Figure 1. Satellite image of the northern portion of the Savage Homestead.

Figure 2. View south toward the Savage Homestead.

Figure 3. View north toward Cibola Creek.

Figure 4. Aaron Wright coring an upright beam.

Figure 5. Adam Patterson and Paul Creasman collecting a cross section.

Feature 1: The South Cabin

Description

Feature 1 is a three-room structure on the hillslope southeast of the Main Cabin complex. It is not visible from any other structures and faces south overlooking the drainage. Room 1 was built of horizontal notched logs, all of which were flattened on the inside using a metal ax or adze. Much of the roof is still intact, but the west wall has collapsed ourward. A wooden platform, possibly a roosting platform, was built into the east side of the interior after the room was complete. Rooms 2 and 3 are comprised of milled lumber, ¼-round trimming slats, and wire. The westernmost room may have been more substantial, but both have mostly collapsed and exhibit little spatial integrity.

Feature 4: The Logless Cabin

Description

Feature 4 is the foundation of a cabin. Most of the timbers have been removed, although we were able to sample a few loose logs. A large, well preserved sandstone and adobe chimney marks the west wall of the structure. The stone foundation measures approximately 10m N-S and 7m E-W; no artifacts were noted in direct association with the feature.

Feature 6: The Corral

Description

Feature 6 is a corral, probably a horse enclosure, comprised of upright posts and barbed wire. Adjacent to both the south and east sides are remnants of small structures that may have been loading chutes. The corral itself is approximately 9m east-west and 10 m north-south. All of the upright posts exhibit ax-cut ends.

Feature 7: The Storage Cabin

Description

Feature 7 is a log structure that may have been used to store feed for various animals. The four walls are notched and stacked ponderosa logs approximately 1 m high. There is only a single roof primary beam and remnants of secondary beams are present only on the north side of the collapsed primary. We infer, therefore, that the structure was roofed only on the north side, but enclosed on all four sides. The structure is ca. 8.5m east-west and 4.6 m north-south; there is an entrance on the south side and the south walls are supported by ca. .3m uprights as well as a sandstone foundation. The beams exhibit ax-cut and sawn ends and ax-cut notches.

Feature 8: The Dugout

Interior view of the Dugout

Description

Feature 8 is, as Roney (1989) states a “beautiful root cellar with walls of split cedar” [juniper]. The structure was excavated into the south-facing hillslope, built with a ponderosa pine superstructure, walled and roofed with split juniper logs, and then covered with brush and earth. The interior is ca. 4m by 4m with a south-facing entrances. As Roney (1989) notes, there are milled lumber shelves on the west side and bedsprings on the east side, but they may not be original.

Feature 9: The Main Cabin

Description

Feature 9 is a multi-room cabin that is adjacent to the corral, feed house, and dugout. The structure consists of two rectangular rooms that were connected by a breezeway and “rabbit hutch.” Both rooms were built with horizontal logs and adobe and wood chinking, but they were not architecturally linked during construction; both rooms have stone foundations 2-3 courses high.

Room 2, the south room, is ca. 5m east-west by 6m north-south. One doorway faced east and another faced north; milled lumber framed windows are present on the west and south sides. Interestingly, saw cuts on wall beams indicate that a window was contemplated, but not constructed, on the east wall. All of the beams exhibit ax marks; some have ax-cut ends and others sawn ends, but there is some evidence that the ends were sawn after the room was built.

Room 1, the north room, was built “off-set” from Room 2 so that they form a short “L-shape. An east-west breezeway, ca 1m wide, originally separated the two room. Room 1 is ca. 6m east-west and 4.5m north-south. Single windows exist on the east and west walls, and two doorways were present in the south wall. The roof primaries, now collapsed, supported a slightly pitched roof. All of the beams exhibit ax cut ends, although some were also sawn flat.

Feature 12: The Little Cabin

Description

Feature 12 is a 3m north-south by 4m east-west log structure built against a boulder on the south-facing hillslope above Features 6,7,8, and 9. It is ca. 1.5m high and has a stone foundation. The signature part of the structure is a stone-and-adobe fireplace built against the boulder. The timbers are all ax cut; none were sawn. The roof was supported by a single primary beam that trends north-south. A stone lined trail connects Feature 12 to Features 6-9 and a possible road leads northeast towards the valley floor.

Feature 14: The Brush Structure

Description

Feature 14 is a ca. 5m diameter brush structure supported by upright posts and wire; it was built around a large living juniper tree. Roney (1989) reports two chambers of the structure, but that division is no longer visible.

Feature 15: The Hidden Cabin

Description

Feature 15 is a stacked-log structure ca. 10m northeast of Feature 14. It has a stone foundation and was partially excavated into the hillslope; the foundation extends ca. 5m east of the structure and may have functioned as a ramada or another room. The wooden structure itself has an east-facing doorway and windows on both the north and south sides. All the logs exhibit ax cuts, but most were sawn as well; all were split and the flattened side faces the interior of the structure. The roof was supported by a single central primary beam that has collapsed into the structure.

Feature 16: The Chicken Coop

Description

A 5m north-south by 4m east-west stacked-log structure with a stone foundation on the east-facing slope ca. 10m northwest of Feature 15. The structure has collapsed but probably had a single east-west roof primary supporting a pitched roof. A 3m east-west by 5m north-south area of upright posts and milled lumber, combined with wire fencing, forms the front of the structure. A rusted metal feed been in the front area suggests the structure housed chickens or some other small animals.

Feature 17: The 1/4 Round Cabin

Description

Feature 17 is a 4m north-south by 6m east-west rectangular structure comprised of vertically aligned ½-round ponderosa sections. The walls were built around a frame that consists of two juniper post (SE and SW corners) and 4x4 milled posts and cross pieces. Roney (1979) indicates cardboard insulation, but none was noted in 2007. The foundation is milled 4x4s and there is a frame doorway in the southwest corner of the structure. All the beams have sawn ends and most exhibit saw marks typical of a large circular blade. In the field, we speculated that the ¼-round uprights may have been “extras” from a local sawmill that were available free or at a reduced rate because the retain bark and are not evenly sized boards.

Feature 18: The Outhouse

Description

Feature 18 is the scattered remains of an outhouse. It was probably 2m x 2m, but its original configuration cannot now be ascertained.

Feature 19: The Public Cabin

Description

Feature 19 is a 5m north-south by 4m east-west log and masonry structure on the east-facing slope overlooking the valley. The structure was partially excavated into the hillslope and stone and adobe walls extend ca. .6m above the stone foundation. Horizontal logs were stacked on top of the masonry and the flat roof was supported by 8-9 primary beams. A large ¼-round upright pole was affixed to the northeast corner of the structure. This pole, and lack of internal features, suggest the building was a public building (post office?) meant to be visible from the valley floor.

Feature 20: The Horse Corral

Description

Feature 20 is an 11m x 11m structure comprised of stacked ponderosa logs on the north and west sides, and upright posts, milled lumber, and wire on the south and east sides, The logs exhibit metal ax-cut notches and ax-cut and sawn ends and most retain some bark; all were split or flattened using a metal ax. A gate, or gap, is present on the north end of the east wall. We infer that the structure was last used as a horse corral, although it may have had previous uses as well.

Feature 23: The Symbolic Fence

Description

Feature 23 is located at the end of the road on the hillslope below Feature 1. It is an interesting feature comprised of closely spaced upright juniper posts that form a fence ca. 20m long with a 3m “gate” in the center. No wire or other posts extend north or south, so this fence did not obstruct passage—perhaps it only delineated the transition from public to private space.

Feature 24: A Possible Well

Description

Feature 24 is a grassy depression approximately 4m in diameter that may be the remains of a well. It is located in the drainage above (west of) the field area and is filled with fine alluvial sands. A possible channel/ditch leads east from the feature toward the field area, but is buried an no longer visible within a few meters.

Feature 25: The Picket Fence

Description

Feature 25 is the remains of a milled-lumber picket fence that enclosed the southeast corner of the main cabin (Feature 9). It separated the cabin from the fields and probably directed traffic from the road to a parking area east of the cabin. We did not sample any of the picket fence due to its poor preservation.

Feature 26: The Arroyo Road

The deep arroyo formed by use of the Feature 26 road

Description

Feature 26 is the road complex visible on the aerial photographs and, in some places, on the ground. Typically about 4m wide (where identified), it connects Feature 1 to the Main Cabin/Dugout area by following the contour of the hillslope, skirts the hill east of Feature 9 around to Feature 14 and 15, and then trends northeast into the valley floodplain. An important part of the feature is that in the vicinity of the (presumed) CCC dam, an arroyo developed following the road all the way to the junction with Cibola Creek. In places the arroyo now measures 7-10m deep, but retains the straight course of the original road.

Feature 27: Peeled tree

Description

Feature 27 is unique at the Savage Homestead. It is a cambium peeled tree approximately 20m southeast of Feature 1. A large ponderosa, an area near the base of the tree has clearly been peeled using metal tools We were only able to collect a single sample from the feature, an archaeological core from the face of the peel.