History of DC Ranch

The following article, which was written by Don Schoenau, appeared in the July/August 1998 issue of A Peek at the Peak, the newsletter of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Homeowners' Association. Some of the land discussed in this article is the focus of Scottsdale's preservation efforts including Goldie Brown Ranch, located NE of the intersection of Pima and Dynamite Roads. 

"The Story of the Original DC Ranch"

By Don Schoenau

"Back in the 1880's most of North Scottsdale was inhabited by wild animals and cactus. Water was the crucial test of success in farming or cattle ranching. The only source of water in North Scottsdale was a perpetual spring in the McDowell Mountains, which then as now, flowed at three gallons a minute. There were a few scattered cattle ranches, and it was all open range.

1885 -- "DC" brand is registered

Enter Dr. W. B. Crosby.  Crosby purchased a tract of land and in 1885, registered the "DC" brand, and began feeding cattle brought from Mexico.   These cattle were brought to Mexico by the Spanish in the 1500's and were kin to the fighting bulls in Spain. While the meat was tough and stringy, this sturdy cattle breed thrived in the harsh terrain and climate of Arizona.

1903 -- E.O. Brown & family rides into town

In 1903, a businessman by the name of E.O. Brown arrived in what little was Scottsdale to help his sister-in-law, Sarah Thomas, run a general store that was located at the southwest corner of Brown and Main Streets. The general store in those days listed every type of merchandise known to the ranchers, from Indian baskets to windmills.   Ranchers often brought their wagons to the store for a year's supplies.

E.O. Brown was born in 1869 in Janesville, Wisconsin, where he was a farmer and businessman, and came to Scottsdale with his ill wife and his sons Alvin (Cotton), E.E. (Brownie), and daughter Ruth. E.O. was more than a rancher.  He was responsible for much of the early development in Scottsdale. He served as postmaster, school trustee, and irrigation director.  He was vice president of Western Oil Company, president of the Scottsdale Cotton Gin Company, controlling stockholder of the Farmer's State Bank of Scottsdale and owned the water works and local ice plant. To supply water to the town, he drilled several wells and also brought water from the filtration plant on the Verde River.

Brown purchases DC Ranch land

He began to purchase land, including DC Ranch, in the northeast section of Maricopa County at the base of the McDowell Mountains. He also homesteaded some of the land and acquired land from other homesteaders to whom he had extended credit. During the dry years, when homesteaders couldn't make a living, they paid off their debts in range land and left the area. He shipped his first load of cattle to California in 1910.   When Sarah Thomas' husband died in 1913, he raised their two children.

No house ... no wife!

E.O. Brown's daughter, Ruth, met Bill Richardson, a dairy farmer who owned 40 acres at Miller and Osborn roads. Richardson proposed marriage to Ruth, but her father refused to let her marry someone without a home for his wife. So Richardson took a year to build a house before he married Ruth Brown. He later added an additional 40 acres on Osborn Road north of Earl Street between Scottsdale and Miller roads. Some of this land was later donated for the building of Scottsdale Memorial Hospital.

Brown's land holdings grow to 43,000 acres

E.O. Brown and his wife, Mary Jane, built a home near Wingate Pass and began ranching and lived there with their two sons.  Shortly thereafter he acquired the spring and mining claim from a man named Frazier, who was the first white man to own the spring. He cleared desert growth for much of the agricultural land in the vicinity of Scottsdale.  He fed cattle in the valley, then in 1916 moved his cattle northward to a ranch in the McDowell mountain area. The amount of land he owned eventually grew to 43,000 acres through purchases by he and his son, E.E. Brown. They continued to drive cattle to the railroad in Phoenix. It must have been some sight to see cattle driven through the streets of Scottsdale and Phoenix. He died, after a long illness in October 1937, after many contributions to the development of Scottsdale.

"Brownie" and Goldie Brown

His son, E.E. "Brownie as he became known, was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1901.  He turned out to be a real character. Brownie epitomized the typical early cowboy. Tall, rangy and dark-haired, he like to work the ranch and could ride and rope with the best of them. He was a great hunter and often taciturn, and his Colt .45 which he constantly wore discouraged and settled many arguments. He was an extremely tall man on a huge horse that roamed the range constantly.  He built a new, two room, home made of bricks with a wood stove and a fireplace and moved in with his wife, Goldie.

He took over the ranch operations and continued to purchase land after the death of his father in 1937.  Eventually, he brought his cousin, George Thomas, to take over the operations of the ranch.  This included butchering cattle, shoeing horses at the ranch blacksmith shop, jerking beef and treating animals that were tangled with jumping cholla thorns. At that time, the ranch extended from Bell Road to north of Dynamite and ran from Pima Road east to the McDowells.  It was during this period that he was appointed a Maricopa County deputy sheriff.

Life then included showering with a bucket of water, eating meals that usually consisted of the three "B's": beef, biscuits and beans. Brownie would put his bed roll down on the ground with the rest of the crew, with his saddle as a pillow.

Enter Kemper Marley and a deck of cards

However, life was not bleak.  Brownie and his lifelong friend, Kemper Marley, would meet with other men at such places as the Pink Pony, the cattleman's bar at the Adams Hotel in Phoenix, or at the Rustler's Roost for conversation, cards and many VO's and water. This friendship began with Brownie's and Kemper's fathers and continued with the sons becoming friends and eventual partners. According to early stories, Brownie was land poor and in constant need of money.  Much of the ranch changed hands over games of cards, mostly in Kemper's favor.  Interestingly enough, Rustler's Roost was a dude ranch and restaurant/bar that was located where the General Store and Bank One are presently located, at Pima and Pinnacle Peak Roads.

Kemper and Brownie become partners

Kemper Marley had grown up with ranching, but was also an astute businessman with wide political and business connections. Much of DC Ranch was on government leased land. They arranged to buy land in California that the government needed, and traded the land for land they were leasing.  Brownie and Kemper Marley became partners in the ranch.

With the piping of the spring throughout the ranch, they were able to run over 4,000 head of cattle. At this time, several wells were dug and windmills were built to pump the water. Pipes were installed to carry water to holding tanks.  Some of the watering troughs can be seen today, just east of Pima Road.  Even in those days there were drive-by shootings of the windmills and pipes.  Cowboys patrolled the pipes and several interlopers were shot and killed. No prosecution of the cowboys took place.   This was the West.

Jerry Nelson strikes liquid "gold"

No real housing developed until Jerry Nelson drilled a well on Pinnacle Peak Road and hit water. Jerry and his wife literally camped near Pinnacle Peak Road searching for a source of water.  I have been told that when he hit water, other developers were unaware of it. He continued to buy additional land while it was cheap.   The old buildings of the dude ranch were torn down, and with the construction of the General Store the corner changed rapidly.  Construction of the Country Club Estates and golf course commenced.  Then the world exploded up here!

Kemper buys out Brownie

Ranching technology changed, and Brownie introduced some of the first purebred Brahmans in Arizona, plus Herefords and Bridled Longhorns from Mexico. The advent of automobiles and trucks ended most of the cattle drives. No longer were cattle bought by the head, but by the pound. Eventually Kemper Marley bought out most of Brownie's share of the ranch, and his heirs sold the rest for the D.C. Ranch Development. A small portion owned by Goldie Brown north of Dynamite was sold, but it is still known as Goldie Brown Ranch.

The story ends with Brownie's death in October 1966, and the death of Goldie Brown in the 1990s.  The land that Brownie owned was split up between his heirs and eventually purchased by Kemper Marley, then sold again to developers.

Thanks to the Scottsdale Historical Museum, Paul Morrisey, Leon Bills and many other old timers for assistance with this article."

Don Schoenau