Visitor information
Brown Canyon Ranch
A historic adobe homestead in the foothills of the Huachuca Mountains, near Sierra Vista. Visitors get a sense of what the area was like in the early 1900s.
How to get there
From Sierra Vista, take Highway 92 to Ramsey Canyon Road and turn west. At a little over 2 miles, watch for the Brown Canyon Ranch sign on your right. Follow the maintained road approximately one mile to the parking area.
The ranch is part of the Coronado National Forest. Please respect posted signs, wildlife, and the historic structures during your visit.
The historic ranch house
The prominent adobe dwelling at the canyon mouth dates to approximately 1905–1907 and was built by James Haverty. It was the first home in the East Huachucas area to have running water — including a kitchen sink, bathtub, basin, and toilet.
Successive owners
- John Thomas Brown1879 – 1880s
- Parker and Frierson familiesEarly 1900s
- James Haverty (builder of the adobe)circa 1905 – 1907
- William Carmichael1920s
- Roy and Stella Rambo1946
- Barchas family1957 onward
- Coronado National Forest (land exchange led by Sarah Barchas)1998
A community story
During the 1920s through the 1940s, roughly 150 woodcutters of Mexican descent lived in the surrounding canyons, supplying wood to nearby Fort Huachuca. The Garcia, Laguna, and Valenzuela families resided in Brown Canyon, and Mary Molina ran a laundry from the ranch house — a reminder that the ranch was not only a homestead but the center of a working community.