page_title: Colter Ranch Historic District
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Colter Ranch Historic District / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Blacksmith shop, bunkhouse, log cabin, shed, and commissary on the Colter Ranch Historic District
context_page_description: The Colter Ranch Historic District consists of twelve buildings in a rural setting near Eagar, Arizona. The site is located in the Amity Valley, which itself is part of Round Valley; the Little Colorado River runs along the one side of the district. Most of the buildings date from between 1904 and 1930, the period during which Fred Colter resided on the residence.
context_section_description: Colter Ranch is situated in the portion of Round Valley known as Amity Valley, the valley's name being derived from the Mormon ward which was located here in the 1800s. Eagar and Springerville are the nearest towns. The area is mostly farmland, made possible by irrigation water from the Little Colorado River.
  The boundaries of the historic district are the Little Colorado River to the north, 4th Street to the south, and School Bus Road to the west. The boundary on the east is less distinct, lying along a section line on a USGS map (T8N, R29E). The Milligan Ditch, bringing irrigation water from the Little Colorado to the historic ranch bisects the district, running east to west.
  Most of the buildings in the district lie on the southern bank of the ditch, towards the western end of the district. These include three sheds (two wooden, and one corrugated metal); a stuccoed log bunkhouse; a log cabin; a corrugated metal shed; a larger wood storage building, which at one point served as the ranch's commissary; and a wooden machine shop. On the northern side of the ditch can be found a barn, a granary, and a work shed (which is also known as the "little barn").
  The oldest structure still standing is the log cabin, built ca. 1890. It is a ten by fifteen foot rectangle, the exterior of the building is covered with finished planks, fitted at the corners. The single entrance faces south, away from the Milligan ditch. Its wood-shingled roof is side-gabled with a medium pitch. There is a fireplace on its east side, with a small window on the corresponding west end of the building.
  The next oldest buildings are the barn, the bunkhouse, the smaller of the wooden sheds, and the storage building (commissary), all of which were constructed circa 1910. The barn is the largest building in the district, measuring 60 feet long by 35 feet wide. Two stories tall, the walls are covered with board-and-batt siding, and has a corrugated metal roof of medium pitch. It has two single-story additions. The northern addition is 60 feet long with a shed roof, while the eastern addition runs the length of the original structure, widening the footprint of the barn by 15 feet. It has a lean-to structure. The entire barn complex is enclosed by a corral, which has a split rail fence approximately 5 feet high. Also within the corral is a 15 by 15 foot granary. Built circa 1940, it is constructed with the same materials as the barn, and has a shed roof.
  The bunkhouse has an eastern entrance, and was originally constructed of exposed logs, in the hall-and-parlor style. Two additions were made in the 1930s, giving it its current irregular appearance. The first addition was made to the east side, and consists of a stucco-on-wood frame construction, while the second was made of concrete to the western side. To the west of the bunkhouse, and the most westernmost of all the structures, is the smallest of the sheds. Approximately 10 feet by 10 feet, it is a single story with an outside surface is covered in vertical wood planking, and it has a corrugated metal roof, with a low-slope.
  The commissary measures about 30 feet by 16 feet, and has wood board-and-batten siding. The front of the building has a door centered on the building, flanked by two square windows. The other exterior walls have no openings to the outside. It has a corrugated metal gable roof. There is a false commercial "boomtown roof" on the south side, which hides the corrugated roof from view.
  The next buildings were all built in the 1940s. These include the other two sheds. The wooden shed is about ten by fifteen feet, with a gable roof of medium pitch, sheathed in corrugated metal. Its exterior walls are covered in shiplap wood siding. Its single entrance is off centered on the southern side, and has two small windows. Next to this wooden shed is a small corrugated metal shed. Its walls and roof are of corrugated metal, with the roof being shed-style sloping towards the ditch.
  The machine shop is a wooden structure with an exterior board-and-batt siding. Approximately 35 by 25 feet, it has a gable r
caption: Blacksmith shop, bunkhouse, log cabin, shed, and commissary
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