Arizona Rails, Ruins, and Trails: Anderson Mesa

Lawrence Koger moved to Anderson Pass in 1915. He served in the Army during WWI and spent time in France. He first lived with his step father, Bill Weems, and married Mae Weems, his stepsister, in 1920. The section they lived in had been purchased by the Babbitts from the Aztec Cattle Company. It is unclear to me how Bill Weems came to settle on this section and whether the Babbitts owned it at that time. Weems was evicted from the section in 1922. After the eviction, Lawrence Koger staked a claim on a section at the eastern end of Anderson Point. He received a patent on the section in 1932. The Kogers ran cattle and grew several crops including corn, wheat and pinto beans. He supplemented his ranch income by working for others as well as, from 1925 to 1930, making and selling moonshine. After two arrests, he got out of the moonshine business. The Kogers left their homestead after their youngest daughter became ill and passed away on the long trip to Winslow. The Kogers sold out to Dr. R.O. Raymond for $500 in 1936. Dr. Raymond was a longtime Flagstaff physician. The county park near Kachina Village, the Arizona Game and Fish Raymond Wildlife area, and Camp Raymond, a Boy Scout camp south of Garland Prairie, are named after him. Unless otherwise noted, Neff 1984 provided the previous information. The Koger homestead is located in what is now the Arizona Game and Fish Raymond Wildlife area. The road accessing the area is very rocky and at a minimum, a high clearance vehicle is needed. The road passing through the open grasslands would very likely become impassable during periods of rain or snow. Visitors must sign the register when entering and exiting the wildlife area.

The only evidence of a structure on the homestead site is a depression with sandstone slabs scattered around the perimeter. This may have been a cellar. There is a good amount of broken glass, china, and scraps of metal near the depression. Of particular interest is the body of a 1920s Ford Model T just west of the depression. It is one of the rare remains of a car that I've seen in Arizona that isn't riddled with bullet holes. I'm betting this wouldn't be the case if it wasn't within the wildlife area. Another interesting feature is a circular pole corral just west of the car.

Possible cellar on the Koger homestead.

At some point they moved to Kingman. Both Lawrence and Mae were buried in the Kingman cemetery.

Tenney and Alice Roe received a patent on a full section just, just north of Anderson Point, in 1932. Public records show they were married in Los Angeles between 1913 and 1919, Tenney was called before the draft board in 1918 while he was a resident of Clarkdale AZ, and that, at the age of 48 he registered for the draft in 1942. Coconino County voter registration records show that both were registered in 1936 with "Anderson Mesa" given as their address. Tenney remarried in 1940 but I don't know if he and Alice were divorced or if she passed away. He and his new wife lived in Oklahoma where he passed away in 1971.

Neff (1984) does not provide a lot of information on the Roe's except to state that "Roe was said to be a tough character" and did a lot of bootlegging. He also states that the Babbitts had accused him of branding their calves but could never prove it. He says that the Babbitts bought him out in the mid-1930s but, based on the voter registration records, it seems more likely it was in the late 1930s.

Their homestead was located where Chimney Tank is located. Neff states that the tank is named after the large rock chimney located there. I was able to find the chimney but it has fallen to ground. There are clear rock outlines of structure foundations, a corral (barbed wire strung around junipers), the remains of a small pen and what looks to have been a chicken coop.

This homestead site is located on private land and a permit is required. State Trust Land also has to be crossed to reach this area which means a State Trust Land permit is also required. The roads getting to this site are washed out and very rocky.

Outline of a foundation.

Remains of chimney constructed of sandstone. I'm not sure if the juniper fell over and knocked the chimney down or if the chimney fell long ago and the tree happened to fall onto it.

The wooden structure on the left appears to have been a chicken coop or rabbit hutch. Directly behind and to the right of it is a small wire and juniper log enclosure.