DesertUSA.com/mb3

Bravo Tom!!!!!!!!!

Your massive collection of old photos, and extensive knowledge of the Superstitions... Is what makes the " History - Legends & Lore of the Superstitions" Forum one of the most popular discussions in the Treasure Hunting section.

It would have been a huge loss to all of us, if you had given up, before you figured out how to work with the new Photobucket format.

Thanks for sharing the photos and history!

Hope you and Sharon had a nice Christmas, and have a Happy New year,

Jim & Doris

Yep! You got it Tom!!

Jim is absolutely correct – Yours is one of my favorites. I always look forward to your posts… Keep em coming.

Hope you all have a great New Year!

I thought maybe you folks would enjoy this old photo I took of the barn and corrals at the old Barkley First Water Ranch. I believe I took this photo around 1968, or maybe a little earlier. You can see the tip of Weaver's Needle sticking up over the top of the barn.

Tom K.

I thought some of you would enjoy an old photo taken of the old Fraser Ranch (Reavis Ranch) with the pond near the house full of water. This photo was taken some time during the 1940's or late 1930's. The old ranch house burned down around November 1991. Today there is little in the valley to remind one of the days bygone when this was a big cattle operation. After the turn of the century more than 6,000 head of cattle roamed this mountain range. The ranch was founded by John J. Fraser, after the death Elisha Reavis in 1896. Fraser sold the ranch to William J. Clemans in 1909, and finally the Clemans cattle company was sold to John A. "Hoolie" Bacon, then Bacon's son-in-law Floyd Stone took over the ranch. Stone eventually sold the ranch to Department of Agriculture in 1967 and the region was returned to wilderness shortly after that. Many of the landmarks in the area bear Elisha Reavis' name such as Reavis' Fall, Reavis Creek, Reavis Valley, Reavis Mountain, Reavis Gap, and even Reavis Ranch (the often used name for the old Fraser Ranch. Just a little mountain history......enjoy Tom K.

That was nice,Tom.
Thanks for posting the photo and historical summary.I've never made it all the way to the ranch.Set out for it a couple of times,from each direction,but other sights led me astray.Seems like I'd need to drop in by parachute,or have someone take me in blindfolded before I'd make it that far.

Regards:Wayne

One of the most interesting reports written like a thesis paper is Dorothy Goddard report on the Reavis Ranch in 1977 for the Tonto National Forest Ranch District in Mesa, Arizona. I could be wrong about the year, but I do have a copy of it somewhere. The report includes detailed layout maps of the entire ranch including the ranch site and pastures. Someday somebody needs to do a book on the old Reavis Ranch. I have thought of it many times, but I have to many other projects in the fire.

Tom Kollenborn

I wish I had seen Reavis Ranch when it was still there and the apple orchards bearing fruit.

The old Reavis Ranch was a sight to behold in my opinion. It was a window to a unique mountain eco-system. The ranch was located along the banks of Reavis Creek. At one time there was a ditch system that delivered water to a large pond beside the ranch house. This pond was used to irrigate the Apple orchard. At one time, between the upper and lower orchards there were about four hundred apple trees. The Clemans irrigated about ninety acres of the 110 acre homestead. When I was a young man I drove up to the ranch and visited with Floyd "Stoney" Stone and his wife Alice. The old ranch was a museum in itself filled with Navajo rugs, pottery and Native American artifacts. Often I cherish those memories of days by gone. Yes, somebody should write a book on the old Reavis Ranch. Tom K.

I agree,Tom...And can't imagine anyone who could do it better than you.
Suspect you still have a few books left in ya.
Good to see you back onsite.
And I'll see you at the Rendezvous.

Regards:Wayne

Wayne:

I am working on a final book about the deaths, accidents, and injuries in the Superstition Wilderness Area. Similar to "Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon." The writing of this book has been a trying experience trying to compile the needed material from periodicals, death certificates, medical examiners reports and other sources. There are many fables about deaths and accidents in the wilderness. I have been working on this manuscript for two years and have compiled almost three hundred pages that will be edited of course.

I would like to visit with you and Randy about the Rendezvous for next year sometime in the next couple of months or so. I did send Randy a note on face book and he agreed.

Take care,

Tom Kollenborn