In 1859, steamboat entrepreneur George Alonzo Johnson built a riverside home for his bride, Estefana Alvarado. Now known as the Commanding Officer's Quarters, the home is believed to be Arizona's oldest Anglo-built adobe building. In the devastating Colorado River flood of 1862, this building and the nearby Hooper residence, now the detached kitchen, were unharmed because they were built on high ground. Quartermaster personnel used the buildings from the mid-1860's until the military abandoned Fort Yuma in 1883.
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt designated the Commanding Officer's Quarters as a customs reserve and the U.S. Customs Service remained in the building until 1955. In 1956, the City of Yuma purchased the Commanding Officer's Quarters and Kitchen from the federal government. Ownership was transferred to Arizona State Parks Board in 1986 and rehabilitation was completed in 1991.
Comments 0 comments