Bernard and Susan Black homestead

Bernard Black was born in Kansas in 1879. His parents, Samuel and Mary Black, were long-time residents of the Flagstaff area. He, along with his three sisters, brother, and parents are all buried in the Flagstaff Citizens Cemetery. Bernard had the nickname of "Bum" (Cline, 1976).

He was first married in 1906 to Emma May Baillie. Emma was a member of the Newman family. The Newman's have a long history around the Flagstaff region. Newman Canyon, south of Flagstaff, is named after the family. I've not been able to find out much about Bernard's and Emma's time together. It appears that they were divorced at some point. I have found that Emma passed away in Prescott in 1976 at the age of 87.

The Coconino Sun, December 15, 1906.

Bernard married Susan Otteson in 1912. The Otteson family also were long-time residents of Flagstaff. They remained together until her death from tuberculosis in 1927 at the young age of 35. I'll write more of the interesting and tragic history of the Ottesons.

The Coconino Sun, August 16, 1912.

Bernard received a patent in 1922 on a 160 acre parcel approximately 10 miles south of Winona where he had up to 150 head of cattle (Neff 1984). His 1917 draft registration card states his occupation as "farmer" and his employer as the " Chisholm brothers" (Bernard's sister Creola married Donald Chisholm). I've also read that he raised sheep. Similar to many of the homesteaders in the area, he farmed as well as running livestock.

I recently decided to take a drive out to his old homestead site. As I do prior to going out to new sites, I a good bit of time was spent going over historic aerial photos of the homestead site and several other nearby homestead sites. Terraces at the site were easily identified. I've noted terraces similar to those seen on aerial photos of the Baderville area NW of Flagstaff and the Doney Park area NE of town. These terraces were constructed in agricultural areas. I suspect they were built up to provide a deeper soil base and for moisture retention in these  areas that are generally very rocky.

Terraces clearly visible on 2013 imagery. Junipers have encroached into the meadow since Bernard Black homestead here.

I was able to find the terraces when I visited the site. They're still visible after roughly a century.

 I went to another spot that I had identified on the aerial photography. It turned out to be the remains of some type of structure. 

Remains of structure identified on aerial photography. The chicken wire makes me think it may have been a pen for small animals.

There is a good amount of wire fencing scattered around the area as well old fence lines. One of the more interesting features was what looked to be an old cistern. There is some scattered broken glass and tin cans but surprisingly little was seen. I've noticed that, unlike temporary mining and railroad camps that often have large areas of glass, cans and scrap metal, the homestead sites I've visited generally have very little trash. 

This mano is a reminder that people lived in this region long before Bernard and Susan Black homesteaded here.

Remains of what was most likely a cistern.

The 160 acres were sold to James and Anna Baugess in 1930. At some point, the land reverted back to federal ownership. Apparently, after the sale of the land, Bernard moved south to the Verde Valley in Cornville (Neff, 1984).

Bernard married Viola Medley in 1932. I've not been able to find much information about her. Bernard's death certificate states he was a widower so it seems that she may have passed before he did.

Headstones of Bernard and Susan Black in the Flagstaff Citizens Cemetery.

Headstones of Bernard's sister Creola and her husband Donald. The Chisholm's had a 160 acre parcel near the mouth of Newman Canyon in what is now Upper Lake Mary.

Headstones of Samuel and Mary Black, Bernard's parents. Samuel was an Arizona Ranger. The Ranger's were modeled after the Texas Rangers and were a law enforcement group from 1901 to 1909.

Note: These homestead sites are an important part of the history of the region. Please do not remove any items you may find. They belong where they lie, not in some dusty box in your garage.