Wolfe Ranch, Pioneer homestead in Arches National Park, Utah, US
Wolfe Ranch is a pioneer homestead in Arches National Park consisting of a small one-room cabin built from basic materials and a livestock pen along Salt Wash near Moab. The structures demonstrate how early settlers lived and worked in this remote, arid environment.
John Wesley Wolfe founded this homestead in 1888 after moving from Ohio, where he had been wounded during the Civil War. The family remained on this remote land for several decades, gradually building a working settlement.
Native American petroglyphs carved into rock faces show the presence of Ute, Zuni, Hopi, and Paiute peoples who lived here long before European settlement. These markings reveal how indigenous groups used and understood this landscape before the Wolfe family arrived.
The site is accessible via a short trail from the Delicate Arch parking area with interpretive signs about pioneer life along the way. The walk is straightforward and takes about an hour round trip, making it manageable for most visitors.
Residents ordered supplies from Sears catalogs every three months to overcome their isolation, and built irrigation dams to grow root vegetables and melons. This self-sufficiency reveals how resourcefully pioneers adapted to their harsh surroundings.
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