Beginnings
Farhaven was founded in early 2018, but it's history certainly doesn't start there. The property is located in a unique setting - it is a complete 18-acre parcel of private county land surrounded by the Kaibab National Forest - a "land island" - if you will. Prior to the development of the Grand Canyon National Park in 1919, the region attracted a number of miners and prospectors looking to capitalize on tourist's attraction to the largest canyon on earth. They did so by exploiting the newly minted General Mining Act of 1872. As a response to the California Gold Rush of 1849, the government permitted mining claims on public lands. If those claims plaid out, the prospector was permitted to patent the claim. This made the land of the claim shift from public to private. Essentially, the claim became the property of the prospector - allowing him to work the land and the area beneath it.
“The mineral lands of the public domain, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared to be free and open to exploration and occupation by all citizens of the United States…” General Mining Act of 1872
Mining at Grand Canyon has a rich history. In the late 1800’s, the demand for mineral resources was high, so early prospectors Dan Hogan (“Orphan Lode” claim), Louis Boucher (“Crazy Horse” claim), Sanford Rowe (“Highland Mary” claim), Peter Berry (“Grandview” claim), Bill Donelson (“Gray Dick Lode” claim) and especially Ralph and Niles Cameron (hundreds of mining claims along the South rim). The effort to extract gold, copper and asbestos ore from the Grand Canyon quickly became a secondary effort. Extracting dollars from tourists became their primary occupation, especially once the Grand Canyon railway made its way to the South rim in 1901.
Bill Donalson, the Gray Dick Load Claim & Farhaven
Bill Donalson (often spelled "Donaldson") staked his claim 1.3 miles South of the Grand Canyon around 1920. To prove his claim and thus patent the area to private land, Bill dug a gold mine near the cabin he built to homestead. On May 11, 1923, President Warren G. Harding signed the patent. Today, Farhaven resides on the Gray Dick Lode claim of 1923. The original area was used for camping near the Grand Canyon and upon completion of the rail line, Bill installed a sign to advertise Grand Canyon camping services on his land.
The Patent for Gray Dick Load, 1923
The Cabin and Barns at Farhaven, As They Appeared in 1947
The Storage Cellar in 1947. It Remains Today.
Bill Donelson, Ethel & Art Metzger
Other Notable People From The Farhaven Area
The history of Farhaven starts with the early miners and prospectors who claimed the canyon as their home. One of the earliest was William “Billy” Bass (1849 – 1933). Prior to coming to the canyon, Billy started a career in the railroad industry, but his health back East was poor, and his doctors suggested he move to the desert Southwest where a better climate might do him some good. At the age of 27, Billy moved to New Mexico, but eventually settled in Williams, Arizona in 1883. It was in Williams where Billy continued his railroad occupation, but he applied his
various skills in most any trade he could. One of his skills was prospecting, and he eventually made his way to the canyon where, at Havasu Point (now accessed via Havasupai Indian toll road) he erected a cabin, started homesteading, and built a trail to a spring below the rim (Mystic Spring Trail – now called South Bass Trail).
It was the rise of tourism that Billy acquired a new skill: road making. Billy improved the road from Williams to his cabin and began to make regular trips with tourists. It was one of these tourists, Ada Diefendorf, who eventually became his wife.
With the completion of the Grand Canyon rail line to the canyon through Bright Angel Wash, Billy abandoned his route and began to meet passengers at Bass Crossing (today, the intersection of FR 328 and the rail line – just past Farhaven).
In time, Billy Bass became a prolific author and authority of the Grand Canyon. He was a staunch advocate for the mining claims within the canyon as it became a national park. In 1911, he constructed a 12-room hotel at the Grand Canyon Village as well as was instrumental in establish the first school at the canyon. In 1923, Billy and family sold their hotel and moved to Wickenburg, where Billy spent his last days prospecting. Billy Bass died in 1933 and upon his wishes, had his ashes scattered over the section of the canyon he called home.
Sanford Rowe and the Highland Mary
Sanford H. Rowe (1853 - 1929) was a buffalo hunter and one of the first European Americans to arrive at the area that would become Grand Canyon Village. Many of the area roads were first developed by Sanford Rowe and Billy Bass. Rowe lived in Williams, Arizona and operated a stable while taking guests on excursions to the canyon. The stable was owned by William “Billy” Bass and in 1892 Rowe purchased it. With the stable now in Rowe’s ownership, he began a full-scale operation of guiding tourism to the
canyon. He became particularly interested in the land around the growing Grand Canyon Village and around 1910, filed 3 mining claims around the village – the Lucky Strike, the Little Mamie, and the Highland Mary. As part of this investment, Rowe began to build and improve roads in the area. Because he had already filed a homestead claim in Williams, Rowe began the process of doing what so many other prospectors were doing – having the mining claims patented. Once achieved, the claim became private property. An element that made Sanford Rowe significantly successful was discovery something that was almost as valuable as gold. With the help of a Supai guide, Sanford Rowe discovered water and constructed Rowe Well. As the area became the Grand Canyon National Park in 1919, congress used the power of the Attorney General’s office to evict any private residence within its boundaries. Only 2 mining claims survived the eviction due to being outside of the park boundary – and the Highland Mary was Sanford Rowe’s. Today, The Highland Mary is still private and is about a mile closer to the canyon than Farhaven.
The White House and Bert Lauzon
Bert Lauzon trained horses and worked in various mines before coming to the Grand Canyon in 1911. While he may have been lured there by the promise of mining, he soon began working as a hired hand and guide for entrepreneur Billy Bass, who was catering to the burgeoning tourist industry. Bass's daughter Edith and Bert were drawn together by their fondness for horses and the canyon, and, contrary to Billy's wishes, the two fell in love.
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Bert and Edith had three children before her life tragically ended at the age of twenty-five due to complications from surgery. Bert and the children remained at their home on the south rim of the Grand Canyon where he was employed as caretakers of the Bright Angel Trail and Bert became the village's Constable.
In 1927, Bert married Rosa White, the Grand Canyon school teacher, who became mother to his children and his lifelong companion. Bert joined the National Park Service in 1929 as one of the ten permanent Grand Canyon Park Rangers. His knowledge of the trails and river corridor was extensive, his law enforcement experience as Constable and Deputy Sheriff prepared him for sensitive and sometimes dangerous assignments, and his years guiding combined with his own affable personality made him a natural for contact with the public. Furthermore, his comprehension of geology and the history of the region was an asset to furthering scientific inquiry. Lastly, his years as a rancher on the South Rim enabled him to understand the issues with residents and landholders.
Bert enjoyed adventure and excitement. In 1911 he joined the Kolb Brothers for the remainder of their famous Colorado River trip. In the 1938 the Park Service asked him to investigate rumors of miniature horses in the Grand Canyon, and this led to the noted 1938 Little Horse expedition. His diaries are full of stories of serving warrants throughout the region. Occasionally, he traveled to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to serve warrants.
Bert also was a rancher. He homesteaded a ranch in the Grand Canyon region in 1917. On the ranch Bert raised cows, turkeys, and chickens, but horse breeding was his primary interest. He kept detailed records of the number of horses he had, their pedigree and the expenses incurred.
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In 1928, Bert purchased the White House from Billy Bass. This gave the family a home closer to Bert's work and to the school for their children. After Bert's death, his wife Rosa, and their son Hubert F. Lauzon, continued to operate the ranch and hold mining claims at the Grand Canyon.
White House, 1928
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In 1918 Emery and Ellsworth Kolb applied to the United States Forestry Department for a mining claim on a parcel of land located a few miles west of the village directly across the road from Bert Lauzon's ranch near Havasu Point.
Lincoln standard biplane landing at Kolb Field on Lauzon property. Was the only plane to land here. July 1926. GRCA 24615
To prove the claim Ellsworth dug a prospecting pit within sight of the Lauzon's ranch house. He found no minerals and after a time gave up on the project. The field remained in its natural state covered with low juniper trees and brush until the fall of 1925 when Emery applied for a permit to use the land for an airstrip. Always with an eye for business he saw the advantage of flights over the Canyon for scenic purposes and to cut travel time to the north rim. To make the plan feasible he requested the land use for an airstrip on the north rim. The Forest Service at once granted him permission to use his mining claim, but the NPS delayed the north rim project while they searched for a site close enough to the lodge to make it accessible to the tourists wishing to use the accommodation. Emery employed a few Havasupai Indians to clear the area of juniper trees and brush, and work started on the south rim claim at once. Using a government grader, they leveled a strip for a runway the width of a two-lane highway across the comparatively flat tract of land. The mining claim eventually returned to the government. Brush again grew over the graded airstrip and the Lauzon family used Ellsworth's prospecting hole as a rubbish depository where antique collectors later had a heyday digging out old bottles and Log Cabin syrup cans for area antique shops.