HC 65, PO Box 5, Fredonia, AZ 86022
Phone: 520-643-7105
Fax: 520-643-7583
Open All Year
Overview. During the late 19th century, a group of Mormon settlers built a 40-acre cattle ranch over the underground spring at this site. Three years later the original owner, James Whitmore, was killed by frontier raiders, which prompted other members of the Mormon community to come in to fortify the site with outer walls and gun ports. Once the ranch had been fortified, it began to prosper. In its heyday in 1879, it produced nearly 100 pounds of cheese each day and boasted a 162-horse herd and over 2,000 cattle. While the Mormon Saint George Temple was being built in Saint George, UT, provisions such as meat and milk were sent to workers by the ranch caretakers. In 1888, the ranch was sold by the Mormon church during a dispute with the U.S. government over polygamy. The original buildings and walls still stand today: two houses, workshops, corrals, and outbuildings made of red sandstone from a nearby quarry. Nicknamed "Winsor Castle" for Anson Winsor, the original ranch superintendent, the two-story houses are joined by an outer wall and contain kitchens, sitting rooms, and bedrooms. One of the houses features an underground spring room where cheeses were stored. The spring was also a water source for the ranch's orchard. What to see and do. A visitor center museum is open daily from 8 AM to 4:30 PM (5 pm in the summer), except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The other buildings close at 4 PM. At the visitor center, you can see a display of original water barrels, cooking utensils, and plows that were used. Guides wearing period costumes offer interpretive demonstrations of what life was like at the ranch. Visitors can take self-guided and walking tours around the property, and the Kaibab Paiute Indian reservation, which is nearby, offers picnic areas and camping. Plaques along the half-mile walking trail offer information about the local Indian tribes. Visitors are cautioned about touring the buildings on the site: watch for low doorways and steep stairways. From Fredonia, follow US 89A via AZ 389.
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