Tourist Attraction - Lonely Dell Ranch
Tools along the side of the Polygamist Era Cabin The Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape is a physical reminder of the settlement and expansion history of the Mormon Church in this region. It is also sig... More
Tourist Attraction - Glen Canyon Lees Ferry
Lees Ferry Fort was constructed on the north side of the Colorado River, upstream from the ferry crossing, in 1874. It also functioned as a trading post with local Navajos. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Land... More
Lees Ferry - National Parks Gallery
Lees Ferry Fort Lees Ferry Fort was constructed on the north side of the Colorado River in 1874, upstream from the ferry crossing. It was built by a crew from St. George, Utah. It served multiple purposes, incl... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Farm equipment near the Samantha Johnson Cabin Samantha Johnson Cabin (also known as Emma's Cabin, Lee's Cabin, J.D. Lee Ranch House) was built in 1881. In 1987, the cabin was refurbished into a schoolhouse usi... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Ranch Orchard and Irrigation Ditches By 1882, the ranch contained a total of 25 cultivated acres, much of which grew alfalfa. Cane and melon fields grew on one side of the road, with vineyards beyond. There was... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
View of Ranch from Root Cellar The Root Cellar was probably built at the same time as the main house (1887). Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Tourist Attraction - Lonely Dell Ranch
Entrance to the Root Cellar Although there is little documentation on the construction of the root cellar at the ranch, its construction and location suggest that it was probably constructed at the same time as... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Samantha Johnson Cabin In the spring of 1881, additional ferry operators created the need for more housing. Two cabins, including this one, were added to the site. Ferryman Warren Johnson's second wife Samantha... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Picture Window Cabin This may be the log house that was relocated between 1909 and 1917, when Jerry Johnson was running the ranch. The log house had been build sometime earlier and was abandoned. Lees Ferry and... More
Lees Ferry - National Parks Gallery
Inscribed rock at the foot of Spencer Trail Spencer Trail was built in 1910 by Charles Spencer's crew. It followed the cliff face north of the Colorado River and was constructed using picks, shovels, and crowba... More
Tourist Attraction - Glen Canyon Lees Ferry
Charles Spencer built many structures at Lees Ferry to accommodate his mining operation. The paddle wheel steamboat, used to haul coal barges upriver, was constructed around 1911. However, like many aspects of ... More
Lees Ferry - National Parks Gallery
Colorado River The USGS took interest in Lees Ferry in the early 1920s, when many of the Spencer buildings were reused and renovated to support their operations. The ferry site was a critical point in monitorin... More
Lees Ferry - National Parks Gallery
Colorado River near Lees Ferry Site Numerous ferry accidents in the early 20th century drew attention to safety issues of the operation. This eventually led to the construction of the Navajo Bridge across Marbl... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Lonely Dell Ranch Orchard In the early 1900s, the focus shifted away from subsistence farming and the original orchard and vineyard planted by Warren Johnson died. The Grand Canyon Cattle Company wanted to grow... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Irrigation Ditch The various irrigation systems used at the site between 1871 and 1970 demonstrate the efforts to alter the remote landscape to make it more habitable. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape... More
Lees Ferry - National Parks Gallery
Lee Ferry Fort The Fort is one of the structures that remains at the landscape. Modifications have been made to the building over the years, and it has been used for various purposes depending on the use of the... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Colorado River at Lees Ferry Site Lees Ferry is located near the confluence of the Colorado and Paria Rivers within Coconino County, Arizona. This was one of the few points of crossing on the Colorado River in ... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Interpretive Wayside An interpretive marker introduced visitors to the spatial layout of the historic district. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Building Foundations at Lees Ferry Site Contributing features of the landscape include building foundation remnants and scattered debris. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Tourist Attraction - Glen Canyon Lees Ferry
Lees Ferry Fort Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
A truck and other agricultural equipment stand in a field near the ranch. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
View from the Picture Window Cabin Under the direction of the Grand Canyon Cattle Company, Jerry Johnson made several improvements to the site in the early 1900s. He relocated an old log house that had been bui... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
View of red rock formations around the ranch landscape. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Lees Ferry Landscape The old road bed is visible across the river. Evidence of former circulation routes contribute to the character of the landscape, resembling its appearance during the period of historic sig... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Lees Ferry Fort In 1874, tensions rose with increasing conflict between the Navajo and Mormon settlers. The LDS officials decided to build a fort on the banks of the Colorado River, and Hamblin suggested that t... More
Tourist Attraction - Glen Canyon Lees Ferry
Views from the landscape are punctuated by the sandstone walls of Echo Cliffs, Vermillion Cliffs, and Marble Platform that define the canyon. The river that carved this canyon and added to its secluded and rugg... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Old Road Bed at Lees Ferry The road bed can be seen across the river at the site of Lees Ferry. Around 1873, the site for the ferry crossing was agreed upon, opting for a location above the Paria River approved... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Irrigation ditches weave around the trunks of orchard trees. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Farm Equipment near the Weaver House Planted shade trees (elms) surround the ranch house. Tourism efforts first began at the site by Leo Weaver, who attempted to make the ranch into a tourist destination. Leo a... More
Tourist Attraction - Lonely Dell Ranch
Roof of the Root Cellar Beginning in 1982, the NPS made a number of repairs and renovations to the landscape. During this time, the roof of the root cellar was repaired and re-graded, and loose stones were stab... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Trough Today, a number of non-contributing, small-scale features have been added to the landscape, such as this concrete trough. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Tourist Attraction - Glen Canyon Lees Ferry
Lees Ferry Chicken Coop Contributing features of the landscape include building foundation remnants and scattered debris. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
The Polygamist Era Cabin is shaded by trees growing on the ranch landscape. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Lees Ferry Fort (right) and Spencer Bunk House/USGS Lab Site and USGS Guest House (right) In the early 1920s, the USGS built the first gaging station and started taking measurements on the Colorado River. Short... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Road bed near Lees Ferry Crossing The Arizona Road/Honeymoon Trail meandered through the district and connected Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch. Originally a simple path, it was later paved. Part of the road t... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
In front of the Main Ranch Complex, an irrigation system floods an area to keep trees watered. Berms hold water in place. An irrigation system of ditches, headgates, a pump station, and tanks or reservoirs is a... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Colorado River near Lees Ferry Site The landscape reflects the settlement and movement of people across the Arizona/Utah border. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Orchard at Lonely Dell Ranch Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Ranch Equipment The landscape includes small-scale features related to ranching and irrigation operations, such as seeders, disc plows, harrows, wagons, and automobiles. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landsca... More
Tourist Attraction - Lonely Dell Ranch
The entrance drive to the ranch crosses the Paria River at the 1963 bridge and continues to the Main Ranch complex. Today, the locations of historic river fords across the Paria are not discernible. Lees Ferry ... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Picture Window Cabin Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public domain scan of drawing
Spencer Pump Parts Pump equipment associated with irrigation systems is still present at the site. Pumping stations were added at different times during the landscape's history and use. Charles Spencer was one ... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
View from near the Front Gate of the Ranch Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Farming Equipment at the Cabin In the early 1930s, Leo Weaver arrived at Lonely Dell Ranch and identified it as an ideal isolated location for his dude ranch operation. Weaver feared that the polygamist communi... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Farming Equipment The ranch contains small-scale features associated with the irrigation and ranching operations of the landscape, primarily consisting of the irrigation system, corrals and fences, and ranching... More
Tourist Attraction - Lonely Dell Ranch
Root Cellar (Dugout Cellar) Probably built around the same time as the Ranch House, the Root Cellar was improved by Gus Griffin in 1958. Despite improvements to the ranch at this time, conditions were very rust... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Lonely Dell Cemetery The cemetery at the Ranch is a small plot (39 feet by 88 feet), surrounded by modern post and wire fence. Graves markers range from broken and worn sandstone tablets to modern granite heads... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Trail to remnants of Lees Ferry Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Ranching Equipment Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Gate around old vegetable garden Documented species at the ranch during the period of significance included alfalfa, apples, peaches, grapes, nus, and other fruits and vegetables. Today, traces of historic vege... More
Glen Canyon Lees Ferry - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Today, native grasses, shrubs, and trees are scattered along the Colorado River banks, although the riparian zone along the river has changed dramatically. Vegetarian today consists of four-wing salt bush, rabb... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Irrigation Ditch A stone-lined ditch near the Weaver Ranch House is one of the irrigation features of the district. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Orchard and Irrigation Ditches at Lonely Dell Ranch With the help of irrigation systems, farming activities at the ranch continued for many years and under many hands. Lees Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Landscape... More
Lonely Dell Ranch - National Parks Gallery
Lonely Dell Ranch Vegetable Garden An heirloom vegetable garden has been reestablished at the Main Ranch as an interpretive element for visitors, providing a view of the former use and vegetation of the landsca... More