Manistee Ranch was founded in 1897 by Herbert W. Hamilton, a native of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The ranch, located in the town of

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

, was rich in citrus fruits and dates. The ranch has all of its historical structures restored. It is administered by the Parks and Recreation Department of Glendale. On April 9, 1998, Manistee Ranch was listed in the

National Register of Historical Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

.National Register of Historical Places
/ref>

Ranch history

Hamilton era (1897 - 1907)

Herbert W. Hamilton was a wealthy lumber baron from Wisconsin who homesteaded lands in what was to become the future the City of Glendale founded by

William John Murphy William John Murphy (August 23, 1839 – April 17, 1923) was an American businessman, contractor, land developer and founder of the Arizona Improvement Company. He is also remembered as the "Founder of Glendale, Arizona" and an important contrib ...

. What made an investment attractive was the completion of the

Arizona Canal The Arizona Canal is a major canal in central Maricopa County that led to the founding of several communities, now among the wealthier neighborhoods of suburban Phoenix, constructed in the late 1880s. Flood irrigation of residential yards is st ...

in 1885.Phoeix Magazine
/ref> The canal allowed 100,000

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ya ...

(40468.564 hec or 40468 hec (

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

) and 5642.2 m²) of desert land to be opened up to homesteading and irrigation farming.Sahuaro Ranch Park Historic Area
The

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...

was a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as va ...

that gave an applicant ownership at no cost of farmland called a "homestead." By 1897, Hamilton had under his control 320 (129.499 hectares or 129 hec and 4994.0 m²) of farmland in Glendale. He established a farm where he planted large

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

orchards and

dates Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating *Play date, an ...

.Glendale, AZ
/ref> Hamilton built a home for his family, unlike any of the typical Arizona farm houses of the time. It was a Queen Anne Victorian style house with a "Sky Parlor," a square windowed tower rising above the building's center.Marker
/ref>Manistee Ranch Historic Park

Sands era (1907 - 1996)

In 1907, Hamilton sold the farm to Louis M. Sands, a native of

Manistee, Michigan Manistee ( ') is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in southwestern Manistee County, Michigan, Manistee County, it is part of the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula. Manistee is the county seat of Manistee County ...

. Sands, a prominent Arizona businessman and rancher, named the farm "Manistee Ranch" after his hometown. Sands developed techniques in his ranch for rotating cattle pastures to work within the limits of the land. Besides harvesting feed for the livestock, which included cattle, sheep, horses, ducks and chickens, the farm workers also harvested dates which at the time were sold for 25¢ a pound. Over 11 different species of palm trees were planted. Currently there are some palm trees on the property which are over 100 years old.

National Register of Historic Places

Eventually most of the farm land, with the exception of four acres (1.61874 hectares or 1 hec and 6187.4 m²), was sold to land developers. The four acres of the farm land continued under the ownership of the Sands family until 1996, when the family decided to sell the land to the Glendale Historical Society. The Glendale Historical Society restored the historical buildings in the property which consists of a garage, office, barn and the main house. The basement of the main house has a collection of photographs and Glendale grammar school items. On the main grounds there is an exhibit of old farm equipment that was used on the ranch. The ranch, which is located at 5127 W. Northern Ave., was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on April 9, 1998,.

Gallery of historical Manistee Ranch

References

External links

Glendale Parks and Recreation.gov: Manistee Ranch Park
{{NRHP in Arizona by county Buildings and structures in Glendale, Arizona Museums in Glendale, Arizona Farm museums in the United States Houses in Maricopa County, Arizona Open-air museums in Arizona Parks in Maricopa County, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Maricopa County, Arizona Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona