Faraway Ranch, Erickson-Riggs Ranch House, State Highway 181, Willcox

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ARIZ,2-WILCO.V,1A-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Erickson-Riggs Ranch House is significant to the history of southeastern Arizona in several respects. The older parts of the house recall the early settlement period of Bonita Canyon and of the nearby Sulphur Springs Valley. In its present form the house was the center of successful efforts in the early to secure designation of the neighboring "Wonderland of Rocks" as Chiricahua National Monument. With few alterations since the the ranch house illustrates the domestic environment of a major Arizona ranching family of the early- to mid-twentieth century. For fifty years the ranch house was also the headquarters of one of the leading guest ("dude") ranches in the region.

Architecturally, the ranch house represents an unusual mixture of vernacular construction methods and materials and building techniques, materials, and architectural details imported from the eastern United States. FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 2) PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1. Dates of Erection: The cellar, the oldest surviving section of the present ranch house, was built sometime between and The two- story board and batten house at the center of the current building was erected during the period to The house was "finished" in with the construction of the two-story adobe brick section south and west of the circa 18 98 house. At that time screened-in porches were added to both stories of the north elevation.3 2.

Architect/Builder: No part of the ranch house was designed by an architect. Neil Erickson, a carpenter and builder by trade, built the stone cellar (possibly with the help of his younger brother John4) and he probably designed and built the board and batten house in the late Erickson appears to have designed the sections, but his work for the U.S. Forest Service occupied six days a week and left him little time for actual construction. It is reported that Erickson hired two Mexican laborers from Dos Cabezas, a nearby mining town, to make the adobe brick for the new sections.

He also hired a man named Collins from Bowie (a town to the northwest) to do all of the carpentry in the interior.6 The finished Erickson house was a mixture of building techniques Neil Erickson had learned from building manuals published in the eastern United States and the vernacular tradition in the southwest of building with adobe brick. For his first major construction effort in Erickson took advantage of the readily available dimensional lumber in Brannick Riggs' sawmill in Pinery Canyon and erected a balloon-frame, board and batten house.7 The two-story-high building was designed with available materials and building guides in mind. By Erickson had become aware of the advantages adobe construction offered in the Arizona climate. 3. Original and subsequent owners: Emma S.

Peterson purchased a cabin on the site of the present ranch house from Ja Hu Stafford in After she married Neil Erickson, her husband filed a homestead claim in or on the cabin site and on 160 adjacent acres. 8 The U.S. government granted Erickson a patent to the land on November 22, The tract ran from a point just east of the present ranch house west along Bonita Canyon. The homestead land and the buildings that Neil Erickson erected remained under his ownership until his death in His will bequeathed the property to his wife, Emma.10 After Erickson's death in Lillian E. Riggs, the eldest daughter, assumed sole control of the ranch house and the homestead area, which she held until her death in The property then passed to her brother, Ben Erickson, and sister, Hildegarde E. Hutchison.

The heirs sold the homestead land to the National Park Service in it FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 3) 4. Alterations and additions: In Ed Riggs, the Erickson's son-in-law, and carpenter David Ingle enclosed the first floor screened-in porch on the north side and converted it into a guest dining room.13 Most sources suggest that Riggs and Ingle also erected the fireplace in the north wall of the room at the same time, using stones dismantled from the Garfield Monument (see Part B, below) .14 Upstairs, Neil Erickson enclosed the second floor sleeping porches in and partitioned them into four rooms.15 During the and Ed Riggs made several other improvements to the ranch house.

He added the first and second floor bathrooms in the late and built a swimming pool northeast of the house (ca. mid- Someone in the Erickson-Riggs family, probably Ed and Lillian Riggs, added a stucco veneer to all parts of the exterior walls, adobe brick and wood frame alike (ca. early Lillian Riggs made minor changes in including the construction of a box stairway from the second floor to the attic.18 Sometime after World War II Riggs moved the east wall of the kitchen one foot, seven inches into the east porch and built utility closets to the north and south of the new kitchen door and windows. B. Historical Context The Erickson-Riggs Ranch House was owned by one family for ninety years to .

Two generations of individuals in the family built the ranch house and its outbuildings and made important contributions to the history of southeastern Arizona. Emma and Neil Erickson founded the homestead in Bonita Canyon in Neil Erickson was a Swedish immigrant who joined the U.S. Army in He was shipped to the southwest to participate in the campaign against Geronimo and assigned to Fort Bowie as part of the Fourth Cavalry. After attaining the rank of First Sergeant, Erickson left the Army and married Emma Peterson Emma Peterson Erickson was also a Swedish immigrant. She made her way to Fort Bowie as a companion to wives of officers, and then opened the Fort Bowie Hotel (a boardinghouse) at the fort.

There she met Sergeant Erickson.20 While operating her hotel, Emma Peterson purchased from Ja Hu Stafford the two-room cabin in Bonita Canyon. She refrained from filing for a homestead claim so that Neil Erickson could file in his name after they were married.

After the couple moved to Bonita Canyon, Emma Erickson decided to start a cattle herd, as her husband had little interest in cattle-raising.21 It was she who headed the household and raised the three Erickson children during her husband's long absences from home.2 2 After establishing the homestead with the assistance of Emma and his younger brother John, Erickson found employment as a carpenter and builder in Bisbee, working for the Copper Queen Company from to Afterward he found intermittent construction work in the region building houses, barns, windmill towers, store shelves and counters, etc,24 At the * FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 4) same time, Erickson cultivated a vegetable garden and modest orchard with the aid of an irrigation ditch shared with his neighbor, Ja Hu Stafford.

He also looked after the cattle that the couple had acquired, building a stone cattle fence on the slope of the mountain to the north and a windmill tower, probably for providing water to a cattle tank.25 In Erickson reported in a letter that he owned fifty head of cattle, about fifteen "mares and horses," and a small orchard.26 Neil Erickson's carpentry and building jobs were apparently too irregular to supply a steady family income.27 After the establishment of Coronado National Forest in the surrounding Chiricahua mountains Erickson sought employment as the ranger for the Forest.28 From to he performed his Forest Service duties from an office at the Erickson homestead.

Neil built ranger stations and fire look-outs in many parts of the national forest and issued grazing permits to neighboring ranchers.29 His Forest Service responsibilities took him frequently away from home, and Erickson continued to manage the household and cattle, assisted by Lillian, the elder daughter.30 The family's gradual increase in prosperity may be observed in the parents' ability to send all three of their children to Galesburg, Illinois, for high school educations.

31 By Neil Erickson was able to construct the large adobe brick additions to "finish" the family residence.32 The dominance of the first generation at the Erickson homestead waned after when Emma and Neil moved from the home, first to Cochise's Stronghold and then to Flagstaff, Arizona.33 Neil Erickson had been assigned by the Forest Service to the new Walnut Canyon National Monument near Flagstaff. There he and his wife remained until retirement in Lillian and Ed Riggs headed the second generation of the family in Bonita Canyon. Lillian Erickson assumed responsibility early in the household, taking over many of her mother's tasks when Emma became ill. Lillian was sent east to Galesburg, Illinois, for three years of high school (ca.

to Later, she returned to Galesburg and attended Knox College, from which she graduated in Between high school and college Lillian taught school in Turkey Creek, south of the ranch. After returning from Galesburg the second time, she became a teacher at a school in Bowie. There she remained until her younger sister Hildegarde staxted taking week-end boarders at the Erickson home.

When it became apparent that the guest ranch business was a financial success, Lillian Erickson gave up her teaching position and returned home (fall of to operate the new business jointly with Hildegarde.37 The two daughters were "on their own," since their parents had moved to Flagstaff and their brother Ben had entered the Army.38 The next year, Lillian and Hildegarde purchased the 160-acre Stafford homestead to the east. The two women named the expanded ranch "Far-a-way."39 In Hildegarde married Jess Hutchison and moved to California. Lillian then took over sole management of the guest ranch business.

After 192 0 Ed Riggs assumed increasing importance in events at Faraway Ranch, as he conducted a courtship of his childhood friend, Lillian Erickson.40 In he took charge of the cattle and guests for a time, while Lillian attended a writer's school in California.41 Lillian and Ed were married in and the Faraway Ranch became their joint enterprise.42 FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 5) Edward Murray Riggs came from a pioneer ranching family in the Sulphur Springs Valley to the west of Bonita Canyon. His grandfather, Brannick Riggs, was one of the first settlers in the region. Ed was raised by his grandparents after his mother died. He learned range work as a ranchhand on the Riggs ranch.

After he was grown, the Riggs family helped Ed set up his own ranch near the town of Dos Cabezas. During a mining boom at Dos Cabezas, Ed took up work there as an automobile mechanic and serviced the automobiles of the mine operators. About or he moved to Douglas and opened his own automobile garage.43 Riggs married his first wife, Gaye Moore, in They had two children: Eula Lee (b. and Edward Murray, Jr. . Gaye Riggs died in and Ed left his children in the care of his sister-in-law. He then enlisted in the Army, the United States having just entered World War I. Interested in flying, he entered the Army Air Corps and was sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for flight training and study in photography. Afterward, Ed was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and sent to France.

There he served as an aerial photographer, photographing enemy positions. After the war, Ed returned for a time to Douglas and his automobile business.44 After his marriage, Ed Riggs threw much of his energy into the guest ranch business.45 He installed modern amenities, such as bathrooms and plumbing in the ranch house. He enclosed the north porch on the first floor and made it into a "guest dining room." He built a swimming pool northeast of the house and devised an ingenious system of water supply for the ranch. Riggs piped water from a spring east of the Stafford Cabin to a sump pump south of the ranch house. The water was then pumped down to a hydraulic ram mounted on the side of the swimming pool.

Reportedly, the ram pumped water uphill to water tanks, which then supplied running water by force of gravity to the ranch house. Excess water from the ram filled the pool and watered the vegetable gardens to the west of the pool.46 Lillian and Ed both were interested in adding facilities for guests.

In the early 192 0s the Riggs moved the board and batten north wing of the Stafford Cabin on log rollers to a new site just east of the ranch house and made it into a housekeeping cottage.47 The Stafford Cabin also became a guest cottage and the Riggs advertised it as a "log cabin."48 Later, in a fieldstone addition was made to the west side of the board and batten cottage.49 The new ensemble Lillian Riggs called "Alcor Minor."50 The Riggs built a final cottage midway between the ranch house and Stafford Cabin. Built as a residence for Ed Riggs' aunt, the cottage was rented after her death to guests as the "Martha Stark" Cottage (razed, ca.

With Ed Riggs' marriage to Lillian, the cattle-raising aspect of the Faraway Ranch assumed an importance equal to, if not surpassing, the importance of the guest ranch operation. Ed added more than acres of Riggs land to the area of the Faraway Ranch. Thereafter, both he and Lillian divided their time between cattle and guests. Lillian's brother, Ben Erickson, helped with the cattle until his marriage in More outbuildings became necessary as the number of cattle, horses, and ranch hands grew. A five-car garage, a "cowboy house" (apparently used for both guests and ranch employees), tack room and expanded corral, and generator house made their appearance west of the ranch house in the and FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-13 9-A (page 6) The Riggs encouraged their guests, or "dudes," to accompany the family and hands on round-ups and cattle-branding expeditions.53 Probably in Ed Riggs, possibly at the suggestion of Neil Erickson, salvaged most of the stones of the nearby Garfield Monument and fashioned them into a fireplace for the new guest dining room.54 The Monument had been built in memory of assassinated President James A. Garfield by a detachment of black soldiers from the Tenth U.S. Cavalry. The detachment was encamped in Bonita Canyon form to The fireplace, with its rhyolite stones inscribed with the names of the soldiers and central memorial stone became an added attraction for visitors.

Photos of the "historic fireplace" appeared on Ed Riggs' brochures for the Faraway Ranch.56 Neil Erickson continued to do carpentry in retirement. In he built a small office and garage west of the house to replace the earlier one in the west wing taken over by guests. About the same time, Erickson enclosed the second story sleeping porch.57 Probably the single most important project undertaken by Ed Riggs was his work with the bizarre rock formations in the neighboring Chiricahua Mountains.

In the early Ed and Lillian explored the upper parts of Rhyolite Canyon and discovered what is now called the "Heart of Rocks."58 In Ed reached the formations now known as "Big Balanced Rock" and "Thor's Hammer."59 He photographed the most outstanding features and began efforts to publicize what Lillian Riggs christened "the Wonderland of Rocks. "60 Photographs sent to Douglas caught the eye of O. J. P. Armstrong, who was a world traveler, photographer, and influential citizen. Armstrong visited the Chiricahuas and photographed the "wonders" himself. He then launched his own publicity campaign to secure national recognition and protection for the area. In the summer of Armstrong succeeded in capturing the interest of Arizona Governor George W. P. Hunt.

In August the governor and a large party of newspapermen, photographers, and businessmen from the surrounding region arrived and rode on horseback up a hastily built trail to the Heart of Rocks.61 Much publicity resulted. Armstrong also took Cirkut photographs of the formations and sent them to the national government and the National Geographic Magazine.62 Ed Riggs sent letters of his own to the National Park Service and Congressmen in Washington.63 The efforts of the Arizonians were successful; on April 18, President Calvin Coolidge signed a proclamation establishing Chiricahua National Monument.64 Ed Riggs next set out to make the rock formations of the new Monument accessible to guests at the ranch.

Throughout the the Riggs spent much of their time building horse trails up the canyons.65 In the National Park Service took over management of the Monument and a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was established to build roads and trails to all the scenic points.66 The Riggs leased the east part of the old Stafford homestead to the U.S. government for the camp,67 and Ed, with his thorough knowledge of the terrain in the Monument, secured the position of trail foreman. With his engineering ability, he was able to build the trails along the most advantageous routes. Construction of the FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 7) Echo Canyon Trail, declared an impossibility by several engineers, was undertaken by Ed Riggs and completed successfully.

68 By the end of the Riggs and the crews had made the "Wonderland of Rocks" fully accessible to both horseback riders and hikers. After Faraway Ranch offered two principal activities for guests: trail rides into the Monument and range rides observing cattle operations. In addition, guests could go hunting and swimming, and pay visits to Indian pictographs in caves.69 Beginning in the Lillian Riggs suffered several misfortunes. After suffering gradual loss of sight, in she became totally blind. In her husband and partner in the ranch, Ed Riggs, died. In later years, Riggs became increasingly deaf.

Nevertheless, she overcame her handicaps and continued to manage the cattle and guest ranch businesses on her own.70 As she grew older, Riggs hired employees for brief periods to manage the ranch for her. She always resumed personal control, distrusting others to run the ranch properly. In her brother Ben returned to Faraway Ranch to supervise the cattle operations, a task he continued until the early Lillian Riggs' unusual feat of managing a 7,000-acre ranch while blind received national publicity in when the Saturday Evening Post published an article by free-lance writer A. T. Steele on "The Lady Boss of Faraway Ranch. "72 After the scope of the ranch operation slowly declined; the number of employees and guests decreased.

Lillian Riggs maintained an active role in managing the ranch until when she retired.73 PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: The Erickson-Riggs Ranch House represents an unusual mixture of Spanish construction techniques and materials, pioneer Arizona architecture, and carpentry informed by building manuals published in the eastern United States. 1. Architectural character: The Erickson-Riggs Ranch House is 2 1/2 stories in height, roughly rectangular in shape, and measures approximately 49 feet by 44 feet. The house consists of three major extant sections, each built at a different time and of a different type of construction. These sections include the stone cellar at the southeast corner of the house (ca.

the former house at center, two stories high and constructed of board and batten (ca. and the two-story, ell-shaped, adobe brick section, which occupies the southern and western portions of the house The adobe section occurs only at the second story over the cellar. Enclosed porches adjoin the north side of the house at both first and second floor levels (built in enclosed in the The ca. and sections are covered by a hipped roof with deck and projecting eaves; the enclosed porches and east porch have shed roofs. Because of the different types of construction, each elevation varies in number and spacing of bays. The interior divides into seven rooms on the first floor and nine rooms on the second.

A large attic extends in an ell shape over the and FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 8) sections of the house. There is no basement. Most of the exterior walls are covered with stucco. 2. Condition of fabric: The overall condition of the ranch house is good. In the National Park Service undertook an emergency rehabilitation, replacing the previous roof covering of asphalt shingles with one of wooden shingles. All roof coverings were replaced. Repairs were made to the east and southwest porches of the house. Inside, wall coverings were replaced in the dining room and portions of the living room. Minor deterioration of elements of the building fabric has occurred and is noted in the Detailed Descriptions. B. Description of Exterior 1.

Overall dimensions: Approximately 49 feet by 44 feet. 2. Foundations: There are three foundations involved, each corresponding to one of the major sections. The cellar's foundation is rammed earth and stone rubble on its west, north, and part of its south sides and stone rubble along its east side. The foundations of the late frame house at center are inaccessible. The presence of stones beneath the door sill of the west door from the family dining room (former west wall of section) suggests that the foundations may be stone at least in part. The adobe brick section apparently rests on stone foundations; stone was found beneath the west wall. The guest dining room and the southwest and east porches all have poured concrete foundations. 3.

Walls: The materials employed in the exterior walls vary with the section involved. Unless otherwise noted, all walls are covered with a stucco veneer. The cellar walls are constructed of stone rubble and rammed earth. Above and west of the cellar, the walls are made of adobe brick. The exterior walls of the west wing of the section, north of the southwest porch, are also built of adobe brick. The wall containing the south entrance to the west wing is of frame construction, using vertical boards. The walls of the first-story guest dining room (north addition) are frame, but with adobe walls 30 inches high below the casement windows. Above, the north walls of the enclosed second-story porch are tongue and groove vertical boards, unstuccoed.

The walls of the east elevation divide into two sections: the one in the southern half, consisting of stone rubble in the first story and adobe brick in the second, and the one in the northern half, consisting of board and batten in the second story and unstuccoed plasterboard in the first-story kitchen wall. A beltcourse composed of a single 3 l/2-inch board is bolted to the south and east elevations between the first and second stories. The stucco veneer of the south, west, and north elevations is painted a cream color. On the east elevation, the second story stucco is painted cream, while the first story is yellow. An unpainted portion of the east wall and several other such points in * FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 9) the exterior reveal the previous paint color to have been orange. 4. Structural Systems: There are four types of structural systems found in the Faraway Ranch House. The southeast corner is composed of load-bearing stone rubble walls in the first story and adobe brick in the second. The remainder of the south elevation and the west elevation north of the southwest porch are wholly of load-bearing adobe brick construction. The ca. house walls have survived in large part and are of modified balloon frame construction, board and batten being used in lieu of studs.

These walls are located above the kitchen in the east elevation; in the wall between the main house and the enclosed porches to the north; in the west wall of the family dining room and northwest bedroom above; and in fragments of the south wall of the kitchen and family dining room and the corresponding rooms above in the second floor. The west wing is built completely of load-bearing adobe brick walls, the east wall of the two rooms in the wing being adobe as well as the exterior walls. Moreover, the west wall of the cellar continues as load-bearing adobe brick up through the second story. The adobe walls range in average thickness from one foot, five inches in the first story down to a one-foot, one-inch thickness in the second.

All the adobe walls rise to the attic, providing support to first and second floors, the second floor ceilings, and to the roof structure. The first floor guest dining room and the enclosed porch above (north addition) are of frame construction. The structure of the dining room is of simple post and lintel construction. There are two roof structures extant associated with the main house. The ca. roof skeleton survives within the attic. Of hipped design, the skeleton consists of rafters meeting an east-west ridgepole on the north and south sides. At the east and west ends, three rafters intersect the ridgepole at acute angles. Diagonal struts provide bracing at the corners. The north rafters have been incorporated into the north slope of the roof for structural support.

The main roof is hipped and consists of a deck supported by rafters running in slopes down to the outer wall structures. A subsidiary hipped roof structure extends in an ell over the west wing. 5. Porches: There are two open porches. A two-story porch occupies a rectangular cavity at the southwest corner of the section of the house. The porch consists of two levels and is two bays wide in the west elevation and one bay wide in the south. Chamfered wooden posts carry the weight of the roof and the plates supporting the floor of the second level. An exterior stairway provides access to the second level from the first. The open-string first flight runs north to a landing and turns at a right angle to continue as a closed-string second flight against the south wall of the west wing.

Balustrades line the perimeters of the second level porch and of the stairwell. The balusters are flat, three-inch pieces of wood held between upper and lower rails. The south balustrade runs between the wooden posts supporting the porch. The FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 10) west balustrades run between chamfered wooden posts with molded caps. The west side of the stairway landing is screened by a balustrade composed merely of square posts between a horizontal beam and floorboards of the landing. At the south side of the landing is a gate with a design matching that of the balustrades. The floors of the second level porch and the landing are constructed of tongue and groove fir boards.

The treads of the two flights of stairs are each single boards and were replaced in The hipped ceiling of the second level is composed of tongue and groove boards, each divided by a central groove, and painted white. Tongue and groove boards also appear in the ceiling of the first level, which has a poured concrete floor. The east porch of the house is a one-story veranda extending across the entire east elevation. A shed roof extends out from a point just above the beltcourse and meets a crossbeam supported in turn by a mixture of chamfered posts (five) matching those employed in the southwest porch and other supports composed of two flat two-inch by four-inch pieces of wood nailed together. Originally, all of the porch was screened- in except for the southernmost bay.

The framework for holding screens consisted of intermediate vertical boards between the porch supports and horizontal boards running between vertical members. The screens were removed during the rehabilitation of the porch. Two doorways appear in the screen framework: one in the east elevation, slightly north of the kitchen door, the other in a secondary east-west wall at the south edge of the formerly screened-in area. The roof of the porch consists of exposed rafters covered by tongue and groove sheathing boards. A small bulkhead on the porch roof, located above the closet south of the kitchen door, acts as a pipe chase. Attached to the north framework of the porch is a shelf, into which are cut circular holes each measuring 2 3/4-inch in diameter.

A closet constructed of plasterboard is found incorporated in the south wall of the formerly screened-in portion. The floor of the entire porch is poured concrete, painted gray and is built at grade. There is a circular metal exhaust pipe that runs from the kitchen up through the porch roof and eave of the main roof. 6. Chimneys: The ranch house has four chimneys. Of greatest significance historically is the chimney and fireplace fashioned from stones of the former Garfield Monument and fireplace (see Part I--Historical Information). The chimney adjoins the north wall of the first-floor guest dining room (north addition). Approximately 1 1/2 feet of the chimney is built outside the wall. The chimney rests on a poured concrete platform.

A horizontal rectangle corresponding to the hearth forms the base, above which rises the chimney shaft. The chimney stones are rhyolite volcanic fieldstones with unscored surfaces. Nearly all of the stones below the gutter of the guest dining room roof are engraved with names or initials. Many stones appear to have been squared or otherwise shaped to set evenly in courses. All stones are set in a cement mortar. Above the roofline three courses of unengraved stones appear. The chimney shaft ends in a square cap of poured concrete. A circular cast-iron FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 11) flue rises above the cap to a height of just over ten feet.

The rusted flue is composed of four sheets riveted into a circular shape; the flue terminates in a saucer-like chimney hood. Two reinforcing iron rods stabilize the flue, extending out from anchors beneath the second-story eaves and bolted to an iron collar encircling the flue. The living room chimney emerges from the south slope of the main roof just below the deck. The shaft, of red common brick laid in stretcher bond, rises to a corbelled cap. The kitchen chimney, built adjacent to the former north wall of the ca. house, emerges through the eaves of the north slope of the hipped roof, near the northeast corner of the main house.

The chimney shaft is smaller (1 1/2 bricks wide and two bricks long), is laid using red brick in stretcher bond, and rises to a chimney hood fashioned from bricks slanted inward to come to a point. The fourth chimney is the family dining room chimney which rises from the north slope of the main hipped roof at a point just east of the roof of the west wing. Again of red common brick laid in stretcher bond, the shaft rises approximately four feet above the roof and terminates without cap. 7 Openings a. Doorways and doors: There are nine outside doors to the ranch house. Like other aspects of the building, the doorways and doors vary in type and design according to the section in which they were built.

The main entrance enters the living room and is located slightly west of center in the south elevation. The casing of the doorway is recessed some nine inches into the adobe brick wall. Above the doorway tongue and groove boards with bead moldings cover the lintel supporting the adobe above. The door j ambs are recessed within the wooden casing, so that the door is nearly flush with the inside wall. A concrete sill is found outside the door, which is set above a wooden threshold. The fir door, which is painted white on its exterior, contains three horizontal panels in its lower half. A grooved molding outlines each panel, the inside of which is occupied by an upraised rectangular molding without elaboration.

The space between the top and lock rails is occupied by a rectangular light, which is bordered above and below with applied moldings resembling entablatures, with frieze, cyma recta, and cornice elements. The door has an unpainted rectangular door plate and doorknob with single upraised molding around its circumference. The south door to the cellar is similarly deeply recessed in the exterior wall, which is here composed of stone rubble. Casing boards cover the walls outside the door; the sill is made of both concrete and wood. The doorway is shorter and narrower than that of the main entrance, but the cellar door is similar in design to the main door. A variation is seen within the grooved molding surrounding the space for a light. FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-13 9-A (page 12) In the cellar door a wooden framework is built into the molding to hold a smaller glass pane. Several other doors are recessed within the outer wall. On the second level of the southwest porch, two doors offer access to the section. One leads into Neil Erickson's original office. The casing is recessed into the adobe wall. The door hangs in the inner part of the jamb and has patterns similar to the main south door. The three lower panels are identical. The upper half differs, with a smaller, central light surmounted by a fourth panel matching the lower ones, and there are no applied moldings. Also in the second level of the porch is a combination window and door opening into the "Pink Room" (see Interior Description).

The casing is again recessed in the wall, and the door/window is hung at the innermost section of the jamb. There is a wooden sill outside the casing, and a high threshold rising 6 1/2 inches beneath the jambs. Above the head of the casing is a recessed rectangle filled with horizontal tongue and groove boards. The window/door has narrow wooden stiles and rails, which contain a 28" by 32" upper light and 28" by 32" lower light. There is an unpainted rectangular metal door plate and a thumb latch on the exterior, corresponding inside to a white Delft porcelain doorknob. Below, leading into the south vestibule of the west wing is a doorway built in a frame wall and therefore not recessed. Beneath the wooden casing is a wooden sill/threshold with outer chamfered edge.

The door has wooden stiles and rails containing a rectangular light in the upper third and three rectangular recessed panels in the lower two-thirds, with grooved moldings around the perimeters of the panels. Two doorways sharing a similar design are found at the northeast corner of the north addition. Both lead into the former laundry room. The casing of the east doorway is set nearly flush with the frame wall. There is a wooden sill. Above the door head, the casing continues up around a rectangular transom. Both a screen and a glass transom light are set in the jamb; the transom window opens inward on butt hinges screwed to its lower edge. The operating mechanism for the transom is located on the south inside casing.

The wooden door is composed of outer stiles, central muntin, and top, lock, and bottom rails, with four vertical panels occupying the spaces between stiles and muntin. Two long panels occur above the lock rail, and two small ones below. Cyma recta moldings border the panels, inside each of which there is an upraised panel in two levels. The door hardware consists of white Delft (porcelain) knobs and a mortise lock with small skeleton key plates. The north doorway to the laundry has identical casing, jambs, and transoms. There is a poured concrete sill/threshold below the jambs. The door differs from its neighbor in several respects. Although again there are stiles, three rails, and central muntin; the lock rail is higher.

An ovolo molding borders the four panels, each of FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 13) which has a single upraised inner panel. There are black Delft knobs, a small skeleton key plate on the outside with reversed curves and filigree at corners. An iron rim lock is found on the interior side. Next to the north laundry is another door set in the east wall of the guest dining room. The wooden casing projects slightly from the frame wall. Below there is a molded concrete threshold. The wooden door has stiles, three rails, and a muntin in its lower half, which contains two recessed panels bordered with ovolo moldings. The upper half of the door contains four lights held in vertical and horizontal muntins.

The iron door plates feature elaborate bas relief details at upper and lower ends. The metal doorknobs have upraised moldings around their circumferences, then filigree details, followed by smooth medallions on the outer surfaces. The kitchen door, of post-World War II vintage, is composed of hardwood stiles and rails, a plywood panel in the lower half, and two aluminum window sashes in the upper half. All the exterior doors into the main house have outer jambs for hanging screen doors, all of which have been removed. b. Windows: There are eight exterior windows in the present house that were built in Of this group, the three in the first story follow one design, while those on the second story follow another.

In the south elevation, the wooden casing of the living room window is recessed three inches within rectangular reveals in the adobe wall. Above the concrete sill are two wooden sub-sills, and above the casing is a wooden casing for the lintel of the reveals. Stucco obscures all of the lintel casing but its underside. There are two double-hung sashes in the window: a large lower sash measuring approximately 43 inches by 46 inches and a small upper sash measuring 15 1/2 inches by 46 inches. The lower sash contains a single plate of glass; the upper sash contains leaded glass, the cames of which are arranged in diamond shapes in two rows at top and bottom and in shapes resembling elongated diamonds at center. Several features are unique to the living room window.

Outside the casing is a concrete sill, upon which is built a flower box constructed of cement mortar and small stones of various textures and colors. At center is a large dark stone resembling a shell. A rusted, corrugated metal awning extends out from the lintel casing and covers the upper portion of the window. The west living room window shares some features with the south window, but differs in its casing. Again, the main casing is recessed within the adobe reveals, but an additional wooden casing covers the north reveal. Also, a fully exposed wooden lintel casing crosses above the reveals. The sashes and sills are of the same type. The window in the west wall of the Erickson bedroom also matches the design of the south window in most respects.

The unequally sized sashes and leaded glass upper FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 14) sash, the sills, the recessed casings, and the stucco-covered lintel casing all resemble the south window. The sashes are similar also, except that the lower sash is divided into two lights by a single vertical muntin. The double-hung sash windows in the second story represent the second type of window. Four windows of identical design are seen in the three bays of the south elevation and in the southernmost bay of the east elevation. In all of these, wooden casings are recessed within adobe reveals, and wooden lintel casings obscured by stucco span the reveal openings.

In the south elevation openings, concrete sills and wooden subsills are used; in the east elevation window, the sill is also wooden. All the window sashes are equal in dimensions and contain plate glass. Two paired windows are found in the west wall of Neil Erickson's first office (west wing). A mullion runs between the windows, which are double-hung sash, contain plate glass, and are narrower than the other windows. The recessed casing, wooden sills, and stucco-covered lintel casing are similar to the treatment given the other windows. In the east elevation are two windows that survive from the ca. fenestration: the cellar window in the first story and the northeast bedroom window in the second.

The cellar window has narrow casings that project slightly from the wall, a wooden sill, and projecting board above the head. The window itself is double-hung sash, with six-over-six lights, some of which appear to contain blown glass. The second story window also has wooden casings and sill that project slightly from the wall. The head is covered by three overlapping frieze boards which run below the eaves of the ca. wall. The window is again double-hung sash with six-over-six lights, but the crisp, machine-finished quality of the sashes suggests they have been replaced since ca.

All the windows in both stories of the north elevation are casement and were all added during the There are eighteen 13" by 54" and two 13" by 35" casement windows along the north and west wall of the first floor guest dining room. These are set in ten pine casings, each of which sits on a pine sill. A large frieze board appears above the heads of the windows, which open outward. Each sash contains a single sheet of plate glass. There are four sets of casement windows in the north wall of the second-story enclosed porch. In the north walls of both the northwest sleeping porch and Lillian Riggs' office are two pairs of casement windows contained within pine casings and sills. East of the pairs is a group of three casements windows of the same size and style.

The second-story casement windows are smaller than those below, the sashes measuring only feet by three feet. There remain only three small, single-sash windows built for the first and second story bathrooms during the Each * FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 15) wooden sash, measuring 1 1/2 feet by 1 3/4 feet, is contained within a simple wooden casing, with sill and apron below. The sash of each window slides horizontally into a recess in the wall. The two second-story bath windows are found at the extreme northeast corner of the second story (north addition) ; the other window is beneath the stairway landing of the southwest porch. Again, many exterior window casings have jambs for screens. 8. Roofs: Four roofs may be seen in the Faraway Ranch House.

The main roof is hipped and covers all of the building except the north addition and east porch. This roof consists of a deck and four slopes, each of which terminate in flared eaves that extend out 2 1/2 feet from the cornice. A secondary hipped roof issues from the main roof to cover the west wing. All roofs were re-shingled during the emergency rehabilitation. The deck was covered with rolled asphalt roofing sheets. The slopes of the main roof and all other auxiliary roofs were re-covered with unpainted wood shingles. Exposed rafters support the flared eaves, the soffits of which are composed of horizontal tongue and groove sheathing boards with bead moldings. Two overlapping frieze boards appear below the soffits. A single fascia board is found at the edge of the eaves.

The second-story enclosed porch and first story guest dining room each have a shed roof. The second-story roof has a box cornice and projecting rafters; the dining room roof terminates in a galvanized metal gutter which empties into drain pipes at either end. The east porch roof is also shed. A pent roof with cantilevered structural support appears on the west elevation of the west wing, immediately beneath the second-story windows. There is a six-inch wide fascia and tongue and groove vertical boards covering the half-gable at either end and the soffit. There are three dormers in the main hipped roof. The largest is located in the south slope and has a shed roof, overhanging eaves of the same type as the main roof, and wooden shingles on the sides.

Within the rectangular wooden casing are two single sash windows separated by a central mullion. In both the west and east slopes of the main roof there are dormers containing a single-sash window. The east dormer has additional casing boards on its north and south side walls, but is otherwise identical to the south dormer. 9. Special Ornamental Features: There is a metal lantern (installed before suspended from the south elevation between the main entrance and the south living-room window. The lantern is hung from a 3/4"-diameter metal pipe which is stabilized by a wooden board extending from the beltcourse of the elevation. The lantern itself is a rectangular box with textured glass panels on four sides and a pyramidal roof.

Two holes in the bottom of the square base suggest that the lantern was originally gas, though now it is wired for electricity. FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 16) 10. Exterior Paint Colors: The paint colors existing on the exterior, exclusive of the stucco (see Walls, above), may be summarized as follows. All window and door trim, all fascias, and the exterior structure, balustrades, and stair rails of the southwest porch are painted pale green. In addition, the cellar door, both laundry doors, the window/door leading into the Pink Room, and the door to Neil Erickson's office are painted green.

The east porch exclusive of fascia and roof; the plasterboard addition to the kitchen; all soffits of the house; the north wall of the second story enclosed porch; the side walls of the three dormers; the ceilings of the southwest porch; the main south door; and the door into the vestibule of the west wing are all painted white. Description of Interior 1. Floor plans: a. Cellar: There is no basement or cellar per se. The room called the "cellar" functions as part of the first floor and will be treated as such. b. First Floor: The main south entrance leads into the living room of the ranch house, which is roughly rectangular in shape. The entrance is located slightly east of the north-south axis running through the living room, family dining room, and guest dining room.

As one enters the living room, there is a brick fireplace on the right, in the center of the east wall. In the south and west walls are the matching windows described in the Exterior Description. Proceeding from the living room to the family dining room, one passes through a screen composed of an eight-foot wide opening at center and columns on either side standing on pedestals (see Special Decorative Features, below). The family dining room is the central room in the first floor plan, from which one has access to four major rooms as well as the principal stairway. Straight ahead, continuing on the north-south axis, one passes through French doors into the guest dining room. To the left of the family dining room is a doorway leading into the former bedroom of Emma and Neil Erickson.

To the right is a doorway communicating with the kitchen. The entrance to the stairway is located at the northeast corner of the room. The west wall of the family dining room projects as a secondary wall from the ca. wall and contains three closets and the china cabinet, sideboard, and buffet (see Special Decorative Features). The ca. wall, concealed by the cabinetry, runs at an oblique angle. The projecting wall hides the dining room chimneys. The guest dining room runs along the north walls of the family dining room and kitchen, between the ell formed by the west wing and the laundry room to the east. The focus of the room is on the fireplace, fashioned from the stones of the former Garfield Monument (see Fireplaces, below) and located at the center of the north wall.

To the left as one enters is a doorway into the Erickson bedroom; to the right, in the east wall near the FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 17) north wall, is an outside door. A serving door to the kitchen is found in the south wall. The Erickson bedroom is a rectangle running along the west wall of the family dining room and continuing north of the rest of the house as an ell. If one enters the bedroom from the family dining room, to the left there is a doorway leading into a vestibule between the room and the southwest porch. In the west wall is a window with a similar design to that of the living room windows. There is a rectangular closet occupying the northwest corner of the room.

Proceeding into the south vestibule, one finds the first floor bathroom on the right, located beneath the stairway of the southwest porch of the house. On the south side of the vestibule is an outside door. Retracing one's steps through the Erickson bedroom and the family dining room, one reaches the kitchen through the east door of the dining room. The kitchen is an east-west rectangle with four doorways: the west door to the family dining room; the north serving door to the guest dining room; a south doorway to the cellar; and an east door to the east porch. Along the north wall of the kitchen are appliances (refrigerator, stove, and hot water heater). Along the south wall are the sink, cabinets, and cupboards. A closet is found beneath the stairway, in the west wall.

Passing through the south doorway, one descends two wooden steps into the cellar, a rectangular room occupying the southeast corner of the house and sunken some seventeen inches in floor level below that of the rest of the first floor. There is an outside doorway in the south wall and a window set high in the east wall. Shelving is found against the northern sections of the east and west walls. A final room in the first floor plan is the former laundry and washroom, located in the extreme northeast corner of the house, north of the kitchen and east of the guest dining room. There are both north and east outside doors to the room, but no windows.

A sink and the former hot water heater are found along the west wall, while the brick former kitchen chimney is situated between the heater and the south wall. c. Second Floor: If one ascends the spiral stairway to the second floor, one discovers a rectangular hall at the center of the ca. house. On the north side of this hall is the stairwell and a narrow passage leading to a doorway offering access to the east rooms of the enclosed porch. In the east and west walls are doorways opening into the northeast and northwest bedrooms, respectively. To the south is a doorway leading into the section of the floor. There is a window in the north wall over the stairway. A box stairway leading up to the attic occupies the southeast corner of the hall.

Passing into the northeast bedroom, one finds a rectangular room running east and west, with an outside window opposite the door and an interior window located in the north wall between the bedroom and the enclosed porch. The south wall * FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 18) contains a closet at its west end. Across the hall is the northwest bedroom, another rectangular room. Opposite the doorway is a blind wall, which runs at an oblique angle between the north and south walls, corresponding to the orientation of the wall observed below in the dining room. The dining room chimney runs up through the room adjacent to the west wall. An interior window and doorway in the east wall open into the northwest sleeping porch. The south wall contains a closet.

The northwest sleeping porch, a small rectangle running east and west, is bounded on the north by paired casement windows. In the west wall is the former east outside window of Neil Erickson's first office. The east is a blind partition wall. Passing through the north door from the central stairhall, one enters a vestibule in the enclosed porch, added in Straight ahead are casement windows in the north wall. To the left is a doorway leading into Lillian Riggs' office. To the right is a doorway opening into the second floor bathroom, which is a small rectangle. Windows are found in the east and north walls of the bathrooms. The former kitchen chimney passes through the bath, adjacent to its south wall.

Opposite the bathroom, Lillian Riggs' office extends west of the vestibule to the east wall of the sleeping porch. There are casement windows in the north wall and a closet in the northeast corner. Proceeding south from the stairway, one passes through the doorway marking the transition between the ca. and sections of the second floor. The corridor widens and continues south to an exterior wall, in which is set a window. A doorway in the west wall of the corridor leads into the "Pink Room." One in the east wall opens into the Riggs' bedroom. The living room chimney passes through the corridor adjacent to the east wall. North of the chimney is a linen closet.

Mounted on the northern section of the west wall of the corridor is an apparent bookcase, while another case of shelves on a stand is found opposite the linen closet. The "Pink Room" is a bedroom occupying the southwest corner of the second floor. A window is found in the south wall, and the window-door to the southwest porch appears in the west wall. The north wall contains a closet; and a lavatory hangs from the wall near the west side. In plan the "Pink Room" and corridor together correspond to the area occupied by the living room on the first floor. Across the corridor the Riggs' bedroom is built over the cellar; one must descend a single step to enter the room. Windows appear in the east and south walls, and two closets are found within the north wall.

The west wall contains only the doorway. A final room in the second floor is Neil Erickson's first office, located above the Erickson bedroom in the west wing. Access is only from the south door, located on the second level of the southwest porch. The former office is roughly rectangular, though the east wall curves in an oblique angle to the southeast, and a beveled wall surface appears in the southeast corner. Paired windows appear in the west wall, while a single east window FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 19) leads into the northwest sleeping porch. A closet occupies the northwest corner of the room, and a cabinet-on-stand the northeast corner. A lavatory hangs from the beveled wall. d.

Third Floor (attic) : The attic is reached via the box stairway ascending from the second floor stairhall. The attic is unfinished; rough 9 1/2-inch boards laid across part of the second floor ceiling joists provide flooring for the central area. Along the north side of the attic are the ridgepole and rafters of the roof of the ca. house. The hipped roof rises nearly seven feet at the deck, its highest point, and covers all of the house except for the north addition. The slopes of the hipped room descend at 36 angles on each side. The plan of the attic is ell-shaped, the main house forming a rectangle from which emerges the west wing. Dormers project out from the south, west, and east roof slopes. The family dining room chimney passes through the attic at the west end of the ca.

roof skeleton; the living room chimney passes through adjacent to the west adobe wall rising from the cellar. The adobe walls of the section of the house all rise into the attic to a level just above that of the ceiling boards of the second floor bedrooms. 2. Stairways: In the interior of the house there are two stairways. One provides vertical circulation between the first and second floors; the other between the second floor and the attic. The stairwell is a boxed-in type and contains a spiral stairway. All but the two lowest treads are built around a newel and are obtuse triangles in shape. The stairway is enclosed above the two lowest steps which are open-string on one side. Above them appears the stair doorway. All the treads and risers are pine.

The treads of the spiral stairs are supported on their outer side by a combination of a string and horizontal wooden bars nailed to the walls below the stairway. Heavily varnished pine casings cover the plate beam of the house, located along the north wall of the stairway below the second story flooring. Pine boards also hide the joist structure of the second floor on the west and south sides of the stairwell. Wooden panels resembling baseboards occur at the outer end of each tread. The treads, risers, and panels are all painted brown. Two varnished fir rails run at right angles to each other along the outside wall of the stairway. Lining the stairwell on the second floor is a balustrade, composed of flat wooden balusters contained within a top and bottom rail.

The balustrades run from the west and north walls to two newel posts flanking the top of the stairway. The newel posts are squared, and each has two rectangular grooves, one above the plinth, the other below the cap. The two caps have three levels, resembling ziggurats. A gate operates between the newel posts, consisting of two boards nailed together to form a triangle and reinforced by a single board beneath as a diagonal brace. All elements in the balustrade are varnished. The "homemade" character of the stairway is illustrated by an elliptical cut made in the floorboard lining the north side of the wall to permit the passage of the upper rail. The only other * FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 20) interior stairway is the closed-string, box stairway, which runs from the second floor stairhall up to the attic. 3. Flooring: All the wooden floors in the house are fir. There are 3 1/4-inch-wide tongue and groove boards in the flooring of the living and dining rooms and the Erickson bedroom. These floors are varnished. Upstairs, 5 1/4-inch tongue and groove boards are found in the flooring of the three ca. rooms (northeast and northwest bedroom, and stairhall). There are 3 1/8-inch tongue and groove boards in the flooring of the rooms of the second floor (corridor, Pink Room, the Riggs bedroom, and Neil Erickson's first office) and in all the rooms of the second story enclosed porch except the bath.

All of the wooden floors in this story are painted except the Erickson office floor, which is varnished. Linoleum squares cover the kitchen and first floor bathroom floors, and rolled linoleum the floor of the second-story bathroom. The floor of the guest dining room is poured concrete blocked in two-foot squares to simulate flagstones. The floors of the cellar and the laundry room are poured concrete. 4. Wall and ceiling finish: The wall finishes vary throughout the house. The living room walls on the east, south, and west sides are plaster over adobe brick, painted cream. "Glid Wall," a commercial wall covering, was applied during a rehabilitation over the vertical board surface of the north wall.

The trim on the living room walls--south doorway, window casings, baseboards, and frieze and cornice boards--is all varnished pine. There is a wooden columnar screen in the north wall (see Special Decorative Features, below). The vertical board walls of the family dining room are covered with "Glid Wall," also applied in The trim is pine, with the exception of parts of the cabinetry set in the west wall (see Special Decorative Features). The casings and doors of the east and west doorways and the closets in the west wall have been grained. All other trim is varnished. The Erickson bedroom, like the living room, has walls that are plastered over adobe brick.

"Glid Wall," a fiberglass mat with special coating of paint (product of Glidden Paint Company), was applied to the splayed reveal leading to the family dining room doorway. A 1 1/2-inch-wide picture molding runs around the room, about 12 1/2 inches below the ceiling. The trim is pine and is painted cream, matching the plastered walls. The guest dining room has plasterboard walls on its south and east sides. There is adobe brick covered with plaster in the west wall. Below the casement windows in the west and north walls there is an undetermined masonry material plastered over. All wall surfaces and trim are painted yellow. The kitchen walls are also a combination of plaster and wallboard.

Plaster applied to vertical boards is found on the west, south, and the portion of the north wall west of the serving door. The wallboard runs east of the serving door along the north and east walls. The kitchen trim is pine. The room's walls and ceiling are painted yellow. The cellar walls are composed of three types of materials arranged in levels and all exposed. Rammed earth appears as the lowest level in the west and north walls and west half of the south walls. Above it is stone rubble laid in FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 21) random courses with earth mortar up to the head of the south doorway. The final level is occupied by adobe brick on the south and west sides.

In the east wall and east half of the south wall stone rubble makes up the wall entirely below the door head, which is surmounted by adobe brick. Upstairs in the stairhall, smooth-faced wallboard painted faded yellow is applied over frame walls on its east, north, and west sides. The trim of the stairhall is pine, all varnished except for the casing and door of the west doorway, which is grained to match the trim in the family dining room below. The northeast and northwest bedrooms both have vertical board walls covered with wallboard with simulated plaster surface, painted green in both cases. The trim in both rooms is painted white. The northwest sleeping porch has the same type of wallboard on its north, west, and south walls. There is a tongue and groove board wall to the east.

All walls are painted green, the trim white. The vestibule north of the stairhall has tongue and groove boards for walls to the east and west and a wallboard matching the other rooms applied to the north wall below the casements. The south wall is exposed board and batten, which is part of the original north wall of the ca. house. The east and west walls are fir, the south wall pine. All wall surfaces are painted cream. Lillian Riggs' office has the same wall surfaces, but painted green. The three overlapping frieze boards found above the board and batten walls in the office and vestibule match those on the east exterior elevation. The walls of the second-floor corridor are plaster applied over adobe brick on the east side and tongue and groove fir boards on the west side.

The trim is varnished pine and fir. The west and south walls of the "Pink Room" are adobe brick plastered over. In the south wall some of the plaster has fallen off creating a 48-inch by 25-inch triangular hole in the wall surface and exposing the adobe brick underneath. The east and south walls of the room are exposed tongue and groove board partitions. Each fir board has two bead moldings. The walls are painted pink, which suggested the common name. The trim is pine and all of it but the baseboards is varnished. All four walls of the Riggs' bedroom are covered with smooth-faced wallboard painted blue. The wallboard is applied to adobe on three sides and to vertical board on the north side. The trim is again pine, this time painted white.

All four walls of Neil Erickson's first office are made of adobe brick covered with plaster and painted green. The trim (windows, baseboard, cornice) is varnished fir. The closet and cabinet in the corners are also fir, painted green. The two bathrooms in the house have frame walls covered with plaster on wire lath and painted beige. The walls of the laundry room are covered with unpainted wallboard. The ceilings in the ranch house proper are principally constructed of fir tongue and groove boards. The living room, family dining room, the "Pink Room," and Neil Erickson's first office all have ceilings composed of varnished tongue and groove boards with central grooves.

The ceilings of the Erickson bedroom, the northeast bedroom, and the Riggs bedroom are composed of the same type of FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 22) boards, painted white. The kitchen's tongue and groove ceiling is painted yellow. The northwest bedroom's ceiling is made of tongue and groove boards with bead moldings, painted white. The ceilings of the principal upstairs rooms (bedrooms and the Erickson office) all have hipped slopes at the edges wherever the slope of the roof rafters intrudes. There are two north-south beams running across the living room ceiling, supporting the joists above. These beams are encased in varnished pine boards. The guest dining room ceiling is suspended and composed of post-World War II acoustical panels.

There are exposed rafters and sheathing, painted white, over the three west rooms of the second-story enclosed porch. Over the cellar are exposed beams, joists, and floorboards. 5, Fireplaces: There are two fireplaces in the ranch house. The living room fireplace stands adjacent to the east wall and is constructed of brick painted white and laid in stretcher bond. The outer hearth floor and inner hearth walls are of fire brick. There is a chimney bar across the fireplace opening. The top three courses of the fireplace are corbelled out; the highest course is laid in headers only. The shelf is made of varnished pine boards fitted around the chimney shaft, which has two projecting courses at its base. The shaft is plastered over and also painted white.

Unpainted bricks laid in a soldier course provide a border between the hearth and floor of the room. The fireplace in the guest dining room stands at the center of the north wall and is constructed of rhyolite volcanic stones, squared or otherwise shaped and unscored. The stones of the fireplace and shaft are inscribed with the names or initials of soldiers who built the Garfield Monument, which was dismantled to build the fireplace in the A large 28-inch by 27-inch stone placed at the center of the shaft is engraved with the phrase, "In Memory of Jas. A. Garfield." The inner hearth walls are built of fire brick; the hearth floor is poured concrete. There is a wrought iron chimney bar above the fireplace opening.

In front of the opening is an elliptical border composed of bricks laid north/south, stretcher side up. In the concrete squares on either side of the border and adjacent to its center are inscribed three family cattle brands: " " (brand of Ben Erickson in his youth), " ", at the right (brand of Lillian E. Riggs) ; and at center, "2 B" (brand of Neil [Emma] Erickson) . The fireplace projects into the room some 13 inches. There is a wooden shelf, painted yellow, above which rises the shaft, the face of which is flush with the north wall of the room. 6 Openings: a. Doorways and doors: There are several types of interior doors. One type, with stiles and top, lock and bottom rails, has a single upraised surface within each of the four panels.

The perimeters of each panel are lined with cyma recta moldings. This type of door is found between the family dining room and the kitchen, outside the northeast and FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 23) northwest bedrooms, and outside the "Pink Room," The hardware of these four doors varies. The two bedroom doors in the section of the house have delft knobs and rim locks. The door between the kitchen and family dining room has metal doorknobs, with door plate on one side and rim lock on the other- The Pink Room door has metal doorknobs with upraised molding around the circumference and door plates on both sides.

The door between the family dining room and the Erickson bedroom is nearly the same, but has a two-stepped upraised interior surface in each of the panels. The second distinct door type resembles the pattern of the main south entrance door. Two doors represent this pattern with some variations. The south door of the Erickson bedroom was originally an outside door. It has the same pattern as the south entrance--three recessed panels with upraised surfaces in the lower half, glass light set in upper half, and entablature applied moldings (outside only) above and below the light. The hardware also matches--a metal rectangular door plate and doorknob with upraised molding around the circumference.

The northeast door from the Erickson bedroom matches the south door in all respects save the etched glass design in the light and the absence of the entablature moldings. The etched design in the frosted glass light involves a torch device at center, from which issues a bouquet of roses. The base of the device is flanked symmetrically by stylized floral elements. This doorway also was originally an outside entrance. On its east side are recessed casings in adobe and plaster reveals. Tongue and groove boards cover the lintel, and along with the sill and sub-sill, resemble the outside approaches to the south door to the Erickson bedroom and the south entrance to the house.

The two bathroom doors share similar elements in their composition--five recessed panels with ovolo and bed moldings line the perimeter. The first floor bathroom door in addition has a mirror on its west side, with large convex moldings around the edges. A third major type of door is found only once, in the doorway leading into the Riggs bedroom. Again, like the door to the Pink Room across the corridor, the door has stiles and three rails. In the Riggs bedroom door, there are large cyma reversa moldings along the borders of the four panels, each of which contains upraised surfaces with stepped edges. The surfaces are planed to bow out slightly. Another door type found only once occurs between the family and guest dining rooms.

Two French doors are set in a five foot doorway and flanked by sidelights. The doorjambs, mullion, and sidelights are varnished and set in a grained casing. Each door consists of three vertical lights at center, and bands of square lights at the top and bottom. The casings and mullion are pine; the doors are fir. Another major door type is the board and batten door. The stairway door is composed of 5 1/4-inch vertical boards with single bead molding on the left edge of each board on the FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 24) outside. Two horizontal battens 5 1/4 inches wide and with beveled edges are screwed to the inside of the door.

The hardware includes white delft knobs; an iron rim lock with foliated bas relief designs around the borders and the stylized letters "B W" at center; and butt hinges. There are pyramidal-shaped finials above and below the top hinge and conical finials on the lower hinge. The stairway door and casings are grained to match that found on the trim of the west wall of the family dining room. The north cellar door is made of vertical tongue and groove boards held together by two horizontal battens on the south side. An iron rim lock on the cellar side and metal knobs with the familiar upraised molding constitute the hardware. A similar door is found in the doorway between the second floor stairhall and the north addition vestibule.

The door is constructed of tongue and groove vertical boards with bead moldings on the right edges. Two horizontal battens appear on the north side. The hardware includes white delft knobs, an iron rim lock, and butterfly hinges. The west casing is wider than that on the east side and has a single bead molding. The hallway side of the door is varnished; the inside painted cream. The door into Lillian Riggs' office is also board and batten, but with Z-shaped battens. The door to the attic stairway is another major board and batten door. Most of the closet doors in the house are also of board and batten construction. Several other door types with single examples in the house remain to be mentioned.

The door between the northwest bedroom and the northwest sleeping porch appears to have been designed to hold either screen or storm sashes. Presently the stiles and rails contain two storm sashes, each with six lights. The serving door between the kitchen and the guest dining room is on spring hinges that allow swinging in both directions. There is a single 55 1/2-inch by 20-inch pane contained in the outer stiles and rails. Hand plates are on the outer stiles. Casings for interior doorways are the same for all but a few doors. The most common type consists of two vertical boards and a headboard, all made of pine. Exceptions are found in the second-story corridor of the section.

The casings match for the three doorways: the one between the and corridors, the Pink Room doorway, and the Riggs bedroom doorway. In each, the vertical casings continue above the headboards to the ceiling. Above each head is a recessed panel, composed of vertical tongue and groove boards in the north and west doorways and horizontal boards in the east one. All the trim is varnished pine. This pattern is followed closely by the interior casings of all the second floor windows in the south and east elevations. b. Windows: There are three interior windows set in the former north exterior wall of the ca. section of the FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 25) house. One window is found in the wall between the second story stairhall and Lillian Riggs' office.

It is a casement window with six lights held in one vertical and two horizontal muntins. The casing is pine; the sash is fir; the south trim is varnished; and the north is painted white. There is a slot bolt at the lower right corner of the inside sash and butterfly hinges at the west side; both elements of hardware are century. The other two windows have designs that are similar to each other. The window between the northeast bedroom and the vestibule of the enclosed porch has a casing that projects some four inches into the bedroom. The lower part of the casing is composed of a stool and apron. The window has double-hung sashes, with nine-over-nine lights. This window resembles closely the east exterior window.

The north window of the northwest bedroom, overlooking the northwest sleeping porch, matches the design of the northeast bedroom windows in all essentials. 7. Decorative Features and Cabinetry: The principal decorative features of the house are found in the living and family dining rooms. In the living room the casings for the south doorway, the windows, and the architrave above the columnar screen all share the same cyma recta moldings. The moldings appear below a rectangular cornice on the door and window casings and along the border between the screen architrave and the room frieze. The casings are otherwise unadorned, except for rectangular plinths placed at the bases of the door casings.

All casings in the room and the cyma recta moldings are pine, while the door and window sashes are fir. The columnar screen consists of two columns standing on pedestals and flanking a six-foot-wide passage between the living and family dining rooms. The columns are separated from the wooden casings on the wall by rectangular spaces resembling the lateral spaces of the Palladian motif. Each column has a smooth shaft covered with oak veneer. An echinus molding is substituted for a full capital, while a torus molding and square plinth make up the base. Each pedestal has a cornice, dado with rectangular recessed panel, and baseboard acting as a base. The dado panels are oak, while the architrave above the columns and lateral casings are pine. All the elements mentioned are varnished.

In the family dining room there is a decorative horizontal molding linking the west doorway casing to the dining room cabinet. The molding contains a projecting convex rail at the top, a bead molding running at center, and dentils cut in the pattern of parallelograms at the lower edge. The dentils are repeated below the rectangular cornice of the dining cabinet. Hanging from the north and south ends of the cabinet cornice are decorative elements made up of two rectangular blocks, from which are suspended trapezoidal shaped blocks. A small version hangs below the frieze on the mullion of the cabinet. Each of the two cabinet doors contains a light set in the walnut frame. In the top two corners of each light are wooden pieces carved to make a quarter-circle.

The edges of the stiles and rails of the doors are chamfered to produce concave moldings. Below FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 26) the cabinet is a rectangular recess for the sideboard. The fir buffet drawers are located beneath the sideboard. There are two large drawers, two medium, and two small. Matching projecting moldings occur above the buffet drawers and above the sideboard. Elliptical metal handles are attached to each drawer. The outer casing and cornice moldings are all pine. The horizontal wall molding and all of the cabinet features are varnished. There are a few other cabinets in the house. In the living room, between the fireplace and the south wall, there is a 3 1/2-foot-high bookcase built of pine with two doors containing glass lights.

The wood is varnished. Other cabinets in the house include the cupboards and shelves in the kitchen; the cabinet-on-stand in Neil Erickson's first office; and the two cases with shelves, one on a stand and the other attached to the wall, in the corridor on the second floor. The latter case has four-leaf clover patterns cut out of the vertical casings on each side. 8. Mechanical equipment: a. Heating: There is no central furnace in the ranch house; most of the rooms have gas heating units. These are generally small in size and located against the walls. In those rooms with a wall adjacent to one of the three interior chimneys, there are fittings visible in the wall for exhaust pipes from the gas unit into the chimney. Two rooms have large stoves.

The family dining room has a 3 1/4-foot-high Superflex gas stove standing about one foot from the west wall on a rectangular metal platform. Part of an exhaust pipe rises behind. A hole in the wall encircled by a metal plate marks the exit hole into the concealed dining room chimney. Upstairs in the Pine Room stands a smaller "Duo-Therm" gas stove near the east wall. An exhaust pipe rises to an elbow joint, exits through the wall, crosses the corridor to the west, and finally exits into the shaft of the living room chimney. b. Lighting: Nearly all the ornamental light fixtures have been removed from the house. Most of the surviving room lights are light bulbs suspended from porcelain sockets.

Chandeliers are found only on the two matching ceiling lights of the guest dining room; only the west chandelier is complete. The glass stem consists of two parts: a funerary urn with spherical top and three moldings at the sides culminating in fleurs-de-lys below and a fluted shaft with Egyptian palm capital above. The bowl of the west chandelier is also glass and has upraised leaf designs. The bowl is missing from the east chandelier. c. Plumbing: Plumbing in the house is concentrated in two locales. The two bathrooms were installed about the same time, and each contains the same Crane fixtures: an iron bathtub, porcelain lavatory, and porcelain toilet. Above the FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 27) first floor bathroom and slightly to the east are two Crane lavatories, one against the southeast corner wall of Neil Erickson's office and the other against the north wall of the Pink Room. The kitchen plumbing appears to be later in date, perhaps post-World War II. It is located along the south wall, near the east wall. The Crane lavatories are all marked with the dates of manufacture, ranging from (Pink Room) to (Neil Erickson's first office). d. Other: One last piece of mechanical equipment is the Melotte cream separator that stands bolted on a concrete platform near the center of the cellar floor. Several fittings are missing. D. Site: 1.

General Setting and orientation: The Faraway Ranch House is located in Bonita Canyon about 1 1/4 miles east of the entrance to Chiricahua National Monument. The house is approached by a dirt road that diverges from the park road and runs east until reaching the immediate setting. The road runs past the house, about 100 feet to its south, and continues east. A driveway runs north from the road along the outside of the west stone wall bordering the lawn of the ranch house. The driveway continues north of the house, then makes a right angle and proceeds west through the ranch outbuildings.

Seventeen outbuildings, structures, and objects exist in the ranch house's environs, including Neil Erickson's second office, the "Bunkhouse," the "Cowboy House," the garage, the tackroom, the corral, the cattle tank, windmill, etc. The ranch house and the adjacent 320 acres lie in the midst of Bonita Canyon, which is composed of an irregularly shaped topography on its floor and ridges made up of large rhyolite rock outcroppings along its north and south edges. 2. Immediate site: The ranch house itself faces approximately ten degrees west of Magnetic South and is bounded by a lawn extending approximately 55 feet to the west, 53 feet to the south, 70 feet to the east, and 15 1/2 feet to the north.

Along the south and west perimeters of the lawn are stone walls on top of which are wire fences. The walls, which average three courses in height, are composed of rhyolite volcanic fieldstone laid in random courses and secured with cement mortar. The wire fences on top are composed of vertical and horizontal wires fastened together to form rectangles. The wire is strung between circular cast-iron rods which are one inch in diameter. Slightly inside the central portion of the south wall is a lower secondary wall acting as an embankment. The east fence is of a range type, consisting of the same wire pattern strung between T-shaped iron posts. Barbed wire runs along the tops of both the south and east fences.

The east perimeter of the lawn continues an additional 50 feet beyond the 15 1/2 foot area bounded by the north fence near the house, creating an ell extension FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 28) to the northeast corner of the lawn. This ell is bounded by a continuation of the fencing used along the east side. The north fence near the house is constructed of wire formed into vertical rectangles strung between T- shaped iron posts, with barbed wire strung above. The main gate to the ranch house is found at the southwest corner and composed of the same wire pattern as the neighboring fences, but contained within a pipe frame. There are also southeast and east gates, which are constructed of wire inside a pipe frame.

On one side of the southeast gate and flanking the east gate are large cast-iron posts which are circular, 4 1/2 inches in diameter, and filled with concrete. A fourth gate, located in the north fence near the northeast corner of the lawn, is hung between a log post on the east side and a cast-iron post on the other. The gate itself is board and batten. The north gate to the lawn, located north of the guest dining room of the ranch house, is constructed of wire strung within a pipe frame and is hung between two cast-iron posts. The eastern portion of the lawn is made up of a series of terraces. One extends east of the east porch sixteen feet and ends in a stone embankment one to two courses high.

The north side of this terrace ends in a stone embankment three to four courses high and flush with the line of the inside north fence. North of this, between the west fence of the northeast ell and the former swimming pool, extends for about 25 feet the first terrace of the former garden. The terrace ends in a 13-foot-high wall composed of large fieldstones. There are two stones arranged to provide steps down to the second garden terrace, which runs an additional 22 feet to the outside north fence of the ell. A stone wall runs between the two garden terraces and the swimming pool to the east. Three stone steps set in the east wall lead up from the first garden terrace to the edge of the former swimming pool.

The latter runs north from the first stone embankment along the east side of the garden terraces. The pool is approximately 30 feet long and 13 1/2 feet wide and consists of two depths--the shallow (south end), which is three feet, three inches deep, and the deep (north) end, which is five feet, eight inches. The pool is semi-circular at the north and south ends and constructed of poured concrete composed of cement and large fieldstone aggregate. The walls of the pool rise 7 1/2 inches above ground at the south end and about three feet at the north end. The pool is in deteriorated condition: the stucco surface originally applied to the concrete has fallen off in large chunks on the east, west, and south sides.

There is an eight-foot wide concrete apron extending out from the south elevation of the ranch house, running between the outside post of the southwest porch east to the southeast post of the east porch. A walk composed of fieldstone laid in the earth runs from the apron southwest of the main gate to the lawn. A 2 1/2-foot-wide concrete walk begins at the east end of the apron, turns 90 to the north, and continues forward about 2 1/2 feet from the east porch. At the northeast corner of the porch, the walk turns northwest and proceeds to the north gate of the lawn. A second concrete walk begins at the FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 29) east doorway in the east porch, intersects with the north-south walk, and continues east to the edge of the lawn terrace.

The walk then proceeds as fieldstone another eight feet. There is a well located about four feet east of the east porch, south of the east-west concrete walk. Above ground are poured concrete walls cast in an octagonal shape; below ground the well extends down some 25 feet. The circular walls below grade are built of fieldstone without mortar. The octagonal walls of the well rest on a concrete platform extending out from the east porch. There are few trees presently within the lawn area. A large walnut stump is found immediately south of the southeast corner of the ranch house.

3 Outbuildings: (The following information is taken from the National Register nomination form for the Faraway Ranch House.) a* Cowboy House: The "Cowboy House," which provided guest quarters in later years, although it may have originated as a bunkhouse for cowhands, is an "L"-shaped building, with the base of the "L" to the south. It has a shallow-pitched gable roof over each segment of the and a roofed porch on the inside, or north and east sides, of the supported on posts. The roof and exterior walls are covered with a light brown composition rolled roofing material. The building is in generally poor condition. It has a variety of windows. The east end of the foot of the "L" features a pair of small double-hung windows, each one-over-one.

The south side, or base of the has from east to west, a four-light casement sash cobblestone fireplace, another four-light casement window, and a double-hung window, one-over-one. The west side or back of the structure has, south to north, a pair of four-light casement sashes side by side, a six-light casement sash farther north, another six-light casement sash, a small four-light casement window, and a pair of six-light casement windows side by side. The north end, or top of the features, west to east, a four-light casement sash and, after a space, a six-light casement window. Facing on the concrete porch, north to south on the east side of the building, are a pair side by side of six-light casement windows and another door.

Facing north onto the porch from the base of the "L" are east to west, a double-hung sash and another door. The interior is divided, north to south, into a bedroom, a closet, another bedroom, a bathroom, an entry or storage hall, and a kitchen, with a parlor or living room east of the kitchen in the base of the The interior is painted in a FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 30) variety of color schemes; the parlor has white wallboard walls and ceiling; the wood floor is painted red; the kitchen has yellow wallboard walls and ceiling with a green linoleum floor; the hall, once an open passageway subsequently enclosed, has a green tile floor and off-white walls; the bathroom has a green ceiling and upper third of the walls, while the lower part of the walls is finished with an imitation gray and white tile with black trim, and the floor is brown asphalt tile. The bedroom north of the bathroom has tan, off-white walls and ceiling, and the floor has a yellow and gray leaf-pattern linoleum; the northernmost bedroom has three yellow walls with green trim, a light green wall, and brown pressboard floor. b.

Storage Shed: Separate and distinct from the storage shed attached to the garage, this small nearly square building, 9 feet by 9-feet-6 inches, faces 30 degrees north of magnetic east. Its gable roof, finished in galvanized corrugated metal, thus runs southwest to northeast. It has a small door in the front and two six-light casement windows on the northwest side. Three sides consist of wood frame with the upper two-thirds of the wall and the gable ends covered with horizontal 3-inch-wide lap siding painted a cream verging on orange, with the lower third of the walls finished in galvanized metal embossing in imitation of a brick wall. However, the southeast side has galvanized corrugated metal in place of the embossed metal on the lower third of its walls.

The building has a concrete floor, and contained tools such as double-handled cross-cut saw, a power saw, and other items such as sacks of cement or plaster. c. Barn and Tool Shed: The barn at Faraway Ranch is a rectangular structure with a gable roof whose ridge runs generally east-west. It is actually oriented so that it faces 32 degrees east of magnetic south. It consists basically of three rooms, two in front and one in the back. On the west end of the front is a rectangular room with a door on the south, and a six-light casement window on both the west and north walls. This room is the "tack room" for storage of the horse gear, such as saddles, bridles, harness, stirrups, currycombs, bits, etc.

On its east wall are wooden racks for nine saddles, each labeled with the name of a horse, north to south: "Red," "Nixie," "China," "Pebbles," "Doggie," "Tip," "Calico," "Andy's," and Lil's." One the north wall, beneath and to each side of the window, are racks for three more saddles; on the west wall are racks for four more saddles. A wooden cabinet for stable tools fills the southwest corner of the building. Overhead, there is a flat storage area containing locally manufactured horse canteens. The room has a plank floor. East of the tack room is a rectangular room containing more horse gear. To the rear is a third room running the full FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 31) length of the building which is an addition covered by a shed roof that begins immediately under the eaves of the gable roof over the original two rooms and extends north, nearly doubling the size of the structure. This connects with the older structure through a doorway, and the addition contains, east of this doorway abutting the former outside north wall of the original structure, three horse stalls. The walls of the original building and the roof, were all finished in galvanized corrugated metal, now badly rusting, and this addition is roofed and walled in the same material. This room has doors closed with gates which open to the west and the north into fenced corrals. Both of these stable rooms have earth floors.

To the east end of the original gable-roofed building has been added a small shed-roofed addition entered by a door on its south end and with an open window running along its east wall. Built of frame walls and plank roof, covered with rusting corrugated metal, this is a tool shed, featuring a workbench on the east and shelves on the left. d. Tool Shed: Separate and distinct from the tool shed attached to the barn, this is a shed-roofed building of rectangular floor plan, roughly 9 by 14 feet. It is built of silver-colored corrugated metal over a wooden frame, both walls and roof. It has double in-swinging doors in front, six-light windows on the northwest end and northeast (back) walls, and a small screened vent on the southeast end. The building faces 2 north of true magnetic southwest.

In the interior, the building has a tool bench along the northeast wall, and a red cabinet with shelves along the northwest wall. The shed roof slopes downward from southwest to northeast. e. Generator House: The generator house is a small square building with gable roof, aligned slightly northeast-southwest by 6 degrees from true magnetic north/south. Its door is on the south side and it has a small casement window on the west. The ridge of the roof runs north-south, and 5/8 of the roof is finished in corrugated metal, the remainder with a green composition roofing. The walls and gable ends are of fieldstone set in a cement mortar. Inside, the building has a rectangular concrete block aligned east-west which served as a foundation for a gasoline-powered generator, now missing.

The building is in good condition. e. Garage: The five-stall garage, with a storage room equivalent in size to about another stall, is a gable-roofed wood-frame building aligned with its long axis basically north-south, varying about 17 degrees from the magnetic north, to run slightly northwest-southeast. Its roof is of galvanized corrugated metal, as are the back wall of the southernmost two stalls, the south end wall of the building, and the front wall of the storage room. The back walls of the FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 32) remaining three garage stalls and the storage room, and the north and south walls of the storage room, the latter separating it from the northernmost garage stalls, are of vertical wood planks with flattened tin cans nailed as sheathing over the cracks between planks of the north end. The sliding garage doors are of wood frame covered with sheet metal embossed to give the appearance of a brick wall. The lumber of the frame is milled. A separate wood bin or woodbox, with cover, stands alongside the north end of the building. The galvanizing has failed on some parts of the corruguated metal which consequently has rusted in those places. The remainder is a grayish silver color. f.

Office/Garage: The "office" is a building 15 by 24 feet with its longer axis running generally north-south. It is split in half with a 12-foot-wide single stall garage in the north half, the door on the east side, and a 12-foot-wide office in the southern half. It has a gable roof, whose ridge runs north-south. The roof is finished in corrugated metal painted green, and the northwest corner of the metal on the roof has been peeled back as if by a strong wind. The building's walls are of metal over a wooden frame. The metal on the walls is embossed to imitate a brick wall, but the siding was applied so that the embossed pattern intended to represent the mortared joints between bricks is raised rather than recessed. The walls are painted a cream color. The floor in the office is of planks.

The office portion has a pair of double-hung windows on the west side, each six-over-six, and a single double-hung window on the east, with a door on the south near the southeast corner. The foundation of the structure is stone. The garage door rolls on an overhead track. The interior of the office, both walls and ceiling, is finished with wallboard and battens, all painted light green, and storage shelves fill the north wall. The garage portion has no finish on the interior. The building has an attic, which is entered from double doors in the plank gable end on the north side. g.

Faraway Ranch Guest Quarters/Bunkhouse: Including the front porch and rear shed-roofed additions or lean-tos, this rectangular structure, without the porch and additions (which may originally have been another porch) , would form a with the head of the "T" being the stone portion possibly the earliest, and the upright portion of the "T" being the frame board and batten-finished addition. The top of the "T" being to the west, the porch would then be to the right or north. The building was originally divided into three guest quarters, each of which was labeled in a sign made of rope tacked to a plank which hung at the edge of the porch in front of the respective doors. East to west, these were "Mizar," the name FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 33) of the middle room is unknown, and the the west was "Alcore." The building has a single gable roof, the ridge of the gable running east-west, which continues to the outer limits of the concrete front porch on the north, where it is supported on three posts. There are architectural indications that the front porch once was lower. The roof is finished in brown composition shingles. The western end of the structure, crossing the is of stone, 19 feet in an east-west direction by about 27 feet, 6 inches. With the 31-foot-long frame additions and porch to the east, this makes a building 49 feet long. The main portion of the wooden wing is thus 31 by about 7, finished, as mentioned above, in board and batten.

To the rear of this, in a space corresponding with that filled by the front porch, have been built three different additions, all under a single shed roof. West to east, the first is of stone, but apparently not part of the original stone structure, and extends 8 feet along the east wall; east of this is a portion of wall of plywood, and still further east is a portion of wall made of 3-inch horizontal lap siding, which also was used on the southern seven feet of the east wall of the building. Together the two frame lean-to additions are about 22 feet long. In front there are two doors and two double-hung windows facing north onto the porch and a door in the stone portion facing east onto the porch. The stone portion of the building also has a double-hung window facing north.

The west end of the building, in the original stone portion, has two double-hung windows with a door between them which is offset from center. The east end has two double hung windows, one each in the board-and-batten and the lap-sided portions. The back side, facing south, features, west to east, a double, followed by a single, casement window in the original stone wing, a double casement window in the section of stone wall that is apparently an addition, an aluminum casement sash in the section of plywood wall that follows, and a door and a double casement window in the portion of rear wall finished in lap siding.

As the building is built partly into the sloping hillside-- or possibly the hill has gradually filled against its back wall--a concrete retaining wall four feet high maintains a clear path from the back door to the east end of the building. h- Windmills The windmill stands to the southwest of the barn and at the northeast corner of the man-made pond or "tank" which served as a reservoir for the water. It consists of a standard pyramidal metal frame surmounted by a small platform and a metal bladed windmill. The frame is in fair condition, the rotor is in ruins, only a quarter of its framework and fragments of four of its blades remaining in place. The vane is missing. FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 34) i.

Cemetery: A typical integral feature of remote early ranches in the west, the ranch cemetery consists of a small rectangle of land, 20 by 30 feet, fenced with an ornate iron fence on top of a stone foundation. Here are buried Neil and Emma Erickson. Outside the fenced boundary to the east is buried Lewis Prue, another early pioneer to the area, who settled just outside the mouth of Bonita Canyon. j. Other: Other "built" features of the Faraway Ranch include the "tank" or open air pond, a stone fence on the face of the ridge north of the creek, corral fences, chutes, and gates sub-dividing the ranch property, a water trough, a pig pen, an animal pen, water tanks, a well, a frame footbridge over Newton's Wash, and cobblestone-edged paths leading around the property.

PART III.SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Original Architectural Drawings: none B- Early Views: The historical photographs in the Faraway Ranch collection at WACC are comprehensive in scope and indispensable in understanding the physical history of the Erickson-Riggs Ranch House. A few additional photographs are in the Chiricahua National Monument collection. C. Interviews: Especially useful were the notes made by Fort Bowie Rancher Wilton Hoy of interviews with Edward Murray Riggs, Jr. These are available at Chiricahua National Monument. Also helpful was a taped interview of Ben (Ethel) Erickson conducted on July 27, by the HABS project historian and Wilton Hoy. D.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ARIZ,2-WILCO.V,1A-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

At the Faraway Ranch Collection of the Western Archeological Center (WACC) in Tucson, Arizona, the following items were helpful: diaries, correspondence, and written reminiscences of members of the Erickson and Riggs families; legal documents (land patent, wills, leases, etc.); and printed ranch publicity materials (brochures, rate schedules, etc.). Useful newspaper clippings may be found in the WACC collection, in the vertical files of the library at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, and in the Chiricahua National Monument collection. An acknowledgement should be made to Lewis Torres, historian with the Denver Service Center of the National Park Service.

He shared findings from the documentary research he conducted while preparing the historical data section of the forthcoming Faraway Ranch Historic Structures Report. E. Notes 1 Neil Erickson, "Some Facts About (Bigfoot) Massai," an undated typescript manuscript in the possession of the Western Archaeological and Conservation Center (WACC), Tucson, Arizona. & FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 35) 2 A caption written on photograph of south elevation of the Erickson house (WACC) refers to the board and batten house as "box house later or See also letter of Daisy M. Winschorr to Emma Erickson, dated February 12, which refers to "your comfortable new house" (WACC). 3 See undated letter by Hildegarde E. Hutchinson (c. mid-192 to unknown readers (WACC).

See also the entries in Neil Erickson's Forest Service diary for October 6 and 27, (WACC) and notes from interviews of (Edward) Murray Riggs, Jr. by Wilton Hoy, dated November 26, (Visitor's Center, Chiricahua). 4 Neil Erickson, "Some Facts p. 2. See also "Remembrances of Hildegard (sic) Hutchinson," handwritten memoir, undated (WACC). 5 For an indication of Neil Erickson's building activities during the see his personal diary, kept from about to and found in back of Emma Petersen's "Fort Bowie Hotel Guest Register" (WACC); See also Hutchinson "Remembrances...".

6 Neil Erickson's Forest Service diaries, to Erickson acquired the fundamental concerning carpentry, building, and architectural draftmanship from such books as Camp's Draftsman's Manual, or "How Can I Learn Architecture?" (New York: William T. Comstock, and Fred T. Hodgson's The Builder's Guide and Estimator's Price Book (New York: The Industrial Publication Company, (Both are in the WACC collection.) See also Hutchinson, "Remembrances..." for reference to the construction of the house. 7 Hutchinson, "Remembrances.. ". 8 "The History of Faraway Ranch: The Gateway to the Wonderland of Rocks," Hoofs and Horns, IV (October, p.2 (WACC). 9 Homestead certificate No. dated November 22, (WACC). 10 Will of Neil Erickson, dated October 31, in Estate Papers Series (WACC).

11 Kingsley Wood, Generation Pioneer Not Slowed in Ranch Work by Total Blindness," Arizona Daily Star, May (Clipping in vertical file of library, Arizona Historical Society.) 12 Pete Cowgill, "Faraway Ranch; Park Service May Buy Land, " Arizona Daily Star, April 30, 13 Murray Riggs interview, November 26, See also "General Fund Expenditures for an account book maintained by Ed Riggs (WACC). 14 Murray Riggs asserts this and was living at the ranch at the time. Clair V. Cooke, notes made from information provided by Ed and Lillian Riggs, dated February 27, relates that Neil Erickson was responsible for the fireplace. * FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 36) 15 See Neil Erickson's diary for Faraway Ranch Papers, (WACC) . 16 Murray Riggs, November 26, interview.

17 Ibid. 18 Victor C. Shaver, specifications provided for bid on miscellaneous remodeling projects, in the ranch house, dated March 26, (WACC). 19 Lillian E. Riggs, transcript of interview by Clair V. Cooke, dated July 28, pp (WACC). Information on Erickson's rank supplied by Phillip Gomez, ranger at Fort Bowie National Historic Site. 20 Emma S. Erickson, handwritten reminiscences at the beginning of entry dated January 10, (WACC). 21 Hoofs and Horns, p. 2; see also Ethel K. Ben) Erickson, taped interview , dated July 27, conducted by James A. Glass and Wilton Hoy. Tapes are at the Visitor's Center, Chiricahua National Monument. 22 Lillian E. Riggs to Richard Y. Murray, letter dated June 8, (WACC).

23 Neil Erickson, "Some Facts 24 Lillian Riggs to Richard Murray, June 8, Neil Erickson, "A Tribute to Mary B. Riggs," letter published in unidentified newspaper (WACC) . 25 Neil Erickson, to diary, pp. 26 Neil Erickson to E. V. Debs, letter dated March 2, (WACC). 27 Daisy M. Wunschorr to Emma S. Erickson, letter dated February 12, (WACC). 28 "Indian Fighter and Forest Guard Retires to Ranch as He Wins Uncle Sam's Thanks". (The newspaper clipping in the WACC collection is not identified and not dated but is probably from about 29 See Neil Erickson, Forest Service diaries, to passim. 30 Hildegarde E. Hutchinson, undated letter to unknown readers (WACC). 31 Ethel Erickson interview. See also Hutchinson, undated letter. 32 Hildegard Hutchinson, "Remembrances of ... ".

33 Hutchinson, undated letter. P FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 37) 34 "Neil the Norsemen, Indian and Fire Fighter, Retires to Live on Faraway Ranch," clipping from unidentified newspaper (WACC). 35 Hutchinson, undated letter. 36 Ethel Erickson interview/ "Knox, Fifty-Year Club," certificate issued to Lillian E. Riggs. (Certificate series, Faraway Ranch Papers, WACC). 37 Hutchinson, undated letter; see also Kingsley Wood, Generation Pioneer...". 38 Hoofs and Horns, 39 Hutchinson, undated letter; Hoofs and Horns, 40 Hutchinson, ibid. 41 Ed Riggs to Lillian Erickson, letters written in (WACC). 42 Hutchinson, undated letter. 43 (Lillian E- Riggs), "Edward Murray Riggs," a typescript biography, undated, in WACC collection.

44 Ibid; Murray Riggs, November 26, interview. 45 "Edward Murray Riggs". 46 Murray Riggs, August 9, interview. 47 Murray Riggs, November 26, interview. 48 "Faraway Ranch Cottages," advertising circular, undated, in WACC collection. 49 Records of the Assessor's Office, Cochise County Courthouse, Bisbee, Arizona. 50 Murray Riggs, November 26, interview. 51 Helen A. Ray) Kenney, interviewed on July 13, by Lewis Torres and James A. Glass; "Faraway Ranch Cottages," undated advertising circular (WACC); and a photograph of burned ruins, dated in WACC collection. 52 Hoofs and Horns, Ethel Erickson interview. 53 Murray Riggs, November 26, interview. 54 Ibid; see also "General Fund Expenditures for Faraway Ranch Papers, WACC. 55 Hoofs and Horns, & FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No.

AZ-139-A (page 38) 56 See Ed Riggs' brochure "Faraway Ranch; The Last Frontier," undated, vertical files of library, Arizona Historical Society. 57 Murray Riggs, November 26, interview; Neil Erickson's diary for (WACO . 58 Lillian E. Riggs, transcript of July 28, interview, pp 59 Hoofs and Horns, 60 Lillian E. Riggs, transcript of interview, Murray Riggs, November 26, interview. 61 L. E. Riggs, transcript of interview, pp. "Edward Murray Riggs," 62 Hoofs and Horns, p. 16. Armstrong's Cirkut photographs are now in the Visitor's Center collection, Chiricahua National Monument. 63 Murray Riggs, November 26, interview. 64 President Calvin Coolidge, "A Proclamation," dated April 18, in WACC collection. 65 Hoofs and Horns, p. 16; L.E. Riggs, transcript of interview, 66 L.E.

Riggs, transcript, 67 The leases were renewed annually between and Copies are in the WACC collection. 68 L.E. Riggs, transcript, 69 See Ed Riggs' brochure "Faraway Ranch: The Last Frontier." 70 See Kingsley Wood, Generation Pioneer." 71 Ethel Erickson interview. 72 See A.T. Steele, "The Lady Boss of Faraway Ranch," The Saturday- Evening Post, (March 15, pp. 73 Ethel Erickson interview; Nancy Sorto e, "Fort-Like Home Is Standing Amid Reminders of Old Indiana Days," Arizona Daily Star, February 27, (Vertical files, library of Arizona Historical Society). P FARAWAY RANCH, ERICKSON-RIGGS RANCH HOUSE HABS No. AZ-139-A (page 39) PART IV,

Project Information

This project to document the Faraway Ranch House and Stafford-Riggs Cabin was co-sponsored by the National Park Service Western Regional Office and Chiricahua National Monument. Field work was undertaken during the summer of by project historian James A. Glass (Cornell University), and project architects Deborah Andrews (University of Colorado, Denver), Russell W. Cardozo (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), and Michael A. LaFond (Washington State University) . Record photography was completed by Richard Frear, National Park Service. Technical direction was provided by Marjorie Baer and Joseph Towner, Historians, National Park Service, Western Regional Office. * I