Emma Peterson and Neil Erickson were tough-minded Swedish immigrants who met, married, and forged a life together in the turbulent, turn-of-the-century Southwest. The couple acquired their Bonito Canyon homestead in southeastern Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains in 1886 and were instrumental in the establishment of Chiricahua National Monument in 1924. Includes historical photos.
The history of Faraway Ranch and the Erickson-Riggs family is a rich and complex story. However, if viewed simplistically as we often have, the Faraway Ranch story is one more tale of Western settlement. Two Swedidh immigrants, one a soldier and the other an officer's family servant, meet at a frontier military post, fall in love and decide to homestead along the banks of Bonita Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains.... (from the introduction).
Chiricahua National Monument, located in Arizona's southeast corner, is famous for its scenic and biological wonders. Every year, thousands of people visit the largest of the "Sky Island" mountain ranges to marvel at fantastic rock formations, hike scenic pathways, bolster a birding list, or simply gaze into starry skies while relaxing in a quiet campground. Thorough visitors soon discover that there is much more to the "Wonderland of Rocks" than just rocks. Those rocks are the backdrop to the story of Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo and the black 10th Cavalry Regiment soldiers pursuing him. James Logan, John Robinson, and other "Buffalo Soldiers" assembled local rocks into a one-of-a-kind monument. Ed and Lillian Riggs, owners of Faraway Ranch, preserved rocks from that monument partially because their families homesteaded and ranched in the area with the soldiers' protection. Faraway Ranch became one of Arizona's first guest ranches, and it provided a way for sightseers to appreciate the Wonderland of Rocks' unique history and appearance.
Chiricahua's delicate spires, massive columns, and huge balanced rocks are eroded remnants of volcanic rhyolite. These rugged mountains in southeastern Arizona, once home to Apaches led by Cochise and Geronimo, shelter a remarkable diversity of flora and fauna from four intersecting biomes. Photos by George H. H. Huey.
