Lee's Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch
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Lee's Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch
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Lee's Ferry Fort
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| Location | Coconino County, Arizona, USA |
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| Nearest city | Marble Canyon, Arizona |
| Coordinates | 36°51′53″N 111°35′40″W / 36.86472°N 111.59444°WCoordinates: 36°51′53″N 111°35′40″W / 36.86472°N 111.59444°W |
| Built | 1872 |
| Architect | Lee, John D.; Hamblin, Jacob |
| Architectural style | Other |
| NRHP Reference # | 97001234 |
| Added to NRHP | November 04, 1997 |
The Lee's Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Historic District includes the ranch homesteaded by Mormon pioneer John D. Lee at Lee's Ferry, Arizona, and now in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It is notable for its association with Lee, the ferry and the ranch's extensive irrigation facilities. The district was originally designated the Lonely Dell Ranch Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, but was expanded to include Lee's Ferry in 1997.
Lee's Ferry occupies an area on either side of the Colorado River, while Lonely Dell Ranch nearby on the west bank of Paria Canyon, leaving a space of fertile bottomland available for cultivation. The period of significance for the district extends from the 1871 arrival of the Lees to the last run of the ferry in 1928, superseded by the new Navajo Bridge.
Lee was a practicing polygamist who built cabins for two of his families at Lee's Ferry, in what became known as "Lonely Dell". Lee's ferry started service on January 11, 1873, ferrying Mormon settlers across the river. Tensions rose between the settlers and the Navajo, whose lands were being occupied by the settlers, resulting in the construction of the Lee's Ferry Fort at the crossing in 1874. No conflict arose at the ferry, so the fort became a trading post, then a residence. In 1877 Lee was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre. In 1879, the LDS Church bought the ferry rights from Emma Lee, granting the ferry service to Warren Marshall Johnson and his families. A number of structures remain in the district from the polygamist period of the Lee and Johnson families.
The American Placer Corporation office was established at Lee's Ferry in 1910 and abandoned the next year. In that interval, the company constructed a steamboat, the "Charles H. Spencer", named for the company's founder, to transport coal mined farther up the river to the company's amalgamation operation at Lee's Ferry. The boat, in use for one year, was docked and finally sank in a 1921 flood. Its remains are visible in the river, and it is separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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