppose many of the
wilderness purists believed the fire was a blessing
to the wilderness concept. Many hikers and
backpackers were disappointed to find their severe
weather haven destroyed by fire. Now outfitters and
packers will have to carry more gear and take more
animals to provide adequate service to their
customers. Many will just miss the old ranch house
because of the nostalgia associated with it. I must
admit I really enjoyed being a part of this history.
The destruction of the old Reavis Ranch house ended
an era in the history of the Superstition Wilderness
Area. Settlers and cattlemen have lived in the
valley since 1874.
The Reavis Valley had served as the first Camp
Geronimo for the Boy Scouts in 1920, before the
Spade Ranch north of Payson became their permanent
home. Arizona’s Governor Campbell rode horseback to
the Reavis Ranch in 1920s to visit with the Boy
Scouts at Camp Geronimo (Reavis Ranch) and tell them
stories around a campfire. Even post cards told the
story of the idyllic Reavis Valley.
I visited the Reavis Valley in 1994, not for the
last time, but to see the old ranch house once more.
The walls were still standing and the chimney
towered above the old house like a monument to the
past.
I returned to the site of the old Reavis Ranch in
October of 2000. None of the walls of the old ranch
were standing. All that remained was the concrete
slab the old ranch house was constructed on. I was
amazed how obliterated the site was. All human
history had just about been removed and the valley
had been almost returned to its pure state.
Like all man-made things, the Reavis Ranch was just
a temporary fixture on the landscape destined to be
destroyed someday. Those who knew the old house
undoubtedly had a better understanding of man’s mark
on the wilderness and the value of this place. |
