Coyote Springs, Arizona

The Coyote Springs in Coconino County, Arizona, outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, is a community adjacent to or including the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA). It grew up around, and includes, the historic "Colton House" and it includes additional development built in cooperation with (MNA). The additional development was begun in 1997, and sits on 47 acres (19 ha), and contains 19 "ritzy" properties.[1]

Note there's a different Coyote Springs, Arizona located in Prescott Valley in Yavapai County.

The area was site of early research of the U.S. Forest Service, involving pioneering use of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating). The USFS established the nation's first forest research experiment station in nearby Fort Valley at the request of Flagstaff lumbermen who sought the answers to why the Ponderosa pine trees, once so profuse in northern Arizona, were not regenerating after logging. USFS Station Director Gustaf A. Pearson began studies into this problem in August, 1908. He also served as an ex-officio MNA Trustee until his retirement in 1945, and is namesake of a building at the Research Center (at Colton House?). Pearson helped Dr. Harold S. Colton, owner of 100 acres (40 ha) and Andrew E. Douglass to pioneer studies in tree-ring dating. Pearson provided Douglass with tree-boring equipment, which Douglass used to perfect the science of determining the age of trees based on their growth (dendrochronology), greatly aiding researchers in dating archaeological sites. Douglass experimented with trees on MNA property, and the first tree-ring conference was held in 1934 under pines near the Colton House.

Colton House
Coyote Range
Coyote Springs, Arizona is located in Arizona
Coyote Springs, Arizona
Nearest cityFlagstaff, Arizona
Area4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built1906-1934
Built byUnkefer Bros.
ArchitectRalph A. Colton
Architectural styleLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Bungalow/craftsman
NRHP reference No.84000641[2]
Added to NRHPMay 14, 1984

The Colton House, also known as Coyote Range and listed under that name on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1928. A 4 acres (1.6 ha) portion of its property, including six contributing buildings built during 1906-1934, was NRHP-listed in 1984.[2][3]

It is a cultural center of the Museum of Northern Arizona.

It was home of Dr. Harold S. Colton (1881-1970), an archeologist who taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1909 until he retired in 1926, and Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton (1889-1971). The couple acquired 100 acres (40 ha) in what is now termed Coyote Springs, and they co-founded the Museum of Northern Arizona, which is located adjacent (or nearly adjacent) to the current Colton House property. Dr. Colton served as its Director until 1958, and continued as president of MNA's board of directors until his death in 1970.

The Colton's 100 acres, just 3 miles (4.8 km) out of Flagstaff, included "Malpais Manor", which was a large one-story Craftsman bungalow. The property also included a large barn and some other buildings, and the Coltons designed and built more, including: the Annex, the Studio, the Pack Rat, and the Blue Jay House. These were largely built by Hopi laborers who lived on the site.[3]

The Malpais Manor home was destroyed in a fire in 1928.[3] The "new" house which replaced it in 1929 was designed by Philadelphia architect Ralph A. Colton, Harold's brother, and was built by contractor Unkefer Bros. of Pittsburg.[3] It is also a Craftsman bungalow.[3] It is Spanish Colonial Revival in style.[4]

The listed complex's buildings were constructed between 1906 and 1934, built primarily of local "malpais rock" (basalt).[3]

[5]

Music programs at the Colton House have included a music residency program,[6] and there is at least one album title ("Colton House Sessions") referencing it.[7]

Harold Colter was a zoologist, and to some extent an archeologist also, and Marary-Russell Ferrell Colton was an artist.[7][8]

Additional development

The first new home of the Coyote Springs was built in 1998. By 2000, it was considered "Flagstaff's premier community", with each property sitting on one to five acres, and all kept in a similar style to the Colton House, the original home on the property which was restored and also sits on the property. The Colton House serves as "a residential facility for guests of the museum; an intimate retreat center ... and a location for private receptions."[9][10][11]

References
  1. Blake Morlock (February 1, 1997). "Feel At Home At the Museum". Arizona Daily Sun. p. 1. Retrieved March 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. Nancy Eberhardt (December 1983). Bill Perreault; Dorothy House (eds.). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Coyote Range / The Colton House". National Park Service. Retrieved March 26, 2023. With accompanying 25 photos from 1983
  4. "Flagstaff's Iconic 50: Colton House a house of culture, history". Arizona Daily Sun. November 13, 2014.
  5. "The Historic Colton House". the Museum of Northern Arizona, on Facebook.
  6. "Colton house Residency Project News". Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music. November 7, 2016.
  7. "Photo series including "Colton House Sessions" and "The Historic Colton House"".
  8. "Winona and Ridge Ruin etc". American Antiquity.
  9. "Feel At Home At the Museum". Arizona Republic. July 23, 2000. p. 207. Retrieved March 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. "Host An Event". Museum of Northern Arizona. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  11. "Feel At Home At the Museum". Arizona Daily Sun. September 24, 1998. p. 35. Retrieved March 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. open access
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