John Ward's Ranch

A wrong guess made here helped start a generation of war. In 1861 an Apache raiding party carried off John Ward's young stepson Félix from this Sonoita Creek ranch. Ward blamed Cochise's Chiricahua, but the Western Apache, not Cochise, had taken the boy. The Army believed Ward. When Lieutenant Bascom seized Cochise's family to force the child's return, trust broke, hostages died on both sides, and the Chiricahua went to war for twenty-five years. Félix grew up Apache and became the scout Mickey Free. The marker, for once, sets the record straight.

What the plaque says

Arizona Pioneer Johnny Ward established a ranch here in 1858. In 1861 Indians kidnapped his Mexican stepson Felix Ward. Army officers assumed that local eastern Chiracahua Apaches were responsible, leading to the infamous conflict between Lt. Bascom and Cochise. In fact, the Pinal Band of the Western Apaches took Felix. John Ward died in 1867. The ranch was also the site of a blacksmith and wheelwright shop, a mining headquarters, a store, finally, a produce farm before it was abandoned in 1903.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tumacácori National Historical Park — 15 mi
  Arizona's first mission, on O'odham ground along the Santa Cruz River.

More markers nearby

• Patagonia Depot — 3.3 mi
• Mowry Mine — 3.4 mi
• Mission Guevavi — 9.3 mi
• Camp Crittenden — 12 mi