The Bates Well Ranch ( ood, Juñ Ka:ck), also known as the Bates Well, Growler Well, Gray Ranch and El Veit, was one of the fifteen ranches and line camps in the Gray family cattle business in the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...

country north of the US-Mexico border in

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Operating for nearly 60 years, the ranch is now part of

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a U.S. national monument and UNESCO biosphere reserve located in extreme southern Arizona that shares a border with the Mexican state of Sonora. The park is the only place in the United States where the ...

. The main ranch house was moved from Growler Mine to Bates Well in 1942, re-used in traditional frontier and Gray family practice. Probably originating as a miners' cabin, the northern portion was presumably added after its relocation at Bates Well. The original well may have been dug by W.B. Bates about 1870, with a later well dug by Reuben Daniels ''circa'' 1913. An

arrastra An arrastra (or arastra) is a primitive mill for grinding and pulverizing (typically) gold or silver ore. Its simplest form is two or more flat-bottomed drag stones placed in a circular pit paved with flat stones, and connected to a center post ...

, a simple ore-milling operation, existed in the early 20th century. The property was developed by Robert Louis Gray's son, Henry from 1935 on. Henry lived there until his death in 1976. The Bates Well property represents a very complete and intact example of the frontier ranching pattern in Arizona typical of the Sonoran Desert during the first third of the twentieth century. The Gray family controlled essentially all ranching operations in the Organ Pipe National Monument area, including Aguajita Spring, Alamo Canyon Ranch, Bonita Well Line Camp, Bull Pasture, Cement Tank, Dos Lomitas Ranch, Dowling Ranch, Gachado Line Camp, Hocker Well, Pozo Nuevo Line Camp, Pozo Salado or Salt Well, Red Tanks Well, Wild Horse Tank and Williams Spring. Ranching operations ceased in 1976.

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* * * {{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Pima County, Arizona Geography of Pima County, Arizona Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Houses completed in 1913 National Register of Historic Places in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Historic American Buildings Survey in Arizona 1913 establishments in Arizona