Rancho Roca Roja

Arizona's beautiful homes and elaborate estates are not confined to metropolitan areas. Rancho Roca Roja, or Red Rock Ranch, is located in the colorful Rim Rock country of Yavapai county at an elevation of approximately 3,000 feet. It is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Ward of St. Paul, Minnesota. The ranch buildings consist of guest house, stable, garage and caretaker's house, as well as the main ranch house. The caretaker's cottage, which was the original building of the old ranch, is built of native stone with open timber roof covered with shakes. The architects used this building as an architectural key for the new development. The old building had red sandstone walls laid in mud mortar and was built in the early Indian days. This little building was the home place for the little ranch of some 160 acres located in an open canyon, through which flows a stream of water all the year, which was used by the early owners to irrigate an apple orchard, fields and garden.

An interesting rock and log bridge has been constructed across this stream, giving access to stables on the opposite side. A colorful tile and stone swimming pool adjoins the guest patio. In the construction of these buildings it was necessary to open a quarry up the canyon some three miles, from which all stone was quarried for the construction of the main ranch house, garage, stable, guest house, swimming pool, entrance and guest patio walls.

The architecture can be called, for the lack of a better term, Western Ranch House, as no attempt was made by the architects to formalize or adapt any historical style, rather feeling that materials indigenous to the country would become a better part of the landscape as well as fitting the buildings into the sloping terrain and thus create the best architectural effect. The rooms of the interior with the exception of kitchen and pantry have rough plastered walls; roofs and ceilings in natural timber, stained, painted and decorated with boards laid over the beams. The roofs are covered with hand-split cedar shakes, allowed naturally to weather to a warm brown-gray color. The plan of the main ranch house is of an open rambling type. The entranceway of arched stone gives access to the entrance hall some four steps above the large living room. The large bay window gives a magnificent view down and over the colorful Verde Valley. On clear days it is possible to see through this window the towering smoke stacks of the Clarkdale smelter in the great Arizona copper country. The ranch house has been fitted to the topography so that it steps up from one portion of the house to another. The house is equipped with open fireplaces in all rooms, constructed in a cream-colored sandstone but in addition thereto, there is a complete oil-burning vapor heating system for the main ranch house with a refrigerated air conditioning plant.

The water system for the house and all attendant buildings, as well as the swimming pool, is taken from natural springs some four miles up the canyon, where large concrete tanks were installed to catch the spring waters from whence it is piped to the ranch house and other buildings.

Contrary to what might be expected in this open, rugged country of sage brush and sparse cedars, this ranch place in a setting of spectacular scenery is surrounded with natural trees. Along the creek are cottonwood, Arizona ash, wild walnut and other native trees. To augment the natural growth found on the old ranch house grounds, the buildings were landscaped by the architects with the assistance of Mrs. Ward with privet, horizontal juniper and jasmine vines crawling over the walls, olive trees in the entrance patio, and numerous flower beds.

The buildings were designed and constructed through the offices of Lescher and Mahoney, Architects and Engineers, with whose permission these photographs are used.