Four-generation barn

MACIAS-BELL RANCH, Wickenburg, Arizona

Given the uncertainties of life, and the vicissitudes of farming and ranching in the Old West, who would have believed that the Macias barn built in the late 1860s would remain in the hands of family members for over a century and a quarter.The patriarch, Ramon Macias, homesteaded 160 acres along the fertile Hassayampa River and today, 130 years later, his descendants still reside on some of the property. It holds the distinction of being one of the earliest buildings in this pioneer town named after Henry Wickenburg, an adventurer who discovered the Vulture gold mine here in 1863.

The barn survived through a tumultous time, fifty years before statehood and on the heels of the wild gold rush that opened up the area in the early 1860s. The community of Wickenburg and the Macias ranch weathered the gold exploration, General George Cook's Indian Wars, mine closures, desperados, drought, and a disastrous flood in 1890 when the Walnut Creek dam burst, killing nearly 70 people. There was also a resurgence of silver, copper and gold mining, and the growth of farming and ranching in the fertile flood plain before a new economy arose-- the guest ranches that later labeled Wickenburg as the "The Dude Ranch Capitol of the World".

According to Julie Macias Brooks, who owns a parcel of the the original ranch, maintenance of the Macias barn was a continuing project which occupied several generations. Her great-great-grandfather Ramon improved the property, as did great grandfather Francisco Macias, and sons Manuel, Frank, Alfred and Raymond. It was after Raymond's death, that his widow Carrie remarried and the property became known as the Macias-Bell ranch.

Like many Arizona horse barns, this simple, wooden structure started out small and was then expanded to the needs of the ranch. It housed horses and tack, and the connecting pens sheltered mules and cattle. Julie remembers playing in the barn as a child, a high stack of hay piled in the center of the barn. She and her siblings took delight in climbing the haystack, and also rummaging in the barrels of sweet feed kept for the horses. They would feed it to the horses, but it was not unusual for several kernels to also find their way into the mouths of the youngsters.

At one time there were holding pens next to the barn, where family and friends would congregate for the Round-Up and branding. "It was also a center place for everyone to eat lunch," she recalls, "delicious homemade tortillas, beans, salsa and beef." After branding, some of the cattle were cut, and on those days the cowboys enjoyed "mountain oysters", with Julie's grandfather, Manuel R. Macias, emerging as the best cook.

The durable old barn remained in regular use until recent years and is now used mainly for storage. The gold rush in this town didn't last, but the resolute townspeople, their strong values and historic properties like the old Macias barn have endured.

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