Lonely Dell Ranch

The name says it plainly. Emma Lee called this place Lonely Dell, and the century that followed did little to soften it. Jacob Hamblin, a Latter-day Saint missionary, forded the Colorado nearby in 1864 and urged his church to plant a crossing here. Three families in turn worked it: the Lees, the Johnsons, the Emetts, each wringing gardens and hay from a stubborn desert while ferrying travelers south into Arizona. The National Park Service keeps the orchard and cabins today, an outpost that never stopped being remote.

What the plaque says

For more than 100 years, Lonely Dell Ranch has meant different things to those who traveled here. To pioneers and missionaries, it was an isolated settlement offering small comfort during a long journey further south. To the families who lived here, the ranch was the centerpiece of daily life, requiring constant hard work to tame the rugged yet beautiful desert. For others it offered employment or trade in a hardscrabble setting. And for later owners it promised rustic peace and quiet. From a lonely outpost to recreational enjoyment, Lonely Dell Ranch still serves its simplest purpose as a place for a traveler to rest, enjoy nature, and bask in the shade of the trees. A Homesteading Mission, Jacob Hamblin, a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, successfully crossed the Colorado River near here in 1864. Seeing the location's importance to the settlement of Arizona, Hamblin recommended his church leaders establish a river crossing. Over the years, three Mormon families - the Lees, Johnsons, and Emetts - were sent to homestead and run the busy river crossing which became known as Lees Ferry.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Antelope Canyon — 12 mi
  Tsé bighánílíní — where the water runs through the rock

More markers nearby

• Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness — steps away
• 1872 Founding Family — steps away
• 1925 Polygamist Cabin — steps away
• Historic District River Trail — 0.6 mi