The ranch has had remarkably few owners: in 1897, a year after Ft. Bowie closed, the ranch was homesteaded by Anna and Joel Lawhon. Part of the Fort property was included in the original 160 acres of the HYL Ranch.
The ranch grew considerably in size over time. A public offering of land in 1911 reported that all land around Fort Bowie was for cattle grazing and the average price for an acre of land was $1.77.
Through the 1900’s, the ranch grew considerably in size. Anna Lawhon ran the ranch after her husband died in 1947 along with her daughter, Josie, and later with Josie’s husband Sam Moseley. Josie and Sam sold HYL Ranch in 1978.1
The Barn
This is the original barn which was recently renovated. Many of the timbers were scavenged from Fort Bowie after it was abandoned around 1900.
Goodwin Spring
The HYL ranch headquarters was fed by water from Goodwin Spring, which still has inscriptions in the rock wall of travelers in the 1880’s. It is said that the Apache chief Cochise camped regularly at this spring.
Silverstrike Mine
This lead-silver mine was first claimed in 1890 and worked off and on after 1920. The shaft is now plugged, but before 1900 was 300 vertical feet deep.
Silverstrike Spring
The water source for the miners at the Silverstrike Mine was from the Silverstrike Spring. Boulders around the spring are pocked with metates made by Indigenous peoples as they ground seeds and grain. When the ranch was first bought, a small roof over the spring and bench inside suggested that the spring had been used as a bath house.
1Information sourced from https://www.rexallenmuseum.org/CHF_020.php?inductee=CHF/CHF_065