Governor Babbitt envisioned turning part of Smoke Trail Ranch into a state park. He didn’t like the idea that land alongside waterways like Oak Creek could be off-limits to the public. One of those hikers was then-Governor Bruce Babbitt. They made extensive renovations to Apache House of Fires, but in 1980 everything changed when a sect member kicked a hiking group off the property for trespassing. Helen also wanted the Eckists, as they were called, to use the money to acquire Smoke Trail Ranch from the former developer and transform it into a private retreat for its members. She also gave them more than $1,000,000 in exchange for the group agreeing to let her live on the property, which she did until her death in 1979. In 1976, she gifted the Wings of the Wind land to the sect. Smoke Trail Ranch’s fate was uncertain once again.īy this time, Helen was dabbling in mysticism and was a member of a religious group called Eckankar. He envisioned building a resort, but funds dried up. Early in the 1970s, she sold more than 300 acres of the ranch to a developer. In the 1950s, she built herself a home called Wings of the Wind on an additional 32 acres she’d acquired. Helen became sole owner of Smoke Trail Ranch. After the idealistic couple’s relationship faltered, construction stopped. Helen Frye’s inspiration for the home’s name came from the fires the Indigenous people lit along Oak Creek, where they camped at night. Stretched over two levels, the 3000 sq ft house featured views of Cathedral Rock, three fireplaces (one on the rooftop), a commercial gas range and, in the main bedroom, a bed suspended from the ceiling. ![]() Construction started in 1947 and spanned three years. Pueblo-like in style, Jack Frye and the Yavapai-Apache people built the house from red rock and timber sourced nearby. They constructed an architectural oddity that still stands in the park: House of Apache Fires. The wealthy couple planned to turn the property into a getaway retreat. ![]() In 1941, newlyweds Jack Frye and Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye purchased all five homesteads, along with a swath of land that became the 700-acre Smoke Trail Ranch. The settlers ranched, farmed and planted fruit orchards. The story of how Red Rock State Park came to be is as colorful as the rock formations that give it its name.įrom the 1800s to the 1930s, five homesteads had been set up in the area that would later become Red Rock State Park.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |