John Wesley Wolfe settled here in the late 1800s with his oldest son Fred. A nagging leg injury from the Civil War prompted John to move west from Ohio, looking for a drier climate. He chose this tract of more than 100 acres along Salt Wash for its water and grassland - enough for a few cattle.
The Wolfes built a one-room cabin, a corral, and a small dam across Salt Wash. For more than a decade they lived alone on the remote ranch.
In 1906, John's daughter Flora Stanley, her husband, and their children moved to the ranch. Shocked at the primitive conditions, Flora convinced her father to build a new cabin with a wood floor - the cabin you see today.
The reunited family weathered a few more years in Utah and in 1910 returned to Ohio. John Wolfe died on October 22, 1913, in Etna, Ohio, at the age of eighty four.
inset picture and text: John Wesley Wolfe
John Wesley Wolfe (right) and his family cared for this place for more than a decade. You can help preserve it by looking and thinking about the character of the original caretakers. Please do not touch the walls, do not enter the buildings, and do not leave marks or graffiti on the walls. Because of its importance in local history, this site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
inset picture: Esther and Ferol Stanley
Esther and Ferol Stanley, with their pet burro, in front of the cabin on Grandpa Wolfe's ranch, 1907.
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