Sahuaro Ranch- Main House
Porch in front of Sahuaro Ranch Main
House connecting to the Guest House
Sahuaro Ranch Park (Right-Main House. Left- Guest House)
Entering Sahuaro Ranch Park
Bartlett's prized rose garden in front of Ranch house
Located:
9802 North 59th Avenue
Glendale, Arizona 85302
Founder:
William Bartlett: The Peoria, Illinois resident, traveled to Arizona to purchase land in 1886, one year after the completion of the Arizona Canal. Until the canal was completed, there had been no way to bring water to areas of Arizona distanced away from water sources of the Salt River Valley. Bartlett purchased 640 acres for $1.25 per acre. This one square mile of unclaimed land was named by Bartlett, Sahuaro Ranch Park. The misspelling was a purposeful decision on Bartlett's part as he believed the etymology and proper spelling of the word "Saguaro" were incorrect. Bartlett would own the ranch for 27 years but spend a total of a six month duration on the property.
FARMING
Always intending the ranch to prosper as a fruit farm, Bartlett tried in vain to grow apples, peaches and nectarines. The hard soil and dry climate was suitable to aid the growth of dates, figs, olives, citrus and grapes. The olive and orange orchards grown in 1890 were the first groves in the Valley.
Sahuaro Ranch barn converted into public bathroom
Sahuaro Ranch after Charlotte Smith painted the house white
The Main House
The historic Sahuaro Ranch resides on the designated 17-acre park known as Sahuaro Ranch Park . The Ranch consists of the Main House, Guest House, Foreman's House
constructed in 1890s), Adobe House, Pump House, Fruit Packing Shed, Milk house, Dairy Barn, Blacksmith/Machine Shop, Stable and Granary, Hay Shed, Fuel Dump, Originals Corrals and Tack House, Scale House, and Vehicle Maintenance Shed all surrounded by orchards and gardens.
terrace between Guest House and Main House
The Main House was built in three phases and has two levels. The Guest House, which resides directly next to the main house sharing the same porch, features seven bedroom rooms and five bathrooms. The Guest house doesn't feature a living room or kitchen as these features were located inside the Main House.
The Guest House was initially constructed in 1898 in a mere 72 days for the purpose of housing Bartlett’s son, Willie, who contracted Tuberculosis, TB. The Guest House was the home that housed the family later.
How the Ranch House became a Home.
The Adobe used in construction was made on sight and is one of the oldest in the region. The design of the home, the pitched roof, was one of the first pitched roofs as adobe homes typically had flat roofs. The Pitched roof reflect the east coast/Midwest style Bartlett was accustomed to and didn't spare any expense. The pitched roofs allowed for vaulted ceilings to cool the house as the hot air rose and the cool air stayed below.
The irrigation bridge was added in 1886
Indoor plumbing was provided in 1895
Electricity was added in 1899.
Over 500 rose bushes were planted by Bartlett in 1898. This was his ostentatious display of wealth. The parallel row of palm trees on the ranch once stretch as far as Olive Road marking the palm lane drive-way to the ranch.
Bartlett's rose garden in front of the Sahuaro Ranch
The upstairs of the Main House was the servants’ quarters. Each room features a Trunk Cupboard to store traveling trunks. Trunk Cupboards were a common Midwest design and the architect hired to design the Main House was from the Midwest. The ground floor, where a long living room stands today, had three rooms for the family to sleep.
New Owners:
Various owners have lived and cared for the ranch including P.E. Bradshaw in 1913-1927. Very little is known about this man except he planted cotton and brought sheep and cattle to the ranch.
The family to reside and maintain the ranch the longest were the Smiths’. Richard W. Smith purchased the ranch property with the intention of rearing his family in Arizona. His heiress wife, Charlotte, liquidated some of her stocks in order to renovate the ranch home to her tastes and to suit her family in 1927. Her father was a Swedish immigrant who immigrated to Michigan, USA and created a thriving lumber business. Less than two years later, Charlotte and her family would survive the Great Depression and Stock Market Crash of 1929 with little discomfort due to Charlotte’s forethought of withdrawing most of her stock portfolio.
Charlotte and Richard had the main and guest house painted white, built a fireplace for the main house ground floor and found financial success in planting citrus trees that still exist to this day. Charlotte spent many years never having seen the upstairs of the Main House due to her discomfort of what she viewed as an unsafe staircase. After the parlor became the foyer, the staircase was upgraded to her liking. The servants quarters were transformed into the master bedroom
Charlotte’s renovations included windows installed across rooms and halls to promote airflow. Copper escutcheon plates installed on the pocket doors were discovered within the past couple years after a thorough cleaning of what was thought to be a bronze, painted black, escutcheon plate around the door handle in the dining room. A button to press to alert the maid to clear the dishes or serve the next course was also installed at Charlotte’s request. Another button was installed in Charlotte’s master bedroom.
The peacocks that roam freely around the entirety of Sahuaro Ranch Park and the neighboring Glendale Public Library and occasionally Glendale Community College parking lots, are the descendents of three peacocks purchased at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair for the ranch. Approximately fifty live today and still keep the pest population to a minimum and scare away coyotes with their shrill screeches. https://www.chicagohs.org/history/century.html
Located Near:
0.1miles from Glendale Public Library, 5850 West Brown Street, Glendale, AZ 85302 http://www.glendaleaz.com/library/
9 Minutes walking distance from Glendale Community College, 6000 West Olive Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85302 http://www2.gccaz.edu/
13 minute walk and 0.8 miles from Sahuaro Ranch Elementary 10401 North 63rd Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85302https://schools.peoriaud.k12.az.us/sites/SahuaroRanch/Pages/Default.aspx
1.3 miles from Sprouts Farmers Market 5130 West Peoria Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85302
0.2 miles from and a 4 minute walking distance from Glendale Fire Department Station 157, 9658 North 59th Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85302http://glendaleazfirefighters.com/
0.4 miles and 8 minutes walking distance from Walgreens, 5895 West Peoria Avenue, Glendale, AZ 85302
7 Minutes and 2.9 miles from Glendale Police Department-Community Relation, 6835 North 57th Drive, Glendale, AZ 85301 http://www.glendaleaz.com/police/
The City of Glendale: http://www.glendaleaz.com/index.cfm
The City of Glendale used federal grants resources to purchase the Sahuaro Ranch in 1966 to maintain the historic Arizona land and home. 17 acres of the 80 acres purchased by the City of Glendale have been added to The National Register of Historic Places. The City provided the finances to preserve and restore the porch of the Main and Guest House in 2004 but the budget has since diminished due to the economic turn in 2008.
The Main House, located beside the Guest House, is under the care of the city while the Guest House is managed by the Glendale Arizona Historic Societyhttp://glendalearizonahistoricalsociety.org/ .
To learn more about the historical Sahuaro Ranch estate or learn when tours are available contact: 623-930-4201. http://www.glendaleaz.com/parksandrecreation/sahuaroranchpark.cfm
REFERENCES:
http://www.glendaleaz.com/parksandrecreation/sahuaroranchpark.cfm
http://glendalearizonahistoricalsociety.org/
http://www.glendaleaz.com/index.cfm
http://glendaleazfirefighters.com/
https://schools.peoriaud.k12.az.us/sites/SahuaroRanch/Pages/Default.aspx
http://www.glendaleaz.com/library/
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5769013,-112.1904396,17z
https://www.chicagohs.org/history/century.html
