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A Brief History of The Willows at Camp Verbe, Cowboy Country

We've told you about the quiet country setting that surround THE WILLOWS. In fact, THE WILLOWS at CAMP VERDE now sits on property that once was a working cattle ranch. Here's the story about that ranch:

Ted Allert, a working cowboy, moved here with his wife about 40+ years ago. Ted purchased the Moore Ranch and continued to raise cattle and grain. Part of his ranch included an irrigated field where he grew hay and pastured his cattle. This green field, with its fertile soil, in Camp Verde 's healthy smog-free setting, is now home to THE WILLOWS. Ted also grew corn and grain on land that's now the Verde River RV Resort

Across the road from THE WILLOWS, you can still see the house Ted and his wife lived in, looking very much as it did when the area was still Ted's working ranch. The corrals, stock pens, and scales - along with feed bunks and trench silo - are all gone now. Where it used to be cattle, now you’ll find a lovely RV park which the Ferguson 's have built there since they bought the old cowboy ranch after Ted died a few years back. You will still see two small cement silos, which are now part of the shed where the new owners park their cars, near the cement block house.

In fact, this cement block house has an interesting history. Before Ted bought the ranch, a lady named Mrs. Muse lived on the property. Mrs. Muse wanted a new home but her husband was too busy to build it. He told her, "Lady, if you want a new house, go build one." So, that's exactly what she did. She built a cement block home and moved in. In fact, her previous home, which didn't look like much, was just an old board building and it was still standing on the ranch land when Ferguson 's bought the place.

At that time, you could still see Ted's old branding irons hanging on the corrals, plus other machinery, fence posts and old fence. His entire collection from years of farming is exactly where Ted left it. Many folks thought Ted's yard contained a lot of junk, but to people who value the heritage of the Old West, Ted's yard contained the history of Camp Verde cowboys. Cowboys who raised cattle, grew their own grain and hay, and enjoyed the simple life. This history is just as important to the cowboys of Camp Verde as the Indian ruins are to the Indians of the area. At a time when cowboying is almost a thing of the past, it's fun to look across the road and remember Ted's ranch the way it used to be. To realize that this fine park known as THE WILLOWS was for many years Ted's pasture land where his cattle grazed.

After Ted was up in years and so crippled he could hardly get around anymore, sheep had finally replaced all the cows - except one, Old Blue. Ted said he'd never sell her because she produced so many good calves, and unsurprisingly enough he was true to his word. For, you know, Ted was a cowboy.