Faraway Ranch, Stafford-Riggs Cabin, Willcox

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

State Highway at western edge of Chiricahua National Monument, Dos Cabezas vicinity, Cochise County, Arizona U.S.G.S. Cochise Head Quadrangle Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: Zone 12, Easting Northing Present Owner National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Dos Cabezas Star Route Willcox, Arizona

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

of the first homestead dwellings in the Chiricahua Mountains vicinity. Architecturally, it illustrates the construction techniques and materials used in building one of the early log cabins of southeastern Arizona. The Stafford-Riggs house is also among the oldest surviving log cabins in the region. The site surrounding the cabin contains physical evidence of the early agricultural efforts of Ja Hu Stafford, a pioneer settler: a fruit orchard and an irrigation system. Sometime after the Stafford Cabin was remodeled to serve as a guest cabin for the Faraway Ranch, the commercial guest ranch operated by Lillian and Ed Riggs. FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 2) PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A. Physical History 1.

Date of erection: The present log cabin was constructed in two stages. It is probable that Stafford built the original south room soon after arriving in Bonita Canyon in Sometime between and Stafford added the north room of the log cabin. The homestead patent granted on April 6 of the latter year lists a "double log house" as an improvement on the property.2 2. Architect/Builder: Ja Hu Stafford designed and built the log cabin. His construction methods suggest that he had had previous experience building log cabins. For example, he selected beetle-killed pine and juniper logs (which are full of a pitch that offers resistance to deterioration) for most of the logs. He also placed moisture resistant alligator junipers in the sill positions. 3 3.

Original and subsequent owners: Ja Hu Stafford filed an application for a homestead of 160 acres in Bonita Canyon on October 17, He received a patent to the land from the U.S. government on April 6, and a "Homestead Certificate" confirming his grant on May 23, Stafford bequeathed the homestead to his youngest daughter, Clara S. Wheeler, who inherited it upon Stafford's death in In Wheeler sold the 160 acres to Lillian and Hildegarde Erickson of the adjacent Faraway Ranch7. After her marriage in Lillian and her husband Ed Riggs assumed joint ownership of the Stafford property. It remained part of the Faraway Ranch until Lillian Riggs sold the cabin and the adjacent acreage to the National Park Service in 8 4.

Alterations and additions: It is reported that in the Brannick Riggs built a sawmill at the head of nearby Pinery Canyon. For the first time, dimensional lumber was readily accessible to the neighboring homesteaders. 9 Ja Hu Stafford availed himself of the lumber and about built a two-room board and batten addition to the west side of the cabin.10 Several years later Stafford erected another board and batten addition, this time to the north side of the cabin, extending as an ell to the west. 11 The west addition did not remain in its original form for very long. Probably after Ja Hu Stafford's death in his son Tom (who lived in the cabin for a time) or daughter Clara (who inherited the cabin) removed the southern half of the west addition and replaced it with a porch.

The northern half was enclosed. 12 It is believed that either Ja Hu Stafford or his heirs built the fieldstone chimney on the south side of the cabin sometime after Ja Hu Stafford built three outbuildings to the east of the cabin. All have been razed. When Lillian and Ed Riggs took over the property, they made further changes. They moved the north addition on log rollers from the FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 3) cabin to a new site, close to the Erickson-Riggs Ranch House.14 The Riggs enclosed the southwest porch, making it into a kitchen, and remodeled the rest of the interior for use as a guest cabin. 15 They added a new porch along the east side of the cabin.

Eventually, the Riggs erected a garage along the north side of the cabin, on the site of the first north addition.16 B. Historical Context: Ja Hu Stafford - was born and raised in Davidson County, North Carolina. For reasons unknown, when the Civil War broke out Stafford enlisted in the Union army. After his discharge, he moved to Illinois, where he married for the first time and worked as a salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. After bearing two daughters, Stafford's first wife died. The widowed father left his daughters in Illinois and migrated to Wyoming or Montana. There he became a rancher, achieving some success.

Reportedly dissatisfied with the cold, Stafford decided to move south to the Arizona Territory.17 Enroute he contracted pneumonia and spent a winter in Salt Lake City under the care of the Madsens, a Mormon family. Pauline Amelia Madsen (c. - one of the daughters of the household, accompanied Stafford to Arizona, marrying him on the way. The couple established their home in Bonita Canyon, in the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeastern Arizona.18 They were among the first settlers in the region. Seven children were born to the Staffords; four lived to adulthood. The first child, a boy named Reveley, died in infancy and is buried west of the cabin in the midst of the former orchard. Pauline Stafford died at age 28 in and Ja Hu raised their children alone.

19 Ja Hu Stafford made a living in Bonita Canyon principally by selling produce from his fruit orchard and vegetable gardens. He planted a large orchard west of the cabin, using seeds reportedly brought from his ranch. He then dug irrigation ditches to the orchard from warm springs located further east in Bonita Canyon.20 Beginning in the Stafford shared his irrigation ditches with his new neighbor to the west, Neil Erickson.21 The Staf fords had two vegetable gardens, one of them located about a mile to the east, on the site of the present Silver Spur Meadow, and the other just west of the cabin.

The remote garden, which Stafford called the "Upper Garden," was watered year around by warm springs.22 Stafford supplied fruit and vegetables to Fort Bowie (until it closed in 18 94) and to nearby ranchers. The orchard produced apples, pears, peaches, and persimmons; the gardens produced turnips, cabbage, and lettuce.23 When the children were old enough to be left alone (after Pauline's death), Stafford also worked as a peddler or trader.24 Ja Hu Stafford died in his Bonita Canyon home, which had expanded from one room in to a comfortable six-room house by Stafford was a man of many accomplishments. He was one of the first settlers in the Chiricahua Mountains. He was also an able log cabin builder and built one of the first such cabins in the region.

He understood the principles of FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 4) irrigation and constructed one of the earliest irrigation systems for agriculture in the area. He also probably pioneered in his introduction of a fruit orchard in the Chiricahua Mountains vicinity. After Stafford's death his daughter sold the cabin and 160-acre homestead to Lillian and Hildegard Erickson The log cabin, shorn of most of its Stafford additions, assumed a new identity as a guest cabin for the Faraway Ranch.27 Without irrigation the orchard fell gradually into decline and the outbuildings to the east were removed.

Ja Hu Stafford's Upper Garden became the site in the for the Civilian Conservation Corps camp, building trails and roads for Chiricahua National Monument.28 It later served as a summer camp and still later as the location for the Silver Spur Guest Ranch.29 Now a meadow occupies the spot. The cabin fell into disuse after World War II, but enjoyed a brief respite in as the home of Ben and Ethel Erickson.30 PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: The Stafford-Riggs Cabin is a one-story house, 28 feet long and 22 feet wide. The house currently consists of two major sections: a long cabin on the east, built of native trees and measuring 14 1/2 feet by 29 feet, and a frame addition six feet wide on the west.

The cabin section divides into two rooms, while the addition contains three. The two cabin rooms are square in shape and the addition is rectangular. A porch, also an addition, extends 6 1/2 feet from the east side of the cabin. A garage adjoins the cabin and west addition on their north sides. 1. Architectural character: The Stafford-Riggs Cabin merits recording by reason of its illustration of early log cabin construction in the southeast region of Arizona. It represents an important type of American vernacular architecture, transplanted from its earlier sites east of the Mississippi to the Western territories. 2, Condition of fabric: The cabin's condition may be summarized overall as fair to good.

An emergency rehabilitation by the National Park Service in replaced the roofing, repaired the fascia and soffits of the cabin, and repaired the porch roof and posts. Major deterioration of several logs from insect and water damage has occurred and is untreated at present. B. Description of Exterior: 1. Foundations: The cabin's sill logs have settled into the ground during the past century. As a result, any separate footings or foundation that may have been built originally to support the logs have been submerged below grade. The existence of fieldstone FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 5) footings is suggested by the presence of a stone beneath the sill log of the east wall of the north cabin room.

The stone, which is visible through a hole in the daubing next to the jamb of the northeast entrance, rests on the ground and is five to six inches high. The stone appears to support the end of the sill log beside the door j amb. Other such stones may exist as footings at key points of structural support, but none are visible. The sunken floors inside the cabin confirm that the foundations have settled; the floors are presently three to five inches below the ground level to the east. In addition, the sill logs along the east elevation and spandrel logs along the north and south walls are submerged 50% to 90% below grade. As a consequence of the settling, the sill and spandrel logs have become part of the de facto foundation.

Rising damp or moisture and insect infestation resulting from the constant contact with the earth have caused major deterioration to sill and spandrel logs on the three sides on which they are visible. Of the three additions made to the cabin, all have poured concrete foundations: the west addition, east porch, and the garage. The condition of all three foundations appears to be good to excellent. 2. Walls: The Stafford-Riggs Cabin was constructed in two sections; the original room occupies the south half of the present log building; the first addition occupies the north half. Since Jay Hugh Stafford built the two sections in different manners, the construction of each will be described separately.

The original cabin, erected about is constructed of round, unpeeled logs cut from trees native to Bonita Canyon. The east wall consists of seven notched logs stacked on top of each other and locked in place by means of lapped notches at each corner. The bark on the logs of the east wall of the original cabin allows identification of the trees used. The sill log on the east side is alligator juniper, as is the next wall log. Then a white oak log appears, followed by a succession of ponderosa or Apache pines. In the south wall, the spandrel log is oak, followed by an apparent alligator juniper log and an oak. The rest of the logs in the south wall have lost their bark and are not easily identifiable.

The logs of the original cabin are round and unpeeled for all of their lengths except for the final nine to ten inches at the ends (the crown ends), which have been squared. Thus shaped, the squared crown ends fit flat on top of each other to form lapped notches, which may be observed at each of the three surviving corners of the original cabin. The former northeast corner's notches are now located in the middle of the east elevation; the former northwest corner is covered and not accessible. In the original cabin walls, relatively narrow gaps between logs FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 6) (three to four inches) allowed the use of wood blocks split from logs as chinking, supplemented and covered by daubing composed of a mud plaster.

A few wood blocks are presently visible where the mud daubing has fallen away. In the east wall of the original cabin, only one gap (between the plate log and its neighbor) is filled with a full log as chinking. In the south wall, all but one of the inter-log gaps are narrow and filled with the wood block-and-daubing chinking. According to a historical photograph (circa at the Western Archeological and Conservation Center (WACC), the crown ends of the purlins and the plate logs that project from the south wall originally extended about a foot beyond the wall surface. The ends of these logs were sawn off at a later date, bringing the present ends of the purlins and plate logs to within one-half to two inches from the notches.

The crown ends of the lower wall logs have been cut off vertically by an ax, an apparently original treatment. The walls of the log addition to the original cabin are slightly different in composition and construction techniques. The east wall of the north addition contains eight notched logs, all of which are round and peeled. The sill log appears to be juniper, while the upper logs are ponderosa or Apache pines. All but two of the logs of the north wall of the addition are peeled; a one-seeded juniper and a pine may be picked out with some remaining bark next to the spandrel log and two logs above the spandrel log, respectively.

The former west wall of the addition is covered by plaster board and is not accessible, In the north addition, round logs, round crown ends, and rounded notches are employed. In the northeast corner, the placement of rounded notches is varied. The top two logs running east and west below the plate log and the first log above the north spandrel log have no notches, being locked into place by a circle formed by rounded notches in the north/south logs above and below. The next two east/west logs above the spandrel log are cut with rounded notches on their upper sides, into which fit the lower sides of the adjacent north/south logs. The two round-notched, east/west logs fit in turn into rounded notches in north/south logs below them.

One east/west log is cut with a "V" notch, into which is fitted the V-shaped, lower side of the log above. In the northwest corner, a similar pattern of round notchings is followed. The first, second, and third east/west logs are cut with rounded notches on their upper sides, while the fourth east/west log is cut with a "V" notch. The sixth and seventh east/west logs above the spandrel log are without notches, locked within the circles created by rounded notches above and below. The shallowness of notches cut in the northeast and northwest log intersections (only inches to inches deep) results in large gaps between notched logs in the north addition (up to seven FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 7) inches wide).

As a consequence, full logs are found as chinking in many of the intervening spaces. In the east wall of the addition, three of the six gaps present are filled with chinking similar to that employed in the southern section: a "pole" cut from a log from the gap above the sill log; daubing alone (covering possible wood blocks) between the fourth and fifth logs; and a partial log below the plate log. The other three gaps are filled by full-sized logs. In the north wall, the use of full logs as chinking becomes dominant. Out of ten gaps averaging 75 inches in width, seven contain full logs. Six of these logs occur below the plate log. Above the gaps filled by the full log chinking, exposed wood blocks of hewn and dimensional lumber appear. Daubing is found in all gaps.

Differences between the construction of the original cabin and the first addition may also be seen in the treatment of the crown ends of logs in the north section. Five crown ends at the northwest corner, all belonging to wall logs running north and south, retain their original pointed shape, created by ax. The remaining three north/south logs and all of the east/west crown ends have been sawn off three-fourths to 3 1/2 inches from the notches. A similar situation exists at the northwest corner. Five crown ends running north and south retain their pointed shape, while the rest of the crown ends at the corner have been sawn off. The surviving are generally badly deteriorated.

The purlins in both gables of the cabin mostly are locked in place by means of rounded notches cut in the underside of the purlins. In the north gable a few wall logs are notched on the lower side and laid on the purlins. A similar mixture of round-notch combinations is found in the south gable. Originally, it seems likely that the north purlin ends also extended beyond the eaves. Since then, the purlins and plate logs have been sawn off about seven inches from the notches. The wall logs in the two gables have slanted ends following the slope of the roof. The west wall of both sections of the log cabin survives in fragments separated by passageways between the cabin and the twentieth century west addition.

The west logs are hidden by twentieth century plasterboard, but their existence has been confirmed in the west wall of the north cabin room by means of a hole in the plasterboard. The original north wall of the cabin now acts as an intermediate wall between the two cabin rooms. Presumably the logs survive within the plasterboard, judging from the nine-inch wall thickness, but it is not possible to verify. The condition of the exterior three log walls may be summarized as fair to good condition. Substantial rot and insect damage may be seen in all sill, spandrel, and plate logs. In addition, the upper, peeled logs of the south elevation have suffered serious deterioration due to the same causes. Lesser amounts of FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No.

AZ-139-B (page 8) deterioration can be noted in the east and north walls of the first addition. In during the emergency rehabilitation that occurred, an effort was made to make the log structure water and air tight by extensive use of Portland cement "daubing." As a footnote to the discussion of the log construction, it is worthwhile to point out that the west section of the north wall is in a much better state of preservation than any other section of the log exterior. Sheltered by successive additions to the north (presently by the garage), this section features logs largely untouched by disease, intact original mud daubing, and pointed crown ends.

Regarding the construction of the walls of the two enclosed additions, the west addition to the cabin is one story, of frame construction, and appears to have been built in two sections, both erected after The south portion, the kitchen, is constructed of a wooden material, covered on the exterior and interior. The north section, containing the former pantry and bathrooms, is of predominantly board and batten construction. The condition of both sections of the west elevation may be described as good. The garage, believed to have been added to the north side of the cabin after World War II, is of board and batten construction, with the exterior not stained or painted. 3.

Structural System: In a log cabin such as the Stafford-Riggs dwelling, the structural system is exposed without an obscuring veneer. The structural weight in the cabin is concentrated on the notches at the four corners of the original cabin, at the northeast and northwest corners of the north addition, and on two vertical logs placed at the southern end of the east wall of the north addition. The vertical logs, junipers, supply structural support to the plate log and succeeding log of the addition, acting as a substitute for notching. On the other side of the northeast entrance, the lower wall logs are simply stacked on top of each other, without additional structural support. The present floor structure of the cabin consists of tongue and groove boards.

It is impossible to ascertain whether the joists were used in the floor structure. Since the cabin floors were installed, further settling of logs and footings has occurred. As a result, the outer borders of the flooring in both rooms have been deflected. The central portions of the cabin floors have remained at a stable level, suggesting an independent system of support. The settling of the outer foundation and consequent deflection of floors is more marked in the north cabin room. The floors of the present west addition, the east porch, and the garage are all poured concrete, resting on the ground. The roof structure of the Stafford-Riggs Cabin is an extension of FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 9) the principles of construction followed in the walls.

The current roof structure was built in two stages corresponding to the original cabin and the north addition. Peeled one-seed juniper log purlins run from the south gable of the cabin to the intermediate wall (originally the north wall). The purlins are supported by the rounded notch system described above. The north ends of the original purlins presumably rest on wall logs in the intermediate wall, although such logs are hidden from view by plasterboard and plaster. The south ends of the purlins in the north addition run from notches in the north gable southward to intersect with the original purlins. There the north purlin ends appear to have been fitted into notches immediately to the east of the southern purlins. The north ends are placed snugly against the original purlins.

Again, plaster obscures the joinery of both sets of purlins. Above the purlins are eleven-inch pine sheathing boards laid east and west. The boards run east and west from the ridgepole at the peak of the roof down to the fascia boards of the eaves and are supported by wood blocks wedged between the purlins and boards. The sheathing boards are dimensional lumber and hence probably not original to the cabin roof (see Physical History). The shed roof of the west addition consists of rafters, which are apparently anchored in the west plate log and extend out to the west wall of the addition, and sheathing boards, which run north and south above the j oists. The present roof structure of the west addition appears to have been built at one time.

The garage roof is a simple structure involving rafters meeting at the ridge, reinforced by collar beams. The condition of the west addition roof appears to be excellent. The garage roof leaks and is in fair to good condition. 4. Porch: The porch along the east side of the cabin, dating from after World War II, is sheltered by a shed roof extending 6 1/2 feet from the cabin wall. The roof structure consists of rafters running out to meet a cross beam, which rests in turn on square posts. The sheathing boards run north and south. The porch posts rest on concrete pedestals, pyramidal in shape.

The floor of the porch is poured concrete and is 5 3/8 inches (northeast entrance) and seven inches (southeast entrance) higher than the interior floors, creating a single step down when entering the cabin. In the floor in front of each of the two east entrances is engraved a cattle brand. In the south doorway appears " ", the brand of Lillian E. Riggs, owner of the Faraway Ranch; in the north doorway appears " " ("Kid Erickson"), original brand of her brother, Ben Erickson. The porch is in excellent condition, having been rehabilitated in 5. Chimney: A single chimney adjoins the Stafford-Riggs Cabin in the middle of the south elevation. Built before of volcanic rhyolite fieldstone collected from the environs, the chimney rises FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No.

AZ-139-B (page 10) to a point about 2 1/2 feet above the ridge of the roof. The chimney is composed of approximately 35 courses of fieldstone colored various hues of red and brown. The square base portion of the chimney corresponds to the fireplace hearth inside. The flue rises above the bases. At some point in the past, two iron plates, or strips, were attached to the flue in order to prevent it from leaning outward. The iron strips are bolted on either side of the flue to iron rods, l/2-inch in diameter, which run through the wall to bolts on the inside. The chimney joints are filled with a cement-based mortar. 6. Openings: a. Doorways and doorss The east elevation of the cabin contains two entrances.

A historical photograph taken about indicates that the northeast doorway was the original entrance to the cabin. The present northeast doorway appears to be a replacement of the original (date of replacement unknown). The doorway jambs follow in composition the simple pattern established throughout the cabin: two vertical boards flank the opening surmounted by a lintel board. The northeast door is recessed some eleven inches inside the jambs. The door itself is of a standard type widely used in the United States during the early century: an outer wooden frame contains in its lower two-thirds three rectangular, recessed panels. Grooved moldings mark the transition from frame to panels. The upper third of the frame contains a rectangular glass light.

A rectangular doorplate, door knob with single raised molding around the circumference, and undecorated hinges and plates make up the hardware of the door. The northeast door matches nearly exactly in design the door in the entrance to the west addition, the door in the south entrance to the garage, and several interior doors. From historical photographs, the southeast doorway appears not to be original. The jambs are of slightly different sizes than those of the northeast doorway; the door is again recessed inside the jambs. The door is of a different design from those of the other exterior doors. An outer wooden frame supports a grid framework of one mullion and five muntins, which contains twelve square glass lights.

The hardware of the door is similar to that of the northeast entrance, but the doorknob is smooth, lacking a raised molding. Both east entrances are covered with screen doors set into the jambs. The screen doors are each composed of an outer wooden frame with four interior screens. Both of the entrances are presently in good to excellent condition. The only entrance to the west addition of the cabin is located some thirteen feet north of the southwest corner of the FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 11) addition. The jambs of the doorway are of the same type as the east entrances. The door is recessed 6 1/2 inches within the outer jambs. Two vertical wooden pieces extend inward to form an inner jamb fitting the door.

The door itself is of the same design as the northeast door; the principal difference being the sawing off of a 1 1/2-inch strip from the top of the door, in order to fit the door into the jamb. The outside of the door has weathered, producing warped wood surfaces and a fading of the original white or cream paint. The door in the south elevation of the garage is of the same type used in the northeast and west entrances, though installed at a later date. The door is badly weathered and devoid of paint and its glass light. Two automobile doors, each composed of vertical boards and interior battens, open outward in the east elevation. There are no windows in the garage. b. Windows: Four distinct types of fenestration may be seen in the Stafford-Riggs Cabin.

The first type is found in the two bays that flank the chimney in the south elevation. In each bay a single-paned, rectangular, casement window is recessed 8 1/2 inches within exterior surrounds of irregularly sized boards. Screens with wooden frames are set flush with the surrounds. The north elevation contains a single bay, in which is found a similar, roughly-cut wooden surround composed of irregular strips of wood. Within the surrounds, again recessed to a depth corresponding to the thickness of the wall, are two rectangular casement windows. A screen is set within the outer surrounds. The third type of fenestration is found in the kitchen (southern section) of the west addition. The kitchen is lighted by horizontal casement windows on its south and west elevations.

Two pairs of windows are set in the south elevation, contiguous to each other. The vertical surrounds, cut from dimensional lumber, consist of a lintel board, a sill projecting from below the casements, and a horizontal board beneath. In the west elevation, the single pair of casement windows matches the design of those in the south. The fourth and last type of window associated with the cabin exists in the north section of the west addition. Two single-sash windows that slide horizontally are found there, one lighting the pantry, the other the bathroom. Both are horizontally oriented. The south window is set in simple surrounds consisting of two vertical boards and a narrow sill. The north window has no surrounds, being merely set within a rectangular hole cut in the wall. 7.

Roofs: The roofs of the Stafford-Riggs Cabin include four FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 12) sections: the roof of the log cabin proper; the roof of the west addition; the roof of the east porch; and the garage roof. The cabin roof is gable in shape, the ridge running north and south. The roofing material at present is wood shingle, which was applied in to replace the green asphalt shingles covering the roof previously. The only roofing materials that are probably original to the cabin are the log purlins. Next in age appears to be the board sheathing. The eaves and fascia boards are of relatively recent application. The roof of the west addition (see above) is of the shed type, meeting the slope of the cabin roof at an obtuse angle.

The rehabilitation placed wood shingles on the addition roof as well. Similarly, the shed roof of the east porch has been re-roofed with wood shingles. The slope of its roof extends at an obtuse angle from the cabin roof, the rafters being anchored above the east eaves of the cabin. The roof of the garage is of an asymmetrical gable type, the ridge running north and south and intersecting with the north gable of the cabin on its west slope. The south edge of the garage roof overlaps the north eaves of the west addition some ten inches. The green composition shingles covering the garage roof were left on the roof during the rehabilitation of the cabin. 8. Exterior Paint Colors: The logs of the cabin show no evidence of ever having been stained or painted.

Likewise, the wood shingles applied to the roof in are unstained. The west and south walls of the west addition are sheathed in green composition shingles. All wooden trim in the west addition is painted green, with the exception of the west door, once painted cream. The fascia, soffits, and window trims of the cabin are also painted green, as are the far south and north rafters of the porch roof. All other wooden elements in the porch are presently painted white--rafters, sheathing, and posts--as well as the east doorway jambs and doors. B. Description of the Interior 1. Floor plans: a. Cellar: There is no cellar or crawl space beneath either the cabin or its west addition. b. First Floor: The Stafford-Riggs Cabin consists of a single floor.

Two rooms, both measuring approximately thirteen by twelve feet, are contained in the log portion, one to the north of the other. The west addition contains three rooms and extends along the west side of the cabin. The southeast entrance to the cabin leads into the south room, the original section of the cabin. On the right is a doorway FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS NO. AZ-139-B (page 13) leading through the intermediate wall into the north cabin room. Straight ahead is a doorway, without door, providing access to the former kitchen. Left of the southeast entrance is the sole fireplace of the cabin. The fireplace is faced with native fieldstone, unscored, and has a stone shelf. A stone six feet wide provides the hearth.

Within the fireplace opening fired brick laid in common bond forms the inside walls. The two windows of the south elevation flank the fireplace. Proceeding into the north cabin room, the northeast doorway is found to the right, giving access to the east porch. The single window of the north elevation is seen straight ahead. To the left, there are two adjacent doorways, the one to the south leading through the kitchen to the west entrance. The other doorway, without door, leads into the former pantry. Within the west addition, the pantry communicates through a doorway with the bathroom. To the south the pantry leads into the vestibule between the west entrance and the south doorway of the north cabin room.

The kitchen south of the vestibule has windows in its south and west walls; the pantry and bathroom each have a single window (see Description of the Exterior). The garage adjoins the west portion of the north cabin room, all of the north wall of the west addition, and extends as an ell approximately seven feet west of the addition. 2. Stairways: none 3. Flooring: The floors of the cabin rooms are composed of wooden, three-inch tongue-and-groove boards, painted gray. The floor of the west addition is poured concrete, painted red, and the garage floor is poured concrete, unpainted. Linoleum has been applied to the bathroom floor. 4.

Wall and Ceiling Finish: Plasterboards with 1 1/2 inch battens cover the walls of both cabin rooms to heights of nine and 9 1/2 feet (heights of east/west boards differ from north/south). Cornice boards, 2 1/2 and 3 inches wide, are applied to the plasterboards immediately below the intersections with the sheathing boards. The present paint color of the walls is a dark cream or off-white. Baseboards six inches high line the two cabin rooms. There are no ceilings in the cabin; the log purlins and sheathing of the roof are exposed in the cabin rooms. The sheathing boards show evidences of whitewashing or white paint, now faded. The gables above the south, intermediate, and north walls of the cabin have been plastered, possibly on top of the plasterboard, and painted a matching pink color.

In the west addition, plasterboard and battens painted white cover the walls of the kitchen, while exposed board and batten appears as the west wall of the pantry. Plasterboard with simulated FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 14) plaster texture is found covering the bathroom walls. Within the garage survives what is believed to be the north wall of the first west addition to the cabin, added in the The wall is exposed, is of board and batten construction, and extends west of the north wall of the cabin about six feet. A doorway opening is found in the wall near the cabin wall. The opening has been boarded from the inside and the jambs removed from the doorway. The boards and battens of the wall are unstained and unpainted. 5.

Openings: All doorways in the cabin have jambs composed of two vertical boards and a lintel, or headboard, just as on the exterior. Doors hang only in three of the five interior doorways. All three doors match in overall design and apparent age the appearance of the northeast and west entrance doors. The door between the north cabin room and the vestibule in the west addition matches exactly in its lower recessed panels, upper glass light, and hardware the design of the northeast door. It is also painted white. The bathroom door is narrower than the northeast door, is fully paneled, without glass light, and has a smooth doorknob, without the raised molding present on the other doors.

The intermediate door between the cabin rooms matches the northeast door in dimensions and hardware, but differs in its continuous recessed panels (without light) and the second raised rectangular molding that occurs within each of the panels. 6. Interior trim: The interior surrounds of the cabin windows are of the simple type found on the exterior--lintel board over two vertical boards at the sides, with a second horizontal board beneath, but no sill. The casement windows in the kitchen (west addition) have similar surrounds, except that a projecting sill is found below each casement, above the lower horizontal board.

There is a built-in wooden cabinet in the southeast corner of the north cabin room; the outer face of the cabinet can be seen as the hypoteneuse of a right triangle formed by the cabinet and the two intersecting walls. A single recessed panel occurs in the vertically-oriented door. A wooden cabinet also exists beneath the sink in the kitchen; two rectangular doors without elaboration swing outward. There are no special ornamental features in the interior. 7. Hardware: No hardware dating to the ownership of Hugh Stafford survives in the cabin or addition. The hardware found in the interior at present is of twentieth century "vintage." Like the doors themselves, the door hardware of the interior is similar or identical to that used in the exterior.

The doorplate, knob, and hinges of the door between the cabin rooms and the door between the north room and the west addition are the same as those found in the northeast and west entrances. The bathroom door, as noted above, has a smooth knob matching that of the southeast door. The interior door hardware is unpainted. FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 15) 8. Mechanical and Electrical Equipment: a* Heating: The only source of heat presently in the cabin is the south fireplace. There is no furnace. A "Hercules Liquid Gas Automatic Water Heater," manufactured by Sears, Roebuck and Co. , and of undetermined age, stands in the bathroom. b. Lighting: All light fixtures presently in the cabin and its addition are of post-1920 manufacture.

In each of the cabin rooms, a single lamp hangs by a cable suspended from a cross board between two purlins. Each lamp consists of a metal bowl as light guard and a socket for the lightbulb. Small twentieth century lightbulb sockets with circular metallic bases hang in the kitchen and bathroom. c. Plumbing: The kitchen sink is the only maj or interior plumbing fixture remaining. Several pipes may be seen in the wall ouside the bathroom. d. Other fixtures: The west addition contains several gas pipes of the mid- twentieth century period: one in the kitchen, another in the pantry, and a third in the bathroom. The north wall of the north cabin room also contains a projecting gas pipe. 9. Condition of Interior Features: In general, the condition of the interior is fair.

Exceptions include the following: 1) the exterior chimney appears to be leaning inward, causing a one-and-three-fourths-inch bulge and a broken plasterboard in the wall above the fireplace shelf. 2) The brick courses at the rear of the hearth are eroded, as well as the surfaces of the bricks and the mortar in the joints. Above the hearth opening, mortar is eroded in the first joint. 3) The floor boards in the cabin rooms, as already noted, are deflected along the peripheries of each room. 4) In addition, several boards in the outer areas of the north room are rotted. 5) The plasterboard on the cabin walls is cracked in several places, and two small holes may be found in the walls of the north room. C. Site 1.

General setting and orientation: The Stafford-Riggs Cabin faces approximately 20 degrees north of Magnetic East. It is located at the east end of Bonita Canyon, within the boundaries of Chiricahua National Monument. The cabin is about 1 1/4 miles east of the west entrance to the Monument. The canyon, which runs roughly east-west, marks the transition from the desert grassland typical of the Sulphur Springs Valley (west) to the forests of the Chiricahua Mountains (east and south). The foothills of the Chiricahuas bound FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 16) Bonita Canyon to the north and south; the elevation of the canyon floor is estimated at feet. The land around the cabin is dotted with fieldstones of various sizes.

A winding dirt road provides access from the west to the site; it diverges from the main park road about a mile east of the Monument entrance. Before 192 0 the cabin was bounded to its west by a large orchard of fruit trees planted by Jay Hugh Stafford. Today almost nothing of the orchard remains, and the natural vegetation of grasses, cacti, cypresses, junipers, Arizona walnuts, etc. are reclaiming the floor of the canyon. An element of continuity is Bonita Creek, the bed of which runs roughly east and west past the cabin, some 60 feet to its north. About 60 feet to the west of the cabin stands a row of seven junipers and cypresses, planted as a windbreak about 50 years ago.

Some 150 feet to the east/northeast may be found the remains of an apparent irrigation ditch, which runs in a winding course east until it merges with the creek about a third of a mile north of the cabin. 2. Outbuildings: Oral history interviews have established that three outbuildings stood less than 100 feet east of the Stafford-Riggs Cabin in the early century: a blacksmith shop; a tack house with attached corral; and a chicken coop. Today, no obvious traces of these structures remain. PART III. SOURCES OF INFORMATION A. Original Architectural Drawings: none B. Early Views: There are several historic photographs of the Stafford- Riggs Cabin in the Western Archeological Center (WACC) collection. Two are especially valuable.

One, taken about shows Ja Hu Stafford at work shingling the roof of the new west addition. The other depicts Neil Erickson circa seated on a stone outcropping high above Bonita Canyon and southeast of the Stafford Cabin. The Stafford house is seen at lower right. Other photographs are in the Chiricahua National Monument collection. C. Interviews: Several interviews have been conducted with Helen Amalong Kenney of St. David, Arizona. Kenney is a granddaughter of Ja Hu Stafford. Wilton Hoy, ranger at Fort Bowie, has made notes of his interviews with Kenney and deposited them at the Visitor's Center, Chiricahua National Monument.

Lewis Torres and the HABS historian also interviewed Kenney in July, In the absence of much documentary material related to the cabin, these oral history interviews have supplied most of the information available about the family and building. Another informant recommended by Kenney for contact in the future is a Stafford grandson, Don Riggs, of Yuma, Arizona. D. Note on

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

There are a few items in the Faraway Ranch Papers at FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 17) the Western Archeological Center (WACC), Tucson, related to the Stafford- Riggs Cabin. These items include Ja Hu Stafford's homestead certificate, documents connected with the purchase of the property, and written reminiscences by members of the Erickson and Riggs families that touch upon the Staffords. A more recent report on the Stafford Cabin has been produced: Dewey Livingston, A Pioneer Log Cabin in Bonita Canyon: The History of the Stafford Cabin, National Park Service Historic Resource Study, San Francisco, E.

Notes 1 Despite Stafford's use of beetle-killed softwood logs in the original walls, suggesting a knowledge of which logs are resistant to moisture and insects, he did not peel the bark from the logs, a customary procedure for avoiding insect infestation. This in turn suggests that Stafford acted in haste, perhaps in order to complete the cabin before the winter of 2 Entry Tract Book Arizona, Volume and Individual Land Record Jackets; all of which are located at the Washington National Record Center, Suitland, Maryland. Chief Historian Edwin C. Bearss and Historian Martin Conway of the National Park Service's Washington Office are responsible for locating the patent information on the Stafford homestead. 3 William B.

Murray, head of Resource Management and Fire Prevention, Chiracahua National Monument, in July 22, interview. See also Harrison Goodall and Renee Friedman, Log Structures: Preservation and Problem Solving (Nashville: The American Association for State and Local History, 4 Entry Tract Book Arizona... 5 Ibid; See also Homestead Certificate No. 13 0, Faraway Ranch Papers, Western Archaeological and Conservation Center (WACC), Tucson. 6 Helen Amalog Kenney, interviewed by Wilton Hoy on November 28, Notes on the interview are in the Visitor's Center, Chiricahua National Monument. Kenney is a granddaughter of Hugh Stafford. 7 Hildegard Erickson Hutchinson, undated letter to unknown readers (WACC collection); see also notes of Kenney interview. 8 Hutchinson, undated letter. See also F.

Ross Holland, National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Stafford Cabin, dated April, 9 Hutchinson, undated letter. 10 See historical photograph in WACC collection showing Ja Hu Stafford shingling roof of new west addition, undated, and memorandum from Bill H[oy], dated December 9, providing the date to for FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. AZ-139-B (page 18) photograph (WACC collection). 11 See historical photograph, undated, of Neil Erickson sitting on rock above the Stafford Cabin, about The north addition does not appear. See also Helen Kenney, interviewed by Wilton Hoy on August 2, (notes at Chiracahua National Monument). 12 Helen A. Kenney, interviewed by Lewis Torres and James A.

Glass on July 13, See also historical photograph, undated, showing cabin with southwest porch (WACC collection) 13 Kenney, interviewed July 13, 14 [Edward] Murray Riggs, interviewed to Wilton Hoy on November 26, Notes are at Chiricahua National Monument. 15 Kenney, interviewed July 13, 16 Ethel K. Ben) Erickson, interviewed by James A. Glass and Wilton Hoy, July 27, Tapes are Chiricahua National Monument. 17 Kenney, interviewed July 13, 18 , interviewed by Hoy, November 28, 19 Ibid; Kenney, interviewed by Hoy, August 2, 20 Kenney, interviewed November 28, and on August 2, 21 See Neil Erickson's diary for kept at the back of Emma Peterson's "Fort Bowie Hotel Guest register," Faraway Ranch Papers, WACC. 22 Kenney, interviewed November 28, 23 Ibid.

24 Kenney, interviewed by Torres and Glass, July 13, 25 Ibid. 26 Hutchinson, undated letter. 27 See "Faraway Ranch Cottages", advertising circular, undated, in WACC collection. 28 See leases dating from between and in WACC collection. 29 See leases for "Camp Faraway" signed by Lillian E. Riggs and various groups, early and advertising circulars for Silver Spur Ranch (both in WACC collection). FARAWAY RANCH, STAFFORD-RIGGS CABIN HABS No. A2-139-B (page 19) 30 Ethel Erickson interview. 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 Marj orie Baer and Joseph Towner, Historians, National Park Service, Western Regional Office.