The History of Rancho Bosque

Early Days:

The area that is now Rancho Bosque is part of a larger portion of the Tanque Verde drainage, fed by the 10,000-foot high peaks of the Santa Catalina Mountain range to the North and the lower 6,000-foot high Rincon mountain range to the East.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, this open desert and riparian environment was still a favorite hunting ground for the Apache tribes because it was so rich in wildlife and plants. A large number of the infamous skirmishes of the Apache Wars took place in this valley.

Figure 1: US Geological Survey Topographic Map: Location of Rancho Bosque is marked with red “X.” Note the green riparian ecosystem located (blue lines) along the Tanque Verde and Bear Canyon Washes

Fort Lowell was established here as a U.S. Cavalry fort to protect the town of Tucson and the adjacent region and was home to the famous Buffalo Soldier cavalry units. Many of the battles between the United States and the famous Apache leader Geronimo took place in these valleys and mountains. It is a rugged and humbling landscape. At one time, nearly one-fourth of the standing army of the United States was deployed into the countryside around Tucson to try to subdue a small band of 200-300 Apaches, nearly half made up of just women and children.

Despite such overwhelming odds, the Apache warriors were never defeated on the field of battle. Along the Northern parts of the acreage of Rancho Bosque, we can still occasionally find an arrowhead or small shard of pottery when we plow up the pastures. We always return them back to the earth where they belong.

Figure 2: Cavalry Statue at
Fort Lowell Museum

Modern Era:

In the early part of the 20th century, what was to become Rancho Bosque was part of a larger parcel of land subdivided from the Slaughter ranch for development. One of the plots adjacent to what would eventually become Rancho Bosque was purchased by famed Hollywood mogul Cecil B. DeMille. Although the film tycoon never actually built any structures on the property, he did have an enormous artificial pond erected where he and his cronies from the movie industry would hold lavish outdoor parties and Western-style barbecues. By the 1940's, land along the Tanque Verde wash (or ‘arroyo' in Spanish) reverted back to smaller, so-called “gentleman's ranches” or were converted into pecan groves because of the abundant ground water.

The first part of Rancho Bosque was established when a smallish ranch house was built there in the 1940's by the Woodrow family. The house boasted one of the first hand-made air-conditioning systems in the United States. The system used chilled water to cool the inside of the house by circulating it within built pipes deep inside the thick masonry walls. Covered porches, called ramadas, shaded the areas around the kitchen, living room and dining room to help cool the interior. The beams of the house were made from surplus redwood lumber imported into Tucson to help build the original St. Mary's Hospital on Tucson's Southside. In the cooler weather, the house was heated with wood from the abundant mesquite groves that surrounded the main house. It was from these abundant mesquite trees that the ranch was given its original name of Rancho Bosque, which in Spanish translates roughly to “ranch in the woods” or “wooded ranch.”

Bib Stillwell leads at Sandown’s Victorian Road Racing Championship
(Photo© Kevin Drage)

In the early 1970s, the Rancho Bosque property was taken over by Bib Stillwell, one of the great open wheel racing champions in the world. He was the Australian Formula 1 Champion for four consecutive years and drove in Le Mans in 1964 with Lex Davison. Bib Stillwell later headed up the Gates Learjet Corporation (and, incidentally, set a world altitude record for an executive jet). Bib set himself the task of launching a series of significant improvements to bring the ranch into its own. Pastures were laid out and properly fenced. Two deep wells were drilled so that efficient irrigation of the pastureland could be carried out.

A masonry barn was built and a guest-house added. An expansion of the East side of the main house added a wing with proper bedrooms and additional bathrooms and, eventually, a courtyard was also constructed along the Southern side of the house.

Bib also built himself a four-car garage and a tool room to house and service his race-cars. Among his collection of automobiles was a beautiful Maserati and a GT-40. The Rancho Bosque name would die away and, for years, the place was just known as “the Stillwell place.” The Stillwells eventually moved back to their homeland in Australia in the late 1980's but Bib so loved the house in Tucson that he set about building a replica of Rancho Bosque “down under” when he retired.

Hard Times:

After the careful stewardship of the Stillwells. Rancho Bosque fell upon hard times in the 1990’s and passed through a series of owners and renters. For a while it even served as a religious commune. By the end of the 1990's, some of the buildings were in disrepair. Wear and tear had caused the pipes in the walls of the main house to burst. The roof leaked badly during the rainy season, staining and damaging much of the original cedar wood ceilings and soaking the floors. The woodpeckers had destroyed much of the woodwork. The porch and steps leading to the Guest House were gone and the desert had reclaimed much of the pastures and buildings. Eventually, over six tons of trees collapsed on the roof of the main house, temporarily converting the kitchen area of the house into an open-air arrangement.

Still, anyone who came around the lonely property could feel its beauty. The great trees that stood on the property were still bearing witness, some of them well over two hundred years old. The gentle grace of the ranch house was still apparent with its understated elegance harkening back to an earlier time.

Rancho Bosque was purchased by Allan and Jane Hamilton in 1999. At that time there was no longer any heat, air conditioning or potable water. But Rancho Bosque just beckoned to the Hamiltons like it had to the Stillwells.

Crews of carpenters, plumbers, electricians and farm hands came in under a massive and heroic effort led by Buddy Kocis of CamWest Construction Inc. and Marshall Dennington of Temco Air Environmental. Plans were drawn up to preserve every ounce of the original construction. Archivists and designers verified the historical authenticity of every detail and the main house was rebuilt, from the floorboards to the roof scuppers and the restoration of the original ceilings. The wood was replaced in every part of the barn and guesthouse. Massive four-hundred pound doors were rebuilt for the barn. Timber was brought in to shore up roofs and ramadas and porches and stairs were rebuilt. Since its renovation, the ranch house has been selected numerous times for feature photos in interior design magazines.

The original paint color of Rancho Bosque, a deep green, reminiscent of the mesquite leaves, was discovered in some paint scraps from some of the reconstruction and matched by a local paint company for the restoration. So much paint for the restoration project was fabricated in ten-, twenty-, and even fifty-gallon containers that the company liked it well enough to eventually market and sell the paint color as “Rancho Bosque Green” on their shelves.

The old wells were redrilled, relined, and painstakingly returned into function by Jim Wise. Rancho Bosque's water, taken from deep down in the Sonoran aquifer is some of the sweetest and purest waters around. The water quality is tested on a regular basis to ensure its unspoiled goodness.

The soil was also carefully analyzed. With the help of experts at the University of Arizona's School of Agriculture, not only bermuda but winter rye and native grasses were re-introduced using the most ecologically sound methods and techniques.

The faculty and staff from the University not only helped with rehabilitating the mesquite trees but participated in land restoration, the latest methods in water conservation, and transitioning to organic fertilization. The Meat Sciences Laboratory, under the guidance of Dr. John Marchello and Todd Edwards, helped to establish the RB’s herd of prized Angus cattle from purebred registered Angus breeding stock from the Bar LR Angus Ranch of Robin and Linda Richey in Benson, Arizona. More recently, the ranch has started raising its own organic vegetables and has a clutch of chickens to supply organic eggs.

As soon as the pastures started to flourish, ground mammals such as mice and squirrels returned to Rancho Bosque. With the return of prey species, predators began to return as well. Rancho Bosque boasts two pairs of Harris hawks, a pair of red-tail hawks, and one family of barn owls. Rancho Bosque is also home to peregrine falcons, turkey vultures, and an occasional golden eagle (although we would prefer it if they could leave our kittens and rabbits alone).

A resident band of coyotes makes their home in the wash to the North of the ranch and periodically crosses the grounds in plain daylight. Fences around the perimeter of Rancho Bosque have been modified so that wildlife can move freely at will across the surrounding pasture-land. Bobcats include the ranches along Woodland Road in their home territories and most recently mountain lions have been making forays into the foothills, especially in wake of the 2003 forest fires and increasing drought.

Rancho Bosque boasts an impressive canopy of trees, including over one hundred mesquite trees, as well as examples of Aleppo pines, Arizona willow, eucalyptus, cottonwoods, Mexican Elderberry, juniper, ironwood, as well an numerous species of cactus. The pastures and trees of Rancho Bosque have become a favorite place for local birding groups and enthusiasts.

There are common sightings of birds of prey, sparrows, doves, quail, hummingbirds, finches, cowbirds, and vermillion flycatchers. Even ducks, herons, and some shorebirds have been seen. The area is included in many of the flyways of migratory birds that winter in Mexico. Rancho Bosque is living proof of Nature’s capacity for regeneration and how the process of restoration brings a renewed respect for all of God’s creatures.

Visitors are welcome during business operating hours. It is helpful to call ahead at (520) 760-4468 just in case there is a group training session or equine seminars in progress, which would limit access and staff availability.

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