DESTINATION Oracle State Park

Oracle State Park Offers a Peek at Arizona Ranching History

WHAT DO ARIZONA'S 30TH STATE park, an 1870s clipper ship, a Greek soothsayer and a southern Arizona town have in common?

Their names—Oracle—of course.

When prospector Albert Weldon sailed to California on the good ship The Oracle, he encountered a severe storm. “Nothing but Providence saved her from the reefs and cliffs,” Weldon recalled in papers now housed at the Arizona Historical Society. Reaching the northern foothills of Arizona's Santa Catalina Mountains safely, he designated his mining claim “The Oracle” in gratitude. In 1880, when local folks needed a post office, they named it Oracle.

The mine produced granite instead of gold, but the settlement boomed when an 1891 medical article touted the area's climate for respiratory patients. Ranchers and miners made Oracle a trading center, and Tucson residents liked Oracle's cooler temperatures. The September 10, 1900, edition of the Tucson newspaper advertised: “Those desiring to escape the heat can do well to visit the only resort in the territory, the Mt. View Hotel, Oracle, where the comforts of home can be enjoyed with the cool breezes day and night. Rates are $10 to $12.50 per week. Daily stage to and from the hotel.” Today, the Mt. View Hotel serves as a Baptist church, as it has since 1957. Oracle's 4,000 residents have homes tucked among the high desert mesquite and scrub oak, and the 4,500foot elevation means an occasional winter snow.

I brought my husband, Richard, teen-age daughter, Jessica, and her friend, Delaina Dowdy, along on this road trip to explore the nearly 4,000-acre Oracle State Park Center forEnvironmental Education just east of town.

Opened to the public in 2001 as a wildlife refuge and learning center, the park ranges from oak grasslands to riparian woodlands with plenty of hiking and bird-watching. The 7 miles of the Arizona Trail in the park are open for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Other easy hikes range from .75 to 1.25 miles.

The highlight of the park is the restored Kannally Ranch House. The ranch once covered nearly 50,000 acres, or 78 square miles, extending eastward to the San Pedro River and including the town of San Manuel. Three brothers and two sisters of the Kannally family operated the ranch from 1902 until 1976. Lee and brother Neil ran the ranch, Vincent managed the business affairs and Mary and Lucile cared for the house, sewed and gardened. Lucile, the last surviving member, bequeathed the land to the Defenders of Wildlife, which transferred it to the state park system in 1985.

Originally from Illinois, none of the Kannallys at the ranch ever married. The rumored explanation was that since their mother and two brothers had died of tuberculosis, they were afraid their offspring might inherit the disease.

The Kannallys didn't come West with wealth. Hard work, shrewd business dealings and the 1952 sale of mineral rights and all but 4,000 acres of their land to the Magma Copper Co. left the family well-to-do.

The Kannally Ranch House was constructed from 1929 to 1932. Originally costing $30,000, the 2,622-square-foot, white-stucco home with turquoise wooden shutters is Spanish Colonial Revival-style with Moorish influences. Built into a hillside with four levels and two lovely terraces, oddly, the house lacks bedrooms. Every night the family retreated down steep stone steps behind the house where brothers and sisters had separate cabins.

Later in life, Lee took up painting. Nerve-gas poisoning during World War I left him with permanent nervous head and eye movements, which made it difficult to paint. He created 4,400 paintings by kneeling next to his bed with the canvas lying on the bed. Lucile was also an artist. She painted room borders and beams in the house and took up wood carving on furniture to combat depression. Lucile's designs are still visible in the home.

Homesteaded in the 1880s, Steve Malkin's restoration of the old ranch is a labor of love. Daria Sparling, a former Miss Arizona and now ranch manager, keeps things running smoothly, and chef Brent Warburton serves great food. We ate lunch on a glassed-in porch and watched hummingbirds dart about while blue jays and cardinals provided splashes of color.

The place has plenty of Western atmosphere and scenery. Our casitas were beautiful with Saltillo-tiled floors, Talavera-tiled basins bright with Mexican designs, and leather furniture made by craftsmen in Mexico. We had a kitchen, living room complete with fireplace, bathroom and bedroom where an enormous Mexican pressed-tin headboard graced the bed.

Jessica and Delaina couldn't wait to go horseback riding, so we walked down to the Rockin' R Rides where Randy Knox and Peggy Smith offer a variety of trips including one-hour rides around the ranch, all-day tours through the surrounding Coronado National Forest, and trails inside Oracle State Park.

The C.O.D. Ranch also provides guided nature walks, wagon rides, mountain biking, horseshoes and a swimming pool. Or visitors may sit and enjoy the view of the San Pedro River valley and the Galiuro Mountains to the west.

A surprising number of artists call Oracle home, so we checked out the gallery at Rancho de los Robles, a working ranch, and at Rancho Linda Vista, an old guest-ranch-turned-art-community. The Ranch Store Center showcased carvings, collectibles and unusual metal creations.

All in all, there is plenty to do in Oracle, a small town named for a clipper ship. AH LOCATION: Approximately 35 miles north of Tucson. GETTING THERE: To reach Oracle State Park, drive north on Oracle Road (State Route 77) and continue on it as the highway curves east at Oracle Junction. Turn right off State 77 at the Oracle turnoff and follow the road 2.3 miles through Oracle on American Avenue to Mount Lemmon Road. Turn right and drive 1.1 miles to the park entrance. HOURS: The park is open from 8 Α.Μ. to 5 P.M. every day except Christmas Day. Tours of the Kannally Ranch House are held on Saturday and Sunday at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. FEES: $6 per car with four occupants, $1 for each additional person. ATTRACTIONS: C.O.D. Ranch, (800) 868-5617 or codranch.com. The business district in Oracle on American Avenue offers shopping and dining. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Oracle State Park Center for Environmental Education, (520)896-2425 or www.azstateparks.com.