The V Bar V Ranch & Beaver Creek At the turn of the 20th century, Benjamin Franklin Taylor and his wife, Florence Newman Taylor, settled land on Beaver Creek in central Arizona. This land would eventually become the original winter headquarters of the V Bar V Ranch. Ben Taylor’s cattle were branded with the 100 brand, and the area became known as the “100 Place.” Before obtaining a title to the land, however, Ben Taylor decided to take a place down on Little Dry Beaver. In 1915 a land patent was issued to William H. Dickison for the site that contained 102.5 acres. In 1917, William G. Dickinson, Frank L. Dickinson, and David Babbitt, Jr. bought the homestead from William H. and Dora Lee Dickison, along with 40 acres south of the site from James G. Van Deren. In 1920, the partners sold to A. G. Dickison. In the late 1920’s, ranchers began to fence off their separate allotments. Rather than participating in a “Roundup Association” as they had before, every rancher began to take charge of his own roundup, branding, and marketing. The smaller cow outfits began to sell out to new owners and to other ranchers. Several small ones would be combined, making larger spreads than before. The same was true for the ranch that would become the V Bar V Ranch. In 1927, James and Ida May Swift Minotto, along with partners C.C. “Whitey” Montgomery and Omer Maxwell, bought the “100 Place” as well as a number of other smallholdings and formed the V Bar V Cattle Company. James Minotto was a Count from Berlin, Germany. Ida May Swift Minotto was from Chicago, the granddaughter of Gustavus F. Swift, founder of the Swift & Co. meat packing business. Other outfits purchased by the partners included those of Giles Goswick, Samuel “Bud” Bristow, Albert “Ab” Fain, Noah “Daddy Pa” Clayton, and A.W. Bradford. The V Bar V brand, which originally belonged to the Bradford family, was chosen for the cattle company, presumably because it was the simplest and easiest to use. In 1932 and 1933, a severe drought pushed cattle prices very low, and the federal government began buying cattle to keep the industry afloat. Count Minotto decided to enter politics, first as a state senator, and later as Ambassador to Bolivia. In November 1933, the Minotto’s sold the ranch to the family of Marcus J. Lawrence. Bruce Brockett, who was managing the neighboring Beaver Creek Guest Ranch, was brought in as a working partner. Marcus J. Lawrence was an eastern dude whose family fortune had been made from a liniment called “Lawrence’s Caustic Balsam.” He and his mother were guests at the neighboring Soda Springs Guest Ranch when they became interested in the area. Lawrence was inflicted with a speech impediment that reportedly embarrassed him, and it was said later that he bought the ranch so that he “might have some interest in life that would not conflict with his shy disposition.” Some long-timers, though, recollect that his family may have bought the ranch hoping to “make something” of a rather troubled young Marcus. On a trip east Lawrence met and married a young woman named Jane. When they returned to Arizona, they added the neighboring old Mose Casner Place to their holdings. This land in now known as Rancho Roca Roja, and this is where the Lawrence’s built a new home. In 1937, Lawrence’s wife filed for divorce. According to legend, he began to travel to Prescott weekly to presumably seek “forgetfulness” in gambling, drinking, and nightlife. In 1938, a jealous husband murdered him. Lawrence was covered by two life insurance policies. Upon his death, his mother contributed the proceeds to the community in his memory. With one policy, she had a crossing built at Beaver Creek, which was called “Lawrence’s crossing” by locals. This crossing has since been washed out. The money from the other policy was contributed to the beginnings of a clinic in Cottonwood, later named Marcus J. Lawrence Memorial Hospital. When Marcus J. Lawrence died, his partner, Bruce Brockett, had first option to buy the V Bar V Ranch. Brockett and his wife Rodricka (“Fritzie”), obtained the “100 Place” portion and continued to operate as the V Bar V Ranch. In the early 1920’s, Bruce Brockett had his own cattle outfit in Wyoming. He also worked summers for Eaton’s Ranch, a commercial cattle and dude ranch. When he first came to Arizona, he was operator and part owner with Eaton’s’ Ranch, a part of the Beaver Creek Guest Ranch. The Brockett’s made many improvements to the V Bar V Ranch. They were active in cattlemen’s organizations at all levels. Many famous people visited the ranch during that time, including Barry Goldwater and several former governors. Bruce Brockett entered the political arena himself in 1946 and 1948, running on the republican ticket for governor. After World War II, Bill Sullivan, Bruce Brockett’s nephew, came from Wyoming to help operate the V Bar V. Sullivan had plans to attend the University of Arizona, but his uncle talked him out of it, saying he needed him at the Ranch. Bill had been spending summers with his uncle at the Ranch since he was 11 years old. In the fall of 1948, Bill married and brought his new wife, Shirley, to the Ranch. He built a rock house for them at the 100 Place headquarters where they lived for 37 years. Like other ranches in the area, the V Bar V Ranch runs west to east, from lower elevation near the Verde River in Camp Verde to higher elevation along the Mogollon Rim. During the winter the ranchers and their families lived in the Beaver Creek area and the children attended school. During the summer, cattle were moved up the mountain to the higher elevations. Early on, the V Bar V ranch summer headquarters was a house on the east end of the ranch at Harris Park. When that house was hit by lightning and burned to the ground, the headquarters were moved to Mahan Park. Shirley Sullivan remembers that the family loved summers at Mahan Park. Until 1951, the facilities at Mahan were very rustic – a small log cabin with no running water and no electricity. The family would catch water off the roof into a cistern. There was an old sink in the cabin but no drain. They would throw their dish water out the door. But Shirley says they and the kids loved it there, and they hated going to town. In 1951, a newer, more modern cabin was built at Mahan Park. There still was no running water until the next owner drilled a well. To this day, there is no electricity without a generator. In 1971, Bruce Brockett died, and the ranch passed to the Sullivan’s. Bill and Shirley and their children, Brock and Kelly, operated the ranch for the next 13 years, running predominantly Hereford cattle. Bill Sullivan died in 1984, and Shirley and her daughter, Kelly, then operated the ranch until 1985, when it was sold to Ben and Betsy Zink. In 1995, the Zink’s traded the old 100 Place headquarters to the US Forest Service. The University of Arizona acquired the remainder of the V Bar V Ranch and the V Bar V brand through a gift-purchase agreement with the Zink’s. Several CALS officials, including Dr. Eugene Sander, Dr. Colin Kaltenbach, Dr. Roy Ax, and Dr. Bob Kattnig, were instrumental in arranging the acquisition and in setting up the operations of the new unit of the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. Today, the V Bar V Ranch runs about 30 miles east from Camp Verde, Arizona, and varies between four and five miles in width. It encompasses approximately 71,000 acres. Forty-four acres at Mahan Park is private land, with the remainder being held under lease from the Forest Service. Fifteen years after its acquisition by the University of Arizona, the Ranch continues as a working cattle ranch and educational and demonstration facility. Programs focus on environmental, wildlife, and domestic livestock issues in Arizona and the Southwest.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 22:21:17 +0000
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