The Long Way
Pima County
A landscape view of several ranch buildings in a dry, grassy valley with mountains in the background under a blue sky.
Plate I. Kentucky Camp buildings and Santa Rita Mountains. From fs.usda.gov
An old adobe house with a covered porch outdoors.
Plate II. Historic cabin, Kentucky Camp. From fs.usda.gov
A rustic porch with rocking chairs and a table overlooks a dry landscape under a clear sky.
Plate III. Porch and adobe wall, Kentucky Camp Cabin. From fs.usda.gov
A rustic building exterior with a gravel patio containing a grill, sink, and white chair.
Plate IV. Adobe cabin and patio, Kentucky Camp Cabin. From fs.usda.gov
A rustic building with a wooden porch under a clear blue sky.
Plate V. Adobe building, Kentucky Camp Cabin. From recreation.gov
Interior view of a rustic living room with wooden floors, a couch, and a small stove.
Plate VI. Interior of Kentucky Camp Cabin. From fs.usda.gov

Kentucky Camp Cabin

Sonoita, Pima County, Arizona. Cabin and headquarters building; Year-round.

Details

Map. Sonoita, Pima County, Arizona. Larger map
Where
Sonoita, Pima County, AZ. No street address stated. Directions
Getting there
From Tucson, take I-10 east to Exit #281 (Highway 83 Sonoita/Patagonia). Travel south on Highway 83 for approximately 21 miles to the Gardner Canyon Road. Turn right on Gardner Canyon Road and continue a quarter-mile to Forest Service Road 163. Turn right on Forest Service Road 163 and continue approximately 5 miles to the junction of 163 and the entrance to Kentucky Camp.
Fees
$75 per night (up to 5 people).
Access
Dirt roads.
Walk-in or reserve
Locked gate from Forest Service Road 163; house key in lock box on back door near the grill; gate and lock-box combinations given out once a reservation is made.
Phone
(520) 761-6000
Website
fs.usda.gov
Managed by
Coronado National Forest, Nogales Ranger District.
Established
1902.
Coordinates
31.7445698, -110.7420951.

Nestled in the scenic Santa Rita Mountains near Sonoita, Kentucky Camp consists of five adobe buildings: the headquarters, two cabins, the assay office and the remains of a barn. A small cabin and headquarters building have been restored for public use in the "Rooms with a View" program.

Notable Events

  1. 1874Discovery of placers by A. Smith sparked a minor gold rush and created the community of Greaterville, about 2 miles from Kentucky Gulch. kentuckycamp.org
  2. 1901George Bird McAneny hired hydraulic mining engineer James Burgess Stetson to report on the Greaterville placers for possible placer mining. kentuckycamp.org
  3. 1902The Santa Rita Water and Mining Company was incorporated in the Territory of Arizona with headquarters in Tucson. kentuckycamp.org
  4. 1903The company built 5-1/2 miles of ditch, more than 2-1/2 miles of pipeline, two tunnels totaling about 1,400 feet, and one dam to bring water from Bear Spring to Boston Gulch and Kentucky Gulch. kentuckycamp.org
  5. 1904The first test of the hydraulic system; the Arizona Daily Star reported the water cannon in Boston Gulch was "tearing up the ground with splendid results.". kentuckycamp.org
  6. 1905James Stetson died in a fall from a third-story window at the Santa Rita Hotel in Tucson the day before a Board of Directors meeting. kentuckycamp.org
  7. 1906The Santa Rita Water and Mining Company operation was sold at a sheriff's sale; McAneny bought the property at the foreclosure sale but was unable to continue development. kentuckycamp.org
  8. 1912McAneny's finances and health deteriorated, and although the other partners tried to keep the operation going, it was abandoned by 1912. fs.usda.gov
  9. 1927Attorney Louis Hummel received the placer mining property as payment for settling the McAneny estate, and Kentucky Camp became a cattle ranch operation. kentuckycamp.org
  10. 1960sLouis Hummel's descendants sold the Santa Rita Ranch property to the ANAMAX Mining Company; after this no one lived at Kentucky Camp and the buildings fell into disrepair. kentuckycamp.org
  11. 1963Jake Fenter, his wife Mary Ann, and their infant daughter Lori died when their small plane crashed on a trip from the ranch at Kentucky Camp to Douglas, AZ. kentuckycamp.org
  12. 1989A land exchange moved the ANAMAX property to National Forest Service property. kentuckycamp.org
  13. 1995The Coronado National Forest Heritage Society and Friends of Kentucky Camp became official non-profits, and the Kentucky Camp Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. kentuckycamp.org
  14. 1999Cabin C on the Kentucky Camp property became a rental through the National Forest's Rooms With a View program. kentuckycamp.org

People

  • Flossie Hummel, Louis Hummel's daughter; lived at and ran cattle on the Santa Rita Ranch (Kentucky Camp) with her husband Wick Fenter.
  • George Bird McAneny, Wealthy California businessman who financed the venture and bought the property at the 1906 foreclosure sale (died 1909).
  • James Burgess Stetson, Hydraulic mining engineer hired by McAneny to report on the Greaterville placers (died May 20, 1905).
  • Louis Hummel, Attorney who received the property as payment for settling the McAneny estate (1927).
  • Samuel L. Kingan, Vice-president of the Santa Rita Water and Mining Company and mining attorney who represented it.
  • Wick Fenter, Lived at and ran cattle on the Santa Rita Ranch (Kentucky Camp).

Sources

  1. fs.usda.gov/r03/coronado/recreation/kentucky-camp
  2. recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233169
  3. kentuckycamp.org/kc_timeline.html
  4. kentuckycamp.org
  5. fs.usda.gov/r03/coronado/recreation/discover-history