Sahuaro Ranch was founded in 1886, by William Henry Bartlett, a native of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The ranch, located north of what eventually became the city 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 figs and other fruit orchards, vineyards, and fields of alfalfa. The ranch has all of its historical structures restored, and the "Sahuaro Ranch Park" is administered by the Parks and Recreation Department of Glendale. On March 7, 1980 Sahuaro Ranch was listed in the National Register of Historical Places.National Register of Historical Places
/ref>

Ranch history

Bartlett era (1880 - 1913)

William Henry Bartlett and his brother were wealthy businessmen from

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

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 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." G-Sahuaro Ranch Adobe House-1887

The Bartletts' felt this was a great opportunity to invest in fruit ranching and farming. The brothers were owners of a

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

brokerage business, and were amongst the largest traders in the Midwestern farm belt.Glendale Sahuaro Ranch History
/ref> By 1891, William Bartlett had under his control 2,000 acres (809.371 hectares or 809 hec and 3712.8 m²) of farmland near Glendale. He established a 640-acre farm (25932.255 hec or 25932 hec and 2559.5 m²) and named it named Sahuaro Ranch. There 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 ...

and

pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...

orchards. Even though he never lived permanently at Sahuaro Ranch, Bartlett took an active role in its development and had various buildings and residences built for the people who worked there and for his family. He hired superintendents to manage his ranch operations. In 1881, the first structure in what was to become the ranch was built. It was an

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

house which served as the residence and office of Stephen H. Campbell, the first superintendent to manage the ranch. In 1895, the superintendent's residence was moved to the main house of the ranch and the adobe house was used to house the ranch employees. Bartlett had his hired hands plant figs and other fruit orchards, vineyards and

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

Other structures which were built on the ranch in the 1890s were the Foreman's House, the

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop and the

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

barn. The Fruit Packing House, the largest packing house in the Salt River Valley, was built in 1891. The

farm animals Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals wh ...

raised in the ranch included cows, bulls and hogs. Between 500 and 1,000 hogs were raised in the ranch in the 1890s. Horses and mules were used to pull orchard wagons, mowers, rakes and other farming equipment. The Guest House was built in 1898. When Bartlett's youngest son was stricken with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

while living in

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, his doctor recommended that he move to a warmer climate. Bartlett had the guest house building designed to accommodate the needs and comforts of his son and family. In 1901, Bartlett had a pump house built for an oil-fired

electrical generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...

. The pump house provided

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

to his ranch buildings with the help of a pump water. By 1905, the first automobiles were used in the ranch and Bartlett had a garage built to store his wagons and autos.

Bradshaw (1913 - 1927) and Smith (1927 - 1977) eras

In 1913, Peter E. Bradshaw purchased the ranch, and planted long-staple

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

in 1915. In 1927, Richard W. Smith purchased the ranch and planted large citrus and pecan orchards. In 1928, Smith built a dairy barn and raised dairy cows commercially. The

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

from the cows was sold in bulk and shipped to local dairies in cans. Richard W. Smith died in 1944. His son, Richard S. Smith, inherited the farm and established a retail dairy on the ranch, known as the Sahuaro Jersey Dairy Milk House.

National Register of Historic Places

In 1966, the City of Glendale, with the initiative of then Mayor Max Klass. began a process to purchase 80 acres (32.3748 hec or 32 hec and 3748.5 m²) of the original 640 acres of the ranch. In 1977, the purchase was made possible by a federal grant and the City of Glendale proceeded to restore the historical structures in the ranch. After the City of Glendale purchased the land, Richard S. Smith was allowed to lease the ranch until 1980. On March 7, 1980, Sahuaro Ranch was registered on the National Register of Historic Places after the city applied for the registration of 17 acres of the ranch. The ranch is open to the public and is located at 9802 North 59th Avenue and Mountain View.

The Sahuaro Ranch fire

On Monday, September 25, 2017 the blacksmith shop, built prior to 1927, and the granary building, built prior to 1927 and addition 1935 burned to the ground and days before that the milk house 1932 burned to the ground at historic Sahuaro Ranch. This is a terrible loss of important historical assets for the community. The park was closed on September 26, 2017 to allow for an investigation of the fires. The park has open up on September 27, 2017. The Glendale Arizona Historical Society stands ready to help and assist the City of Glendale in the investigation, rebuilding and remembrance of these historical resources.

Gallery of historical Sahuaro Ranch

References

External links

- City of Glendale {{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 Blacksmith shops