HISTORY

Tonto Natural Bridge

This great geologic wonder and the historic lodge nearby comprise our newest state park

Text by Rick Heffernon

Flash back to 1960. Four-year-old Kevin Van Der Molen is riding peacefully in the backseat of the family car when, suddenly, his father turns off the highway and heads the vehicle down a rough gravel road. Kevin is at first surprised by the unexpected detour; then he is horrified as he sees the road abruptly drop over the edge of a cliff and spin down its face toward a green valley below. Later he remembers absolutely nothing of the green valley or the reason for his father stopping there. He remembers only the road. For weeks he suffers nightmares from that road. Now fast forward 25 years. Kevin is again heading down a steep road, the same one that scared the daylights out of him as a child. This time, however, he is well aware that it leads him toTonto Natural Bridge, the world's largest travertine span. But Kevin doesn't have geologic wonders on his mind today. An architect now, he has come to direct a complete restoration of the venerable Tonto Natural Bridge Lodge. And, as fate would have it, his father is there, too. Kevin recalls the scene: “There we were, starting work to save this historic building, and right about then my father reminded me of my first visit here long ago. It was funny. I was so scared by the road that time when I was four, that I never realized we had visited the natural bridge. So all of a sudden it seemed like quite a coincidence. At one time, this place had given me nightmares. Now it was fulfilling a dream.”

This is a place of dreams. On October 12, 1990, Arizona State Parks officials fulfilled one they had for 30 years when they purchased Tonto Natural Bridge for $3 million and established it as Arizona's 26th state park. Long-term plans for the 160-acre property and its historic buildings are incomplete, says Ken Travous, state parks director, but visitors soon will see some significant improvements, including a new trail to the bottom of the bridge, more interpretive information about natural fea-tures, rehabilitation of the swimming pool, upgrades to the access road, and con-struction of trails leading downstream from the bridge. Camping probably will be eliminated, Travous says, but when the historic lodge reopens, it will welcome overnight guests as it did for decades.

The Tonto Natural Bridge Lodge was located in scenic country immortalized by Western author Zane Grey, the massive Tonto Natural Bridge (PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 28 AND 29) near Payson measures 400 feet wide and crosses a 150-foot canyon.

ocated in scenic country immortalized by Western author Zane Grey, the massive Tonto Natural Bridge (PRECEDING PANEL, PAGES 28 AND 29) near Payson measures 400 feet wide and crosses a 150-foot canyon.

(LEFT) Spray from a small waterfall refreshes bikers following the trail to a natural sculpture garden beneath the travertine arch, the world's largest.

(OPPOSITE PAGE) The best view of the span and its ribbonlike waterfall is from below, but bikers must be cautious because the rocks leading down are wet and slippery.

Tonto Natural Bridge

Originally the vision of David and Lillias Goodfellow, Scottish immigrants and early homesteaders of the property. They arrived in Arizona in 1893 after a long journey that first took them across the Atlantic Ocean then saw them traverse most of the North American continent. In Flagstaff they were met by Goodfellow's uncle, Davy Gowan, an itinerant prospector who was the natural bridge's first known white resident. Gowan had enticed the Goodfellows to come to Arizona by promising to turn over his rough cabin and the undeveloped homestead to the couple to “prove up.” Gowan and friend Vi Fuller loaded the Goodfellow family onto Fuller's freight wagon and set out for the natural bridge. The trip took six days at the end of which the Goodfellows found themselves a few miles shy of Payson perched on Buckhorn Mesa 500 feet above Pine Creek Canyon.

Right there, thousands of miles from Scotland and in sight of her new home, Lillias nearly balked. She took one look at the formidable dropoff between her and the valley below and felt the same kind of horror that would haunt young Kevin Van Der Molen 67 years later.

“I fervently wished that I had never come to Arizona,” Lillias later confessed. “I believed that I could never reach the cabin alive if I started down over the precipice; and I was sure if I ever did get there, I would never be able to climb out again.” But Lillias subdued her fears and made the harrowing descent on foot. Before long she and her family were settled in enough to build a house, clear off acres of brush, and, with the help of three gushing springs, transform their 160-acre property into an oasis with vineyards, orchards, a garden, and pastures.

Before the '20s dawned, fame of the Tonto Natural Bridge brought a flow of guests almost as consistent as the property's springs. To encourage these guests, David Goodfellow and his two sons, David Jr. and Harry, spent six years chipping a rough road out of the cliff. And then they built several cabins to rent.

The cabins, however, failed to keep up with demand for lodging. So, in 1925, David Jr., by then an engineer, drew plans for a new hotel, a no-nonsense rectangular two-story structure that featured a spacious lobby and dining room on the first floor, 10 guest bedrooms on the second, two substantial fireplaces, and a small “lookout” room on the roof. Its most prominent and charming feature, however, was a wide two-story veranda that served as a covered sitting porch below and, more importantly, as a screened sleeping porch above. It wrapped around the entire south and west sides of the building. Historian Anna Mae Deming, a relative of the Goodfellows,says the idea for the sleeping porch came directly from a hotel at Roosevelt Dam where David Jr. had worked. "It was hot as blue blazes in Roosevelt," says Deming, a native of Payson and the town's longtime resident weather observer. "And there was no air-conditioning back then. But Arizona, you know, has prevailing southwest winds. So the Roosevelt Lodge was built with sleeping quarters up high, and with screened porches on the south and west sides that let the breezes in. That was the coolest they could do." Apparently the Roosevelt design worked. It was copied not only by the natural bridge lodge, but by the Herron Hotel in Payson, and by another lodge at Verde Hot Springs near Childs. But of those four, Deming points out, only the natural bridge lodge remains. Construction work on the lodge began in 1925 and took two years to complete.

Tonto Natural Bridge.

The storied Tonto Natural Bridge Lodge (RIGHT) was included in the deal when Arizona finally acquired the bridge more than three decades after its first attempt. State parks officials hope the restored hotel will soon welcome overnight guests again. GENE ZEHRING, SR. (BELOW) The restaurant, which will reopen with the lodge, has served countless meals to natural bridge visitors. PATRICK FISCHER Everything had to be hauled in over long distances and steep roads. "The rough boards and beams came from Henry Haught's sawmill over by where Tonto Village is today," says Deming. "The other materials the roofing, siding, and the beautiful oak flooring were hauled in from Phoenix by Harry Goodfellow in his Dodge truck." When it was finally finished, the new Tonto Natural Bridge Lodge drew a fair amount of publicity. Writers noted its large bay window, wide porches, cool sleeping accommodations, matched walnut bedroom sets, comfortable furnishings, and its modern on-site generating plant that provided energy for the electric fixtures. The lodge was modern in other ways, as well. Its builders used a number of materials that were considered progressive for the time, including diamond-shaped asphalt shingles on sidewalls, unfaced concrete blocks for the basement, and Celotex a new fiberboard made from sugar cane for the interior wall panels. The Goodfellows added another modern touch to their business in the '20s. They began to advertise their property as the Tonto Natural Bridge "Ranch," thereby joining the trend toward dude ranching in the West. For awhile the ranch prospered, but, in 1938, Lillias died, followed two years later by her husband. Sons David Jr. and Harry and Harry's wife, Beryl took over the business. Then, in 1948, they sold it to Glen Randall of Pine. Randall made few changes in the lodge during the next 20 years. Around 1970, however, the business slipped into financial difficulties and, during a 15-year period of litigation that followed, basic maintenance and repair were neglected. By the time the late Clifford Wolfswinkel, founder of Southwest Properties, Inc. of Mesa, rescued the natural bridge from its maze of legal entanglements, he found himself the owner of a world-class natural wonder saddled with a deteriorated lodge. Among other problems, the roof leaked, the sidinghad crumbled, most exterior woodwork was rotting, and all plumbing and electrical systems were hopelessly inadequate. Wolfswinkel called on architect Van Der Molen to inspect the building and prioritize repairs. But Van Der Molen came up with a more comprehensive plan. "The emphasis here has always been entirely on the natural bridge itself," says Van Der Molen, "but I thought the lodge had a lot of significance, too. It had original antiques inside; there was a lot of history behind it, and I thought it was an interesting building. So I approached Clifford and his daughter Kathy and suggested that we look into getting national historical nomination for the lodge." Wolfswinkel agreed, so Van Der Molen hired Jim Garrison as consultant. Garrison, a Phoenix architect experienced in dealing with the National Register of Historic Places, researched the history of the Tonto Natural Bridge Lodge and wrote nomination papers. A hearing was held in Globe. "The National Park Service approved the lodge's nomination based on two things," says Van Der Molen. "First, for its role in Arizona's early days of guest ranching and, secondly, for its historic architectural significance. This acceptance was important to me because it meant that now that the lodge was registered, it couldn't be torn down for some freeway." Van Der Molen next hired Payson contractor Mark Alexander to supervise a restoration crew of about 10 workers. First priority was the roof. "There were seven layers of shingles on that roof," recalls Alexander with wonder. "One hundred and eighty-seven thousand pounds. When all that weight came off, well it's hard to describe, but you could just feel the whole building release." Next, rotted roof decking was replaced, and the lodge's unusual bell-cast eaves were repaired. Then Van Der Molen searched for replicas to replace the pecu-

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Tonto Natural Bridge

Continued from page 32 had covered the roof originally. He found Globe Industries of Chicago, a firm that still made the shingles.

Once the roof was sound, workers examined the lodge's balloon-framed superstructure and found it was in excellent shape.

"They knew what they were doing," says an admiring Alexander of the original carpenters. "Cross blocking, diagonal braces, torsion bars, they had it all."

When it came time to renovate interior spaces, Alexander called on his partner, cabinetmaker Bob Bramble. He moved in what Alexander called a "full production shop." And everywhere the crew crawled through attics and tore through walls that had been sealed for 60 years, they kept their eyes open for relics of the past.

"Sure, we looked for boxes of gold coins," admits Alexander. "We never found anything. No old newspapers, no tools, no insulation, no nothing except an old let-ter we found saying something about some girl trapped in one of the rooms. Turns out it was a fake. The maids had scorched the paper in the oven to make it look old and hid it in the room just to play a joke on us."

The restoration took four months. Southwest Properties Vice President Roy Svilar invited members of the Northern Gila County Historical Society to name each of the 10 restored bedrooms after one of the area's more prominent historical figures. Deming and her friend, novelist Marguerite Noble, took up the task. They also wrote short biographies of the rooms' namesakes to hang on the doors.

As a result, guests will be able to wander along the upstairs hallways at Tonto Natural Bridge Lodge and find the Al Sieber suite, the General George Crook suite, the Zane Grey suite, and even the Andrew Ogilvie suite, named for the father of Anna Mae Ogilvie Deming, who says she used to spend her summers in that

Always popular with families, the lodge's picnic area (RIGHT) has been the scene of innumerable outings. (BELOW) The alarmingly steep descent to the lodge is in stark contrast with its idyllic setting in a peaceful valley. BOTH BY GENE ZEHRING, SR.

room. "I helped out Aunty and Uncle Davy Goodfellow with the cooking and cleaning. I dusted that place from top to bottom more times than I care to remember."

Deming says the lodge again looks much as it did 60 years ago when it was one of Arizona's premier rural guest accommodations. Large brick fireplaces grace the downstairs lobby and dining areas. Lillias's organ (hauled in by wagon from Flagstaff in 1915) stands against one lobby wall. An antique wood stove and a well-used butter churn occupy prominent positions nearby. A flowing interior stairway leads to the second floor where the original bedroom sets - the same ones that Deming dusted as a child furnish the guest rooms. All in all, Deming is pleased with the outcome of the restoration.

"It is very nice," she says fondly, and adds, "I have wonderful memories there." Thanks to the restoration, Kevin Van Der Molen, too, has his own wonderful memories there.

"It is probably my proudest project," he says, "because the place is unique. It is close to Phoenix, yet it is peaceful. There are no TVs or phones in the rooms."

The place is so peaceful, in fact, that lodge staffers talk about resident skunks that are as friendly as house cats. And, they say, a local herd of deer stops by each evening to browse in the front yard.

"Not only does it look pretty much the same as it once did," Van Der Molen says, "but it is still a quiet little getaway."

WHEN YOU GO

Getting there: Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is located about 10 miles north of Payson on State Route 87, then another three miles west on a well-marked, graded dirt road. Any car can make the trip safely except after snowfall.

The park is to be open year-round and is attractive during any season. Bring comfortable walking shoes for the hike to the bottom of the bridge where wet rocks are unusually slick.